Primary sourcePainting1814

The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife

Katsushika Hokusai · 1814

Hokusai's most famous erotic print, showing a woman diver entwined with two octopuses, from the 1814 shunga book Kinoe no Komatsu.

This is Hokusai's most famous erotic print, showing the breadth of his output beyond landscapes.

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Hokusai's woodblock print of a woman with long black hair lying back on rocks while two octopuses embrace and entangle her, with Japanese calligraphy text in the upper left and green-and-gold rocky coastal scenery behind. — Katsushika Hokusai, Tako to Ama (The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife), from Kinoe no Komatsu, 1814.

About this source

What it is

This woodblock print by Hokusai appears in Kinoe no Komatsu, a three-volume book of erotic shunga art first published in 1814. It depicts an ama (shell diver) in a sexual encounter with two octopuses, with dialogue printed around the image.

Why it matters

Erotic prints formed a large part of ukiyo-e output, and this image became Hokusai's most famous shunga work, drawing on a popular legend of a diver pursued by sea creatures. Later Western critics, lacking the original text and context, often misread the scene; scholars note this shows how images can be distorted when viewed in isolation.

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Why might understanding the surrounding text change how we read this image?
What earlier Japanese legend might this print be referencing?
How did Western viewers' interpretations differ from the original Japanese context, and why?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Hokusai on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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