RISD Museum 

Discussion Questions 2-4: Nature, Place, and Geography 

Writing/Making/Doing: Under the Great Wave, off Kanagawa

Write a haiku inspired by Hokusai’s print that captures its imagery and mood.

Writing Haikus: Under the Great Wave, off Kanagawa

To encourage students to think about what makes this image so powerful, ask them to focus on how Hokusai used scale, color, and line. Make your own observations about what you notice about scale (the size of different parts in relation to each other), color and types of lines. Circle important areas and write your notes about these key elements. Discuss your observations.  

Discussion Question 1: Color, Scale, and Line

Katsushika Hokusai,  Under the Great Wave, off Kanagawa, ca. 1829-1833

About the Work: Under the Great Wave, off Kanagawa

Virtual Visit: Under the Great Wave, off Kanagawa

Resource Kit Overview: Under the Great Wave, off Kanagawa

Looking at the objects around you, consider how many of them were created by an artist or designer. Artists and designers are problem solvers, inventors, and skilled technicians; they express the complexity of human experience in their times, communicate ideas, fulfill practical needs, and challenge us to stretch our own views. Explore different artists and designers who represent a broad range of time periods and cultures.



Virtual Visit Outline Lesson Plan Hokusai.pdf

Link: Teaching Notes / Artists' Ideas, Materials, and Process

Artists’ Ideas, Materials, & Process: Under the Great Wave

Geography

Social Studies

World History

Reading: Literature

English Language Arts

Writing

Speaking & Listening

Music

The Arts

Visual Arts

Around the same time artists in Japan were perfecting woodblock printing, poets were experimenting with a new form of poetry known as the haiku. 

Haikus are non-rhyming poems that uses phrases with 5, 7, and 5 syllables. Most haikus describe a season or qualities of a season. 

These poems are translated from Japanese so they do not reflect the 5-7-5 syllable system. The original Japanese poem would have 5-7-5 syllables.

As you read these haikus, picture what the poem is describing.

As you read, visualize the imagery mentioned and pay attention to the language used and the mood that's evoked in each haiku.  

Notice how each line uses a limited number of syllables and expresses something specific about a natural phenomenon or animal.  


Begin by writing down words and phrases that describe key details, visual elements, and the mood of the scene.

Next challenge yourself to use short sentences with 5, 7, and 5 syllables. Haiku rules or constraints require you carefully consider each word to express the qualities of this place and humans' interactions with natural phenomena.


Resource Kits

Object Library

Museums

Artists’ Ideas, Materials, & Process: Under the Great Wave

Writing Haikus: Under the Great Wave, off Kanagawa

Background Knowledge

Haikus and woodblock prints