“Umezawa Manor in Sagami Province” (c. 1830-32) by Katsushika Hokusai

Katsushika Hokusai was born in 1760 in Edo, present-day Tokyo, and grew up in modest circumstances. Even as a child, he displayed an extraordinary talent for drawing. At the age of 14, he began an apprenticeship with a woodcarver before turning to ukiyo-e art—those "pictures of the floating world" depicting the daily life and pleasures of Japan's urban population. Over the course of his remarkably long life, Hokusai changed his pen name more than 30 times. Each new name marked a stage in his artistic development and reflected his constant pursuit of perfection. "At 73, I will have understood something of the true nature of animals, birds, insects, and fish," he is said to have remarked. "At 100, I will be a truly great artist."