Hokusai at Palazzo Bonaparte: the Floating World arrives in Rome

Hokusai at Palazzo Bonaparte: a cultural bridge between Rome and Japan

From 27 March to 29 June, Palazzo Bonaparte stages one of the largest Hokusai exhibitions ever held in Italy. The show assembles more than two hundred works from the National Museum of Kraków and explores major graphic cycles and the cultural backdrop of the Edo period.

Highlights of the exhibition

The exhibition highlights Hokusai’s most influential works, from dramatic seascapes to instructional sketchbooks. Key elements include:

• The Great Wave and other prints from the "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji";
• Plates from the "Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō" and vivid urban and coastal scenes;
• The Manga volumes, ink sketchbooks that anticipate modern graphic expression;
• Edo-period objects: rare books, lacquerware, cloisonné, samurai armor and traditional garments.

Why this exhibition matters

The show offers both a technical reading of ukiyo-e printmaking and an historical perspective on its effects in Europe. Hokusai’s woodblock prints — which once reached European shores even as packing material — were rediscovered by artists and musicians, fueling the wave of Japonisme that reshaped Western art.

The artist and the curatorial approach

Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) appears here as a relentless experimenter: his many name changes and lifelong search for refinement are echoed in the exhibition layout. The display is curated by Beata Romanowicz of the National Museum of Kraków and realized with institutional patronage.

Visitor information

The exhibition suits visitors interested in the technical aspects of Japanese printmaking and in cross-cultural influences between East and West. For opening hours, tickets and guided tours check the official channels of Palazzo Bonaparte.

Visiting tips: allow at least 90 minutes for the full route; paper-based works are often rotated for conservation—plan your visit accordingly.