This print, titled “Ukiyo-e” on google image search, depicts, at first glance, a wave and two ships. The wave forcefully eclipses both boats, and the artist clearly intended on using the wave as the focal point of the print. The background shows a mountain piercing the cloudy sky above. The whole print shows a feeling of mono no aware, with the transience of the clouds and the fleeting existence of the wave.
The coloring of the ukiyo-e print portrays the world as a rather simply colored world. The vast blueness of the ocean, contrasted with the dull brown of the boat, the flat grey of the clouds, and the retreating orange of the sky, paints the water as a mysterious, even magical entity.
The cloud in the sky displays a very Buddhist theme. In addition to the mono no aware feeling of the transience, the cloud paints itself in a very mysterious manner, hiding the sky away from the masses. Additionally, the art style feels very Zen-like, with the broad brush-strokes that make up the cloud, and the dim feeling of the cloud. The cloud also seems to be reaching out to the sky, as if attempting to encapsulate more of the sky.
The boats themselves also reveal a Buddhist theme. Neither boat show any people from what one can see, and they seem almost interchangeable. The Zen feeling permeates throughout both ships, with the total emptiness one feels when they gaze upon the ship and see the total lack of life, as if nature itself operates it.
The wave, as the focal point of the picture, shows the closest thing to an action shot in the picture. In addition to the mono no aware fleeting transience of the wave, it has a very Zen quality to it. It is, after all, just a wave. If one were to watch this scene play out, the wave would break, and then another would follow in its place.
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