Created by Ukiyo-e master, Katsushika Hokusai at the tail-end of the 1820s before being completed in the early 1830s, “Kanagawa-Oki Nami Ura” (or “The Great Wave Off Kanagawa”) is a Japanese color woodblock print and is almost certainly the Land of the Rising Sun’s most iconic and recognizable artwork of all time. And while the legendary print has been recreated countless times over, one of the most noteworthy homages to Hokusai’s work has just been unveiled, with Jumpei Mitsui—Japan’s only certified professional LEGO constructor as well as the world’s youngest certified LEGO brick builder—bringing the piece to life in 3D with the colorful Danish toy bricks.
After creating a single sketch, Mitsui then spent some 400 hours to bring the project to fruition. This ambitious recreation of the print is composed of a whopping 50,000 individual LEGO pieces. Unsurprisingly, coming from a certified LEGO pro, the level of detail is nothing short of astonishing, and the creativity needed to replicate elements such as the breaking waves is beyond impressive. If you’d like to check out the project in person, Jumpei Mitsui’s LEGO ‘The Great Wave Off Kanagawa’ is currently on display at the Hankyu Brick Museum in Osaka, Japan.
