Art in Scripture: Peace! Be StillSample

Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura; The Great Wave), c.1830–32
KATSUSHIKA HOKUSAI
Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura; The Great Wave), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei), c.1830–32, Polychrome woodblock print; ink and colour on paper, 257 x 379 mm, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929, JP1847, www.metmuseum.org

Opening Prayer:

O LORD, fortify our faith when the waters rage. Help us hold fast when we doubt. As You created mountains to withstand even the strongest storms, plant our feet and help us stand firm.

May the beauty of nature depicted through art serve as a reminder of Your everlasting power. I pray that we remember our human creativity is merely a small reflection of the divine. May we use our talents to glorify You, and observe others’ creations as a spark of the Creator.

Thank You for the blessings we receive, and the lessons we learn through relationships, struggles, and daily life. We praise Your name for all You have created, and all You have yet to do. Amen.

Thoughts for Reflection:

Katsushika Hokusai’s work, Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura; The Great Wave), c.1830–32, is a stunning visual depiction of nature’s might, mountain and ocean alike. The sheer scale of God’s creation leaves us in awe of His untold power, which the human mind cannot fathom. Through visual art, we seek to capture enduring glimpses of that beauty and ferocity.

An Excerpt From The Visual Commentary On Scripture

Under the Wave: A Boundary-Crossing Icon Commentary By Ellen F. Davis

In The Visual Commentary Of Scripture, commentator Ellen F. Davis observes, “In Israelite and Japanese religious cultures, mountains and the sea are viewed as awesome in the true sense—life-giving and fearsome—and thus evocative of divinity. Although they come from the eastern and western extremes of the Asian continent, respectively, Hokusai’s image and Psalms 42-43 (RSV, originally a single psalm) share two elements of their landscapes: mountains and deep waters.

“Japanese and Western viewers are likely to read the print differently from one another. For Westerners, reading left to right, the towering wave is first and foremost. Asian viewers, trained to read from the opposite direction, might focus instead on what stands ‘under the wave’ (Hokusai’s own title): Mount Fuji, the sacred volcano, both dangerous and revered.

“Refocusing on Fuji as a sign of divinity may yield a better understanding of the watery paradox central to Psalm 42: the psalmist yearns for God’s presence in the midst of troubles that also seem to come from God. God’s ‘waves and billows’ threaten to overwhelm, but still ‘deep calls to deep’ (42:7, RSV), the depths of affliction to the depths of faith. God is present here. A Christian viewer might press further. The three-lobed cloud hovering over Fuji’s peak—could that be a cruciform figure with arms outstretched, a sign of divine presence to those in distress?”

Continued Reflection:

Observe the motion, momentum, and force Hokusai captured in this piece of art. Consider the ships in the foreground, at the mercy of the towering waves. In the background, Mt. Fuji bears witness to nature’s rage, steady and unmoving. Does your faith feel more like a boat tossed by the waves, or a mountain that holds firm amid the chaos?

In addition to Psalm 42-43, Psalm 107 offers a scriptural depiction of merchants crying out to God to save their ships. God quiets the waves for them, just as He can quiet the storms in our lives. As you reflect on these passages alongside Hokusai’s artwork, remember the God who commands all the might of the natural world, numbers every grain of sand, and knows every sparrow, holds you in His palm.

To view this content in a browser (with the ability to inspect artwork in greater detail), access the full version at: Art In Scripture | Peace! Be Still