Hokusai's personal beliefs are contemplated here through analyses of major brush paintings, drawings, woodblock prints, and illustrated books. The publication gives due attention to the contribution of Hokusai's daughter Eijo (Oi), also an accomplished artist. Hokusai continually explored the mutability and minutiae of natural phenomena in his art. His late subjects and styles were based on a mastery of eclectic Japanese, Chinese, and European techniques and an encyclopedic knowledge of nature, myth, and history.

Hokusai: beyond the Great Wave draws on the finest collections of his work in Japan and around the world, making this the most important publication for years on Hokusai and a uniquely valuable overview of the artist's late career.