Hokusai’s work was my gateway drug as a kid to the world of Japanese graphic art. His genius for composition, as well as the balance of line, captured my imagination and led to a lifetime of fascination with and learning from Japanese art.

The back is a riff on the algorithms of the Great Wave, here framing a vision of the Divine Ameratsu, Our Lady of the Sun, standing above the Sea of Japan. She carries a mirror, a wish-granting jewel, and a sacred sword, and hovers before a cosmic Torii gate.