Hokusai: The Great Picture Book of Everything ★★★★★

Katsushika Hokusai's name is forever associated with 'The Great Wave', the miraculously evocative blue-coloured woodprints that have been reproduced all over the world.

Hokusai, who lived at the end of the Edo era (1615-1868), had the most productive life. His drawings have long disappeared for they couldn't survive the printing process, so it is quite extraordinary that the British Museum rediscovered illustrations he created in 1863 for the unpublished book The Great Picture Book of Everything.

As the project didn't go ahead, the drawings were stored away before being sold to a French collector at the beginning of the 20th century. They were then lost and rediscovered by an art expert at an auction three years ago.

At the time The Great Picture Book of Everything was conceived, Japanese people were not allowed to travel abroad. The book was meant to be an encyclopedia that introduced its readers to faraway places.

Hokusai, who had never left Japan, used his imagination, sense of humour and adventure to depict the outside world. His drawings feature wide-ranging subjects from depictions of religious, mythological, historical and literary figures to animals, birds, flowers and other natural phenomena, as well as landscapes. They are dominated by subjects that relate to ancient China and India.

This show doesn't offer an explosion of colours but instead a selection of postcard-sized exquisite black and white drawings in a dimly lit room. It may not be spectacular at first but you inexorably get absorbed in Hokusai's world of strokes and lines. He explores the origin of medicine and printmaking. He takes you on adventures through Chinese folks tales, stories of Buddhist gods and Indian kings. The drawings' combination of humour, poetry and humanity is deeply inspiring.