Abstract
The Hokusai woodcut entitled The great wave off Kanagawa has been interpreted as an unusually large storm wave, likely to be classed as a rogue wave, and possibly generated from nonlinear wave dynamics (J. H. E. Cartwright and H. Nakamura, Notes Rec. R. Soc. 63, 119–135 (2009)). In this paper, we present a complementary discussion of this hypothesis, discussing in particular how linear and nonlinear mechanisms can both contribute to the emergence of rogue wave events. By making reference to the Great wave's simultaneous transverse and longitudinal localization, we show that the purely linear mechanism of directional focusing also predicts characteristics consistent with those of the Great wave. In addition, we discuss the properties of a particular rogue wave photographed on the open ocean in sub-Antarctic waters, which shows two-dimensional localization and breaking dynamics remarkably similar to Hokusai's depiction in the woodcut.
Highlights
The great wave off Kanagawa is arguably the most famous of the many woodblock prints made by the Japanese artist Hokusai
The Hokusai woodcut entitled The great wave off Kanagawa has been interpreted as an unusually large storm wave, likely to be classed as a rogue wave, and possibly generated from nonlinear wave dynamics
We present a complementary discussion of this hypothesis, discussing in particular how linear and nonlinear mechanisms can both contribute to the emergence of rogue wave events
Summary
ON HOKUSAI’S GREAT WAVE OFF KANAGAWA: LOCALIZATION, LINEARITY AND A ROGUE WAVE IN SUB-ANTARCTIC WATERS The Hokusai woodcut entitled The great wave off Kanagawa has been interpreted as an unusually large storm wave, likely to be classed as a rogue wave, and possibly generated from nonlinear wave dynamics
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