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Katsushika Hokusai’s 1830 ‘Great Wave’ early and rare version estimated $500-700k sets a new record $2.76M for the artist at Christie’s Asia week in NY following a 13minutes bidders battle .
It is one of Japan’s ukiyo-e genre that artists created by multiple versions through very affordable woodblock printing. 
Hokusai (1760-1849), known for his 36 views of Mount Fuji created thousands of ukiyo-e works around mount Fuji’s different conditions of which the ‘Great Wave’ early series. More than 5000 copies of it were created, it appears only 200 remain in the hands of private collectors or in museums such as Paris’ Guimet Museum, NY Metropolitan Museum, London’s British Museum(3).
Hokusai’s art works have strongly influenced impressionist painters in their treatement of light and perspective : Manet, Van Gogh, Degas, Renoir or Monet who had a thorough ukiyo-e collection and later Bonnard .
On the market early versions of the ‘Great Wave’ meet a strong demand led by easily identified clear lines and clouds depicted on a pink sky.
This early version acquired by a European collector early 20st century and kept in the family since, had been exhibited at the Copenhaguen Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Danemark in 1993.
Last record for the wave was met in 2021 at Christie’s NY when hammered at $1.6 M while estimated at $150k.
The 14th edition of Asia Week New York including auction houses Bonhams, Christie’s, Doyle, Heritage and Sotheby’s reported a sum total of $131.7 M in sales, far exceeding 2022 $98.6M but still shy of 2019 $150.5M according to organizers who praise 2023 success as a major result of increased global travel.
https://www.christies.com/en/artists/hokusai-katsushika?lotavailability=All&sortby=relevance