Japanese artist Mori Yuzan’s wave illustrations were published in a resource guide for Japanese craftsmen looking to add aquatic motifs to their wares in 1903. The impressive archive, titled Hamonshū, boasts three volumes of Yuzan’s illustrations, includes variations on contained and free-form wave patterns suitable for embellishing swords, religious objects, and ceramics.
Yuzan’s artwork is rendered in the distinct Nihonga style (meaning Japanese painting). The monochrome, inky style is typically executed on Japanese washi paper using brushes. The three volumes offer a wide range of abstract line drawings that represent the various forms of waves as they swell, crash, and swirl.
The collection has recently been digitized and is available for free on Internet Archive, a non-profit digital library of free books, movies, and software.
