Knitting has long been a part of the regional culture of Tokyo’s Sumida Ward, with a history in its trade dating back to the Edo era. The art was first introduced to Japan through the international ports at Nagasaki, but soon found its way to Edo (present day Tokyo) where many samurai are believed to have taken it up during peacetime as a way to increase their income.
It is during the same period that world-renowned printmaker Katsushika Hokusai was born. Apart from when on his travels, the artist spent most of his life in Sumida Ward, where he created many of his masterpieces.

Though the printmaker and the art of knitting share only a thread of similarity, the two have been brought together through the knit art project “North Pole Star”, which intends to connect the history and local culture of Sumida Ward to the present day through the production of knitted goods from the Horizon knit factory.

The project's first collaboration is with artist Kazuki Takakura (*linked website contains flashing imagery), who specialises in 3DCG, pixel animation, 3D printing and VR production.
In this mashup Takakura has reimagined two of Hokusai’s prints from the series “A Tour of the Waterfalls” (Hokusai prints pictured above) into pixel art. These pixelated versions of Hokusai prints will lead the viewer’s mind to worlds that they may have seen in a video game.

But that’s not all – being a knit art project, North Pole Star has seen to it that Takakura’s designs be fashioned into wearable knit hoodies through the use of modern knit factory technology.

The thin knit hoodies are made from 100% cotton, making them soft to the touch and able to be worn throughout the year regardless of the season. There are two sizes available; M which is recommended for those between 160cm to 175cm in height, and L which is for those between 175cm to 185cm.

Together, both Hokusai and Takakura are artists that have challenged the world; Hokusai went head on against existing painting methods and ideologies, and Takakura has continued to pursue new expressive methods and values of contemporary art.

The Hokusai X Takakura knit hoodies are available for a limited time only, and will be on sale until the 27th of April 2022. Once complete, North Pole Star will begin working with a new artist and designs.

If you would like to get your hands on one of the hoodies, you can head on over to the official online store where they are being sold for 33,000 yen each (shipping included).