Last Gasp Hokusai Dream of the Fisherman's Wife T-Shirt, Shunga Octopus Graphic on a Hanes USA Blank, XL
Last Gasp Hokusai Dream of the Fisherman's Wife T-Shirt, Shunga Octopus Graphic on a Hanes USA Blank, XL
- Dispatch
- Prepared and sent from Tokyo within 7–14 days, often sooner, or as arranged
- Arrival
- United States · usually 4–7 days after dispatch, insured and tracked Check the Shipping Flowchart here
- Import
Duties and customs · View the estimate
A guide for this piece: about $425, based on the 10% US charge on the declared value of goods made in Japan.
The final figure is set by US Customs and depends on where the piece was made and the kind of object it is. Many antiques over a century old carry no ordinary duty; most jewellery and leather goods add a single-digit rate.
With EMS, any charge is collected by your postal service on delivery. For pieces of significant value we can often arrange duties prepaid before dispatch.
How the estimate is reached · Ask for a figure on this piece
- Character
- QuietResplendent Ornate 7.5 of 10 ·
- Replies
- Within one Tokyo business day · Ask the curator team
- Guarantee
- Authenticity guaranteed · How we grade
Every piece is measured by hand, in centimetres as Japan measures. Please allow 1–2 cm (about ½ inch) for the give of the material and the hand that held the tape.
Condition report
Excellent9.0 / 10
- Giftable
- Mint
- Excellent
- Very Good
- Good
- Honest Wear
- As Found
Hokusai Goes Underground
The octopus and the diver left Edo for San Francisco, where the underground comix house Last Gasp redrew it in lime and coral. On a made in USA Hanes blank, it is a frank and rare meeting of ukiyo-e and American counterculture.
Best for: Collectors of art tees, Hokusai and counterculture graphics
Condition notes
No notable marks or stains; print colours strong. Light softness consistent with a vintage cotton tee.
Assessed from photographs and descriptionReport dated 14 November 2026
Grades, ratings and commentary are given to the best of our ability, knowledge and experience, and condition remains partly a matter of personal perception. What we stand behind without qualification is authenticity, truthful description and provenance, to the best of our knowledge. How we grade
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Considered offers only. The Desk replies personally to figures made in good faith; those set far below the asking price receive no reply.
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Hokusai's most notorious image, reborn in San Francisco's underground: the octopus and the pearl diver, printed in lime green and coral on a white Hanes tee made in USA.
The Piece
The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife comes from Katsushika Hokusai's shunga book Kinoe no Komatsu of 1814, and it has travelled further than almost any other Japanese print, from Paris salons to tattoo parlours. This shirt carries a redrawn, comic-book version of the scene: a sleeping diver with loose black hair, two octopuses in coral pink, and a dark rock ground set against a vivid lime panel.
The print is credited along its lower edge to Last Gasp of San Francisco, the house that published underground comix from 1970, with a hand-lettered printing credit dated 1979. The blank is a Hanes 100% cotton tee made in USA, dating from the 1980s to 1990s. It is a rare crossover of ukiyo-e and American counterculture, and a frank one.
Details
- Graphic: After Hokusai, Dream of the Fisherman's Wife
- Credits: Last Gasp of San Francisco; printing credit dated 1979
- Blank: Hanes, 100% cotton, made in USA
- Era: 1980s to 1990s
- Colour: White body; lime, coral and black print
- Tagged size: XL (46-48)
- Shoulder: 58 cm (22.8 in)
- Chest width (flat): 58 cm (22.8 in)
- Length: 75 cm (29.5 in)
- Sleeve: 23 cm (9.1 in)
Measured flat by hand; please allow a gentle margin of about 1 to 2 cm (0.5 in).
Condition
- No notable marks or stains; the print colours remain strong.
- Normal softness and light handling consistent with a vintage cotton tee.
Condition grade A (excellent) on the Japanese scale; see Japanese condition ranks, explained.
Authenticity & Care
Era and credits are as presented to the Desk and as printed on the shirt. Wash cold, inside out, and dry flat to protect the print.
Delivery from Japan
Folded in tissue, packed by hand in Japan and shipped discreetly, insured and tracked, by EMS or an equivalent express service. Import duties and taxes, where applicable, are payable on arrival. Every sale is final; please ask anything you wish to know before you buy, and see our published policy.
Considered offers are welcome through Send an Offer, and each one is reviewed personally. More awaits in The Private Room and in our essay on shunga.
Concierge
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Collectors also search: Hokusai octopus T-shirt · Last Gasp vintage tee · ukiyo-e graphic T-shirt
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