Katsushika Hokusai

Brussels' Grand-Place has been covered with over 700,000 flowers arranged into a massive reinterpretation of Hokusai's "The Great Wave off Kanagawa," measuring 70 by 24 metres. Japanese artist Hiro Sugiyama designed the composition for the 24th edition of the biennial Flower Carpet festival, using primarily dahlias in a palette of 16 colors. The floral display, which runs through August 16, celebrates the 160th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Belgium and Japan, bringing together volunteers and officials from both nations to create a living artwork inspired by the iconic 200-year-old woodblock print.

Brussels' Grand-Place hosted an annual Flower Carpet event from August 13-16 featuring a massive floral installation called "Neo Hokusai" composed of over 750,000 dahlias spanning nearly 14,000 square feet. Designed by artist Hiro Sugiyama, the work reimagined Hokusai's famous woodblock print "The Great Wave Off Kanagawa" using vivid magenta, vermilion, and yellow blooms to celebrate 160 years of friendship between Belgium and Japan. The dahlias were sourced through a partnership with Bloemencorso Loenhout, a prestigious annual flower parade in northern Belgium.

Brussels' 2026 Flower Carpet will feature a contemporary reimagining of Hokusai's iconic Great Wave, designed by Japanese artist Hiro Sugiyama and composed of over 750,000 dahlias across 1,300 square meters in the Grand-Place. The installation celebrates 160 years of diplomatic relations between Belgium and Japan, blending Hokusai's 19th-century composition with modern geometric and digital visual language, while incorporating Japanese motifs like ichimatsu checkerboard patterns and kumiko woodwork designs. For the first time, a second flower carpet will be created at the Brussels Stock Exchange, extending the event throughout the city center with imagery celebrating Belgium's brewing heritage. The display runs August 13-16, 2026, with nightly sound and light performances.

Brussels hosted a flower carpet event featuring 750,000 dahlias arranged in a modern reinterpretation of Hokusai's iconic "Great Wave" woodblock print. The 70-by-24-meter floral display, designed by Japanese artist Hiro Sugiyama and called "Neo Hokusai," was created to commemorate the 160th anniversary of Japan-Belgium diplomatic relations. The biennial summer event, which runs through Sunday at the UNESCO World Heritage Grand-Place, attracted around 200,000 visitors and included evening sound and light shows illuminating the floral masterpiece.

Brussels unveiled a giant flower carpet at its Grand Place inspired by Hokusai's famous "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" woodblock print, created as part of the 24th biennial Flower Carpet celebrating 160 years of diplomatic relations between Belgium and Japan. Japanese artist Hiro Sugiyama and his collective Enlightenment designed the "Neo-Hokusai" pattern, which volunteers assembled by hand using numbered flowers to ensure accuracy across the 70-by-24-meter installation. The finished carpet remained on display through August 16 with nightly sound and light shows, offering visitors a contemporary reinterpretation of one of Japan's most iconic artworks within the historic setting of Brussels' Grand Place.