Brussels Flower Carpet Pays Homage to Hokusai's "Great Wave"

Brussels, Aug. 13 (Jiji Press)--A popular flower carpet event kicked off in Brussels on Thursday, featuring a design inspired by an iconic work of renowned traditional Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock print artist Katsushika Hokusai to mark the 160th anniversary of Japan-Belgium diplomatic relations.

At this year's event, held through Sunday, the Grand-Place, a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Belgian capital, was covered with some 750,000 dahlias arranged in the design of Hokusai's "Under the Wave off Kanagawa," popularly known as "The Great Wave."

Measuring 70 meters long and 24 meters wide, the flower carpet showcases a design by Japanese artist Hiro Sugiyama and others called "Neo Hokusai," a modern reinterpretation of Hokusai's masterpiece from the Edo period (1603-1868).

Every evening during the event, visitors can enjoy a sound and light show, which casts a dreamy glow over Hokusai's Great Wave rendered in colorful flowers.

The biennial summer event in Brussels attracts around 200,000 people from all over the world. This year's event, therefore, is expected to serve as an opportunity to highlight the friendship between Japan and Belgium to the world.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]