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==Early Life==

==Early Life==

Born in the Honjo neighborhood just east of [[Edo]], Hokusai would later write that he had a passion for drawing since the age of five. He was adopted by the Nakajima family, artisans who produced mirrors for the shogunal family, but was never named heir to the family nor apprenticed in their trade. There are theories that Hokusai was the true son of the head of the Nakajima family, but was born to a mistress or concubine, and that this is why he was not raised as heir; other theories suggest that Nakajima was his uncle, and that he was in fact not adopted until his late teens.

Born in the Honjo neighborhood just east of [[Edo]], young Tokitarô was adopted by the Nakajima family, artisans who produced mirrors for the shogunal family. He was never named heir to the family nor apprenticed in their trade, however.  

Hokusai is known to have lost a sister at the age of six, though little else is known about his childhood. He is known to have worked as a clerk in a bookstore in his youth, and to have been apprenticed to a woodblock carver from the age of 15 to 18.

 

Hokusai would later write that he had a passion for drawing since the age of five, and he is known to have lost a sister at the age of six, though little else is known about his childhood. He is known to have worked as a clerk and delivery boy for a bookstore in his youth, during which time he was called Tetsuzô, and to have been apprenticed to a woodblock carver from the age of 15 to 18. In 1775, he carved his first blocks of text, a ''[[sharebon]]'' or light novel set in the [[Yoshiwara]], though he, like all ''ukiyo-e'' artists, would never carve blocks for his own prints.

==Early Career as an Artist==

==Early Career as an Artist==