New York Post's 'Blue Tsunami' Cover Borrows a Hokusai Wave, and Draws Notice in Japan
A front page of the New York Post dated November 4, 2026, shows a giant blue wave crashing over Donald Trump, and the image has reached Japan, where it borrows from one of the country's most famous artworks. The New York Times reported on November 5 that some people in Japan were bothered by the paper's use of the picture.
The artwork is "Under the Wave off Kanagawa," a woodblock print made by Katsushika Hokusai during Japan's Edo period, a span of time from the early 1600s to the 1860s. Also known as "The Great Wave," it belongs to a series called "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji." The Post's cover adapts that dynamic, powerful wave into a parody that the Times article describes as ironic subversion, with Trump shown being swept away.
The cover marks the midterm elections, which take place partway through a president's term. The Associated Press reported that Democrats won control of both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. The AP also reported that Democrats made sweeping gains in state governments, taking control of several legislatures, and that voters punished Trump's allies in swing states and Republican strongholds.
The Post's online shop sells a "2026 Blue Tsunami Front Page" and describes the cover as documenting sweeping Democratic victories in the midterms. The paper's business section, in a November 4 article, likewise describes the front page as showing Trump caught in a wave.
The Times headline captures the mixed reaction: "Everyone's Talking About the 'Blue Tsunami.' In Japan, It's Complicated." The term "blue tsunami," a reference to the blue color associated with Democrats and a tsunami's sweeping force, has been widely used in coverage of the results.
The Japan News, the newspaper of the Yomiuri group, also published an article on November 5 about the Hokusai image being used as a symbol of Trump's defeat.
