Lessons on How to Draw by Hokusai:

In 1812, Japanese woodblock print artist Katsushika Hokusai, who would later become famous for his iconic Great Wave off Kanagawa prints, published a three-volume series called Quick Lessons in Simplified Drawing. All three volumes are available online: one, two, three. Even if you’re not in the market for drawing lessons, the pages are wonderful to flip through.

Ermagerd I love him even more. Great Wave and the series it comes from are possibly my favorite art in existence, but he was such a cool artist in general…

Pixel art commercial from Japan traces a century of changing work habits | Boing Boing:

Hayao Miyazaki Prepares to Cast One Last Spell - The New York Times:

No artist has explored the contradictions of humanity as sympathetically and critically as the Japanese animation legend. Now, at 80, he’s coming out of retirement with another movie.

Hopefully not paywalled when you visit, a long-form interview summary on Miyazak’s body of work, including what’s to come.