An Endless Source of Artistic Inspiration

A Japanese-inspired serviced apartment in the heart of Berlin may seem like an intriguing idea, but it also raises an important question: why Japan, here? The geographical and cultural distance between Berlin and Japan is immense. Simply introducing familiar Japanese elements such as timber, paper, woodblock prints, or traditional details into the interior could easily result in a stylistic imitation rather than a design with a meaningful reason to exist. The challenge, therefore, was not simply how to “bring Japan to Berlin”, but to discover a connection that had genuinely existed between the two cultures.

The story begins at a time when European art was searching for a way forward. Around the 1750s, Western art remained strongly influenced by academic traditions and the ideals of Neoclassicism, a movement that inherited much of its philosophy and formal language from the Renaissance. Established principles of proportion, composition, and beauty continued to dominate artistic practice, creating a stable but increasingly enclosed world of art. At the same time, a younger generation of artists was beginning to seek a new creative language. They wanted to move beyond established conventions, yet had very limited opportunities to encounter cultures outside Europe.

Change began as the world became increasingly connected through international trade. During the nineteenth century, products from the distant Far East gradually found their way into Europe. Among them was something seemingly ordinary: Japanese wrapping paper printed using woodblock techniques. Yet this modest object would have an extraordinary impact. Woodblock printing allowed images to be reproduced in large quantities and made available at relatively low cost. Art, which had previously been associated largely with unique works and elite circles, suddenly became much more accessible. Young artists could purchase, collect, and study these prints as direct sources of reference and inspiration.

From these small woodblock prints, a quiet cultural exchange began to take place. Japanese imagery introduced a radically different way of seeing people, nature, movement, composition, and colour. And within this flow of ideas, one name would become particularly influential: Katsushika Hokusai.

Hokusai and his iconic work The Great Wave off Kanagawa created a powerful shockwave within the Western art world. The monumental wave, the unconventional composition, the tension between nature and humanity, and Hokusai’s distinctive use of line offered European artists a new visual language. His influence can later be seen in the works of artists such as Van Gogh, Monet, and Bonnard, contributing to the profound transformation of Western art from Impressionism towards Modernism.

What makes this story even more fascinating is the way these images travelled. In an age without the Internet or digital technology, the idea of an artwork becoming widely known across continents might have seemed almost impossible. Woodblock printing changed that. A single image could be reproduced many times, purchased, exchanged, carried, and passed from one person to another. The Great Wave off Kanagawa therefore became more than a celebrated artwork; it became one of the Japanese images with an extraordinary ability to spread throughout nineteenth-century Europe. An image travelled thousands of kilometres, entered the lives of young European artists, and ultimately became a catalyst for a profound transformation in Western art.

It is from this story that the serviced apartment in Berlin is imagined as a revisitation of an era. One can picture the modest rooms of young European artists at the time, tucked within old Neoclassical buildings along the narrow streets of the city. Inside one of these humble rooms, Japanese woodblock prints would become treasured objects, sources of inspiration, and perhaps the starting point for ideas capable of transforming an entire artistic culture.

The serviced apartment does not attempt to recreate those rooms literally. Instead, it captures the spirit of that moment of cultural encounter. Guests do not simply enter a space inspired by Japanese aesthetics; they enter a story about how Japanese art once found its way into Europe and influenced a generation of artists searching for something new.

Hokusai is the perfect figure through which to tell this story because his own life was a journey of constant transformation. He was never satisfied with a single style. Throughout his career, he continuously studied, experimented, and searched for new forms of expression.

He adopted numerous artistic names, each associated with different periods of his life and different stages in his artistic development. In many ways, this constant evolution became part of Hokusai’s identity. He was not only an artist who created influential works; he embodied a creative spirit that was always in motion.

This becomes the foundation of the design concept. Rather than creating eight rooms beneath a single, uniform interpretation of “Japanese style”, the eight apartments are conceived as eight chapters in Hokusai’s artistic journey. Each room takes its name from one of his artistic identities and represents a particular period of his development, resulting in its own character, atmosphere, and spatial language. The differences between the rooms create variety within the hospitality experience, while the entire project remains connected through a single narrative.

The journey begins with Tokitaro, Hokusai’s birth name, associated with the period when he worked polishing bronze mirrors for the Japanese aristocracy. This experience gave him access to an upper-class environment and helped shape his early understanding of aesthetics. The Tokitaro room therefore draws from the image of bronze mirrors and reflective surfaces, evoking Hokusai at the very beginning of his journey — not yet an acclaimed artist, but already accumulating the experiences that would shape his creative path.

Then comes Shunro, the period when Hokusai entered the Katsukawa school and began studying Ukiyo-e. This was a time of immersion in Japanese woodblock printing and its distinctive visual culture. The Shunro room therefore focuses on the spirit of woodblock printing, linework, and the process of making — like the studio of an artist learning how to observe and gradually develop his own visual language.

Kusamura Shunro marks another turning point. When Hokusai was expelled from the Katsukawa school for exploring influences beyond its established boundaries, what initially appeared to be a setback became an opportunity for greater creative freedom. It represents the moment of stepping outside an existing system in order to discover a personal path — a spirit translated into a space that experiments with forms and challenges familiar boundaries.

The period under the name Hokusai marks the moment when his reputation began to reach a wider audience. Large-scale works became a way for him to establish his presence and identity, most famously through his monumental 180-metre-long Daruma painting, performed before the Shogun and a large public audience. The space inspired by this period therefore embraces scale, energy, and spectacle — a place where the artist’s line is no longer confined to a small picture frame but becomes an immersive experience of proportion and movement.

Fusenkyo Katsushika opens another chapter, when Hokusai turned towards book illustration and began combining imagery with written narratives. His woodblock prints were carefully refined, contributing to a new form of visual storytelling. This period is also associated with the emergence of the concept of Manga, providing the foundation for a room that explores graphic language, visual rhythm, and storytelling through images.

Raishin brings the story into the realm of colour. As new methods made blue pigment more affordable and widely available, a “blue craze” swept across Asia, and Hokusai became deeply engaged with it. His works gradually became immersed in this distinctive blue, creating a world that was both powerful and mesmerising. The Raishin room therefore takes blue as its primary spatial material, transforming colour from a decorative element into an essential part of the experience.

Litsu represents the height of Hokusai’s career, when some of his most celebrated works were created, including Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji and, most famously, The Great Wave off Kanagawa. This becomes the most iconic chapter of the journey, with the wave serving as the central inspiration for a space defined by movement, energy, and the contrast between the immense power of nature and the fragility of human beings.

Finally comes Gakyō Rōjin Manji, the name Hokusai gave himself in his later years — often interpreted as an “old man mad about painting”. Even in old age and while suffering from illness, he continued to search for new forms of expression. His later works became more restrained, humble, and contemplative, focusing on simple scenes from nature. The corresponding space therefore becomes quieter and more tactile, using timber and natural materials to create an atmosphere of stillness — the closing chapter of an artistic journey, but not the end of the creative spirit.

The eight rooms are therefore not simply eight different interior styles. They are eight fragments of one creative life, eight states of an artist who was constantly evolving and searching for something new. Guests may choose a room because of its particular aesthetic, but in doing so, they are also stepping into a different chapter of Hokusai’s story.

Ultimately, HOKUSAI TELLING is not a story about bringing Japanese style to Berlin. It is a story about how an image can cross borders, how one culture can become a source of inspiration for another, and how art can continue to live across generations.

From the humble woodblock prints that travelled from Japan to Europe, to Hokusai’s monumental wave and the transformation of Western art, the story reminds us that creative inspiration belongs to no single country, style, or era.

And just like Hokusai — an artist who never stopped evolving throughout his life — this space is designed so that every visit may reveal something new to discover.