BERLIN.- For the first time in Germany a major retrospective is being devoted to the world- famous Japanese artist Hokusai (1760-1849). Perhaps his best-known picture is the woodcut: “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” from the series: “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji” (1823-29). Over 440 loans, which with few exceptions come from Japan, are on display in the exhibition in Berlin’s Martin-Gropius-Bau. NAGATA Seiji, the leading Japanese authority on Hokusai and his work, curated the exhibition, which is shown exclusively in Berlin. Works from all periods of the artist’s career –woodcuts and drawings, illustrated books, and paintings –are on show. In 2000 Life Magazine ran a survey to find out who were the most significant artists in world history. Hokusai came 17th, ahead of Picasso. The exhibition – which covers the entire span of Hokusai’s creative activity, extending wel