Hokusai is famous for his views of Fuji, such as "The Great Wave off Kanagawa". He produced these prints in the 1820's.
Hokusai became something of a celebrity after painting the huge poster of a monk called Buddha in 1804. There is a scene in this movie where he does this. He did travel around and repeat the performance in parts of Japan.
In some scenes Hokusai is holding a religious statue of Nichiren. Nichiren was a founder of a sect within Buddhism in the Kamakura period. Hokusai followed this sect.
"The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife" is the English title of the print of the woman and the octopus. The Japanese title of this print is "Tako to Ama" which can be literally translated as "The Octopus and the Diving Woman".It was published in 1814.
Hokusai(Tetsuzo) and Bakin (Sashichi) were real life people. Hokusai lived from 1760 to 1849. He is famous for his prints. Bakin was alive from 1767 to 1848. He was an author of epic novel called "Nanso Satomi Hakkenden".