Which way do you read this image?

People whose native language runs from left to right on the page - English, eg - tend to see, in Hokusai’s iconic image, an enormous rolling wave. The dominant feeling is the relentlessness of nature.

But if your language runs from right to left - like Japanese - you might focus on the human drama: a handful of people afloat in narrow, flimsy boats, at imminent risk of being overwhelmed.