Japonisme refers to the genre of art, fashion and aesthetics in the West deriving motifs, subjects and techniques from Japanese art. The most prominent expression of Japonisme was seen in European art, especially on the nineteenth century art movement, Impressionism. After two centuries of political and economic isolation, Japanese opened their ports to the west in 1868. This political development set into motion series of experimentation in the art world when Japanese prints, ceramics, lacquer and other artifacts reached the west. With the Paris Exposition Universelle 1867, Japanese craze truly began. The surprise and awe that an exhibition of non-western art created was unprecedented and artists found an avenue for liberation from the pressures of their own past and academism of older masters. In this paper, I have attempted to trace the history of Japanese prints in their origins and socio-political significance of their themes, going on to describe 'the great wave' that hit Europe and America. This paper also describes the impact of Japanese subject matter and technique on famous artists like Edgar Degas, Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Mary Cassatt and Vincent Van Gogh. Their attempts depict the creative ways in which one art style is adapted and moulded to form something distinctive while retaining the essence.