Hokusai and The Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife: erotic or hidden meaning? Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Katsushika Hokusai is internationally famous because of the many adorable pieces of art that he produced. However, Hokusai also produced art which was extremely erotic because shunga (erotic art) was very popular, despite political constraints during periods [...]
Claude Monet was smitten by Japanese art: Impressionism and ukiyo-e Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Claude Monet was very important within French Impressionism and despite new artistic movements like Cubism and Fauvism altering the artistic landscape, he remained firmly committed to Impressionist art. Another major art theme which would shape Claude Monet was Japanese [...]
Japanese art and Ogata Gekko: individualism during a changing landscape Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The life of Ogata Gekko is extremely fascinating because he lived during a period of momentous times in Japan. He was born in 1859 during the Edo Period but the Meiji Restoration of 1868 would usher in many revolutionary [...]
Japanese classic animation film: Looking deeply into war through the eyes of children Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Grave of the Fireflies is a very moving animation film which focuses on the innocence of children and the brutality of war. It is a film which blends into reality and it is easy to forget [...]
Japanese art and Yorozu Tetsugoro: the endless searcher Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Japanese art is extremely diverse and during the lifetime of Yorozu Tetsugoro he witnessed many changes (1885-1927) because the Meiji Period opened up Japan to new thought patterns. In the field of art this radically altered the art scene because the [...]
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Japanese ukiyo-e Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901) adored Japanese ukiyo-e and many famous international artists also fell in love with this art form. Toulouse-Lautrec and his lifestyle would certainly have fit in well with the environment of Yoshiwara in Tokyo, which is famous for prostitution. Indeed, [...]
Japanese art and Asai Chu: the eclipse of ukiyo-e by western style art Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Meiji Restoration of 1868 led to many social convulsions and like all revolutionary periods you had many winners and losers. This applies to individuals who could adapt to the rapid changes in society and [...]
Tomoe Gozen – Woman Warrior By toshidama It is so easy to miss what’s going on in Japanese prints – sometimes just looking hard isn’t enough. There are two prints on this page, one is of a female warrior battling a man and the other is of a male warrior doing the same thing. Surprisingly – they [...]
Japanese art and Utamaro Kitagawa: striking ukiyo-e artist Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The exact date of the birth of Utamaro Kitagawa and strong details about his parents remain shrouded in mystery. It is known that this striking ukiyo-e artist was born in the middle of the eighteenth century and that he died in [...]
One Hundred Years of Ukiyo-e at Toshidama Gallery By toshidama Japanese woodblock prints had been fairly commonplace on the Edo scene by the turn of the nineteenth century. What we now term the ‘classical school’; that is, the artists that were satellites of Moronobu, Utamaru, Haronobu and Masanobu, were becoming old and the work – it [...]
Japanese art and Saburosuke Okada: the power of Paris Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Saburosuke Okada (1869-1939) was born one year after the Meiji Restoration of 1868 and he would witness many changes throughout his life. This applies to the Meiji period, Taisho era, and the early part of the Showa period. Throughout these [...]
Japanese Art and Utagawa Toyokuni: Yakusha-e and a modest ukiyo-e artist Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Utagawa Toyokuni changed the emphasis of his art from bijin-ga – images of beautiful ladies – to focusing on yakusha-e. It was his art of yakusha-e which opened up new doors and which he became famous for. Yakusha-e [...]
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