Tomoko Hara and Sarah Deschamps

Modern Tokyo Times

Richard Gordon Smith was born in 1858 and died in 1918 and during his lifetime he wrote a delightful book called the Ancient Tales and Folklore of Japan. He was known for being a very keen sportsman, traveler and naturalist and apparently from a well-to-do family but near the end of his life poverty appears to have set in. In terms of Japanese folklore, then Smith was fascinated by this area whereby he adored local folklore, myths and traditions. Therefore, he combined his knowledge by travelling extensively throughout Japan and this can be witnessed by his intriguing book titled Ancient Tales and Folklore of Japan.

It is easy in the modern world to be constrained by political correctness and to lose the real imagination of the old world. However, the world that Smith knew was based on imperialism, superstition, religion, major class divisions and so forth. Yet in the realm of folklore and religion then the mind collectively was on another dimension compared with the modern world whereby science and modernity seeks to crush the intrigues of the old world. Of course, folklore to Harry Potter can impinge strongly on young children in the modern world before the reality of life crushes many dreams of the magical world. Despite this, the Japan that Smith witnessed will have been on a very different spiritual level and the same applies to the power of mythology and folklore.

The Sacred Text website (http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/atfj/) highlights the beauty of the book written by Smith. It also becomes apparent that many local mythologies are widely imbued within his book. Therefore, for people who adore mythology and the splendid reality of the richness of Japanese culture, then clearly this book will enrich the reader greatly. Likewise, for many Japanese individuals they will see a new world that may appear distant today in modern Japan. However, if you scratch beneath the surface then somehow many old ways still survive irrespective of how the stories are changed in order to suit modern sensibilities.

Indeed, the beauty of the Ancient Tales and Folklore of Japan is that it was written over one hundred years ago. This reality means that the writer and people which provided deep knowledge for Smith belonged to a world of mystery. Thereby, the setting of each folklore story is shaped by the living connection of the day.

Japanese animation also keeps alive many aspects of Japanese folklore and ghost stories within many themes. Indeed, if you watch classics like Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki then you can feel the power of Shintoism and Japanese folklore within many angles of this adorable animation film. In this sense, the old world is speaking to a new generation through a different medium whereby the world of dreams and mythology are still powerful. Only the connection is missing in relationship to the real power of the world of Smith – whereby many aspects of Japanese mythology played a powerful role within the mysteries of the spirit world – and other important areas.

Therefore, by reading Ancient Tales and Folklore of Japan you can enrich your knowledge of Japanese folklore, while entering a passage into the world of Meiji Japan (1868-1912). Smith wrote from the heart and without any constraints therefore the language of the book is also enriched by this reality.

Lee Jay Walker gave guidance to both main writers

http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Tales-Folklore-Richard-Gordon/dp/0946495785 Ancient Tales and Folklore of Japan by Richard Gordon Smith

http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/atfj/ Ancient Tales and Folklore of Japan by Richard Gordon Smith

http://books.google.co.jp/books/about/Ancient_tales_and_folklore_of_Japan.html?id=HlAqAAAAYAAJ&redir_esc=y Ancient Tales and Folklore of Japan by Richard Gordon Smith

leejay@moderntokyotimes.com

http://moderntokyotimes.com

By toshidama

There is a long tradition of puppetry in Japan that stretches back to the seventeenth century. Puppet theatre predates kabuki theatre and informed much of the style, dramas and conventions that kabukiadopted and made its own. Not only does puppet theatre (bunraku) have an important place in Japanese culture but so do its close relatives: the extraordinary lifelike tableaux of life size dolls, called Iki-Ningyo, that were the craze in Edo Japan in the nineteenth century. These staggeringly naturalistic creations are pictured in woodblock prints by Kuniyoshi and other ukiyo artists, although in most cases there is little way of telling that the figures acting out popular melodramas are in fact not human.

Traditional Japanese puppetry requires three active participants: the puppeteers, dressed in black robes identifiable on ukiyo prints by the mysterious black veils over their faces; the storytellers who narrated stories of modern melodrama and tragedy or else legends of heroic samurai; and the shamisen players – the shamisen being a plucked, stringed instrument like a long double bass. Bunraku reached its peak of sophistication in the coming together of these elements and the technological advances of the puppets themselves. These became larger in the eighteenth century and required three puppeteers to operate them. The heads were exquisitely and realistically carved, often with moveable features, elaborate costumes and articulated fingers and thumbs. Typically the stage of a bunraku performance is wide and narrow with the puppeteers quite visible; as in the kabuki theatre, there would be costume and scene changes and also head changes to some puppets to show aging or dramatic changes in expression. The puppeteers were highly skilled taking up to ten years to master the complex and lifelike movements. The bunraku plays really got going under the writing skills of the great playwright Chikamatsu  (1653 – 1724). His domestic dramas that brilliantly captured the loves, lives and often suicides of contemporary Edo people tended to be more popular than the conventional epic dramas and so began the long tradition of scripts passing back and forth between the puppet theatre and the kabuki theatre. Inevitably with the phenomenal rise of kabuki  in the nineteenth century, bunraku was marginalised and finally found a specialist home in Osaka.

The figures were modelled with absolute attention to character and realism, from clothing to artefacts, as in these wrestling men to the left.  The performances proved so massively popular that they were quickly followed by outlandish tableaux of exotic figures (pictured above by Kuniyoshi) which showed what people of other countries might look like -  incidentally, this gives a good idea of how insular and isolated the Japanese were at this time. Perhaps more common were lifelike representations of popular heroes and men and women of courage, disaster, suicide and thwarted love. The print below by Kunisada shows the housewife Mayazumi who contributed to the disaster relief fund of one of Edo’s many natural disasters. These figures with their glass eyes and individually set human hairs of ordinary people living their lives were not only popular in Japan; they were widely exported to the big international exhibitions all over the world. Iki-ningyo became one of the early means for which Europe and America viewed the newly opened Japan. Sadly not many of these delicate sculptures survive but there is an interesting account of the ongoing restoration of one of them at the Victoria & Albert Museum London here.

Like kabuki, the bunraku puppet theatre and the iki-ningyo died out during the period of Meiji modernisation in the late nineteenth century. Advanced technologies including film and photography became more popular and these extraordinary art forms died out. Japanese fascination for mimesis and technical excellence has continued however. The video below shows a contemporary automaton maker from Japan, continuing his family’s traditions of making extraordinary working models of people shooting arrows or drawing calligraphy for example. The incredible expertise that is used is in a direct tradition from the tableaux of Edo Japan in the previous two centuries.

To bring this tradition right up to date there are of course the contemporary Japanese sex dolls and companion dolls which although bleaker in their intended use, nevertheless retain the same demanding skills of realism and likeness that has been a Japanese obsession for so long. If you get the chance, look out for Hirokazu Kore-Eda’s 2009 film Air-Doll which tells the story of a man falling in love with his living doll and the doll subsequently coming to life. Using silicone and miniaturized motors instead of gofun and papier-mache, current Japanese robot and doll technology remains outstanding and continues to push the limits of art’s ability to mimic nature.

More Information about TOSHIDAMA GALLERY 

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Please visit http://toshidama.wordpress.com and http://toshidama.blogspot.jp/ for more articles and information. 

Please visit http://toshidama-japanese-prints.com/  -   On our site you will see a wonderful selection of Japanese woodblock prints for sale. Ukiyo-e (the Japanese name for woodblock prints of the 18th and 19th centuries) are beautiful, collectible and a sound financial investment.

http://toshidama.wordpress.com/2012/05/15/mimesis-bunraku-puppets-and-living-dolls/

By toshidama

In this case not necessarily the physical body – I’m thinking here of the cultural body and how that relates to the people. When we look at the extraordinary corpus of Japanese woodblock prints from the nineteenth century we are struck firstly by its hermeticism. This is a sealed culture (literally, until the 1850’s), and one where there existed a complete set of cultural values, mythologies and beliefs further into the modern age than with any other comparable modern culture. This floating world, balanced for so many decades on the cusp of magic and technology reveals the visible disintegration of the body (as culture) and the mind (the feelings) of the people.

The unique isolation of Japan in the early modern world allows us an insight into the disjuncture between life and spirit in western cultures. Japan’s intrinsic culture and belief – like Roman and pre-christian beliefs in the west was pantheistic. The Japanese believed that all things – objects, the natural world, buildings, villages – were invested with kami. Kami is a complex idea, the word is both noun and adjective and as a noun means a powerful being like a god or deity. As an adjective, kami might translate as holy or mystical – mysterious or otherworldly. For some people the term might just mean magic or magical. This mysterious phenomenon underpins every aspect of Japanese culture and explains many of the ritualistic practices of the Japanese way of life, but also the untrammelled superstition that runs through every myth, folktale and unofficial history of people and events in Japanese history. Without an understanding of kami, the meaning of ukiyo prints, of kabuki plays and of the iconography of Japanese art is lost or hidden. There is not the space here to begin to classify the orders of kami let alone their countless manifestations. Because the beliefs of Japanese religion – both Shinto and to a lesser extent Buddhist – are evolved rather than revealed (that is, revealed by a prophet, as in Christianity or Islam), the classification of hierarchies can be confusing and conflicting. Deities may for example have less kami, (and therefore influence) than mortals who have achieved mythological status over time or through the influence of sects, shrines, folktales or Imperial influence.

A good example of this is the Empress Jingo. Jingo (Jingu) is certainly a real historical figure but is imbued with the attributes of a goddess and famed for her conquest of parts of Korea in the 3rd century. Having fallen pregnant, she is said to have tied a girdle of stones to her waist and delayed the birth of her son by three years. In the case of Jingo we can see how fact and mythology become contained within the same myth. These fantastical stories, common to nearly every well known historical figure have become woven into the fabric of myth and magic, creating inseparable distinctions between fact and fiction. Less outlandish might be the very real and well documented, 12th century samurai warrior Minamoto no Yoshitsune. Yoshitsune has parallels with the English Folk hero Robin Hood; and his is a tragic and very famous story in Japan. His father was persecuted by the rival Taira Clan and Yoshitsune was brought up in a monastery. Legend has it that he was then taught the secrets of fighting by Tengu(mythical forest creatures) before taking up rebellion against his father’s old enemies. Yoshitsune is usually pictured fighting the warrior monk Benkei at Gojo Bridge. Benkei, known as a phenomenally strong man and warrior, has secured the bridge with the intention of relieving 1000 samurai of their swords. Yoshitsune is his 1000th victim. Yoshitsune, though slight, defeats the giant man using Tengu fighting skills. Benkei becomes his loyal protector and between them they lead an armed rebellion against the Taira, establishing Yoshitsune’s brother as the first national Shogun.

In Yoshitsune’s legend there is historical fact, well attested by contemporary accounts; tremendous exaggeration – his famous eight boat leap, his fight with Benkei; and outright mythology – his education with the mythical forest creatures the tengu. Yoshitsune’s story is typical of the fabric of Japanese folk history and one that would have been very familiar with ordinary, superstitious Japanese. Ukiyo prints further embellished and reinforced the more colourful episodes of these histories with often lurid and miraculous scenes of fights with gigantic spiders, winged tengu, disembodied and gigantic heads of demons and terrifying monsters of the sea and forest. The religious belief in ghosts, demons and goblins has its roots in Chinese Daoism. The Japanese co-opted many of the characteristics of Daoist superstition into their own creation myths and to fill otherwise dull episodes in the lives of important figures. Hence there are numerous accounts of warrior heroes fighting with tengu (forest goblins), oni(wild demons) and kappa (water devils) – these Chinese characters easily combining with the indigenous Shinto beliefs. As memories of the ancient past diminished, the popular superstition of more recent possessions and hauntings came to dominate popular culture and entered into the mainstream of woodblock prints and kabuki theatre.

It was not only heroes and magicians that preoccupied the Japanese populace: perhaps more immediate and more pressing were the kami associated with animals, place and objects, a powerful superstition that penetrates right to the modern age. Nearly every indigenous animal (and some that are not native) is associated with magical powers, either directly or indirectly. The most powerful are also associated with the Chinese zodiac. Special superstitions surround the fox, the hare and the badger. The most confusing of these is the fox, often seen in Japanese woodblock prints and on its own associated with magic, good, evil, deceit and shape shifting. The fox appears in some of the great art of Japan, as in Hiroshige’s haunting and masterful New Year’s Eve Foxfires at the Changing Tree, Oji – here associated with marsh gas fires thought to presage magical events. The fox in Japanese mythology can be immensely wise, acquiring nine tails by the end of its long life but also assuming the shape of travellers on the road and of beautiful and seductive women.

If all this were not enough to worry about, objects could also take on malevolent and mysterious lives to harass the innocent or the unwary. In Japanese prints vengeful spirits can occupy hanging lanterns or appear as great skulls in the snowy landscape. Even umbrellas  were invested with their own soul at a certain age. These Tsukumogami, (Kami of tool) included any object of use that was more than 100 years old. This 10th century folk myth was given greater credence after it was co-opted by the proselytising sect of Shingon Buddhism and persists to this day in popular culture and quaint ceremonies carried out to console lost or damaged household objects.

Belief in Kami, in magic, in the supernatural has animated Japanese art for centuries. In the work of Kuniyoshi for example, his outstanding imaginative use of these myths contributed to his phenomenal success and the richness and vibrancy of his most arresting images (see top of page). So too in the work of his most gifted pupil Yoshitoshi. The print illustrated left of Hakamadare Yasasuke and Kidomaru Fighting with Magic from 1887 is one of the finest of Yoshitoshi’s magical subjects. Conforming to the tradition of mortals with exceptional Kami, it illustrates a follower of the 10th century warlord Minamoto no Yorimitsu, fighting with what might be another aspect of himself by use of supernatural means: the upper figure transforming into a gigantic snake, the lower meanwhile invoking a cloud of  tengu through incantation. The print has everything required of a folk history – magical creatures, sorcerers, historic characters, demons, terror and kami. This print was made twenty years after the great Japanese leap into the modern world, yet it would have been clearly understood by the large audience that it was designed for. Japanese culture was embedded in the natural world, in natural magic. This animism was also embedded in its official and Imperial history and in the official religions of Buddhism and Shinto. The distinctions that we habitually make between the real and the imagined simply did not exist in nineteenth century Japan. Thought, action and phenomena were intimately connected with the individual, and with their conscience and their contract with culture and society. Commerce, capitalism and communications severed this bond between town and country, between art (in its broadest sense) and life. What replaced this evolved belief system appears to be panic, alienation and industrialisation. Happily, these myths linger on in attenuated form. Casual research of Japanese mythology will these days lead to any number of manga and anime sites where the hybrid descendants of Yoshitsune, Benkei, Hideyoshi and Kidomaru are still wreaking magic and evil in the settings of junior high school and downtown Tokyo.

More Information about TOSHIDAMA GALLERY 

https://twitter.com/Toshidama

Please visit http://toshidama.wordpress.com for more articles and information. 

Please visit http://toshidama-japanese-prints.com/  -   On our site you will see a wonderful selection of Japanese woodblock prints for sale. Ukiyo-e (the Japanese name for woodblock prints of the 18th and 19th centuries) are beautiful, collectible and a sound financial investment.

http://toshidama.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/magic-in-japan-the-body-of-the-people/

Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

The Kyoto Seishu Netsuke Art Museum is a specialist museum which highlights the amazing beauty and craftsmanship of netsuke. Currently, the Spring Exhibition on the Theme of “Next Stage” runs until April 30and the next exhibition will start in July. If individuals reside in Kyoto or will be visiting this amazing city; then clearly this enchanting museum is most rewarding because of the many angles to netsuke.

Netsuke (http://www.netsukekan.jp/en/) began by being based on practicality and flourished during the Edo period. This practical angle applies to traditional robes being made without pockets. Not surprisingly, this created problems because personal items couldn’t be stored away. Therefore, from this humble beginning a new art form would entail whereby great craftsmanship would take netsuke into a different dimension. Indeed, this great skill is still in great demand today therefore the Kyoto Seishu Netsuke Art Museum’s 2,500-piece collection dates from the Edo period to the present period.

It is stated on the Kyoto Seishu Netsuke Art Museum that “Netsuke were invented out of the necessity of preventing items that were hung on the person and carried, such as inro (a pillbox), yatate (a portable writing set), cigarette cases and pouches from being lost or stolen. People would hang items from their obi (sash) with a string and attach a netsuke to the other end of the string as a fastener. Materials such as animal bones, including ivory and bull horns, ceramic and metals were used to make netsuke and they were finely sculptured by Japanese craftsmen.”

Netsuke became extremely popular during the Edo period and the gradual evolution of this intriguing aspect of Japanese culture would witness amazing craftsmanship. The museum in Kyoto therefore highlights the many intriguing angles to netsuke. This is backed up by providing fabulous exhibitions whereby the general public can see and feel the richness of this cultural trait.

The International Netsuke Society states that “All three objects (netsuke, ojime and the different types of sagemono) were often beautifully decorated with elaborate carving, lacquer work, or inlays of rare and exotic materials. Subjects portrayed in netsuke include naturally found objects, plants and animals, legends and legendary heroes, myths and mystical beasts, gods and religious symbols, daily activities, and myriad other themes. Many netsuke are believed to have been talismans. These items eventually developed into highly coveted and collectible art forms. Today we see a broad range from “folk art” carvings to levels of sophistication some consider to be fine art.”

When visiting the Kyoto Seishu Netsuke Art Museum people will be inspired by the awesome backdrop and setting of this exquisite museum. On the website of this museum it is stated that “The museum building is believed to have been built as the residence of the Kanzaki Family, one of the Mibu Goshi, in 1820. The residence of the Kanzaki Family was designated by Kyoto City as a tangible cultural property.” Therefore, the exquisite design and ambience is a treasure to behold.

During each respective exhibition you will have approximately 400 items on show which highlight the amazing skill and broad nature of netsuke. At the same time, the adorable setting and rich architecture will enable visitors to take a step back in time. Therefore, the “real Kyoto” can be felt deeply and the same applies about understanding the refined craftsmanship of Japanese specialists.

Muneaki Kinoshita, Director of the Kyoto Seishu Netsuke Art Museum, comments that “I began to think that I had to help the people of Japan preserve this wonderful, traditional Japanese art. The Kyoto Seishu Netsuke Art Museum is the fruit of my dream. The museum was opened in the autumn of 2007, by restoring the only existing samurai residence in Kyoto. Masterpieces selected from my collection are exhibited during the provided period of time in each season.”

The current exhibition runs until April 30 and the next exhibition will start in July. Therefore, if people reside in the Kyoto area or will visit this city of amazing high culture then the Kyoto Seishu Netsuke Art Museum is a must place to visit.

http://www.netsukekan.jp/en/ Kyoto Seishu Netsuke Art Museum – In English

http://www.netsukekan.jp/ Kyoto Seishu Netsuke Art Museum – In Japanese

http://www.netsukekan.jp/en/access/ Access information

All images belong to the Kyoto Seishu Netsuke Art Museum who gave Modern Tokyo Times permission to highlight this stunning museum

Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

Ukiyo-e art in Japan focused on many themes during its “golden period” in the Edo period and carried on into the Meiji era. The world of Japan comes alive visually within many areas of ukiyo-e art because of the subjects covered. It matters not if this art applied to the rich cultural aspects of Japan or the floating world which was truly dramatic.

Sometimes in modern Tokyo and throughout Japan you will see ladies in traditional Japanese clothes during special occasions. When this happens it is often like “looking into a mirror of ukiyo-e” and seeing “a ghost from the past” but which is truly part of the modern world.

This in itself highlights the richness of ukiyo-e in the field of showing traditional ladies in their splendid best. It is also evidence that while Japan is ultra modern, the old world remains powerful even if within “mirages” of the original meaning. Either way, if based on tradition or “mirages,” it is still a noteworthy connection with the past.

Ogata Gekko produced many stunning images of elegant ladies posing in tradition dress. Of course, countless other amazing ukiyo-e artists also focused on the same theme. Therefore, the richness of ukiyo-e art depicts many images of art related to women and this applies to high culture, erotic art (shunga), beautiful ladies (bijinga), ghosts and other themes.

In an earlier article by myself which was published in Modern Tokyo Times I state that “The real power in these images, I believe, applies to simplicity and how space, time, cultural richness and modern Japanese women were being portrayed. Indeed, the ideal image in a sense can still be seen in modern Japan when ladies dress in traditional styles. This can be seen clearly because a lot of thought, high quality materials, color schemes and other important areas are connecting with the images which Ogata Gekko is showing.”

The world of Ogata Gekko witnessed many changes because of the onset of modernity but if he was to come back today, then he would witness glimpses of the old world. Likewise, Torii Kiyonaga (1752-1815) excelled in the area of bijinga because of his amazing details and intricacies.

Torii Kiyonaga is one of the many amazing artists who belonged to the Torii school of art. He emphasized many aspects of women and traditional dress. This applies to high culture, stratification, sexuality, morality, natural elegance, shunga, bijinga and other areas. The art of Torii Kiyonaga is widely appreciated and when viewing his art related to bijinga and seeing a modern lady in traditional dress in Japan, it is easy to connect both together.

Torii Kiyonaga also highlighted exquisite color schemes and amazing embroidery. This aspect of his art would fit in naturally within elegant boutiques in modern day Japan. The special detail and attention given by this amazing artist meant that he depicted elegant and refined ladies, who look extremely beautiful. Therefore, during special occasions in modern day Japan you can see aspects of the world of ukiyo-e artists in relation to traditional Japanese dress.

In places like the Meiji shrine in Harajuku and sophisticated parts of Japan which focus on tradition like Kyoto, Nara, Nikko and many other parts of this fascinating nation. You can peer into the world of ukiyo-e artists, areas of bijinga and ladies in traditional dress. The ghosts of the past therefore remain within “a living tradition” which comes alive during special occasions, or in specific parts of Japan where high culture and tradition remains strong.

leejay@moderntokyotimes.com

http://moderntokyotimes.com 

Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

The artist Tsukioka Yoshitoshi was a great innovator within the world of ukiyo-e and he produced around 10,000 prints during his lifetime.  Yoshitoshi (1839-1892) was born during a period of rapid change and this applies to the Meiji Restoration of 1868 and new reforms which altered the political and social landscape. This period of history was a far cry from his childhood during the Edo period but by the middle of the 1850s it was abundantly clear that new outside forces were impacting on Japan.

However, the revolutionary period of the Meiji period also witnessed many negatives for the ukiyo-e art movement because photography, Western art and other forces were challenging the power of ukiyo-e. Therefore, Yoshitoshi and other ukiyo-e artists needed to respond to this difficult period because new technology, new art forms, influence of Western art, photography, and other important areas, were all eating away at the influence of ukiyo-e.

In recent times the reputation of Meiji artists is continuing to grow and the same applies to the reputation of Yoshitoshi. Indeed, it is surprising why it took so long because this period of ukiyo-e was very dynamic despite all the negative forces which would soon alter the artistic landscape of Japan.

This article provides a small glimpse into the work of Yoshitoshi and by doing so it is hoped that some individuals will dig deeper in order to witness the talents of this amazing artist. After all, Yoshitoshi did much to keep the ukiyo-e art movement in the spotlight despite all the competing forces of his day.

In the long-term, Yoshitoshi and other ukiyo-e artists could not stop the onset of modernity and the mass production of Western standards, for example lithography and photography. Therefore, he and others were fighting a losing battle but he did manage to keep part of the onrushing water out and this in itself was no small achievement.

In time, Japanese woodblock print would succumb to the onset of modernity therefore the artistic beacon of Japanese art throughout the Edo period would become marginalized. Yoshitoshi clearly understood the events that were happening and this must have saddened him greatly despite respecting the new art forms which were emerging in Japan.

John Stevenson made a lovely comment about the richness of Yoshitoshi because he commented that“Yoshitoshi’s courage, vision and force of character gave ukiyo-e another generation of life, and illuminated it with one last burst of glory.”

In many ways the life of Yoshitoshi is also about the struggle of the “old world” which was being swept away because many new innovations rendered highly skilled individuals to “nothingness.” Of course, individuals like Yoshitoshi and other ukiyo-e artists in the same period are remembered for the legacy they left behind. However, in so many other fields nothing is left of family skills that had been handed down from generation to generation. This also applies to all societies which faced rapid industrialization.

Also, sadly, his life was engulfed by many dark periods and this applies to mental health issues and severe poverty which hit him hard in 1871. Yet, he did manage to rise against such adversity but then the demons of his life would eat away at his soul and he would enter dark periods of depression.

In an earlier article it was stated that “Two women had tried to support Yoshitoshi and when they had nothing left they sold themselves into the brothel which was not unusual when dire straits like this happened.  In this sense Yoshitoshi put himself before both ladies and in time he would get married in 1884 and the later years of his life witnessed some of his greatest work.”

“This applies to One Hundred Aspects of the Moon (1885-1892) and New Forms of Thirty-Six Ghosts. Also, in the same period he created other work of importance.  Therefore, the last stage of his life was fruitful despite the complex nature of Yoshitoshi but in 1891 he had another mental breakdown but this time it would completely take its toll because he never fully recovered.”

Indeed, the last few months on this earth were traumatic because not only was he in the shadow of death but given past mental issues then clearly he was a tormented soul. However, the one small saving grace was that he was allowed to leave the mental institution several months before his death and this must have brought about some comfort despite his health being so fragile. He passed away on June 9 at the age of 53 in 1892.

Yoshitoshi lived a roller coaster life whereby tremendous highs were followed be enormous lows. Of course, he also had many periods of stability but health issues, destitution from time to time, and the changing nature of society meant that all these convulsions impacted greatly on this man who was graced with so much talent. However, despite everything, he leaves a rich legacy and he was truly a great within the ukiyo-e art movement.

http://www.yoshitoshi.net/

leejay@moderntokyotimes.com

http://moderntokyotimes.com  

Michel Lebon and Walter Sebastian

Modern Tokyo Times

Kukai is one of the most powerful individuals in Japanese history and religion. Today his legacy can be seen throughout Shingon Buddhism and this branch of Buddhism is still growing and developing in new countries. Kukai saw the world in a unique way and relayed this within esoteric Buddhism after various stages of his life created new milestones.

Today if individuals pay homage to Kukai by visiting Koyasan in Wakayama then the natural beauty of Shingon Buddhism shines right through. Koyasan is extremely beautiful and a real gem because of the stunning scenery which can be seen in all directions. This is matched by amazing architecture and plenty of places to pray and think about the bigger picture.

Kukai (774-835) searched high and low to find a place so remote and matched by exquisite nature before laying the foundation stone of this new vibrant faith. He knew immediately when he reached Mount Koya that a new “light” could be found because everything was sublime. Kukai who is also called Kobo Daishi went against the grain in Japan because he taught that enlightenment could be attained in one lifetime. This was extremely revolutionary for people who heard this for the first time.

This theory was extremely powerful in old Japan because now people could be held accountable directly within their current existence providing they had the power to reach enlightenment. Clearly this would have liberated many people and created a new freshness within the Buddhist faith. It also highlights that unlike conservative Islam and Christianity, that individuals within the Buddhist faith were not constrained by dogma or an over bearing “religious state” in this period of history.

It is easy to imagine Kukai spreading this message and debating many things in and around Koyasan. At the same time, it is clear that Kukai wasn’t closed to new concepts because he was a searcher and redeemer through his teaching.

Koyu Sonoda (http://www.asunam.com/kukai_page.htm) comments that “Kukai’s tolerance sprang from his personality and his genius, as well as from the nature of Shingon teachings themselves. In 830 he completed his work on the classification of the teachings and the place of Shingon within them, the Ten Stages of the Development of Mind in ten volumes. The classification was performed at the order of Emperor Junna, who had required all the sects to detail the essentials of their teachings. This work is based upon the chapter “The Stages of Mind” in the Great Sun Sutra. Kukai divided the human mind (or religious consciousness) into ten categories and compared each level with various non-Buddhist and Buddhist philosophies and sects in order to show that Shingon is superior to all. Kukai’s Ten Stages is more than just a classification of the teachings in the traditional style, for he extends the classification beyond the Buddhist sects to all religions and systems of ethics. From the standpoint of the esoteric teachings, the great and splendid wisdom of Mahavairocana Tathagata dwells profoundly within even the shallowest kinds of thought and religion. Consequently, the One Vehicle thought of esoteric Buddhism (Shingon), unlike the One Vehicle doctrine of esoteric Buddhism (Tendai and Kegon), is not incompatible with the Three Vehicles theory of Hosso. This tolerance inherent in Shingon prevented the Buddhist sects of Nara from coming into direct conflict with Kukai’s Shingon, and allowed them, almost without realizing it, to be absorbed within it. It was not only the Nara sects that were so influenced. The same thing is evident in the teaching program of Shugei Shuchi-in, the school Kukai founded next to Toji, which offered Confucian and Taoist as well as Buddhist studies; in social endeavors such as the reconstruction of Mannoike; and even in Kukai’s multifaceted cultural pursuits. As far as Kukai was concerned, even making tea and writing poems in the company of the emperor and nobles were forms of religious activity. The fact that he was so eminently popular among the people can be considered a further expression of his religious outlook.”

“Kukai died on Mount Koya on April 23, 835, and it is believed that even now he remains in eternal samadhi in his bodily form within the inner shrine on the mountain. This belief also is a legacy of the burning admiration felt for him by the people as a whole.”

Kukai learnt much from China when he visited this majestic nation which is extremely rich in culture. On his return to Japan he brought new ideas from China and distant India. Kukai then fused these mass complexities within Japanese cultural concepts whereby the power of Shintoism can’t be ignored.

Near the end of Kukai’s life he stopped taking food and water and instead he meditated and it was reported that his body did not decay for several years.  Many legends have sprung up about Kukai and one claims that Kukai was transformed into an eternal Samadhi. Therefore, the legend states that Kukai wanders around Mount Koya where he is awaiting a major spiritual event to take place and this applies to the next Buddha Maitreya appearing.

This article only provides a glimpse into the world of Kukai because individuals should search this powerful religious teacher for themselves. After all, Kukai provides many insights into this world and connects this with the mystery of what is beyond. Yet Kukai also taught that enlightenment was obtainable in this life and for this reason his energy remains vibrant just like it did during his time on this earth.

Lee Jay Walker gave support to both writers

http://www.visiblemantra.org/kukai.html Kukai and information

http://ww2.coastal.edu/rgreen/ Kukai and information

http://www.shukubo.jp/eng/ (stunning Koyasan)

http://www.koyasan.org/ (Information about Koyasn)

By toshidama

Literally “woman’s manner” (onna kata), the use of male actors for female roles in kabuki theatre is one of the most confusing obstacles in viewing Japanese prints. In some prints the obvious theatricality; the exaggerated stage make-up and costume; the mie – the cross-eyed expression at the peak of a performance; betray the fact that we are looking at a representation of a performance; an impression of an impression if you like. In other more problematic prints, it is harder to determine whether we are looking at an historical scene or two lovers, or two men inhabiting unsettling roles.

Of course these confusions, these roles are all about sex, about desire and about how society and government regulate enjoyment and pleasure in the face of what it perceives as declining moral standards. The theatre, in all cultures, has been associated historically with loose morals, fornication and dissent. Governments have always tried to limit the extent of what it sees as dangerous subversion and theatres and producers have throughout time used increasingly creative ways to outwit the authorities. Since its inception in the early seventeenth century, kabuki theatre has been subject to extraordinary and to our eyes, bizarrely specific regulations. Whilst it seems arcane to us now, in the twenty first century, it is worth remembering that England for example was subject to similarly peculiar theatrical battles until only a few years ago. I’m thinking here of the office of the Lord Chamberlain who was obliged to allow the performance of nude revues at the Windmill Theatre in London so long as the actresses remained completely still throughout each of the many tableaux vivants. Another way the letter of the law was evaded, allowing the girl to move, thus satisfying the demands of the audience, was by moving the props rather than the girls. Ruses such as a technically motionless nude girl holding on to a spinning rope were used. Since the rope was moving rather than the girl, authorities allowed it, even though the girl’s body was displayed in motion.

So it was throughout the history of kabuki. Commencing in 1603, kabuki was a combination of plots derived from noh theatre and the Japanese tradition of comic farce, performed mainly by prostitutes. The performances became wildly popular and led to more and more lewd subject matter (hiring a prostitute, for example, or the teahouse brothel) performed sometimes by all male and sometimes all female casts. As early as 1608, the military style government – the bakufu – attempted to restrict performances and, recognising that they were little more than a feint for organised prostitution, imposed a ban on female performers in 1629. By 1652, kabuki was an all male theatre with young boys taking the female roles… unfortunately, as is so often the case when heavy handed laws attempt to restrict popular pleasures, this led to a different and some would argue more immoral form of prostitution which one occasionally sees in shunga books of the period; so much so that there were gazettes issued rating the young male performers for their sexual appeal and availability. In the 1650’s, what had rapidly become a gay theatre was further restricted when mindful of the corruption of young boys, the bakufu decreed that only actors past their adolescence could perform and they were obliged to shave off the beautiful forelocks that boys wore before adulthood. This led to the tradition (and law) that onnagata actors should shave the fronts of their heads not only for performances but also when in public, replacing their missing hair with silk cloths, usually blue or purple and visible in many kabuki woodblock prints, (a sure giveaway when identifying the subject matter).

This very public and populist theatre was rampantly creative and it is possible to draw many parallels between kabuki and the early modern theatre of London during the Elizabethan period and later. Both used male actors to perform female roles and both theatres stressed the collaborative nature of the productions with notable actors and producers writing, changing and making demands on the roles that they were performing in order to show off their own particular theatrical skills. The interminable controversy over who wrote Shakespeare’s plays is a good example of this and chimes well with the complaints of Japan’s most important playwright, Chikamatsu Monzaemon’s that popular actors ignored the written texts and altered plots in order to present themselves in the best light to their fans and audiences, (forcing him to retreat to the more reliable medium of the puppet theatre).

The other demanding role for the onnagata actor was the doomed lover. Many of the most popular plays of the nineteenth century were about often true stories of lovers from different classes – usually young men of good families falling in love with prostitutes (such as Yugiri and Izaemon, left) and ending with double suicides. These plays were deemed particularly unsuitable by the authorities and many were banned on account of a plague of copycat deaths.In Early Modern English theatre the gender confusion was acknowledged and used to satirical ends. Playwrights also frequently made reference to such confusions in the plots and characters of the production; in many of Shakespeare’s plays, for example Twelfth Night and As You Like It, this tension was developed to create a critique of gender and sexuality dependent upon the ironic awareness of the gender split between character and actor, cross-dressing, and confused identities. In Japanese kabuki no such knowingness exists… there is no conspiracy between author, actor and audience, and the intention of the onnagata actor was exactly to replicate the woman’s manner.

This woman’s manner was achieved by means of certain theatrical tricks to suggest a female kabuki role on stage: pull back and lower the shoulders, keep the knees together, cup the fingers into the palms of the hands and wear straw sandals shorter than the foot. All of these simple actions make the male body appear smaller in the eyes of the audience. Sophisticated and highly stylised gestures were rehearsed and handed down, which to our eyes now seem ridiculous and forced; however even in today’s kabuki theater it is held that a competent onnagata actor can portray the essence of a woman far better than a female could in the same role. Curiously, onnagata became the eventual arbiters of female taste and fashion, leading to an exaggerated form of dress and manners in the female population at large. This strange relationship of the genders reached its peak in the middle of the nineteenth century, perhaps when the edo culture was at its most decadent and Japanese society at its most vulnerable. Sexual anxiety among the male population is perhaps mirrored in the great onnagata roles, called keisei (roughly castle topplers). These roles called for the actor to portray sexually adventurous and immoral prostitutes who destroyed families, ruined reputations and and brought down dynasties.

How did artists identify difference in their portrayals of gender roles? If we compare the two portraits by Kunichika below, one of Onoe Kikugoro (male, on the left) in an onnagata role and one of Agemaki (female, to the right) we can see that artists were obliged to strike a balance between the intended verisimilitude of the performance and the obligation to represent the actor, his character and how he actually appeared. In the Kikugoro portrait we can see the signifiers of the onnagata role: the visible purple cloth that conceals the shaved forelock, the distinctive, manly facial features, absence of eyelashes and the sharp hairline indicating that a wig is being worn. In the female portrait of Agemaki, the features are more womanly and the gesture is more feminine. The hair line is meticulously graded to show real hair, the lips are more womanly and the features are slighter.

The kabuki tradition retains an almost complete ban on female actors (as did the early days of Japanese cinema) despite the obvious and historic relaxation of laws or customs forbidding women on stage. The convention remains part of the Japanese tradition and barely differs from the time when these great images of female impersonators were produced for audiences whose need for certainty in sexual relations were not (ironically) as demanding as audiences today.

More Information about TOSHIDAMA GALLERY

https://twitter.com/Toshidama　- Toshidama on twitter

Please visit http://toshidama.wordpress.com for more articles and information. 

Please visit http://toshidama-japanese-prints.com/  -   On our site you will see a wonderful selection of Japanese woodblock prints for sale. Ukiyo-e (the Japanese name for woodblock prints of the 18th and 19th centuries) are beautiful, collectible and a sound financial investment.

(http://toshidama.blogspot.com/) 

http://toshidama.blogspot.jp/2013/03/onnagata-womans-manner.html

Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

Kamisaka Sekka (1866-1942) witnessed enormous cultural, political and artistic changes within Japan during his lifetime. He was born during the death throes of the Edo Period whereby the Meiji Restoration of 1868 would revolutionize Japan. This also impacted heavily on the art scene because the ukiyo-e bedrock was being challenged by new technology, the impact of new ideas and the changing nature of society. However, towards the end of his life the free thinking world of his youth was being challenged by the forces of nationalism and socialism to a much stronger degree.

Internationally, Kamisaka Sekka is clearly one of the most intriguing artists to have been born in the land of the rising sun. After all, in the old world the richness of Japanese art was mostly hidden away by the closed-door dogma of the Edo Period. Of course, some small windows were left open but times were changing greatly during the last two decades of the Edo period. The outside world in many areas was now firmly encroaching because soon “Japan’s” world would be turned upside down. This applies to the revolutionary fervor of the Meiji period and the impact of new thought patterns which were emanating from Europe and North America.

Kamisaka Sekka also made the most of his upbringing because he was born in the cultural city of Kyoto. Kyoto, like other amazing places like Nara and Koyasan in Kansai, to name only two, is internationally famous for high culture. Therefore, the rich environment of Kyoto must have impacted on such a creative child because from a very early age it was clear that he was gifted.

In time Kamisaka Sekka would be firmly known for the traditions of the exquisite Rimpa art form. Yet, true to his creativity he was also deeply influenced by aspects of European art and other areas of Japanese culture. It is known that Art Nouveau intrigued him greatly therefore modernist ideas impacted on his Rimpa art work. This is the beauty of Kamisaka Sekka because he wasn’t afraid to experiment and to utilize other art forms, while remaining true to the art area he focused on heavily.

In 1910 Kamisaka Sekka stayed in Glasgow and clearly this major city in Scotland is a million miles from the world of Kyoto. This isn’t said in a negative sense because Glasgow is also a very creative city. However, the artistic, environmental, religious and climatic dimensions must have challenged Kamisaka Sekka deeply. Yet his nature meant that he was open to new ideas and concepts. Therefore, during his stay the power of Art Nouveau would become firmly entrenched within his artistic soul.

Kamisaka Sekka had visited Paris in 1901 therefore Glasgow was an extension of the ongoing evolution of this sublime artist. On the Fuji Arts website it is stated that he is “Considered the father of Japanese modern design…A 1901 trip to the Paris International Exposition proved pivotal in his artistic career, leading to his study of modern European industrial design. Sekka became a master of the historic Japanese tradition known as Rimpa, combining this traditional Japanese aesthetic with his own innovations to create stunning designs that are both modern and timeless.”

The art work of Kamisaka Sekka witnesses the world of nature and traditional objects gracefully turning into the world of abstract, whereby colorful and creative compositions play on the senses in a gentle way. At the same time Kamisaka Sekka was thinking beyond the artwork itself because he wanted to connect different cultures and thought patterns within simplicity. Of course, this simplicity could only be performed and perfected by a rare artist like Kamisaka Sekka.

In another article about Kamisaka Sekka I comment that “Kamisaka Sekka highlights how individuals can learn new artistic thought patterns and art forms but remain within the initial environment despite fusing new ideas. He truly is an international artist who pushed new internal boundaries in order to produce stunning pieces of art. Therefore, when viewing his finest pieces of art you can feel many different things related to the past and modernity. This quality was done in a way which was not only natural but is strikingly unique and beautiful.”

Kamisaka Sekka continues to enthrall people because his endearing individualism is deeply admired by art lovers all over the world.

http://www.fujiarts.com/cgi-bin/encyclopedia.pl?page=kamisaka_sekka_1866_1942

http://www.vlinder-01.dds.nl/cdr/other%20art/sekka.htm

leejay@moderntokyotimes.com

http://moderntokyotimes.com