Japanese Art and Imperial Kyoto: Sukenobu, Ladies and Deeper Meaning Tomoko Hara Modern Tokyo Times Nishikawa Sukenobu was born in 1671 and until his death in the middle of the eighteenth century, this stunning artist opened up aspects of the role of women in Japanese society. Also, with Sukenobu being based in Kyoto then this [...]
Japanese art and Bunjinga: Tani Buncho, Power of China and his Eclectic Nature Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The artist Tani Buncho felt the rich pull of Chinese culture despite the historical reality of Japan being mainly cut off from the outside world during his lifetime. Buncho was born in 1763 and died in [...]
Japanese Art and Ogata Korin: Serenity, the Gods of Thunder and Sakai Hoitsu Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Ogata Korin was a painter of art and he was born in 1658 and died in 1716. Korin had a lucky upbringing because his father was a successful merchant and wealthy. Also, his father had a [...]
Japanese Art in a Changing Environment: Kuniyoshi, Landscapes and Tranquility Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Utagawa Kuniyoshi is among the crème de la crème of ukiyo-e artists because his work was truly amazing and so powerful. Kuniyoshi, just like other famous Japanese artists like Ando Hiroshige and Katsushika Hokusai, was very diverse. Also, the winds of [...]
David Bowie… Pop Goes Kabuki By toshidama Ukiyo-e artists have used kabuki, (traditional Japanese theatre) as subject matter for their woodblock prints more or less since its inception in the seventeenth century. David Bowie started experimenting with kabuki for his stage shows in 1973. By the time of his Aladdin Sane tour he was wearing actual kabuki costumes [...]
Japanese Shunga Prints – Art or Pornography? By toshidama It is the fashion, especially among connoisseurs, to make distinctions between erotica and pornography. However, it seems to me disingenuous to describe some images as pornographic and others as erotic when the distinction is only contextual or at least subjective. In the field of Japanese art, shunga is the [...]
Japanese Art and Culture: Impact of Oda Nobunaga and Rich Art of Kano Eitoku Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times In modern Japan the importance of Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) and his legacy remains extremely strong even today. After all, he laid the foundation stone for the future centralized Japan despite certain limitations during the Tokugawa [...]
Japanese Art in the Edo Period: Ogata Korin and Growing Legacy Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The artist Ogata Korin (1658-1716) was nearly “the forgotten man” of Japanese art until individuals like Sakai Hoitsu (1761-1828) brought his art back to life. This is rather surprising given the nature of his individualism and the quality [...]
Japanese Folklore and Art: Kyosai and the World of the Tengu Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Japanese artist Kawanabe Kyosai is extremely fascinating because of his individualistic spirit and this is witnessed in his art. Kyosai, just like the mysterious Tengu, belonged to two worlds and this applies to the old Edo period [...]
Gajo – Traditional Bindings for Japanese Woodblock Prints By toshidama There’s a fantastic feeling that you get when you hold a perfect ukiyo print in your hands, one that has escaped the ravages of time. Edo (Tokyo) has been plagued by fires which were so frequent in the past that they were referred to as the [...]
Japanese Art and Nishikawa Sukenobu: Women and Sexuality Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The printmaker Nishikawa Sukenobu (1671-1750) was unusual by ukiyo-e standards because he was based in the imperial city of Kyoto and therefore he was an “outsider” in some ways. However, this fact also gave him more freedom to focus on his [...]
Boys and Girls: Gender, Kabuki and Japanese Prints By toshidama Japanese prints can be confusing territory for those seeking certainty. Artists of the ukiyo-e revelled in “look and compare” pictures or mitate-e as it is called. Borrowing from the traditions of poetry, mitate-e pictures play ironically with the knowingness of the audience, substituting contemporary actors for historical characters or [...]
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