Japan Art and Mountains: Everyday Life to Shinto
Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858) made countless prints throughout his life. In the print above, the emphasis is on the winter season and everyday life – backed by a delightful landscape.
The Ota Memorial Museum of Art says, “Utagawa Hiroshige (1797~1858) was an ukiyo-e artist who lyrically depicted landscapes around Japan. His representative works such as “Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō Road” and “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo” are not only famous in Japan but also around the world.”
Kasamatsu Shiro (1898-1991) produced the stunning print above. He is known for shin hanga (new prints) and sosaku hanga (creative prints).
The British Museum says, “Shiro was born in Asakusa, Tokyo, and became a pupil of Kaburaki Kiyokata in 1911 at an even younger age than his fellow Tokyoites Shinsui and Hasui. He studied painting in the ‘Nihonga’ manner and took up landscape. It was this side of his work which attracted the attention of the publisher Watanabe Shozaburo, who commissioned his first print from him in 1919.”
The final art piece is by the contemporary artist Sawako Utsumi. In this art piece, she fuses the natural beauty of the mountain landscape with the indigenous religion of Shintoism. Accordingly, the light of nature and faith fuse naturally.
The BBC says, “Kami are not inherently different in kind from human beings or nature – they are just a higher manifestation of the life energy… an extraordinary or awesome version… Kami don’t exist in a supernatural universe – they live in the same world as human beings and the world of nature.”
http://fineartamerica.com/featured/spirit-of-ukiyo-e-in-the-light-of-shinto-sawako-utsumi.html
http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/sawako-utsumi.html Art by Sawako Utsumi and where you can buy her art – this includes postcards, bags, and other products. Also, individuals can contact her for individual requests.
http://sawakoart.com – Sawako Utsumi personal website
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