Japan Art and Hitoshi Kiyohara: Children Playing
Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
The Japanese artist Hitoshi Kiyohara (1896-1956) was born in Ibaraki Prefecture. He studied under Nanpu Katayama and Fuko Matsumoto.
In this article, the sole focus is on children playing and enjoying life. This differed from past art by Kiyohara, who previously focused on Nihonga (Japanese-style art).
Above children are enjoying a special day in Japan. Interestingly, with the convulsions of the Pacific War – and the history of other special days including Tango no Sekku (boys) and Hinamatsuri (girls) – Children’s Day in 1948 became a special day for both boys and girls.
However, the above is “Shichi-Go-San.” A festival based on sadness because so many infants died young in history. Accordingly, it is a celebration of children surviving – with boys and girls celebrating different ages connected to 3, 5, and 7.
In the final art piece, two children have rosy cheeks from the wintery conditions. However, they look pleased with their hard work. Indeed, the snowman almost appears to be looking back in equal admiration.
Modern Tokyo News is part of the Modern Tokyo Times group
http://moderntokyotimes.com Modern Tokyo Times – International News and Japan News
http://sawakoart.com – Sawako Utsumi’s website and Modern Tokyo Times artist
https://moderntokyonews.com Modern Tokyo News – Tokyo News and International News
PLEASE JOIN ON TWITTER
https://twitter.com/MTT_News Modern Tokyo Times
PLEASE JOIN ON FACEBOOK