Japan Art and Birds: A Mirage
Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
Kanako Mita is a contemporary artist from Hyogo Prefecture. Above, she creates a stunning feeling of serenity and blissfulness. Hence, it is easy to conjure up the beauty of nature.
It is easy to connect birds with freedom. However, the harsh reality is very different. Accordingly, young chicks and fledglings die young in high numbers – along with the destruction of habitat and other ills that make survival difficult. Therefore, the art of birds is often a mirage compared with the reality of life.
Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858) was born during the Edo Period. In the print above, Hiroshige creates a stunning print of a warbler on a plum branch. The simplicity of the print works amazingly concerning the warbler and the flowering angle of the plum tree.
Hiroshige inspired many European artists. These artists include Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947), Mstislav Valerianovich Dobuzhinsky (1875-1957), Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), Van Gogh (1853-90), Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901), Édouard Manet (1832-1883), Claude Monet (1840-1926), and many others.
The final art piece is by Sawako Utsumi. She is a contemporary artist who was born in Ishinomaki (Miyagi prefecture). Her creation of the mejiro (white-eye) also conjures up serenity. However, as mentioned before, the image is in stark contrast to the struggles that birds face to survive.
Matsuo Bashō (1644-1694) wrote:
Falling ill on a journey
my dreams go wandering
over withered fields
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