Japan Art and Buddhism: A Cloudless Moon
Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
Ōtagaki Rengetsu (1791-1875) influenced people throughout her lifetime. This concerns her Buddhist faith and being a Buddhist nun – alongside the cultural realm of art, calligraphy, being a graceful potter, and her highly acclaimed poetry.
The Met Museum reports, “Otagaki Rengetsu took vows as a Buddhist nun, but is better remembered as one of the foremost waka poets of the nineteenth century, an ink painter, a skilled calligrapher in a refreshingly simple and elegant style, and a prolific potter who inscribed poems into ceramic teaware …She married twice and had five children, but after the death of her second husband in 1823 and the tragic death of all her children she became a nun, taking the Buddhist sobriquet Rengetsu (“Lotus Moon”).”
Before leaving this world Rengetsu gracefully wrote:
My wish is to see
a cloudless moon
above the lotus flower
in my next life.
The art above is by Munakata Shikō (1903-1975). Born in Aomori prefecture, he is known for his sōsaku hanga (creative prints) and mingei (folk art) art forms.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art says, “Shaka Nyorai, or the historical Buddha Shakyamuni (the sage of the Shakya tribe who attained enlightenment), lived in India from about 563 to 483 B.C.”
The art above is by Tomikichiro Tokuriki (1902-1999). He was born in the cultural city of Kyoto.
The British Museum says, “The last of a long line of traditional-style painters, he turned early to woodblock prints and became a leader of the Kyoto ‘Sosaku Hanga’. He graduated from the Kyoto City School of Fine Arts and Crafts and then from the Kyoto City Specialist School of Painting in 1924.”
The final art is by the contemporary artist Sawako Utsumi. In this art piece, “The Desolate Japanese Buddhist Path,” she fuses Buddhism, culture, and nature.
Nichiren (1222-1282), the revered Buddhist holy man, said: “Life in this world is limited. Never be in the least bit afraid!”
Accordingly, the art by Utsumi depicts deep snow in the mountains of Japan with one isolated Buddhist temple – however, the warmth is neither inside nor outside but within the heart.
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/the-desolate-japanese-buddhist-path-sawako-utsumi.html
http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/sawako-utsumi.html – Sawako Utsumi and where you can buy her art, postcards, bags, and other products. Individuals can also contact her for individual requests.
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 and her website – 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