Japan Art and Storms
Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
The Edo Period in Japan provided countless famous artists. Yet, it is fair to say, that Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858) is one of the creme de la creme of ukiyo-e printmakers in this period of Japanese history.
His stunning print above highlights people struggling in the storm. The detail of the storm by Ando Hiroshige – despite the darkness and murky feeling – depicts a world that is easily conjured up when thinking about the Edo Period.
The art above is by Hiyoshi Mamoru. He depicts two children and their father running home to escape the storm. It is easy to relate to this scene – the noise of thunder, the flash of lightning, and the start of heavy rain.
The University of British Columbia says, “Hiyoshi Mamoru (日吉守), a painter and woodblock print artist, was born in Tokyo in 1885, but his death date is unknown. He studied design at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. In 1909 he was appointed to teach art at Keijo Junior High School (京城中学校) in Seoul, South Korea (established by the Japanese). He made prints of places across Japan and scenes from Korea.”
Ito Shinsui (1898-1972) – similar to Hiyoshi Mamoru – was born during the dynamic Meiji Period (1868-1912). Unlike the first two art pieces, the elegant lady in the snowstorm looks surreal. Therefore, the focus is on her beauty, style, and elegance.
The British Museum says, “His paintings include folding screens and albums as well as hanging scrolls, and he was equally at home on paper or silk, and in female subjects drawn from high or bourgeois life, the traditional dance forms, geishas, or the theatre. Today he and Uemura Shoen (1875-1949) are recognized as the two greatest ‘bijinga’ artists of the ‘Nihonga’ movement.”
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