Japanese Art and Mountains to a Little Bird
Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
Koizumi Kishio (1893–1945) was born in the twilight of the Meiji era—a time of transformation, where Japan stood at the threshold of modernity. Across the world, empires expanded and collapsed, war drums echoed across continents, and ideologies like communism, militarism, and nationalism carved deep scars into the global psyche. Slavery still lingered in the shadows of Mecca and other lands, and the world teetered between revolution and ruin.
And yet, within this storm of history, Koizumi carved out a quiet sanctuary—his art. His works, delicate and serene, offer windows into a Japan untouched by the chaos beyond. They speak not of conflict or conquest, but of fleeting beauty and timeless stillness.
One such piece captures Mount Fuji beneath a veil of early snow—its quiet majesty rendered with gentle strokes and a reverence for nature’s calm. Completed in the early 1940s, as the world burned and empires fell, this image feels like a whispered prayer for peace. Far removed from the horror that gripped so many nations, Koizumi’s Fuji stands serene—a million miles from war, rooted in silence, crowned by snow.
In the art above, contemporary artist Sawako Utsumi offers a quiet yet profound homage to the modern master Hagiwara Hideo (1913–2007). As is her signature, Utsumi introduces a single, unexpected detail—a solitary green tree rising gently from the canvas, in contrast to the original color in Hagiwara’s original vision. It is not a disruption, but a breath of life: a symbol of renewal, energy, and the quiet persistence of nature. This lone tree becomes a whisper between generations, a dialogue of reverence and reinterpretation.
Hagiwara Hideo, whose career took root in the latter half of the 20th century, carried within his art the indelible weight of a world at war. The shadows of conflict, subtle and restrained, shaped the texture of his vision. And yet, through Utsumi’s addition, a new layer emerges—one that hints at healing, vitality, and the timeless conversation between past and present.
Ōtagaki Rengetsu (1791-1875) gracefully wrote:
My wish is to see
a cloudless moon
above the lotus flower
in my next life.
Matsubayashi Keigetsu (1876–1963) stands as a quiet sentinel of tradition amid the shifting tides of modernity (art above). Celebrated for his mastery of Nanga—the literati style shaped by Chinese influence—his art is imbued with a graceful, decorative rhythm that echoes the poetic spirit of the East. Each brushstroke speaks not merely of form, but of philosophy, reflection, and reverence for a deeper cultural inheritance.
As Japan surged toward Western ideals during the Meiji and Taishō eras, many artists embraced European techniques and perspectives. Yet Keigetsu chose a different path—one that traced the ancient currents flowing between China and Japan. His lifelong devotion to classical aesthetics and literati values was not resistance, but continuity: a quiet affirmation of the enduring power of ink, mountain, mist, and moon.
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/stillness-of-the-night-utsumi-and-homage-to-hagiwara-hideo-sawako-utsumi.html?newartwork=true Sawako Utsumi – Stillness of the Night
http://sawakoart.com – Sawako Utsumi and her artwork
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