Something to enjoy on Winter Solstice Day
Sunday, 22 December 2019
Friday, 20 December 2019
Saturday, 7 December 2019
Hokusai's Storm
#hokusai #storm #japaneseprint
Good Impressions of this late print by Hokusai are hard to find. The hand coloring for that dark cloud effect seems to have so overwhelmed some of the inkers that they neglected the foreground and i've seen some impressions in which vice versa the clouds are light and the foreground is darker.
This print demonstrates #ukiyo-e print production was a team effort. You needed a good artist a good cutter and carver for the blocks and both an inker and a colorist with a firm but sensitive touch to finish the print.
Tuesday, 26 November 2019
When Meguro was a Green Hill 2 views by Hiroshige
#Hiroshige seems to have been like many #Edo residents fond of visiting #Meguro
#japaneseprints #landscapeprints
When Meguro was a Green Hill
#japaneseprints #landscapeprints
When Meguro was a Green Hill
The building in the lower right corner is a teahouse. Nowadays I've read Meguro is more noted for coffee and laneways with small shops.
Another view by Hiroshige. The river is still there though partly canalized and smaller.
How things have changed over the years and centuries!
There are other prints by Hiroshige and others on this theme. These seem to be 2 of the best?
Tuesday, 19 November 2019
Ochanomizu Two
#ochanomizu #edo #tokyo #japaneseprints
Once upon a time only a century and a few more decades Ochanomizu had NO tall buildings!
This is Hiroshige's view of it. Mid 19th century
A mid 20th century view.
How things have changed!
Once upon a time only a century and a few more decades Ochanomizu had NO tall buildings!
This is Hiroshige's view of it. Mid 19th century
A mid 20th century view.
How things have changed!
Wednesday, 13 November 2019
Ochanomizu One
#ochanomizu #japaneseprints #edo #tokyo #history #megalopolis #ukiyo-e
Thanks to the Japanese love of landscapes and the residents of Tokugawa Edo loving scenes of their own city we have many surviving images of Tokyo from the 18th century to this one as prints!
One locale loved by printmakers was #Ochanomizu in #Tokyo.
Your first thought may be
"Ochanomizu a railway station and maybe if you've been on a train going through that station you have briefly noticed the narrow stream below curving between high banks and taller buildings above.
This is Ochanomizu in late autumn / early winter as late as the middle 19th century as depicted by Kuniyoshi
.
Thanks to the Japanese love of landscapes and the residents of Tokugawa Edo loving scenes of their own city we have many surviving images of Tokyo from the 18th century to this one as prints!
One locale loved by printmakers was #Ochanomizu in #Tokyo.
Your first thought may be
"Ochanomizu a railway station and maybe if you've been on a train going through that station you have briefly noticed the narrow stream below curving between high banks and taller buildings above.
This is Ochanomizu in late autumn / early winter as late as the middle 19th century as depicted by Kuniyoshi
.
Cold wet empty and obscured by drizzle
Kuniyoshi has probably removed some of the trees known to have grown along the banks and the footpaths and roads are hidden by the rain. The total absence of any human shows us what a dreary day it was and Kuniyoshi seems to have picked this subject to show off the skills of himself and his colorist in creating an effect very similar to an actual watercolor on paper or silk.
Next post more images of Ochanomizu in the past!
Tuesday, 5 November 2019
Sute-jo's Higurashi Haiku
#sute-jo #higurashi #haiku
SUTE-JO'S HIGURASHI HAIKU
This poetess become a nun in later life and was part of the Basho lineage of Haiku writers
SUTE-JO'S HIGURASHI HAIKU
This poetess become a nun in later life and was part of the Basho lineage of Haiku writers
Higurashi ya!
Sutete oite mo
Kururu hi wa
Oh higurashi
Abandoned Left behind
By the sun
I have read but not experienced Higurashi singing mainly in the evening but sometimes in the morning or if the weather suddenly becomes overcast and cloudy. I have taken some liberties with the string of verbs in the middle shifting to the passive in English.
Sutete may be a pun on' Sute-jos name "abandoned wife"
Oite is a shortened form of okite used when it was combined with other verbs?
Kururu is not kuru - come but an older literary form of kureru !
The last line could also be translated as darkens day
This is the sort of haiku in which the Japanese is so compact and dense you have to make the lines longer or shorter in English. The closest I can get to the assonance of suteTE oiTE is aBandoned left Behind By ...
Saturday, 26 October 2019
Higurashi Japanese Sculptures
#Japanese #Sculptures of Higurashi
Here's an actual #higurashi cicada and heres some 3d sculptures
Here's an actual #higurashi cicada and heres some 3d sculptures
I hope you've enjoyed this medley
Please check the archives for more collections of images based on themes also poetry translations!
Monday, 14 October 2019
What are Higurashi ?
#higurashi #japanesecicada #cicada #utamaro #print #kachoga
SO WHAT IS A HIGURASHI
and how does it differ from #semi
The usual word for Cicada is Semi but there is another cicada species called #higurashi
This is Tanna Japonensis the cicada that sings at dawn or dusk or when the sky is overcast.
Its numbers and song peak in mid October. As well as featuring in various waka and haiku it is also the subject of one of Utamaro's Insects and Flowers series published to illustrate a book:
Although mentioned in many poems it doesn't seem to have been as popular as a theme for visual arts apart from some netsuke. I was surprised to find so few prints and this is the best of them.
Utamaro is best known for bijin beautiful women prints and he brings the same elegant style to this depiction of plants and insects.
SO WHAT IS A HIGURASHI
and how does it differ from #semi
The usual word for Cicada is Semi but there is another cicada species called #higurashi
This is Tanna Japonensis the cicada that sings at dawn or dusk or when the sky is overcast.
Its numbers and song peak in mid October. As well as featuring in various waka and haiku it is also the subject of one of Utamaro's Insects and Flowers series published to illustrate a book:
Although mentioned in many poems it doesn't seem to have been as popular as a theme for visual arts apart from some netsuke. I was surprised to find so few prints and this is the best of them.
Utamaro is best known for bijin beautiful women prints and he brings the same elegant style to this depiction of plants and insects.
Sunday, 6 October 2019
Hagi no hana Waka
From the Man'yo shu MYS X:223
*hagi #waka #manyoshu
Hagi no hana hagi flowers
sakitaru nobe ni blooming continously spreading
Higurashi no while higurashi cicadas
Naku naru naheni are singing together with
Aki no kaze fuku the wind of autumn blowing
word for word hagi = bush clover of flowers verb saku = taru suffix nobe spreading extending higurahi a kind of cicada that sings early morning or evening or when its overcast and cloudy
naku sing naru being naheni adverb aki autumn kaze wind fuku verb again
*hagi #waka #manyoshu
Hagi no hana hagi flowers
sakitaru nobe ni blooming continously spreading
Higurashi no while higurashi cicadas
Naku naru naheni are singing together with
Aki no kaze fuku the wind of autumn blowing
word for word hagi = bush clover of flowers verb saku = taru suffix nobe spreading extending higurahi a kind of cicada that sings early morning or evening or when its overcast and cloudy
naku sing naru being naheni adverb aki autumn kaze wind fuku verb again
Saturday, 28 September 2019
Courtesans and Bush Clover
Courtesans and Clover
There is a famous #haiku by #basho which is part of his most famous #haibun Oku no hosomichi - about his pilgrimage to the #Dewa regions and back again. It is often quoted out of context.
Hitotsu ya ni / yuujo mo netari / hagi to tsuki
one inn at courtesans even sleeping bush clover and moon
lets turn that into something more poetic in English without changing the Japanese too much
Under one roof
Even the courtesans were still sleeping
Hagi and Bush Clover
Many commentators and translators take that as saying even the courtesans were still asleep although Basho was up or had gotten up looking at the Moonlight on Hagi bushes however some aspects of this scene they don't mention.
Perhaps this is pointed out in one of the many Japanese commentaries?
In the haibun this haiku comes at the end of a section in which Basho states he was in an inn near the Ichifuri Barrier on the main road to Kanazawa. He writes of trying to sleep and hearing 2 young women talking loudly in a front room along with an old man. Their conversation revealed they were yuujo - sexworkers from Niigata but Basho is not specific about their actual rank and if they were Oiran or Tayu. The women were talking about being on their way to visit the Shrine at Ise on the other side of the Island.
Although they talked about visiting Ise the next day they approached Basho who was dressed like a Buddhist priest for assistance.
Understandable that two women would seek company and protection on the main road but why were they not part of a pilgrim group or have a hired guard? Did pilgrim groups from Niigata refuse to accept sex workers? Had the women only recently bought out their contracts and been released from a brothel? Had they run away stealing some other women's travel documents? Were they taking the long journey to Ise hoping to find a nunnery as far away from their old lives as possible? The road from Niigata to Ise would have gone past many temples and shrines?
Or was Basho worried they had heard he was a famous poet and hoped to get money off him and were running a scam?
If they were former Oiran of high rank and skills they might have stayed awake to view the moon light on the bush clover or tried to use their knowledge of poetry to impress Basho?
Another possibility perhaps they were actually named Hagi and Tsuki ?
He did however advise them to wait for a larger group of travellers and proceed with them.
Perhaps a good idea as an elderly poet and his companion Sora might not have been much protection against bandits ?
If you are a student of Basho and Haiku do try to finish a copy of the whole haibun?
There is a famous #haiku by #basho which is part of his most famous #haibun Oku no hosomichi - about his pilgrimage to the #Dewa regions and back again. It is often quoted out of context.
Hitotsu ya ni / yuujo mo netari / hagi to tsuki
one inn at courtesans even sleeping bush clover and moon
lets turn that into something more poetic in English without changing the Japanese too much
Under one roof
Even the courtesans were still sleeping
Hagi and Bush Clover
Many commentators and translators take that as saying even the courtesans were still asleep although Basho was up or had gotten up looking at the Moonlight on Hagi bushes however some aspects of this scene they don't mention.
Perhaps this is pointed out in one of the many Japanese commentaries?
In the haibun this haiku comes at the end of a section in which Basho states he was in an inn near the Ichifuri Barrier on the main road to Kanazawa. He writes of trying to sleep and hearing 2 young women talking loudly in a front room along with an old man. Their conversation revealed they were yuujo - sexworkers from Niigata but Basho is not specific about their actual rank and if they were Oiran or Tayu. The women were talking about being on their way to visit the Shrine at Ise on the other side of the Island.
Although they talked about visiting Ise the next day they approached Basho who was dressed like a Buddhist priest for assistance.
Understandable that two women would seek company and protection on the main road but why were they not part of a pilgrim group or have a hired guard? Did pilgrim groups from Niigata refuse to accept sex workers? Had the women only recently bought out their contracts and been released from a brothel? Had they run away stealing some other women's travel documents? Were they taking the long journey to Ise hoping to find a nunnery as far away from their old lives as possible? The road from Niigata to Ise would have gone past many temples and shrines?
Or was Basho worried they had heard he was a famous poet and hoped to get money off him and were running a scam?
If they were former Oiran of high rank and skills they might have stayed awake to view the moon light on the bush clover or tried to use their knowledge of poetry to impress Basho?
Another possibility perhaps they were actually named Hagi and Tsuki ?
He did however advise them to wait for a larger group of travellers and proceed with them.
Perhaps a good idea as an elderly poet and his companion Sora might not have been much protection against bandits ?
If you are a student of Basho and Haiku do try to finish a copy of the whole haibun?
Tuesday, 17 September 2019
HAGI STYLIZED
#hagi #bushclover #japaneseart #japaneselacquer
I've seen Hagi - Bush Clover represented in a variety of stylized ways so here's what it actually looks like compared to its rendering in 3 different media
I've seen Hagi - Bush Clover represented in a variety of stylized ways so here's what it actually looks like compared to its rendering in 3 different media
However on lacquer
and on a print
finally a painting
Labels:
bush clover,
hagi,
japanese art,
lacquer,
painting,
print
Sunday, 8 September 2019
The September theme is ...
September #Kigo
Which of the Seven Autumn Plant is draped over this Wild boars back?
Which plant tops the list and features in waka and haiku as far back as the Manyoshu ?
Which of the Seven Autumn Plant is draped over this Wild boars back?
Which plant tops the list and features in waka and haiku as far back as the Manyoshu ?
HAGI
Hagi also known as Lespedeza and Bush Clover is the September theme !
Sunday, 1 September 2019
Kawase Hasui's Lotus Pond
#KawaseHasui #Hasui #shinhanga #japaneseprints
Some people regard Hasui's works as sentimental or sweet or merely charming so I want to tell you a short story about him. His family at first willn't let him study art, Western or traditional, but he finally as an adult got training in both and went to work for a company that supported the #ShinHanga style.
During the Great Kanto Quake most of his sketch books and the wooden printing blocks for all the major series he had done so far were destroyed. Hundreds of images of pre Quake Tokyo and Japan lost!
What did he do?
He got new sketch books as soon as possible and created a new series from memory and observation.
His work once dismissed as catering for tourists and nostalgia is more popular now.
Some people regard Hasui's works as sentimental or sweet or merely charming so I want to tell you a short story about him. His family at first willn't let him study art, Western or traditional, but he finally as an adult got training in both and went to work for a company that supported the #ShinHanga style.
During the Great Kanto Quake most of his sketch books and the wooden printing blocks for all the major series he had done so far were destroyed. Hundreds of images of pre Quake Tokyo and Japan lost!
What did he do?
He got new sketch books as soon as possible and created a new series from memory and observation.
His work once dismissed as catering for tourists and nostalgia is more popular now.
Sunday, 25 August 2019
Toyohiro Summer Painting
#toyohiro #japanesepainting #summer
For those of you enduring the northern hemisphere summer this is the right season to share Toyohiro's famous work:
Enjoying the Evening Cool Under a Trellis
The bottle is probably earthenware clay and perhaps full of sake?
Both of them seem to be glancing up at the sky maybe not admiring the white flowers but hoping to see signs of evening rain?
Sunday, 18 August 2019
Surimono Still life Shunman
#surimono #stilllife #ukiyo-e #japaneseprint #shunman #shumman
Here's a print by Shunman showing Lotus stems and Ginger plus a Lobster or Shrimp
All of which were edible but also had other cultural significance.
It seems very minimal and sketchy compared to the lust detailed still-lifes of European art but the limited color and detail on the plant stems seems to be a delibarate choice to emphasize the areas of greater detail and color. Visual wabi sabi ? Or even poetic elegance given the accompanying poems.
Saturday, 10 August 2019
Another Bumping Sunday
People I'll in ...well on my bed cos I have to alternate short hobbles in an aircast boot with raising or at least supporting the weight of my right leg.
(Stable fracture of right distal fibula)
And I can't go outside cos the current weather is making my chronic bronchitis flare up
(Lots of windswept dust n pollen)
posts to this blog or my Patreon will be irregular so today I ask
Will you join me in bumping and sharing older posts ?
Thank You
Saturday, 3 August 2019
Harunobu Print
#Harunobu #print
Girls gathering waterlilies or water lotuses is a theme that appears in a variety of literature and art.
Here's Harunobu's treatment of the topic. Some Ukiyo-e artists depict a whole pond of lotus or just the plants and flowers but Harunobu balances both the human element of the girls in a boat with the simple beauty of the plants themselves. It is not an elaborately colored print but has a simple elegance that lets the lines work.
Girls gathering waterlilies or water lotuses is a theme that appears in a variety of literature and art.
Here's Harunobu's treatment of the topic. Some Ukiyo-e artists depict a whole pond of lotus or just the plants and flowers but Harunobu balances both the human element of the girls in a boat with the simple beauty of the plants themselves. It is not an elaborately colored print but has a simple elegance that lets the lines work.
Take a good look at the composition too.The balance of horizationals and verticals.
The contrast of straight stems with the round curve of leaves and sleeves and obi.
Sunday, 21 July 2019
Orange Technozi
You may remeber I blogged last year on #orange the fruit and the hanzi used to write the word.
I have a new RED BUBBLE design that I'ld appreciate your support of even if its just a RT or other share
Please consider a visit and do feedback? I want your comments as I'm currently (july 2019) stuck in or rather on bed with a bad ankle sprain ...
I have a new RED BUBBLE design that I'ld appreciate your support of even if its just a RT or other share
Please consider a visit and do feedback? I want your comments as I'm currently (july 2019) stuck in or rather on bed with a bad ankle sprain ...
Sunday, 14 July 2019
Hydrangea Medley - Japanese Art
Here's a Medley of the best #JapaneseArt #Hydrangea #ajisai Images I've found this month
An Ito Jakuchu Scroll painting (18th century)
with Hydrangeas as a prominent counterbalancing element to the foreground.
Hiroshige Ukiyo-E Print
A Lacquer Box Lid
Koson Shin Hanga Print
Hokusai Hydrangea and Swallows
Sunday, 7 July 2019
Ajisai in Japanese Lacquer
#hydrangeas #ajisai #japaneselacquer
As its #hydrangea season in Japan I kept on hunting for images and found this beautiful example of Japanese lacquer from the Taisho era
Yes the Japanese lacquer masters studied exported Chinese lacquer using imbedded pieces of shell.
As its #hydrangea season in Japan I kept on hunting for images and found this beautiful example of Japanese lacquer from the Taisho era
Yes the Japanese lacquer masters studied exported Chinese lacquer using imbedded pieces of shell.
Here's a closeup
Enjoy !
Saturday, 29 June 2019
More About SHIKIMI
#shikimi #staranise #japanesestaranise
Chinese Star Anise and Japanese Shikimi are 2 closely related plants of the same genus that seem to originated somewhere in Yunnan and been spread across the rest of Asia by humans.
Shikimi however unlike Chinese star anise is ALERT toxic dangerous poisonous
Do not ingest it
It seems to have been planted around Buddhist temples shrines and graveyards as an insect and animal deterrent and because of its limited medicinal applications (experts only!) and the use of the leaves for making incense when dried and powdered and because of the lingering fragrance of its flowers and leaves made it popular as a plant for altars.
Do not confuse it with Chinese Star Anise which is called Ba Jiao and is perfectly safe
If you're tempted to plant it for the fragrance and religious and cultural associations make sure people know its fruit and seeds are dangerous and INEDIBLE
While researching this nearly every site describing this plant mentioned stories of people confusing the two plants even in Asia and mixing them together.
Yes its that dangerous but I can see how those white flowers would appeal to the Japanese !
Next time back to Hydrangeas
Chinese Star Anise and Japanese Shikimi are 2 closely related plants of the same genus that seem to originated somewhere in Yunnan and been spread across the rest of Asia by humans.
Shikimi however unlike Chinese star anise is ALERT toxic dangerous poisonous
Do not ingest it
It seems to have been planted around Buddhist temples shrines and graveyards as an insect and animal deterrent and because of its limited medicinal applications (experts only!) and the use of the leaves for making incense when dried and powdered and because of the lingering fragrance of its flowers and leaves made it popular as a plant for altars.
Do not confuse it with Chinese Star Anise which is called Ba Jiao and is perfectly safe
If you're tempted to plant it for the fragrance and religious and cultural associations make sure people know its fruit and seeds are dangerous and INEDIBLE
While researching this nearly every site describing this plant mentioned stories of people confusing the two plants even in Asia and mixing them together.
Yes its that dangerous but I can see how those white flowers would appeal to the Japanese !
Next time back to Hydrangeas
Sunday, 23 June 2019
Shikimi tsumu by Kojiju
Kojiju a Heian woman poet and courtier who became a non later in life wrote many #waka
This one was a response to a set theme of a Buddhist winter Retreat or Sanka written about 1200 AD
I was unable to find a kana or kanji version of the text even on wakanet but I did have the romaji
Its SKKS 1666? or 4 The 2 texts I consulted for notes had mismatched numbers!
I have no idea what sort of Nun Kojiju was but given her a courtier perhaps Tendai ?
Shikimi tsumu
yamaji no tsuyu ni
nurenikeri
akatsuki oki no
sumizome no sode
Shikimi also known as Jinko is Japanese star anise a plant that looks very similar to Chinese Star Anise but its fruit is toxic tho the leaves and branches are used for offerings and incense by the Japanese
I will provide more detail on this on the next post
tsumu gather pluck pick
yamaji mountain path and tsuyu dew
nure be wet soaked damp nikeri past action leading to present result
akatsuki oki no
she got up at dawn to do this but wait akatsuki can also refer to enlightment and can be written with a kanji that can also be read as satori and a further possibility is akatsuki meaning dirt attached or entirely dyed
sumizome no sode ink / black dyed sleeves of a nuns robes
so she got up at dawn and got her sleeves soaked wet not having a romantic affair or picking a branch of flowers to send with a note to a lover but to collect plants for an offering and while doing so may also have had a "dawning" or moment of clarity and insight?
Perhaps she's also gently chiding courtiers who wrote love poems with a reminder poetry can be used for other things?
Artwork as prints screensavers and poemcards inspired by this verse will be posted to my https://www.patreon.com/JVartNdesign soon
This one was a response to a set theme of a Buddhist winter Retreat or Sanka written about 1200 AD
I was unable to find a kana or kanji version of the text even on wakanet but I did have the romaji
Its SKKS 1666? or 4 The 2 texts I consulted for notes had mismatched numbers!
I have no idea what sort of Nun Kojiju was but given her a courtier perhaps Tendai ?
She may have looked like the woman wearing black and white at the back of the print?
Shikimi tsumu
yamaji no tsuyu ni
nurenikeri
akatsuki oki no
sumizome no sode
Shikimi also known as Jinko is Japanese star anise a plant that looks very similar to Chinese Star Anise but its fruit is toxic tho the leaves and branches are used for offerings and incense by the Japanese
I will provide more detail on this on the next post
tsumu gather pluck pick
yamaji mountain path and tsuyu dew
nure be wet soaked damp nikeri past action leading to present result
akatsuki oki no
she got up at dawn to do this but wait akatsuki can also refer to enlightment and can be written with a kanji that can also be read as satori and a further possibility is akatsuki meaning dirt attached or entirely dyed
sumizome no sode ink / black dyed sleeves of a nuns robes
so she got up at dawn and got her sleeves soaked wet not having a romantic affair or picking a branch of flowers to send with a note to a lover but to collect plants for an offering and while doing so may also have had a "dawning" or moment of clarity and insight?
Perhaps she's also gently chiding courtiers who wrote love poems with a reminder poetry can be used for other things?
Artwork as prints screensavers and poemcards inspired by this verse will be posted to my https://www.patreon.com/JVartNdesign soon
Sunday, 16 June 2019
Japanese Hydrangea prints
#hydrangea #japaneseprints #Bairei
Some of the most beautiful hydrangea prints come from #ShinHanga artists.
Perhaps because of the new aniline dyes ?
Bairei chose white hydrangeas as a subject and uses the mass and size of the bloom as a focal point .
#Koson uses more blue and adds a bird for contrast and contrasts large with small for both flowers and leaves and likewise a strong contrast of dark and light tones.
Some of the most beautiful hydrangea prints come from #ShinHanga artists.
Perhaps because of the new aniline dyes ?
Bairei chose white hydrangeas as a subject and uses the mass and size of the bloom as a focal point .
#Koson uses more blue and adds a bird for contrast and contrasts large with small for both flowers and leaves and likewise a strong contrast of dark and light tones.
Sunday, 9 June 2019
Hokusai and Hydrangeas
#ajisai is the japanese naeme for #Hydrangeas and also a #june #kigo
Here's 2 prints by #Hokusai featuring #hydrangeas
Note that the Japanese don't seem to regard lighter colored hydrangeas as less attractive than the deep blue ones.
Here's 2 prints by #Hokusai featuring #hydrangeas
Note that the Japanese don't seem to regard lighter colored hydrangeas as less attractive than the deep blue ones.
Friday, 31 May 2019
2 Shibata Zeshin works
Here's an example of the same master as a painter and a sculptor.
Both of these were parts of doors originally.
Notice the similar tones and use of grays without the grays being the least bit dull or "neutral"
the strong lines of branches sticks and grasses, solid blacks creating depth, and the simplicity of the subjects, poetic yet common, and ... and ... look if I was a multi-millionaire I'ld definitely be collecting Zeshin.
Thursday, 30 May 2019
Sea Ripples Screensavers Patreon posts and Poem Cards
#patreon #sea #umi #iris
This months themes for my Patreon posts were #sea #umi and #irises #iris
This months themes for my Patreon posts were #sea #umi and #irises #iris
If you're not following me on Patreon you missed out on a screensaver version of this !
Yes I'm enlarging some the backgrounds I use for #haiga #poemcards into #screensaver size.
Thursday, 23 May 2019
Haiga on Patreon
I have been busy doing #digitalhaiga as screensavers as well as poem cards for my Patreon
If you would like to see them
Some are free others are in a $1 reward tier
I hv birthday next week
Love to hv more pledges
Saturday, 11 May 2019
Irises by Shibata Zeshin
#irises are one of the flowers for May in Japanese culture.
There are two very well known Rimpa style screen paintings of Irises but there are also #prints.
These two are 19th century works by #ShibataZeshin also famous for #lacquer and #painting
There are two very well known Rimpa style screen paintings of Irises but there are also #prints.
These two are 19th century works by #ShibataZeshin also famous for #lacquer and #painting
This first image is part of a set and is a comparison of Irises to Bamboo Shoots.
While this is a woodblock print the style is more like #nanga or #haiga
This print 1878 also shows more the woodblock printmakers responded to the new aniline dyes as well as showing Shibata Zeshins brush and composition skills.
Purple and green can sometimes look rather lurid together but the colorist who did the actual printing has followed the painters sketch or instructions on a black ink sketch ( both methods seem to have been used) and used lighter greens to contrast with the rich deep blue violet of the flowers.
Sunday, 5 May 2019
Omi Hakkei Lacquer Box
#omihakkei #japaneselacquer #lacquer
This is the only "Omi Hakkei" I could find using #lacquer as a medium. There may be others I'm unaware not available as images online.
The artist has suggested the snow capped mountains and the bridge using grey metal and included boats returning and a shoreline village plus the geese returning and the night rain shrine and the temple of the bells. I suspect the autumn moon over Ishiyama is on the outside of the lid not included in the photo. An excellent and elegant balance of gold and grey on black.
This is the only "Omi Hakkei" I could find using #lacquer as a medium. There may be others I'm unaware not available as images online.
The artist has suggested the snow capped mountains and the bridge using grey metal and included boats returning and a shoreline village plus the geese returning and the night rain shrine and the temple of the bells. I suspect the autumn moon over Ishiyama is on the outside of the lid not included in the photo. An excellent and elegant balance of gold and grey on black.
Saturday, 27 April 2019
2 Edo Hakkei by Toyohiro
#ukiyoe #japaneseprints
Harunobu and Hiroshige were not the only artists to do #EdoHakkei in response to the #OmiHakkei theme
Hiroshiges teacher #Toyohiro also did them!
This is Utagawa Toyohiros Ueno Temple Bell print
Note Toyohiro seems to prefer pinks and reds and less blues than Hiroshige
Sunset on Awazu became sunset at the Ryogoku bridge in the Edo Hakkei theme
The river is the Sumida
Harunobu and Hiroshige were not the only artists to do #EdoHakkei in response to the #OmiHakkei theme
Hiroshiges teacher #Toyohiro also did them!
This is Utagawa Toyohiros Ueno Temple Bell print
Note Toyohiro seems to prefer pinks and reds and less blues than Hiroshige
Sunset on Awazu became sunset at the Ryogoku bridge in the Edo Hakkei theme
The river is the Sumida
Friday, 19 April 2019
Early Omi Hakkei Prints
So you love #ukiyo-e ?
You've heard of #omihakkei #hakkei and seen copies of the famous set by #hiroshige ?
Did you know he was not the first artist to do prints on that theme?
He's tried to fit all of the Hakkei onto one print and has rather distorted the proportions to include everything. The Ishiyamadera was further down the river that flows out from Lake Biwa and he has included an old castle that has since been destroyed tho a small park marks its site. Otsu ss shown as a village which is now a suburb of the modern city. Curiously though the the site of the moorings for the trade ships and barges is still a marina.
Other artists who dealt with the Hakkei theme often did so indirectly. Study the background in this Harunobu print. It is actually an Edo scene but refers to the Omi Hakkei tradition by depicting boats.
You've heard of #omihakkei #hakkei and seen copies of the famous set by #hiroshige ?
Did you know he was not the first artist to do prints on that theme?
This is by Utagawa Toyoharu
Other artists who dealt with the Hakkei theme often did so indirectly. Study the background in this Harunobu print. It is actually an Edo scene but refers to the Omi Hakkei tradition by depicting boats.
The tradition of comparing Edo scenes to those of the Omi Hakkei is also used by Hiroshige himslef in this print. Thats not geese returning to Katata. That's Umida !
Whereas this is Katata !
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