Harunobu - Young Woman in the Rain

 #harunobu Woman in the rain #Japanese #print #ukiyo-e

How splendidly Harunobu depicts rain and wind while having also those details of the effects of weather on humans: the geta that has slipped off her foot, the washing and her own kimono blowing in the wind, and also we have the rain slanting down from the clouds above, and the colors of the obi emphasing and complementing the slant of the rain! 

Shinsai Cherries and Rain Print

 #Shinsai #cherryblossom #rain #surimono #japaneseprint

SHINSAI early 19th century 

Its still raining in #sydney !!! sooo ...

The cherry blossoms and rainfall is rendered in a very formal stylized manner but this contrasts with the texture of the tree trunk and the gray middle tones of the rain 

Note the white streak contrasting with the darker gray lines for the rain something easier to do with wood carving and careful block inking than ink on paper with a brush.

Kiyonaga Storm

 #kiyonaga #storm #japaneseprint 

Stormy weather is the forecast for Sydney this week hence my choice of a Kiyonaga work.

This shrine in Tokyo's suburbs was surrounded by open fields in Kiyonagas time and a popular place for short summer excursions from Edo 

Kuniyoshi parodying a famous peom

#kuniyoshi #parody #humor  #japaneseprint #ukiyoe #heian #waka

Kuniyoshi created a set of prints illustrating the famous Ogura Hyakunin Isshu anthology One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets published in 1842 .

Why do I type the word parodying?

Note the figures in the middle right of the print.

A Heian aristocrat and attendants in court robes.

Whereas in the foreground we see the lower classes franticly trying to catch umbrellas blowing away in the wind.

For those who do not read Japanese or the forms used on the print the reference is to a famous poem a Heian era waka by Fun'ya (sometimes written Bunya)  no Yasuhide no. 22 in the anthology. 

Fuku kara ni  Aki no kusa ki no Shiobrureba Mube yama kaze wo Arashi iuramu 

the final verb is iuran in modern japanese.

The poem refers to how the two kanji mountain and wind combine into a characters used to describe gale force winds blowing off the mountains blowing grass and leaves and other things but instead of having leaves we see things made of wood the ki of the poem.

Kuniyoshi's picture both gently mocks the poem and yet also complements it ?

 

Subvert the Sage Three

 Don't forget to check my JVartndesign Patreon for more Subvert the Sage art you can download !

Subvert the Sage TWO

 IN honour of wise women Taoist priestesses, scholars, poetesses, nuns, and more.

MONDAY IS IWD

Do not forget Monday is 

INTERNATIONAL 

WOMANS DAY 

 

Subvert the Sage !!!

 Chinese has a character and word RU meaning Confucian scholar or sage.

It seems to me terribly unfair it is no word or character for a learned wise female scholar!

SO I did some cut and paste with nu and the xu part of ru 

creating this 

This of course is not an "Official" character but who knows if enough people start using it ...

Since its International Womans Day this month I'll be doing more new versions on this to share on my Patreon and DeviantArt

Watch for updates !