Hagoromo in Ukiyo-e

 #ukiyo-e #hagoromo #japanese prints 

HAGOROMO in Ukiyo-e 

Hiroshige has focused on the maiden herself suggesting she is changing into a bird and showing us some of the foreshore at TAGO which is still a popular picnic spot partly because of this legend but also for the views across the bay of FujiSan 

Chikanobu however seems to have thinking of both the Noh play the original legend and his love of detailed costumes though his Celestial Maiden seems to be wearing Chinese fabrics and the feathers drape over branches as if they were fabric. 

I wonder if someone had done a Kabuki version of the Noh play?

Don't forget to scroll back to the partner post to this one showing photos of Noh actor costumes.

TOMOE GOZEN on Horseback

 #tomoegozen #japaneseprint #ukiyo-e 

TOMOE GOZEN

Tomoe Gozen was an actual historical character a woman warrior though the clothers she wears here look more like a Kabuki costume than anything wore in or out of armor by a Heian warrior aristocrat?

However the detail is gorgeous and costume errors beside the details of the swirling horse tail and the swirling ponytail of hair are quite striking plus the stance of the horse tho that costume ...?

Given how rarely women rode horses in public in any era of Japanese history is there a story behind this image. Had he actually seen a woman on horseback or not ? 

Rain at Kanazawa by Hiroshige

 #hiroshige #kanazawa #japaneseprint 

Continuing our Rain Theme here's a print by Hiroshige 

Kanazawa Rain 

Note how the rain obscured mountains or trees in the distance are balanced by the hut roofs and I think stacks of hay from rice or smaller huts in the middle right and foreground.

Note also the use of diagonals.

A "masterclass" in how to use greys and pale tints without an image becoming dreary

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 

 #yearoftheox #moronobu #oxdrawncarriage  #japaneseprint

MORONOBU PRINT 

This print by MORONOBU illustrates a Kyoto about the slaying of a demon and its head being put on display. I have however chosen it because it clearly shows the bull and its yoke and the structure of oxcarts. Cattle in Japan were primarily draught animals not diary or meat animals. 

One notes the poor bull is not happy with its cart's unusual load and is being coaxed or forced along!

Danjuro V as a townsman

#Shunsho #danjuro #japanese #print

Female Beauty was not the major theme of ukiyo-e prints. Actors were another favorite topic.

This is Danjuro V playing an Edo townsman depicted by Shunsho.

Despite the loose trousers and lack of sandals he is wearing a quite fashionable at the time over kimono, obi knotted in a male style, and stylish accessories. 

the beautiful boys again

Here's an 18th century print of a fashionable young Edo townsman carrying a lantern as he walks along a snow covered path to meet a lover. Yes this is a young man. Note the hair arrangement bound without combs and the plaid pattern on his outer robe a nd the tip of the one blade allowed to townsmen showing below his robe. Hakama were for more formal occassions!

Yoshitsune as an Ideal of male beauty - Two

#yoshitsune regardless of however he actually looked like was idealised by later generations 

This is an actor playing him as a character in a #kabuki play in a very elegant costume. I think that the actor is wearing a wig meant to imply this is Yoshistsune as a young man as the hair is down and long BUT possibly yoshitsune as an older man semi retired. I am not sure which play this is from?

Note the aristocratic elegance and how #Kunisada saw late Heian era costume as depicted on stage.

Yoshitsune as an Ideal of male beauty _ One

#japaneseprints #ukiyo-e 

#yoshitsune is often depicted as an ideal of male beauty and often by contrasting him as a youth to #Benkei as in this #kiyonaga print

 

An EDO MALE fashionista

#ukiyo-e #edo #fashion 

While #bijinga is a frequent subject of #ukiyo-e prints fashionable young townsmen were also a theme!

This young fashion conscious Edo resident is depicted wearing a kimono with detailed imagery of the gods of thunder and lightning. 

The indigo coloring suggests this may be a summer yukata.

more of the boys next time!

Moonscape - Japanese Print

#moonscape #japaneseprint

I have completely forgotten who the artist was but it is an interesting example of prints in the column format. gradient, and grey tones used for texture using angles rather than s curves as a predominant layout feature plus I think the way its a ferry man NOT conveying geisha just getting on with his job.

Shigenobu and a Mouse

#shigenobu  #yearoftherat # mouse #ukiyo-e #japaneseprint

Its the year of the RAT in a  few days and this Shigenobu prints seems fitting?

I'm a bit worried about exactly whats going to happen to that mouse or rat

 and whether its begging for food or mercy? 

I've also found some inro and netsuke featuring rats and mouse for future posts

Rain rain rain

#rain #japaneseprints

A medley of rain related images

Each of these prints are by a different artist and show how much variety there was within the Ukiyo-e school and how much different coloring techniques were used!

There is admitted no rain in the final image but there are umbrellas!

Enjoy!

Harunobu's Lovers in the Snow

Harunobu Lovers in the Snow 

Something to enjoy on Winter Solstice Day

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.

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 

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?

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
.

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!

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.

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. 

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?

This is by Utagawa Toyoharu 

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.

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 !

SHIBA STORY - SAILS AND SHORELINES

#shiba #tokyo #ukiyo-e #japaneseprints

SHIBA STORY

SAILS AND SHORELINES

I've mentioned before that the Eight views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers a traditional subject for Chinese painting was adopted by Japanese painters and poets. However in Japan the Konoe family promoted an Omi Hakkei, a set of 8 views of scenic spots near Lake Biwa and Otsu, and this in turn led to other sets of views, extending to sets of 8 Views of Edo, and later sets of 36 or 100.

Now the Edo Hakkei substituted local scenes and in this print the Sails Returning to Yabase theme has become Sails returning to Shiba. Shiba is now INLAND and that entire shore line replaced by landfill and artificial islands apart from one section to the north adjacent to two famous gardens ad thats fronted by embankments.

Its very Ukiyo-e that the boats are mainly cargo ships The print by the way is by Eisen!

I doubt you could see Fuji from Shiba or even out in Tokyo bay nowadays as clearly as this so not only is it a beautiful landscape print but also a useful historical record of Tokyo's changed shorelines and an image of older style shipping and how wooden sail ships worked so there's a good view of the rudder and rigging. 

ENJOY