![\"The](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=207868&c=4366028&h=3b752c127b2b20089aa5&372050\")
The Yugao Chapter from The Tale of Genji (1886), was inspired by a foundational work of Japanese literature. Written by Lady Murasaki Shikibu in the 11th century, Genji Monogatari (The Tale of Genji) follows life of Hiraku Genji, the shining son of the Japanese emperor. A noblewoman herself, Murasaki captures Heian-period (795-1185) court culture in what some consider \"the world's first modern novel.\" Composed of 54 chapters, the story was likely initially intended for the reading pleasure of noble women, but soon became a canonical work of Japanese fiction. From pleasures of court life to passionate romantic entanglements, the Tale of Genji has featured prominently in Japanese art since the 12th century.
In Yoshitoshi's interpretation of The Tale of Genji's Yugao chapter, he portrays the most mysterious of Genji's many lovers. The story goes as follows: On a journey to see his ailing former nurse, Genij is stuck by beautiful flowers growing about a dilapidated house. Genji orders his servant to pick the flower, at which moment a beauty emerges from the house. The woman gives the servant a fan on which to carry the flower. Genji notices a elegantly written poem on the fan and becomes entranced with young woman. In the following days, he tries to learn more about her through his servant but, persist as he might, the beauty would not reveal her true identity. Genji called her Yugao (evening face), after the morning glory-like flowers that grew around her dilapidated house.
One night, Yugao agrees to meet Genji in person and accompany him to a rural palace. After they consummate their love, Yugao dies very suddenly, killed by a jealous spirit of Genji's former mistress. The young prince is distraught and falls ill for 20 days following this devastating loss. Genji later learns that the mysterious beauty was in fact the mistress of his brother-in-law. Yugao had fled courtly life to flee the jealously of her lover's wife.
Yoshitoshi portrays Yugao as a wistful ghost, delicate and pale as the flower of her namesake. Her long hair flows down her back in typical Heian fashion, though it is perhaps messier than that of a court lady. As her form dissolves into the background, Yoshitoshi captures the spirit of Yugao, emphasizing her spectral status through her blue lips and eyes. Her ephemeral stature contrasts the sharp and strong vine of the Yugao flower that wind through Yoshitoshi's composition. They seem to curl around Yugao as her face catches the pale light of the full moon. The word yugao can also be understood as \"evening face\" as well as \"moonflower.\"
Eager to hear more moonlit stories like the Yugao chapter from The Tale of Genji? Be sure to explore the series One Hundred Views of the Moon in its entirety online.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Read More","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"3","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"207868","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"7/31/2019 3:11:31 pm"}},{"name":"Decoding Ukiyo-e: Standard Sizes","urlPath":"blog/decoding-ukiyo-e-standard-sizes-2","url":"decoding-ukiyo-e-standard-sizes-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Decoding Ukiyo-e: Standard Sizes|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"Decoding Ukiyo-e: Standard Sizes","meta_description":"While ukiyo-e were printed in a variety of sizes, each format adhered to a standardized sizing system shaped by both technical and social factors. This determination begins with two of the primary materials of woodblock printing: the woodblock and the paper.","meta_keywords":"ukiyo-e, sizes, japanese woodblock prints","customrecorddata":"2","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"While ukiyo-e were printed in a variety of sizes, each format adhered to a standardized sizing system shaped by both technical and social factors. This determination begins with two of the primary materials of woodblock printing: the woodblock and the paper. ","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"While ukiyo-e were printed in a variety of sizes, each format adhered to a standardized sizing system shaped by both technical and social factors. This determination begins with two of the primary materials of woodblock printing: the woodblock and the paper. Cherry wood was favored throughout the Edo period for its hard, strong nature. While difficult to carve, blocks made from cherry wood could be printed over and over again. By using heartwood of the cherry tree, artists gained sharp lines and block longevity, but limited their block sizes to the diameter of the cherry tree.
Paper proved to be a second factor in ukiyo-e sizing. Made from mulberry fiber, the hosho provided the ideal strength for printing and the ideal absorbency for ink. Hosho was generally produced in sheets measuring about 53cm x 29cm. This standard size is known as O-bosho. The standard print sizes were determined so as to not waste any paper. Thus, the oban size (38cm x 25cm) is roughly half the size of the original paper. The chuban (25cm x 19cm) size is about a fourth of the original hosho sheet. As each paper maker varied in their paper making technique, paper molds, and recipes, prints may vary slightly from the stated standard dimensions.
Kiyochika, Sasaki Takatsuna and Kajiwara Kagesue Crossing Uji River, c.1890. Ronin Gallery.
Finally, the size of ukiyo-e tells the viewer a bit about the social climate of its production. From sumptuary edicts issued by the Tokugawa Shogunate to chuban landscapes aimed at travelers, the size of a print can lend clues to government restrictions and intended audiences. However, throughout the Edo period, artists found flexibility and expanded creative potential through triptychs and diptychs. By connecting standard woodblock print sizes, mainly chuban and oban, along their long edge, artists could create palpable drama. Triptychs were the most popular polyptych format, but artists would surpass five sheets to create a single, luxurious image.
Oban
Measuring roughly 15\" by 10\" (38cm x 25cm), this is the most common print size for ukiyo-e.
Utamaro, The Priest Sojo Henjo from the series Children as the Six Immortal Poets, c.1804. Ronin Gallery.
Chuban
Roughly half the size of an oban print, the chuban size is a common size for smaller prints. It measures about 10\" by 7.5\" (25cm x 19cm).
Yoshitsuya, Sakagaki Genzo Masakata from the series The 47 Loyal Retainers, c.1850. Ronin Gallery.
Aiban
Measuring about 13\" by 9\" (34cm x 23cm), the aiban size is in between the popular chuban and oban formats. This format is somewhat rare.
Hiroshige, Tsuchiyama from the series The 53 Stations of the Tokaido, c.1842. Ronin Gallery.
Hosoban
This rare narrow print size measures 13\" by 5\" (33cm x 14.5 cm). It is most commonly found in yakusha-e (actor prints) from the 18th century and kacho-e (bird and flower prints) from the 19th century.
Shunko, Kabuki Actor Segawa Kikunojo III, c. 1780. Ronin Gallery.
Hashira-e
Also known as \"pillar prints,\" these long, narrow prints were originally displayed on pillars in the home. They are printed in the hashira-eban paper size, usually 29\" by 5\" (68-73cm x 12-16cm).
Koryusai, Courtesan Nioteru from the House of Ogi, c. 1770. Ronin Gallery.
Kakemono-e
As Kakemono refers to a hanging scroll, this print format mimics that of a scroll with its long and narrow format. This format requires two separate pieces of paper joined together in a vertical diptych. Each piece of paper in is the oban size, resulting in a total measurement around 30\" x 9\" (76cm x 23cm).
Yoshitoshi, Rorihakucho Chojun Wrestling Kokusenpu Riki in the Water, c. 1887. Ronin Gallery.
Tate-e
Refers to prints with vertical orientation.
Hiroshige, Fireworks at Ryogoku from the series 100 Famous Views of Edo, 1858. Ronin Gallery.
Yoko-e
Refers to prints with horizontal orientation.
![\"Fujisawa\"](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=208193&c=4366028&h=3094bbbedc5adb98f956&566916\")
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Decoding Ukiyo-e: Standard Sizes","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"3","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"208197","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"8/11/2016 11:43:11 am"}},{"name":"The Tale of the Nine-tailed Fox","urlPath":"blog/the-tale-of-the-nine-tailed-fox-2","url":"the-tale-of-the-nine-tailed-fox-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"The Tale of the Nine-Tailed Fox|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"The Tale of the Nine-Tailed Fox","meta_description":"Popular characters in Japanese myths and folklore, foxes, or kitsune, are considered intelligent, magical and associated with the Shinto spirit Inari. The enduring tale of Tamamo-no-Mae and the Emperor Konoe serves as a cautionary tale about these mystical animals.","meta_keywords":"kitsune, japanese folklore, nine-tailed fox, fox, hokusai, ukiyo-e, japanese woodblock prints","customrecorddata":"3","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"Popular characters in Japanese myths and folklore, foxes, or kitsune, are considered intelligent, magical and associated with the Shinto spirit Inari. The enduring tale of Tamamo-no-Mae and the Emperor Konoe serves as a cautionary tale about these mystical animals.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"
Popular characters in Japanese myths and folklore, foxes, or kitsune, are considered intelligent, magical and associated with the Shinto spirit Inari. Zenko are the foxes specifically associated with Inari, while yako, or field foxes, are known as mischief-makers. Known shape shifters, foxes usually take the form of young girls, old men, but most often, that of stunningly beautiful, beguiling women. As the number of tails indicates the level of wisdom and magical prowess, the nine-tailed fox is considered especially powerful. Tamamo-no-Mae is one such nine-tailed fox, or Kyubi no kitsune, of particular note. The enduring tale of Tamamo-no-Mae and the Emperor Konoe serves as a cautionary tale about these mystical animals.
Hokusai, Nine Tail Fox and Songoku from Hokusai Manga, 1815-1868. Woodblock Print.
During the 12th century, a beautiful girl rose from the servant class to become the favorite courtesan of the Emperor Konoe. Known as Tamamo-no-Mae (meaning \"jewel maiden\"), her beauty surpassed mere physical appearance: her sharp intelligence and expansive knowledge of seemingly every subject stunned the members of the Imperial court. She could answer any question with ease, while her beauty never faltered. Understandably, the emperor kept her by his side at all times.
Toyokuni III, Kyo: The Nine Tailed Fox Disguised as Tamamo no Mae, from the series The 53 Stations of the Tokaido. 1857. Woodblock Print.
In time, Emperor Konoe fell terribly ill. While many were consulted and innumerable prayers were made, the emperor's health continued to decline. The court astrologer, Abe-no-Yasuchika, claimed that it was no normal ailment, but magical enchantment that was causing his illness. Abe-no-Yasuchika suspicion stemmed from a windy evening, when the candles were extinguished in a strong gust. Though the room should have fallen into darkness, rays of light emanated from the head of the emperor's beloved beauty. The astrologer urged the removal of Tamamo-no-Mae from the emperor's side. Yet, ever weaker, the emperor refused, unwilling to give up his enchanting companion. In an effort to save the ailing emperor, Abe-no-Yasuchika built an altar and beckoned the suspect courtesan to pray with him. She tried to resist the ceremony, but was unwillingly ushered to the shrine. Upon reaching it, the astrologer was proven correct, for Tamamo-no-Mae transformed into a golden-haired nine-tailed fox. Her true identity revealed, she flew up into the sky and off to the plain of Nasu.
Horiyoshi III, Nine-Tailed Fox, c. 2010. Drawing.
The emperor's loyal warriors Kazusanosuke and Miuranosuke set off to hunt Tamamo-no-Mae. While the clever fox briefly evaded the hunters, she appeared Miuranosuke's dream, foretelling her death and begging for mercy. The following day, Tamamo-no-Mae died at the arrow of the brave Miuranosuke. Slain, she transformed herself into a rock which would forevermore be known as the sesshoseki or \"death stone.\" Legend has it that a glance at this stone is dangerous, but contact with its cold surface spells certain death.
The stone housed the restless spirit of Tamamo-no-Mae until one day the Buddhist priest Gen, paused for a rest by sesshoseki. She rose angrily from her stone, threatening the priest. He urged her to seek salvation and performed a special spiritual ritual to free her. Tamamo-no-Mae agreed stop haunting the sesshoseki.
Emperor Konoe was not the first ruler to fall under the spell of Tamamo-no-Mae. Tales of her deceits trace back to China: known as Daji, she was the concubine of King Zhou, the last ruler of the Shang dynasty. Legend holds her bewitchment accountable for the fall of the Shang Dynasty. It is said that she fled to ancient India and assumed the identity of Lady Kayo, the beautiful courtesan of the crown prince Banzoku. With her at his side, he decapitated 1000 men. Towards the end of the 8th century BC, the nine-tailed fox returned to China as the cruel Baosi, the favored concubine of King You of the Zhou dynasty. This powerful fox did not arrive in Japan until the 8th century, when she tricked her way onto a ship heading back from Tang China.
Sesshoseki today, in Tochigi Prefecture. Photo by Travis Suzaka.
The story of this nine-tailed fox is likely historically tied to Emperor Konoe's beloved courtesan Fujiwara-no Tokuko, an elegant and accomplished woman who exercised an overwhelming and wicked influence over the emperor. In Japan today, this famous myth is commemorated in Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture. Surrounded by volcanic mountains, famous for their sulfur hot springs, the sesshoseki remains, marked with a wooden sign. Ronin Gallery's own Travis Suzaka visited the final resting place of the famous nine-tailed fox. Based on the pictures, the site appears a little eerie, no?
Sesshoseki today. Photo by Travis Suzaka.
In the early 20th century, two distinct modern Japanese print movements emerged. Shin Hanga, or \"new print,\" movement drew inspiration from Western pictorial techniques, employed growing realism, and reimagined popular ukiyo-e subject matter through a modern lens. The Sosaku Hanga, or \"creative print,\" movement also pulled from an increasingly global artistic vocabulary, drawing heavily from the European avant-garde while honing its focus on the artist and the process of making. Printing became fully participatory, as opposed to the traditional delegation of the printmaking process between artist, engraver, printer and publisher that stretched through ukiyo-e and Shin Hanga. In the eyes of the Sosaku Hanga movement, the artist must participate in every aspect of production. The knife, the ink, the block, the paper—each material was integral to the artist's experience as a Sosaku Hanga artist.
\r\n\r\nKiyoshi Saito. \"Nude (C).\" 1966. Woodblock print. Ronin Gallery.
\r\n\r\nThough the floating world of the Edo period (1603-1868) had dissipated in the face of rapid modernization, Sosaku Hanga artists adapted the woodblock medium to this changing Japan. Adopting new techniques and aesthetics, modern artists captured the spirit of the 20th century with a familiar medium. While prints of the Sosaku Hanga movement are diverse in style, inspiration, and subject, they are united through a heightened spontaneity and expressive attitude. Experimentation with different types of wood allowed artists to explore new formats and textures. Unlike the unnumbered prints of ukiyo-e, these 20th century prints were numbered and completed in limited runs.
\r\n\r\nWhile the movement began as early as 1904, Sosaku Hanga was slow to stir critical appeal within Japan. [1] Largely dismissed by the official art organizations and universities in Japan, artists took to showing their works on the pages on magazines. In 1939, Koshiro Onchi (1891-1955), considered a father of the movement, founded The First Thursday Society, bringing together artists and international collectors to discuss, develop, and promote woodblock printmaking. Despite the strain of WWII, the movement continued to develop throughout the course of the war. Yet, it was not until after the post-war period that Sosaku Hanga truly blossomed and achieved its current international reputation. As American GIs poured into Japan during the American Occupation, Sosaku Hanga artists found an eager audience among soldiers stationed in Japan as well as the new wave of tourists and business people that followed.
\r\n\r\nThe Sao Paulo Art Bienniale of 1951 marked a critical victory to the movement's recognition in Japan. As printmakers such Kiyoshi Saito (1907-1997) brought home prizes, Japanese painters and sculptors left Brazil empty handed. This international victory marked a turning point for the Sosaku Hanga artists, as well as other Japanese printmakers. The movement's audience grew, sparking enthusiasm worldwide, revered institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston developed robust collections of these modern prints. As Sosaku Hanga grew from ukiyo-e roots, contemporary Japanese printmaking is inextricably tied to the Sosaku Hanga. The emphasis on the individual and artistic autonomy that matured throughout the Sosaku Hanga movement course throughout the Japanese printmaking community today.
\r\n\r\nYoshitoshi Mori. \"Potted Plant Fair.\" 1957. Kappazuri. Ronin Gallery.
\r\n\r\nShiko Munakata. \"The Infinite Mercy of Buddha: Hana Fukaki no Kokoro.\" 1961. Woodblock print. Ronin Gallery.
\r\n\r\nJunichiro Sekino. \"The Six Jizo at Yamashina, Kyoto.\" 1970. Woodblock print. Ronin Gallery.
\r\n\r\n[1] Rimer, After Meiji, 368.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Yoshitoshi Mori. \"Potted Plant Fair.\" 1957. Kappazuri. Ronin Gallery.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"5","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"240833","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"8/20/2016 6:32:20 pm"}},{"name":"Imagining Japan: Early Japanese Photography","urlPath":"blog/imagining-japan-early-japanese-photography-2","url":"imagining-japan-early-japanese-photography-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Imagining Japan: Early Japanese Photography|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"Imagining Japan: Early Japanese Photography","meta_description":"he history of photography in Japan begins during the Edo period. Introduced through the Dutch merchants that inhabited Dejima Island in Nagasaki Bay. In this blog, we explore the history of photography in Japan through the Meiji period.","meta_keywords":"photography, japan, japanese art, meiji photography","customrecorddata":"5","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"2","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"The history of photography in Japan begins during the Edo period. Introduced through the Dutch merchants that inhabited Dejima Island in Nagasaki Bay, the medium attracted an initially small, but intrigued audience. Following the Meiji Restoration, the popularity of photography surpassed that of woodblock prints.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"The history of photography in Japan begins during the Edo period. Introduced through the Dutch merchants that inhabited Dejima Island in Nagasaki Bay, the medium attracted an initially small, but intrigued audience. Many early Japanese photographers traveled to Nagasaki to study the photographic process. In 1854, Kawamoto Komin published Ensei-Kikijutsu, the first Japanese-language book on photographic techniques. Three years later, two Japanese photographers took the first successful photograph in Japan, a portrait of a Satsuma clan lord Shimazu Nariakira, using early daguerreotype processing.
\r\n![\"Nagasaki](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=240843&c=4366028&h=566b1d4cb62880b65024&557882\")
Unknown, Nagasaki Harbor, c. 1890-1910, albumen print, Ronin Gallery.
\r\nThe early daguerreotype technique produced a single image, a direct positive made in a camera on a copper plate that resembles a mirror. The surface of the image was very fragile and could be rubbed off. Yet, this delicate technology was soon replaced by wet collodion methods, which proved to be more efficient in time and reproductive nature. In this technique, photographic material was coated with a light sensitive material, exposed to the light, and developed within a couple minutes—all while submerged in water. This technique allowed the photographer to make an unlimited number of prints and challenged the woodblock print as the most efficient means of image reproduction. By the beginning of the Meiji period, photography took off as a commercial industry in Japan.
\r\n![\"Cherry](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=240845&c=4366028&h=a9b592672629f559df18&719404\")
Unknown, Cherry Blossoms by Shrine, c. 1890-1910, hand-colored albumen print, Ronin Gallery.
\r\nAs the Meiji government eased travel restrictions on foreigners in the late 1800's, tourists began to flock to Japan. Photographs became popular, portable souvenirs. Yet, these images often spoke more to the ideals of the travelers than their destination. Many foreign tourists were more interested in perceived ideas of traditional Japanese culture than the Japanese society that was transforming and modernizing before their eyes. For many tourists, Japan promised an escape from modern industrial society. They were most attracted to photographs of Mount Fuji, cherry blossoms, temples, shrines, samurai, and geisha, regardless of whether the scene presented a reality or a fantasy.
\r\n![\"Dance](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=240847&c=4366028&h=ec78801869db5d28eb7b&790874\")
Unknown, Dance Lesson, c. 1880-1900, hand-colored albumen print, Ronin Gallery.
\r\nAs the largest market for these souvenir photographs grew in Yokohama, Japanese tourist photography came to be known as Yokohama shashin, or Yokohama-style photography. These images tended to be hand-colored, decorative, and often staged. Photography studios would often mount these images in albums that contained anywhere from 25 to 100 prints. The subject matter would be divided into three categories: customs and types; women; and famous places and views. Tourists also had the option to visit a studio and choose images that most closely matched their travel experience. In 1872, an album of fifty hand-colored photographs from Baron Raimund von Stillfried's studio cost about $48.
\r\n![\"View](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=240846&c=4366028&h=fae1c2aca8db52db307f&739273\")
View of Yokohama, c. 1880-1910, hand-colored albumen print, Ronin Gallery.
\r\nUeno Hikoma and Shimooka Renjo were two of the first professional Japanese photographers. Both set up business in 1862. Ueno Hikoma was considered the master of portrait photography in mid-nineteenth-century Japan and his studio prices were known to be very high. Shimooka had a hard time mastering photography, and soon grew tired of the competitive field.
\r\n![\"Samisen\"](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=240844&c=4366028&h=e48fb84712ccaf6a41ce&650839\")
unknown, Samisen, c. 1880-1910, hand-colored albumen print, Ronin Gallery.
\r\nThe Italian-British Felice Beato was considered the premier photographer in Japan from the 1860s to 1870s. Formerly a war photojournalist, Beato joined his friend in Japan and the pair opened a photo studio in Yokohama. Their aim was to commercialize \"that great novelty, Japonisme\" for Western viewers. While in Japan, Beato created an extensive portfolio of Japanese subjects, classifying people into types: warriors, farmers, artisans, courtesans, street performers, and priests. He played a influential role in introducing painting techniques to print makers, and is credited with creating the first hand-colored photographs in Japan. Working closely with talented Japanese painters, Beato was able to create sophisticated hand-colored prints. However, the painting of a photograph using traditional Japanese pigments was time consuming. The process often took more than a day, using a single haired brushes for fine details.
\r\n![\"Pipe](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=240839&c=4366028&h=a3c51c586710ae8d250a&114667\")
Felice Beato, Pipe Seller, late 1800s, hand-colored albumen print, Ronin Gallery.
\r\nAustrian photographer Baron Raimund von Stillfried was another pioneer of studio photography in Japan. Opening his studio in 1875, he later bought Felice Beato's Yokohama studio as well. Marketing to foreign tourists, Stillfried helped shape the late 19th century perception of Japanese society through his souvenir images.
\r\n![\"The](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=240842&c=4366028&h=cd58a1c5a086af938d54&243770\")
Unknown, The Torii of Chugu Shrine by Lake Chuzenji and Mt. Nantai, late 1800s, hand-colored albumen print, Ronin Gallery.
\r\nUchida Kuichi is most famous for his photographs of the Meiji Emperor. This was the first time an image of the emperor was so widely disseminated among the Japanese public. His photographs were called goshin-ei , or imperial portraits, and were used as the official public images of the Emperor.
\r\n\r\n\r\nAfter the Meiji Restoration, photographs became more popular than woodblock prints. With the great decrease in production, many print shop artists were out of work. However, their fine technical skills were transferable to the hand coloring of photographs. Painters would apply the color using water-soluble pigments mixed with glue that were more transparent than the oil paints used in the West. By the end of the 19th century, colorists achieved more vivid hues through the incorporation of artificial aniline dyes. The process of coloring a photograph was time consuming and an expert could only complete two or three prints in a twelve-hour work day. Soon, studios began to streamline the coloring process, where each colorist would specialize in a specific area of color, passing the photograph to another colorist after completing his section. By the 1890s, successful studios regularly employed anywhere from 20 to 100 colorists.
\r\n![\"Rickshaw\"](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=240840&c=4366028&h=7a9717927bdb2517eb81&158903\")
Unknown, Rickshaw, c.1880-1910, hand-colored albumen print, Ronin Gallery.
\r\nIt is difficult to identify the work of these early photographers because studios did not include credits in souvenir albums that featured numerous photographers. Many photographers bought the negatives of others and reproduced them as a part of their own portfolio. For example, the company of Stillfried and Anderson purchased Felice Beato's studio and stock in 1877, incorporating his negatives into their own. When attempting to make attributions, photographs with no credits are compared to the few that have attributions in an attempt to match them.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Imagining Japan: Early Japanese Photography","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"5","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"240841","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"8/20/2015 6:46:20 pm"}},{"name":"A Closer Look: Jade Rabbit and Sun Wukong","urlPath":"blog/a-closer-look-jade-rabbit-and-sun-wukong-2","url":"a-closer-look-jade-rabbit-and-sun-wukong-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"A Closer Look: Jade Rabbit and Sun Wukong|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"A Closer Look: Jade Rabbit and Sun Wukong","meta_description":"Songoku, the Monkey King, or Sun Wukong in Chinese, is the hero of the 16th century Chinese novel The Journey to the West. Yoshitoshi presents this legendary monkey in this design from One Hundred Views of the Moon.","meta_keywords":"yoshitoshi, 100 views of the moon, sun wukong, ukiyo-e, meiji prints, japanese woodblock prints","customrecorddata":"6","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"Songoku, the Monkey King, or Sun Wukong in Chinese, is the hero of the 16th century Chinese novel The Journey to the West. Yoshitoshi presents this legendary monkey in this design from One Hundred Views of the Moon.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"Songoku, the Monkey King, or Sun Wukong in Chinese, is the hero of the 16th century Chinese novel The Journey to the West. He was a mischievous deity whose pranks wreaked havoc in Heaven. Songoku possessed the gift of immortality, achieved by eating the peaches of longevity in the Garden of Heaven. The immortals didn't quite know what to do with a monkey among them, so they sent him to atone for his misdeed. He was assigned to serve as a bodyguard for a pious monk travelling between China and India carrying the Buddhist scriptures.
\r\n\r\n\r\nYoshitoshi, Jade Rabbit: Sun Wukong from the series One Hundred Views of the Moon, 1889. Ronin Gallery.
\r\n\r\nAttributed to Wu Cheng'en, Journey to the West is considered one of the four great classical novels of Chinese Literature. This story of grand adventure follows the pilgrimage of the Buddhist monk Xuanzang to Central Asia and India. The tale draws heavily from Chinese mythology, folk religion, and Taoist thought in addition to Buddhist philosophy.
\r\n\r\nSo where does the rabbit enter the story? In this print, Songoku holds his iron spear, cavorting with another legendary animal, the Jade Rabbit. The association between a white rabbit and the moon can be traced back deep into Japanese folklore. For example, in the story Kojiki, the waning and waxing of the moon is tied to a mythical rabbit losing and finding its skin. The character of the Jade Rabbit bears Chinese and Indian origins. According to Chinese tradition, this immortal rabbit can be seen silhouetted against the full moon, where it works preparing ingredients for the elixir of life. While these myths may seem unfamiliar to the viewer today, Yoshitoshi's audience would have naturally drawn the connection between these two fantastic characters.
\r\n\r\nYoshitoshi presents this legendary monkey and his mythic companion through familiar iconography. Songoku grasps the gold-tipped staff that he used to flatten out the Milky Way and protect the monk on his journey to India. His appearance is lavish, donning gold bracelets and gold-lined robes. The rabbit's characteristic red eyes stare out at the viewer as it hops across its lunar home. The full moon blushes a rosy pink, dramatically illuminating the pair against the dark background, creating a near spotlight effect. Yoshitoshi furthers this drama as the staff crosses the pictorial frame and emerges in the margin. This dynamic effect can be seen in several other prints in this series.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"A Closer Look: Jade Rabbit and Sun Wukong","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"3","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"240849","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"8/20/2018 7:12:20 pm"}},{"name":"How to Make a Woodblock Print","urlPath":"blog/how-to-make-a-woodblock-print-2","url":"how-to-make-a-woodblock-print-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"How to Make a Woodblock Print|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"How to Make a Woodblock Print","meta_description":"The printing process of can be hard to imagine in abstract. Let's turn to a work by Harunobu (1725-1770), father of nishiki-e, to explore the printing the printing process a block at time.","meta_keywords":"ukiyo-e, japanese woodblock prints, harunobu, printing process","customrecorddata":"7","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"The printing process of can be hard to imagine in abstract. Let's turn to a work by Harunobu (1725-1770), father of nishiki-e, to explore the printing the printing process a block at time.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"\r\n A Japanese woodblock print is said to be the work of the artist, but in truth it is the joint effort of the \"ukiyo-e quartet\"—the artist, engraver, printer and publisher. The process begins with the artist, designing an image that is then pasted onto a prepared cherry woodblock. Due to its hard, strong nature cherry wood was favored throughout the Edo period. While difficult to carve, these blocks could be printed many times. By using heartwood of the cherry tree, artists gained sharp lines and block longevity, but limited their block sizes to the diameter of the cherry tree. The engraver follows the artist's lines with a sharp knife, skillfully hollowing out the intervening spaces. Once carved, the key block is a work of art in of itself.\r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n
\r\n![\"Example](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=243904&c=4366028&h=1fb19cd5e5b8d13a9346&558120\")
\r\n\r\n Example of a key block. Source: Ronin Gallery.\r\n
\r\n\r\n Once carved, the key block is then inked with sumi (black ink) and a sheet of dampened, handmade mulberry paper is laid upon it. Known as hosho, this paper provided the ideal strength for printing and the ideal absorbency for ink. The printer rubs the paper with a baren (flat circular pad) until the impression is uniformly transferred. This key block impression establishes the design's outlines and the guide marks, the kagi kento and hikitsuke kento, used to align each subsequent color. In the 1760s, Japanese woodblock prints burst into unprecedented color. With the innovation of nishiki-e, or full-color prints, artists moved away from hand painted pigments in limited hues to a vivid spectrum of printed colors. For a color print, the artist indicates the color scheme and a separate block is carved for each hue. The printer rubs the ink onto the block and layers each color atop the key block impression. Finally, the publisher distributes the finished work to eager audiences. As the art of woodblock printing developed over the centuries, the artist became further involved in the process, completing each step him or herself by the 20th century.\r\n
\r\n\r\n In the abstract, this process can be difficult to conceptualize, so let's turn to a work by Harunobu (1725-1770), father of nishiki-e, to consider the the printing process a block at time. Below, you can see the final image: A beauty leans over a small stream rinsing a long piece of fabric in the current. Can you tell how many blocks went into this print?\r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n
\r\n![\"Final](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=243893&c=4366028&h=c3de34b7f0ba9f11f803&127146\")
\r\n\r\n Final print, all blocks printed. Source: Process of Printing Wood Engraving.\r\n
\r\n\r\n For ukiyo-e such as this work by Harunobu, the printing process begins with the key block, the outlines of the design. This impression includes the artists signature (seen in the bottom right). Though the background of this woodblock print is also black, it is not printed at this time.\r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n
\r\n![\"Impression](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=243896&c=4366028&h=9385a2d32f5dbcd74258&102227\")
\r\n\r\n Impression 1 - establish the design's outlines with the key block.\r\n
\r\n\r\n With the design's outline established, the printer applies the first color - a soft red - to the beauty's hair ornament, under kimono, and the tasuki that holds backs her wide sleeves.\r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n
\r\n![\"Impression](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=243895&c=4366028&h=f64f4152ba07068037e7&107061\")
\r\n\r\n Impression 2 - adding a soft red.\r\n
\r\n\r\n Yet, if we look back to the final design, these areas feature not flat, uniform color, but varying tone. Where the fabric falls into shadow, where the beauty's elbow presses against the tasuki, and on the surface of the hair ornament, the color deepens. To achieve this effect, a second shade of red must be printed on top of the first.\r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n
\r\n![\"Impression](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=243900&c=4366028&h=9c724556848087a510a5&156252\")
\r\n\r\n Impression 3 - varying tone with layered color.\r\n
\r\n\r\n With the red portions of the design complete, the printer can turn to patterned blue fabric of the beauty's kimono. At a glance, the kimono may appear to feature two shades of blue, one light and one dark. If we look closely, we can see that this effect results from the varying widths of the stripes carved into this block.\r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n
\r\n![\"Impression](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=243894&c=4366028&h=21ef7e214e8bb313ecc4&107116\")
\r\n\r\n Impression 4 - adding blue to the kimono.\r\n
\r\n\r\n Next, the finely patterned obi around the beauty's waist is printed in a deep lilac. As with the red, this first layer of color is not enough to achieve the effect seen in the final print.\r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n
\r\n![\"Impression](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=243902&c=4366028&h=790d8be8731530d3e5b6&165042\")
\r\n\r\n Impression 5 - printing lilac to the obi.\r\n
\r\n\r\n A second, slightly different shade of lilac is layered to achieve the subtle shading located at the small of her back and on the top fold and bottom loop of her obi. As seen with in the second impression of the red color above (Impression 3), this layered impression does not have sharp edges. Instead, the color seems taper off gradually. This gradation results from bokashi, or shading. This technique is used for both red and lilac in this print.\r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n
\r\n![\"Impression](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=243897&c=4366028&h=c1a1d3e2a639d6407971&110931\")
\r\n\r\n Impression 6 - shading the obi.\r\n
\r\n\r\n The 7th impression prints a light brown onto the stream that winds across the bottom left corner of the design. Notice that not all areas of the brown are outlined by the key block.\r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n
\r\n![\"Impression](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=243901&c=4366028&h=70b18e755035f0e94409&119084\")
\r\n\r\n Impression 7 - adding brown to the stream.\r\n
\r\n\r\n If you look to the flow of the water in the bottom left corner, the loop of fabric appears to be submerged beneath the current. To create this effect with color, a gradated impression of light brown is printed atop parts of the fabric and water.\r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n
\r\n![\"Impression](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=243899&c=4366028&h=c4af1f8a34fb0d43214e&121348\")
\r\n\r\n Impression 8 - adding gradation to the brown.\r\n
\r\n\r\n In the final color impression, the composition receives a rich black background. Yet, the printing process is not quite complete.\r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n
\r\n![\"Impression](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=243898&c=4366028&h=ea14d2186a08a945754a&134814\")
\r\n\r\n Impression 9 - printing the background.\r\n
\r\n\r\n While the printing process fills a composition with a color, it can also enrich a work with texture. In this work, we can see two of these textural, ink-free techniques at work. In impression 10, the deep lines around the edges of the fabric reveal the use of \"blind printing.\" In this technique, a block is carved with sharp lines and printed without ink . These lines can imbue a pattern, or, as in this case, emphasize an outline.\r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n
\r\n![\"Impression](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=243906&c=4366028&h=8c6f70de68fb9522c5d8&130942\")
\r\n\r\n Impression 10 - blind printing the fabric's outlines\r\n
\r\n\r\n In Impression 11, the effect of the blind printing is combined with embossing. In this second ink-free printing technique, the serpentine shape of the fabric is pressed into the image from the back of the paper. This technique lends the fabric a tangible texture and heightened tactility.\r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n
\r\n![\"Impression](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=243905&c=4366028&h=ced98bea5b4e532b102c&134814\")
\r\n\r\n Impression 11 - embossing the fabric, the complete print.\r\n
\r\n\r\n Unfortunately, it can be difficult to perceive these subtle surface textures through photographs and computer screens. These ukiyo-e techniques are best appreciated in person. Want to test your eye? Stop by the gallery to explore some stunning examples of full-color printing.\r\n
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"How to Make a Woodblock Print","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"3","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"243903","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"8/28/2018 5:07:28 am"}},{"name":"Musha-e: The Warriors of Ukiyo-e","urlPath":"blog/musha-e-the-warriors-of-ukiyo-e-2","url":"musha-e-the-warriors-of-ukiyo-e-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Musha-e: The Warriors of Ukiyo-e|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"Musha-e: The Warriors of Ukiyo-e","meta_description":"From fierce samurai to legendary heroes, musha-e celebrate the Japanese warrior. Translating to \"warrior pictures,\" this genre of ukiyo-e is marked by consistent fluidity between fact and fiction, truth and fable.","meta_keywords":"musha-e, warriors, ukiyo-e, kuniyoshi, Japanese woodblock prints","customrecorddata":"8","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"From fierce samurai to legendary heroes, musha-e celebrate the Japanese warrior. Translating to \"warrior pictures,\" this genre of ukiyo-e is marked by consistent fluidity between fact and fiction, truth and fable. As they conflate history, legend, literature and theater, these prints offer fantastic renderings of familiar characters from Japanese culture.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"From fierce samurai to legendary heroes, musha-e (武者絵) celebrate the traditional Japanese warrior. Translating to \"warrior pictures,\" this genre of ukiyo-e (pictures of the floating world) is marked by consistent fluidity between fact and fiction, truth and fable. As they conflate history, legend, literature and theater, these prints offer fantastic renderings of familiar characters from Japanese culture.
Kuniyoshi, The Ronin Yazama Shinroku Mitsukaze, c. 1847, woodblock print, Ronin Gallery.
The first musha-e emerged in 1646. Recalling raging battles and noble samurai, these prints considered themes of revenge, honor, envy and rage. While Kabuki theater presented similar themes and stories, musha-e remained closer to the original military tales rather than their modern stage interpretations. These classics narratives included Heike Monogatari (Tale of Heike), Genpei Sesuki (The Rise and Fall of the Genji and the Heike), among other tales of the civil strife of centuries past. While warrior subject matter did appear in the yakusha-e or \"actor print\" genre, these images are distinct from the musha-e. These theatrical prints focus on the actor playing the role of the warrior rather than the historical or legendary figure.
Though the decorated courtesans of the Yoshiwara and the dramatic actors of the Kabuki theater enjoyed enormous popularity in ukiyo-e, the warriors of the past inhabited a niche market. While the actors and courtesans were the celebrities of the moment, musha-e dealt in the past, and often a distant past at that. As historical subject matter post-1592 was strictly forbidden by the Shogunate, 18th century musha-e had no fresh subject matter to work with. The genre played its greatest hits, the gunki monogatari (historical war tales) of long past to both avoid censure and to satisfy a nostalgic, if limited, audience.
Kuniyoshi, Musashi Goro Sadao, from the series Eight Heroes, c.1850, woodblock print, Ronin Gallery.
In 1827, Kuniyoshi released his print series One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Suikoden and radically changed the musha-e genre. The Suikoden is the Japanese adaptation of the 14th century Chinese classic, Shuihuzhuan (Stories of the Water Margin). Translated in 1805 by Takizawa Bakin, this tale of 108 bandit warriors stressed camaraderie and loyalty as each warrior operates on their own code of justice, often to highly violent ends. Inciting a mania in Edo, Kuniyoshi's Suikoden prints brought musha-e into unprecedented vogue. As a blatantly anti-authority story, the Suikoden resounded with the residents of Edo's floating world, yet avoided the censure of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Heightening the drama of the warrior genre through copious blood flow, dynamic postures, and dismembered body parts, Kuniyoshi rightly earned the title Musha-e no Kuniyoshi or \"Kuniyoshi of the Warrior Prints.\"
Kuniyoshi, Rori Hakucho Chojun, from the series 108 Heroes of the Suikoden, c.1828, woodblock print, Ronin Gallery.
The warrior craze peaked with the passing of the Tenpo Reforms in 1842. In an attempt to quell the perceived luxury of ukiyo-e prints, the Shogunate banned the reigning genres of bijin-ga (beautiful women) and yakusha-e (actors). Historical and legendary subject matter quickly filled the void. The heroes of the Suikoden remained enormously popular, but were joined by familiar historical and legendary heroes, as well as the modern \"warriors\" of Edo (See our series Ink, Banditry, and Bushido to learn more about these modern heroes). Kuniyoshi reigned as the master of warrior prints and fostered a new generation of musha-e masters, including the celebrated Yoshitoshi. The musha-e genre of ukiyo-e thrived projecting stories of strength and courage as foreign influence began to pour into Japan and the Tokugawa Shogunate began to crumble. Like a form of catharsis, the warriors of the musha-e sought to exorcise demons of a country in transition.
Yoshitoshi, The Parting Scene between Yoshitsune and Shizuka at Mt. Yoshino, 1886, woodblock print, Ronin Gallery.
Just as bijin traded layered kimono for hoops skirts and lace umbrellas, the warrior identity shifted from samurai and folk heroes, to soldiers and revered generals during the Meiji period. By 1905, senso-e, or \"war pictures,\" emerged as a modern answer to the musha-e genre. Traditional armor and family feuds faded from printmaking, rapidly replaced by Western-style uniforms, guns, and military exploits. As James King explains in the book Japanese Warrior Prints 1646-1905, senso-e, though an evolution of musha-e, is a distinct genre. While musha-e evoke nostalgia, firmly entrenched in the past, senso-e concentrate on the contemporary. Presenting battle victories of the Sino-Japanese War or the Russo-Japanese War, these works served as propaganda for a rapidly modernizing Japan.[1]
Kunichika, Onoe Kikugoro as Captain Matsuzaki, 1893, woodblock print, Ronin Gallery.
So where do we see musha-e today? Direct iconographic links can be found in the traditional Japanese tattooing. Even today, the heroes of the Suikoden remain enormously popular subject matter in the tattoo community (As seen in the drawing of Kaosho Roschin by Horiyoshi III, Japan's foremost tattoo artist). More broadly, the genre of musha-e serves as a critical historical reference tool of Japanese history and culture. These prints detail armor and weaponry, reveal battle strategies of ancient Japan, and preserve heroic tales and personas for centuries to come.
Horiyoshi III, Kaosho Rochishin, c. 2010, sketch, Ronin Gallery.
[1] King, James, and Yuriko Iwakiri. Japanese Warrior Prints, 1646-1905. Leiden: Hotei, 2007. Print.
Select Sources
King, James, and Yuriko Iwakiri. Japanese Warrior Prints, 1646-1905. Leiden: Hotei, 2007. Print.
\"Musha-e.\" Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System, 2001. Web. 25 June 2015.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Musha-e: The Warriors of Ukiyo-e","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"3","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"243910","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"6/28/2015 5:59:28 am"}},{"name":"The Rise of Japanese Post-war Photography","urlPath":"blog/the-rise-of-japanese-post-war-photography-2","url":"the-rise-of-japanese-post-war-photography-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"The Rise of Japanese Post-War Photography|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"The Rise of Japanese Post-War Photography","meta_description":"Over the past decade, the influence of Japanese photography has swept the art market. This thriving market focuses on post-war photographers, largely active between the late 1950s and the 1970s. The avant-garde group working during these years tore away from the dominant journalistic tradition of Japanese photography to create raw, subjective images of the world around them.","meta_keywords":"post-war photography, japanese photography, modern art, contemporary art, photography, asia initiatives","customrecorddata":"9","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"2","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"Over the past decade, the influence of Japanese photography has swept the art market. This thriving market focuses on post-war photographers, largely active between the late 1950s and the 1970s. The avant-garde group working during these years tore away from the dominant journalistic tradition of Japanese photography to create raw, subjective images of the world around them.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"Over the past decade, the influence of Japanese photography has swept the art market. At auction, early works continue to set record prices, while many museums are avidly developing and exhibiting their collections of Japanese photography. This thriving market focuses on post-war photographers, largely active between the late 1950s and the 1970s. The avant-garde group working during these years tore away from the dominant journalistic tradition of Japanese photography to create raw, subjective images of the world around them. Yasufumi Nakamori, curator at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, states that there was \"a sort of tension between photography as document and photography as expression.\" [1] The artists of this era fought for expression, seeking a new methodology and developing a radically fresh aesthetic. The majority of their photography was produced in a serial or photo book format. Monthly magazines, such as Asahi Camera and Camera Mainichii, provided a vital venue for these early photographers. The short-lived publication Provoke lends its title to the revered group of photographers who presented their work upon its pages. These artists created stark, gritty, and personal images of contemporary life. Today, collectors and dealers alike seek this Provoke-era aesthetic.
\r\n\r\nSince the 1970s, Japanese photography has claimed the spotlight in collections around the world—the Museum of Modern Art New York held a survey of the movement in New Japanese Photography in 1974, followed shortly by survey exhibitions at the Graz Municipal Art Museum in Austria (1976-7), Bologna's Museum of Modern Art, (1978) and the International Center of Photography in New York (1979). During the 1990s, Japanese gallerists sensed the growing interest in postwar photography and began to track down artists of the Provoke movement. As they urged the artists to print new works, these gallerists lay the groundwork for the impending rush of Western collectors and dealers around 2000. In recent years, the number of exhibitions dedicated to Japanese photography has grown: The Museum of Modern Art San Francisco held The Provoke Era: Postwar Japanese Photography (2009), the Tate Modern in London has presented three exhibitions of Japanese Photography, most recently, Performing for the Camera (2016), and this past October, the Japan Society in New York opened For a New World to Come: Experiments in Japanese Art and Photography 1968-1979. With each major exhibition, the market for Japanese photography continues to flourish and evolve.
\r\n\r\nThe collection Modern Masters of Photography: Japan presents prints from twelve of the most influential post-war photographers: Masahisa Fukase, Eikoh Hosoe, Yasuhiro Ishimoto, Kikuji Kawada, Daido Moriyama, Shigeichi Nagano, Tadayuki Naito, Tokihiro Sato, Toshio Shibata, Issei Suda, Yoshihiko Ueda, and Hiroshi Yamazaki. Each artist has donated a photograph that has special meaning to him or her for this project. Proceeds from this collection support grass roots sustainable development in developing countries. Ronin Gallery is proud to partner with Asia Initiatives to present this stunning collection.
\r\n\r\n***
\r\n\r\nDaido Moriyama, Stray Dog, Misawa, 1971.
\r\n\r\nDaido Moriyama creates harsh contrasts in a grainy, raw, and deliberately unfocused manner for this photograph. He encountered this dog in 1971 on the streets of Misawa, Aomori Prefecture, near a U.S. Air Force base. This familiar image has been printed in several books and catalogs.
\r\n\r\n
Hiroshi Yamazaki, The Sun Is Longing for the Sea, 1978 (2005).
\r\n\r\nThe photographic technique known as heliography was named and invented by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce , a pioneer during the dawn of photography. Niépce's heliography is deeply connected to Yamazaki's images. The sea was a significant subject for Naito for capturing the changes in light. It took several years for Yamazaki to turn his interest in the variations of the light on the sea into a single work of art.
\r\n\r\nYasuhiro Ishimoto, Joy of Colour, 2002.
\r\n\r\nIn this photograph, Ishimoto focuses on themes he explored throughout his career—clouds in constantly changing formations, fallen leaves soaked by the rain, and footprints melting in the snow—imagery that conveys the transitory essence of life.
\r\n\r\nSuda Issei, Ginzan Spa, Yamagata, August 26, 1976 from Fushikaden.
\r\n\r\nThis is part of Suda's early work that included stage performance photography for the Tenjo Sajiki Play Laboratory, an avant-garde theatrical troupe headed by the famous Shuji Terayama. Expressing the mysteries of everyday life is a theme Suda has pursued throughout his career. This photograph was published in Suda Issei: Japanese Photographers (Iwanami Shoten, 1976). Suda Issei, Ginzan Spa, Yamagata, August 26, 1976 from Fushikaden. Expressing the mysteries of everyday life is a theme Suda has pursued throughout his career. This photograph is part of Suda's early work that included stage performance photography for the Tenjo Sajiki Play Laboratory, an avant-garde theatrical troupe headed by the famous Shuji Terayama. This work was published in Suda Issei: Japanese Photographers (Iwanami Shoten, 1976).
\r\n\r\nMasahisa Fukase, Nayoro, 1977.
\r\n\r\n\r\nFukase's dramatic narrative, Ravens, effectively combines Eastern and Western approaches to photography. For a culture that is traditionally reluctant to expose emotion in public, the expressionistic character of Fukase's work was, in part, the result of the development of the generation that evolved after World War II. His emotionally charged Ravens series began with a chance to photograph a flock of crows on his native Hokkaido. Fukase deepens the sense of melancholy and loss as the photographs progress to produce a sequence of immensely humane and daring images that draw in many aspects of modern Japan. The pattern of black silhouettes in the sky resembles the brushstrokes in traditional Japanese sumi-e calligraphic painting.
\r\n\r\n\r\nSato Tokihiro, Photo-Respiration Yura #340, 1998.
\r\n\r\nThe word photography, which dates back to the 1830s, literally means \"writing with light.\" In this photograph Sato has embraced both the literal and popular meanings of the word. Using a large-format camera fitted with a neutral-density filter, Sato is able to walk around his subjects and create a long exposure image that explores ideas of time, space, and transience.
\r\n\r\nNagano Shigeichi, Monk of Kita Kamakura, 1950.
\r\n\r\nThis photograph, shot during the American Occupation of Japan, shows an intersection and tension between Japan's traditions and progress in postwar Japan, symbolized by the waiting monk and the speeding train. The street signs in English reflect that period. This photograph was published in Shigeichi Nagano: Japanese Photographers (Iwanami Shoten, 1999).
\r\n\r\n\r\nKawada Kikuji, Atomic Bomb Dome, Stain, Ceiling, Hiroshima.
\r\n\r\nThis photograph is part of a series that was published in the Map, in which Kawada captured, on high contrast monochrome film, scenes and symbols of places that were embedded with the memory of violence. This photograph of a stain from the ceiling of the Atomic Bomb Dome embodies a deeply critical message about the nature of nationalism and violence.
\r\n\r\nUeda Yoshihiku, Hanna, Hands and Feet, 1998.
\r\n\r\nFor a culture traditionally reluctant to express emotion in public, Ueda delights us with an intimate scene. The baby in the image is one of Ueda's children. Ueda's mastery of printing techniques brings out the tactile qualities of the flesh and evokes strong family ties. Hanna, Hands and Feet first appeared in Photographs (Editions Treville, 2003).
\r\n\r\nHosoe Eikoh, Kazuo Ohno Breathing in the Spirit of Shohaku Soga.
\r\n\r\nHosoe's visual language is mythical, theatrical, and evokes his memories. In 1959, young dancer Tatsumi Hijikata held a performance in a small theater in Tokyo, and Hosoe, who viewed the performance, was deeply impressed. The human body was to become Hosoe's constant preoccupation. Hijitaka achieved notoriety and subsequently became the founder of Butoh dance, together with Kazuo Ohno, the Butoh dancer featured in Hosoe's image. At age 98, Ohno remains a solo artist of unparalleled expression and depth. Hosoe applies his mastery of printing techniques to these photographic dramas. Photography has granted him a language, and the human body has provided him with a subject. His works are held in the permanent collections of the National Museum of Art, Kyoto, Japan; Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA; International Museum of Photography, George Eastman House, Rochester, USA; Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK; Museum of Modern Art, Paris, France; Centre de Georges Pompidou, Paris, France; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia; Art Institute of Chicago, USA; Hamburg Museum of Art, Hamburg, Germany; and Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo, Japan, among others.
\r\n\r\nShibata Toshio, #189 Yunotani Village, Niigata Prefecture.
\r\n\r\nDevelopment pressures in Japan have caused the natural environment to be ravaged as concrete is sprayed down mountain slopes and hillsides. Since 1983, Shibata has photographed these sites. His elaborate compositions explore the juxtaposition between the finite Japanese landscape and the infinite ability of man to impose on that landscape. Shibata's works transform the reality of landscapes into images that are magical, mysterious, and altogether unique. This photograph was featured on the cover of Toshio Shibata/Quintessence of Japan: About the World, published by the Sprengel Museum, Hannover, Germany.
\r\n\r\nNaito Tadayuki, Blue Lotus.
\r\n\r\n\r\nNaito has developed an entire series on blue lotus, which is a legendary sign of peace and hope for the spirit and mind. He wanted to express the intrinsically Japanese aesthetic of embodiment, abstraction, and a sense of rhythm as the focus of his creativity through this symbol. This photograph was published in Blue Lotus (Hyogensha Tokyo, 2005).
\r\n\r\n[1] De Stefani, Lucia. \"Witness the Historical Transformation of Japanese Photography.\" Time. Time, 18 Sept. 2015. Web. 05 June 2016.
\r\n\r\n\r\n Nourished by the principles of Shinto and Buddhism, the most exquisite expressions of Japanese culture have been rooted in a profound love and respect for the natural world. The specific tradition of kacho-e, which is most simply the depiction of flora and fauna, has a long visual and literary history. Imbued with metaphorical significance beyond their physical beauty, specific pairings of birds, flowers, and insects have formed the basis for a tradition that extends into the contemporary moment.\r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n Birds & Flowers: Masterworks of Kacho-e showcases a rare collection of exquisite woodblock prints by such artists as Utamaro, Masayoshi, Hokusai, and Hiroshige, including prints from Utamaro's famous Book of Birds (1790) and Book of Insects (1788). This exhibition features Hokusai's acclaimed \"Peonies and Butterflies,\" from the master's large flower series, and numerous additional prints from Hiroshige's important studies of birds. Also included is a selection of prints by Koson (Shoson), Japan's early 20th-century master of kacho-e. Softly colored, and exquisitely rendered with an elegant arrangement of space, each of these prints celebrates nature as a combination of sensual delights and lyrical expressions of emotion.\r\n
\r\n\r\n The 18th century, considered by many to be the golden age of ukiyo-e, was the flourishing moment of the prosperous and peaceful Edo period. Although Japanese woodblock printing was still a relatively nascent art form at the turn of the 1700s, artists quickly discovered new techniques for improving the appeal of their works, including increasingly delicate and sinuous lines, and the ability to incorporate dozens of color in a single printing technique, known as brocade prints, or nishiki-e. The \"floating world\" of the ukiyo-e genre most often depicted scenes of travel, pleasure, and entertainment: beautiful women, Kabuki actors, and other ephemeral indulgences of the newly emergent middle class. Many masters of the 18th century woodblock print also turned their talents to the longstanding poetic and artistic tradition of kacho-e, images of birds and flowers. Koryusai (1735-1790) and Utamaro (1753-1806), two of the most important artists of the period, renowned for their images of beautiful women (bijin) and courtesans, both produced substantial work on the theme of nature. Utamaro produced three full printed books on the theme of nature, Book of Insects (Ehon mushi erabi, 1788), Gifts of the Ebb Tide (Shiohi no tsuto, 1789), and Myriad Birds (Momo chidori, 1790). These exquisite kacho-e pair playful and romantic kyoka poetry with depictions of the natural world, often using embossing and mica to emphasize the naturalism and textural quality of the different animals and plants.\r\n
\r\n\r\n Kitao Masayoshi's (1764-1824) series, Compendium of Pictures of Birds Imported from Overseas (Kaihaku raikin zui), demonstrates the increasingly intricate relationship between Japanese and Chinese art forms. Masayoshi was commissioned to interpret a pre-existing set of bird-and-flower handscroll paintings by a Chinese Nagasaki-school artist that documented a shipment of exotic Chinese birds in 1762. Masayoshi's copy of these handscrolls, from around thirty years later, is faithful to the Chinese aesthetic and subject matter with its soft treatment of color, but at the same time, is undeniably the work of an accomplished Japanese woodblock artist.\r\n
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Kacho-e: Masterpieces of Birds, Flowers, and Insects","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"247827","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"5/29/2014 5:30:29 am"}},{"name":"A Closer Look: Hokusai's Great Wave","urlPath":"blog/a-closer-look-hokusais-great-wave-2","url":"a-closer-look-hokusais-great-wave-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"A Closer Look: Hokusai's Great Wave|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"A Closer Look: Hokusai's Great Wave","meta_description":"No single work of Japanese art is better known than Katsushika Hokusai's (1760-1849) Under the Wave off Kanagawa, or, as it is widely known, the Great Wave. In this blog, we'll take a closer look at this masterpiece.","meta_keywords":"great wave, hokusai, ukiyo-e, japanese woodblock prints","customrecorddata":"11","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"No single work of Japanese art is better known than Hokusai's Under the Wave off Kanagawa, or, as it is widely known, the Great Wave.Published as part of the series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji (c.1830-1832), today this design has become embedded in popular culture, appearing everywhere from phone cases and emojis, to murals and political cartoons.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"No single work of Japanese art is better known than Katsushika Hokusai's (1760-1849) Under the Wave off Kanagawa, or, as it is widely known, the Great Wave. Published by Nishimuraya Eijudo as part of the series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji (c.1830-1832), today this design has become embedded in popular culture, appearing everywhere from phone cases and emojis, to murals and political cartoons. The work is widely considered one of the world's great masterpieces, a \"stunning evocation\" of elegant majesty and unbridled power of nature. [1] Hokusai is not only among Japan's greatest ukiyo-e artists, but also an inimitable master in the history of art worldwide. His career stretched across nearly eight decades, yet his creativity never faltered. Hokusai's unerring sense of line, color, inventive composition, and emotional resonance is evident in the Great Wave.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Hokusai, Under the Wave Off Kanagawa, c.1831. Ronin Gallery.
As the sea curls and crests overhead, the fishing boats float far below. The fisherman bow before the wave, prepared for the impending crash of water. Even snow-tipped Mt. Fuji appears small beside the power of the sea. The print is the result of seven consecutive printed layers. The shades of blue that create the volume and solidity of the water were printed with three separate blocks using three separate dyes. It is important to note that the outlines of early printings are blue, while later impressions are printed with a black keyblock. The boats are in a pale yellow and a grey that echoes the sky. A hint of color can be found in the clouds. The Great Wave is an exceptionally modern work. Hokusai integrates aspects of single-point perspective derived from Dutch etchings to create a sense of scale. The rich, bright blue results from \"Berlin Blue,\" a synthetic dye imported from England by way of China. Hokusai combines these foreign elements with his distinct style to create the visual drama and emotional impact of the scene.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAs Hokusai drew from foreign influence, his work inspired American and European artists. Around 1859, woodblock prints arrived in Europe and the flat areas of color and precise outlines opened the hearts of Western impressionists and post-impressionists. Hokusai's wave sparked creativity across the arts. The design moved Debussy to compose his famous orchestral arrangement La Mer. The 1905 sheet music even offers an homage to the towering crest of Hokusai's wave. [2] Just as Hokusai's print was popular amongst its contemporaries, the wave continues to inspire audiences worldwide. The print acts as the centerpiece for many exhibitions of Japanese and East Asian art and continues to set record prices at auction. This summer, this print is the highlight of the British Museum's major exhibition Hokusai: Beyond the Great Wave.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n 1905 cover of Debussy's La Mer (http://expositions.bnf.fr/lamer/grand/121.htm) [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.
Later impressions of the Great Wave reveal the degradation of the woodblock due to overuse. This wear on the blocks suggests that the Great Wave was printed hundreds of times to meet a ravenous demand. [3] Yet, if this is the case, then how is the Great Wave so treasured and rare? First, the existence of a woodblock print today marks a feat. As a popular art form that could be purchased for the cost of lunch, these prints did not receive museum-quality care over the centuries; many were lost to water damage, fire, or simply the shifting tides of public taste. Second, not all impressions are equal, whether in printing quality or condition. As stated by the Seattle Museum, the Great Wave is \"easily the most recognized work of Japanese art...its pop-culture status rivals that of Van Gogh's Starry Night or Edvard Munch's Scream,\" but despite its ubiquity, high quality impressions are rare. [4] Dull, broken lines and waning attention to detail evidence later impressions of this famous design. Late editions of the works were printed from recarved blocks. Condition problems can range from centerfolds (the line that results from folding the print in half for storage) to insect holes, but fading is the most common. Works on paper are particularly light sensitive. When exposed to the light for too long, brilliant colors can fade to ghostly shades. As Richard Lane notes in Hokusai, \"the sky pigments are rather fugitive: the yellowish cloud formations tend to disappear, and even the color of the sky itself may fade somewhat or turn beige on exposure to light.\" [5] The impression of the Great Wave recently on display at the British Museum has not been on exhibit since 2011 due to such light concerns.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn his discussion of the Great Wave, the noted scholar Richard Lane writes:
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\"To the print collector or curator...it will be mind-boggling just to think of all those pristine first impression of the Red Fuji and Great Wave scattered about the parlors of wide Edo like so many $100,000 bills, so to speak, eventually to be defaced by children, scratched by cats, chewed by dogs and mice, finally to be discarded like so much trash...But this was the inescapable nature and fate of a popular art like ukiyo-e. Indeed considering these perils—and the all-too-frequent fires, floods, and earthquakes—it is a wonder that so many prints survived to delight us in modern times.\" [6]
[1] Narazaki, The Japanese Print (Kondansha International, 1966).
\r\n\r\n[2] bibliothèque Nationale de France. http://expositions.bnf.fr/lamer/grand/121.html/
\r\n\r\n[3]\"Kanagawa-oki nami-ura 神奈川沖浪裏 (Under the Wave off Kanagawa) / Fugaku sanjūrokkei 冨嶽三十六景 (Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji).\" British Museum. Accessed May 30, 2017.
\r\n\r\n [4] Roche, Fleeting Beauty: Japanese Woodblock Prints (Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 2010), 65.
\r\n\r\n [5] Lane, Hokusai (London: Barrie & Jenkins, 1988), 288.
\r\n\r\n [6] Lane, 187.
\r\n The celebrated tale of the 47 loyal retainers stems from the historical event known as the Ako incident (1701-1704). Continuously illustrated, adapted, parodied, and performed since its occurrence at turn of the 18th century, the Ako incident made its first appearance in the popular culture of Osaka and Kyoto, but soon returned to its origin in Edo. Though the Osaka and Kyoto renditions of the tale included romantic intrigue, the story took a political turn when it appeared in Edo's popular culture. The play Kanadehon Chushingura (1748) draws upon the basis of the historical Ako incident, but provides Asano with a motive to strike Kira, framing the tale as one of honor and triumph over crooked government officials. The historical story goes as follows:\r\n
\r\n\r\n ![\"Hayano](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=250449&c=4366028&h=ae1ffe4843175920568e&286691\")
\r\n Kuniyoshi, Hayano Wasuke Tsunenari Piercing a Cord-Bord Chest from the series Stories of the Faithful Samurai. 1847.\r\n
\r\n In 1701, the young Lord Asano Naganori and Lord Kamei are instructed to organize a reception for envoys of the emperor in direct service to the shogun. During the preparation, Kira Yoshinaka, a powerful government official, offends Asano and Kamei. Asano responds to the initial insults stoically, but Kamei is deeply upset. Though Kamei plans to kill Kira in response to the insult, wise counselors remove Kamei from the escalating situation. Asano's self-control soon fades.\r\n
\r\n\r\n After multiple circumstances of insult, Asano can no longer tolerate Kira's behavior and draws his sword, striking Kira, scarring his face but failing to kill him. While Kira's injury is minor, Asano's act, both of drawing of a sword in the palace and striking a member of the bakufu, is fatal. Asano is sentenced to seppuku (self-disembowelment). Oishi Kuranosuke, Asano's principal retainer, and 46 of his companions vow to avenge their master's death. After more than a year of careful planning, these ronin (or samurai without a master) stage a night attack on Kira's mansion and finish what their master started.\r\n
\r\n\r\n ![\"Okashima](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=250447&c=4366028&h=bb4ac588dad159da836b&303579\")
\r\n Kuniyoshi, Okashima Yasoemon Tsunetatsu Defending Himself Behind a Fireplace Cover from the series Stories of the Faithful Samurai. 1847.\r\n
\r\n Following their victory, these 47 ronin march across Edo to present Kira's head at their avenged master's grave. With their loyal quest at an end, they turn themselves in. All 47 are sentenced to seppuku, yet their act of revenge so embodies the samurai code of bushido—loyalty and honor—that the 47 ronin are enshrined at Sengakuji Temple beside their beloved master.\r\n
\r\n\r\n ![\"Oboshi](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=250448&c=4366028&h=2b9bb5b9e4c8cae6a3d6&295678\")
\r\n Kuniyoshi, Oboshi Seizaemon Nobukiyo Rushing on Toward His Next Adversary from the series Stories of the Faithful Samurai, 1847.\r\n
\r\n During the 19th century, this tale of loyalty provided irresistible inspiration for artists. Kuniyoshi, master of the legendary and historical, seized this theme in his dramatic and dynamic series Seichu gishi den (Stories of the Faithful Samurai, 1847-1848). These works stray from Kabuki iterations of these heroes. Instead, Kuniyoshi captures the ronin as he imagined them from the legend. The tale continued to grow in popularity during the Meiji era, feeding a national nostalgia for a Japan past.\r\n
\r\n\r\n The graves of the 47 loyal retainers continue to receive every mark of respect to this day. The Gishisai Festival (Dec. 14) in Ako city, Hyogo prefecture, commemorates the loyal act of the 47 ronin, but they are not alone. The story of the 47 loyal retainers continues to serve as a popular subject for movies, theater, books, and manga.\r\n
\r\n\r\n ![\"The](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=250445&c=4366028&h=e5583e445f755a3467a2&131198\")
\r\n The stone on which Kira's head was washed before the ronin placed it on their master's grave. Photo: Travis Suzaka.\r\n
\r\n ![\"Grave](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=250446&c=4366028&h=b5dc4e5366f94e84c61d&96911\")
\r\n Grave stones of the ronin at Sengakuji Temple in Tokyo. Photo: Travis Suzaka.\r\n
\r\n ![\"Reenactment](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=250450&c=4366028&h=a7a134b2ba8fcafab74e\")
\r\n Reenactment at Sengakuji Temple in Tokyo. Photo: Travis Suzaka.\r\n
Whether printed centuries ago or this year, woodblock prints are typically produced in multiples. While surimono (lavishly printed, privately commissioned works) could be commissioned in editions as small as a single print, the most popular designs could be printed into the hundreds during the Edo period. Today, artists usually restrict the editions to a specific number. So, if there are multiple impressions of printed works, how can a print be rare? All ukiyo-e that exist today survived the ravages of time. From natural disasters and war to the damage of use, the woodblock prints that exist today have beat the odds. With this in mind, all existing woodblock prints are rare. Yet, there are certain combinations of artist, printing technique, design, and condition that set certain impressions apart from the rest. Looking to the Ronin Gallery collection, one can see several examples of true rarity.
\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Hokusai. Under the Wave off Kanagawa from the series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji. c. 1830. Ronin Gallery.
No single work of Japanese art is better known than Hokusai's (1760-1849) Under the Wave off Kanagawa, or, as it is widely known, Great Wave. Published as part of the series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji (c. 1830-1832), today this design has become embedded in popular culture, appearing everywhere from phone cases to computer decals. This 19th century masterpiece presents the striking union of incomparable artistry and iconic design. Hokusai is not only among Japan's greatest ukiyo-e artists, but also an inimitable master in the history of art worldwide. His career stretched across nearly eight decades, yet his creativity never faltered. Hokusai's unerring sense of line, color, inventive composition, and emotional resonance is evident in the Great Wave. As the sea curls and crests overhead, the fishing boats float far below, preparing for the impending crash of water. Even snow-tipped Mt. Fuji appears small beside the power of the sea. The Great Wave is an exceptionally modern work: the flat areas of color and precise black outlines, opened the hearts of Western impressionists and post-impressionists. Just as this work was popular among its contemporaries, the Great Wave continues to inspire audiences worldwide. The design has served as the centerpiece of many exhibitions of Japanese and East Asian art and sets record prices at auction. This summer, this print was on view at the British Museum in the exhibition Hokusai: Beyond the Great Wave.
\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Sharaku. \"Sawamura Sojuro as Nagoya Sanza and Segawa Kikunojo as Katsuragi.\" c. 1794. Ronin Gallery.
The rarity of Sharaku's work is amplified the brevity of his career. Very little is known about Sharaku, though his work marks a major turning point in ukiyo-e portraiture. During his ten-month career, his prints were of such high caliber that critics today compare him to Rembrandt. His entire oeuvre numbers around 100 designs, mostly kabuki actors, marked by satire and unfaltering wit. His work allows the viewer an intimate understanding of the subject, looking beyond the role to the actor behind it. This can be seen in the distinctive facial features of the figures in \"Sawamura Sojuro as Nagoya and Segawa Kikunojo as Katsuragi.\" While this work is inherently rare due to its artist, the fine condition of the delicate mica background and the striking preservation of color enhances this rarity.
\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Utamaro. \"Courtesan Wakaume from the Tamaya in Edomachi 1-chome.\" 1793-1794. Ronin Gallery.
Though Utamaro designed many images of courtesans, \"Courtesan Wakaume from the Tamaya in Edomachi 1-chome\" is a masterpiece. As the elegant Wakaume glances behind her, a small kamuro glances around her side. Her layered kimono slides down her gracefully sloped shoulders, but she catches the left edges with her delicate figures. The rarity of this work derives from the quality of its printing and its impeccable condition. This print boasts very good color, impression, and state, as well as an intact mica ground. Printed straight to the paper, powdered mica creates a silver-white surface, yet in this case, a pink ink (likely safflower rose) is printed beneath the glue. As mica is particularly vulnerable to humidity and handling, it is exceptional that the mica ground remains so beautifully unblemished on this print. Combined with the elegance of the composition and the renown of the artist, the condition and technique make this impression a remarkable print.
\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Hokusai. \"Hawk in Flight.\" 1840. Ronin Gallery.
Printed in 1840, Hokusai's hawk raises its wings mid-flight against the gradient of the sky. Its long talon grazes the curves of the cloud to the right of the composition. This print presents both a rare design and an uncommon format. This recent acquisition is believed to be one of only four impressions in existence; the other impressions can be found in the Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo Edo Museum, and a private collection. The scarcity of this design makes it a rare and desirable work. This rarity is enhanced through its uchiwa-e, or fan print, format. These prints were designed to be cut from their rectangular sheets and used to decorate the hand fans popular in Edo. Due to this active function, uchiwa-e are scarce today. This elusive of format and striking design mark this hawk print as a true treasure.
\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Shiko Munakata. \"Rāhula, Master of the Esoteric.\" 1960. Ronin Gallery.
The rarity of the Ten Great Disciples of Buddha derives from the individual works as well as the set as a whole. Munakata began work on this renowned series in 1939. Carved from katsura wood, each disciple measures over three feet tall. Carving sharp, graphic lines and embracing white space, Munakata rendered distinct personalities in the form of Buddha's principal disciples. Composed of ten disciples and two bodhisattvas, this series stirred international praise, winning First Prize in printmaking at the annual print exhibition in Lugano, Switzerland in 1952, the 1955 Sao Paulo Biennial, as well as the 1956 Venice Biennale. The disciples that were on view in the gallery all belong to the same edition, compounding the prestige of the individual disciples into an exceptionally rare collection. Today these same disciples can be found in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
\r\n Shunga, or \"spring pictures,\" capture a vast spectrum of sensual pleasures. From the passionate reunions of great lovers, to the excitement of clandestine affairs, these erotic prints satisfy a wide range of sexual appetites. The origins of the genre trace to the Heian period (794–1185), when sexual scandals and fantasies were circulated on hand scrolls. Though these painted works entertained only the courtier class, by the Edo period (1603-1868), the genre embraced the woodblock print and rapidly spread throughout Japanese society. Reveling in the hedonistic spirit of the floating world, shunga became an integral aspect of Edo-period life. The genre not limited to the city of Edo; shunga flourished in Kyoto and Osaka as well. Until 1990s, scholars shied away from the taboo of shunga, yet advances in the field have revealed that the importance of these works exceeds mere titillation.\r\n
\r\n\r\n ![\"Fixing](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=251775&c=4366028&h=8c44b5cb5d238f84c40b&392210\")
\r\n Eisen, Fixing Inner Obi from the series Twelve Abuna-e, c. 1825. Ronin Gallery.\r\n
\r\n While the Tokugawa Shogunate projected Confucian values and strict rules on public decorum, the private lives of Edo's citizens remained untethered. The Shogunate banned erotic books and \"lascivious\" materials in both the Kyoho Reforms of 1722 and the Kansei Reforms of the 1790s, but the pleasure driven lifestyle of Edo's floating world was undaunted. Nearly all ukiyo-e artists produced shunga (thought these works are often unsigned to avoid trouble with the law). Released as single-sheet prints or enpon (book containing 12 images, usually progressing from the subtly suggestive to the strikingly explicit), shunga could be purchased from book vendors or borrowed from lending libraries. The audience for these works spanned all classes and genders, generally promoting an attitude of wago, or \"harmony between the sexes.\" Given the ubiquity of communal baths at this time, nudity was not inherently sexual, so the couples in shunga are often portrayed fully clothed with only the exaggerated genitalia exposed. These emphatic depictions portray visceral, unconscious, and unbridled desire, while the clothing allows the artist to create wonderfully colorful prints. Furthermore, the clothing and hairstyle helps to shape the narrative: who are these characters? How old are they? What is their role in society? The answer lies in the clothing and other subtle symbolism.\r\n
\r\n\r\n ![\"Under](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=251777&c=4366028&h=4f7a35dc97430bb912f8&300386\")
\r\n Utamaro, Under a Blossoming Cherry Tree from Utamakura, 1788. Ronin Gallery. \r\n
\r\n Shunga could serve an educational or inspirational purpose, but the genre did not operate in the realm of reality. These prints promoted the realm of fantasy, serving as a source of titillation and entertainment. The enjoyment of shunga was lighthearted, but these prints held a special value. They served an amuletic purpose: promising good fortune to a bride on her wedding night, protecting the warrior from death, and warding off fire. Works of shunga were often passed down through generations, shared with dear friends, or presented as fine gifts to esteemed guests. American Journalist Francis Hall's account of his welcome to a Japanese home offers an example of the special role of shunga: \"He went to a drawer and brought something which he said was very valuable, and...placed in my hands three or four very obscene pictures. His wife stood close by and it was apparent from the demeanor of both that there was not a shadow of suspicion in their minds of the immodesty of the act or the pictures themselves. They had shown them as something really very choice and worth looking at and preserved them with great care (1859).\" [1]\r\n
\r\n\r\n ![\"Tender](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=251776&c=4366028&h=3e251e979f88db76931c&294814\")
\r\n Eisen, Tender Embrace, 1830. Ronin Gallery. \r\n
\r\n It is important to recognize that shunga did not become impolite or taboo until the Meiji period (1868-1912). This shift resulted from the Western attitudes on sexuality that poured into Japan during the second half of the 19th century. For example, the Tokugawa shogunate presented Commodore Perry with elegant shunga paintings, among other fine gifts, upon his initial arrival in Japan in 1853. Perry's diaries reveal the immense shock of receiving such obscene imagery—the value and honor of giving the gift of shunga was lost in this diplomatic exchange. As Japan modernized following Western examples, shunga became taboo. Yet, even today, centuries-old shunga remains a treasure in some families. [2]\r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n
\r\n\r\n
\r\n \r\n
\r\n \r\n
\r\n\r\n SELECT SOURCES\r\n
\r\n
\r\n [1] Aki Ishigami, \"Reception of Shunga in the Modern Era: From Meiji to the Pre-WWII Years\" in Japan Review 26 (2013): 39\r\n
\r\n [2] Monta Hayakawa, \"Who Were the Audiences for Shunga?\" in Japan Review 26 (2013): 22.\r\n
Shin hanga was a Japanese woodblock print movement that took place at the beginning of the twentieth century. Translating to \"new prints,\" shin hanga was a creation of the artistic exchange between Japanese and European cultures. With the Meiji restoration (1868-1912), Japan transformed itself into a major modern force through Westernization. As a result, early Meiji art embodied more Western values, such as realism in the form of etchings and photographs, as opposed to the traditions of ukiyo-e.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Hasui Kawase, Kaminohashi at Fukagawa, from the series 12 Views of Tokyo, 1920, Ronin Gallery.
While Japanese art became more European, the West embraced Japanese prints in a movement called Japonisme. European artists began to implement Japanese art techniques such as shortening parts of the subject, employing blocks of color, splitting the composition into defined shapes, and altering the viewpoint to bring the foreground and background onto the same plane. Many well-known European artists such as Manet, Lautrec and Monet exhibited this. Van Gogh in particular showed heavy Japanese influence, especially from Hiroshige's prints, going so far as to copy them with paint in his own vehement style.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWhen Japanese artists caught wind of the effect that ukiyo-e prints had on the European Impressionist and Post-Impressionist movements, they attempted to revive the tradition. Once again, the tide shifted, resulting in the creation of two new movements: shin hanga and sosaku hanga. Shin hanga involved a team, like the one used to make traditional woodblock prints, and utilized more ukiyo-e traditions. Sosaku hanga (\"creative prints\") however, were produced by one person from start to finish, and borrowed heavily from the West.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe shin hanga movement found an ally in Watanabe Shozaburo (1885-1962). Growing up surrounded by ukiyo-e prints, he opened a shop in 1910, hoping to garner more recognition for shin hanga. He sought out artists to collaborate with, including Goyo, Shinsui, Hasui, Koson and Koitsu to name but a few.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAmong the most internationally recognized was Hasui Kawase (1883-1957). Born to a working family, Hasui dropped out of school at the age of twelve due to health complications. After being pulled between his desire to study painting and his filial duty to run the family business, Hasui was finally able to pursue his dream when his sister and her husband took over the shop. At twenty five he sought the tutelage of renowned traditional Japanese figure painter Kaburagi Kiyokata, but was turned away due to his \"old\" age. Hasui went on to study with other painters, but eventually returned and was accepted under KiyokataÕs instruction in 1910. There, he copied Kioyokata's drawings as well as prints by famous ukiyo-e artists such as Yoshitoshi and Kuniyoshi.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Hasui Kawase, Zojo Temple in Snow - Shiba, 1925, Ronin Gallery.
Hasui worked as a commercial artist from 1913-1923, designing covers for magazines and books. Upon seeing Ito Shinsui's Eight Views of Omi in 1917, Hasui was inspired to show some of his sketches to Watanabe, who prompted him to submit and publish three experimental prints. Hasui embarked on numerous sketch trips, visiting northern Japan in 1919 and publishing an array of prints of Tokyo. He continued to travel, showing his prints in exhibitions such as Shinsaku hanga tenranakai (New creative print exhibition) in 1921. Hasui was the first woodblock print artist to be designated a \"Living National Treasure\" by the Japanese government, and his piece Zojo Temple in Snow was given the honor of \"Intangible Cultural Treasure.\" The majority of Hasui's prints center around landscapes. By depicting the beauty of Japan while incorporating elements of modernity, Hasui's work has been described as a yearning for old Japan amidst his changing world.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Hasui Kawase, Hibiya Park in Spring, 1936, Ronin Gallery.
This blending together of old and new Japan shines through in Hibiya Park (1936). The piece reads like a landscape: brightly colored bushes, trees, pale blue sky, and gentle lighting. The gravel pathway, metal fence, and towering building in the background indicate the modernity of the scene. For the midground, the lushness of the park is beautiful, still confined by the fence which does not stand out in direct contrast; rather, it accompanies the park, blending together the natural and manmade. The building in the back, another symbol of New Japan, appears reminiscent of a mountain with its beige hue, layered floors, and pointed top. Even so, the dark green leaves at the front of the print obscure and dull the imposition of this building. These details create a delicate push-pull between tradition and modernity, echoing the cultural shift and exchange that shin hanga stemmed from.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWith the Great Kanto earthquake in 1923, both Hasui and the shin hanga movement suffered a setback in the subsequent destruction of Watanabe's workshop. Despite losing most of his sketchbooks, prints, and blocks, Hasui continued to travel and remained productive, creating prints for Watanabe and other publishers through the rest of his life.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn a movement so heavily influenced by the westernization of Japan, artists such as Hasui expressed a longing and appreciation for the ways of old. Shin hanga melded together ukiyo-e traditions and European influences, to express a fascinating interplay between East and West. At its core shin hanga embodies a desire to modernize and to keep up with the changing world while also staying true to traditional values.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThis post was written by Mei Bock during her 2018 summer internship at Ronin Gallery. We would like to thank Mei for all her hard and diligent work.
\r\n\r\nREFERENCES:
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Till, Barry. Shin Hanga: The New Print Movement of Japan
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Brown, Kendall H. Visions of Japan: Kawase Hasui's Masterpieces
In order to curate a stunning collection of Japanese art, one must know how to properly evaluate a print. This process begins not with technical or scholarly knowledge of the work, but with one's visceral reaction to the print. Frank Lloyd Wright stated that \"the prints choose whom they love and there is no salvation but surrender.\" A print might offer a famous artist or impeccable condition, but if the piece doesn't speak to you at a visceral level, then it may not be the work for you.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Hokusai, Under the Wave off Kanagawa, c.1830-32. Image: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
One's second consideration should be design importance. Certain works, such as Hiroshige's Plum Garden at Kameido or Hokusai's Under the Wave off Kanagawa and Thunderstorm Beneath the Summit (aka Fuji in Lightning) retain a high value even with condition problems. Just as there are iconic designs, there are also iconic artists, including Moronobu, Harunobu, Sharaku, Utamaro, Hokusai, Hiroshige, Kuniyoshi, and Yoshitoshi.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Hiroshige, Sudden Shower over Shin-Ohashi Bridge and Atake, 1857. Image: Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Next, one should determine impression and state. Impression refers to how early the image was pulled from the woodblock. The earliest printings exhibit visible wood grain and clean, sharp lines, while later impressions present less crisp lines as the block is worn down. Particularly popular designs would be printed so many times that the woodblock would have to be recarved, usually with slight differences from the original. The prints pulled from these blocks would be a different state than those of the original block. State also refers to any color changes that might occur in the printing of a design.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n First Impression, Good State. Image: Ronin Gallery.
\r\n\r\n 2nd Impression, OK State. Image: Ronin Gallery.
Finally, the collector should determine the condition of the print. Have the colors faded? Yellow is quick to fade, so look out for greens that have lost all their yellow and turned blue (as seen below in Hiroshige's Plum Garden at Kameido).
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Hiroshige, Plum Garden at Kameido. Image: Ronin Gallery.
\r\n\r\n Yellow has faded, turning the green to blue. Image: Ronin Gallery.
Prints may also be backed, whether because they were once part of an album or in an attempt to protect a brittle print. If adhered with a water soluble paste, a professional conservator can remove the backing without damaging the print. If the adhesive is not water soluble, this is a condition concern. Trimming and centerfolds are other condition issues that can detract from a work's value.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Example of a Backed Print. Image: Ronin Gallery
\r\n\r\n Example of a Trimmed Print. Image: Ronin Gallery.
\r\n\r\n Example of a Centerfold. Image: Ronin Gallery.
The ability to evaluate a print should be paired with the skill of reading a Japanese print. This practice includes a consideration of artist signature, publisher marks, censor seals and collector seals. One should familiarize oneself with artist signatures even if they can't read the Japanese characters.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Circled from Top to Bottom: Censor Seals, Signature, and Publisher Mark. Image: Ronin Gallery.
A signature can appear anywhere on the print, but it is often found near the publisher's mark and censor seal(s). Most signatures are followed by the characters ga, fude, or hitsu, which mean \"drawn by.\" Artist's rarely signed their work with their family names, instead using go, or artist names. These go were passed down from master to pupil and many artists changed their go multiple times throughout their careers. Publisher marks are frequently printed in the margins of a print. The publisher coordinates the various craftsman involved in printmaking: the artist, carver and printer. Censor Seals can usually be found around the publisher marks and are critical tools for dating woodblock prints. Implemented in 1790, these seals ensured that the government inspected all printed material. The publisher was required to present the censor with a sketch and receive approval before a design could be engraved. Note that these seals are not found on pre-1790 prints, private printings, or shunga. Finally, certain collector seals can add to the rarity and overall value of a print. The seals to look out for are those of Hayashi, Vever, Beres, and Le Veel (as pictured below).
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nDuring the late Edo period, an oban sized full color print sold for 20 mon (roughly 400 yen, which in U.S. dollars today would equal around $3.59). Today, certain designs surpass a million dollar price tag! While the U.S. dollar has suffered from inflation (the buying power of $1 in 1913 has the buying power of $23.95 today), ukiyo-e have only increased in value. The Metropolitan Museum of Art paid Frank Lloyd Wright as little as $60 for a Shunsho print in the early 20th century. Today, a comparable work would sell for around $10,000. With a rich history of collection and a solid investment status, Japanese prints present a unique experience in art collection. Learn to evaluate and read a print, but be sure to work with a trustworthy dealer. The market teems with fakes and reprints, some of which are very convincing. A dealer will provide the years of expertise needed to build a quality collection.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Collecting and Connoisseurship: The Art of Collecting","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"3","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"251794","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"9/2/2015 5:16:02 am"}},{"name":"Taboo: Ukiyo-e and the Japanese Tattoo eBook","urlPath":"blog/taboo-ukiyo-e-and-the-japanese-tattoo-ebook-2","url":"taboo-ukiyo-e-and-the-japanese-tattoo-ebook-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Taboo: Ukiyo-e and the Japanese Tattoo eBook|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"Taboo: Ukiyo-e and the Japanese Tattoo eBook","meta_description":"Taboo: Ukiyo-e and the Japanese Tattoo explores the verboten world of irezumi (Japanese tattoo) across history and medium. The works of ukiyo-e masters Kuniyoshi, Yoshitoshi, Kunisada and Kunichika celebrate the world of tattoo during the Edo and Meiji periods, while the original paintings and drawings of the acclaimed master of tebori and tattoo art, Horiyoshi III, offers a current interpretation of the centuries-old tradition.","meta_keywords":"tattoo, japanese art, contemporary art, Horiyoshi III, ukiyo-e, japanese woodblock prints, masato sudo, daniel kelly","customrecorddata":"17","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"Taboo: Ukiyo-e and the Japanese Tattoo explores the verboten world of irezumi (Japanese tattoo) across history and medium. The works of ukiyo-e masters Kuniyoshi, Yoshitoshi, Kunisada and Kunichika celebrate the world of tattoo during the Edo and Meiji periods, while the original paintings and drawings of the acclaimed master of tebori and tattoo art, Horiyoshi III, offers a current interpretation of the centuries-old tradition.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"Shaped by centuries of controversy, the Japanese tattoo embodies the forbidden and the dissonant. Simultaneously representing both belonging and non-conformity, they are complicated cultural symbols. The exhibition Taboo: Ukiyo-e and the Japanese Tattoo explores the verboten world of irezumi (Japanese tattoo) across history and medium. The works of ukiyo-e masters Kuniyoshi, Yoshitoshi, Kunisada and Kunichika celebrate the world of tattoo during the Edo and Meiji periods, while the original paintings and drawings of the acclaimed master of tebori and tattoo art, Horiyoshi III, offers a current interpretation of the centuries-old tradition. The contemporary art photography of Masato Sudo continues the conversation, while the mixed-media work of American artist Daniel Kelly speaks to the universally inspirational power of the Japanese tattoo.
\r\n\r\nHolding the skin taut with the left hand, the artist threads a brush, wet with sumi, through his left fingers. Dexterous and practiced, the fingers of the right hand control the hari, or tattooing needle(s), in the technique of tebori. As lines and dots form curling dragons and fierce warriors, these designs come alive. Though vibrant and enthralling, theirs is a forbidden beauty.
\r\n\r\nThrough the lens of social psychology, tattooing leads a double life: one of initiation, community and membership, but also one of loneliness, rebellion and autoeroticism. As Donald Richie explains in The Japanese Tattoo, \"we have a paradox...a man beauties himself for himself and yet does so at the expense of the favor of society.\" As one rejects societal norms for subcultural identities, masochistic connotations arise from the ready acceptance of physical pain and a conscious violation of the social contract.
\r\n\r\nOne of the oldest forms of body modification, the tattoo is a complicated cultural symbol simultaneously representing both belonging and nonconformity. In Japanese, tattoo translates to irezumi, referring to the actual insertion of ink into the skin. While the popularity of traditional irezumi soars worldwide, attitudes in Japan are far more complex. Shaped by centuries of controversy, the Japanese tattoo embodies the forbidden and the dissonant. Whether forcibly applied or willingly received, the union of ink and flesh initiates a lifelong membership to lifestyle, a secret and an idea. Engaging in the expressive potential of the body, irezumi allows the wearer to not only reflect his or her individual values, but also remark upon society. The deeply personal nature of the tattoo is furthered by the ephemerality of the artwork: the life of the tattoo is no more than that of its wearer.
\r\n\r\nThe exhibition Taboo: Ukiyo-e and the Japanese Tattoo explores the verboten world of irezumi across history and medium. The works of print masters Kuniyoshi, Kunisada, Yoshitoshi and Kunichika celebrate the popularity of the tattoo in Edo, while the original paintings and drawings of today's preeminent tebori artist, Horiyoshi III, offer a current interpretation of this rich tradition. The art photography of Masato Sudo continues this conversation between past and present, as the works of Daniel Kelly reveal the intersections of irezumi and contemporary art. From Edo's \"floating world\" to modern Japan, Taboo traces the world of tattoo as it fluctuates between immoral pleasure and illegal indulgence. From cultural practice to punitive measure, a rally of class consciousness to a declaration of criminal devotion, \"the tattoo is a refusal to bow to authority and convention,\" tirelessly asserting a subcultural identity earned through pain and artistry.
\r\n\r\nAt its origin, the Japanese tattoo confirmed community. Reflecting cultural values or social order, irezumi indicated belonging. Several scholars suggest that Japanese body modification began as early as the Jomon period (c.10,000–300 BCE). These scholars link the designs on the face and body of clay dogu figures to a desire for, if not a reality of, tattooing. However, this theory is inconclusive. The first accepted record of Japanese tattooing dates to 265 BCE. The Chinese chronicle Wei Chih describes how the Wa, the people of ancient Japan, decorated their bodies and faces with designs, each marking's specific placement and size denoting social rank.
\r\n\r\nWhile mainland Japanese rejected this practice by the 7th century, tattooing remained integral to cultural identity in some indigenous minorities. In Kyushu, coal miners adorned their bodies with dragon tattoos to protect themselves from the dangers of the mine, while in Okinawa, women wore tattoos on their hands to ward off malignant spirits. Amongst the Ainu in Hokkaido, women began the tattooing of their lips and arms at age twelve. The completion of these tattoos signaled the beginning of womanhood and conveyed eligibility for marriage. Outside of these minority groups, associations of community and tradition were overshadowed with the arrival of Confucianism in the 7th century. According to Confucian theory, the body is an inheritance from the parents, thus, to modify or harm the body is an act of disrespect and violation of filial piety. As this philosophy soaked into the Japanese consciousness, tattoos became taboo.
\r\n\r\nAt the close of the Kofun period (300–600 AD), mere philosophical dissonance turned to indisputable evidence of immorality. Bands of ink encircled the arms or the Chinese characters for \"dog\" or \"evil, bad\" glared in midnight blue from the foreheads of Japan's criminal class. Following elaborate systems to denote type and severity of crime, these punitive cyphers may have differed regionally, but were united in their brutality. Crudely executed and popularly reviled, irezumi entered the Edo period as an involuntary inscription into a subculture, no longer a celebrated and voluntary expression of belonging.
\r\nDespite prevailing attitudes at the start of the 17th century, irezumi grew along with Edo's newly emergent middle class. By 1700, the traditional Japanese tattoo had developed, signaling a shift from punitive to decorative tattooing. Just as ukiyo-e print designs and kimono patterns became more complex throughout the Edo period, so did irezumi. Amidst the kabuki theater and the Yoshiwara, the tattoo became an inextricable facet of life, intertwining with woodblock printing and theater to generate a creative cycle. For example, a tattoo could serve as an important narrative device in a popular play and inspire woodblock prints. In turn, these prints could become the visual inspiration for new tattoo designs, which could then spark costumes for new kabuki performances. As the century progressed, tattoos increasingly became an act of resistance against the Shogunate, once again making the tattoo a willful declaration of one's values.
\r\n\r\nFollowing irezumi's shift from punishment to art form, tattoo artists adopted fresh terminology. While irezumi refers to the insertion of ink into skin, the Edo period term horimono translates to \"carved object.\" With this retitling to \"horimono,\" artists emphasized the skill and creativity behind tattooing, insisting its status as an art form. Referring to themselves as horishi, tattoo artists were often initially trained as woodblock carvers or other craftsmen. Through this new terminology, horishi not only asserted their identity as artisans , but also the parallel nature of the cherry woodblock and skin. While largely accepted as the term for tattoo in Japan today, irezumi retains derogatory connotations amongst modern tattoo masters. Though the days of punitive ink are long over, Japanese masters continue to associate this term with crude and unskilled tattooing.
\r\n\r\nApplied discreetly behind closed doors, horimono began with irebokuro, literally \"engraved moles.\" These vow marks began in the pleasure districts of Osaka and Kyoto but became exceedingly popular in Edo's Yoshiwara. A pair of forbidden lovers would clasp hands, inserting a small black dot on their hand where their dearest's thumb would end. As the Edo period continued, emboldened couples moved to tattooing each other's names alongside the symbol for life, inochi, on the underarm (see pg. 30). In both cases, the mark remained hidden, its pleasure derived from its secrecy. For the enterprising courtesan, such discretion was crucial. As her clients would die or shift, the courtesan would use moxa to cauterize her irebokuro off the skin, making room for the next declaration of devotion. Other forms of early decorative tattooing were kisshobori, or pledge marks to Buddha, and irozumi, playful tattoos done in lead white, so as only to be visible when the skin became reddened through drinking or blushing.
\r\n\r\nBeyond the Yoshiwara, decorative tattooing reached grand proportions amongst Edo's lower class males. Irezumi bodysuits, traditionally ending mid-calf and mid forearm, decorated gamblers, firemen (hikeshi), street knights (otokodate) and laborers. Raised to near heroic status in Edo, firemen wore tattoos of carp and dragons to protect themselves from the dangers of their profession.
\r\n\r\nThe street knights saw themselves as champions of the common people, whether or not this always rang true. Pitting themselves against corrupt samurai and \"general injustice,\" these street knights identified and adorned themselves with the heroes of the hugely popular Suikoden. Translated from the Chinese classic Stories of the Water Margin in 1805, this tale of 108 bandit warriors inspired many kabuki plays, ukiyo-e prints and irezumi alike.
\r\n\r\nThroughout the Edo period, sumptuary edicts attempted to constrain everything from paper size to kimono design, yet, as scholar Willem Van Gulik states, \"the mere fact that they were issued so many times indicates their ineffectiveness.\" From the bathhouses to the streets, tattoos enjoyed incredible visibility during the Edo period. Laborers often worked in very little clothing, showcasing their vibrantly beautiful bodysuits despite Shogunal policy (see pg. 20). Whether bearing images of the heroes of the Suikoden, a blatantly antigovernment tale, or a hidden vow mark, wearing a tattoo was a fairly safe and enormously popular way to criticize authority, express dissent and proudly declare membership to the floating world. Blossoming in Edo's celebration of the popular arts, irezumi returned to its roots in community, establishing class consciousness and a vital sense of belonging in a newly formed middle class.
\r\n\r\nWith the arrival of Commodore Perry's ships in 1853, the Japanese authorities urged rapid modernization in an effort to avoid colonization. As well as pushing Western dress and banning the traditional samurai topknot, Meiji officials outlawed tattooing in 1872, followed by harsh crackdowns in 1880 and 1908. The Japanese government feared that irezumi would be perceived as barbaric, yet Western opinion proved quite contrary to their expectations. While tattoos remained illegal for Japanese citizens, Western enthusiasm for the art prompted the Japanese government to allow the inking of foreigners, if only in Yokohama, Kobe and Nagasaki. From Prince Alfred of England to Nicholas II, the last Czar of Russia, Westerners flocked to these ports to receive tebori tattoos. As irezumi publicly entranced the West, the art continued only privately within Japanese culture.\r\n By the start of World War II, Imperial persecution of irezumi had reached a high point. Perceived as nonconformists by the governmental authorities, inked Japanese were barred from the armed forces. Many Japanese men rushed to quietly get tattoos in order to evade conscription, flouting existing laws against irezumi and avoiding the national call to arms. United in their nonconformity, these would-be soldiers voiced their dissent to the war effort through ink.
\r\n\r\nIn 1945, war gave way to occupation and a critical exchange between Japanese and American tattoo artists. While Japanese artists dismissed the simplicity and poor placement of American style one-point tattoos, Western artists realized the true potential of tattooing through tebori. American GIs, such as the famous Sailor Jerry, Modernization and the Barbaric devoted themselves to learning the art form, trading Western pigments for the designs of tebori masters. In 1948, this rampant ardor for the Japanese tattoo led General Douglas MacArthur to lift the ban on irezumi. For the first time in seventy years, tattooing was completely legal in Japan.
\r\n\r\nDespite newfound legality, irezumi did not enjoy a renaissance of Edo-esque fervor. Though no longer against the law, tattoos remained firmly pitted against popular opinion. A history of negative associations became a frightening reality with the rise of the Japanese crime syndicate, the yakuza. Proliferating in the wake of WWII, the yakuza dealt in the sex industry, extortion, weapons smuggling, as well as some legitimate businesses. While forcibly applied punitive tattoos identified criminals in Japan's past, yakuza use ink to willingly pronounce their membership to the criminal class. Within the yakuza, a tattoo served four roles: initiation, proof of perseverance, commitment to the criminal world and declaration of their particular branch of the larger syndicate (Kumi). Reaching a high point among yakuza members in the 1970s, irezumi quickly became synonymous with crime and intimidation. Through the mere act of rolling up a sleeve, revealing the ink beneath, one could get whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted it.
\r\n\r\nSince the 1990s, economic recession and the implementation of the Act for the Prevention of Unlawful Activities have spurred tattoo clientele to shift from 99 percent yakuza to 50 percent average citizen. Today, American one-point tattoos flourish amongst Japan's younger generations, but the general Japanese attitude towards irezumi remains conflicted. Though an estimated 3,000 tattoo artists work in Japan today, as opposed to approximately 200 in 1990, the traditional tattoo remains tied to its history of dissent, criminality and fear, rather than its rich past of community, belonging and cultural identity. Even so, Japan's contemporary tattoo culture maintains a small and dedicated community of appreciative customers and connoisseurs. Traditional tebori masters are considered to be fine artists worldwide.
\r\n\r\nWhile the art of irezumi no longer breaks the law, this art form continues to face discriminatory policies. Tattooed persons are regularly banned from public baths, hot springs and swimming pools, regardless of whether one wears a full tattoo bodysuit or a small one-point. In 2013, Osaka mayor Toru Hashimoto announced that he would move any tattoo bearing civil servants from positions requiring regular contact with residents. Not authorized under the Ministry of Health and Welfare, irezumi occupies a legally ambiguous space. Tattooed Japanese cannot donate blood, can only enroll in the most basic of health insurance policies, and face incessant discrimination when applying for loans. Irezumi master Horitoshi explains, \"socially we might be respected as artists or tattoos might be seen as a kind of fashion, but within the establishment, it is really difficult.\" In the summer of 2020, Japan will play host to the Olympic games. With more tattooed athletes, officials and visiting fans than ever, this imminent influx of Olympian ink has raised some concerns about Japan's reception of these guests after a recent incident of discrimination. In September 2014, a Maori indigenous language scholar was turned away from an onsen, or hot spring, in Ishikari, Hokkaido for her tribal tattoos. In response to international outrage and growing concern, Yoshihide Suga, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary, explained, \"private facilities have the right to run businesses by their own rules,\" though he later encouraged Japan to take measures to make their visitors feel welcome. Despite changing clientele and international popularity, it is clear that the tattoo remains entangled with taboo in Japan, but perhaps this is the inherent nature of this art form. In the words of tattoo researcher Osamu Matsuda, \"tattoos are something that is outlaw or counterculture in nature, they shouldn't be socially acceptable as that would be sacrilegious.\"
\r\n\r\n***
\r\n\r\nIrezumi: Literally \"to insert ink\" and is the term commonly associated with traditional Japanese tebori, or hand tattooing, both in technique and imagery.
\r\n\r\nThe aesthetics of the Japanese tattoo are due to the intimate and inseparable relationship between ukiyo-e and irezumi. By the height of the Edo period, the public visibility and narrative inspiration of both the tattoo and the woodblock print indicated one's allegiance to the exciting, chaotic and rapidly shifting conditions of the urban \"floating world.\" These ephemeral arts developed as parallel forms of expression, each drawing inspiration from religious imagery, Japanese mythology and folklore, traditional symbolism, historical episodes and popular literature. Released in 1805, Takizawa Bakin's Shinpen Suikogaden (New Illustrated Edition of the Suikoden) incited mania in Edo and served as a key point of intersection between ukiyo-e, irezumi, and kabuki theater. As irezumi and ukiyo-e flourished, the tattoo and the woodblock print became increasingly referential, melding shared motifs into a common iconography. Even when ukiyo-e prints do not illustrate irezumi, they consistently reveal this shared visual language. From the bandit heroes of the Suikoden to the fiery scales of a carp, these ukiyo-e prints present on paper the same iconography inked into skin.
\r\n***
\r\n\r\n\r\n One of the most active and popular ukiyo-e artists of the 19th century, Kunisada was born in the Honjo district of Edo in 1786. At the age of fourteen, he was admitted to study under Toyokuni, the current head of the Utagawa school. Many of his works, particularly his actor prints, became overnight successes and he was considered the star attraction of the school. He signed his works Kunisada until 1844, when he began using the signature of \"Toyokuni.\"
\r\n\r\n\r\n Kuniyoshi will always be remembered as Japan's greatest master of warrior and historical prints. Born in Edo in 1797, Kuniyoshi was the son of a silk dyer. At the age of fourteen, he was accepted to study woodblock printing under Toyokuni I and would become one of his most successful students. In 1827, Kuniyoshi designed the dramatic series, 108 Heroes of the Suikoden, inciting a popular hunger for his portrayals of famous samurai and legendary heroes. Known by the nickname \"Scarlet Skin,\" Kuniyoshi carried this bold spirit into his own life, adorning himself with a tattoo that stretched across his shoulders and the expanse of his back.
\r\n\r\n\r\n Born the son of a public bathhouse proprietor in Edo, Kunichika began his ukiyo-e training under Toyohara Chikanobu before apprenticing under Utagawa Kunisada. Kunichika, a leader in the actor print genre, represents one of the last great ukiyo-e artists working in a rapidly modernizing Japan. Often depicting roles from the Suikoden in half-portrait form, Kunichika presents his actors in dramatic poses set against vibrant backgrounds, or bursting with activity within an exciting theatrical scene.
\r\n\r\n\r\n Working in a Japan straddling the domains of the old, feudal systems and the Meiji era, Yoshitoshi is considered to be one of the last great masters of ukiyo-e. At the age of twelve, he began to study under the renowned artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi, refining his skills in observation and drawing. As modernization pushed ahead, Yoshitoshi suffered a nervous breakdown in 1872, driving him to poverty. A year later, he resumed working and fulfilled his creative potential. Yoshitoshi suffered his final mental breakdown in the spring of 1892 and was committed to the Sugamo Asylum. On the 9th of June 1892, he died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of fifty-three. His work is known for its eerie and imaginative component.
\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\r\nHoriyoshi III is Japan's preeminent tebori master, whose work is indebted to traditions of apprenticeship and skill. While the world of tattoo remains one of secrecy and exclusivity in Japan, Horiyoshi III has transcended taboo, achieving national and international fame. Interestingly, the most famous tattoo artist worldwide, Horiyoshi III's studio continues to operate discreetly and unmarked.\r\n Born Yoshihito Nakano, Horiyoshi III received his current title from the late tebori master Yoshitsugu Muramatsu, also known as Shodai Horiyoshi of Yokohama. Beginning at age sixteen, Horiyoshi III served as Shodai Horiyoshi's apprentice for ten years. By age twenty-eight Horiyoshi III's body suit was complete, hand tattooed by Shodai Horiyoshi. In the future, Kazuyoshi, Horiyoshi III's son and apprentice, will carry on the family line and become Horiyoshi IV.
\r\n\r\n\r\nThough ukiyo-e officially ended in 1868, Horiyoshi III carries on the spirit of these \"pictures of the floating world\" in his work, simultaneously incorporating his own style and a contemporary perspective. This sensitivity to tradition extends beyond his tebori. In recent years, Horiyoshi III has concentrated on traditional kakejiku (scroll paintings). Rendering Japanese folktales, calligraphy and religious subjects in sumi (black ink) and traditional mineral pigments, Horiyoshi III interweaves past, present and future. In addition to painting and drawing, Horiyoshi III tattoos full time, publishes numerous books of his drawings, and is the founder with his wife, Mayumi, of Japan's only tattoo museum in Yokohama. With over forty years of experience, he is the foremost authority on traditional Japanese tattooing.
\r\n\r\nHoriyoshi III explains that his work embodies a commitment to three points: shu (守), to succeed to a tradition, ha (破), to add new concepts and techniques, and ri (離), to develop ha further and create one's own world. In Taboo's collection of his paintings and drawings, this philosophy shines through. Whether portraying the brave heroes of the Suikoden or a frightening slew of oni, Horiyoshi III captures the vital energy of his subjects across needle, pencil and brush. As he explains, \"I heavily felt the burden of my creative desire not to make drawings by just following the established images...Observance of tradition is definitely important, but it is also important to open doors to further development.\"
\r\n\r\n\r\n Introduced by Dutch merchants in Nagasaki Bay, photography flourished in Japan at the close of the Edo period. Artisans and local officials ordered cameras from the merchants and slowly began to learn daguerreotype and wet plate photography. With the start of the Meiji period and the promotion of Western modernity, photography became a newfound passion in Japan. Photographs of this era mirrored ukiyo-e's representational relationship with the Japanese tattoo. This rapport persists today, as evidenced by the surreal and striking art photography of Masato Sudo. Focusing on tattoo and the human form, Sudo invites cutting edge technology into a four hundred year dialogue.
\r\n\r\nAs an art student, Masato Sudo concentrated his photographic work on long haul trucks lavishly decorated by their drivers. While working on one of these studies, Sudo encountered a driver with designs on his body outdid those of his truck. Enamored by such individualized, bodily expression, Sudo built his career capturing the beauty of the Japanese tattoo and its dynamic human canvas. In 1985, Sudo released Ransho: Japanese Tattooing, a photographic exploration of tebori (hand tattooing) done by Horiyoshi III, Horijin and Horikin. In 2010, his work was featured in the exhibition Seeing Beauty at Balboa Park's Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego and can be found in collections worldwide.
\r\n\r\nCombining large format photography with the archival fresco pigment printing process, Sudo generates not only stunning, but also long lasting studies of the inked form. Originating in Japan, this new technology draws upon ancient innovation to create images that are heat, light and moisture resistant.1 Printing onto thin sheets of plaster, the archival fresco pigment process not only removes the pixelated feel of digitally printed images, but also enables a greater sense of depth than traditional methods can offer. Furthermore, this technology allows an incredible smoothness of texture close to that of human skin. Just as traditional fresco technique preserves Michelangelo's pigments in Sistine Chapel, archival fresco pigment printing captures Sudo's photographs within a soft layer of plaster, guarding his photographs for centuries to come.
\r\n\r\n\r\n The traditional Japanese tattoo and its associated aesthetics are hugely popular outside of Japan. Masters of the traditional tebori (hand tattooing) technique command enormous respect in the contemporary global tattoo community. Though exceedingly popular abroad, this popularity does not equal cultural acceptance in Japan. In the United States, tattooing is still \"other,\" but gains legitimacy and exclusivity through the artistry, technical skill, time and subjection to pain. As a contemporary American artist based in Kyoto, Daniel Kelly explores the perception gap between American and Japanese views of this art form. Through his photorealistic prints and mixed media works he captures the Japanese tattoo through the Western lens.
\r\n \r\nBorn in Idaho Falls, Montana, Kelly is a painter, printmaker and mixed media artist. He studied at the University of Portland and Portland State University. Following graduation, Kelly moved to San Francisco, working in glass and mosaics before studying romantic-expressionist painting with Morton Levin. Upon seeing a book of woodblock prints, Kelly pursued the print medium with unyielding enthusiasm. He promptly moved to Kyoto in 1978 and began to study traditional woodblock technique under Tomikichiro Tokuriki. Over the next few decades, Kelly's work became increasingly daring.
\r\n\r\nCombining his expansive knowledge of techniques with innovative amalgamations of media, Kelly challenges the boundaries of each individual art form, as well as the limits of his own expression. From concrete to paint, polyvinyl to old book pages, his works push visual distortion and a vital physicality. Kelly regularly holds exhibitions worldwide and his work can be found in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the British Museum. As expressed by contemporary author Banana Yoshimoto, \"[Daniel Kelly] consumes and digests the beauty of an object, holding and appreciating it within himself until he has absorbed it.\"
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Taboo: Ukiyo-e and the Japanese Tattoo","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"251795","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"3/2/2015 5:30:02 am"}},{"name":"What is Kappazuri?","urlPath":"blog/what-is-kappazuri-2","url":"what-is-kappazuri-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"What is Kappazuri?|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"What is Kappazuri?","meta_description":"In honor of our very special Yoshitoshi Mori (1898–1992) exhibition, this week we'd like to focus on kappazuri, an innovative stencil printing technique that straddles the boundary of art and traditional craft.","meta_keywords":"kappazuri, stencil prints, yoshitoshi mori, modern art, japanese art","customrecorddata":"18","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"In honor of our very special Yoshitoshi Mori (1898–1992) exhibition, this week we'd like to focus on kappazuri, an innovative stencil printing technique that straddles the boundary of art and traditional craft.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"Yoshitoshi Mori. \"Taira no Tomomori.\" 1985.
\r\n\r\nIn honor of our very special Yoshitoshi Mori (1898–1992) exhibition, this week we'd like to focus on kappazuri, a stencil printing technique that straddles the boundary of art and traditional craft.
\r\n\r\n\r\nWhile Yoshitoshi Mori created some woodblock prints and paintings, he completed the majority of his prints by sequentially layering color and form with self-cut stencils. In these kappazuri prints, he translated his 30 years of kimono dyeing experience to paper. Mori's printing process began with a sheet of shibugami; a stencil paper made from several sheets of smoke-cured, handmade kozo (mulberry) paper adhered together with persimmon tannin. He pasted his design onto this flexible, strong, and water-resistant stencil paper before using a sharp knife to remove all spaces destined for color. He was left with the skeleton of his design, the key impression (omogata), and several color stencils. Mori removed the original design from the stencil paper, wet the stencil to increase flexibility, and reinforced thin lines with silk gauze. He brushed on each color, progressing from light to dark. With each layer of ink, he protected whitespace and existing color with a color-resistant paste (noribuse). The use of this paste makes Mori's process his own, combining standard stencil printing technique with stencil dyeing (katazome). After all colors had been applied, he imparted the rich, india ink outlines of the composition using the key impression. When this final ink layer dried, he washed away the paste by submerging the print in water and allowed the completed print to dry.
\r\n\r\nYoshitoshi Mori. \"Stencil for Inland Sea Battle of Heike and Genji.\" 1973.
\r\n\r\nThe roots of this printing method trace back to Nara period (710–794), drawing from the art of katazome, or stencil dyeing. In the method, paper stencils would be used to guide the application of dye to fabric, allowing complex patterns. In the early 18th century, this fabric stencil method was translated onto paper. As ukiyo-e reached immense popularity, print artists initially added color to the black key block impression using sequential stencils. With the innovation of kento, a pair of marks used to align colors upon the black key block impression, in the mid-18th century, full-color printing replaced the use of stencils.
\r\n\r\nDuring the Showa period (1926–1989), members of the sosaku hanga, or creative print, and mingei, or folk art, movements revived traditional stencil printing. Artists such as Sadao Watanabe (1913–1996), Kan Kawada (1927–1999), and Yoshitoshi Mori (1898–1992) embraced the stencil technology, building a thoroughly modern form of artistic expression upon a long legacy of Japanese craft. The works created by this method blur staunch delineations between art and craft, tradition and innovation.
\r\n\r\nYoshitoshi Mori. \"Movable Festival Shrine.\" 1958.
\r\n\r\n\r\n ![\"Nakamura](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=255409&c=4366028&h=2ce35c09ac53cefc4cfe&560673\")
\r\n Toyokuni III, Nakamura Shikan as Kurikara Denshichi, from Modern Suikoden, Woodblock Print, 1861.\r\n
\r\n \r\n
\r\n\r\n By the dawn of the Edo period, the role of the samurai had shifted. As Japan experienced a period of relative calm, these fierce fighters found themselves bored and brimming with pent up aggression. While a strictly stratified social structure remained firmly in place under the Tokugawa Shogunate, the need for the samurai's services was minimal. Exploiting their social standing, these restless warriors often terrorized the classes below them. As these once honorable heroes became vulgar villains, the artisans, laborers and merchants of Edo sought new heroes amongst their own ranks: the hikeshi, or firemen, and the otokodate, or street knights. Though operating in opposition to the samurai, these groups ascribed to the samurai code, or bushido. Stressing obligation, honor and compassion, bushido instilled these popular heroes with a sense righteousness.\r\n
\r\n\r\n ![\"Tattooed](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=255411&c=4366028&h=202e71179186d8af8e54&114826\")
\r\n Stillfried Studio, \"Tattooed Groom,\" Photograph, 1870s.\r\n
\r\n Proudly wearing irezumi (traditional Japanese tattoo) bodysuits, these unlikely champions were the most heavily tattooed members of Edo society. From the bathhouses to the streets, tattoos enjoyed incredible visibility during the Edo period. Laborers often worked in very little clothing, showcasing their vibrantly beautiful bodysuits despite Shogunal policy against ink. Whether bearing full body images of the heroes of the Suikoden, a blatantly antigovernment tale, or a hidden vow mark, wearing a tattoo was a fairly safe and enormously popular way to criticize authority, express dissent and proudly declare membership to the \"floating world.\" The tattooed bodysuits of the hikeshi and otokodate signaled such allegiance at a scale worthy of their heroic status.\r\n
\r\n\r\n Yet, it is important to consider the romanticization of these popular renegades. Just as these groups were tied to the term \"hero,\" they were also inextricably linked to \"bandit,\" \"ruffian,\" and often, \"drunk.\" The series Ink, Banditry and Bushido considers these \"champions of the common good.\" From the rambunctious hikeshi, to the libertine otokodate, to the modern yazkuza, this series weighs reality against the prevailing myths of these unconventional heroes.\r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n
\r\n\r\n Built of wood, bamboo, straw and paper, the city of Edo lived in constant fear of fire. As structures were built with little to no space in between, one person's accidental fire could easily set the whole downtown ablaze. This proved to be a frequent and devastating occurrence due to the fact that charcoal was used to heat Japanese homes during the winter. In 1657 alone, over one hundred fires scorched the city. Flames licking against the sky soon became known as the \"flowers of Edo.\"\r\n
\r\n\r\n ![\"Celebrating](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=255413&c=4366028&h=c594641419c8d41d6d13&3791702\")
\r\n Toyokuni III, \"Celebrating the Framing of the Ichimuraza Theater,\" Woodblock Print, 1864.\r\n
\r\n Enter the hikeshi. These volunteer firefighters, called machi-bikeshi in the town districts, would don triple-layer cotton coats. Drenched in water before entering the fire, these jackets provided some protection from the flames. These garments were reversible, bearing the emblem of the particular band of hikeshi on one side and a decorative dragon or other water symbol on the other. The more intricate iteration often echoed the tattooed bodysuit of the wearer. This decorative side of the coat would be displayed only during festivals or to celebrate successfully putting out a fire.\r\n
\r\n\r\n ![\"Fireman's](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=255410&c=4366028&h=c882c45361efc25bb3a1&12527\")
\r\n \"Fireman's Jacket with Chinese Warrior,\" Quilted cotton with paste relief, mid-19th century. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.\r\n
\r\n As volunteer firefighters, the hikeshi usually doubled as laborers and artisans. In fact, Hiroshige was the son of a fire warden and worked as a firefighter himself before devoting himself to ukiyo-e. In the print above, mallets raised overhead, laborers assemble the framework of the Ichimuraza Theater. Balancing amidst the beams, the men work in various states of undress, revealing the blue and red of their tattooed bodysuits.\r\n
\r\n\r\n Though they were celebrated for their bravery and duty to the town, the hikeshi were certainly not heroes in a traditional sense. While courageous, these men were known as rowdy, course and aggressive. Townspeople regarded them with admiration, but also trepidation. According to legend, in 1805 the hikeshi got into a street fight with a gang of sumo wrestlers at Shinmei Shrine. The clash was so passionate and fierce that it raged for a full day.\r\n
\r\n\r\n Beyond their brashness and banditry, the hikeshi's primary method of stopping fires added to their dangerous persona. Rather than seeking to extinguish the flames, their goal was to isolate the fire, tearing down surrounding structures with large hooks called tobi. This combination of delinquent behavior and destructive methods sometimes rendered the firefighters more destructive than the fires.\r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n
\r\n\r\n SOURCES\r\n
\r\n\r\n Fireman's Jacket with Chinese Warrior. Mid-19th Century. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.\r\n
\r\n Kitamura, Takahiro. Tattoos of the Floating World: Ukiyo-e Motifs in the Japanese Tattoo. Amsterdam: KIT Pub., 2007. Print.\r\n
\r\n Okazaki, Manami. Wabori: Traditional Japanese Tattoo. Hong Kong: Kingyo, 2013. Print.\r\n
In A Closer Look we'll consider the legends behind some of the most influential designs of ukiyo-e. This week, we'll turn our attention to Yoshitoshi's \"Moon Above the Sea at Daimotsu Bay\" (1886) from the famed series One Hundred Views of the Moon.
\r\n\r\n\r\nYoshitoshi, Moon Above the Sea at Daimotsu Bay: Benkei from the series 100 Views of the Moon, 1886. Ronin Gallery.
\r\n\r\nIn this print, Yoshitoshi draws on Tale of Heike, a cornerstone of Japanese literature. This historical epic chronicles the centuries long rivalry between the Minamoto (or Genji) and the Taira (or Heike) clans and has inspired plays, prints and novels since the 12th century. According to legend, the Taira finally fell to the Minamoto clan in 1185 in the naval battle of Dannoura off the coast of Western Japan. Yoshitoshi depicts a scene that soon followed this defeat, where the Minamoto hero Yoshitsune sailed to Shikoku to escape his half-brother Yoritomo. Out at sea, a storm of supernatural power surged. The sea churned violently as the ghosts of the slain and drowned Taira soldiers sought revenge on Yoshitsune. The ships seemed destined for a watery grave when Benkei, a warrior priest and loyal companion of Yoshitsune, took to the front of the ship. Clutching his prayer beads, he uttered prayers, exorcising the hateful spirits and returning them to their resting place. The storm subsided and the ships safely arrived at their destination.
\r\n\r\nThis ghostly incident provided a powerful theme for ukyo-e artists. Yoshitoshi's mentor Kuniyoshi also produced multiple interpretations of Benkei's heroic moment. This legend continues to haunt the shore even today. Tales from the coast tell of crabs that house the vengeful spirits of the Taira warriors, recount strange noises echoing along the beach, and describe sightings of oni-bi or \"demon-fires\" along the shoreline.
\r\n\r\nIn this print, Yoshitoshi does not represent the Taira as embodied ghosts: though ghostly shadows cloud the golden light of the moon, they do not assume human form. Instead, the only figurative presence in this print is that of Benkei, poised and bright against the infinite darkness of the waves. The ship juts into the image, vulnerable and surrounded by cresting waves, anxious to pull the vessel beneath its inky depths. Though his robes whip in the wind and the waves ominously crest white, Benkei stares confidently into the oncoming surge. Later in Yoshitoshi's career, he shifted his focus from the climax of an event to the emotional struggle of the individual. Here, Yoshitoshi creates a portrait of unwavering bravery and fierce loyalty in the face of devastation. Though those familiar with the tale know that Benkei will save the ships, in this moment, the outcome is uncertain.
While the word \"ukiyo-e\" often calls to mind elegant courtesans, dramatic actors, and picturesque landscapes, these celebrated works represent only one side of Edo-period innovation. Kuniyoshi (1797-1861) presents a complementary, yet counter point to the prints of artists such as Hokusai and Utamaro. As his fellow masters capture the physical realms of Edo's floating world, Kuniyoshi presents a phantasmagoria of the fierce, frightening, and the fantastic. Yet, like Hokusai and Hiroshige are to landscape, Utamaro to courtesans, Kuniyoshi belongs to the ukiyo-e canon, bringing Japanese myth, magic, history, and legend to life.
\r\n\r\n\r\n
Welcomed by the changing tide in public taste during the 19th century, Kuniyoshi's ukiyo-e were nothing less than groundbreaking—in content, in format, and in sheer imaginative capacity. In terms of subject matter, Kuniyoshi ushered a niche print genre to ravenous popularity. Though warrior prints (musha-e) emerged as early as 1646, few woodblock print artists desired these odes to the traditional Japanese warrior. Instead, many artists turned their attention to the dramatic iterations of heroes old and new on the kabuki stage. Kuniyoshi revitalized the warrior in print, breathing palpable drama and contemporary salience into the heroes of the past. Combining heightened bloodshed with fresh tales in imaginative visual tellings, he brought legends to life with unprecedented dynamism, particularly as he mastered the triptych format. Making full use of the three sheets, Kuniyoshi evoked otherworldly realms buzzing with movement and rich in detail. Though the triptychs of his contemporaries can retain some coherence if broken into single-sheet components, Kuniyoshi's complex compositions are often indivisible. A glimpse of a single oban sheet sparks a startling desire to reach for the tantalizing tale unfolding just beyond the margins. Yet, Kuniyoshi's ability to transform a genre and revolutionize a format stemmed from the interplay of his boundless imagination and nimble adaptability. It is these core qualities that continue to enrapture contemporary audiences.
\"Masterpiece\" is not a term to be used lightly. While the term speaks to the best of an artist's oeuvre, the weight of the word connotes a significance beyond the individual. It refers to a work whose impact reverberates throughout the centuries, across cultures, and throughout time. In the exhibition Kuniyoshi: The Masterpieces, Ronin Gallery explores the ravenous imagination and unmatched skill of Kuniyoshi through such enduring designs. The selected works remain as striking today as they were when first collected by their Edo-period audience. As centuries before, these works continue to capture the curious eye and envelop the unsuspecting viewer in a realm of unparalleled imagination. This unwavering visual impact across eras and oceans establishes Kuniyoshi as not only a key artist of the ukiyo-e tradition, but also a master artist in the global scope.
Yoshiiku, Memorial Portrait of Kuniyoshi, 1861, Ronin Gallery.
Kuniyoshi was born to a silk dyer on the 15th day of the 11th month of 1797. His family lived in Nihonbashi, the vibrant center of Edo, Japan's capital and largest city at the time. As the son of an artisan, he grew up immersed in the unique culture of the urban merchant class. Though contemporary scholars know little about his early life, they agree that Kuniyoshi's remarkable talent became evident at an early age. At 11, Kuniyoshi's painting of Shoki the Demon Queller caught the eye of the famed ukiyo-e artist Toyokuni, head of the Utagawa school. [1] The image must have left a lasting impression, for he accepted Kuniyoshi as an apprentice three years later. As a member of the Utagawa school, Kuniyoshi spent the early years of his career producing actor prints (yakusha-e), the genre specialty of the school. Though these early works rest outside of the fierce and fantastical subjects for which Kuniyoshi is celebrated today, these prints offer insight into the development of the unique humor and restless imagination that define his later work. In addition to his tutelage with Toyokuni, Kuniyoshi may have briefly studied with Katsukawa Shuntei.
In 1814, Kuniyoshi left Toyokuni's studio to pursue a career as an independent artist—a leap of faith initially met with little success. Despite his departure from Toyokuni's workshop, Kuniyoshi continued to produce actor prints. This choice of subject matter set him in direct competition with his former teacher. Unable to erode the Utagawa school's monopoly on yakusha-e, Kuniyoshi resorted to selling tatami mats to support himself. However, his fortune shifted as his focus moved from the theatrical to the heroic.
As Kuniyoshi entered the field of warrior prints, he sought new inspiration, expanding the genre beyond familiar historical Japanese conflicts. He turned to Takizawa Bakin's 1805 New Illustrated Edition of the Suikoden (Shinpen Suikogaden). Translated from the 14th century Chinese classic Stories of the Water Margin, this tale of 108 bandit heroes resonated with Edo's merchant class. In 1827, Kuniyoshi released a short series of single-sheet prints depicting five individual rebels from the tale. Disenchanted by a corrupt samurai class and an overbearing government, viewers found relatable heroes in the Suikoden. From the five initial images, the series grew into a citywide craze. As Kuniyoshi's choice of subject invigorated the genre, so did its telling. He presents each hero in a solitary portrait, but imbues each image with the drama and tangible action of a larger scene. Released between c.1827 and 1830, the series incited such excitement that it quickly entered its second printing. [2] In fact, even his contemporaries, Kunisada and Kuniyasu, played off Kuniyoshi's popularity, producing their own interpretations of the Suikoden heroes. [3] This series reversed his fortunes, shook off the shadow of Toyokuni, and propelled Kuniyoshi to fame. From that point on, the public hungered for his portrayals of famous samurai and legendary heroes.
Kuniyoshi, Rori Hakucho Chojun (Zhang Shun), from the series 108 Heroes of the Popular Suikoden, c. 1828, Ronin Gallery.
Kuniyoshi did not disappoint. He set his imagination free to challenge conventions of ukiyo-e format and subject matter. Kuniyoshi worked in all genres, producing some brilliant landscapes, charming beauties (bijin-ga), and lavishly printed surimono, but his passion lay in the heroic and legendary. [4] In opposition to the peaceful views of a scenic Japan provided by his contemporaries Hokusai and Hiroshige, Kuniyoshi led the rise of heroes, legends, and monsters in ukiyo-e. He embraced the triptych format, allowing his tales of the historic, comic, and fantastic to play out in palpable, panoramic action and enthralling detail. As he redefined the triptych format, he made the single sheet warrior print his own as well, enriching the image with a textual biography or summary of the event portrayed. [5] Kuniyoshi refreshed familiar tales with a heightened sense of fantasy, a more immersive expression of imagination.
Ever eager to explore, he experimented with Western pictorial techniques, likely gleaned from Dutch engravings. For example, he incorporated aspects of one-point perspective, chiaroscuro, and foreshortening into some of his work. Kyoshin's 19th century account Biographies of the Floating World: Artists of the Utagawa School reveals that Kuniyoshi collected Western newspaper illustrations as well. [6] As he looked outside the woodblock tradition, Kuniyoshi also learned from the greatest talents within his own field.
Kuniyoshi, Takiyasha and Skeleton Spectre in the Ruined Palace at Soma, c. 1844, Ronin Gallery.
While the floating world revolved around the merchant class, outside its glow lurked a domineering government and strict class stratification. This social tension thickened as famine struck Japan in the late 1830s. The government sought to maintain order in economic chaos by cutting extravagance, a quality that had come to characterize Edo's urban culture. A series of sumptuary edicts, known as the Tenpo reforms, crashed up on the floating world between 1841-1843. Woodblock prints fell under government fire, both for their physical luxury and visual opulence. On a material level, images could not exceed seven or eight colors nor could they exceed three sheets. [7] In terms of content, the reforms forbade all images of actors and courtesans. Yet, these policies underestimated the resilience of ukiyo-e and the ingenuity of Kuniyoshi.
\r\n\r\nIn the wake of the Tenpo reforms, Kuniyoshi was not only undaunted, but also exhilarated. From landscape prints indulging travels aspirations to comical prints saturated in satire, Kuniyoshi continued to excel across diverse genres throughout the 1840s. [8] Edo period sources praise his kyoga, or \"crazy pictures,\" and as restrictions loosened in 1847, he even returned to actor prints. In 1844, he began to sign his works with a red paulownia, the yoshikiri seal, in addition to his artist's name, or go. [9] As he deftly evaded government censorship, Kuniyoshi kept his finger to the pulse of the edokko (people of Edo). From subtly veiled social commentary in the guise an epic go match, to supernatural distractions from a crumbling political reality, Kuniyoshi's prints resonated with the spirit of the floating world. As the government loosened their restraints on the print industry in 1847, both the artists and the industry soon faced a new challenge: an encroaching world beyond Japan.
\r\n\r\n
Kuniyoshi, Ushiwaka-maru and Benkei on Gojo Bridge from the series Life of Yoshitsune, c. 1840, Ronin Gallery.
In 1853, Commodore Perry arrived in Japan to establish trade relations between the United States and Japan. He left with the promise to return in a year's time. In light of China's defeat by the British in the First Opium War (1839-1842), Japan ended over two centuries of \"closed-country\" policy and accepted the American request. This trade deal was quickly followed by agreements with Russia, Holland, France, and Britain. Ukiyo-e artists found a fresh genre in the foreign people and items that poured into the port at Yokohama. Even as his health declined, Kuniyoshi remained at the vanguard of woodblock printmaking, producing two Yokohama prints (Yokohama-e). By 1856, he had developed palsy and by the spring of 1861, at the age of 64, he died from complications of a stroke.
Kuniyoshi left no written records of his own. Contemporary scholars have sought his presence in the records of others—a 19th century anecdote reveals that he wore a colorful firefighter's coat, while another suggest that the artist bore the nickname \"Scarlet Skin,\" rumoring a tattoo that stretched across the artist's shoulders and back. An 1853 police record places Kuniyoshi at a summer shogakai, or calligraphy and painting party. Among the prominent poets and artists of Edo, the undercover officer recounts how Kuniyoshi shed his kimono, dousing it with a rich, black sumi ink. Like an oversized calligraphy brush, the artist used the garment to paint the familiar form of the Suikoden hero Kyumonryu across the enormous paper laid at his feet. [10]
Kuniyoshi, Miyamoto Musashi and the Whale Off the Coast of Hizen, 1848, Ronin Gallery.
Though Kuniyoshi's self-portraits deny the viewer a glimpse of the artist's face, the sense of Kuniyoshi's character is clear. It courses through his prints and echoes in the work of his students past and present. He was a true edokko, or \"child of Edo,\" captivated by the realm of imagination and dedicated to constant innovation. Working in an age of uncertainty, Kuniyoshi bravely welcomed change not as an impediment, but as an opportunity to develop his art. This creative adaptability lends a versatility to his work, imbuing his designs with enduring relevance, whether they face an Edo period or contemporary audience.
SOURCES
1. Iwakiri, Yuriko, Amy Reigle Newland. Kuniyoshi : Japanese Master of Imagined Worlds, 9.
2. Ibid, 10.
3. Ibid, 10.
4. Iwakiri, 12.
5. Ibid, 15.
6. Clark, Timothy. Kuniyoshi : From the Arthur R. Miller Collection, 23.
7. Ibid, 24.
8. Ibid, 24
9. ibid, 27.
10. Iwakiri, 11.
\r\n\r\n\"Do we not feel in Yoshitoshi the atmosphere of the city those days, no longer old Edo, not yet the new Tokyo?\"
\r\n\r\n Toshikage, Portrait of Yoshitoshi, 1892. Ronin Gallery.
Commodore Perry's arrival in Yokohama bay signaled a pivotal shift in Japan. An anxiety seeped into the soil, seeding and blooming over the next century. As Japan ended over 250 years of isolation, society abandoned the old, feudal system to become part of the new, modern world. Woodblock prints were overshadowed by lithography and photography, while kimonos were traded for western-style dress. Regarded as the last of the great masters of ukiyo-e, Yoshitoshi worked during this era of dramatic cultural and economic transformation. Through his stunning woodblock prints, he made sense of a transitioning world with a familiar medium. His work expresses the pervasive atmosphere of uncertainty that plagued his country and exorcises the demons of social and political upheaval. These eerie and imaginative prints delve into the myriad facets of human nature and explore the spectrum of human emotion. Yoshitoshi's considerable imagination and originality imbued his prints with a creativity, honesty and sensitivity rarely seen in ukiyo-e of this time period.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nYoshitoshi was born a true edokko, or \"child of Edo,\" on April 30th, 1839. His given name was Yonejiro. Though his father originally belonged to the merchant class, he elevated his family rank by buying his way into the family of the samurai Yoshioka Hyobu. Little is known about Yoshitoshi's mother, though it seems she divorced his father. Some scholars suggest that Yoshitoshi was the lovechild of his father's mistress. When his father took a new mistress, Yoshitoshi left his family home to live with his uncle, a pharmacist who had recently lost his own son. As a young boy, Yoshitoshi showed remarkable artistic talent and fierce interest in classical Japanese literature and history. He began to study under the renowned Kuniyoshi at the age of 11. Kuniyoshi, a leading woodblock artist of the day, developed a close relationship with his pupil and gave him the go, or artist's name, Yoshitoshi. In Kuniyoshi's studio, Yoshitoshi studied by copying his master's designs, but also practiced life drawing, an uncommon practice in the mid-19th century. Yoshitoshi published his first print to modest success in 1853, a triptych of a famous clash between the Taira and Minamoto clans. That same year, Commodore Perry's \"black ships\" docked in Edo Bay.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nBearing President Millard Fillmore's invitation to establish trade and diplomatic relations with the U.S., Perry left with his demands unmet and a promise to return in a year's time. Wary of the Western world's propensity for gunboat diplomacy, the waning Tokugawa Shogunate decided to engage in foreign trade upon Perry's return in 1854. This decision was widely resented by the aristocratic and samurai classes, and incited several violent clashes with the incoming westerners. In the early 1860s, Yoshitoshi's work focused on kabuki subjects and historical scenes, as well as prints of foreigners. As the 19th century progressed, ukiyo-e felt the influence of the modern era. Synthetic dyes replaced natural dyes and artists worked in a whole new system of color, rich in striking reds and vibrant purples. Although many scholars cite the opening of Japan for a perceived decline in ukiyo-e, an incredible creativity rose from this tumult of transition. Yoshitoshi learned to use these colors with subtlety and skill, holding his works to the highest printing standards throughout his career.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn 1861, Kuniyoshi passed away, leaving the 22-year-old Yoshitoshi without his mentor, his teacher, or connections to a publisher. The death of his master dealt a heavy blow to the young artist, but as he struggled to make ends meet, he began to develop his personal style. During this period, he became friends with Ichikawa Danjuro IX and Onoe Kikugoro V, two of the most popular kabuki actor of the day. His friendship with the actors influenced his prints, resulting in unmatched, powerful portraits of these kabuki stars. The year 1863 was significant for Yoshitoshi. He contributed to a set of Tokaido prints, received a commission to paint a thirty-foot long curtain in Kofu, and attracted his first student, Toshikage. The works completed during this period concern violent historical subjects and battle prints. While his career soared, his personal life proved more tumultuous. His father passed away, followed by his first daughter, born of an anonymous mistress. He began signing his works \"Tsukioka Yoshitoshi,\" taking his uncle's surname. Though his reputation was growing, he remained poor.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAs political instability grew, Yoshitoshi entered his \"bloody period,\" an era marked by graphic violence and extravagant brutality. Rice shortages plagued Japan and Yoshitoshi participated in the riots that ensued. The country became divided between the rule of the shogun and that of the emperor. The conflict culminated in 1868 with the abdication of the shogun and restoration of the young Emperor Meiji. Though the shogun cooperated in this power shift, two thousand samurai gathered in Ueno, known as the Shogitai, or \"The Clear and Righteous Brigade.\" When the peace talk concluded, they felt betrayed by the shogun and incited a vicious battle with the imperial troops. Yoshitoshi witnessed the merciless defeat of the old order first hand. The horror of this clash permeated his work for years to come.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nYoshitoshi produced his most shocking prints between 1866 and 1868, depicting horrifying, even sadistic images of chilling deaths and brutality. Glue was mixed with red ink to evoke congealed blood and many of the works were explicitly violent. Yoshitoshi became notorious for these terrifying designs both in Japan and abroad. These subjects reveal a contradictory horror and fascination in violence. They provided a form of catharsis, an effort to exorcise the real-life terror and cruelty of turn-of-the century Japan through the atrocities of the past.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nSocial, economic and political change progressed at a stunning speed. In the words of the 20th century novelist Natsume Soseki, \"this rapid course of development constituted a nervous breakdown in the Japanese national character.\"[3] As modernization pushed ahead, Yoshitoshi suffered a nervous breakdown in 1872. He sunk into poverty, ceasing all artistic production. He suffered frequent illness from malnutrition and his mistress Otoko sold all of her belongings in an effort to support him. Though he experienced bouts of lucidity, his depressive episodes prevented him from working, but not from teaching. He managed to retain a dark sense of humor with his students, who often brought him food from their family homes. A year later, he returned to his work with a newfound maturity. He adopted the name Taiso, meaning \"Great Resurrection\" and embarked on the most creative period of his career.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWhile Yoshitoshi continued to present battle scenes, he turned his attention to more recent incidents and slowly shifted from overt violence to the psychological struggles of individuals. As his career progressed, his prints gained increasing sense of profound serenity. The popularity of newspapers grew during the Meiji period and Yoshitoshi began to work for Postal News, the first of many newspapers that he would illustrate in the coming years. Yet, his financial woes continued and his mistress Otoko sold herself to a brothel to support him. His fortunes shifted once again with his prints of the Satsuma Rebellion, an attempted uprising of the samurai class. These works won him enormous popularity and a great deal of money, though could not secure him a stable income. In 1884, he married Sakamaki Taiko, a former geisha, who appeared to help him remain mentally and financially stable. He adopted her two children and the family lived comfortably. His prints continued to mature and humor began to appear in his work.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nYoshitoshi met the publisher Akiyama Buemon while exhibiting a painting of Fujiwara no Yasumasa playing the Flute. The publisher was so taken by the image that he convinced Yoshitoshi to adapt the painting as a triptych. The two became close friends and together embarked on Yoshitoshi's renowned series 100 Views of the Moon in 1885. Culled from ancient Chinese and Japanese folklore and history, 19th century Japanese culture, and classical poetry, 100 Views of the Moon preserves the rich cultural legacy of Japan. The first five prints were released in October and met with extreme popularity. Over the next six years, Yoshitoshi completed 95 more designs, each eagerly awaited by the Meiji audience. The series captures Yoshitoshi's nostalgia for traditional Japan, yet he achieves this through a hybrid of old and new techniques. The subjects and medium recall the golden age of ukiyo-e, while Yoshitoshi integrates western compositional technique and aniline dyes. Quiet and reflective, this series marks a maturity of his work.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn the last decade of his life, Yoshitoshi designed numerous illustrated books and several other popular series: New Selection of Eastern Brocade Pictures (late 1880s) provided an ode to the urban folklore of Edo, while Thirty-Two Aspects of Women(1888) offered a nod to Utamaro, the great 18th century master of ukiyo-e. Following a major robbery of his home in 1888, Yoshitoshi slipped into mental illness once again. Despite his deteriorating mental state, he began the series Thirty-six Ghosts (1889). The series covered a range of haunting and ghoulish tales with the same refinement and sensitivity of 100 Views of the Moon. In 1891 Yoshitoshi was again overcome by his illness. He moved in and out of asylums, working intermittently. In the spring of 1892, he suffered a severe mental breakdown and was committed to the Sugamo Asylum. He was released in May and rented a house in Honjo rather than returning home. On the 9th of June 1892, he died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 53. His death poem reads: \"Holding back the night/ with its increasing brilliance/ the summer moon.\" [4]
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n1. Stevenson, John. Yoshitoshi's One Hundred Aspects of the Moon. San Francisco Graphic Society, 1992. Print, 69.
\r\n\r\n2. Excerpt from the preface to Akiyama Buemon's album of 100 Views of the Moon, published in 1892. As translated in Stevenson.
\r\n\r\n3. Ibid, 25.
\r\n\r\n4. Ibid, 51.
Demimonde: /dem-ee-mond/ (n.) Mid-19th century origin, from French demi-monde, literally \"half-world.\" A group of people considered to be on the fringes of respectable society; holds pleasure seeking connotations, associated with hedonistic lifestyles, usually in a conspicuous and flagrant manner, often in direct contrast to ruling class behavior.
\r\nIn the essay Le Café Concert, Montorgueil explains, the \"café concert was not a den of iniquity but rather a tonic for modern life.\" While Montorgueil describes the importance of pleasure amidst the social tumult of 1880s France, this statement is equally at home in Edo-period Japan (1603–1868). During the 17th century, the merchant class flourished, but remained stifled within the strict stratification of Japanese society. They turned from traditional culture for the pleasures of the floating world—the ephemeral realm of the kabuki theaters and the Yoshiwara, the licensed prostitution district. Though separated by an ocean and nearly a century, Edo's floating world and fin-de-siècle Paris shared in a departure from polite society to a fervent celebration of worldly pleasure. Each culture developed a demimonde, a half-world, that enticed even the elite, whether members of the Edo's samurai class or demimondaines, the bourgeois tourists in Paris' notorious Montmartre neighborhood.
\r\n
\r\n Utamaro, Courtesan Hitomoto from the House of Daimonjiya, from the series Contest of Full Bloom Beauties. c. 1805.
Edo's woodblock print artists immortalized the colorful floating world through ukiyo-e, or \"pictures of the floating world.\" Following the opening of Japan in 1854, these prints reverberated throughout the hearts of Western artists, resonating with the demimonde of fin-de-siècle France. The compositional daring, sharp diagonals, bold, flat blocks of color, and love for the quotidian captured the imagination of the French Impressionists and Post-Impressionists alike, providing a fresh visual vocabulary to depict the modern world. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was particularly entranced. The influence of the Japanese prints that he so avidly collected appears throughout his oeuvre, but especially resounds through his lithographs. Like the ukiyo-e artists in Japan, Lautrec embraced the world of actors, courtesans, and other spectral figures of the pleasure culture.
\r\n
\r\n Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Le Divan Japonais. 1892-1893.
Ronin Gallery is pleased to present Demimonde: The Floating World and Toulouse-Lautrec, a stunning juxtaposition of Toulouse-Lautrec's lithographs and the Japanese woodblock prints that inspired him. From masterworks of ukiyo-e, to Toulouse-Lautrec's large-scale posters and Le Café Concert set, this exhibition invites you to explore the parallel demimondes of fin-de-siècle Paris and Edo-period Japan, as well as the elements of Japonisme in Lautrec's work.
\r\nBy the early 17th century, the ancient feudal wars had ended and Japan entered an unprecedented period of peace and prosperity. The new Tokugawa Shogunate moved the capital from Kyoto to Edo (present day Tokyo) and instituted a policy of sankin kotai. Meaning \"alternate attendance,\" this edict required daimyo (provincial lords) and their households to rotate residence between their regional homes and the capital. This measure not only kept local power in check, but also spurred Edo's rapid urbanization. Surpassing one million residents, Edo became Japan's largest city and allowed the merchant class to thrive. For the first time in Japanese history, a middle class emerged and the demimonde was born. Catering to Edo's vast population of pleasure seekers, both samurai and townspeople alike, this ephemeral realm revolved around the Yoshiwara and kabuki theater. As described by Kyoto author Asai Ryōi in 1655, the ukiyo, or \"floating world,\" was a beauty like no other:
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\"Living only for a moment, turning our full attention to the pleasures of the moon, the snow, the cherry blossoms, and the ample, singing songs, drinking wine, and diverting ourselves just in floating, caring not a whit for the poverty staring us in the face, refusing to be disheartened, like a gourd floating along with the river current: this is what we call ukiyo.\"
The floating world revolved around worldly pleasure. The Yoshiwara offered the beautiful, the sensual and the physical, inviting its customers into a fantasy of love or lust. To visit this licensed prostitution district, patrons were required to travel across land and water; ripe with anticipation by the time they arrived. This mysterious and illusory world operated by its own rules, developing its own dialect, festivals, and even conception of time. Upon entering the main gate, visitors could purchase guidebooks to learn the intricacies of each brothel, the roster of oiran (elite courtesans), and words of wisdom for this district of perceived femme fatales.
\r\n\r\n
\r\n Kiyonaga. The Eighth Month. From the series Twelve Months. c.1784.
Whether seeking one of the lower-ranking courtesans in harimise, the custom of sitting in the window as to allow \"window shopping,\" or arranging to meet with a famed oiran, the patron of the Yoshiwara could indulge in various levels of fabricated romance. Sold by her family to the brothel at an age as young as seven, a courtesan's rank would be determined by age 11 or 12. Though educated in etiquette, conversation and the arts, even the highest-ranking courtesan was a prisoner, unable to escape the crushing debt of her purchase price. Caged and captive, these women became the epitome of elegance and fashion at the hand of the ukiyo-e artists. The romanticized courtesan dominated the genre of bijin-ga, or \"pictures of beautiful women,\" throughout the development of ukiyo-e, from Harunobu's youthful, anonymous beauties to Utamaro's intimate portraits. American Impressionist Mary Cassatt was deeply inspired by Utamaro and channeled his insightful renderings of the private lives of women in her warm depictions of motherhood. In describing his work to her fellow artists, Cassatt exclaimed, \"you who want to make color prints, you couldn't imagine anything more beautiful.\"
\r\n\r\nIn the neighborhood of Tsukiji, the kabuki theater served a visual feast of dramatic pleasures. These plays were rowdy affairs, featuring only male performers after 1629. The theater, like the Yoshiwara, was one of the few realms frequented by both samurai and merchant classes despite the strict stratification of Edo society. The theaters were divided into sections, tiered boxes and the main pit. From tales of revenge to tragic love-suicide stories, these highly stylized productions served as a major impetus for the growth of ukiyo-e. The two arts engaged in a symbiotic relationship: theaters depended on prints for advertisement, whereas the ukiyo-e artists developed their art form through kabuki subjects. Presenting one or two characters in dramatic poses, yakusha-e (actor portraits) captured the distinctive costumes, specific gestures, and recognizable makeup of favorite roles, alerting the city to coming attractions.
\r\n\r\n
\r\n James Tissot. The Prodigal Son in Modern Life: In Foreign Climes. 1881.
Ukiyo-e immortalized Edo's unique culture by promoting its beauty, fashions and heroes. However, modernity's impatient knocking soon disturbed the floating world. In 1853, Commodore Perry's black ships docked in Edo Bay, bearing President Millard Fillmore's invitation to establish trade and diplomatic relations with the United States. Wary of the Western world's propensity for gunboat diplomacy, the weakening Tokugawa Shogunate decided to engage in foreign trade in 1854, ending over 250 years of sakoku (closed country). Following the opening of Japan, the flow of Japanese art and decorative objects into Europe became a powerful surge.
\r\nThe 1867 Paris Exposition Universelle exposed many Europeans to Japan for the first time. It was here that many purchased their first prints. Lacquer, porcelain and bronze initially intrigued fading enthusiasts of chinoiserie as the freshest wave of the exotic. Imported Japanese fans, albums, paintings, and prints began to appear in shops around Paris. These items embodied the height of vogue, inciting such intense passion that it led French art critic Zacharie Astruc and American artist James Whistler into a physical altercation over a particular Japanese fan. Whistler (1834Ð1903) soon found influence in meisho-e, or \"famous place prints.\" He echoes Hiroshige in Boats Alongside Billingsgate, London (1859), exploring dramatic close-up and truncation of form through the boat in the foreground. While woodblock prints gained popularity more slowly than the decorative arts, by 1870 ukiyo-e could be found in curiosité? shops, tea warehouses, and large magasins. Meanwhile, as Europe romanticized Japan, the Meiji Emperor rapidly steered the country away from tradition and towards modernization.
\r\n\r\n
\r\n Mary Cassatt. Looking into the Hand-Mirror III. c. 1905.
\r\n Utamaro. The Priest Sojo Henjo. From the series Children as the Six Immortal Poets. c.1804.
The French art critic Philippe Burty (1830-1890) coined the term Japonisme in 1872 to \"designate a new field of study...[the] artistic, historic, and ethnographic borrowing from the arts of Japan.\" This new designation arose from the 1867 Paris Exposition Universelle, but described an artistic movement spanning France, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Germany, and the United States. Japanese art reached the height of fashion during the decline of Realism, at a time when the French Academy had become too rigid for many artists. Japanese art provided a fresh visual language for a changing world. The ukiyo-e masters captured the imagination of the French Impressionists and Post-Impressionists through compositional daring, sharp diagonals, ornamental patterns, bold, flat blocks of color, and a love for the quotidian.
\r\n\r\nJaponisme held a different meaning to each artist who came under its spell. For Jacques James Tissot (1836Ð1902), his expression took the form of exoticized subject matter. In the print Prodigal Son in Modern Life: In Foreign Climes, Tissot presents a line of dancing Japanese courtesans, recalling groups of fashionable beauties found in Kiyonaga's print. The scene overflows with all things Japanese—courtesans, architecture, clothing, customs—but is rendered in the distinctly European style of etching. In contrast, Edgar Degas (1834–1917) found inspiration in the stylistic elements of ukiyo-e, integrating these visual concepts into his existing style. In Mary Cassatt at the Louvre: The Paintings Gallery (1879–1880), Degas portrays his friend and fellow artist with a narrow format, inspired by Japanese pillar prints, as he partially obscures his subject in the style of Hiroshige. While artists such as Degas and Cassatt focused on the human form, Manet channeled the popularity of the feline subject matter and applied Hokusai's careful, economic use of line in The Cats (1869). From subjects to style, Japanese prints had a profound impact on French printmaking at the turn of the century. For the Post-Impressionist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, this effect was all consuming.
\r\nWhile Lautrec chose to live his life far from bourgeois ideals, he was a member of the French aristocracy by birth. The son of first cousins, Lautrec felt the consequences of the fraught union. He was born in 1864 with a hereditary bone disease, though his family actively denied the condition. At age 13, Lautrec broke his femur in one leg, followed by the other femur one year later. He recovered from the accidents, but his legs never grew again, and the artist measured 5'1\" at his full height. During his recovery, Lautrec spent his time drawing and working with watercolors. He was naturally talented and began formal artistic study with René Princeteau. In the 1880s, Lautrec left the comfort of his aristocratic upbringing in Albi, a small town in the south of France, for the entrancingly gritty Pigalle, a neighborhood on the outskirts of Paris. Here he became friends with leading artists entranced by Japanese prints, including Vuillard and Van Gogh. Vuillard evoked a sense of perspective in his interior scenes, as seen in the cover print for Landscapes and Interiors (1889). Known for his warm interiors and tender portraits of life in the home, Vuillard found inspiration in Harunobu's inviting interiors, while Vincent van Gogh directly copied Hiroshige's Plum Garden at Kameido (1857) and Sudden Shower on Shin Ohashi (1857) in oil paint.
\r\n\r\n
\r\n James Whistler. Boats Alongside Billingsgate, London. 1859.
As a resident of the lively, if dangerous, Parisian demimonde, Lautrec captured this exciting realm in daring compositions. He believed that \"ugliness always and everywhere has its enchanting side; it is exciting to hit upon it where no one has ever noticed it before.\" He found this overlooked beauty in café concerts and dance halls of Pigalle and Montmartre, as well as in the characters that frequented these shadowed haunts. The neighborhood of Montmartre was known as le butte, meaning \"the hill.\" Pigalle bordered the base of the hill, home to Lautrec and the Moulin Rouge, while Montmartre was filled with café concerts and clubs. The promise of low rents and a vibrant subculture attracted artists, writers, dancers, and other creatives to the area. Lautrec was not simply an observer of the Parisian demimonde, but a key member of the community. He published his first illustrations in montmartrois journals, while his paintings adorned the walls of the popular destinations of the 18th arrondissement. In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was revived from a dying club into a vision of beauty and pleasure. The club derived its name from its signature red windmill that continues to turn even today. Bedecked in Moorish and East Asian styling, the dance hall boasted an open courtyard complete with an immense wooden elephant, which appears in Lautrec's later signatures, and an explosive new dance phenomenon called the cancan. The chahuteuese, the cancan dancers, would high kick in a frenzy, underwear optional, before leaping into the air with a shriek and landing in a split. A dear friend of the performers, Lautrec spent his evenings sketching the dancers and guests. Each night a table was fixed, ready and waiting for him at the Moulin Rouge.
\r\n\r\n
\r\n Hiroshige. Full Moon over Takanawa. From the series Toto Meisho. c. 1845.
In 1882, Harry Humphrey Moore introduced Lautrec to a small album of Japanese woodblock prints. The following year, Lautrec attended the Exposition Retrospective de l'Art Japonais. The first true retrospective of Japanese art in the West, this exhibition spanned paintings, bronzes, lacquer, ink drawings, albums and woodblock prints. As he admired the work of ukiyo-e artists, this visit sparked a fire in Lautrec. He began to avidly collect Japanese prints, trading his own paintings for ukiyo-e he particularly desired. He donned Japanese costume for masked balls and posed in the style of a Sharaku actor portrait in photographs. In the 1890s, when not at the Moulin Rouge, Lautrec began to spend entire days in the print shop of Goupils, studying the work of ukiyo-e masters and learning to read and replicate signatures. While ukiyo-e styles had been steadily infiltrating his drawings and paintings, this influence peaked in his lithographic work.
\r\n\r\nLithography fit the pace of Paris. The wide avenues of mid-19th century Paris invited a greater role of public life. A successful poster would not only catch each passing eye, but would become an inseparable part of the culture. While the narrow, winding alleys of Montmartre recalled a Parisian past, the poster played a modern role, advertising and extolling the celebrities of le butte. Pierre Bonnard (1867–1947) developed his lithographic style under the influence of ukiyo-e. Evident in his night scene, The Square at Evening (1897), Bonnard takes a lesson from Hiroshige, using semi-abstraction to evoke the atmosphere of evening and a touch of red to tease the eye. Upon seeing Bonnard's famous France-Champagne lithographic poster in 1891, Lautrec sought out his fellow artist. Bonnard introduced Lautrec to the publisher Ancourt, who published Lautrec's first lithographic poster, La Goulue: Moulin Rouge, in 1891.
\r\n\r\n
\r\n Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Mademoiselle Eglantine's Troupe. 1896.
The lithographic process depends on the principle that water and oil repel each other, but the technique mirrors the Japanese woodblock printing process: the desired image is drawn, either with wax crayon or with oil-based ink, directly onto the lithographic stone (usually limestone). The stone is then wet with water, and the printing ink is applied. The water repels the ink, but the grease of the image attracts it. The paper is applied and the printed image is the reverse of the original design. Like woodblock printing, the \"key impression\" is printed first, followed by a series of the desired colors.
\r\n\r\nAs the ukiyo-e artist's before him, Lautrec sought a new audience, a break from the traditional patrons. He produced illustrations, invitations, song-sheets, theater programs, periodicals and menus, all through the lithographic medium, all reflecting an increasing influence of Japanese prints. These works reached a wide audience, visible from the street in the windows of Montmartre's cabarets and café concerts.
\r\n\r\nJust as 18th-century yakusha-e announced upcoming performances and starring actors, Lautrec's lithographs celebrated and publicized the clubs and performances of his friends from the demimonde. He integrated a muted color palate, bird's eye perspective, flattened spaces and colors, raking diagonals, truncated objects, and complex composition into his already vibrant style. In 1892, Lautrec began signing his works with his initials, HTL, compressed into a circle. This emblem was inspired by designs found on tsuba, or Japanese sword hilts. Often rendered in vermillion, this signature evoked the seals found on the prints he collected. Japanese calligraphy left a profound impact on Lautrec's understanding of movement. The artist ordered brushes and inks from Japan, eager to achieve the spontaneity of form and tangible movement that he admired in Japanese brush drawings and calligraphy.
\r\n\r\n
\r\n Hiroshige. from the series 53 Stations of the Tokaido. 1832-1833.
Lautrec combined these compositional tools and a calligraphic spontaneity of line with an intimacy learned from Utamaro and the explosive theatricality and individuality of Sharaku. Of his peers, Lautrec idolized Degas. Navigating the shadowed life of the Parisian dancers, Degas captured the human body in its myriad postures and silent languages. Lautrec furthered this idea through the lessons of the ukiyo-e masters, exploring the emotional power hidden in each angle, the secret language of each subtle shift in posture and expression. Informed by the austerity of line in Hokusai Manga, Lautrec astutely conveys meanings through countless postures and facial expressions. Misia Nathanson, a friend of the artist asked, \"Tell me, Lautrec, why do you always make your women so ugly?\" He quickly shot back, \"Because they are ugly!\" To Lautrec, beauty was found in the grimace, in the distinctive features that he inflated to near caricature. His portraits of performers evoke the Japanese mie—the exaggerated dramatic pose, often held at a climactic moment in a kabuki production—to create dynamic portraits of recognizable public personas. While Lautrec's renditions were not always deemed favorable, they conveyed indisputable likeness.
\r\n\r\nIn 1899, Lautrec suffered from syphilis and growing alcoholism. Institutionalized in Neuilly, he began to furiously sketch from memory in an effort to convince his doctors of his sanity and earn his freedom. While he succeeded and was released after several months of treatment, he promptly returned to his drinking and soon abandoned his work. He never made it to Japan. Though his mother had offered to finance his trip, Lautrec could never find a willing travel companion. In 1901, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec suffered a stroke and died on September 9th at the age of 36. Following his death, the character of Montmartre began to fade. The sarcastic critique of the bourgeoisie and reprieve from polite society Lautrec immortalized in his paintings, drawings and prints became the mainstream entertainment center of early-20th century Paris. Like the floating world of Edo, the demimonde of Montmartre dissolved with the push of modernity.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Demimonde: The Floating World and Toulouse-Lautrec","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"258331","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"9/4/2016 9:20:04 am"}},{"name":"Yoshitoshi's Masterpiece: The Flute Player","urlPath":"blog/yoshitoshis-masterpiece-the-flute-player-2","url":"yoshitoshis-masterpiece-the-flute-player-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Yoshitoshi's Masterpiece: The Flute Player|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"Yoshitoshi's Masterpiece: The Flute Player","meta_description":"Yoshitoshi's Fujiwara no Yasumasa Plays the Flute by Moonlight is considered to be one of Yoshitoshi's definitive masterpieces and has its own interesting history. From the 1880s through today, the design has entranced collectors with its portrayal of the tale of a moonlit evening, banditry, and the power of beauty. We'll take a brief look into the history and variant states of this famous design.","meta_keywords":"yoshitoshi, the flute player, ukiyo-e, japanese woodblock prints, Fujiwara no yasumasu","customrecorddata":"24","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"Yoshitoshi's Fujiwara no Yasumasa Plays the Flute by Moonlight is considered to be one of Yoshitoshi's definitive masterpieces and has its own interesting history. From the 1880s through today, the design has entranced collectors with its portrayal of the tale of a moonlit evening, banditry, and the power of beauty. We'll take a brief look into the history and variant states of this famous design.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"Fujiwara no Yasumasa (958-1036) was a renowned musician and poet in the Heian court. He is best known for the tale of a moonlit evening, banditry, and the power of beauty. One autumn night Yasumasa made his way home through the isolated Ichiharano moor. He played his flute as he sauntered along. While he believed that he was alone amidst the tall grass, a bandit lay in wait. The highwayman, Hakamadare Yasusuke (also known as Kidomaru) planned to attack the lonely traveler and steal his elegant winter robes. Yet, as the music reached Yasusuke's ears, he found himself unable to attack. He became enchanted by the beauty of the music and followed Yasumasa all the way home. Upon reaching the courtier's home, the flutist noticed his unintended audience and offered Yasusuke a fine gift of clothing so that he would not leave empty-handed.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Yoshitoshi, Fujiwara no Yasumasa Plays the Flute by Moonlight, 1883.
Yoshitoshi captures the moment of enchantment in his interpretation of this famous story. Yasumasa's sleeves ripple in the wind, his lips gently press to the flute, and his mind is entirely lost in his song. He is unaware of the impending attacker crouched behind him. As Yasusuke curls his fingers around the handle of the sword, an act of violence seems imminent. Though Yoshitoshi's contemporaries would have been familiar with this story and know that the sword would not leave its sheath, the design emphasizes the grim possibility.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nYoshitoshi's Fujiwara no Yasumasa Plays the Flute by Moonlight is considered to be one of Yoshitoshi's definitive masterpieces and has its own interesting history. The design was initially painted as an entry for the first government-sponsored exhibition of modern Japanese painting in the Autumn of 1882. On February 12th the following year the publisher Akiyama Buemon issues the print Fujiwara no Yasumasa Plays the Flute by Moonlight, based on the 1882 painting. That March, Ichikawa Danjuro IX bases a Kabuki performance on Yoshitoshi's image. By June, the popularity of the work continued to swell. At Hie Shrine's Sanno Festival, a float inspired by Yoshitoshi's print is paraded down the street, with Yoshitoshi seated on the prow! Considering the print's enormous success at the time, the \"Flute Player Triptych,\" as it is colloquially known among collectors, has always been in high demand. Early states are evidenced by prominent woodgrain, pronounced shading, and elaborate embellishment, including gold accents on Yasumasa's cloak and the use of additional blocks to print the reeds.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Yoshitoshi. Fujiwara Yasumasa Plays the Flute by Moonlight. 1883. Variant State.
detail of publisher and engraver marks
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nA very rare variant state exists with the name of the engraver, Suri Tsune, faintly hand-stamped beside the publisher mark. This state is seen with replacement background blocks on the center and right sheets. These replacement blocks were used for all but the earliest impressions.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Yoshitoshi, Fujiwara no Yasumasa Plays the Flute by Moonlight, 1883.
While any state of this print is rare, the Flute Player design is largely encountered without embellishment and without the printer's stamp. In the impression above, the delineation of the horizon on the left sheet, as well as the pronounced shading on the foreground, has been left out. What sets this particular print apart is the woodgrain and spectacular mica applied to the entire composition.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Yoshitoshi, Autumn Moon at Toin: Flute Player Yasumasa, 1894.
While not the iconic depiction of Fujiwara no Yasumasa, Autumn Moon at Toin presents Yoshitoshi's exploration of the same tale. The work is similar in design, yet different in feel. This print preceded his masterpiece. Designed in 1868, the print resulted from a collaboration between Yoshitoshi, who designed the figures, and Katsukawa Shuntei, who designed the background landscape.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe image illustrated above is the second state, with new blocks for the background and a different color scheme. The names of Shuntei and the publisher Sanoya Tomigoro are removed. This indicates that the rights to the image were traded to the publisher Katada Chojiro, whose name appears in the left hand corner of the print. It is quite possible that this 1894 re-issue was triggered by the success of Yoshitoshi's masterpiece triptych Fujiwara no Yasumasa Plays the Flute by Moonlight.
Japanese myths brim with ghosts and demons, animals with magical powers, mischievous spirits, and mysterious realms where humans and supernatural creatures live side by side. Known as yokai, these otherworldly figures arise from Japanese folklore. Though they can be terrifying and malevolent, not all yokai are evil. Some may even bring good luck if they cross your path. These fantastical tales captured public interest and sparked the imagination of ukiyo-e artists during the Edo period. Artists such as Kuniyoshi and Yoshitoshi, recognized masters of the bizarre, portray these tales of the supernatural with humor and horror. These prints invite you to indulge your imagination and feel the chill of fear creep up your spine as they transport you to the fantastical world of ghosts, spirits, and demons.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Kuniyoshi, Taira Ghosts Attacking Yoshitsune in Daimotsu Bay. 1849-1852. Ronin Gallery.
In the triptych Taira Ghosts Attacking Yoshitsune in Daimotsu Bay (1849-1852) , Kuniyoshi presents the legend of Yoshitsune and the vengeful ghosts of the Taira clan. The tale begins in 1185 with the final battle between the Minamoto and Taira clans. As described in the quasi-historical Tale of Heike, the powerful clans clashed for the last time in a vicious sea battle. In the course of the battle, the Minamoto clan identified and attacked the ship carrying the heir and leaders of the Taira clan. As the Taira leaders sunk into their watery graves, the Minamoto clan secured victory at sea and power in Japan.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nSoon after this victory, Yoshitsune of the victorious Minamoto was forced to leave his home due to the jealous wrath of his brother Yoritomo. The omens were poor as Yoshitsune readied his escape to the island of Shikoku, yet he could not risk another night under the eye of his brother. As Yoshitsune and his followers sailed through the Straits of Shimonoseki, they found themselves caught in a violent storm. The water began to churn, tossing the boat back and forth as the waves rose ever higher. The sky turned dark, and from the depths of the clouds emerged the vengeful ghosts of Taira soldiers drowned at the battle of Dan-no-ura. Beneath these horrifying specters, Musashibo Benkei, a favorite hero of the Minamoto-Taira wars and devout follower of Yoshitsune, took to the front of the ship. Prayer beads in hand, Benkei dispelled the ghosts and calmed the sea with his prayers.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nKuniyoshi presents not the moment of salvation, but the pinnacle of dread in this legend. Though Benkei has assumed his position at the front of the ship, he has yet to assure its safe passage. As waves rock the ship towards the center of the triptych, Yoshitsune's followers frantically grasp the sail, pulling it down amidst the howling wind. Jagged tendrils of white surf crash around the boat, emphasizing the angry churning of the sea. The rich shading of the water suggests the frightening depth of the water below the boat. Yet, the real horror rises from the horizon. The ghosts of the Taira darken the sky, some horned, others waving swords at the frantic occupants on the ship. The ghosts tower in the sky, menacing the seemingly doomed Yoshitsune Minamoto and his followers.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAs with most legends, there are different versions and diverse interpretations of this tale. In the noh play Benkei in a Boat (Funa Benkei), Yoshitsune's loyal follower clutches his prayer beads and prays at the front of the ship, causing the vengeful spirits to dissipate and the churning sea to calm. In the 14th century, Chronicles of Yoshitsune (Gikeiki), Benkei confronts the ghosts by different means. The story tells of Benkei shooting an arrow adorned with white bird feathers towards the sky to scatter the menacing spirits. Even today, this haunting tale persists in local legend. There are tales of cries coming from the water and fires glowing above the waves at the site of this legendary battle. The spirits of the Taira warriors are said to remain restless. Some say that they are present in crabs which bear markings similar to samurai masks sometimes found on the beaches.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Haunted at Sea: The Tale of Yoshitsune and the Taira Ghosts","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"3","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"267750","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"10/7/2018 5:41:07 am"}},{"name":"18th Century Pillar Prints: Hashira-e","urlPath":"blog/18th-century-pillar-prints-hashira-e-2","url":"18th-century-pillar-prints-hashira-e-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Hashira-e: 18th Century Pillar Prints","page_header":"Hashira-e: 18th Century Pillar Prints","meta_description":"In Hashira-e: 18th Century Pillar Prints, Ronin Gallery considers the enormous versatility and groundbreaking innovation of the artists working in the hashira-e format during the the golden age.","meta_keywords":"hashira-e, pillar prints, ukiyo-e, japanese art","customrecorddata":"26","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"2","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"The second half of the 18th century was the golden age of innovation in ukiyo-e. During this period, woodblock print artists experimented with a variety new techniques and sizes. In Hashira-e: 18th Century Pillar Prints, Ronin Gallery considers the enormous versatility and groundbreaking innovation of the artists working in the hashira-e format during the golden age.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"The second half of the 18th century was the golden age of innovation in ukiyo-e. During this period, woodblock print artists experimented with a variety new techniques and sizes. The most unique of these formats was the long, narrow hashira-e, or the pillar print. This new size allowed for compositions that brimmed with grace and emotion, employing negative space and vertical dynamism to great effect. And while these more unusual sizes presented their own challenges to the printing process, they also allowed the artist to be experimental, imaginative and innovative with the design's compositional space. Hashira-e were often pasted to the pillars in traditional Japanese homes, and as such, they were exposed to smoke and dust, making those that have survived exceedingly precious works of art.
\r\n\r\nDuring the 18th century's golden age of artistic innovation, woodblock print artists experimented with coloring, line, composition, and print format, developing works of art that stand among the most unique and inventive images in ukiyo-e. Some of the rarest and most exciting prints from this period are hashira-e, or pillar prints.
\r\n\r\nThe 18th century was the renaissance of the prosperous and relatively peaceful Edo period. The increasingly centralized power of the shogun was accompanied by the creation of highly codified classes, producing the outward appearance of social stability. The merchant class, or chonin, progressively became the generative force of popular culture. Their increasing wealth could be used in highly delineated urban quarters of pleasure and consumption within the city of Edo. These exciting, new, and diverse places where classes could comingle progressively became the driving force behind the subject and style of Japanese woodblock printing. Developments in printing techniques, like the ability to print in multiple colors (nishiki-e), also made individual sheet prints more and more popular among the wealthy rising class and everyday consumers alike. The images became brighter, more colorful, complex, and reflected the everyday culture of urban Japan: the Kabuki theatre, beautiful women of the pleasure quarters, freedom of travel, and other aspects of the 'floating world.' Artists of this period, inspired by the vibrancy of their audience, experimented voraciously.
\r\n\r\nIn traditional ukiyo-e, the size of the print is an integral, if overlooked, component of the finished work of art. The sakura, or cherry tree, was the preferred wood for the printing blocks, and therefore the size of the block was generally dictated by the diameter of the tree. Due to these restrictions, several standard print sizes quickly developed. The most common sizes are the oban and chuban sizes, approximately 10 by 15 inches and 7.5 by 10 inches, respectively. The less common formats tend to be either long and narrow, or wider and taller overall, or smaller and square, and while these more unusual sizes present their own challenges to the printing process, they also allow the ukiyo-e artist to be experimental, imaginative, and innovative within the design's compositional limitations.
\r\n\r\nThe hashira-e (sometimes hashirae-ban), or pillar print, is the rarest of these unusual print formats. At a size of approximately 4 by 28 inches, it is the narrowest of the Edo period prints. Its exaggerated verticality and slim width was originally intended for decoration of the interior supporting pillars in traditional Japanese architecture, hence the name, \"pillar prints.\" Artists soon realized that the format itself was freeing and full of potential. This allowed for compositions brimmed with the grace and emotion of artfully employed negative space and vertical dynamism. Subjects range from the traditional renderings of bijin (beautiful women), to legendary figures and heroes, to birds and flowers, but always the narrow plane of the hashira-e provided a daring space for artistic imagination and expression.
\r\n\r\nThis exhibition features work by the best artists of the golden age of ukiyo-e: Harunobu, Koryusai, Utamaro, Kiyonaga, Eishi, and Masanobu. Harunobu's tall and slender bijin were ideally suited to the narrow format of the pillar print, and Koryusai took Harunobu's graceful compositions of women and transformed them into a body of work that is unrivaled in its stately, majestic elegance; Kiyonaga is regarded as the period's other great artist of beautiful women. Utamaro's hashira-e are perhaps the most complex compositions of the time, incorporating portraiture into the undulating S-curve that serves the narrow, vertical format so well. Masanobu's pillar print designs are extremely rare, and feature the bold lines and dynamic compositions that speak to the exuberance of the artistic period.
\r\n\r\nBecause of their unusual format, and the fact that they were often used in the home where they would be exposed to smoke and dirt, well-preserved hashira-e today are quite rare and exceedingly precious. This exhibition of these unique prints demonstrates the enormous versatility and groundbreaking innovation of the artists of the golden age.
***
Born into a samurai family of the Fujiwara clan, Eishi resided in Edo and was educated in the grand tradition of Kano-school painting. He became a court painter and high court official to the Tokugawa shogun Ieharu, working in the court approved Kano style. At around the age of thirty, Eishi left the court and began working in ukiyo-e. Initially influenced by the Torii school, he soon found inspiration in Utamaro's work and began producing bijin-ga, pictures of beautiful women. As Eishi's style developed, he soon settled into a style of his own, defined by aristocratic elegance and refinement; his women tall, lean, and elegant. It is said that his prints were so highly regarded by the time of his death in 1829 that even the imperial family sought to own them.
\r\n\r\nSuzuki Harunobu is considered to be one of the finest ukiyo-e artists of the early golden age of woodblock printing. He is accredited with the important innovation of nishiki-e: \"brocade prints\" that are distinguished by their rich, complex, and saturated application of color. It is reported that the innovator Shigenaga was his teacher, but most of his early pieces show no indication of this. Instead, it seems as if he drew inspiration from Sukenobu, the Kyoto based print designer who was known for his depictions of actors and beautiful women. Harunobu's own innovative approach to printing catapulted him to fame and he became well known for his elegant women, light and airy compositions, and his depictions of simple pleasures in everyday Edo-period life.
\r\n\r\nKoryusai was born into the samurai class in the middle of the 18th century. However, despite his privileged background he chose to study the art of woodblock printing. Many of his subjects were was drawn from history and literature and featured studies of bijin-ga. His style was greatly inspired by Harunobu, yet still remained distinct, as Koryusai's own work was less dreamlike and used different color palettes. In the tradition of hashira-e, no other artist is more prolific than Koryusai: his long, narrow compositions feature the majestic, stately figures of beautiful women, arranged into sensual, undulating compositions.
\r\n\r\nBorn in Uraga to a bookseller, Kiyonaga moved to Edo in 1765 and began his art education under the direction of Torii Kiyomatsu. Following the death of his master, he was adopted into the Torii family and is generally considered the last great member of the Torii school. Kiyonaga was a major printmaker during late 18th century Edo; his work had great influence on other artists and he is recognized for his intelligent use of color and the elegance of his bijin-ga. In 1787, Kiyonaga arranged for the Torii school to design kabuki signboards that would eventually lead to their virtual monopoly over the industry.
\r\n\r\nMasanobu was born and lived in Edo where during his formative years he studied under the great \"chameleon\" print artist, haikai master, and shodo calligrapher Kitao Shigemasa. Masanobu was also known as the famous Edo period writer and poet Santo Kyoden, publishing dozens of kibyoshi, or humorous and satirical illustrated books. Masanobu's work drew on new printing techniques and his own pioneering use of western perspective to produce works on a wide range of subject matter. He is seen as one of the most inspirational artists of his generation.
The 1867 Paris Exposition Universelle exposed many Europeans to Japan for the first time. It was here that many purchased their first prints. Lacquer, porcelain and bronze initially intrigued fading enthusiasts of chinoiserie as the freshest wave of the exotic. Imported Japanese fans, albums, paintings, and prints began to appear in shops around Paris. These items embodied the height of vogue, inciting such intense passion that it led French art critic Zacharie Astruc and American artist James Whistler into a physical altercation over a particular Japanese fan. Whistler (1834–1903) soon found influence in meisho-e, or \"famous place prints.\" He echoes Hiroshige in Boats Alongside Billingsgate, London (1859), exploring dramatic close-up and truncation of form through the boat in the foreground.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n (Above) Hiroshige. \"Full Moon over Takanawa.\" From the series \"Toto Meisho.\" Woodblock print. c. 1845. Signed \"Hiroshige ga.\" 14.25\" x 10.\" (Below) James Whistler. \"Boats Alongside Billingsgate, London.\" Etching. Signed \"Whistler.\" 1859. 9.5\" x 13.25.\"
While woodblock prints gained popularity more slowly than the decorative arts, by 1870 ukiyo-e could be found in curiosité shops, tea warehouses, and large magasins. Meanwhile, as Europe romanticized Japan, the Meiji Emperor rapidly steered the country away from tradition and towards modernization. The French art critic Philippe Burty (1830-1890) coined the term Japonisme in 1872 to \"designate a new field of study...[the] artistic, historic, and ethnographic borrowing from the arts of Japan.\" This new designation arose from the 1867 Paris Exposition Universelle, but described an artistic movement spanning France, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Germany, and the United States. Japanese art reached the height of fashion during the decline of Realism, at a time when the French Academy had become too rigid for many artists. Japanese art provided a fresh visual language for a changing world. The ukiyo-e masters captured the imagination of the French Impressionists and Post-Impressionists through compositional daring, sharp diagonals, ornamental patterns, bold, flat blocks of color, and a love for the quotidian.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nJaponisme held a different meaning to each artist who came under its spell. For Jacques James Tissot (1836–1902), his expression took the form of exoticized subject matter.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n James Tissot. \"The Prodigal Son in Modern Life: In Foreign Climes.\" Etching. Signed \"j.j. tissot.\" 1881. 12\" x 14.5.\"
In the print Prodigal Son in Modern Life: In Foreign Climes, the scene overflows with all things Japanese—courtesans, architecture, clothing, customs—but is rendered in the distinctly European style of etching. In contrast, Edgar Degas (1834–1917) found inspiration in the stylistic elements of ukiyo-e, integrating these visual concepts into his existing style. In Mary Cassatt at the Louvre: The Paintings Gallery (1879–80), Degas portrays his friend and fellow artist with a narrow format, inspired by Japanese pillar prints, as he partially obscures his subject in the style of Hiroshige.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n (Left) Hiroshige. \"Yoroi Ferry at Koami Town.\" From the series \"One Hundred Famous Views of Edo.\" Woodblock print. 1857. Signed \"Hiroshige ga.\" 14.25\" x 9.5.\" (Right) Edgar Degas. \"Mary Cassatt at the Louvre: The Paintings Gallery.\" Etching, Aquatint and Drypoint. 1879-1880. 12\" x 5.\"
While artists such as Degas and Cassatt focused on the human form, Manet channeled the popularity of the feline subject matter and applied Hokusai's careful, economic use of line in The Cats (1869).
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Édouard Manet. \"Les Chats.\" Etching. 1869. 8.5\" x 10.25\"
\r\n\r\n Hokusai. \"Cats.\" From the series \"Hokusai Manga.\" Woodblock print. 1815-1865. 7.25\" x 5.25.\"
From subjects to style, Japanese prints had a profound impact on French printmaking at the turn of the century.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Japonisme: The Great Wave","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"5","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"267758","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"3/7/2016 5:54:07 am"}},{"name":"Reflecting the Spirit: Shiko Munakata (1903-1975)","urlPath":"blog/reflecting-the-spirit-shiko-munakata-1903-1975-2","url":"reflecting-the-spirit-shiko-munakata-1903-1975-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Reflecting the Spirit: Shiko Munakata (1903-1975)|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"Reflecting the Spirit: Shiko Munakata (1903-1975)","meta_description":"Munakata and the Disciples of Buddha invites you to experience the woodblock prints of Shiko Munakata (1903–1975) and to discover the Buddhist roots of Japanese woodblock printing.","meta_keywords":"shiko munakata, sosaku hanga, modern art, japanese art","customrecorddata":"28","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"Munakata and the Disciples of Buddha invites you to experience the woodblock prints of Shiko Munakata (1903–1975) and to discover the Buddhist roots of Japanese woodblock printing. Culminating in his iconic series Ten Great Disciples of the Buddha, this exhibition explores the vital interplay of artistic tradition and religious practice behind Munakata’s groundbreaking work.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"Munakata and the Disciples of Buddha invites you to experience the woodblock prints of Shiko Munakata (1903–1975) and to discover the Buddhist roots of Japanese woodblock printing. Culminating in his iconic series Ten Great Disciples of the Buddha, this exhibition explores the vital interplay of artistic tradition and religious practice behind Munakata’s groundbreaking work. Starting with the origins of Japanese woodblock printing in the 12th century, to the ukiyo-e prints of the Edo and Meiji periods, the exhibition Munakata and the Disciples of Buddha places this innovative master of modern woodblock printmaking within centuries of tradition. Also on exhibit will be an exceptionally rare calligraphy kakejiku (scroll painting) by Munakata from the private collection of Munakata's granddaughter, Yoriko Ishii, as well as other important hand-colored works.
\r\nOn September 5th, 1903, Shiko Munakata was born to a blacksmith in Aomori, in Northern Honshu. As one of fifteen children, he received no more than an elementary school education before joining his father at the forge. Due to his severe nearsightedness, Munakata was not a natural blacksmith and mainly ran errands for his father. Nonetheless, he took over the family business with his older brother in 1920. Inspired by Japan's growing auto industry, Munakata's brother seized the opportunity to modernize their business and transformed the family forge into a garage. Disinclined from working as a mechanic, Munakata decided to seek a life outside this his ancestral trade. Through the aid of a family friend, he began to assist in the Aomori Prefectural Court. The job paid little, but he put his small earnings towards art supplies, nurturing his budding creative passion. He began to work in ink, using an accounting pad as his impromptu sketchbook. [1] In his free time, the young artist drew inspiration from the pages of Shirakaba (White Birch), a literary and art magazine that featured the work of Cezanne, Matisse, Gaugin, and Van Gogh. It is interesting to note that Munakata became especially enamored with the works of Vincent van Gogh. When asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, he answered that he wanted to \"be a van Gogh,\" by which he meant a professional artist. And, in fact, Munakata would succeed in becoming a \"van Gogh.\" Choosing the block over oils, he would innovate Japanese printmaking just as van Gogh influenced European painting.
\r\n\r\n![\"Munakata](\"https://www.roningallery.com/core/media/media.nl?id=267761&c=4366028&h=f2881a70229b51299411&798728\")
Munakata teaching a class. Photo courtesy of Yoriko Ishii.
\r\n\r\n\r\nMunakata sought formal art instruction from Kihachiro Shimozawa, a Western-style oil painter based in Tokyo. Stirred by a bold determination to devote his life to his art, Munakata followed his teacher back to Tokyo in 1924. The city greeted Munakata with a series of disappointments. Major exhibitions repeatedly rejected his works and he had to juggle odd jobs to support himself. However, within the year, his luck shifted. He participated in his first exhibition, presenting his oil paintings at the Hakujitsu Society, a prestigious art association. Munakata, a talented oil painter, quickly rose to success in the Tokyo art scene, but he found himself dissatisfied with the saturating Westernization of Japanese art. He began to search for a true Japanese style and experimented with wooden sculpture and printmaking. In 1928, Munakata met members of the Sosaku Hanga, or \"Creative Print,\" movement and adopted the woodblock print as his primary medium. In his words, \"I was fumbling with color prints...until one day I saw a woodcut by Sumio Kawakami...It was black and white, a small print showing a woman walking in the wind, with a poem about the wind of early summer. Suddenly I knew I had found what I was looking for...I threw myself into prints.\" [2]
\r\n\r\nUnlike many woodblock artists, Munakata rarely composed preliminary sketches. His compositions were spontaneous, flowing from mind to board in a single sitting. Sori Yangai recalls the sight of Munakata at work, doubled over to accommodate his nearsightedness: \"He had to bring his face so close to the block that his nose nearly touched the block.\" [3] The artist strayed further from convention in his choice of carving tools. While most artists worked with professional grade knives, Munakata favored children's tools. [4] Inexpensive, these simple knives would come pre-sharpened and ready to use. As they became dull, he would replace them with a new set, refusing to waste a moment of inspiration sharpening knives. Based on his choice of wood, tool replacement was frequent. Munakata largely worked with katsura blocks, a hard wood that provided the necessary resistance for his sharp, graphic forms. [5] He often printed in monochrome, focusing on the rich contrast of India ink against the paper. When he worked in color, he applied bright washes with a brush, or rich pigments for back coloring.
\r\n\r\nMunakata emerged as a printmaker at the forefront of modern printmaking, caught in between the two major movements of his time: Sosaku Hanga and Mingei. Though he participated in both movements, he refused allegiance to single movement. The Sosaku Hanga movement arose from a central tenant: the artist must participate in every aspect of production. Artists shed the traditional delegation of artist, engraver, and printer, and explored each role themselves. Originally excluded from Japan's formal art world, Sosaku Hanga nurtured its aesthetic and artists on the pages of magazines. Members adopted a more spontaneous, expressive attitude, heavily influenced by the artistic explorations of the European avant-garde movement. As the movement garnered new enthusiasm and foreign interest, tendencies shifted from the figural to the abstract.
\r\n\r\n![\"Cutting](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=267762&c=4366028&h=71a1483c90a2603350ed&793685\")
Cutting the block. Photo courtesy of Yoriko Ishii.
\r\n\r\nFounded by Soetsu Yanagi in the 1920s, the Mingei, or the \"Folk Art\" movement championed the beauty of Japanese craft and traditional arts. The movement distanced itself from the realm of fine art, celebrating the beauty inherent in handcrafted, everyday objects. Turning to traditional materials and techniques, Mingei valued works of a personal nature. From baskets to kimono, wooden sculptures to prints, the movement spanned various mediums and styles. The movement attracted many outspoken artists, establishing itself as a significant force in the development of modern art. Symbiotic yet, at times, antagonistic, Mingei and Sosaku Hanga defined the vanguard of modern Japanese printmaking. Despite plentiful overlap between their values and goals, the movements remained divided. As Munakata's reputation grew, both movements vied for his loyalty. Though the rivalry flared throughout his career, Munakata persistently drew from both ideologies, bridging this schism with his fierce independence.
\r\n\r\nMunakata's introduction to these two movements not only deeply affected his creative process, but also welcomed him into the international art scene. In 1935, Munakata joined the Sosaku Hanga print association, Kokugakai, as a junior member. During his first exhibition with the association, his work drew the interest of Yanagi, founder of the Mingei movement. [6] Yanagi recognized Munakata's talent in the series Yamato shi Uruwashi and purchased the entire set for the Folk Craft Museum in Tokyo. Even today, the museum holds the most comprehensive collection of Munakata's pre-war work. This event marked the beginning of a period of stylistic and spiritual development for the artist. Reflecting on his career, Munakata recognized his introduction to the movement as the true beginning of his printmaking career, in his words, \"Mingei gave birth to me.\" [7]
\r\n\r\nWhile visits to the Folk Craft Museum in Tokyo and workshops with various Mingei artists influenced his creative experience, his friendships with members of the movement revolutionized his personal philosophy. Yanagi became an inspiration, a trusted counselor, and a dear friend. In May of 1936, Munakata spent forty days in Kyoto at the home of his close friend and famous Mingei potter, Kanjiro Kawai. During his visit, Munakata explored Buddhist texts with his host and toured the city's many temples, filled with awe at the sight of Buddhist sculpture. [8] Struck by the dignity of the looming statues, Munakata felt humbled by their passionate presence.
\r\n\r\n![\"Munakata](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=267763&c=4366028&h=65f0ad1a21119d3ebd2e&791434\")
\r\n Munakata at work. Photo courtesy of Yoriko Ishii.
\r\n\r\nWorld War II and the following occupation did not slow Munakata's vigorous pace. Despite the increasingly grim political climate, he sustained his exploration of the woodblock medium and furthered his Zen ideology through his calligraphy and writings. In response to early firebombing attacks, Munakata used the large, sturdy blocks of his Ten Great Disciples series to fortify a makeshift bomb shelter. On May 25th, 1945, all of his woodblocks perished in the Tokyo Air Raid except for the ten disciples. These woodblocks remained partially buried in his garden shelter until the end of the war. Upon his return to Tokyo in 1951, he interpreted the survival of the woodblocks as good luck. He re-carved two lost Bodhisattva blocks and reunited the series in full.
\r\n\r\nAs his career progressed, Munakata developed and reflected on his artistic philosophy, enriched his spiritual education, and persistently pushed the limits of the woodblock print. He took to writing about his work, the woodblock, and the power of prints. In 1959, Munakata traveled to New York City for a yearlong fellowship sponsored by the Japan Society and the Rockefeller Foundation. He took this opportunity to explore the United States, creating new work and delivering lectures throughout the country. This same year, Munakata visited Europe, where he toured Van Gogh's grave and home, paying homage to a persistent source of inspiration. As Munakata explored his medium abroad, his prestige continued to grow in Japan. That that same year, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo opened a one-man Munakata exhibition, marking the first of many solo exhibitions to sweep the globe in following decades.
\r\n\r\nMunakata elevated the printmaking community throughout his career, achieving merits previously unreached by Japanese printmakers, while remaining true to his ideology. The Horinji Temple in Tokyo honored him with the rank of Hokkyo, a true artistic and spiritual honor. In 1970, he became the first printmaker to receive the high honor of the Order of Cultural Merit from the Japanese Government. Munakata traveled extensively, drawing inspiration from Delhi to New York. All the while, he remained true to his craftsman lineage and his Zen beliefs. By the time of his death, Munakata had received countless international honors and never ceased striving for a beauty beyond himself. He continued to challenge his artistic philosophy and further his Buddhist learning until his last day. On September 13th, 1975, Shiko Munakata passed away at the age of 72 from liver cancer.
\r\n\r\nThe woodblock medium is inextricable from its Buddhist roots. While religious significance and traditional technique evolved over the centuries, the medium is indebted to the ephemeral inbutsu (stamped Buddha) of the past. In the works of Shiko Munakata, one can see both a modern evolution of an ancient medium and a sacred process reborn. Though Buddhism is never far from the woodblock, Munakata heartens the spiritual tie linking ancient sutras to the bold printmaking movements of the 20th century. Each print is an act of devotion, one that invites viewers to elevate their act of looking to an act of prayer. In Munakata's words, \"the prints comes to us inevitably if we are sincere, we must devote to it our entire mind, heart and life.\" [9]
\r\n\r\nSOURCES:
\r\n1. Oliver Statler, \"Shiko Munakata,\" in The Woodblock and the Artist, 12.
\r\n2. Statler, 13.
\r\n3. Sori Yanagi, \"The Divine Printmaker,\" in The Woodblock and the Artist, 10.
\r\n4. Statler, 11.
5. Pat Gilmour \"Munakata as Printmaker,\" in The Woodblock and the Artist, 125.
\r\n6. Statler, 14
\r\n7. Ibid, 14.
\r\n8. Masatomo Kawai, \"Munakata Shiko's Path of Hanga,\" in Munakata Shiko: Master of the Modern Print, 17.
9. Munakata, \"Woodblock Printing,\" in The Woodblock and the Artist, 137.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Photograph of Shiko Munakata","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"267760","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"3/7/2017 6:09:07 am"}},{"name":"Spirit Resonance: A New World of Chinese Ink Painting","urlPath":"blog/spirit-resonance-a-new-world-of-chinese-ink-painting-2","url":"spirit-resonance-a-new-world-of-chinese-ink-painting-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Spirit Resonance: A New World of Chinese Ink Painting|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"Spirit Resonance: A New World of Chinese Ink Painting","meta_description":"Ronin Gallery is pleased to present a curated selection of seven of the most exciting ink artists in China today. Working in a rapidly changing society, each artist plants his or her roots deep within the spiritual, material and expressive past of ink, color and paper.","meta_keywords":"chinese art, ink painting, contemporary art, spirit resonance","customrecorddata":"29","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"Ronin Gallery is pleased to present a curated selection of seven of the most exciting ink artists in China today. Working in a rapidly changing society, each artist plants his or her roots deep within the spiritual, material and expressive past of ink, color and paper. From the ethereal to the vibrant, these artists present a contemporary understanding of a timeless spirit.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"Capturing the profound expression of an artist's inner greatness, \"spirit resonance\" is a timeless concept in a shifting world. Tracing back to the 6th century scholar Xie He, this principle asserts that something ineffable is transmitted from artist to artwork in the act of creation. Ronin Gallery is pleased to present a curated selection of seven of the most exciting ink artists in China today. Working in a rapidly changing society, each artist plants his or her roots deep within the spiritual, material and expressive past of ink, color and paper. From the ethereal to the vibrant, these artists present a contemporary understanding of a timeless spirit.
Spirit Resonance is a timeless concept in a rapidly shifting world. Its doctrine captures the profound expression of an artist's true greatness through the power of creation. Driven by a newfound freedom of expression, today's Chinese artists are flourishing as never before. And as the current market experiences a period of constant transformation, these innovations of the present draw on a rich artistic past.
Written in the 6th century, Xie He's The Six Points to Consider When Judging a Painting remains essential to contemporary art in China. This foundational work emphasizes the physical aspects of painting as well as the intangible, and arguably most important, principle of Spirit Resonance: the understanding that something ineffable is transmitted from artist to artwork in the act of creation and that the use of brush, ink, and paper is best suited for this spiritual and expressive act. Ronin Gallery is pleased to present Spirit Resonance: A New World of Chinese Ink Painting, a curated selection of some of the most exciting ink artists working in China today. Each artist plants his or her roots deep within the spiritual, material and expressive past of ink, color and paper.
As implements of spiritual exchange, ink, color and paper engage in an intimate relationship with contemporary artistic forms and techniques. While the tradition of Western art is brimming with paintings on canvas, the tradition of Chinese ink painting has always relied on paper as the foundation of expression. Eastern paper differs from that of the West: rather than stiff wood pulp, both xuan and washi paper result from a combination of wood fibers, rice, and organic matter. The mixture of these materials makes the resultant paper incredibly absorbent and strong: an ideal surface for the expressive and nuanced stroke of a brush.
Imbued with classical concepts and turning to traditional materials, contemporary Chinese artists are looking into their rich history, even as they firmly position their work in the present. Just as the literati painters of the Song and Yuan Dynasties valued the individuality and creative potential in the marriage of ink and paper, today's artists employ these same qualities in the context of a new age. Whether using bright, vibrant color, black ink or experimenting with line, these artists assert the inherent eloquence of traditional materials.
As works on paper command the most coherent center of the contemporary Chinese art market, it is clear that the expressive potential of paper is uniquely powerful. In this exhibit, past and present intertwine in paintings of both established and emerging artists. From the ethereal to the vibrant, Spirit Resonance: A New World of Chinese Ink Painting presents a contemporary understanding of a enduring spirit.
Touching animal-hair brushes to cloth, the artists and calligraphers of the Warring States Period began a long history of ink art. During the Han Dynasty, brushwork became a narrative tool, depicting a complex story of creation myths and worldly values upon the burial shrouds of the wealthy. These images, carefully rendered in ink, were not merely mimetic representations of the earthly world, but also functioned as deeply spiritual acts of communication with the heavens. By the 6th century, painting was elevated to a level of serious philosophical discourse, ushered in by Xie He's treatise The Six Points to Consider when Judging a Painting. At the dawn of the Tang Dynasty, painting was largely centered in the court, where an academic style was used to depict aspects of aristocratic life. This period also saw the development of shan shui, or landscape painting. Translating to \"mountains\" (shan) and \"water\" (shui), these works focused on the immensity of nature and the cosmos in relation to the miniscule nature of human actions, an important Confucian ideal. As the stability of the Tang Dynasty collapsed in the first years of the 10th century, artistic expression rapidly shifted in response to the chaos. It was not until the Song Dynasty that political stability enabled renewed cultural expression. Imperial painters began to reinterpret the inherent beauty of nature and the genre of the \"monumental\" landscape was born. Artists turned from the all-too-real violence of the human world to the more peaceful and meditative retreats of the mountains, lakes, and streams. Additionally, the Song Dynasty ushered in a period of increasing power for Confucian scholars. These scholars followed ideals of morality, hierarchy, and cultivation of the self. These beliefs demanded a high degree of literacy and study of the arts, especially calligraphy and painting. The scholar-officials who were particularly adept in painting, called the literati painters, valued a gestural spontaneity similar to calligraphy. Literati ink paintings were most often monochrome and incorporated poetry and image together in a highly sophisticated, atmospheric way. Ultimately, these works focused not only on the expression of the thing depicted, but also on the expressive inner nature of the artist.
At the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, Mongol rule stirred feelings of subjugation among the existing intellectual class. An increasing sense of alienation and separation from both state and culture pushed many of the Yuan Dynasty literati painters to incorporate a sense of hermetic monasticism and withdrawal from the world into their paintings. As the genre \"landscapes of the mind\" began to surge in popularity, so did the importance of the \"heart print,\" a visual manifestation of the artist's emotional state. Among certain circles, this aspect was one of the most important qualities of ink painting.
Throughout the Ming and the Qing Dynasties, manners and methods of ink painting diversified. The popularity of the established literati paintings persisted, but the Ming Dynasty witnessed the reintroduction of more classical, academic methods of painting. By the three-hundred-year-long Qing Dynasty, there were three very loosely defined categories of painters: the traditionalists, the individualists, and the professional court painters. Each group embraced distinct stylistic and expressive qualities and painted for different audiences.
China's tumultuous twentieth century put a great deal of constraint on the development and success of its artists. The fall of the Imperial lineage system in 1911 ushered in an era of Chinese radicalism and revolution. The first several decades of the twentieth century saw artists partnering with radical factions to create art that was equally exciting, dramatic, and revolutionary. Yet, the eventual solidification of power under the communist state subsumed most artistic production under the regime accepted mode of social realism painting. By the 1960s and 1970s, the Cultural Revolution stifled the presence of artistic innovation and expression in China. With absolutely no political support, no chance of independent financial gain, and the increasing reality of outright prosecution, Chinese artists went silent.
Today's shui mo, or ink painting, has found new life thanks to a group of innovative artists. Both Cindy Ng Sio Leng and Zhang Yuanfeng showcase the incredible potential of ink as a medium. While Cindy echoes the literati \"landscapes of the mind,\" Zhang considers the incredible mutability of ink through her delicate insects. Further examining the material nature of the medium, Wang Weiqi explores the nuances of lineless meigu (boneless) technique in her animal portraits. Turning to the shan shui tradition of the Tang dynasty, Xu Ming and Yeh Fang consider the landscape of modern China.
As Xu Ming presents a current world in a classical style, Yeh Fang offers a contemporary interpretation of this Tang innovation. Adopting aerial perspective in his paintings and designing traditional Chinese gardens worldwide, Yeh Fang captures the underlying harmony of shan shui on paper. Through the work of Yeh Lan and Wang Qian, the ancient Bird and Flower genre becomes fresh and inventive. Yeh Lan reinterprets the da xieyi style in vibrant color and abstraction, while Wang Qian executes classical compositions in a hybrid of the conflicting gonbi (meticulous) and meigu styles. Though the customary copying of masterpieces once discouraged modern artists from the genre, it is clear that ink painting is no longer an old fashioned art form.
Employing various techniques and styles, these contemporary artists use the freedom and natural grace of the art form to incite a dialogue between contemporary China and the rest of the world. In the past ten years, an increasing number of museums and galleries have presented diverse exhibitions of contemporary Chinese ink painting. Shui mo (ink painting) has entered into a period of transformation, becoming a revolutionary and experimental manifestation of a traditional practice. A new generation of innovative artists has not only emerged, but has truly blossomed, elevating ink painting to new heights and testing classical boundaries. Working in both black and color ink, today's ink artists are reinvigorating the Chinese art scene with personal works that question tradition, memory and meaning.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Spirit Resonance: A New World of Chinese Ink Painting Exhibition Catalog","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"272264","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"1/7/2015 2:38:07 pm"}},{"name":"The Rise and Resurgence of Meisho-e","urlPath":"blog/the-rise-and-resurgence-of-meisho-e-2","url":"the-rise-and-resurgence-of-meisho-e-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"The Rise and Resurgence of Meisho-e|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"The Rise and Resurgence of Meisho-e","meta_description":"From brilliant crimson leaves of the fall to the snow-tipped peak of Mount Fuji, the natural beauty of Japan enchants its visitors. During the 19th century, ukiyo-e artists captured this beauty in spirit and form through meisho-e. By the 20th century, the genre found a distinctly modern voice and new masters through the Shin Hanga movement.","meta_keywords":"Shin hanga, hokusai, hiroshige, yoshida, hasui, modern art, ukiyo-e, japanese art","customrecorddata":"30","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"From brilliant crimson leaves of the fall to the snow-tipped peak of Mount Fuji, the natural beauty of Japan enchants its visitors. During the 19th century, ukiyo-e artists captured this beauty in spirit and form through meisho-e. By the 20th century, the genre found a distinctly modern voice and new masters through the Shin Hanga movement.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"The Japanese landscape draws countless visitors to Japan each year. From brilliant crimson leaves of the fall to the snow-tipped peak of Mount Fuji, the natural beauty of Japan enchants its visitors. During the 19th century, these famous sights, whether natural or man-made, became a popular subject of the woodblock print medium. As the ruling Tokugawa shogunate loosened travel restrictions, Edo's merchant class indulged in a newly authorized wanderlust. Though some set out on roads like the famous Tokaido for a taste of adventure first hand, many fed their excitement for travel through meisho-e, or \"famous place pictures.\" This national buzz for travel propelled the genre to the height of popularity.
\r\n\r\n
\r\n Hokusai, Sazai Hall at Gohyakurakan (Five Hundred Arhats) Temple, from the series 36 Views of Fuji, c.1830. Ronin Gallery.
\r\n Hiroshige, Okabe, from the series 53 Stations of the Tokaido, 1832-1833. Ronin Gallery.
A far cry from the idealized and atmospheric traditional Japanese landscape genre, meisho-e present recognizable scenes of Edo-period Japan, inviting their viewer to capture a memory or revel in his or her travel aspirations. Though in the world of painting the concept of meisho drew on Heian-period allusions, the printed medium shifted its focus to the world at hand, in all its humor, splendor, and excitement. Many woodblock print artists produced meisho-e, but two master artists are most closely associated with these prints. Hokusai and Hiroshige defined the genre, trading imagined landscapes for the intimacy of life on the road and the natural beauty of Japan. Their work carries an unmistakable sensitivity to the human experience and a deference to the power of nature. Just as these works inspired the Impressionists in the 19th century, they continue to awe viewers today.
\r\n\r\n
\r\n Hiroshige, Shichirigahama, Sagami, from the series 36 Views of Fuji, 1858. Ronin Gallery.
With the collapse of the Tokugawa shogunate and the subsequent Meiji restoration, the genre of meisho-e waned with the medium at large. As woodblock print artists struggled to find their place amidst new technologies such as photography and lithography, they sought a new role for the woodblock print in a changing Japan. As the market for woodblock prints plummeted with the domestic audience, interest in woodblock prints soared in Europe and the United States. Artists such as Monet and Whistler avidly collected these images of the \"floating world\" and drew profound inspiration from the innovative compositions of artists like Hiroshige and Hokusai. Though foreign interest did inspire a reconsideration of the medium within Japan, the woodblock print found its modern voice through Shin Hanga (New Prints) and Sosaku Hanga (Creative Prints). Meisho-e found a distinctly modern voice and new masters through the Shin Hanga movement.
\r\n\r\n
\r\n Hasui Kawase, Kaminohashi at Fukagawa, from the series 12 Views of Tokyo, 1920. Ronin Gallery.
\r\n Hiroshi Yoshida, Kanchenjunga, from the series India and Southeast Asia, 1931. Ronin Gallery.
The landscapes of the early 20th century bloom from the union of memory and modernity. Drawing influence from the masterpieces of Hokusai and Hiroshige, artists such as Hasui Kawase and Hiroshi Yoshida revived the art of the landscape print. Inspired by the Impressionists, these artists considered the effects of varying light and individual mood, capturing a spectrum of time and season—not only in Japan, but abroad as well. Simultaneously, a growing sense of realism permeates these works. Nonetheless, even with their Western influence, geographic reach, and modern marketing, their ukiyo-e roots are undeniable. Though separated by a century, these distinct approaches to the Japanese landscape resonate in their tangible infatuation with Japan and its people.
\r\n\r\n
\r\n Hasui Kawase, Somegawa in Koshu, from the series Souvenirs of Travel (Series II), 1921. Ronin Gallery.
\r\n Hiroshi Yoshida, Fuji from Funatsu, 1928. Ronin Gallery.
Curious to see these 19th and 20th century masters side-by-side? Ronin Gallery invites you on a journey through Japan with the exhibition Sea to Mountain: Landscapes of Japan. Featuring the work of Hokusai, Hiroshige, Hasui, and Yoshida, this exhibition explores the tradition of meisho-e through both ukiyo-e and modern masters. From white sails in misty harbors to lush mountain passes, these works capture the unique and unyielding beauty of Japanese landscape, from shore to peak. The show will be on view in the gallery until June 30th. Can't make it to the gallery? Explore the online exhibition here.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Hiroshi Yoshida, Kanchenjunga, from the series India and Southeast Asia, 1931. Ronin Gallery.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"3","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"273476","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"5/7/2018 2:48:07 pm"}},{"name":"Meet the Artist: Noriko Shinohara","urlPath":"blog/meet-the-artist-noriko-shinohara-2","url":"meet-the-artist-noriko-shinohara-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Meet the Artist: Noriko Shinohara|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"Meet the Artist: Noriko Shinohara","meta_description":"Noriko Shinohara's work brings together boldness of color, line, and persistent humor. Instilling her work with irony and poignancy, her contemporary scenes draw inspiration from a variety of art styles across time and culture","meta_keywords":"noriko shinohara, contemporary art, japanese art","customrecorddata":"31","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"Noriko Shinohara's work brings together boldness of color, line, and persistent humor. Instilling her work with irony and poignancy, her contemporary scenes draw inspiration from a variety of art styles across time and culture. Born in Toyama Prefecture, Japan in 1953, Noriko Shinohara moved to New York City in 1972 to study at the Art Students League.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"Born in Toyama Prefecture, Japan in 1953, Noriko Shinohara moved to New York City in 1972 to study at the Art Students League. After six months in the city, she met Ushio Shinohara, who is twenty one years her senior, and gave birth to their son Alex one year later. Financial and emotional strain paused Noriko's career. She states, \"after my husband had skimmed off my paint, canvas, and ideas, nothing remained in me.\" [1] By the time Alex was two years old, Noriko returned to her work. Determined to develop her own distinct style, Noriko claimed physical space in their DUMBO studio. Banning Ushio from her self-proclaimed \"queendom,\" Noriko refused to let her work be stalled any longer. [2]
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Noriko Shinohara, Reversible. 2014. Ink on paper. Ronin Gallery.
\r\n\r\n Noriko Shinohara, Here is Still... After Sept. 11th. 2002. Etching. Ronin Gallery.
Noriko's work brings together boldness of color, line, and persistent humor. Instilling her work with irony and poignancy, her contemporary scenes draw inspiration from a variety of art styles across time and culture. In 1981, Noriko exhibited her work at Whitney Counterweight, an artist-initiated group exhibition, followed by her first solo exhibition, held at the Cat Club in 1986. In 1994, she turned her tumultuous experiences in New York City into the basis of her novella Sighs of New York, which was accompanied by a solo exhibition in Tokyo. The following year, Noriko spent time in Japan studying etching at Kyoto City Art University and Tokyo National Art University. Her talent in this medium can be seen in the intricate, visually dense Un Voyage d'Inca series. Braid-wearing nudes float through images rich in texture and heavy in atmosphere. Noriko's evocative power conveys humor, as in the fantastical scenes of animate sculpture and surreal gondola rides in Pineapple Eaters in Venice (1998). Yet, Noriko deftly uses her skill for poignancy as well. In Here is still...After Sep. 11th (2002), the print erupts in flowers and memories in the wake of this world-changing event. In the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge, the intricate etching evokes a mind caught between devastation and hope for the future.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Noriko Shinohara. Un Voyage d'Inca III from the series Inca. 2004. Ronin Gallery.
Noriko is best known for her Cutie series, a semi-autobiographical story of her relationship with Ushio. The character of Cutie emerged in 2003, recognizable by her long braids and rounded, perpetually nude form. In Noriko's words, \"when I started Cutie I felt I am truly, from bone to skin, head to toe, an artist.\" [3] The tale of Cutie evolves in comic-like fashion, with speech and thought bubbles furthering the narrative of self-determination. The story spans medium and scale, from intimate artist books to 20-meter-long murals. In 2003 and 2005, Noriko's work appeared in the IPCNY New Prints exhibition. In 2007, she was included in the Japan Society Gallery's Making a Home: Japanese Contemporary Artists in New York, a group exhibition with Ushio, Yoko Ono, Yayoi Kusama, and others.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Noriko Shinohara, Pineapple Eaters in Venice. 1998. Etching. Ronin Gallery.
SOURCES:
\r\n\r\n 1. Eric C. Shiner and Reiko Tomii, Making a Home: Japanese Contemporary Artists in New York (New Haven, Conn.: Yale Univ. Press, 2007), 144.
\r\n\r\n 2. Cutie and the Boxer. Directed by Zachary Heinzerling. New York: 2013.
\r\n\r\n 3.Emma Carmichael, Interview with Cutie and The Boxer's Noriko Shinohara. The Hairpin. August 01, 2017. Accessed October 01, 2017.
When discussing Japanese woodblock prints, there is one question sure to come up: How many prints were made? While a simple question, the answer is complex.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Hiroshige, Shono from the series 53 Stations of the Tokaido, 1832-1833. Early pull, as evidenced by the sharply defined rain, the extensive bokashi, and the calligraphy on the umbrella.
Before we jump back to the time of printing, we have to consider that today, it's not so much a question of \"how many were made?\" but \"how many have survived?\" Consider a piece of paper on your desk. How long does that sheet retain its original crispness? From coffee stains to crumpling, that paper will likely look a bit different by the end of a week. Now, consider how it would look after centuries of devastating fires, earthquakes and other natural disasters.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIf you feel incredulous about this analogy, set aside the current value of ukiyo-e prints and consider the original context of these works. Prints were a popular art form, released in pace with Edo's ever evolving trends and celebrities. Portraying the current fashions and the actors of the moment, the turnover was insistent. A standard, single sheet print had a fixed price at 16 mon (roughly $3 to $4 today), the equivalent of a double serving of noodles. Edo's immense population eagerly consumed these prints, displaying them on a shoji screen in the home, only to tear down outdated designs for the latest souvenir of a kabuki production or a portrait of a stunning courtesan.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThough many prints passed through Edo as ephemera, there was a collector base even in the 18th century. Deluxe printings and surimono (privately commissioned, lavishly printed works) were more expensive and exclusive, often printed in single editions of 10 to 200. Furthermore, serial formats, such as 53 Stations of the Tokaido and 36 Views of Mt. Fuji, encouraged Edoites to collect the full series. Yet, the longevity of these collections depended on a special kind of person. Consider baseball cards. Many people collect them, but few meticulously sort and store them beneath plastic. Even fewer hold on to and care for these collections throughout their life.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nMany speculate about the number of prints produced, but these numbers are no more than estimates. The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco quotes 200 prints as the usual edition size, with subsequent editions also being produced in 200 print editions. The museum asserts that 8,000 prints could be pulled per block before it needed to be re-carved. In the Wall Street Journal's review of the MFA exhibition HOKUSAI, the journalist concluded that roughly one hundred impressions of Hokusai's Great Wave exist today, while suggesting an original run around 5,000 prints. The magazine Mental Floss estimates a run of somewhere between 5,000 and 8,000 prints for this iconic design. BBC's program \"A History of the World in 100 Objects\" featured the Great Wave in their discussion of the opening of Japan and echoes the 5,000-impression estimate, with 8,000 as the maximum quantity.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nFinally, you must consider factors of edition and variant states. While a particularly popular design might have been printed in the thousands, it is unlikely that they were all created equally. The earliest impressions would be given the most care, with time-consuming effects like bokashi (a shading technique) or blind printing. These first pulls would be given more time and greater care. Only around the first hundred pulls would have the wood grain visible in the print.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIf these early impressions gained popularity, then the quality and time commitment would shift to satisfy the demand for the image. Later pulls of the same design might feature variant color and subtle changes in subject matter. All together, original pulls of a single, popular design would often reach the thousands. When you factor in reproductions, an iconic work like Hokusai's Great Wave has been reproduced hundreds of thousands of times, from Meiji-era reprints to iPhone cases in 2016.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWhile \"how many prints were made of a particular design?\" appears to be a pertinent question, this tells you little of a print's rarity today. By asking \"how many survive?\" and \"what kind of impression am I looking at?\" you will develop a far more accurate understanding of a work's value and rarity.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Hiroshige, Shono from the series 53 Stations of the Tokaido, 1832-1833.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"3","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"274787","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"1/7/2016 3:40:07 pm"}},{"name":"Hiroshige: 53 Stations of the Upright Tokaido","urlPath":"blog/hiroshige-53-stations-of-the-upright-tokaido-2","url":"hiroshige-53-stations-of-the-upright-tokaido-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Hiroshige: 53 Stations of the Upright Tokaido|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"Hiroshige: 53 Stations of the Upright Tokaido","meta_description":"Winding along the eastern coast of Japan, the Tokaido was the most traveled road of the Edo period. Cutting across rivers and mountains, this artery pulsed with folklore, politics, artistic inspiration, and insatiable zeal for adventure.","meta_keywords":"hiroshige, ukiyo-e, tokaido, meisho-e, landscapes, japanese art","customrecorddata":"33","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"Winding along the eastern coast of Japan, the Tokaido was the most traveled road of the Edo period. Cutting across rivers and mountains, this artery pulsed with folklore, politics, artistic inspiration, and insatiable zeal for adventure.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"Winding along the eastern coast of Japan, the Tokaido was the most traveled road of the Edo period. Cutting across rivers and mountains, this artery pulsed with folklore, politics, artistic inspiration, and insatiable zeal for adventure.\r\n\r\n","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Hiroshige: 53 Stations of the Upright Tokaido","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"277490","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"5/7/2017 4:06:07 pm"}},{"name":"Yoshitoshi Mori (1898-1992)","urlPath":"blog/yoshitoshi-mori-1898-1992-2","url":"yoshitoshi-mori-1898-1992-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Yoshitoshi Mori (1898-1992)|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"Yoshitoshi Mori (1898-1992)","meta_description":"Ronin Gallery is pleased to represent the private collection of the Mori family estate in the exhibition Yoshitoshi Mori (1898–1992). From kappazuri-e and woodblock prints, to the artist’s sketchbook and select original paintings, this exhibition explores the diverse oeuvre of this pivotal member of the Japanese sosaku hanga, or “new print,” movement.","meta_keywords":"sosaku hanga, yoshitoshi mori, modern art, japanese art, kappazuri","customrecorddata":"34","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"Ronin Gallery is pleased to represent the private collection of the Mori family estate in the exhibition Yoshitoshi Mori (1898–1992). From kappazuri-e and woodblock prints, to the artist’s sketchbook and select original paintings, this exhibition explores the diverse oeuvre of this pivotal member of the Japanese sosaku hanga, or “new print,” movement. Many pieces in this unique collection are one-of-a-kind.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"\r\n Ronin Gallery is pleased to represent the private collection of the Mori family estate in the exhibition Yoshitoshi Mori (1898–1992). From kappazuri-e and woodblock prints, to the artist’s sketchbook and select original paintings, this exhibition explores the diverse oeuvre of this pivotal member of the Japanese sosaku hanga, or “creative print,” movement. Many pieces in this unique collection are one-of-a-kind.\r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n While the floating world of Edo had long disappeared by Yoshitoshi Mori's birth in 1898, his family roots intertwine deep within its culture of artisans, instilling his energetic work with an inherent understanding of a time past. His subjects range from the daily life of the working class in the lowlands of Edo (shitamachi), sensual beauties of the night, and dramatic kabuki portraits, to Buddhist imagery and intimate imaginings of classic tales and legendary heroes. Ronin Gallery is pleased to represent the private collection of Eiko Mori, along with other major works, in the exhibition Yoshitoshi Mori (1898–1992). Avidly collected by museums and private collectors alike, Mori's work is renowned for its spirited expression of traditional subject matter in a distinctly modern visual dialect. Many of the works in this collection are number one of their edition or one of a kind. Boldly graphic, vibrantly colored, and unfalteringly dynamic, Mori's works astonish the viewer with their tangible vitality. Each piece stops its beholder in his or her tracks, for each work has a story to tell. From flowing kappazuri and the artist's private sketchbook, to large-scale sumptuous screen paintings, this exhibition explores the powerful oeuvre of this pivotal member of the Japanese sosaku hanga, or \"creative print,\" movement.\r\n
\r\n\r\n Mori created the majority of his prints through kappazuri, a form of stencil printing, layering color and form with self-cut stencils. Through this technique, Mori translated his 30 years of dyeing experience to printmaking, applying the same stencil method used for textiles to paper. Mori's printing process began with a sheet of shibugami; a stencil paper made from several sheets of smoke-cured, handmade paper adhered together with persimmon tannin. He pasted his design onto this flexible, strong, and water-resistant stencil paper before using a sharp knife to remove all spaces destined for color. He was left with the skeleton of his design, or the key impression (omogata), and several color stencils. Mori removed the original design from the stencil paper, wet the stencil to increase flexibility, and, in certain cases, reinforced thin lines with silk gauze. He brushed on each color, progressing from light to dark. With each layer of ink, he protected white space and existing color with a color-resistant paste (noribuse). Through the use of the paste, Mori combined standard stencil printing technique with stencil dyeing (katazome). After all colors had been applied, he imparted the rich india ink outlines of the composition using the key impression. When this final ink layer dried, he washed away the paste and allowed the completed print to dry. It is through this innovative technique that Mori blurs delineations of craft and art, past and present.\r\n
\r\n\r\n Yoshitoshi Mori was born in Tokyo in 1898, the first of Yonejiro and Yone Mori's three sons. The artist was four years old when his father left, forcing him and his mother to move into his grandfather's home in the heart of the shitamachi. Mori's grandfather owned Nishigen, a wholesale fish market operating since 1615. Though the family business had thrived for centuries, it went bankrupt shortly after the family resettled, and they were uprooted once again. Moving into the home of his aunt, Kin Harada, Mori's world was filled with music. Harada taught nagauta, a specific form of kabuki chanting and musical accompaniment. Mori's mother began to study and teach this traditional art as well, but this period of peace was fleeting.\r\n
\r\n\r\n At the age of eight, Yoshitoshi Mori's life fell into upheaval. His mother remarried and moved to different area of Tokyo. Though she took her second son to her new home, she left the young artist in the care of his aunt and grandfather. Within months of his mother's departure, Mori's grandfather succumbed to a darkness that had been building inside him since the bankruptcy. Distraught, Mori's grandfather committed ritual suicide (harakiri). Following graduation from elementary school, Mori began to spend more time at his mother's home, pouring over his stepfather's collection of ukiyo-e prints, from actor portraits to illustrated books. Mori soon entered an apprenticeship at a machine-made paper shop. Mori's daughter, Eiko Mori, describes his experience:\r\n
\r\n \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \"For a while, he worked for a wholesale paper store at Atagoshita in Tokyo. His work was to bring 20 piles of paper, which weighed more than 600 kilograms, from Atagoshita to Shinagawa using a large cart. Of course, it was heavy labor for little boy around 13 years old; especially since there was a long slope between two places. He had to unload 15 of those 20 piles of paper at the bottom of the slope, brought five piles of paper on the cart first, and then carried up 15 piles of paper one by one on his shoulder. He was so tired that he took a break at Shiba-Koen on his way. Looking up the sky, he came upon the five-storied pagoda of Zojo temple and gazed at its roofing tiles with demon faces (similar to the Western gargoyle). The faces were all different: smiling, angry, funny, optimistic, crying, etc. Looking at those faces, he felt horribly wretched and thought, 'How wonderful it would be if I could do such creative work!'\"\r\n
\r\n
\r\n In 1914, Mori fled the paper business, took up residence with his mother, and heeded his creative calling. Under the tutelage of Shuho Yamakawa, Mori gained a formal education in drawing, illustration and painting. He was a quick learner and diligent student and soon became the pupil of Shuho's father, the esteemed kimono pattern artist Seiho Yamakawa. As Mori learned to dye and draw, he simultaneously studied brush drawing with Koho Goto. During this period, Mori became deeply rooted in Tokyo's artistic community, moving amidst luminaries of early 20th-century printmaking.\r\n
\r\n\r\n Mori's explorations in illustration and textile arts were suddenly put on hold in 1918. Drafted into the Akasaka First Infantry Regiment, Mori served in Korea. This sojourn from his work only amplified his desire to be an artist. Following his honorable discharge in 1920, he resumed his studies with Shuho. Mori began exploring different artistic mediums, working half days at an oil paint plant to support himself. He entered Kawabata Art School, graduating in 1923 with a major in Japanese-style painting. His career appeared to be on the rise: several of his drawings of had been submitted to and accepted by a rakugo performing group, but this deal was never realized. On September 1, 1923, the Great Kanto Earthquake devastated Tokyo. Once again, Mori came face to face with personal tragedy as his aunt's home burned down. Mori put his artistic career on hold and became a salesman in an effort to support his aunt. Seimu Sakka, the kimono artisan that Mori had apprenticed with during art school, took notice of Mori's situation and refused to let such talent go to waste. Sakka offered the young artist housing and a job as a kimono dyer.\r\n
\r\n\r\n By 1925, Mori had established himself as an independent artisan, designing and dyeing fabric for kimono. As his business prospered, he quickly became well known in his field. He married and had three daughters: Eiko, Kozue, and Ayako. When the Japan Folk Crafts Museum opened in 1936, Mori became a frequent visitor. The traditional works in this collection inspired Mori and wielded a strong influence on his work. During one of his many visits to the museum, he met Shiko Munakata and Kihei Sasajima, two of the most influential sosaku hanga, or \"creative print,\" artists. Drawing influence from contemporary Western art movements such as expressionism, this movement emphasized the artist's involvement in every step of printmaking, as well as the creative process itself.\r\n
\r\n\r\n Mori joined the newly organized group of dyeing craftsman known as the Society of Young Leaves (Moegikai) in 1939. The group flourished in the years before the war, but struggled during World War II. Mori lost his apprentices to army service and wartime provisions crashed upon the perceived luxury of kimono fabric dyeing. During this difficult time, Mori helped fellow kimono artisans evade restrictions, find materials, and smooth over sumptuary infractions. The Great Tokyo Air Raid of 1945 dissipated the shadows and structures of Edo-period culture that Mori held dear. The artist had no choice but leave his historical home. Following the end of the war in 1945, the Japanese government launched an effort to preserve Japanese art and traditional crafts. Mori was one of many artists and artisans across the country to receive materials necessary to practice his craft. Using the cloth and dye supplied by this government initiative, Mori maintained his success following the war.\r\n
\r\n\r\n While Mori had experimented with printmaking throughout his artistic career, he began producing monostencil prints on wood and glass sheets in 1951. Upon the urging of Soetsu, a leader of the sosaku hanga movement, Mori began exhibiting his work. His focus had begun to shift from the realm of craft to the freedom of art when he entered two prints in the 1957 inaugural Tokyo International Biennial of Prints, a massive event composed of 800 prints by 250 artists spanning 31 countries. Though the Japanese judges tended towards Western-style prints, foreign judges favored the striking creativity and unrestrained expression of sosaku hanga. As one of Mori's entries vied for first prize in the Japanese Printmaking category, the print sparked a debate that revealed the inherent conflict between tradition and internationalism in contemporary Japanese art. This discussion set the stage for sosaku hanga to become a dominant graphic establishment in Japan and remain an important influence on printmaking today.\r\n
\r\n\r\n Though Mori ultimately did not win, his experience at the Biennial gave him a new confidence in his printed work and he began to exhibit around the world. He formally declared himself a printmaker in 1960, completing some woodblock prints, but primarily producing stencil prints (kappazuri). In May of 1962, a leader of the mingei movement criticized Mori, insisting that he was becoming more of an artist than an artisan, leading to a heated debate about the difference between craft and art. This argument convinced Mori to leave the crafts division of Kokugakai.\r\n
\r\n\r\n Yoshitoshi Mori's eldest daughter, Eiko Mori states, \"I believe that the hard days of his young life made him strong, and that his dream to be an artist instilled an unconventional taste and Edo-wise humor into his original paintings.\" Mori is often referred to as a modern \"child of edo\" (edokko) due to his outstanding ability to revive this time long past. His works recreate the 17th century lowlands of Edo, resurrecting the artisans, actors, and beauties of the floating world. Mori's many hours spent in the Japan Folk Crafts Museum are revealed in the deeply mingei, or folk art, style coursing through his work, informing Mori's pictorial language and subject matter. Even when he delved into thoroughly canonical tales, such as Genpei, in the 1970Õs, Mori's lines bleed mingei texture and the resilient spirit of Edo. Within its wealth of tradition, Mori's work is distinctly contemporary. His figures and structures break down into geometric units, hinting to the influence of abstraction and expressionism. He makes full use of white space, accentuating his infinite, winding outlines and emphatic color blocks. Dynamic and emotional, the art of Yoshitoshi Mori does not quietly wait for its viewer; it shouts out and strikes with awe.\r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n
\r\n\r\n SELECT PERMANENT COLLECTIONS\r\n
\r\n\r\n Art Gallery of Greater Victoria\r\n
\r\n Art Institute of Chicago\r\n
\r\n Baltimore Museum of Art\r\n
\r\n Barcelona Art Museum\r\n
\r\n Berlin National Museum\r\n
\r\n British Museum\r\n
\r\n Brooklyn Museum\r\n
\r\n Cincinnati Art Museum\r\n
\r\n Cleveland Museum of Art\r\n
\r\n De Young Museum, San Francisco\r\n
\r\n Harvard University Art Museums\r\n
\r\n Honolulu Academy of Art\r\n
\r\n Japan Folk Crafts Museum, Tokyo\r\n
\r\n Library of Congress\r\n
\r\n Los Angeles County Museum of Art\r\n
\r\n Metropolitan Museum of Art\r\n
\r\n Minnesota Museum of Art, St. Paul\r\n
\r\n Muscarelle Museum of Art, Williamsburg\r\n
\r\n Museum of Fine Arts Boston\r\n
\r\n Museum of Modern Art, New York\r\n
\r\n National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo\r\n
\r\n Philadelphia Museum of Art\r\n
\r\n Portland Art Museum\r\n
\r\n Yale University Art Gallery\r\n
With the exhibition HOKUSAI: Great Art, Small Sizes, Ronin Gallery took a moment consider the more exuberant moments of this artistic genius. Hokusai possessed an inherent sense of drama and a flair for public spectacle. Though many of his early works take the delicate, intimate form of surimono (lavish, privately commissioned prints), the following tales reveal the boundless nature of his talents. Whether he painted with a brush, a broom, or rooster talons, Hokusai stunned his audience with his daring.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Hokusai, Woman Sweeping Away the Hairdresser. c.1810.
In 1804, wishing to boost the declining sale of his prints, Hokusai thrilled the Edo crowd with an act whose daring left his name on everyone's lips. Blocking off an area of approximately 200 square yards, Hokusai lined the ground with a huge patchwork of paper sheets. Scampering up and down its entire length, he proceeded to draft the outlines of Daruma, Japan's beloved Buddhist saint. He worked frantically to complete the image before nightfall, splashing ink onto the paper with huge brooms and mops in a seemingly haphazard fashion. By day's end, a portrait had taken shape, so immense that it could only be viewed in its entirety from the rooftops. It was not long before awed whispers tore through Edo telling of the artist who could draw a figure so huge that a horse could pass through its mouth.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Hokusai, Viewing Mt. Fuji with Telescope, from Ehon Kyoka Mountains upon Mountains. 1804
Around the same time that he completed the immense Daruma, Hokusai received a singular honor: an invitation from the shogun Tokugawa Ienari to engage in a contest with the great Chinese painter Buncho. The competition required each artist to draft a painting on the spot. To rival Buncho's compositional imminence, records state that Hokusai tore down a paper screen and covered it with enormous swirls of blue ink. Then, throwing caution to the winds, he grabbed a rooster by its talons, dipped them into a bowl of red paint, and coaxed the startled bird across the panel of paper. With a triumphant flourish, Hokusai announced the title of his composition: Maple Leaves in Autumn on Blue Tatsuta River.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Hokusai, Young Beauty Carrying New Year's Tray. 1799.
How many of the traits that traditionally depreciate a print's value actually preserved the work's overall value? When considering the value of a print, there are certain traits deemed unfavorable. Trimmed margins, sharp centerfolds, and album-backed prints can deter the seasoned collector, yet a consideration of context complicates a black-and-white understanding of these common condition issues. In fact, these depreciatory aspects might have preserved other favorable attributes of the print.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Example of a Trimmed Print. Image: Ronin Gallery.
Many full-sheet Japanese prints may have a blank border of 1-2 centimeters. The removal of these margins or the cropping of the image itself can drastically reduce the value of a print. In the early 20th century book Chats on Japanese Prints, Arthur Ficke describes how, \"one well-known collector...cut down the size of his Hiroshiges, leaving only those portions that particularly pleased him...If the feeling of later collector have any potency in heaven, these men are now in hell.\"[1] While many collectors echo Ficke's outrage—though perhaps not as vehemently—trimming can actually protect the print in the long run. This practice removed brittle edges or small tears budding along the edges of the print, reducing the chance of accidental tearing into the design. Furthermore, these prints were likely trimmed to fit a frame. Though still vulnerable to light and humidity fluctuations, these prints were safer in a frame from moisture, creasing and ripping, than a loose print. With this in mind, prints may loose value through trimming, but the trimming could have preserved the overall condition of the work.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Example of a Centerfold. Image: Ronin Gallery.
As ephemera, Japanese woodblock prints would not be packed in acid-free folders during the Edo period. Prints would be folded and slipped into a kimono to be carried home. While the print would be displayed for a period of time, when the owner was ready for the newest fashion or latest kabuki icon, the design would be taken down and put away. Today, collectors look at the deep creases bisecting a design and see a major condition problem. A distinct centerfold can disturb the overall impact of the print and weaken the paper along the crease, yet centuries of being folded in half has its perks. With the printed design folded upon itself, the image is protected from direct light. Before the popularization of aniline dyes in 1860s, ukiyo-e prints were printed with natural dyes. Fugitive colors, such as aigami (dayflower blue), beni (red/pink), and ai (indigo), are especially sensitive to light. When exposed to a light source, they rapidly fade, detracting from the overall value of the print. While folded prints are not completely safe from fading, the colors may be better preserved that a loose or framed print.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Detail of backing. Image: Ronin Gallery
Albums take two main forms. The first is a bound album of a complete set of a print series. Side-bound with thread, this format will leave holes, if not tearing along the edge of the print, but will preserve color well by limiting the images exposure to light. The second type of album, presents a collection of prints, but pasted onto backing rather than bound together with thread. If the prints are adhered to their backing with a water-soluble paste, the prints can be removed with little damage (if this task is completed by a skilled professional). Protected from fading, soiling, tearing, prints taken from albums can boast vibrant color and overall excellent condition. Though the thought of glue on the back of a print may discourage some collectors, when properly removed from their backing, album-based prints preserve critical aspects of a prints value.
\r\n\r\n***
\r\n\r\nCollecting Japanese prints is an art in of itself, an academic pursuit that constantly challenges its students. Determining a work's value is not straightforward as it may initially seem. Instead, the collector must weigh a spectrum of qualities to determine the true value of a print. While the aforementioned condition problems are not desirable, their presence might be to thank for a print's breathtaking color or overall condition.
\r\n\r\n[1] Arthur Davison Ficke, Chats on Japanese Prints. Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1917. Print, 438.
\r\n \"It is just like consciousness and unconsciousness, intelligence and desire...By depicting both sides of the coin, giving the same weight to the front and the back, the artists are saying 'people have both. That's what makes us human. Be sure you look at both sides equally.'\"[1]\r\n
\r\n \r\n
\r\n - Monta Hayakawa, professor at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies\r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n
\r\n\r\n ![\"Autumn](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=278700&c=4366028&h=93ca99c7779c409a872e&114441\")
\r\n Toyokuni, \"Autumn,\" c. 1850. Woodblock print. Ronin Gallery.\r\n
\r\n Whether assuming impossibly contorted positions or tenderly entangled, the myriad couples depicted in shunga indulge both facets of sexual pleasure explained by Hayakawa. The lovers faces convey the conscious, whether that be incredible pleasure or a palpable fear of being caught in the act, while the exaggerated genitalia capture the unconscious, the undeniable, visceral expression of desire. This enlargement is characteristic to shunga, often matching the face sizes of the couples to emphasize the equal importance of the mental and the physical aspects of eroticism. From wild passion and forbidden forays to humorous sexual fumbles and head-scratching acrobatics, shunga celebrates sensual pleasure in every imaginable form.\r\n
\r\n\r\n Translating directly to \"spring pictures,\" shunga first appeared in Japan during the Heian period. Sex scandals of the court or monastery were painted onto to handscrolls and circulated throughout the courtier class. By the Edo period, the genre spread across medium and class, reveling in world of ukiyo-e and widening its audience to nearly every level of society. Released in single-sheet prints or as enpon (books containing twelve images, usually the beginning with suggestive image and becoming increasingly explicit), shunga was an enjoyable and important facet of ukiyo-e printmaking. From landscape to bijin-ga print masters, almost all ukiyo-e designers produced shunga.\r\n
\r\n\r\n While Confucian law ruled public life, shunga joined the sumptuous clothing, lavish prints and forbidden pleasures of the \"floating world.\" Though officially censored by the Shogunate between 1600 and 1900, shunga was not considered impolite or taboo until the rapid modernization and Western influx of the Meiji period. Before this shift, the art form was enjoyed by men and women alike, shared between close friends and lovers, and passed down from parent to child. While some prints might serve an educational purpose, others provided mere titillation or entertainment. Beyond visual enjoyment, shunga also served amuletic purpose: passed from mother to bride as a good luck charm, carried by warriors to protect themselves from death and kept in warehouses to protect stored goods from fire. Evidence shows even lending libraries carried these playful prints, spreading the fun to even the most remote parts of Japan.\r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n
\r\n\r\n [1] Masuda, Aiko. \"Shunga: A Unique Treasure Trove of Eroticism from Edo Period.\" AJW by The Asahi Shimbun. Asahi Shimbun, 12 April 2014. Web. 28 Jan. 2015\r\n
\r\n\r\n Select Sources\r\n
\r\n http://ajw.asahi.com/article/cool_japan/style/AJ201401040030\r\n
\r\n http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/past_exhibitions/2013/shunga/about.aspx\r\n
\r\n \r\n
Born in Tokyo in 1932, Ushio Shinohara comes from an artistic family. His father a poet, his mother a nihonga painter and doll maker, Ushio continued the artistic legacy and attended Tokyo University of the Arts in 1952. While his schoolwork focused on Western-style painting, he became disenchanted with academia and drawn to the innovative world of post-war art unfolding around him. In 1957, Ushio left the university to pursue his education independently, pouring over international works of art criticism and avant-garde theorists. Ushio entered the 1960s as a force of the Japanese avant-garde community with his action paintings.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Ushio Shinohara, Purple and Pink on Yellow and White, 2014. Acrylic on canvas. Ronin Gallery.
Ushio established himself as the enfant terrible of the Japanese art scene, where he gained particular notoriety for his boxing paintings. Attaching sponges to his boxing gloves, Ushio would saturate the gloves with paint and punch his way across a long paper or canvas. Hair shorn into a Mohawk, he produced these works before eager crowds, emphasizing the art of the action itself. In 1960, he was part of the Neo-Dadaism Organizers, an avant-garde group known for its unconventional materials and performances. In 1961, the famed photographer William Klein immortalized Ushio and his boxing paintings. Printed in the 1964 photo collection Tokyo, this photo is echoed by a similar portrait in Klein's 2013 collection Brooklyn.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Ushio Shinohara, Three Oiran, 1969. Silkscreen. Ronin Gallery.
In 1963, Ushio discovered a deep and lasting inspiration in the American avant-garde on the pages of Art International. He promptly began his Imitation Art series (1963), ironizing the work of artists such as Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg. Ushio captured the interest of these giants of American art, and even participated in Twenty Questions with Bob Rauschenberg in Tokyo. In 1965, Ushio combined his American influences with Japanese tradition. Upon seeing woodblock prints from the Edo period (1603-1868), Ushio created his Oiran series, blending the iconography of Edo-period courtesans with the vivid colors and geometric shapes so popular within American Pop art.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn 1969, Ushio moved to New York City on a scholarship from the John D. Rockefeller III Fund. Though the scholarship ended after a year, he made New York his permanent home and he began his motorcycle sculptures. While his view from Canal Street presented a grittier New York than he had imagined, Ushio incorporated the city's found materials and subcultures into his work. Ushio has been featured in many solo and group exhibitions worldwide, including the National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo, National Museum of Modern Art Kyoto, Museum of Modern Art New York, and the Japan Society New York, to name just a few.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Ushio Shinohara, Roar, 1971. Silkscreen. Ronin Gallery.
Hokusai is not only among Japan's greatest ukiyo-e artists, but also an inimitable master in the history of art worldwide. From lavish surimono and sublime genre prints to steamy shunga and tiny travel prints, the exhibition Hokusai: Great Art, Small Sizes invites you explore Hokusai's early genius. Before the Great Wave crested white and Red Fuji broke the horizon, petite masterpieces whispered their intricate detail with an enchanting intimacy. With unfaltering creativity, Hokusai presents Edo-period Japan with careful sensitivity to its people and landscape alike. Produced in very small editions and graced with precious details, these prints are exceedingly rare. Some of the works in this catalogue represent the only known copy. Ronin Gallery is pleased to present a collection of these early works, dating between 1790 and 1822.
\r\n\r\nOne would be hard pressed to come across a life that rivals Hokusai's in sheer confusion and turmoil. A succession of misfortunes marks the long course of his life: constant bankruptcy, two ill-fated marriages, and children who were a source of embarrassment to him. At 68, he suffered a debilitating illness; in 1836, he was forced into exile by the dishonorable behavior of his grandson. Three years later, a fire ravaged his residence, destroying countless sketches and drawings. Such catastrophes rendered Hokusai's life a dizzying track of summits and valleys, fame and neglect; with staggering rapidity, he moved residence a total of 90 times, transformed his style, and exhausted a succession of names and schools. One minute he was frantically turning out erotica, the next he was solemnly at work on a high government project; just as he scaled the heights of celebrity, he was rendered impoverished and unkempt, hawking red peppers and calendars in the street. Yet, throughout it all, Hokusai's work remained a consistent source of order and meaning in his life: it was his home, his nourishment, his mistress, and in the face of its dazzling powers of seduction, all else paled.
\r\n\r\nBorn in 1760 in Katsushika, a small district outside Edo, Hokusai was adopted by the mirror maker Nakajima Ise. Hokusai was put to work in a bookseller's shop at an early age, surrounded by the illustrations of the ukiyo-e masters. Outgrowing this occupation by his early teens, Hokusai soon apprenticed with a woodblock engraver. Four years later, he was accepted into the renowned studio of Katsukawa Shunsho, Japan's leading designer of kabuki prints. Hokusai's gift for design was so evident that Shunsho gave his pupil the professional name \"Shunro\" within a year's time. This gesture signaled Hokusai's official entry into the world of ukiyo-e and henceforth permitted him to issue prints under the imprimatur of the Katsukawa school. Such a distinction assured 19-year-old Hokusai a secure foothold in the precarious woodblock print market, but restrained his innate talents. In accordance with the agreement between a studio and its artists, by assuming the Katsukawa name, Hokusai was obliged to follow its style and subject matter to the exclusion of any other.
\r\n\r\nThough he continued to produce mostly Katsukawa-style prints over the next decade, Hokusai grew impatient. Despite repeated quarrels with Shunsho, Hokusai experimented with various ukiyo-e conventions, as well as the rigorous classicism of the Kano, Rimpa, and Tosa schools. Enchanted by the work of Kiyonaga, Hokusai began to design bijin-ga, or pictures of beautiful women, until he was seduced by the work of Kiyonaga's rival, Utamaro. Over the next few years, Hokusai joined many of his contemporaries in the grace and gentle charm of the genre print. In this euphoric realm, Hokusai's imagination was free to wander among lithe young beauties lounging on elegant verandas or sauntering across fragrant gardens.
\r\n\r\nBy the early 1790s, Hokusai was using the name \"Sori.\" He derived this appellation from Sori Hyakurin, an artist active between 1750 and 1780. Though Hokusai had already changed his name several times by this point in his career, the adoption of \"Sori\" signaled a decisive turning point in his aesthetic development. During the next three years, he explored a style of representation that left a definitive mark on his own methods of composition. Developed by Ogata Korin (1660-1716) and popularized by Hyakurin, Hillier describes how this manner of painting depends upon \"a subtle play of whimsical imagination, especially in bringing into harmony things oddly incompatible in nature; a power of evocative drawing and composition, sufficiently eccentric to appear the result of a divine intoxication in the artist.\"[1]
\r\n\r\nAs powerful as its initial impact was, Korin's influence did not reveal itself until Hokusai's mature work. This delayed reaction was partly due to the type of prints Hokusai was designing during this timeÑsurimono. Commissioned by poetry clubs or wealthy connoisseurs, these deluxe, limited-edition prints commemorate special occasions, such as the New Year or poetry competitions. Printed on the finest handmade papers, these marvels of woodblock printing were lavishly embellished with gold, silver, bronze, mica, embossing and lacquer. The surimono format demanded a delicate, exacting methodology incompatible with extravagant nature of Korin. As many surimono were imprinted with light verse or clever aphorisms, poets and novelists took great delight in providing the literary impetus and wording for these designs. Renowned for his unique compositions in the genre, Hokusai became acquainted with the popular writers of the day and soon travelled with the literati circle. Among these urbane savants, Hokusai built upon his already formidable knowledge of Japanese tales, drama, and poetry; a knowledge that would gradually assume encyclopedic dimensions.
\r\n\r\nBeyond a fascination for legends and heroes, Hokusai himself possessed an inherent sense of drama and a flair for public spectacle. In 1804, wishing to boost the declining sale of his prints, Hokusai thrilled the Edo crowd by blocking off an area of approximately 200 square yards and lining the ground with a huge patchwork of paper sheets. Scampering up and down its entire length, he proceeded to draft the outlines of Daruma, Japan's beloved Buddhist saint. He worked frantically to complete the image before nightfall, splashing ink onto the paper with huge brooms and mops in a seemingly haphazard fashion. By day's end, a portrait had taken shape, so immense that it could only be viewed in its entirety from the rooftops. It was not long before awed whispers tore through Edo telling of the artist who could draw a figure so huge that a horse could pass through its mouth. But even with theatrics such as these, Hokusai's fame had not yet reached its apogee.
\r\n\r\nAround the same time that he completed this immense Daruma, Hokusai received a singular honor: an invitation from the shogun Ienari to engage in a contest with the great Chinese painter Buncho. The competition required each artist to draft a painting on the spot. To rival Buncho's compositional imminence, records state that Hokusai tore down a paper screen and covered it with enormous swirls of blue ink. Then, throwing caution to the winds, he grabbed a rooster by its talons, dipped them into a bowl of red paint, and coaxed the startled bird across the panel of paper. With a triumphant flourish, Hokusai announced the title of his composition: Maple Leaves in Autumn on Blue Tatsuta River.
\r\n\r\nWith such ingenious displays of his artistic prowess, Hokusai's reputation soared to legendary heights. Following the great Utamaro's death in 1806, the world of ukiyo-e trained its eyes upon the genius from Katsushika. Utamaro's death was a defining event in Hokusai's artistic development for it marked the end of an era in ukiyo-e. The spell of the old masters was broken and the public hungered for novel sensations. Faced with sense of liberation, Hokusai's style took off in several directions at once. One of the first genres to undergo a dramatic metamorphosis was bijin-ga: almost overnight, the icy elegance of Kiyonaga's manner dissolved into a sequence of earthy, warm-blooded temptresses whose erotic allure reached smoldering intensity in the torrid entanglements of Hokusai's new shunga (erotic prints). He became intensely absorbed in experimentation and reevaluation of subject, style and format. Hokusai returned to the old kabuki subject of Chushingura, a tale of samurai loyalty that he had illustrated in 1798. When he revisited the subject in 1806, he approached the classic story with a bolder, more daring concept. In 1804, he issued the Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido, a series of scenic prints that presaged the striking color and mastery of natural forms so characteristic of his later work. Concurrently, Hokusai initiated a stormy collaboration with Bakin, one of Japan's greatest novelists. Departing from conventional methods of draftsmanship, Hokusai brilliantly integrated text and image, setting the trend for book illustration. His achievements in the marriage of word and image led Hokusai to produce masterpiece ehon, or illustrated books.
\r\n\r\nThis sort of technical bravura explodes in ehon such as Views of the Eastern Capital (c.1800), Amusements of the Eastern Capital (1802), and Banks of the Sumida River (1806). Issued within the first decade of the 19th century, most of the works consider the daily life of the Edo's many inhabitants. One cannot escape the impression that an uncontrollable mania for drawing had seized Hokusai. In these ehon, he captures each landscape and custom with tangible vitality and unending fascination. Hokusai's bound collections of shunga (erotic prints) from this era seethe with a furious energy, an impeccable virtuosity. Shaking the smooth linear conventions of the erotic genre, these works favor a more frenetic exploration of line. Today, Hokusai's illustrated books continue to astound and captivate those who leaf through their pages. These works reveal his capacity for creative power and foretell the great undertakings that lay ahead of him.
\r\n\r\nDuring the next three decades, until his death in 1848, Hokusai was truly a man possessed by a frenzy of inspiration. Much of his work during these years remains without parallel. His unerring sense of line and color, inventiveness, mastery of old forms, and ability to combine these qualities in inimitable compositions mark Hokusai as a true luminary in the history of art. From 1820 on, Hokusai relentlessly strove for a pictorial language capable of satisfying the imperatives of design while retaining the essential form of things. He produced kacho-ga (flower-and-bird prints), revolutionized the landscape print through his iconic 36 Views of Mt. Fuji (c. 1830-1832), and designed masterpiece series such as 100 Poems as Told by the Nurse (1835-1836) and Snow, Moon and Flowers (1832-33), to name just a few.
\r\n\r\nAs he neared the end of his life, Hokusai signed his work, \"the old man mad with painting,\" a statement that has immortalized him as an archetypal figure, an artist whose quest for technical excellence was inextricable from his pursuit of the secrets of the universe. It was this quest—this inexorable search for a visual language capable of expressing the very essence of natural objects—that fired up the imaginations of European artists. The impact of Hokusai's genius broke upon them just as the edifice of the Renaissance tradition was beginning to crumble. Tired of academic norms and the stale orthodoxy of the Salon, European painters had begun to rebel against classical canons and were ripe for change. The aesthetic of the Japanese print, with its own sense perspective, flat areas of solid color, and clear, precise outlines in black, opened the minds and captured the hearts of Western artists. As Whistler remarked, \"the story of the beautiful is already complete—hewn in the marbles of the Parthenon—and embroidered, with birds, upon the fan of Hokusai at the foot of Fujiyama.\" [2]
\r\n 1. Hillier, Jack. Hokusai: Paintings, Drawings and Woodcuts. London: Phaidon Press, 1955. Print, 15.
\r\n\r\n 2. Whitford, Frank. Japanese Prints and Western Painters. New York: Macmillan, 1977. Print, 24.
The hashira-e, or pillar print, format is one of the least common print formats in the ukiyo-e tradition. At a standardized size of roughly 4 inches by 28 inches, it was the narrowest print format produced during the Edo period. Its exaggerated verticality and slim width was originally intended for decoration of the interior supporting pillars in traditional Japanese architecture, hence the name, \"pillar prints.\" The prints would have been pasted to the pillars and exposed to the elements of the Japanese household, making those that have survived exceedingly rare and precious works of art.
\r\n\r\n\r\nThe kakemono is double in width and slightly longer than the hashira-e, at a standard size of 9 inches by 30 inches. But even these small variations in format created immense potential and limitations in the artist's approach to the image.
\r\n\r\n\r\nWhile these more elongated formats present their own challenges to the printing process, they also allow the artist to be experimental, imaginative, and innovative with the design's compositional limitations. Artists soon realized that the format itself was freeing and unique, allowing for compositions that brimmed with the grace and emotion of artfully employed negative space and vertical dynamism. Subjects range from the traditional renderings of bijin (beautiful women), to legendary figures and heroes, to birds and flowers, but always the narrow plane of the hashira-e and kakemono format provided a daring space for artistic imagination and expression. Explore the hashira-e format in the our recent catalog Hashira-e: 18th Century Pillar Prints.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nKitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806) is a true master of ukiyo-e. From his images of bugs to his renowned portraits of women, his works exude a subtle and elegant beauty. Starting in 1791, Utamaro focused on portraits of the beauties of Edo. He embraced the okubi-e, or big head, print format and considered the subtleties of the bijin, or beautiful women, that he portrayed. Rendered with small features and an eye for color, these beauties set Utamaro from the other artists working in the genre of bijin-ga, or pictures of beautiful women. His fame spread beyond Japan, making Utamaro one of the first ukiyo-e artists to reach a European audience.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Utamaro, Courtesan Wakaume from the Tamaya in Edomachi 1-chome, 1793-1794. Ronin Gallery.
This Asia Week, Ronin Gallery is pleased to feature Utamaro's masterpiece, Courtesan Wakaume from the Tamaya in Edomachi 1-chome (c. 1793-1794). Signed \"Utamaro hitsu,\" the work is printed with the Kiwame seal. Hair heavy with golden pins, the stunning Wakaume turns her head to glance behind her. She belongs to the highest rank of courtesan, the zashiki-mochi, or \"having-her-own-suite\" rank in the Yoshiwara's Tamaya brothel. As her layered over kimono slides off of her gracefully sloped shoulders, she catches the left edges with delicate fingers. The front of her kimono drapes lightly open, while her right hand remains hidden beneath her boldly patterned obi. Though the cartouche identifies two kamuro, or child attendants, only one can be seen peeking out from behind Wakaume's peach-colored kimono. One cartouche identifies the members of the scene, while a second cartouche presents a kyoka, or comical poem, by Hachi no Nanko. The verse celebrates the famous beauty: \"Blossoming from out of/ Her snow white robe/ Even her name is fragrant / The flower Wakaume (young plum).\"
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe work boasts very good color, impression and state, but the luxury of this printing rests in the pink mica ground. This iridescent background enhances the elegance of the high-ranking beauty and Utamaro's exquisite composition. Offering a pearly sheen and tangible luxury to ukiyo-e prints, this mica technique gained popularity in the 1790s. The process took several different forms over the years, but the most common method required that a separate carved block with which to print the adhesive onto the image. Once this glue was placed, the printer would spread mica onto the print, let it set, then shake off the excess. Printed straight to the paper, the ground mica created a silver-white surface, yet the printer could manipulate this effect by printing a color beneath the mica. In the case of Utamaro's Wakaume from the Tamaya, the iridescent pink likely resulted from the under printing of a safflower rose. As mica is particularly vulnerable to humidity and handling, it is stunning that the mica ground remains so beautifully intact on this print. Together the condition, technique, and composition amplify the rarity of this work.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe print Courtesan Wakaume from the Tamaya is a definitive masterpiece of Utamaro. Other impressions of this work can be found at The Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. In Paris this past spring, a similar pink mica portrait by Utamaro set a world record price for Japanese prints at auction.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"A Closer Look: Courtesan Wakaume from the Tamaya","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"3","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"278917","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"9/9/2020 6:29:09 am"}},{"name":"Transposing Genji: From Prince to Playboy","urlPath":"blog/transposing-genji-from-prince-to-playboy-2","url":"transposing-genji-from-prince-to-playboy-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Transposing Genji: From Prince to Playboy|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"Transposing Genji: From Prince to Playboy","meta_description":"As literacy soared during the 19th century, Murasaki Shikibu's 11th century classic Tale of Genji enjoyed a renewed popularity. Yet it was not quite Murasaki's shining prince garnering the attention. Instead, the tale got a modern makeover through Ryutei Tanehiko's Nise Murasaki Inaka Genji (A Rustic Genji by a Fraudulent Murasaki).","meta_keywords":"tale of genji, inaka genji, ukiyo-e, toyokuni III, Japanese woodblock prints, japanese art","customrecorddata":"42","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"As literacy soared during the 19th century, Murasaki Shikibu's 11th century classic Tale of Genji enjoyed a renewed popularity. Yet it was not quite Murasaki's shining prince garnering the attention. Instead, the tale got a modern makeover through Ryutei Tanehiko's Nise Murasaki Inaka Genji (A Rustic Genji by a Fraudulent Murasaki).","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"Written by Lady Murasaki Shikibu in the 11th century, Genji Monogatari (The Tale of Genji) follows life of Hiraku Genji, son of the Japanese emperor. A noblewoman herself, Murasaki captures Heian period court culture in what some consider the world's first modern novel. Composed of 54 chapters, the story was likely intended for the reading pleasure of noble women, but became a canonical, integral work in the history of Japanese fiction. From pleasures of court life to passionate romantic entanglements, The Tale of Genji featured prominently in Japanese art beginning in the 12th century. By the Edo period, literacy was rapidly on the rise. Reading became a popular pastime of not only the samurai class, but also the growing merchant class. While the literary audience was flourishing, few readers were hungering for the classic tales. Edo's thriving reader base gravitated to contemporary dramas. As literacy continued to soar in the 19th century, Genji returned a renewed popularity, but this was not Murasaki's shining prince. Instead, the tale got a modern makeover.
\r\n\r\nToyokuni III. Chapter Matsukaze: The Wind in the Pine, Bijin with Koto from the series Tale of Genji. 1852.
\r\n\r\nNise Murasaki Inaka Genji (A Rustic Genji by a Fraudulent Murasaki) redefined the classic tale for Edo's 19th audience. Written by Ryutei Tanehiko, this gokan (meaning \"combined volumes\") was released in 38 serial installments between 1829 and 1842. The story loosely mirrors Lady Murasaki's classic tale, but transposes the story into the world of Edo. The hero is no longer Genji, the Imperial prince, but Mitsuuji, a popular playboy. Parallel to the original tale, the story follows the romantic exploits of Mitsuuji, but the correspondence to the original story varies widely. By the 19th century, Genji Monogatari was primarily read by the upper class, while Nise Murasaki Inaka Genji was popular across class distinction. By drawing from 19th century life, Tanehiko made his story relatable and exciting to a wide variety of readers, regardless of whether they had read Murasaki's classic or not. While Tanehiko wrote notes directing the illustration, Toyokuni III completed the final designs for each volume. The story far surpassed past bestsellers, selling up 15,000 copies, many of which circulated through lending libraries. The tale's sweeping popularity sparked Genji-themed games, playing cards, and naturally, woodblock prints.
\r\n\r\nToyokuni III. Chapter Nowaki: The Typhoon, Young Samurai and Autumn Flowers from the series Tale of Genji. 1852.
\r\n\r\nThe incredible success of Nise Murasaki Inaka Genji generated a craze for Genji-e, or \"Genji pictures.\" From single-sheet prints representing the 54 chapters, to lavish triptychs, to even Genji-themed shunga, the fervor for Genji pictures permeated popular print culture. Toyokuni III heavily influenced the genre, as both the original illustrator and a leading ukiyo-e artist of the time. Some of his single sheet prints recreate his original illustrations in vivid color. Though Toyokuni III designed the majority of the popular works in this genre, many of his 19th-century students participated in the Genji craze as well. By the 20th century, artists began to return to the original classic Genji Monogatari, but Nise Murasaki Inaka Genji played a critical role in the popularization of the Genji-e genre.
\r\n\r\nToyokuni III. Chapter Tamakazura: The Jeweled Chaplet, Bijin with Chrysanthemums from the series Tale of Genji. 1852.
Adapted from the 14th century Chinese classic, Shuihuzhuan (Stories of the Water Margin), the Suikoden resounded with Edo's emergent middle class. The tale stresses camaraderie and loyalty. Each warrior operates on their own code of justice, often to highly violent ends. From prints to plays, costumes to tattoos, this tale of 108 bandit heroes served an important point of intersection between the vibrant popular arts of the time. While these legendary characters starred on the page and stage, the otokodate brought the rebel warrior to life in the streets.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Kunisada (Toyokuni III), Ichimura Kakyo as Shirataki Sakichi, 1861.
As mentioned in the first installment of this series, a lack of military conflict and a system of alternate attendance saturated the city of Edo with bored, aggressive samurai. Though their services were largely unnecessary, their place in the social hierarchy remained intact, allowing them to terrorize the lower classes without consequence. The otokodate positioned themselves as the anti-samurai, the honorable defender of the weak against the unprovoked cruelty of the privileged.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nLike an Edo period Robin Hood, an otokodate fought for justice and the common man—at least in theory. While some of these street warriors were ronin, or rogue samurai without masters, many rose from the Edo's laboring classes. Also known \"chivalrous commoners,\" these street warriors stood in stark opposition to the samurai class and the authority of the Tokugawa Shogunate.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nDefying the edicts of the Shogunate, the typical otokodate carried a sword, an honor only allowed to samurai, and were heavily tattooed. They became associated with more unconventional weapons. From fans filled outfitted with sharpened metal, to 6ft staffs, to a mastery of combat armed with only a flute, the otokodate were always ready for a fight. While in concept these men were \"heroes,\" this status seems to be more of a reflection of the 19th century imagination than the reality of their actions.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Kunisada (Toyokuni III), Bando Kamezo as Hinotama-kozo Oni Keisuke, 1862.
Largely delinquent gamblers, the otokodate offered their protective services as part of a lucrative and frankly, criminal, racquet in different pockets of Edo. Though they would indeed take on samurai preying on the lower classes, they were also known for unnecessary street brawling. Yet even so, the otokodate remained a \"hero\" in the public consciousness as an archetype of social unrest.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nImmortalized in the Kabuki theater and ukiyo-e prints, the myth of the otokodate as a \"bandit hero\" lives on. Looking to the triptych below, Kunisada captures Edo's firmly established parallel between the otokodate and the revered Suikoden heroes. By presenting otokodate with the characteristic tattoos of the Suikoden bandits, Kunisada offers these Japanese street warriors as a modern answer to the Chinese classic. Looking to the print on the far right, Kunisada renders actor Ichikawa Ichizo as Nozarashi Gosuke with the characteristic nine-dragon irezumi of Kyumonryu, a common tattoo choice of Edo street knights. In the center, actor Nakamura Fukusuke appears as Asahina Tobei, bearing the floral tattoo of Kaosho Rochishin. On the left, actor Kawarazaki Gonjuro plays the role of Ude no Kisaburo, and while not depicted as a specific hero, he is likened to an ascetic warrior. Not only does Kunisada tie these men to the bandit heroes through the title, Modern Suikoden, but he also adorns these otokodate with the characteristic tattoos worn by the original Suikoden characters, further asserting the two groups' parallel nature.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Kunisada (Toyokuni III), Nozarashi Gosuke, Asahina Tobei and Ude no Kisaburo from Modern Suikoden, 1858.
As in the case of the hikeshi (fireman), the idea of the otokodate is a bit more heroic than their reality. The sheer volume of plays and prints starring various famous otokodate reveals that, despite their generally unsavory nature, these men satisfied a need in Edo. While their adherence to bushido, the warrior's code, was not quite as honorable as that of the Suikoden heroes, the otokodate were among the few to stand up to a biased system and helping to combat, at least some of the time, the samurai class' widespread abuse of social power.
\r\n\r\nSources
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Kaplan, David E., and Alec Dubro. Yakuza: Japan's Criminal Underworld. Berkeley: U of California, 2003. Print.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Kitamura, Takahiro. Tattoos of the Floating World: Ukiyo-e Motifs in the Japanese Tattoo. Amsterdam: KIT Pub., 2007. Print.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Okazaki, Manami. Wabori: Traditional Japanese Tattoo. Hong Kong: Kingyo, 2013. Print.
In Van Gogh's (1853-1890) The Bridge in the Rain (1887) (after Hiroshige's Ohashi Bridge) we are given a unique look inside the mind of one of the world's great artistic geniuses. By viewing this painting that is both uniquely his and also one of the most outwardly influenced works in his portfolio (he literally copied verbatim, although his own vehement style, from a Hiroshige woodblock print), we are let into the mind of Vincent the artist as well as Vincent the man. Permitted to enter into what Van Gogh valued in terms of art and society, in the face of the chaotic changes which symbolized late 19th century Parisian life, we can speculate on the meaning of such a skillful individualized composition of Hiroshige's Ohashi Bridge. Perhaps through this analysis we can overcome the common perception of Vincent Van Gogh as an insane savant who killed himself at age 37 but rather see him as a man in search of a more perfect serene existence in a life of chaotic change.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn Van Gogh's The Bridge in the Rain six travelers cross the sweeping arc of a straw yellow bridge. The garish yellow of the walkway, opposes the woody supports below and leaves one wondering about the bridges composition and how it supports the six travelers. They are consumed by a violent summer rain; when the sky darkens suddenly, thunder cracks and as rapidly as it all began it clears away. Surprised, the travelers hastily protect themselves with hats and umbrellas.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe water rolls down in blotchy textured greens that transform into a deep sapphire blue beneath the bridge. The blue color at the bottom of the composition is mirrored by the darkest blue black clouds atop the image that releases the tempestuous rains. A sudden shift from the darkness of the blue atop the image to the lighter blue gradation below leaves the sky in a sort of hazy mystique. This effect silhouettes the trees and dwellings on the far embankment and makes them ephemeral and distant while still maintaining an air of unmistakable clarity. On the river a boatman poles his raft undisturbed. Numerous irregular, vigorous lines depict the downpour, while sharp choppy brush strokes, broad swatches of color and a hazy quality depicts nature's changes and man's reactions to them. The incomprehensible Japanese calligraphy bordering the canvas along with the jarring perspective of the close up view of the bridge looming out of the design only serves to heighten the chaotic nature of the painting.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe metaphorical value of travelers crossing a bridge is in innumerable; however in viewing the context in which Van Gogh painted, The Bridge in the Rain, a speculative understanding of its significance can be reached. During the later half of the 19th century a wave of industrialization and urbanization swept through France. The changes, mainly concentrated in Paris, were taking place right on Van Gogh's doorstep. In the travelers crossing the bridge we observe them caught in a period of transition, between the two shores. They traverse the divide between modern, industrialized society and traditional life. Just as Van Gogh's painting style was in a period of transformation.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nHis blotchy use of brush-stroke lacks the confidence seen in his later work, while the detailing and firm quality of the lines in the bridge seems to come more from his reproducing an image of a Japanese print than from the mind of Van Gogh. It was during this time that he wrote to his brother Theo, \"All my work is in a way founded on Japanese art,\" (Stone, 1969;364). However, we see Vincent's mastery and confidence in his skills in the violent nature of the rain reflected through his strong brush strokes depicting the chaotic character of the changes taking place within himself and society; it is this sudden downpour of transformations which surprises the six travelers (humanity) leaving them hastily scrounging for any shelter.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nVan Gogh was enamored with Rousseau's ideal natural man, of man's return to nature and the natural state. In viewing the composition and its colors, we can see through another angle, three of the travelers head to the left into the unknown, un-depicted shore that is cut off by the painted border. The other three take off further into the compositions hazy, mystique laden coast. The un-depicted shore could have represented to Van Gogh the unknown end result of industrialization and urbanization. This is depicted by the unified mirroring effect of dark blues both at the top and bottom of the image which make it seem as if the entire image is being swallowed by the darker colors. The foreground is in the viewer's domain, the domain of the changes, of dark colors. Those who walk on to the far shore head to a lighter sky which the chaotic rains seem to have forgotten, a hazy natural Eden that appears to be fading, lost by the encroaching darker colors.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThere is a final figure in the image, a man caught in the storm and yet undisturbed by it. Here is our idealized figure, the man who rides the tides of change; he does not run to one side of the river or the other. There is no hasty covering of his head to shield him from the rain. Instead there is a peaceful serenity of allowing life take him where it will, the natural man who has found peace.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nVan Gogh considered himself a social pariah and outcast. He lived his life in a state of dissatisfaction. This belief was only cemented by numerous professional failures both within the field of painting and beyond; he only sold one painting during his lifetime. With a brief glimpse at Van Gogh's perception of himself and the times he lived in, we can begin to understand the deeper meaning of The Bridge in the Rain to Vincent himself. Brutal transformations took place rapidly in Parisian society, leaving life seeming ephemeral and insubstantial much like a Japanese ukiyo-e print. To Van Gogh this only exacerbated his dissatisfaction. The seeming transient nature of the storm in his painting depicts this period of change, perhaps even forethought to when he would leave his own stormy life behind and fade into the misty haze of the far shore.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nHis search for a more substantiated, real, and natural life, lead him to one of the many 'fads\" that seems to have persisted through this tempest tossed time of change; Japonisme. Here he could intellectually experience such a life, every man needs his own Shangri-la, a world which to Van Gogh, \"[Was one where a man] studies a single blade of grass. But this blade of grass leads him to draw every plant and then the seasons, the wide aspects of the country side, then animals and then the human figure... Come now, isn't it almost a religion which these simple Japanese teach us, who live in nature as though they themselves were flowers?\"(Van Rappard Boon, 1991; 35)
Sources
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Charlotte Van Rappard-Boon, William Van Gulik, and Keiko Van Bremen-Ito. Introduction. Catalogue of the Van Gogh's Museums Collection of Japanese Prints. Zwolle: Waanders Publishers. 1991
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Stone, Irving. Dear Theo: The Autobiography of Vincent Van Gogh. Penguin Books.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Van Gogh, Vincent. The Bridge in the Rain. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.
Photography first arrived in Japan during the Edo period when Dutch merchants inhabited Nagasaki Bay. Many early Japanese photographers went to study in Nagasaki and in 1854 Kawamoto Komin published Ensei-Kikijutsu, the first book in Japanese about photographic techniques. Three years later, two Japanese photographers took the first successful photograph in Japan, a portrait of a Satsuma clan lord Shimazu Nariakira, using early daguerreotype processing.1 This process was was later replaced by wet collodion methods.[2] At the beginning of the Meiji period with the promotion of Western modernity, photography in Japan began to take off as a commercial industry.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Illustration of foreign ships in Nagasaki Bay, where Dutch merchants inhabited and traded on Dejima, the small island pictured in the bottom center.
As the Meiji government eased travel restrictions on foreigners, tourists began to flock to Japan and photographs became popular souvenirs. But travelers were more interested in perceived ideas of traditional Japanese culture than the Japanese society that was transforming and modernizing. For many tourists, Japan was a way to escape modern industrial society, so they were most attracted to photographs of Mount Fuji, cherry blossoms, temples, shrines, samurai and geisha.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe largest market for these photographs was in Yokohama, so Japanese tourist photography became known as Yokohama shashin, or Yokohama-style photography. These images tended to be hand-colored and were very decorative. They were mounted in albums that contained anywhere from 25 to 100 prints. The subject matter was divided into three categories: customs and types; women; and famous places and views. Tourists could also visit a studio and choose images that most closely matched their travel experience. In 1872, an album of fifty hand-colored photographs from Baron Raimund von Stillfried's studio cost about $48.
\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Yokohama Bay
The Ronin Gallery is pleased to present a glimpse into old Japan with an exhibition of Japanese photography featuring images of shrines, gardens and studio portraits from over 120 years ago. These photographs are hand-colored albumen prints, paper-based and printed with a negative plate - the popular processing medium of that time period.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n 1. Daguerrotype: First photographic process; image is a direct positive made in a camera on a copper plate that resembles a mirror. The surface is very fragile and can be rubbed off.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n2. Wet Collodion Process: Replaced daguerreotype process. The photographic material is coated with a light sensitive material, exposed, and developed within a couple minutes; entire process had to be completed when wet. You can make an unlimited number of prints.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Advancements in Japanese Photography from the Edo Period","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"5","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"285535","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"9/10/2013 3:39:10 pm"}},{"name":"Focus On: Hiroshige's Kinryuzan Temple at Asakusa","urlPath":"blog/focus-on-hiroshiges-kinryuzan-temple-at-asakusa-2","url":"focus-on-hiroshiges-kinryuzan-temple-at-asakusa-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Focus On: Hiroshige's Kinryuzan Temple at Asakusa|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"Focus On: Hiroshige's Kinryuzan Temple at Asakusa","meta_description":"Quiet beneath a blanket of snow, Kinryuzan Temple rests at the end of the lane. The townspeople of Asakusa brave the cold, bundled up and huddled beneath umbrellas as they approach the temple.","meta_keywords":"Hiroshige, 100 famous views of edo, kinryuzan temple at asakusa, ukiyo-e, landscapes, japanese art","customrecorddata":"46","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"Quiet beneath a blanket of snow, Kinryuzan Temple rests at the end of the lane. The townspeople of Asakusa brave the cold, bundled up and huddled beneath umbrellas as they approach the temple.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"
\r\n\r\n Hiroshige, Kinryuzan Temple at Asakusa from the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, 1856. Ronin Gallery.
Quiet beneath a blanket of snow, Kinryuzan Temple rests at the end of the lane. The townspeople of Asakusa brave the cold, bundled up and huddled beneath umbrellas, as they approach the temple. The pines offer no hint of their rich green, instead appearing completely white on this winter evening. Yet, the viewer stays sheltered from the snow. Flurries continue to fall from a grey sky, collecting in eaves and umbrella ridges, but the viewer watches the scene from within another temple building. As the red lantern glows against the coming evening, the walk down snow-covered lane seems long. Kinryuzan Temple at Asakusa from the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo is just one of Hiroshige's triumphs in the exhibition Masterworks of Hiroshige's Landscapes.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThrough his rich color and novel compositions, Hiroshige's popularity spans from his contemporaries to modern audiences. His aesthetic served as an important inspiration for French Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. From Van Gogh and Monet to Toulouse-Lautrec and Degas, each artist found inspiration in Hiroshige's daring compositions. Looking to Kinryuzan Temple, one can identify these points of influence. As the road, the treetops, the distant skyline and the low eaves construct strong, intersecting diagonals, Hiroshige creates movement and focus in the print. While the diagonals craft one point of focus, the extreme close up of the temple wall along the left edge and the red lantern overhead develops a sense of distance. Paired with rich colors, these compositional techniques evoke a fresh viewpoint for a landscape print.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWith his novel approach to landscapes, Hiroshige could capture a location in its physical likeness and its emotion and spirit. In this famous view of Edo, Kinryuzan Temple at Asakusa frames the famous place within the everyday lives of its visitors. Though the structure itself takes up very little of the composition, Hiroshige creates an intimate experience of the place. As visitors brave the snow and a lantern appears close enough to touch, Hiroshige invites the viewer to step right into the scene.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nOther impressions of this design can be found numerous collections such as the Chazen Museum of Art, the British Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Hiroshige, Kinryuzan Temple at Asakusa, 1856","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"3","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"293349","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"9/11/2014 12:40:11 pm"}},{"name":"The Great Wave: Contemporary Talents of Japan","urlPath":"blog/the-great-wave-contemporary-talents-of-japan-2","url":"the-great-wave-contemporary-talents-of-japan-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"The Great Wave: Contemporary Talents of Japan|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"The Great Wave: Contemporary Talents of Japan","meta_description":"Held in conjunction with the inaugural Ronin|Globus Artist-in-Residence Program, the exhibition The Great Wave: Images to Support Japan Society's Japan Earthquake Relief Fund spans a wide range of media and mindsets. Featuring Keisuke \"OZ\" Yamaguchi, this exhibition presents diverse reactions to defining moments in contemporary life: Japan's recent earthquakes and the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.","meta_keywords":"contemporary talents of japan, ronin|globus artsit-in-residence program, OZ, keisuke yamaguchi, contemporary art, japaese art","customrecorddata":"47","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"Held in conjunction with the inaugural Ronin|Globus Artist-in-Residence Program, the exhibition The Great Wave: Images to Support Japan Society's Japan Earthquake Relief Fund spans a wide range of media and mindsets. Featuring Keisuke \"OZ\" Yamaguchi, this exhibition presents diverse reactions to defining moments in contemporary life: Japan's recent earthquakes and the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"\"I think what happened on March 11, 2011 drastically changed how waves reverberate in the hearts of the Japanese people, now realizing the balance of mother nature's sacred beautiful, yet unforgiving force. I think what we need now is 'a spirit of tomorrow,' what we as Japanese have held dearly since long before.\"
During the Edo period, woodblock print artists broke from traditional painting to portray the vibrant world around them. Ukiyo-e, or pictures of the floating world, reacted to contemporary life, which at that time was a world filled with samurai, courtesans, and kabuki stars. While what constitutes contemporary has dramatically changed since the 1800s, Japanese artists have continued to respond to contemporary culture in endlessly inventive and powerful ways.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn recent years, contemporary Japanese art has captured the interest of collectors worldwide. Today's artists are pushing limits and innovating techniques to stunning effect, across mediums and styles. Ronin Gallery grew from a love for the contemporary art of a long time past and over the years we have developed a carefully curated collection stretching from Edo to Tokyo's artistic vanguard. This summer, we are pleased to present some of Japan's brightest talents in Contemporary Talents of Japan, uniting emerging and established artists working and reacting to the realities of our time.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nSpanning a wide range of media and mindsets, this exhibition presents diverse reactions to defining moments in contemporary life: Japan's recent earthquakes and the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Contemporary Talents of Japan features Keisuke Yamaguchi (OZ), the winner of the Ronin | Globus Artist-in-Residence Program. Yamaguchi blends traditional techniques with thoroughly contemporary imagery, considering the power of nature and the ways that people cope with disaster. From unseen spirits to the power of human resilience, he calls upon unique and subtle qualities of Japanese culture to evoke the events of March 11, 2011, as well as Japan's recent earthquakes. This blurring of the traditional and the contemporary unites the artists in this exhibition. We are thrilled to include works by familiar Ronin Contemporary artists—Sarah Brayer, Horiyoshi III, Masato Sudo, Hideo Takeda, and Cyoko Tamai—as well as welcome some new members to the family—AgIC, Yuki Ideguchi and Everett Brown. Finally, we are pleased to present work from the finalists of the Ronin | Globus Artist-in-Residence Program: Tomomi Kamoshita, Nao Morigo, and Yuki Nishimoto. Together, these visionary artists challenge the distinction between tradition and innovation, from new-age nihonga and kintsugi, to ultra-modern, site-specific painting and prints that resound with popular manga.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nRonin Gallery is excited to present this exhibition in conjunction with the Ronin | Globus Artist-in-Residence Program. For the past 40 years, Ronin Gallery has focused on bringing the best of Japanese art to the United States. In keeping with this tradition, Ronin Gallery seeks to nurture and promote the most exciting talents in contemporary Japanese art today. While many international residency programs bring artists to the United States, there are few opportunities specifically for Japanese artists. This residency seeks to stimulate cross-cultural dialogue through Japan's vanguard of visual art, providing the chosen artist with international airfare, housing, a tatami studio space, and inclusion in this exhibition. As March 2016 marked the fifth anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, our theme during this inaugural year is The Great Wave: Images to Support Japan Society's Japan Earthquake Relief Fund.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nOn May 10, our distinguished panel of judges chose Yamaguchi's striking paintings based on three criteria: artistic excellence, clarity of concept, and originality in interpretation of theme. Yoshihito Kawase was named first runner up, while Nao Morigo and Tomomi Kamoshita each received an honorable mention. Thank you to this year's judges—Nachi Das, Yasuko Harris, Yukie Kamiya, Mary Ann Roos, Johnny Strategy, Miwako Tezuka, and Katsura Yamaguchi—for their diligent consideration and invaluable expertise. An especially warm thank you to Steve Globus for his collaboration in making this outstanding opportunity a reality. Without his support, ideas and friendship, this would never have happened. It's been a wonderful inaugural year and we look forward to many more years to come.
\r\n\r\n山口 佳祐 2016 Ronin | Globus Artist-in-Residence
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nKeisuke Yamaguchi's work blends traditional techniques with thoroughly modern imagery, considering the power of forces unseen, both natural and human. From gods of the sea to the emotional landscapes of the human heart, Yamaguchi calls upon unique and subtle qualities of Japanese culture and art to evoke the events of March 11, 2011. Born in Nagano Prefecture, Japan in 1986, Yamaguchi attended Nagano National College of Technology for Architecture in 2003. Following his graduation in 2007, he continued his education at Nagaoka Institute of Design, where he studied Architecture and the Environment. His focus has since shifted from architecture to painting. Yamaguchi has actively exhibited throughout Japan since 2007, from group shows to ten solo exhibitions. His most recent exhibitions include the solo show Oz and the international group exhibition Common, both held in Nagano. Yamaguchi often integrates process and product in his live painting performances. From the live painting Takara Ichi at the ruins of Ueda Castle in Nagano to Geppaku at Gallery Saniwa, Yamaguchi's original technique draws and enchants crowds.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn his exhibited works, Yamaguchi evokes the existence of things that evade the human eye. From the energy of sacred spirits to the vivid imagery of human thoughts and emotions, Yamaguchi gives form to a power quite similar to water, one without concrete form. As he states, \"it inhabits everything around us, having the ability to hit us with fearful, awesome, inspiring power.\"
\r\n\r\n\r\n鴨下知美
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Born in Tokyo in 1977, Tomomi Kamoshita is both a potter and a ceramics teacher. She graduated from Joshibi University ceramics course in 2000. Since 2007, Kamoshita has held an exhibition every year. Lately, she has integrated the traditional Japanese technique of kintsugi into her work.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn her featured series, Gift from the Waves, she reflects on the giving and taking power of the ocean: \"As every Japanese has realized, the waves can take away a great deal from us. But it is also true that we greatly benefit from it. With this work, I wanted to revive what waves have brought us.\" Kamoshita collected broken pieces of ceramic and glass from the beach, each beautifully weathered by the waves, and bound them together with metallic powder. \"Using a skill inspired by kintsugi, which is a Japanese traditional repairing technique used to connect broken ceramic pieces together, I revive what the wave have sent us.\" The pink fragments that appear in each work are taken from an old piece of her own pottery. For Kamoshita, the pink represents sakura, or cherry blossoms, a symbol of revival. \"No matter what happens, it blooms gracefully in spring.\" She unites these ideas of destruction, creation, and revival through her decision to make chopstick rests. By taking the form of daily tableware, these once lost and broken pieces experience renewed purpose and newfound vitality, blooming like a blushing sakura.
\r\n\r\n\r\n森合那緒
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Working in Kobe, Hyogo prefecture, Nao Morigo began figurative painting in 1991 before turning to more conceptual art by 1999. In 2009, she began Trip to..., a series of world landscape paintings. While initially deterred from the Ronin | Globus Artist-in-Residence program due to the theme this year, she found herself reconsidering the subject of the wave. She states, \"The sea creates rainfall and brings water to us, nourishing us with minerals and seafood...[it] supports us in many ways and we would not be able to exist without it. That same sea is what took so many lives in the tsunami. The lives washed away have now become a part of the ocean and will return to us in the cycle of nature.\"
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nHer Great Wave series is composed of foreign newspaper clippings and scenic landscapes from her 2009 trip around the world. Through these delicate collages, Morigo considers the ocean and the treasures of life that the sea holds. She melds her contemporary imagery through materials used in nihonga, or Japanese-style painting, such as mineral pigments, powdered brass, pearl and copper. As Morigo weaves snippets of popular global media into her powerful collages, she evokes the connected nature of our world, both to each other and to nature. \"It was difficult to portray the \"Great Wave\" in a beautiful, comfortable way. Although my intent was to abstract as much as I could, the frightening images come to mind and resonate in my work.\"
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n西元祐貴
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Born in Kagoshima in 1988, Yuki Nishimoto is a contemporary Japanese artist working in Tokyo. After teaching himself sumi- e, or ink painting, Nishimoto broke away from the limitations of traditional techniques. He uses this traditional technique to capture contemporary culture, from sports icons to manga. He states, \"my work reflects the 'lively movements' of the unique world of black and white sumi-e, incorporating bold, fine and delicate lines.\" Nishimoto also brings an element of performance to his work, frequently painting his bold works in front of an audience.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nNishimoto's work has earned him wide acclaim. In 2012, he received the World's Best Piece Award at Florida's Embracing Our Differences contest. Two years later, he performed a live painting at OMEGA Presents Ambassador Ball in Hong Kong. This work later sold at Christie's. He has been featured on NHK and performed live painting for Kyoto's Daigoji live television show.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn 2015, he performed a painting and exhibited work at Sengoku Daimyo, Kyushu National Museum's 10th anniversary exhibition. This past August, he preformed a live painting at Saitama's Prefectural Museum of History and Folklore, where 1,200 people attended. Soon after, he preformed a painting at the Fukuoka Asia Prize's Culture Award Ceremony at Kyushu University. This past October, Nishimoto brought together the creative fields of music and visual art through a live performance with the shakuhachi player Dozan Fujiwara.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n参代目彫よし
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Horiyoshi III (b. 1946) is Japan's preeminent master of tebori , or hand-tattooing, whose work is indebted to traditions of apprenticeship and skill. While the world of tattoo remains one of secrecy and exclusivity in Japan, Horiyoshi III has transcended taboo, achieving national and international fame. Born Yoshihito Nakano, Horiyoshi III received his title from the late tebori master Yoshitsugu Muramatsu, known as Shodai Horiyoshi of Yokohama. Beginning at sixteen, he served as Shodai Horiyoshi's apprentice for ten years. By twenty-eight, Horiyoshi III's bodysuit was complete, hand-tattooed by Shodai Horiyoshi. Though ukiyo-e officially ended in 1868, Horiyoshi III carries on the spirit of Edo's \"pictures of the floating world\" in his work, all the while incorporating his own style and a contemporary perspective. This sensitivity to tradition extends beyond his tebori. In recent years, he has focused on traditional kakejiku (scroll paintings). Rendering Japanese folktales, calligraphy and religious subjects in sumi (black ink) and traditional mineral pigments, Horiyoshi III interweaves past, present and future.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn addition, Horiyoshi III tattoos full time, publishes books of his drawings, and is the founder of Japan's only tattoo museum with his wife in Yokohama. His work can be found in the permanent collection of the Morikami Museum of Art. With over forty years of experience, he is the foremost authority on traditional Japanese tattooing.
\r\n\r\n須藤昌人
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n As an art student, Masato Sudo (b. 1955) concentrated his photographic work on long haul trucks lavishly decorated by their drivers. While working on one of these studies, Sudo encountered a driver with designs on his body that outdid those of his truck. Enamored by such individualized bodily expression, Sudo built his career capturing the beauty of the Japanese tattoo and its dynamic human canvas. In 1985, Sudo released Ransho: Japanese Tattooing, a 143-page photographic exploration of tebori, or hand tattooing, done by Horiyoshi III, Horijin, and Horikin. In 2010, his work was featured in the exhibition Seeing Beauty at Balboa Park's Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego and resides in collections worldwide, including that of the Muscarelle Museum and Morikami Museum of Art.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nCombining large format photography with the cutting edge archival fresco pigment printing process, Sudo generates not only stunning, but also long lasting studies of the inked form. Originating in Japan, this new printing technology draws upon ancient innovation to create photographic images that are heat, light and moisture resistant. Just as the traditional fresco technique preserves Michelangelo's pigments in the Sistine Chapel, the archival fresco pigment printing process captures Sudo's photographs within a soft layer of plaster, guarding his photographs for centuries to come.
\r\n\r\n\r\n出口雄樹
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Born in Fukuoka prefecture in 1986, Yuki Ideguchi received both a BFA (2007) and MFA (2013) in Japanese Painting from Tokyo University of the Arts. He blends traditional Japanese techniques with contemporary imagery and themes. Yet, even the traditional techniques become his own, adapted to the contemporary climate. For example, he applies silver leaf to canvas, yet rather than prepare the canvas with the undercoat of blue paint, he uses a deep red to trade the cool quality of traditional silver leaf for a palpable warmth. He has exhibited his work throughout Japan since 2008. In 2011, he participated in The Asian Students and Young Artists Art Fair, held in Seoul, Korea, and was featured in Asahi Shimbun's Exhibition of Next Art. The following year, he received The Mitsubishi Corporation Art Gate Program scholarship.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nBy 2014, Ideguchi became active in the international art scene, presenting his works in numerous exhibitions, including the India- Japan Associate Art Exhibition in New Delhi, and the Exhibition of S elected Japanese Artists held in Paris. That same year, Ideguchi moved to New York and became an active member of the city's artistic vanguard. This past year, Ideguchi held his first solo exhibition in Tokyo, titled Somewhere Hasn't Been Here Will Be Here. As well as producing his own work, he has also curated exhibitions in Japan and the United States and earned mention in the Japanese art magazine M.G.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Born in Rochester, New York, Sarah Brayer is an international artist who has exhibited in Japan, Hong Kong, United States, and Europe. Brayer is known for her aquatints, woodblock prints and poured washi paper works. She received her BA in studio arts from Connecticut College in 1978. Two years later, she moved to Kyoto to study etching from Yoshiko Fukuda and traditional woodblock printing with the renowned Toshi Yoshida. She opened her first studio in 1986 in an old kimono weaving loft in northern Kyoto.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nBrayer was the first artist to be honored by Japan with an exhibition of her washi paper works at Byodoin Temple, a World Heritage site that dates from the Heian period, as part of Kyoto's 1200 year celebration in 1992. Brayer was again honored in 2007 as the first foreign woman in over half a century to be named cover artist for the CWAJ Contemporary Print Show in Tokyo. In 2012, Brayer discussed her unique explorations in Japanese paper and light in a TED talk in Tokyo. Today, she continues to exhibit her work internationally and her pieces can be found in the permanent collections of museums such as the British Museum, the Sackler Gallery of the Smithsonian and the American Embassy, Tokyo.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn her most recent series, Luminosity: Night Paperworks, Brayer infuses her washi with photo-luminescent pigments. Powered by light exposure, these provoking and mysterious works reveal a different image at night than that seen during the day. In Brayer's words, \"these images show us the place where something appears out of nothing and then returns to it; taking us to the edge of visual perception.\"
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n玉井 祥子
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Cyoko Tamai (b. 1987) was born in Kochi prefecture, graduating from Tokyo University of the Arts with a BFA in Music and an MFA in Japanese Painting. Her work combines unique techniques, a musical sensibility, and traditional Japanese materials, resulting in ethereal and compelling images. Using a fine-pointed steel pen, Cyoko deconstructs and rebuilds: she tears, scratches, and rips incredibly strong Japanese washi paper, made by National Living Treasure Sajio Hamada and his wife Setsuko. Breaks and incisions leap beyond the paper's surface, while choice individual fibers defy gravity, coaxed from the paper to form an ephemeral gauze. \"The major theme of my works is to capture life that is unexplained and invisible, working under the hypothesis that each space has a certain life to it. Gravity is a basic element in the world, yet it still remains mysterious. I believe that this mystery in the everyday hints that there is life in things unseen, even if it is invisible yet.\"
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nTamai's work has been featured in over a dozen solo and group exhibitions in Japan. Her work can be found in the permanent collection of the Muscarelle Museum of Art in Williamsburg, Virginia. She is the recipient of several grants from the Sato International Cultural Foundation and the recipient of the Ataka Award.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nMost recently she was selected at the 2014 Summer Artist-in-Residence at the Japan Society, an honor she shares with luminaries of Japanese artists such as Shiko Munakata and Yayoi Kusama. Since her October exhibition at the Ronin Gallery, Against Gravity, Cyoko has moved away from sumi and closer to architectural forms. Through the use of Japanese glue, she freezes the fibers in midair, pulled and stretched from the washi paper with the delicacy integral to her work. She mixes traditional mineral pigments with the glue for color.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n武田秀雄
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Hideo Takeda's work invariably speaks both to the past and the present, and to audiences globally. Over his long career, Takeda has inhabited multiple identities and worked with innumerable media. His art is firmly rooted in the creative potential inherent in crossing boundaries and the freedom that comes with the refusal to be categorized. As a satirist, cartoonist, printmaker, photographer, illustrator, comedian, provocateur, and as both a citizen of Japan and a citizen of the world at large, the only persistent qualities of Takeda's artistic output are flexibility, adaptation, and surprise. Born in Osaka in 1948, Takeda was accepted to the prestigious Tama Art University, where he completed his degree in sculpture. It was his drawings and works on paper, however, that propelled Takeda into the spotlight, and shortly after graduation he received the prestigious Bungei-Shunju Cartoon Award in 1976. After a career of more than forty years, Takeda enjoyed a one-man show at the British Museum and his work can be found in the permanent collections of multiple prestigious institutions.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nCombining the aesthetics of traditional prints, western cartoons, and textile patterns, Takeda's work is startling, boldly graphic, often surreal, and subtly beautiful. Takeda rarely chooses to be identified as an \"artist,\" preferring instead to think of himself as a \"cartoonist,\" a poor English translation of the Japanese manga-ka. The manga-ka has a rich heritage and significance in Japan, related both to contemporary popular culture and certain facets of historical visual expression dating back to the Edo period. In this sense, one can begin to see the power and significance of Takeda's creative vision and artistic choices. Takeda faces the challenges inherent in the genre of illustration or cartoon and meets them head on, just as he fearlessly tackles the elusive balance between contemporary global culture and Japanese history.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Taking its name from the chemical symbol for silver, AgIC (Silver Ink Circuits) created the technology to print and draw electric circuits through silver conductive ink. These tools, whether the pen or the printer cartridge, allow unprecedented accessibility to electrical circuit for people of all ages and skill levels. Beyond access, AgIC infuses its inventive equipment with ample creativity, encouraging the intersection of art and technology.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWith the guidance of technology advisors from the University of Tokyo, Microsoft Research Cambridge and Georgia Institute of Technology, AgIC began development of its innovative circuit technology in 2011. By 2014, AgIC launched as a startup in Tokyo, composed of designers, entrepreneurs, and electrical engineers. With the help of two successful kickstarter campaigns, the company released the Circuit Printer and Circuit Pen in the fall, followed by an Erasable Circuit Marker in January 2015. Partnering with #Beige, Cupworks, and Hana Lab, AgIC revealed the creative potential of the technology at the Milan Furniture Fair in 2015. This groundbreaking technology has garnered international mention, from the TechCrunch Tokyo Start-up Battle to the Editor's Choice Award at Maker Faire Bay Area.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Born in Washington D.C. in 1959, Everett Brown is a photographer working in Japan for the past 27 years. He is a recipient of the Japanese Government's Cultural Commissioner's Award for promoting Japanese culture through his work as a photographic artist and author on cultural theory in Japanese. Brown graduated from Antioch College with a degree in Foreign Civilizations and Literatures in 1982. Following graduation, he traveled and lived throughout Asia before settling in Japan in 1988. In 1999, he and his wife Deco Nakajima established Brown's Field, a prototypical farm, located an hour east of Tokyo. His photographic work focuses on the culture of a Japan long past. In his words, \"my work explores the undercurrents of Japanese hereditary memory as it exists today. I call this Modern Classic. All over Japan, people are beginning to tap into old cultural currents and breathing new life into them. By participating as an artist...I am attempting to awaken memory.\" He prints these works with mineral inks on washi, evoking a rare beauty through subtle manipulation of the photographic negatives shot on glass.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nBrown has enjoyed solo exhibitions in galleries and museum since 1988, most recently Nihon no Takumi at the Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum and Nihon no Omokage at Sankei-en Museum, both in 2015. He has delivered lectures, made regular television appearances, written essays and books, and received many international awards and honors throughout his prominent career. Brown's photography has been featured in major media worldwide, including National Geographic, New York Times, Geo, Time, Newsweek, Le Monde, Der Spiegel and Kateigaho International. He has completed commissions for museums and corporations alike to document historic sites, from the art of Japanese craftsmanship in 2012, to island culture in Shodoshima in 2014. \"For me,\" Brown states, \"life in Japan is a long and ever-deepening love affair with place and culture. Through my imagery, honoring the use of Japanese classical techniques and traditional materials, I wish to share my vision of the deep currents of Japanese culture that I encounter on my journeys.\"
Hashiguchi Goyo (1881–1921) is a critically important Japanese artist of the early 20th century. His iconic works demonstrate a transitional moment in Japanese history, capturing a time when traditional values and techniques were challenged by the rapid nature of modernity. His delicate, yet stoic beauties and classic landscapes were the last of an era that paved the way to the modern art movement of Japan.
\r\nWhen Goyo died suddenly at age forty-one, he had only fourteen completed woodblock prints. These prints have formed the cornerstone of many museum collections of early 20th century Japanese art and can be found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the British Museum, the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo and the Freer Gallery at the Smithsonian. In addition to his lifetime prints, Ronin Gallery is pleased to present additional works ranging from preparatory sketches and paintings, (some of which have never before been exhibited) to posthumous prints. This rare retrospective of Goyo's work provides a unique opportunity to gain insight into the process and progression of a modern genius.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nKiyoshi Hashiguchi was born in 1880 to a samurai family in Kyushu. The artist name, Goyo, is said to have been derived from a large five-needle pine tree, which grew in his father's garden (Goyo no matsu in Japanese). Goyo translates to \"go (five)\" and \"yo (needles).\"
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nA master of intricate detail and exquisite line, Hashiguchi Goyo was part of an artistic lineage reminiscent of the esteemed prints of Harunobu and Utamaro. His training began under Hashimoto Gaho, a leader of the Kano style of painting at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, and graduated at the top of his class in 1905. Shortly thereafter, the prominent Tokyo woodblock print publisher, Watanabe, convinced Goyo to design prints. In 1915, Watanabe published Goyo's first woodblock print, Nude After Bathing. His sensitive portrayal of women in a delicate, serene and infinitely graceful mode led to Goyo's immediate popularity. His mastery of line and composition are equally apparent in his tender drawings. These drawings, however, are little known in the West and are extremely scarce.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nGoyo, an active perfectionist, was not satisfied with Watanabe's workmanship and consequently set up his own workshop. His standards were so high that he rarely allowed his editions to run more than eighty prints. This decision resulted in some of the most technically superb woodcuts since the late-18th century.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nOn February 24, 1921, Goyo died from an ear infection, the aftermath of a severe case of influenza. His early death was a tragedy to the art world. Goyo's entire artistic career spanned only fifteen short years, of which only the last five were devoted to woodblock printing. He produced only fourteen completed prints. At his death, Goyo left many works in various stages of completion. Some were ready to be printed, their full-color proofs already completed. For others, only key blocks had been carved, and still others had barely progressed beyond the preliminary sketches. Many of these prints have since been completed by members of Goyo's family.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Hashiguchi Goyo: Prints, Paintings & Drawings","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"293353","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"10/11/2013 1:20:11 pm"}},{"name":"Hideo Takeda: Genpei and World Night Tours","urlPath":"blog/hideo-takeda-genpei-and-world-night-tours-2","url":"hideo-takeda-genpei-and-world-night-tours-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Hideo Takeda: Genpei and World Night Tours|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"Hideo Takeda: Genpei and World Night Tours","meta_description":"As one of Japan's most important creative minds, Takeda Hideo's work invariably speaks to audiences worldwide. As a satirist, cartoonist, printmaker, photographer, illustrator, comedian and provocateur, the only persistent qualities of Takeda's artistic output are flexibility, adaptation and surprise.","meta_keywords":"Hideo Takeda, contemporary art, illustration, satire, genpei, world night tours, japanese art","customrecorddata":"49","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"2","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"As one of Japan's most important creative minds, Takeda Hideo's work invariably speaks to audiences worldwide. As a satirist, cartoonist, printmaker, photographer, illustrator, comedian and provocateur, the only persistent qualities of Takeda's artistic output are flexibility, adaptation and surprise.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"Ronin Gallery is exceptionally pleased to present a very special exhibition of the work of Hideo Takeda, featuring humorous and surreal hand-colored original drawings from the World Night Tours series (2012), and the bold, graphic silkscreen prints from his most well known collection, the Genpei series (1985). As one of Japan's most important creative minds, Takeda's art invariably speaks to audiences worldwide. Over his long career, Takeda has inhabited multiple identities and worked with innumerable media. Along with countless exhibitions worldwide, his work was featured in a one-man show at the British Museum, entitled Takeda Hideo and the Japanese Cartoon Tradition. His art is firmly rooted in the creative potential inherent in crossing boundaries and the freedom that comes with the refusal to be categorized. As a satirist, cartoonist, printmaker, photographer, illustrator, comedian and provocateur, the only persistent qualities of Takeda's artistic output are flexibility, adaptation and surprise.
\r\n\r\nAs one of Japan's most important creative minds, Takeda Hideo's work invariably speaks to audiences worldwide. Over his long career, Takeda has inhabited multiple identities and worked with innumerable media. His art is firmly rooted in the creative potential inherent in crossing boundaries and the freedom that comes with the refusal to be categorized. As a satirist, cartoonist, print-maker, photographer, illustrator, comedian, and provocateur, the only persistent qualities of Takeda's artistic output are flexibility, adaptation, and surprise.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nBorn in Osaka in 1948, Takeda was accepted to the prestigious Tama Art University, where he completed his degree in sculpture. It was his drawings and works on paper, however, that propelled Takeda into the spotlight, and shortly after graduation he received the prestigious Bungei-Shunju Cartoon Award in 1976. Combining the aesthetics of traditional prints, western cartoons, and textile patterns, Takeda's work is startling, boldly graphic, often surreal, and subtly beautiful. After a career of more than forty years, his work is in the permanent collections of multiple prestigious institutions, and in addition to the one-man show at the British Museum, his work was also featured on the cover of the museum's standalone publication on contemporary Japanese art, Contemporary Japanese Prints: Symbols of a Society in Transition (1985).
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThis exhibition features hand-colored original paintings from World Night Tours series (2012), and silkscreen prints from his most well known collection, the Genpei series (1985). The World Night Tours series combines humor, sex, politics, and startling graphic compositions. The Genpei series is composed of colorful silkscreens, drawing inspiration from the Minamoto-Taira clan wars depicted in the ukiyo-e tradition. All of these images, whether illustrated or printed, revel in the individual hand of the artist, in the intimacy of a recognizable style, and the combination of satire, eros, and striking aesthetics.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThis combination of eroticism and social commentary is reminiscent of Edo-period masters like Kuniyoshi, and marks him as the true inheritor of the ukiyo-e tradition. And yet, Takeda rarely chooses to be identified as an \"artist,\" preferring instead to think of himself as a \"cartoonist,\" a poor English translation of the Japanese manga-ka. The mangaka has a rich heritage and significance in Japan, related both to contemporary popular culture and certain facets of historical visual expression dating back to the Edo-period. In this sense, we can begin to see the power and significance of Takeda's creative vision and artistic choices. Takeda faces the challenges inherent in the genre of illustration or cartoon and meets them head on, just as he fearlessly tackles the elusive balance between contemporary global culture and Japanese history. The mastery of line in the World Night Tours transmits the complexity of intense emotion, brutal humor, and sexual innuendo in just a few strokes of a pen, revealing his holistic artistic skill. The complicated and sophisticated patterning of the Genpei series recalls both traditional kimono embroidery and the flexing, rippling tattoos of yakuza gangsters, even as each image in the series maintains a purely contemporary sense of composition and narrative.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Following a period of serious illness, Takeda's creative will has returned stronger than ever. For the first time since the British Museum's important exhibition, Takeda Hideo and the Japanese Cartoon Tradition, major selections from Takeda's enormous body of work are exhibited side by side. Together, these selections create an atmosphere of surrealism, where fantasy and imagination reign supreme: a world composed of humorous, frenetic, and imaginative images that stand as some of the best and most important contemporary works on paper to come out of Japan in the last several decades.
\r\n\r\nWorld Night Tours is Takeda's most recent series, and this exhibition marks the first show of the original hand-colored paintings in the United States. Brilliant and at times brutally humorous, satirical, and sexy, this collection of illustrations is an exultation of Takeda's creative will and style. From Seville to Singapore, from the enormous continent of Africa to the small and shadowy nation of Transylvania, Takeda imagines the edgier qualities of the world's metropolises as something not to ignore, but as something instead that is visually thrilling, deeply funny, and definitely enticing. The original paintings range from spare, graphic, black-and-white compositions to bright and colorful splashes of bodies, textiles, animals, and food. Conceived as a surreal collection of advertisements for a faux travel agency, the foreword to the World Night Tours publication (2012) reads as follows:
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\"There are many types of plans for traveling around the world, but all travel agencies are thinking of the same thing: that their clients can travel free of trouble. And because they put their safety first, all their plans are much the same. At this agency, however, we have devised a unique plan for bored or unsatisfied travelers that lets them explore the question of what a different culture is while showing them the true aspect of various places around the world. We are certain that this is the kind of trip that they would never be able to find with another agency.\"
\r\n\r\n\"For that reason, there may be times when travelers may feel some slight discomfort or experience some danger, but we would ask them to understand that this is a tour for adults, all participants must take full responsibility for themselves; under no condition whatsoever will this agency accept any complaints or requests for compensation for any kind of loss. Please be certain to take this into full consideration.\"
\r\n\r\nIn 1985, marking the 800th anniversary of the historic battle of Dan-no-ura, Takeda started his famous Genpei series. A second series of the same subject was completed in 1999. These prints, composed of graphic, colorful silkscreens, draw inspiration from the grand tradition of depicting the Minamoto-Taira clan wars. The phrase \"genpei\" refers to a culminating war (1180-1185) at the end of a decades-long struggle for power between two of medieval Japan's most powerful families. At the battle of Dan-no-ura, the Minamoto clan finally emerged victorious, establishing their clan leader, Minamoto no Yoritomo, as the Shogun. Almost immediately following the end of this tumultuous period, the wars and their colorful historical figures, their victories, their sorrows, and their acts of sacrifice formed one of the most popular subjects in Japanese art and literature, persisting even to the modern era. These stories were especially popular in Edo-period ukiyo-e, favored by artists like Kuniyoshi who were famous for their legendary warriors and images of frenetic, violent battles. In Takeda's version, these classic, iconographically powerful images are injected with his own brand of eroticism, humor, and contemporary commentary. Surreal sexuality is combined with bold patterns and graphic compositions reminiscent of kimono embroidery and Japanese tattoo design, revealing both the timeless appeal of the original stories, and the significance of Takeda's particular creative vision. In the Genpei series, the boundaries between past and present, sexuality and violence, masculine and feminine, begin to collapse. The result is a fantastic and imaginative set of of images that revel in the combination of the strange and the beautiful.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Hideo Takeda: Genpei and World Night Tours","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"293354","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"10/11/2014 1:35:11 pm"}},{"name":"Masterworks of Hiroshige's Landscapes","urlPath":"blog/masterworks-of-hiroshiges-landscapes-2","url":"masterworks-of-hiroshiges-landscapes-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Masterworks of Hiroshige's Landscapes|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"Masterworks of Hiroshige's Landscapes","meta_description":"Ronin Gallery is pleased to present a collection of landscape prints selected from Hiroshige's most famous masterpiece series.","meta_keywords":"hiroshige, landscapes, meisho-e, 53 stations of the tokaido, famous views fo the 60-odd provinces, 100 famous views of edo, japanese art, woodblock prints, ukiyo-e","customrecorddata":"50","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"2","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"From majestic landscapes to lively street scenes, Hiroshige's portrayal of the Japanese landscape not only illustrates the beauty of Japan during the four seasons, but also the dynamic life of the people who lived there. Ronin Gallery is pleased to present a collection of landscape prints selected from Hiroshige's most famous masterpiece series.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"Ronin Gallery is pleased to present a very special exhibition of selected masterpiece landscapes by Hiroshige. From majestic landscapes to lively street scenes, Hiroshige's portrayal of the Japanese landscape not only illustrates the beauty of Japan during the four seasons, but also the dynamic life of the people who lived there. His prints are known universally for their daring and dramatic compositions that influenced the Impressionists and changed the course of Western art. Monet was so entranced by the \"Kameido Bridge\" print from the series One Hundred Views of Edo that he built a drum bridge in the garden of his home and depicted it in his famed painting \"Bridge Over a Pond of Water Lilies.\" Toulouse-Lautrec was fascinated with Hiroshige's daring diagonal compositions and inventive use of perspective and Whistler painted a series entitled \"The Nocturnes\" inspired by Hiroshige's \"Kyobashi Bridge.\" Van Gogh owned over 25 Hiroshige prints and literally copied both the \"Plum Garden at Kameido\" and \"Sudden Shower at Ohashi Bridge.\"
\r\n\r\nIn the history of ukiyo-e, there is one name above all others that evokes the tender, lyrical beauty of the Japanese landscape— Hiroshige. Beloved the world over, Hiroshige's inspired portrayals of the natural world have earned him such epithets as the \"poet of travel\" and the \"artist of rain.\" Those prints containing an image from his famous trilogy—moon, snow, rain—remain unsurpassed examples of their kind. \"In special atmospheric effects, such as moonlight, snow, mist, and rain,\" remarked Fenollosa, \"Hiroshige achieved a verity of effects such as neither Greek nor European has ever known.\" His most well known landscape series—The 53 Stations of the Tokaido, The 100 Famous Views of Edo, The Famous Views of the Sixty-Odd Provinces, and The 36 Views of Mt Fuji—stand as enduring testimony to the magic that Hiroshige worked with water and light, rock and foam, cloud and cliff.
\r\n\r\n\r\nRonin Gallery is pleased to present a collection of landscape prints selected from Hiroshige's most famous masterpiece series. This exhibition celebrates this artist's bold, daring compositions and dynamic explorations of perspective, and will focus on Hiroshige's innovative use of cropping, diagonal compositions, and exaggerated perspective as a way to illustrate and express not only the natural beauty of Japan, but also the dynamism of the everyday lives of its citizens.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nHiroshige was born in the city of Edo, the lively, flourishing hub of Japan's merchant class. Hiroshige's family was historically part of a class of urban low-ranking samurai, who were charged with the duty of fighting fires in the community surrounding Edo Castle. Despite the apparent danger and excitement of this familial role, the occupation actually afforded a young Hiroshige with a great deal of free time, which he quickly filled with the amateur study of art. However, in his twelfth year, a double tragedy befell him: his father died, and then a few months later, his mother followed. This sudden blow devastated him, and we can trace its lasting influence in those prints where he endows nature with all the poignant sadness of the human condition. At the age of fifteen, Hiroshige entered the studio of Toyohiro to begin formal study, and within a year he had so excelled in his work that he was granted the privilege of using his master's name. Combining the last part of Toyohiro's name with another character of his own, he began signing his works \"Hiroshige\"—a signature that was destined to appear on some of the world's masterpieces. Little more is known about Hiroshige's personal life, except that he married twice—his first wife died young in 1838—and had one daughter, Tatsu, who would eventually marry Hiroshige's pupil Shigenobu (Hiroshige II).
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAround the middle of the nineteenth century, the Shogunate relaxed centuries-old restrictions and unfettered travel for large numbers of people became possible. A new genre of \"travel art\" sprang up overnight, and Hiroshige became especially drawn to a subset of this genre, known as meisho-e, or pictures of famous places. He even traveled the length of the Tokaido Road in 1832 as part of an official delegation from Edo to the imperial capital of Kyoto, a journey quickly becoming known for its celebrated vistas. He was so inspired by his experience of the varied and beautiful landscape of his homeland that immediately upon his return, he began to transform his numerous sketches into designs for full-color prints—prints that would become the incomparable 53 Stations of the Tokaido.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn popular imagination, these famous sites of travel were closely associated with legend, poetry, and myth. It was a genre whose traditional themes—the beauty of the seasons and the daily tasks of common people—had always been close to Hiroshige's artistic soul. Sales of Hiroshige's landscapes, already substantial, soared to unprecedented heights with the production of these new travel and landscape series. His creative energy rarely faltered, and Edo's crowds continued to thrill to his deft touch and quick eye, his fresh intimate handling of the locale and his affectionate treatment of the subject matter.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn 1853, at the apex of Hiroshige's artistic career, Commodore Perry and his black ships sailed into the Edo Bay, heralding a new and momentous exchange of culture between East and West. While new forms of Western visuality were curious and inspiring to Japanese artists of the period, at the same time, Europe's rising generation of artists incorporated the new conceptions of space and form that they found in Hiroshige's prints, revitalizing the art of Europe. Monet was entranced by Hiroshige's designs of the drum bridges at Meguro and Kameido Tenjin Shrine, going so far as to build a small version of the bridge in his own gardens which then were featured in so many of his famous water lily paintings. Edouard Manet was obviously influenced by the series The Sixty-odd Provinces in his painting Ships at Sunset; Van Gogh owned over twenty-five of Hiroshige's prints and reproduced several as oil paintings; Toulouse-Lautrec was fascinated with Hiroshige's daring diagonal compositions and inventive use of perspective. For these artists and many others, Hiroshige's bold cropping of planes, dramatic truncation of objects, and exhilarating leaps of viewpoint heralded an unprecedented approach to composition. By the end of the nineteenth century, the new visual vocabulary that Hiroshige had made available to Europe's artists had helped to catalyze a revolution in aesthetic sensibility that we now call Impressionism and Post-Impressionism.
\r\n\r\n\r\nThroughout his career, Hiroshige transformed the themes, techniques, and style of ukiyo-e printmaking. And, as an incredibly prolific artist, he produced over 5,000 individual print designs, more than 2,000 of which belong to the views and great traveling roads of Edo-period Japan. This wholehearted discovery of the landscape and the role of travel in the lives of Edo-period citizens reinvigorated an old and mostly Sinophilic subject: Hiroshige's best landscape masterpieces are imbued with both the poetry of the past and the lively, particular energy of the time. Hiroshige's ability to create designs that convey an intimacy of the travel experience and the palpable atmosphere of each specific season is unsurpassed, even to this day.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn 1856, after decades of popular success and acclaim, Hiroshige became a Buddhist monk at the age of 60, retiring all his other duties in the world. However, he still produced his most acclaimed print series during this time—the 100 Famous Views of Edo—which was fully financed by a wealthy Buddhist priest. Then, in the summer of 1858, cholera raged through the streets of Edo; some say as many as 28,000 perished in its wake. While designing this series, The 36 Views of Mt Fuji, Hiroshige too fell victim to the illness, and on the sixth day of the ninth lunar month, he died. An accomplished poet, Hiroshige left the following lines to mark his farewell: \"Leaving my brush on the Azuma road, I go to see the famous sights/ Of the Western Paradise.\"
\r\n\r\nThe 53 Stations of the Tokaido was a series of 55 prints designed by Hiroshige in 1832-1833, celebrating a newfound love of travel in Edo-period Japan. The Tokaido was the main road between the imperial capital of Kyoto and the Shogun's administrative capital in the city of Edo. Thousands of people travelled this road, stopping at the 53 rest stations that graced its length. Every one of these stations boasted great scenic beauty, with spectacular views of the sea and the mountains. Hiroshige himself traveled the length of the Tokaido in 1832 as part of an official delegation to the Shogun in Edo, and he was so inspired by the changing landscape that immediately he began to turn his numerous sketches into designs for full-color prints. Many of the innovative and exciting designs from this series are counted among Hiroshige's most precious and important masterpieces. Hiroshige's first edition of the 53 Stations (now known as the \"Hoeido Tokaido,\" after the main publisher) was so immensely popular that he would eventually publish over three-dozen versions of the Tokaido stations in his lifetime. Other versions of the Tokaido series consist of additional print formats: the Upright Tokaido (1855), in the vertical oban format, the aiban format of the Gyosho Tokaido (from the early 1840s), and several designs from the various chuban format prints that Hiroshige completed between the early 1830s and the 1850s.
\r\n\r\nFrom 1853-1856 Hiroshige designed The Famous Views of the Sixty-Odd Provinces. It is interesting to note that the arrival of Commodore Perry's black ships and the forced opening of Japan to the West in 1853 coincided with the debut of this series. This monumental series presented the first major artistic view of all the provinces of Japan from the Tohoku region in the Northeast to Kyushu in the Southwest. Several of the prints stand as the crowning achievement of his life's work: \"Moonlight on Lake Biwa,\" a stunning vista of serene power and beauty; \"Gokanosho, Higo Province,\" an isolated kingdom of mountains and clouds; \"Sarashina, Shinano Province,\" with its mesmerizing reflections of the moon on terraced rice paddies; and \"Naruto Whirlpool,\" with its mighty hypnotic swirl of sea and foam. The landscapes in this series represent the full range of Hiroshige's genius. Suffused with color, they render the seasonal variety of nature in all of its breathtaking splendor.
\r\n\r\nThe One Hundred Famous Views of Edo was designed and published from February 1856 through August 1858. The prints depict the various seasons, sites, annual events, and customs of the flourishing city of Edo. Many of the designs from this series are considered to be masterpieces of Hiroshige's career, as well as masterpieces of world art in general. The series was originally intended as 100 prints, but was so popular that Hiroshige continued to produce Edo designs until his death in 1858. The designs from this series were sought after in 19th-century European art circles as the enthusiasm for \"Japonisme\" gripped the city of Paris. The iconic images from the One Hundred Famous Views of Edo series were inspirational for artists like Monet, Toulouse-Lautrec, Van Gogh, and Whistler, more so than any other landscape series that Hiroshige designed in his lifetime. Van Gogh even directly copied two prints from this series as oil paintings: Sudden Shower over Shin-ohashi and Atake and Plum Park in Kameido.
Ronin Gallery is pleased to present the exhibition Wrestling the Demon: Noriko and Ushio Shinohara. Held in conjunction with Asian Contemporary Art Week, this exhibition explores decades of printmaking within these two storied careers. Wrestling the Demon includes paintings and drawings that inspired their prints, as well as works by their son and fellow artist Alex Shinohara. From Noriko’s famed Cutie series to Ushio’s notorious boxing paintings, this exhibition considers decades spent wrestling with the demon of art, and quite often, wrestling with themselves.
\r\n\r\n***
\"Art is a demon.\" \"Making art is always struggling.\" Ushio and Noriko Shinohara's parallel statements speak to the unremitting and beautiful nature of a life devoted to art. The pair possess an unbridled creativity, both vital and unrelenting, yet distinct in its manifestations. Noriko and Ushio embraced New York City's art world at a time when artists such as Yayoi Kusama and the Gutai Group were asserting a Japanese voice in the thriving art scene of the United States. For nearly 50 years, the pair have continued to engage in this artistic discourse, never ceasing to test the limits of their own creativity.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe 1960s and 1970s marked New York City as the international hub of artistic innovation. As calls for political and social reform swept the city, resident artists pushed away from Abstract Expressionism to explore new territory. From performance art to conceptual art, new movements erupted throughout the city. The work of artists such as Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, and Roy Lichtenstein resonated beyond the United States, influencing the post-war art scene worldwide. Blurring the boundaries between fine art and popular culture, the American avant-garde of this time considered contemporary culture with a dose of irony. Challenging concepts of authorship, appropriation, identity, and consumption, movements such as Pop art explored and critiqued the contemporary world through bold colors, unusual methods, and constant wit. These transgressive artistic avenues enticed both Noriko and Ushio to leave Japan and participate in this exhilarating art scene.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nFor Noriko, her prints and paintings reflect self-actualization as an artist through her Cutie series and beyond. As Cutie develops over the years, Noriko exorcises her regrets, hones her artistic awareness, and finds empowerment through her work. In the adventures of Cutie, Noriko infuses this semi-autobiographical tale of love and struggle with persistent humor. While her Cutie prints unfold in bold monochrome, Noriko's etchings echo this playful attitude in lush detail. From her Un Voyage d'Inca series, to her fantastical city scenes, Noriko combines historical allusions, urban life, and rich, meticulously executed details in her works. As an Incan-style cat slinks down a flight of steps and floating nudes recall angels upon a Renaissance ceiling, Noriko's etchings invite the viewer to ponder a new take on reality.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nFrom enfant terrible of the Japanese art scene, to a Brooklyn-based artist, Ushio continues to develop his action paintings and prints with unrelenting vigor and varied perspective. Ever in search of new inspiration, his work reflects his many influences over the course of his career, both artistic and experiential. While the Imitation Art series follows his introduction to the American avant-garde of the 1960s and the Oiran series channels his enchantment with ukiyo-e of the Edo period, Ushio synthesizes each of his inspirations with clever irony. His boxing paintings punctuate his oeuvre with undiminished dynamism, while his motorcycle sculptures and prints draw from decades of artistic exploration and visual punning to capture the grit and glory of life in New York City.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn 2013, Zach Heinzerling's film Cutie and the Boxer explored the intersecting vibrancy and struggle of these two veterans of the New York City art scene. The film won the Documentary Directing Award at Sundance Film Festival in 2013, an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary in 2014, followed by an Emmy for Best Documentary in 2016. In the afterglow of the film, the couple has participated in joint exhibitions from Dallas to Tokyo. As Noriko explains, \"we are like two flowers in one pot. It's difficult. Sometimes we don't get enough nutrients for both of us. But when everything goes well, we become two beautiful flowers.\" [1]
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAmidst financial struggles and artistic stifling over the past four decades, their art captures such moments of artistic blossoming. Noriko and Ushio Shinohara have participated in solo and group exhibitions internationally. Noriko has exhibited her work at the Japan Society New York, IPCNY, and the Marta Shefter Gallery in Krakow, Poland, to name a few. Her work can be found in collections such as the Davis Museum and Cultural Center at Wellesley College. Ushio has participated in exhibitions at the Tate Modern in London, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and the Guggenheim Museum SoHo. His work can be found in permanent collections such as the Museum of Modern Art New York and The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWrestling the Demon: Noriko and Ushio Shinohara explores decades of printmaking within these two storied careers. While each artist's materials and styles fluctuated throughout the years, the print medium weaves through each triumph and growing pain. The exhibition approaches these works not as solitary art objects, but as a continuous evolution over several decades. Though these two prolific careers knot and intersect, neither loses its fierce independence. Their son, Alex Kukai, carries this artistic legacy into the next generation, drawing inspiration from street art of New York and Tokyo. From Noriko's famed Cutie series to Ushio's notorious boxing paintings, this exhibition considers decades spent wrestling with the demon of art, and quite often, wrestling with themselves.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n1. Cutie and the Boxer. Directed by Zachary Heinzerling. New York: 2013.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Wrestling the Demon: Noriko and Ushio Shinohara Exhibition Catalog","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"295556","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"10/12/2017 4:49:12 am"}},{"name":"Ban Hua: Chinese Woodblock Prints Post-1980","urlPath":"blog/ban-hua-chinese-woodblock-prints-post-1980-2","url":"ban-hua-chinese-woodblock-prints-post-1980-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"BAN HUA: Chinese Woodblock Prints Post-1980|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"BAN HUA: Chinese Woodblock Prints Post-1980","meta_description":" Ronin Contemporary is pleased to present Ban Hua: Chinese Woodblock Prints Post-1980, an exhibition exploring some of China's most exciting contemporary printmakers. The works on view come both from an important European collection and straight from the studio of the innovative artist Gu Zhijun.","meta_keywords":"ban hua, chinese woodblock prints, chinese art, woodblock prints, contemporary chinese art","customrecorddata":"52","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"Ronin Contemporary is pleased to present Ban Hua: Chinese Woodblock Prints Post-1980, an exhibition exploring some of China's most exciting contemporary printmakers. The works on view come both from an important European collection and straight from the studio of the innovative artist Gu Zhijun.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"Since the 1980s, China and its artists have searched for a new direction. In a time of radical new mediums and methods, we see artists looking to the past and rediscovering the potential inherent in one of the oldest forms of image making: woodblock prints. As China booms and its art market grows, these prints are attracting growing global interest from museums and collectors. Ronin Contemporary is pleased to present Ban Hua: Chinese Woodblock Prints Post-1980, an exhibition exploring some of China's most exciting contemporary printmakers. The works on view come both from an important European collection and straight from the studio of the innovative artist Gu Zhijun.
\r\nTo create a woodblock print, the carver cuts the negative design out of a flat wooden surface, allowing the intended image to extend into space. He or she then evenly applies ink to the face of the woodblock and presses a damp sheet of paper or fabric against the surface, smoothing it with a flat-sided tool. Once the block is lifted, the printed image is revealed. This process is repeated for each color. As one of the oldest forms of image making, woodblock printing can be traced back to antiquity across innumerable cultures. This technique originated in China and developed over thousands of years. Spreading throughout Asia, this technique shaped both literary and visual culture, and continues to serve as a critical form of artistic expression.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn China, evidence of woodblock printing can be traced back to the Han Dynasty. Yet, it was the introduction of Buddhism in the 1st century that had a profound influence on the history of Chinese printmaking. Considered an act of tremendous devotion in the Buddhist tradition, the practice of copying and disseminating Buddhist teachings sparked the development of printing techniques. Maturing in the Tang Dynasty, Chinese printing technology spread along with Buddhism to Korea and Japan. The earliest known printed texts in Japan took the form of one million Buddhist sutras, commissioned by the Empress Koken in 764 C.E.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nDuring the Song Dynasty, woodblock printing evolved from simple lines and monochrome texts to the more complex techniques that made color printing possible. While Buddhist materials continued to dominate printed works, subjects broadened to include classic works of Chinese literature, poetry and secular illustrations. The rapid urbanization and commercialization of the Ming dynasty caused city populations to surge and a new class of merchants and more wealthy urban dwellers to emerge. Literacy rates increased, spurring the market demand for books. With the potential for complex polychromatic compositions, the woodblock print technology adapted to fit its evolving role in Chinese culture.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAs the popularity of woodblock prints continued to grow, artist specific patronage fostered the development of famous workshops, each with distinctive regional styles. Most well known of these was the Taohuawu workshop, located in Suzhou, the prosperous commercial center of Southeastern China. Home to some of the greatest artists, poets and calligraphers of the time, the city's artistic style became known for its elegance and was loved by both the educated literati and common people. Nianhua, or prints produced in celebration of the Chinese New Year, were especially popular. Other themes included famous landscapes, scenes and stars from the Peking Opera, and folklore.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe prosperity of printmaking studios peaked in the 17th century. During this period, Suzhou artists could produce up to one million prints per year to be sold across China, though few survive today. In subsequent centuries, war, rebellion, famine, and social and political unrest devastated the printmaking studios. As people fled from cities during the chaos, studios lost their artisans and customers alike. Suzhou's Taohuawu district was no exception; the district was burned down during the Boxer Rebellion in the late 1800s and lost most of its once-flourishing workshops. Even though some print shops remained in the foreign concessions in Shanghai, relatively safe from the war and upheavals, the future of Chinese printmaking seemed bleak.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn the early 1900s, many intellectuals began to call for westernization and cultural revival. Lu Xun, considered the father of modern Chinese literature, was impressed by Japanese ukiyo-e prints when he studied in Japan. Inspired by these works, he began to call for a revival of the Chinese printmaking tradition. Lu Xun advocated the original and creative nature of the art, drawing on the Japanese Sosaku Hanga, or \"creative print,\" movement, in which artists designed, carved, and printed the blocks themselves. These prints reveled in the new, the modern, and the artists' individuality. Simultaneously, artists began to experiment with Western techniques, such as intaglio and etching. Though previously excluded from classical Chinese arts, printmaking began to garner respect as a powerful form of artistic expression.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAs governmental power shifted in China in 1949, the majority of the country's resources were devoted to the development of a communist nation. Printmaking became the domain of propaganda and promotion of the communist cause. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, printmaking and other creative activities were suppressed as artists, writers and intellectuals were widely persecuted. The Cultural Revolution stands as one of the bleakest periods in modern Chinese history. Yet, at the end of this era, the artists who had escaped persecution returned to their mediums, joined by many new talents.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nSince the 1980s, China and its artists have searched for a new direction. The artistic community has witnessed both a revival of traditional printmaking methods as well as new, innovative explorations in Western methods. The famous Taohuawu workshop still produces traditional woodblock prints of superior quality, but also experiments with contemporary themes. Furthermore, art academies have solidified printmaking programs for talented students, familiarizing them with different techniques and artistic traditions. As China thrives and the art market grows, Chinese prints are attracting growing global interest from museums and collectors. In a time of radical new mediums and methods, we now see young artists looking to the past and rediscovering the potential inherent in one of the oldest forms of image making: Ban Hua, woodblock prints.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"BAN HUA: Chinese Woodblock Prints Post-1980","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"295557","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"9/12/2015 4:57:12 am"}},{"name":"Spring Showers","urlPath":"blog/spring-showers-2","url":"spring-showers-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Spring Showers|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"Spring Showers","meta_description":"As spring promises brings a change in the weather, we invite you to enjoy the beauty of rain from the warmth and comfort of your home.","meta_keywords":"spring, rain, spring showers, ukiyo-e, contemporary, japanese art","customrecorddata":"53","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"Rainy days envelop the senses, from sparkling reflections in the puddles and the steady drum of rain out the window, to the crisp smell of the air just before a storm and the sensation of cool mist against skin. As spring promises brings a change in the weather, we invite you to enjoy the beauty of rain from the warmth and comfort of your home.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"Rainy days envelop the senses, from sparkling reflections in the puddles and the steady drum of rain out the window, to the crisp smell of the air just before a storm and the sensation of cool mist against skin. These days can be refreshing beneath the cover of an umbrella, but they can also be cozy, when admired through a window. As spring promises brings a change in the weather, we invite you to enjoy the beauty of rain from the warmth and comfort of your home.
\r\n\r\n\r\n![\"Tsuchiyama\"](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295561&c=4366028&h=6ff606a1f05344e59c00&160396\")
Hiroshige, \"Tsuchiyama,\" from the series Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Hoeido), c.1833. Woodblock print. Ronin Gallery.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nTsuchiyama, located just six stops from Kyoto on the Tokaido, was known for its incessant rain. Hiroshige stays true to this reputation in his view of Tsuchiyama station. Dark rain soaks the procession of travelers while the river swells and rages beneath the bridge. Through the bowed heads and a black sky above, Hiroshige evokes the atmospheric beauty of a downpour.
\r\n\r\n![\"Tsuchiyama:](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295562&c=4366028&h=b509b3654863e344468b&151405\")
Hiroshige, \"Tsuchiyama: Mt.Suzuka in Rain,\" from the series Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Gyosho), c.1842. Woodblock print. Ronin Gallery.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nHiroshige explored the theme of the Tokaido road, the highway connecting Edo and Kyoto, throughout his career. Printed roughly ten years after the print above, this scene of Tsuchiyama remains true to the rainy beauty of this station. As above, Hiroshige's figures are undaunted, continuing their trek despite the downpour, but a closer look gives us a better understanding of conditions on the road: in the foreground, travelers sink ankle deep in the muddy, flooded path, while in the distance, yellow and green traveling cloaks whip in the wind.
\r\n\r\n![\"Sudden](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295563&c=4366028&h=37d9bedceef844b29e8d&145333\")
Hokusai, \"Sudden Shower at Okido, Tamagawa\" from Ehon Kyoka: Mountains upon Mountains, 1804. Woodblock print. Ronin Gallery.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn this scene from the illustrated book Mountains upon Mountains, Hokusai captures the surprise of a sudden storm. As the figures improvise to shield themselves, the wind drives the rain on a diagonal, rendering their efforts futile.
\r\n\r\n![\"Sudden](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295564&c=4366028&h=287afb96e4b0bb348f67&86759\")
Shotei, \"Sudden Shower,\" c.1830. Woodblock print. Ronin Gallery.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nShotei offers another glimpse of a surprise storm. Fabric whips around the woman's ankles as she rushes to grab the laundry hung out to dry at a sunnier hour. In the distance, the heavy rain reduces the landscape to silhouette.
\r\n\r\n![\"Nissaka](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295559&c=4366028&h=24bfb39c1206f1691626&119599\")
Hasui, \"Nissaka on Tokaido,\" 1942. Woodblock print. Ronin Gallery.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAs puddles fill with rainwater, they reflect the hazy light of a rainy evening. The last glow of sunset reflects from the ground, coupling with the warm lamplight pouring from the windows, and turning the wet ground into a mirror. Umbrella raised, a lone figure carries their child to through the rain in this romantic scene from Hasui.
\r\n\r\n![\"Water](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295560&c=4366028&h=f860444763fd71fb56b1&63610\")
Shigeki Kuroda, \"Water Mirage,\" 1985. Mezzotint. Ronin Gallery.
\r\n\r\n\r\nIn this contemporary mezzotint, Kuroda's cyclists blur beneath a flurry on umbrellas. As wheels turn, riders anxious to reach a drier destination, you can almost hear the spray of water from the street and feel the raindrops on your face.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Hiroshige, \"Tsuchiyama,\" from the series Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Hoeido), c.1833. Woodblock print. Ronin Gallery.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"3","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"295558","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"4/12/2020 5:08:12 am"}},{"name":"True Colors: Sebastian Masuda","urlPath":"blog/true-colors-sebastian-masuda-2","url":"true-colors-sebastian-masuda-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"True Colors: Sebastian Masuda|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"True Colors: Sebastian Masuda","meta_description":"In his second New York exhibition, Sebastian Masuda invites his viewer to trade the grayscale of daily life for a movingly vibrant spectrum of color. Through dynamic multimedia collages, this truly immersive exhibition extols Masuda's message of \"colorful rebellion\" against the gray, dark, and disharmony of the world.","meta_keywords":"Sebatian Masuda, Contemporary Japanese art, True Colors, kawaii, japanese art, mixed media","customrecorddata":"54","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"In his second New York exhibition, Sebastian Masuda invites his viewer to trade the grayscale of daily life for a movingly vibrant spectrum of color. Through dynamic multimedia collages, this truly immersive exhibition extols Masuda's message of \"colorful rebellion\" against the gray, dark, and disharmony of the world.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"In his second New York exhibition, Sebastian Masuda invites his viewer to trade the grayscale of daily life for a movingly vibrant spectrum of color. His work refuses passive observation; it engages its audience and invites them to step into his colorful vision of kawaii. These tactile compositions mark the threshold between the careful, repressed order of reality and the vibrant freedom of the kawaii spirit, one of rich emotion and tangible human connection. Masuda believes that color is constrained by modern life, confined and muted by expanses of asphalt and gray buildings. For him, color is a powerful vehicle for emotions and its expression is a rare form of rebellion: one without weapons or victims. For the observer to engage in his work is to join this rebellion. Ronin Gallery is pleased to present True Colors: Sebastian Masuda in association with Asia Contemporary Art Week. Through dynamic multimedia collages, this truly immersive exhibition extols Masuda's message of \"colorful rebellion\" against the gray, dark, and disharmony of the world.
\r\n\r\nThe exhibition True Colors consists of three distinct series: Colorful Rebellion, True Colors, and Emotion. Masuda began the Colorful Rebellion series in 2011. Drawing on his vision behind 6%DOKIDOKI, these works do not use paint or typical art supplies. Instead, they rely solely on commercial objects, from neon Legos to pastel plush animals. In the True Colors series, Masuda embraces the colors often deemed \"venomous and too chemical.\" He refutes this association, recognizing their legacy in pre-World War II Japan. He believes that these striking colors have been lost to modern society, extracted from the human heart by war. This series reintroduces its beholder to these passionate shades. Finally, in the Emotion series, Masuda expresses his personal kawaii and the emotional undercurrents that fester within each of us. From anger to jealousy, this series acknowledges the intertwined nature of light and dark. Kawaii is not merely external loveliness, rather, it is a rebellion born to combat and balance the darkness. The powerful spirit of kawaii is exemplified in this contrast.
\r\n\r\n
\r\n Sebastian Masuda, More is More, from the series Colorful Rebellion, 2016. Ronin Gallery.
Kawaii is an influential and subversive culture in dialogue with centuries of Japanese popular culture. The idea can be traced back to the Heian period (794-1185), to a new genre of popular court literature that focused on details of daily life. In The Pillow Book, the court lady Sei Shonagon describes \"the behavior of a chirping sparrow, the small leaf of a crest...\" [1] as utsukushii, referring to simple moments that stirred the heart. During the Taisho period (1912-1926) utsukushii developed into kawayushi, before arriving at the current kawaii. Throughout its development, kawaii came to describe things that evoke feelings of care, love and protectiveness. [2] In recent scholarship, the contemporary kawaii culture is often linked to 1914, to a stationary shop in Tokyo that specialized in \"fancy\" items. Today's movement attracts audiences of all ages worldwide, existing in many different iterations and influences.
\r\n\r\n
\r\n Sebastian Masuda, Satsuma, from the series True Colors, 2015. Ronin Gallery.
While often translated to \"cute,\" in English, this translation is a misnomer. Masuda's definition of kawaii is distinct from that which rose in the commercial kawaii of the 1980s. Instead, his definition focuses on a spirit of kawaii, continuing a powerful narrative of Japanese pop culture that bloomed during the Edo period (1603-1868). Ukiyo-e captured the demimonde of \"the floating world,\" a popular culture distinct from courtly life. In his work, Masuda echoes the creativity and contemporaneity of the ukiyo-e artists before him, embracing a special, vibrant realm: the kawaii subculture. Within a bright and sensational visual layer, the kawaii spirit is akin to that of the punk or hippie movement, a rebellion against the norms and standards of mainstream culture.
\r\n\r\nBorn in Chiba in 1970, Masuda is a contemporary artist and father of kawaii culture. In 1995, he opened his now iconic store, 6%DOKIDOKI, and his boundless imagination sparked a unique and thriving community. Though it began as a display space, collecting cute items and intriguing objects from all over the world, the shop began to shape Harajuku fashion. Characterized by bright colors and youthful and funky clothing, Masuda's artistic vision permeated Japanese pop culture. Over the past 20 years, Masuda has explored this vision across stage, screen, and museums worldwide. From music videos with pop icons, to a giant Hello Kitty in New York, Masuda's work revives a childlike sense of wonderment in his audience and impels participation. As his mediums and methods continue to evolve, his collaborative practice remains at the core of his work. Masuda plays on the major channels of pop culture to engage a vast audience in his unique vision. He designs visuals for some of Japan's top brands, sets for film and theater, and the videos of superstar Kyary Pamyu Pamyu.
\r\n\r\n
\r\n Sebastian Masuda, Destroy #1, from the series Emotion, 2016. Ronin Gallery.
An unstoppable creative force and exceptional contemporary talent, Masuda speaks internationally at museums, conferences and other events. His solo exhibitions include last year's wildly popular Colorful Rebellion: Seventh Nightmare, held in Milan, Miami and New York, and Acchi to Kocchi (2016) in Tokyo. In New York, over 1,000 followers lined up to experience his installation in the winter chill. His ongoing project, Time After Time Capsule, consists of ten enormous kawaii time capsules to be filled with items personalized by the inhabitants of ten cities worldwide. In 2020, each time capsule will return to Tokyo to be assembled into a sculpture for the Olympic Games. True Colors presents the latest evolution in Masuda's oeuvre, extolling Masuda's message that \"color carries an emotional impact and frees the mind.\" He invites the spectator to surrender to this power, to rebel against the darkness, and to \"always hold a revolution in your own heart.\"
SELECT SOURCES
\r\n\r\n 1. Grau, Oliver. Imagery in the 21st Century. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2011. Print.
\r\n\r\n 2. Iwata-Weickgenannt, Kristina. Visions of Precarity in Japanese Popular Culture and Literature. Abingdon, Oxon ; New York: Routledge, 2015. Print.
\r\n\r\n 3. Okazaki, Manami. Kawaii!: Japan's Culture of Cute. Munich; New York: Prestel, 2013. Print.
\r\n\r\n 4. Richie, Donald. The Image Factory : Fads and Fashions in Japan. London: Reaktion, 2003. Print.
\r\n\r\n 5. Thomas, Samuel. \"Let's Talk 100 Percent Kawaii!\" The Japan Times. 2 July 2013. Web. 13 Sept. 2016.
For over 40 years, Ronin Gallery has focused on bringing the best of Japanese art to the United States. In keeping with this tradition, Ronin Gallery seeks to nurture and promote the most exciting talents in contemporary Japanese art today. From unique woodblock prints to vivacious ink paintings, the second annual Contemporary Talents of Japan exhibition explores Japan's diverse artistic vanguard. Featuring Katsutoshi Yuasa, the 2017 winner of the Ronin|Globus Artist-in-Residence Program, this exhibition considers an enduring aesthetic in the contemporary imagination.
\r\nThe theme of this year's residency program is Iki: Stylish, Simple, and Sophisticated. The concept of iki defies translation, existing as a culturally embedded phenomenon in Japan. The tension between reality and unreality embodies this ethereal aesthetic concept developed by Edo's urban merchant class during the Edo period (1603-1868). From simplicity to spontaneity, originality to directness, the qualities of iki are those that defined a true edokko or \"child of Edo.\" Iki continues to be a driving aesthetic concept, prevailing in its careful interplay between the romantic and the straightforward, the daring and the sophisticated.
\r\n\r\nFamously articulated by Kuki Shūzō in 1930, the concept of iki presents a Japanese aesthetic ideal tied to human imagination, clarity, and style. From the streets of Edo to modern Tokyo, iki inspires and instills a distinct beauty. In his treatise The Structure of Iki, Shūzō traces its origins to Edo's demimonde. He argues that the phenomenon of iki was refined and expressed through the interactions within the pleasure quarter. Over the centuries, iki has evolved as not only a powerful aesthetic concept, but also a way of being.
\r\n\r\nRonin Gallery grew from a love for the contemporary art of a time long past. During the Edo period, woodblock print artists broke from traditional painting to portray the vibrant world around them. Ukiyo-e, or pictures of the floating world, reacted to contemporary life. While what constitutes contemporary has dramatically changed since the Edo period, Japanese artists continue to capture contemporary culture in endlessly inventive and powerful ways. Over the years, Ronin Gallery has carefully developed a collection of Japanese art that stretches from the 17th century to today's artistic vanguard. In recent years, contemporary Japanese art has captured the interest of collectors worldwide. Today's artists are pushing limits and innovating techniques across mediums and styles. The annual Contemporary Talents of Japan exhibition presents some of Japan's brightest artistic talents. Ronin Gallery is pleased to present this exhibition in conjunction with the Ronin|Globus Artist-in-Residence Program.
\r\n\r\nOn May 9th, a distinguished panel of judges chose Katsutoshi Yuasa as the 2017 Ronin|Globus Artist-in-Residence from over 50 talented applicants. Nao Morigo was named first runner up, and Asako Iwasawa and Yoshihito Kawase each received honorable mentions. The program judges were enchanted by Yuasa's woodblock prints. Transforming his own digital photographs into woodblock prints, his work questions the line between the contemporaneity of photography and the tradition of woodblock printmaking.
\r\nThe annual Ronin|Globus Artist-in- Residence Program seeks to stimulate cross-cultural dialogue through Japan's vanguard of visual art while providing an opportunity for emerging and mid-career Japanese visual artists to live, work, and exhibit in New York City. In addition to inclusion in Ronin Gallery's annual Contemporary Talents of Japan exhibition, the winner receives a three-week stay at Globus Washitsu in central Manhattan, a tatami mat studio space, a stipend, and transportation between Tokyo and NYC.
\r\n\r\nA panel consisting of museum curators, individual collectors, philanthropists, and experts on Japanese art selects the finalists. These judges possess extensive experience or education in the field paired with a sensitivity to the pulse of the contemporary Japanese art scene. A portion of the proceeds raised by this year's exhibition will go to the Japan Society Gallery to further exhibitions of Japanese art.
\r\n\r\nMany thanks this year's judges—Nachi Das, Yasuko Harris, Tan Boon Hui, Yukie Kamiya, Mary Ann Roos, Johnny Strategy, Miwako Tezuka, and Katsura Yamaguchi—for their diligent consideration and invaluable expertise. Thank you to this year's program ambassadors—Everett Brown, Kouji Hayashi, Hiroko Ishinabe, Joji Mita, Kyoko Sato, and Keisuke 'Oz' Yamaguchi—for spreading the word about this opportunity.
\r\n\r\nAn especially warm thank you to Stephen Globus, whose collaboration makes this outstanding opportunity a reality. As the program enters its second year, we can not wait to see what the next year has in store.
\r\n\r\n Born in Tokyo in 1978, Katsutoshi Yuasa is a contemporary woodblock print artist. His work presents a conversation between the contemporaneity of photography and the tradition of woodblock printmaking. Each work begins with his own digital photographs, which he then reinterprets as woodblock prints. In his words, the camera creates \"fictional two-dimensional information in the surface...I have decided to use the woodcut technique as a way of adapting the subjective perception to the objective fiction.\" This interplay between the emotional and the factual is neither reality nor fiction: Yuasa creates a \"neutral space...in a new dimension.\"
\r\n\r\nYuasa received BA in Fine Arts from Musashino Art University in 2002, where he studied painting and printmaking. He continued his study of printmaking in London, earning a MFA from the Royal College of Art in 2005. From MI-LAB to Musashino Art University, Yuasa has taught, lectured and led workshops throughout Europe and Asia. He has received numerous awards and scholarships, most recently, Grand Prize at the 2015 CWAJ 60th Anniversary Print Show. His work is actively exhibited in solo and group shows worldwide and resides in the permanent collections of prestigious institutions such as the Victoria & Albert Museum.
\r\n\r\n Working in Kobe, Hyogo prefecture, Nao Morigo graduated from Kyoto Seika University where she majored in Western painting. She began figurative painting in 1991 before turning to more conceptual art by 1999. She melds her contemporary imagery with materials used in nihonga (Japanese-style painting), such as mineral pigments, powdered brass, pearl, and copper. As she breaks from the conventional techniques of these traditional materials, she considers the relationship between time and the concept of iki. Past and present intertwine in her most recent hanging scrolls. Challenging the dichotomy between crisp, geometrical white space and lavishly rendered paintings, Morigo walks the fine line between detail and simplicity. Following an honorable mention in the 2016, Morigo was named first runner-up in the 2017 Ronin | Globus Artist-in-Program.
\r\n\r\n Born in Tokyo in 1973, today Yoshihito Kawase splits his time between Tokyo and Ibaraki. He completed his PhD in Japanese-style painting at Tokyo University of the Arts. In his most recent work, Kawase emphasizes the relationship between the image and the texture of the underlying materials that support it. In his words, \"for a simple and intelligent composition, the margin plays an important role, comparable to a semi-protagonist rather than a supportive role.\" The texture of the paper or silk is as important as the inks, metals, and paints that rest upon it.
\r\n\r\nKawase's work has been feature in solo and groups shows throughout Japan and currently resides in permanent collections such as the Ibaraki Museum of Modern Art and the Tokugawa Art Museum. He is the recipient of the Yamatane Art Museum Nihonga Award and the 13th Sato International Culture Foundation Scholarship. Named first runner-up in 2016, Kawase received an honorable mention in the 2017 Ronin | Globus Artist-in-Residence Program.
\r\n\r\n Asako Iwasawa is a contemporary painter from Akabane, Tokyo. She graduated from Tama Art University's Textile Design course before managing Design Studio Himiko. She later discovered a passion for kimono design and worked at the batik studio Kimono Studio Dye Laboratory. Iwasawa spent 10 years living in the countryside, indulging her love for nature. Though she returned to the city, she brought the vivid world of insects, plants, and natural beauty back with her.
\r\n\r\nIn her words, \"nature is full of thrills and wonders...it impresses me to no end and fuels my imagination.\" Iwasawa looks beyond the physical reality of the natural world and portrays the spirit of nature in her paintings. As she treads the boundary between imagination and landscape, she challenges her viewers' sense of place. She received an honorable mention in the 2017 Ronin | Globus Artist-in-Residence program.
\r\n\r\n Keisuke 'OZ' Yamaguchi's work blends traditional techniques with thoroughly modern imagery, considering the power of forces unseen, both natural and human. Born in Nagano Prefecture in 1986, Yamaguchi attended Nagano National College of Technology for Architecture in 2003. Following his graduation in 2007, he continued his education at Nagaoka Institute of Design, where he studied Architecture and the Environment. His focus has since shifted from architecture to painting. Yamaguchi has actively exhibited internationally since 2007. Last summer, he was selected as the inaugural winner of the 2016 Ronin | Globus Artist-in-Residence Program. Yamaguchi often integrates process and product in his live painting performances. From the live painting at the ruins of Ueda Castle in Nagano to Central Park in New York City, Yamaguchi's original technique draws and enchants crowds.
\r\n\r\n Born in Kagoshima in 1988, Yuki Nishimoto is a contemporary Japanese artist working in Tokyo. After teaching himself sumi-e painting, Nishimoto broke away from the limitations of traditional techniques. He uses sumi-e technique to capture contemporary Japanese culture. He states, \"my work reflects the 'lively movements' of the unique world of black and white sumi-e, incorporating bold, fine, and delicate lines.\" Nishimoto also brings an element of performance to his paintings, frequently creating his bold works in front of an audience. Nishimoto's work has earned him wide acclaim. In 2012, he received the World's Best Piece Award at Florida's Embracing Our Differences contest. Two years later, he performed a live painting in Hong Kong that later sold at Christie's. In 2015, he exhibited his work at the Kyushu National Museum's 10th anniversary exhibition.
\r\nHoriyoshi (b. 1946) is Japan's preeminent tebori master, whose work is indebted to traditions of apprenticeship and skill. While the world of tattoo remains one of secrecy and exclusivity in Japan, Horiyoshi III has transcended taboo, achieving national and international fame. Born Yoshihito Nakano, Horiyoshi III received his title from the late tebori master Yoshitsugu Muramatsu, known as Shodai Horiyoshi's apprentice for ten years. By 28, Horiyoshi III's bodysuit was complete, hand-tattooed by Shodai Horiyoshi. Though ukiyo-e officially ended in 1868, Horiyoshi III carries on the spirit of Edo's \"pictures of the floating world\" in his work, all the while incorporating his own style and a contemporary perspective. This sensitivity to tradition extends beyond his tebori. In recent years, he has focused on traditional kakejiku (scroll paintings). Rendering Japanese folktales, calligraphy and religious subjects in sumi (black ink) and traditional mineral pigments, Horiyoshi III interweaves past, present and future.
\r\n\r\nIn addition, Horiyoshi III tattoos full time, publishes books of his drawings, and is the founder of Japan's only tattoo museum with his wife in Yokohama. His work can be found in the permanent collection of the Morikami Museum of Art. With over forty years of experience, he is the foremost authority on traditional Japanese tattooing.
\r\n\r\n Born in Fukuoka prefecture in 1986, Yuki Ideguchi received both a BFA (2007) and MFA (2013) in Japanese Painting from Tokyo University of the Arts. In his work, he blends traditional Japanese techniques with contemporary imagery and themes. Take, for example, his use of silver leaf. Rather than prepare the canvas with the expected blue undercoat, he paints the canvas a deep red, trading the coolness of traditional silver leaf for a palpable warmth.
\r\n\r\nIdeguchi has exhibited his work throughout Japan since 2008. In 2011, he participated in The Asian Students and Young Artists Art Fair, held in Seoul, and was featured in the Asahi Shimbun's Exhibition of Next Art. The following year, he received the Mitsubishi Corporation Art Gate Program scholarship. By 2014, Ideguchi became active in the international art scene, presenting his works in numerous international exhibitions, including the Exhibition of Selected Japanese Artists held in Paris. That same year, Ideguchi moved to New York and became an active member of the city's artistic vanguard.
\r\n\r\n Cyoko Tamai was born in Kochi Prefecture. She graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts with a BFA in Music and an MFA in Japanese Painting. Her work combines unique techniques, a musical sensibility, and traditional Japanese materials, resulting in ethereal and compelling images. Using a fine-pointed steel pen, Cyoko deconstructs and rebuilds: she tears, scratches, and rips incredibly strong Japanese washi paper made by National Living Treasure Sajio Hamada and his wife Setsuko. Breaks and incisions leap beyond the paper's surface, while choice individual fibers defy gravity, coaxed from the paper to form an ephemeral gauze. \"The major theme of my work is to capture life that is unexplained and invisible, working under the hypothesis that each space has a certain life to it. Gravity is a basic element in the world, yet is still remains mysterious. I believe that this mystery in the everyday hints that there is life in things unseen, even if it is invisible yet.\"
\r\n\r\nTamai's work has been featured in over a dozen solo and group exhibitions in Japan. She was the 2014 Japan Society Artist-in-Residence and featured in multiple one-woman shows at Ronin Gallery. She is the recipient of several grants from the Sato International Cultural Foundation and the recipient of the Ataka Award. Her work can be found in the permanent collection of the Muscarelle Museum of Art and the Morikami Museum.
After our exhibition Taboo: Ukiyo-e and the Japanese Tattoo earlier this year, we at Ronin Gallery are thrilled to see Japan's foremost tattoo artist, Horiyoshi III, featured on VICE. In this short video, he asserts that irezumi (tattoos) are far more than art: they are a union of art and spirit.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nHoriyoshi III explains that his work embodies a commitment to three points: shu, to succeed to a tradition, ha, to add new concepts and techniques, and ri, to develop ha further and create one's own world, to transcend one's self. Ronin Gallery's collection of his paintings and drawings reveal this philosophy in practice. Whether portraying the brave heroes of the Suikoden or a frightening slew of oni, Horiyoshi III captures the vital energy of his subjects across needle, pencil and brush.
\r\n\r\n
\r\n
Ronin Gallery is proud to have collaborated with the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens on their exhibition, Perseverance: Japanese Tattoo Tradition in a Modern World. Through loans and select acquisitions the museum contextualized the Japanese tattoo tradition through the inclusion of ukiyo-e and select original works of art by preeminent master of the Japanese tattoo Horiyoshi III.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nPerseverance: Japanese Tattoo Tradition in a Modern World was organized by the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, California and is making its final stop of a national tour at the Morikami Museum. Curated by Takahiro Kitamura, the exhibition explores Japanese tattooing as a form of fine art by highlighting its roots in ukiyo-e prints and examining current practices of Japanese tattooing in the United States and Japan.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe exhibition focuses on the portrait photography of Kip Fulbeck which highlights the work of seven internationally acclaimed tattoo artists, Ryudaibori, Horitomo, Chris Horishiki Brand, Miyazo, Shige, Junii, and Yokohama Horiken, along with tattoo works by selected others. Highlights of the photography include the life-size 360-degree portraits of fully tattooed individuals, inviting the viewer to explore the tattoo by walking around the photograph.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe entire first room of the exhibit is dedicated to ukiyo-e. The gallery included wall text that explains the history of the Japanese tattoo, a display case that presents traditional tebori tools, as well as a tattoo design by our very own Horiyoshi III. This design is the only original work of art on paper by a contemporary tattoo artist in the entire exhibition!
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Tattoo design by preeminent master of Japanese tattoo and Ronin Contemporary's very own Horiyoshi III.
\r\n\r\n As with our Asia Week 2015 exhibition TABOO: Ukiyo-e and the Japanese Tattoo, the Morikami's exhibition invites viewers to consider the Japanese tattoo as fine art. Additionally, there was no lack of praise for the incredible ukiyo-e exhibited. People were mesmerized by their state of preservation, the color, the quality of line, and the unquestionable connection between ukiyo-e and the tattoo tradition.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nShinrin-yoku, or \"forest bathing,\" was created in Japan in the 1980s as a meditative and restorative interaction with nature. This form of nature therapy requires no structured activity, only that participants immerse themselves in the forest. Tuning one's senses to the quiet sounds, fresh scent, and pure air, this meditative practice invites a peace of mind and a re-centering of oneself within the larger world. It is a multisensory experience—one of touch, smell, sound, and sight. As the bather meanders along forest paths, there is no end destination, no exercise-based goal. Instead, the bather reaches a state of relaxation, a connectedness between oneself and the natural world. This practice is highly personal. Forest bathing can be guided or unguided. It can be realized through movement—such as yoga or walking—or in stillness—such as soaking in a hot spring or observing the plant life. As the character of forest bathing varies, so does the location. The perfect location is subjective. In the bustle of city life, it may seem difficult to take a forest bath. Yet, if one embraces the concept of forest bathing, a neighborhood park can serve as an urban holdover until you can enjoy the full forest bathing experience.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Hiroshige, Monkey Bridge in Kai Province from the series Famous Views of 60-Odd Provinces, 1853, woodblock print, Ronin Gallery.
While forest bathing may appear simple in practice, it carries powerful benefits. This immersion beneath the forest canopy is said to offer positive effects for both mental and physical health. The primary benefit of this site-specific mindfulness exercise is stress reduction, but the list does not stop there. The impact of forest bathing extends from immune system support and blood pressure management, to mood improvement and better sleep quality. As of 1983, the practice was incorporated into Japan's national health program which lead to the creation of dedicated forest bathing trails. This nature therapy continues to be a popular practice today. Japan offers over sixty designated forest bathing destinations that range from deluxe resorts to simple, stand-alone trails. In both Japan and South Korea, medical researchers continue to study the practice and its benefits, providing research-based evidence on the efficacy of this nature therapy.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Daryl Howard, One single tree is enough...to keep next to my heart, 2007, woodblock print, Ronin Gallery.
Though the practice of Shinrin-yoku gained popularity in 1980s Japan, \"forest bathing\" has only recently gained traction in the US. Today, medical researchers, therapists, and other advocates are actively working to establish forest bathing as a widely accepted form of therapy. Many argue that nature bathing may present a productive therapy for the chronic stress that plagues many Americans. While the benefits of this meditative practice are not yet widely accepted by the medical community in the US, its practice is proliferating. Today, trained guides and forest therapy centers can be found through the US. These centers and licensed individuals lead multi-hour trips that may incorporate poetry, yoga, and guided meditation into the forest bathing experience.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Keisuke Yamaguchi, Kiriri from the series Onomatope, 2016, painting on paper, Ronin Gallery,
Sources
\"Forest Bathing: A Retreat To Nature Can Boost Immunity And Mood.\" NPR.org. Accessed August 10, 2018.
\"'Forest Bathing' Is Great for Your Health. Here's How to Do It.\" Time. Accessed August 10, 2018.
\r\n\r\nHaile, Rahawa. \"'Forest Bathing': How Microdosing on Nature Can Help With Stress.\" The Atlantic, June 30, 2017.
\"About.\" Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs. Accessed August 10, 2018.
\r\n While often translated to \"cute,\" in English, this translation of kawaii is a misnomer. Masuda's definition of kawaii is distinct from that which rose in the commercial kawaii of the 1980s. Instead, his definition focuses on a spirit of kawaii, continuing a powerful narrative of Japanese pop culture that bloomed during the Edo period (1603-1868). Ukiyo-e captured the demimonde of \"the floating world,\" a popular culture distinct from courtly life. In his work, Masuda echoes the creativity and contemporaneity of the ukiyo-e artists before him, embracing a special, vibrant realm: the kawaii subculture. Within a bright and sensational visual layer, the kawaii spirit is akin to that of the punk or hippie movement, a rebellion against the norms and standards of mainstream culture.\r\n
\r\n\r\n ![\"Contributing](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295579&c=4366028&h=c63a3fc9f88f9a27c1b9&83553\")
\r\n Contributing to the Time Capsule at the Japan Society (source: Sebastian Masuda's official facebook page)\r\n
\r\n\r\n But what exactly is kawaii? Where did this idea originate? Kawaii is an influential and subversive culture in dialogue with centuries of Japanese popular culture. The idea can be traced back to the Heian period (794-1185), to a new genre of popular court literature that focused on details of daily life. In The Pillow Book, the court lady Sei Shonagon describes \"the behavior of a chirping sparrow, the small leaf of a crest...\" as utsukushii, referring to simple moments that stirred the heart. [1] During the Taisho period (1912-1926) utsukushii developed into kawayushi, before arriving at the current kawaii. Throughout its development, kawaii came to describe things that evoke feelings of care, love and protectiveness. [2]\r\n
\r\n\r\n ![\"Dressed](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295581&c=4366028&h=8bba8832b6428217462c&197979\")
\r\n Dressed in their kawaii best for the opening of True Colors!\r\n
\r\n\r\n In recent scholarship, the contemporary kawaii culture is often linked to 1914, to a stationary shop in Tokyo that specialized in \"fancy\" items. Though the shop originally catered to young women, the allure of kawaii spread far beyond its target clientele. Today's movement attracts audiences of all ages worldwide, existing in many different iterations and influences. While aspects of kawaii have become commercialized in contemporary times, the core of this unique culture is a distinct spirit. This spirit can be lived through kawaii fashion, or expressed through art. As Sebastian Masuda considers the global reach of kawaii culture, he regrets that often \"only the surface aspects have spread... The spirit of kawaii was left behind, which is very sad.\" In his current exhibition, True Colors, Masuda pursues his mission \"to bring back the core spirit of kawaii and reunite it with the superficial kawaii.\" Through his three distinct series—Colorful Rebellion, True Colors, and Emotion—Masuda invites the viewer to experience and explore the complexities kawaii.\r\n
\r\n\r\n ![\"More](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295582&c=4366028&h=b6904870a3d545cb3e2d&213664\")
\r\n Sebastian Masuda, More is More from the series Colorful Rebellion, 2016. Ronin Gallery.\r\n
\r\n\r\n
\r\n
\r\n Select Sources\r\n
\r\n\r\n Grau, Oliver. Imagery in the 21st Century. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2011. Print.\r\n
\r\n\r\n Iwata-Weickgenannt, Kristina. Visions of Precarity in Japanese Popular Culture and Literature. Abingdon, Oxon ; New York: Routledge, 2015. Print.\r\n
\r\n\r\n Okazaki, Manami. Kawaii!: Japan's Culture of Cute. Munich; New York: Prestel, 2013. Print.\r\n
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"People in Kawaii outfits pose together","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"6","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"295580","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"10/13/2016 4:45:13 am"}},{"name":"An Artist and His City: Getting Our Bearings","urlPath":"blog/an-artist-and-his-city-getting-our-bearingspart-1-2","url":"an-artist-and-his-city-getting-our-bearingspart-1-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"An Artist and His City: Getting Our Bearings|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"An Artist and His City: Getting Our Bearings","meta_description":"An Artist and His City invites you to explore Japan's feudal capital through the eyes of an local. But before we can explore Edo through Hiroshige's eyes, let's orient ourselves in Edo, the city at hand.","meta_keywords":"Hiroshige, 100 famous views of edo, meisho-e, ukiyo-e, an artist and his city, edo, edo period, japanese art, Japanese woodblock prints, landscapes","customrecorddata":"60","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"An Artist and His City invites you to explore Japan's feudal capital through the eyes of an local. But before we can explore Edo through Hiroshige's eyes, let's orient ourselves in Edo, the city at hand.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"In the exhibition An Artist and His City: Select Works from Hiroshige's One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, Ronin Gallery explores Edo through the eyes of a local. While heralded as the \"poet of travel,\" perhaps Hiroshige's most intimate urban portraits are those of his hometown. In the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (1856-1858), Hiroshige captures the spirit of capital in its dynamic splendor. Between natural beauty and urban landscape, changing seasons and local celebrations, he creates a veritable microcosm of edokko (child of Edo) life with each print. Portraying summer festivals, local folklore, and natural cycles, the series reads as a love letter to Japan's 19th century cultural capital.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAn Artist and His City invites you to explore Japan's feudal capital through the eyes of an edokko. From crowded theaters lining moonlit streets to temple grounds glimpsed through crisp autumn leaves, these selected works from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo capture not merely the city. Hiroshige echoes the urbanites who frequented these spaces through his inventive composition, brilliant color, and playful allusion to human presence. Whether a hairpin just removed from its packaging or a kimono hanging up to dry, Hiroshige subtly reminds the viewer that the heart of any city is its residents.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nOver the course of this exhibition, we'll take a closer look at the interaction between artist and city. From intimacy of unseen individuals in Asakusa Ricefields and Torinomachi Festival to the natural havens woven into the urban fabric through Moon Pine, Ueno (89), this three-part blog series considers several of Hiroshige's designs in depth. But before we can explore Edo through Hiroshige's eyes, let's orient ourselves in the city at hand.
\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Hiroshige. After Snow at Nihonbashi from the series One Hundred Views of Edo. 1856.
Nihonbashi, or \"the bridge of Japan,\" crosses Nihonbashi River (at the time known as hirakawa) in the center of the composition. White walled storehouses line the left side of the river, while the right bank hosts the bustle of merchant life. In the upper right corner, Edo Castle rises from the snow covered landscape towards the horizon.\r\n\r\n Built around the site of a medieval castle in 1590, the city of Edo flourished as the political and artistic center of Edo period Japan, ultimately evolving into the Tokyo we know today. By the early 17th century, the feudal wars had to come to close and Japan enjoyed an unprecedented period of peace and prosperity. The ruling Tokugawa Shogunate shifted the capital from its imperial seat in Kyoto to the strategically situated Edo. As the city came into its own throughout the 17th century, a bustling city sprung from the marshlands surrounding castle. Under the shogunate,the policy of sankin kotai, or \"alternate attendance,\" required provincial lords (daimyo) to rotate their residence between their regional domain and the capital. This policy allowed the shogunate to keep regional power in check while simultaneously sparking the population of the capital. The regular comings and goings of daimyo households created a market of consumers. The chonin, or \"merchant class,\" rose and prospered around this market. Among the ranks of artisans, merchants, and traders, this newfound economic power of a newly formed middle class led the creation of the \"floating world.\" Focused between two poles–the Yoshiwara, the legalized prostitution district, and the Kabuki theaters. Both realms dealt in pleasure and attracted a clientele beyond the chonin class. The allure of this vibrant, urban culture proved so strong that even members of the aristocracy could not resist the theatrical and carnal pleasures promised within Edo's ukiyo, or \"floating world.\"
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n As dawn breaks, another night in the Yoshiwara comes to a close. (Hiroshige. \"Dawn at Yoshiwara\" from the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo. 1857.)
While Edo's population ebbed and flowed with daimyo processions and merchants, the physical fabric of Edo also experienced a steady evolution whether by design or flame. In general terms, the physical poles of the city aligned with their cultural equivalents. The daimyo estates proliferated around the seat of the shogunate at Edo castle, while the neighborhoods of the chonin class radiated from the nihonbashi. The long bridge marked the official entrance to the capital, the starting point from which journeys where measured. Storehouses lined the river, allowing the easy movement of the goods from the bay to the storage to market. Specific areas between the river and the daimyo households became known for their specializations–bamboo merchants clustered towards the south, textile dyers established their own quarter to the north, while teahouses and restaurants spread near the river to the east. Across the bridge, the east bank of the river was initially home the floating world, though both the Yoshiwara and the Theater district ultimately returned to the northwest side of the river. As Edo's population surpassed one million residents, the city sparked to life through tensions between the merchant and samurai classes, the freedom of the floating world and formality of courtly life. Hiroshige embodied this dual nature.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n On the streets of this theater district, theater goers fill the street, their shadows sharply cast in the moonlight. (Hiroshige. Night View of Saruwaka-machi from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo. 1856.)
A member the samurai class, Hiroshige straddled the courtly realm and creative circles as a supervisor of the shogun's firefighting force and one ukiyo-e's most successful woodblock print artists. Born in Edo as Tokutaro Ando, Hiroshige grew up in a minor samurai family. His father held the rank of doshin, supervising the firefighting force assigned to Edo Castle. It is here that Hiroshige was given his first exposure to art: legend has it that a fellow fireman tutored him in the Kano school of painting (though Hiroshige's first official teacher was Rinsai). When his father passed away in 1808, thirteen-year-old Hiroshige assumed his father's role, but simultaneously pursued a career as a woodblock print artist. First, he tried to join Utagawa Toyokuni's studio, but he was turned away. Three years later, Hiroshige entered an apprenticeship with the Utagawa Toyohiro. After only a year, he received the artist name Hiroshige, but his artistic genius went largely unnoticed until 1832, when he embraced the genre of meisho-e, or \"famous place pictures,\" with the series 53 Stations of the Tokaido (1832-1833).
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nHiroshige lived in the \"Daimyo Alley,\" just to the east of Edo castle until he was forty-three. While he spent a great deal of his life living in the most prestigious quarters of the city, his lifestyle was not lavish. Hiroshige faced a condition common to lower-ranking samurai (gokenin) families: despite samurai status, secondary work was required to support oneself. Thus, he straddled class lines. While thoroughly enmeshed in the floating world as a woodblock artist, he retained his official rank among the samurai class. For this reason, historians have hesitated to title him a true edokko. Yet, through One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, Hiroshige unarguably captures the spirit of the chonin class. Each view unfolds against the backdrop of the feudal capital, but the focus rests in the pleasures, actions, and interests of the chonin that live there.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n![\"Takada](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295585&c=4366028&h=cd1b0450e79115df30a2&425385\")
While many of the views from this series focus on the daily life of the chonin class, Hiroshige provides a glimpse of aristocratic pastimes with this impression of Takada Riding Grounds. (Hiroshige. \"Takada Riding Grounds\" from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo. 1857.)
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, Hiroshige not only captured the culture of Edo's residents, but also a portrait of the city on brink of its evolution from the stability of the Edo period, to the rapid modernization brought with the Meiji Restoration. By the time Hiroshige began the series in 1856, the stability that so shaped Edo culture began to feel uncertain. In 1854, the Shogun agreed to trade with the United States, following the gunboat diplomacy of Commodore Perry. A year later, the city and its spirit were severely damaged through the great earthquake and resulting fires. Following the publication of Hiroshige's 115 designs, the opening of Yokohama in 1859 would allow an unprecedented surge of foreigners into Japan. Nearly a decade later, the name Edo would fall with the rule of the shogun, replaced by the imperial line and a reimagined Japanese capital–Tokyo. In this series, we'll explore several of these urban portraits.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"An Artist and His City: Getting Our Bearings","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"3","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"295584","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"1/14/2020 3:30:14 pm"}},{"name":"An Artist and His City: Unseen Individuals","urlPath":"blog/an-artist-and-his-city-unseen-individuals-2","url":"an-artist-and-his-city-unseen-individuals-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"An Artist and His City: Unseen Individuals|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"An Artist and His City: Unseen Individuals","meta_description":"Now that we have our bearings in Edo, the second installment of the Artist and His City series takes us to a view of Asakusa Ricefields in the midst of the Torinomachi Festival.","meta_keywords":"Torinomachi festival, hiroshige, 100 famous views of edo, landscapes, meisho-e, ukiyo-e, cat, asakusa ricefields","customrecorddata":"61","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"Now that we have our bearings in Edo, the second installment of the Artist and His City series takes us to a view of Asakusa Ricefields in the midst of the Torinomachi Festival.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"In An Artist and His City: Select Works from Hiroshige's One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, Ronin Gallery explores Edo through the eyes of a local. Over the course of this exhibition, we'll take a closer look at the interaction between artist and city. Now that we have our bearings in Edo, the second installment of this series takes us to a view of Asakusa Ricefields in the midst of the Torinomachi Festival.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Hiroshige, Asakusa Ricefields and Torinomachi Festival from the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, 1857. Ronin Gallery.\r\n\r\n
In Asakusa Ricefields and Torinomachi Festival, Hiroshige places the viewer not in the heart of the festival, but within a house of the nearby Yoshiwara, Edo's legalized pleasure district. Amid the strong diagonals of the window lattice, the tatami mats, and the horizon, our eyes are drawn to the round, snowy-white haunches of the cat perched on the windowsill. The stoic feline redirects our gaze towards the festival procession. Reduced by distance to monochrome, the merrymakers nearly blend into the landscape in the waning light of dusk. Beyond the horizon, Mt. Fuji echoes the cat's pale coat, stark against the sunset.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWhile Hiroshige's series Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido is marked by a humor grounded in its travelers, One Hundred Famous Views of Edo reduces human figures to compositional elements rather that empathetic characters. Yet this does not mean that the series lacks human presence. Rather than capture the residents of the city through their likeness depicted in the frame, Hiroshige evokes their presence through the objects they have left behind. Though the actor is absent, these items create the sense that someone has left for a moment, sure to return if you watch for long enough.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAsakusa Ricefileds provides such insight–in this case, into the life of a mid-ranked courtesan of the Yoshiwara. The title of the print sets the scene. Each year, the Torinomachi Festival took place at Washi Daimyojin Shrine. During the festival, stalls erupted around shrine pedaling food and charms. Popular among these charms were kumade, or bamboo rakes. Sold in a variety of sizes, these kumade carried connotations of prosperity. While the \"tori\" in the festival name refers to the eagle god of the shrine, among Edo's realms of pleasure, the \"tori\" of Torinomachi assumed a different meaning. Playing on the verb toru, \"to take,\" the floating world saw Torinomachi as a day to take in customers. In the Yoshiwara, this was the one day of the year that anyone could walk through its gates (usually, women were forbidden). For the courtesan houses within the Yoshiwara, this festival day marked a monbi, a day which a courtesan was required to take in a client. If she failed, she would be required to pay a fine to the brothel owner. Given the pressure of a monbi, on these days courtesans were allowed to take clients before dusk.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWhile this print's title and setting within the Yoshiwara evoke the scene and the identity of its actors, the objects found in the foreground provide a glimpse into the story. In the bottom left corner, two objects peek out from the patterned screen along the edge of the print. First, a set of decorative kumade hairpins. Perhaps purchased at the festival and given as a gift, the hairpins rest on the floor as a trace of an afternoon client. One of the pins has been removed from its paper, suggesting a moment of admiration. Second, a rolled paper just visible above the hairpins. When considered in combination with the towel and face-rinsing bowl placed on the windowsill, this trio of objects suggests that the courtesan has already satisfied her requirement for this monbi. Though Hiroshige provides no glimpse of the courtesan in this design, he evokes her presence through these objects. As if at any moment she might reach a delicate hand from behind the screen, lift the hairpin from the floor, and nestle it within her hair.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn the next installment of the Artist and His City series, we'll leave the intimate interior of the Yoshiwara and explore an instance of Edo's natural beauty in Moon Pine, Ueno.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"An Artist and His City: Unseen Individuals","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"3","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"295589","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"9/13/2020 3:57:14 pm"}},{"name":"An Artist and His City: Urban Greenspace","urlPath":"blog/an-artist-and-his-city-urban-greenspace-2","url":"an-artist-and-his-city-urban-greenspace-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"An Artist and His City: Urban Greenspace|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"An Artist and His City: Urban Greenspace","meta_description":"In this installment of the Artist and His City series we'll step outside into one of Edo's urban greenspaces through this print Moon Pine, Ueno. This aged pine earned this name not only for the \"full moon\" created by the circled but also for the other phases of the moon visible in its form.","meta_keywords":"Hiroshige, 100 famous views of edo, landscapes, Japanese woodblock prints, Japanese art, ukiyo-e, meisho-e, moon pine, ueno","customrecorddata":"62","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"In this installment of the Artist and His City series we'll step outside into one of Edo's urban greenspaces through this print Moon Pine, Ueno. This aged pine earned this name not only for the \"full moon\" created by the circled but also for the other phases of the moon visible in its form.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"In An Artist and His City: Select Works from Hiroshige's One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, Ronin Gallery explores Edo through the eyes of a local. Over the course of this exhibition, we'll take a closer look at the interaction between artist and city. While the second installment in this series took us within an intimate interior of the Yoshiwara, this week we'll step outside into one of Edo's urban greenspaces through Moon Pine, Ueno.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Hiroshige, Moon Pine, Ueno from the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, 1857. Ronin Gallery.
Amid the dense residential dwellings, teahouses, theaters and shops, shrines and temples accounted for about fifteen percent of Edo's urban fabric. In many historical Japanese cities, such interwoven greenspace and urban life was uncommon. Typically, shrines and temples were moved to the edge of town. This choice stemmed from a concern for public safety: these religious sites were home to funerary cremation and thus fire hazards. Yet in Edo, these spaces peppered the city and became public venues where one could appreciate the beauty of nature and the turn of the seasons.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn Moon Pine, Ueno, Hiroshige highlights an example of natural beauty woven into the urban fabric. The unexpected angles and full circle of \"moon pine\" dominates the immediate field of vision–its rough bark tangible, its needles each carefully defined. As the eye follows each twist and turn, we find ourselves gazing through the natural framing created by the encircled pine branch. Beyond the tree, we find ourselves looking across Shinobazu Pond to the chonin, or commoner, neighborhood at the far bank. Beyond the eaves, we can see three fire towers rising against the red sunset. Towards the right edge of the composition, we can see the brilliant red walls of Benten Shrine peeking out from the descending pine branch. Here, the natural and the urban, the sacred and the ordinary come together in Hiroshige's dynamic composition.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Hiroshige, Kiyomizu Hall and Shinobazu Pond at Ueno from the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, 1856. Ronin Gallery.
The Moon Pine (also known as \"Loop Pine\") grew on the grounds of Kan’eji Temple in Ueno. This aged pine earned this name not only for the \"full moon\" created by the circled branch, but also for the other phases of the moon visible in its form. From the balcony at Kiyomizu Hall, Edo's residents could peer through this natural lens framing the landscape over Shinobazu Pond.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWhile Moon Pine, Ueno features the abrupt truncation and extreme close up perspective characteristic of One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, the print Kiyomizu Hall and Shinobazu Pond at Ueno, designed a year earlier, provides a more expansive, if exaggerated, view of the temple grounds. Depicted with inflated scale, the Moon Pine towers high above temple goers along the left of the image. Kiyomizu Hall is equally elongated, echoing the grandeur of its namesake in Kyoto. Shinobazu Pond has swelled into an expansive lake. While we can see the narrow stretch of land reaching out into the pond, Benten Shrine remains out of site from this angle. Instead, this design emphasizes the springtime beauty of the site through a blush of cherry blossoms.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWhen one visits Kiyomizu hall today, they may be surprised to find that Hiroshige somewhat embellished the view. In its reality, the balcony is lower and the pond hidden behind heavy tree growth, but the temple continues to function as an urban greenspace. Though the original Moon Pine was damaged by a typhoon in the early Meiji period, it was recreated in 2012. Yet, it is important to note that Hiroshige wasn't necessarily trying to capture the physical reality of the place. Rather, he aimed to capture its spirit. So, perhaps such exaggeration—whether through dramatic composition or elongation—was necessary to accurately evoke the spirit of the place in the hearts of its residents.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Moon Pine (recreated) at Kiyomizu Hall. Photo from Travis Suzaka.
Ronin Gallery is thrilled to have our very own Daryl Howard featured in the March issue of Southwest Art! The article considers her work, artistic practice, and influences, stating:
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\"From envisioning an image to making final choices about colors, the entire process of creating a woodblock print is a form of meditation for Texas artist Daryl Howard. Howard's meditative state of mind is evidenced in her artworks, which convey a sense of serenity and calm whether she portrays houses by the sea or offers an intimate view of a flower.\"
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Daryl Howard, Shadows of Speechless Earth, 2015.
Daryl Howard embodies the beauty of cross-cultural art. She artfully combines influences from her American upbringing in Texas with traditional woodblock printing techniques learned in Japan. After receiving her BFA from Sam Houston State University, Howard lived and taught art at a school in Tokyo during the 1970s. During this time she was introduced to a private collection of 18th and 19th century ukiyo-e prints. Feeling and immediate connection to the works of art and wanting to learn more about the woodblock printmaking process, Howard embarked on an apprenticeship with master print maker Hodaka Yoshida. By the time she left Japan, Howard had become a master in the medium. She immediately began her MFA at University of Texas in Austin.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Daryl Howard, Rhythm of the Mountain, 2014.
Since then, she has traveled the world, from Egypt to Indonesia, picking up a mix of inspiration wherever she goes. Ronin Gallery is very pleased to represent this great American artist. Her work is unique, layering gold, silver and copper leafing upon bold colors achieved through pigments found in natural gemstones and soils. \"These processes have become my way of expressing my world. It involves seeing images through a series of shapes, arranged and colored to represent the essence...the magic...that I experience.\"
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Daryl Howard, In Sounds of Light...I Gather My Sweetness, 2012.
The Harvest Moon is the full moon closest to the autumn equinox, which generally occurs in the third week of September. In Japan, the beauty of this special moon is celebrated with tsukimi, or \"moon viewing.\" This annual festival usually falls on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar and marks the brightest moon of the year. While the moon is not necessarily full on the 15th day, it is considered to be at its most beautiful on this day.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Yoshitoshi, The Cassia-Tree Moon: Wu Gang from the series 100 Views of the Moon, 1886. Ronin Gallery.
Tsukimi, also known as ostukimi or jugoya, traces back to the Nara period (710-794). Tsukimi developed from a combination of the traditional Japanese harvest festival and the Chinese aristocratic moon viewing festival. By the Heian period (794-1185), the festival was widely celebrated throughout Japan. Festivities included spontaneous poetry, displays of susuki grass, and tsuki-ryori, or \"moon viewing foods.\" Offerings of tsukimi dango (rice dumplings), sake, and traditional autumnal foods accompanied prayers for a bountiful harvest. Moon viewing parties were often held on boats, as the moon was considered particularly beautiful when reflected in water. By the Edo period, tsukimi had become a boisterous festival that filled the city with all night parties, a custom that was calmed during the Meiji Period.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Yoshitoshi, A Wandering Poet from the series 100 Views of the Moon, 1891. Ronin Gallery.
In the print The Wandering Poet, Yoshitoshi portrays the famous haiku poet Matsuo Basho coming upon a tsukimi celebration. Two farmers have spread a mat on the river bank to take in the beauty of the harvest moon. An autumnal flower arrangement sits on the table, complete with susuki grass. A box of tsuki dango peeks into the composition from the left edge of the print.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Yoshitoshi, Jade Rabbit: Songoku the Monkey King from the series 100 Views of the Moon, 1889. Ronin Gallery.\r\n\r\n
Today, the tsukimi is enjoyed through private parties, as well as public celebrations at shrines and temples. Tsukimi dango and other seasonal foods such as taro, edamame, chestnuts, and sweet potatoes can be found throughout Japan at this time. The ubiquity of sweet potatoes during this festival has led to the term imomeigetsu, or \"potato harvest moon,\" to describe the Harvest Moon. The term tsukimi is also used in some seasonal dishes—from tsukimi soba to McDonalds tsukimi burger, where the addition of a cracked egg (whether poached, fried, or raw) alludes to the moon through its golden yolk.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Yoshitoshi, The Cassia-Tree Moon: Wu Gang from the series 100 Views of the Moon, 1886. Ronin Gallery.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"3","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"295712","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"9/15/2019 1:32:15 pm"}},{"name":"What are Kuchi-e?","urlPath":"blog/what-are-kuchi-e-2","url":"what-are-kuchi-e-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"What are Kuchi-e?|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"What are Kuchi-e?","meta_description":"Brimming with wistful beauties and romantic allusions, kuchi-e, literally translated to \"mouth pictures\" or \"opening pictures,\" served as frontispiece illustrations for popular novels and literary magazines from the 1890s through the 1910s. Bound or inserted within the text, these images transcended simple illustration to capture the characters, atmosphere and sentiment of each story as a whole.","meta_keywords":"kuchi-e, book illustrations, japanese woodblock prints, japanese art, ","customrecorddata":"65","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"Brimming with wistful beauties and romantic allusions, kuchi-e, literally translated to \"mouth pictures\" or \"opening pictures,\" served as frontispiece illustrations for popular novels and literary magazines from the 1890s through the 1910s. Bound or inserted within the text, these images transcended simple illustration to capture the characters, atmosphere and sentiment of each story as a whole.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"Brimming with wistful beauties and romantic allusions, kuchi-e, literally translated to \"mouth pictures,\" or \"opening pictures,\" served as frontispiece illustrations for popular novels and literary magazines from the 1890s through the 1910s. Bound or inserted within the text, these images transcended simple illustration to capture the characters, atmosphere and sentiment of each story as a whole. To their original audience, these eye-catching images sold books and captured the imagination. Today, these works remain enchanting as they offer insight into turn of the century fashions, sentiments, and artistic ideals.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Kiyokata Kaburagi, \"Beauty and Dog Viewing a Ship,\" 1907. Ronin Gallery.
While the popularity of woodblock printmaking waned with the influx of lithography and photography, kuchi-e reinvigorated the medium. Kuchi-e artists incorporated both Western-style and Japanese pictorial techniques in their designs, from the flat compositions of ukiyo-e to the heavy-lashes and down-turned eyes of Raphael's Madonna. Many of these artists maintained a stable income through kuchi-e and newspaper illustration while pursuing a career in nihonga, or \"Japanese-style painting.\" The influence of this training can be seen in the nuanced use of color, loose style, and heightened realism of the scenes.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Hanko Kajita, \"Scent of Chrysanthemums,\" 1905. Ronin Gallery.
Kuchi-e were printed in standard sizes, either 22 cm by 30 cm or 14 cm x 20 cm. The former would be folded into thirds, the latter folded in half in order to fit safely within the pages of the book. This allowed the reader to expand and store the image as desired. The margin, as seen in Kiyokata's' \"Beauty and Dog Viewing Ship\" above, was used for binding. Due to the active nature of these prints, it is normal to find creases and light soiling on the images. Today the genre is known for its brilliant printing. Many prints feature embellishments such as metallic pigment, embossing, or burnishing to create a lacquer-like impression. Through the technique of sashiage artists could create the impression of watercolor. To achieve this effect, the artist would paint the proof from the key block in full color and detail, rather than loosely indicating to the printer the use of color for each aspect of a print. The printer then would follow this detailed painting as a guide, approximating watercolor washes with shallow carving that allowed complex shading.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Eisen Tomioka, \"Morning After Snow,\" c.1904. Ronin Gallery.
As the role of the woodblock print shifted throughout the Meiji Period, so did that of the novel. Kuchi-e gained popularity with an unprecedented boom of literacy in Japan. New literary movements elevated the novel from a low form of entertainment to a respectable and popular form of expression. Authors broke from formal written language and incorporated contemporary language for written dialogue. Novels traded formulaic tales of forbidden love warning against vice for explorations of human emotion, introspection, and reflection on society. The most prominent kuchi-e publishers were Shun'yodo and Hakubunkan, the second of which published the literary magazine Bungei Kurabu. The magazine included woodblock prints in nearly every issue, resulting in nearly 300 prints during its run. As many of the novels adorned with kuchi-e focused on romance, a large number of these designs feature beautiful women.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Toshikata Mizuno, \"Outdoor Sketching,\" 1903. Ronin Gallery.
From vengeful ghosts to mythical creatures, Japanese folklore teems with spine-chilling tales of the supernatural. Yet, sometimes it's the horrors enacted by humans that prove to be the most terrifying. This Halloween, we'll take a look at one such story through Yoshitoshi's Moon of the Lonely House.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Yoshitoshi. Moon of the Lonely House from the series One Hundred Views of the Moon. 1890. Woodblock print. Ronin Gallery.
Known alternatively as the story of the Lonely House on Adachi Moor or Kurozuka (Black Mound), this tale of a murderous old woman has captured the imagination of artists and audiences since the late Nara Period (710-784). The figure behind the tale is said to be Iwate, the wet nurse to an aristocratic household. While the story branches into distinct versions of her horrific deeds, each version revolves around illness in her masters' family, cold-blooded murder, and a haunting that continues to intrigue contemporary audiences. A popular telling of the tale goes as follows:
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nOne day, while Iwate was working in an aristocratic household, her mistress fell ill with a mysterious sickness. With no cure in sight, the loyal Iwate consulted a seer. The seer revealed that the only remedy was the consumption of the liver of a pregnant woman. Despite the horror entwined in this task, Iwate set off into the countryside to procure such a liver, leaving her young daughter behind. Days turned to years and Iwate grew old, settling into a small home on the lonely moor, patiently waiting for her opportunity.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nOne night, a young couple came across Iwate's home during their travel and sought shelter with the old woman. The young woman was pregnant and soon went into labor. As the young man rushed from the house to procure medicine for his wife, Iwate's years of waiting came to a culmination–she drove her knife into the woman's abdomen. As she reached to remove the liver, the young woman revealed her identity and purpose of travel: she was the daughter of Iwate and searching for her mother who had disappeared into the wilderness when she was young. Just then, Iwate noticed the talisman that she had gifted to her daughter so many years ago and she knew that the young woman spoke the truth. Here the tale forks into two distinct outcomes: In the first, the horror of her actions broke Iwate, sending her spiraling into a madness marked by murder and cannibalism for years to come. In this take, her humanity slips away and she becomes an onibaba, or \"demon old woman.\" In the second far more optimistic outcome, the old woman is so horrified by her actions, that she reforms her behavior for good.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn the print Moon of the Lonely House from the series One Hundred Views of the Moon, Yoshitoshi adheres to the darker interpretation of the tale. Yoshitoshi focuses on the height of tension rather than the culmination of violence in this print. The old woman lunges forward, thrusting a small torch into the dilapidated house. The moonlight accentuates each shadow in her withered form. As her brows furrow, her eyes locked on something beyond the image, Yoshitoshi captures a terrifying determination in his portrait of the villain. For those who know of the gruesome tale, this design stirs anxiety in its audience–the viewer knows what's coming as the murderous old woman sneaks up on her unsuspecting victim.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nToday, the legend lives on through local folklore in Nihonmatsu, located in Fukushima prefecture. In 2012, The Japan Times sent a reporter to feel out the space in the spirit of Halloween. The legend places her grave, the \"black mound,\" beneath a lone cypress tree on the bank of the Abukuma River. Just beyond the pine, one can remember onibaba's victims at Kanzeji Temple. The temple grounds and the onibaba's stomping grounds blur together. Here, one can see Iwaya overhang, where the lonely house that titles Yoshitoshi's print stood, as well as the deba-arai (knife washing pond). The main temple building doubles as a museum to the legend, with artifacts such as the alleged knife used in her murders and the shovel used to bury her victims' remains. In the midst of this gruesome legacy, there is also some frivolity around the legend: the horrific onibaba has become a cute mascot known as Bappy-chan.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"A Closer Look: Moon of the Lonely House","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"3","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"295765","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"9/16/2019 5:07:16 pm"}},{"name":"Winter Festivities in Japan","urlPath":"blog/winter-festivities-in-japan-2","url":"winter-festivities-in-japan-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Winter Festivities in Japan|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"Winter Festivities in Japan","meta_description":"From 17th century to today, artists capture the quiet beauty of snow, the crisp blue of the winter sky, and the joy of cozying up as temperatures plummet. While winter brings artistic inspiration, it also heralds some exciting seasonal festivities! This week we'll look to some of the most popular winter customs and festivals in Japan.","meta_keywords":"winter, festivals, onsen, japan, japanese art","customrecorddata":"67","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"2","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"From 17th century to today, artists capture the quiet beauty of snow, the crisp blue of the winter sky, and the joy of cozying up as temperatures plummet. While winter brings artistic inspiration, it also heralds some exciting seasonal festivities! This week we'll look to some of the most popular winter customs and festivals in Japan.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"\r\n Winter has always held a particular importance in Japanese printmaking. From 17th century to today, artists capture the quiet beauty of snow, the crisp blue of the winter sky, and the joy of cozying up as temperatures plummet. While winter brings artistic inspiration, it also heralds some exciting seasonal festivities!\r\n
\r\n\r\n ![\"Atagoshita](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295760&c=4366028&h=761caedcd03deebf64c9&294146\")
\r\n Hiroshige. \"Atagoshita and Yabu Lane\" from the series 100 Famous Views of Edo. 1857. Ronin Gallery.\r\n
\r\n \r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n
\r\n\r\n ![\"Yuzuyu\"](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295762&c=4366028&h=83746a940e17e4d3ca50&117058\")
\r\n Yuzuyu (via http://www.yuzupassion.com/all-about-yuzu)\r\n
\r\n Toji, the winter solstice, falls around December 22nd and marks the beginning of winter. On this shortest day of the year, many people in Japan go to onsen (hot springs) or sento (public baths) to bathe amidst yuzu, a small citrus fruit. Known as Yuzuyu, bathing with these bright fruits is believed to bring good luck and ward of illness in the coming year. As the smell of citrus fills the air, this special bath soothes winter skin.\r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n
\r\n\r\n ![\"Star](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295764&c=4366028&h=9f7b85262707970722cc&140320\")
\r\n Star Wars Comes to the Snow Festival! (via http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/05/travel/gallery/sapporo-snow-star-wars/)\r\n
\r\n The city of Sapporo celebrates the beauty of snow and ice like no other. This year's 67th Sapporo Snow Festival falls between February 5th and February 18th. Featuring around 250 sculptures, the festival spans three main venues: Odori Park (Ice and snow sculpture, the main attraction in the heart of the city), Tsudome (the community dome, including snow slides and snow rafting), and the Suskino Site (ice sculpture contest and exhibit). This celebration of the season draws crowds from Japan and abroad topping two million.\r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n
\r\n\r\n ![\"A](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295761&c=4366028&h=1d21b60f8115d239ce4b&94108\")
\r\n A Cozy Kamakura (via Wikimedia)\r\n
\r\n Can't get enough snow? Head to Yokote City in Akita prefecture for kamakura, single-room huts carved from a mounds of snow. During the Yokote Kamakura Snow Festival, over 100 of these kamakura are built in a variety of sizes and lit with candles all around Yokote City. These snowy structures belong to a 400 year tradition: prayers would be made to the water gods for clear water with offerings of rice cakes and sake, all within the kamakura. In this tradition, children would invite passersby to share in conversation and winter treats. Today, children and teens still play this role, inviting visitors in for sweets. If you can't make it in February, worry not. While you won't get the full effect of the festival, the Yokote Kamakura Museum's enormous snow-filled freezer allows you to enjoy kamakura all year-round!\r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n
\r\n\r\n ![\"Jigokudani](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295763&c=4366028&h=9431ff6799f7f440dc75&133586\")
\r\n Jigokudani Hotspring in Nagano. (By Yosemite via Wikimedia Commons)\r\n
\r\n A trip to an onsen, or hot spring, is the best way to shake a chill all winter long. Onsen can be found throughout Japan, but only Jigokudai Yaenkoen (meaning \"Hell's Valley\") comes with primate bath mates. Located in Nagano prefecture, this national park is a large habitat for Japanese macaques, who have no qualms about sharing a hot bath with humans. Here you can enjoy a relaxing soak amidst the beautiful winter landscape, as well as have a chance to observe these very human-like primates.\r\n
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Hiroshige. \"Atagoshita and Yabu Lane\" from the series 100 Famous Views of Edo. 1857. Ronin Gallery.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"7","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"295767","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"12/16/2014 6:09:16 pm"}},{"name":"Hanami at Home","urlPath":"blog/hanami-at-home-2","url":"hanami-at-home-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Hanami at Home|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"Hanami at Home","meta_description":"While a light chill may still hang in the air, the first blooms of delicate pink petals ensure us that spring has indeed arrived. Through this digital hanami, we invite you to explore splendor of cherry blossoms through artists' eyes.","meta_keywords":"ukiyo-e, japanese woodblock prints, cherry blossoms, spring, sakura, hanami, Japanese art","customrecorddata":"68","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"While a light chill may still hang in the air, the first blooms of delicate pink petals ensure us that spring has indeed arrived. Through this digital hanami, we invite you to explore splendor of cherry blossoms through artists' eyes.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"While a light chill may still hang in the air, the first blooms of delicate pink petals ensure us that spring has indeed arrived. The blooming of cherry blossoms, or sakura, is an event witnessed and celebrated across the globe. Admired from picnic blankets beneath blushing boughs to citywide festivals, the delicate beauty of these flowers draws crowds wherever they bloom. In Japan, this practice is known as hanami, or \"flower viewing.\"
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n As Hiroshige frames the landscape with a low-hanging cherry branch, he invites us to appreciate the delicate petals up close. (Hiroshige,\"Suijin Shrine and Massaki, Sumida River\" from the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, 1856, Ronin Gallery. )
Widely celebrated for hundreds of years in Japanese literature, poetry and art, sakura are beloved for their intense and fleeting beauty. Due to their brief life span (14 days at most), cherry blossoms serve as a metaphor for the transient nature of human. During the Edo period (1603-1868), this metaphor extended to the short, yet brilliant lives of warriors and the fleeting beauty of courtesans. Today, all around the world, people pause to appreciate this seasonal beauty.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn the spirit of social distancing, this selection of prints from the online exhibition Welcome, Spring invites you to enjoy the beauty of the cherry blossom from the comfort of your home. Through this digital hanami, we invite you to explore splendor of cherry blossoms through artists' eyes.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Petal laden boughs hang heavy above the water in this peaceful scene of early spring. In the series Eight Views of Cherry Blossoms, Yoshida captures famous Japanese sites for hanami, or \"flower viewing.\" (Hiroshi Yoshida, Arashiyama, from the series Eight Views of Cherry Blossoms, 1935, Ronin Gallery.)
\r\n\r\n Hiroshige brings together the flower as well as the feminine beauty it has come to represent in this kakemono-e. As the beauty pulls the edge of her kimono tight against the chill of early spring, cherry blossoms bloom just above her head. (Hiroshige, Under Cherry Blossoms, c. 1845, Ronin Gallery.)
\r\n\r\n Beneath a clear sky, temple visitors admire the shades of pink abloom just outside the gate. Though the trees to the left blush with petals, the boughs to the right have yet to reach their peak. (Hiroshi Yoshida, Chionin Temple Gate, 1935, Ronin Gallery.)
\r\n\r\n In this lively triptych, Kunichika welcomes you to a 19th flower viewing party. In the foreground, a trio of beauties and their attendants relax beneath the petals. Along the top edge of the right sheet, we can see another festive group enjoying the season. (Kunichika, Viewing Cherry Blossoms, 1854, Ronin Gallery.)
\r\n\r\n Reclining back on his left hand, a young Minister Sakuramachi looks up at the flowering branches above. As petals fall silently to the ground, he closes the fingers of his right hand, perhaps around a fallen flower. (Gekko, Minister Sakuramachi, from the series Flowers of Japan, 1897, Ronin Gallery.)
Earth Day is an annual global event observed on April 22, a day to reflect upon our planet's magnificence and to commit to doing our part to protect the environment. The first Earth Day was introduced back in 1970 as a response to the devastating 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, California, which released more than 4 million gallons of oil into California's sensitive marine ecosystem.
\r\n\r\nMasao Ido, Shoren-In, 1993, color woodblock print, Ronin Gallery.
\r\n\r\nWisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson believed if he could take the momentum of the student anti-war movement and channel that same energy into environmental protection, the issue would gain national awareness and support. On April 22, 1970, Nelson and his counterparts from both sides of the aisle, encouraged 20 million Americans who shared the same passion for preserving the environment, to stage demonstrations and rallies across the country in favor of a healthy, sustainable planet. Nelson's efforts eventually led to national legislation such as the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act.
\r\n\r\nAsako Iwasawa, Breeze from Paradise, c. 2017, acrylic on canvas, Ronin Gallery.
\r\n\r\nSome say that the April date was chosen to maximize the number of students who could be reached on university campuses. Others believe the date was selected because it fell close to Arbor Day. Planting new trees in honor of Earth Day has become a common practice, as it helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and aids in combating pollution. This Earth Day, Ronin Gallery celebrates the natural beauty of earth's trees and forests in our weekly online exhibition.
\r\n\r\nDaryl Howard, Through Autumn light...I follow the secret of the crow's call, 2009, color woodblock print, Ronin Gallery.
\r\n\r\nToday, Earth Day is coordinated globally by Earth Day Network, and celebrated in more than 192 countries. For example, in Japan Earth Day is a momentous occasion marked by two-day gathering in Tokyo's Yoyogi Park. Since its inception in 2001, over 100,000 people gather at Yoyogi Park each year for the festivities. 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and takes the theme Climate Action. While this years' activities and events might look a bit different than celebrations, the passion to protect the health of our environment remains strong and more important than ever.
\r\n\r\n\"OZ\" Keisuke Yamaguchi, Kiriri, 2016, painting on paper, Ronin Gallery.
\r\n\r\nSources
\r\nhttp://www.japanese-closet.com/tenplate/nm-245.html, http://www.hangaten.com/artists/35-artist/artist/75-namiki-hajime, http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/seim/hd_seim.htm, http://www.darylhoward.com/, http://www.earthday.org/greencities/about/, http://earthsky.org/earth/this-date-in-science-why-celebrate-earth-day-on-april-22, http://martinjapan.blogspot.com/2014/04/earth-day-in-tokyo-2014.html, http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/04/090421-earth-day-facts/
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Celebrating Our Earth","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"7","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"295779","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"9/17/2014 10:06:17 am"}},{"name":"Momijigari Season","urlPath":"blog/momijigari-season-2","url":"momijigari-season-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Momijigari Season|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"Momijigari Season","meta_description":"As summer days cool and the sweet smell of turning leaves fills the air, autumn is undoubtedly upon us. While spring in Japan brings the delicate pink of the cherry blossoms, autumn bursts into a kaleidoscope of brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows. Such stunning natural beauty is celebrated with momijigari.","meta_keywords":"autumn, fall, japanese woodblock prints, kuchi-e, ukiyo-e, japanese art","customrecorddata":"70","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"2","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"As summer days cool and the sweet smell of turning leaves fills the air, autumn is undoubtedly upon us. While spring in Japan brings the delicate pink of the cherry blossoms, autumn bursts into a kaleidoscope of brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows. Such stunning natural beauty is celebrated with momijigari.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"
\r\n Toshimine, Pensive. c. 1900. Woodblock print.
As summer days cool and the sweet smell of turning leaves fills the air, autumn is undoubtedly upon us. While spring in Japan brings the delicate pink of the cherry blossoms, autumn bursts into a kaleidoscope of brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows. Such stunning natural beauty is celebrated with momijigari. Translating to \"red leaf (momiji) hunting (gari),\" this seasonal tradition is all about appreciating the autumn colors. The koyo (or colorful leaf) front begins in September, turning the leaves in Hokkaido before spreading southward, ending as late as December in southern Japan. While certain locations, such as Nikko and Kyoto, are destination points for momijigari, the beauty of the season can be appreciated throughout Japan. Whether hiking through the mountains, strolling down a tree lined street, or soaking in the warmth of hot spring, there are endless ways to partake in momijigari.
\r\n\r\n
\r\n Ido Masao, Umeo. 1982. Woodblock print.
\r\n Nasu Koyo in Nasu. Photo by Travis Suzaka.
This seasonal practice dates to the Heian period (794-1185). The aristocracy would enjoy the beauty of fall in their elegant gardens and host poetry competitions amongst the blaze of crimson maples and golden ginko trees. Emperor Saga (786-842) was known to host feasts upon his boat, inviting his guests to appreciate the color in the trees, but also mirrored in the water. By the Edo period, this tradition became a widespread practice. The tradition endures today, attracting tourists from Japan and abroad.
\r\n\r\n
\r\n THEN: Hasui, Saruiwa, Shiobara. 1949. Woodblock print.
\r\n NOW: Shiobara today. Photo by Travis Suzaka.
With the high level of volcanic activity in Japan, it is no surprise that the country boasts many natural hot springs. These hot springs, or onsen, attract international and domestic visitors alike. From clear, steaming pools, to iron-rich baths, there are variety of bathing experiences to be had. Each soak refreshes the senses and the body. alike. A dip in any one of Japan's famous hot springs is said to aid stress, exhaustion, and other health concerns. Over the centuries, resort towns have sprung up about these natural wonders, providing excellent food, entertainment, and shopping.
\r\n\r\nWhile there are many options for experiencing onsen culture, we've selected ten of the most popular onsen in Japan today.
\r\n\r\nSteam rises from a pool at Yufuin. Source: Yasuhiro from Tokyo, Japan via Wikimedia Commons.
\r\n\r\nLocated in Oita Prefecture in Kyushu, Yufuin Onsen rests in the shadow of Mt. Yufu. Resting in a valley surrounded by mountains, this onsen is ideal for open air baths. Visitors can take in the scenery and the beauty of Kirin Lake during their visit. In addition to its natural wonders, Yufuin offers many other attractions such as a host of restaurants and shops, as well as several museums. Yufuin Onsen is consistently ranked as a top hot springs destination.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Kusatsu Onsen at Night. Source: inf_supTJ via Flickr.
\r\n\r\nKusatsu Onsen is known the quality of the water that fills its hot springs. Located in Gunma Prefecture, this onsen is also known for the yubatake, or \"hot water field,\" in the middle of town. As water springs from the earth, it is too hot for bathing. The water temperature is brought down through the practice of yumomi, where the water is manually cooled to bathing temperature with large wooden paddles.
\r\n\r\nSengen shine near Arima Onsen. Source: Pelican via Flickr.
\r\n\r\nWithin an easy train ride of Kyoto, Kobe, and Osaka. Arima Onsen is located in Hyogo Prefecture. This historic area is best known for its specialty baths. The akayu, or \"red bath,\" gets its name from the dark color caused by the water's natural iron content. This mineral-rich bath is also known as the \"golden spring.\" Another specialty bath is known as ginsen, meaning \"silver spring.\" While the water lacks surprising colors, the water is naturally carbonated.
\r\n\r\nView of Gero. Source: 663highland, via Wikimedia Commons.
\r\n\r\nLocated in Gifu prefecture, Gero Onsen provides natural beauty and historical character. Like Kusatsu and Arima, Gero Onsen has been praised for its superior baths since the Muromachi period (1392-1573). The three public bathhouses offer a variety of bathing experiences, while nearby waterfalls and lava flows provide natural attractions to visit in between soaks in the hot springs.
\r\n\r\nDogo Onsen Honkan. Source: Wei-Te Wong via Flickr.
\r\n\r\nDogo Onsen has been an popular destination since the writing of The Tale of Genji in the 11th century. Located in Ehime Prefecture, the focal point of this historic hot springs is its stunning main building. Dating to 1894, this multistory bathhouse is listed Important Cultural Property. It is said that this historic structure inspired the design of the supernatural bathhouse in Hayao Miyazaki's film Spirited Away. In addition, Dogo Onsen is home to an annual art festival.
\r\n\r\nA steaming bath at Beppu Onsen. Source: tjabeljan via Flickr.
\r\n\r\nBeppu is a resort town in Oita Prefecture. Beppu Onsen is one of eight distinct onsen areas in town, which include Hamawaki, Kanikaiji, Hotta, Myouban, Kannawa and Shibaseki. Each has a different character and bathing experience. Plans are in place to build a onsen amusement as well! Beppu is known for particularly thick steam from some baths. These pools are more of a spectacle than a bathing choice. The thick steam results from soaring temperatures that are far too hot to sit in.
\r\n\r\nRyokan guests strolling through the streets of Kinosaki Onsen at night. Source: Nishimoriya Kinosaki Onsen via Flickr.
\r\n\r\nKinosaki in home to seven public baths and a vast array of traditional Japanese inns. Located in Hyogo Prefecture, these hot springs have attracted bathers for more than 1,000 years, when pilgrims were said to have climbed the mountain to enjoy the warmth and healing power of the water.
\r\n\r\nStunning Landscape outside Noboribetsu Onsen. Source: MIKKI Yoshihito via Flickr.
\r\n\r\nTo the north in Hokkaido, Noboribetsu Onsen offers a snowy bathing experience. Under an hour from Sapporo by train, Noboribetsu Onsen offers a variety of bathing options, including sulfur, iron, and hydrogen baths. This onsen is also known for the nearby Hell Valley, named for the clouds of steam emitted from the earth. While Hell themed drinks and food can be found throughout the year, each August a Hell-themed festival is held, complete with elaborate floats and fireworks.
\r\n\r\nView of Mt. Fuji. Source: Antonio Fucito via Flickr.
\r\n\r\nOnly 1.5 hours from Tokyo, Hakone offers a quick escape from the city. The hot springs are surrounded by traditional inns and plentiful shopping. The popularity of Hakone stems not only from its convenience, but also for the breathtaking views of Mt. Fuji. Nestled within the mountains at the edge of Lake Ashi, visitors can take in views of Japan's most sacred mountain from their bath.
\r\n\r\nKinugawa Onsen
\r\n\r\nFrom lush forests to Toshogu Shrine, a visit to Kinugawa offers more than a bath. Kinugawa Onsen is located in Nikko, an area known for its striking natural beauty. Waterfalls, wooded trails, and rivers create a beautiful backdrop for the bath, while inviting adventures beyond the tub.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Ten Onsen to Visit in Japan","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"7","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"295828","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"9/18/2015 8:11:18 am"}},{"name":"Then and Now: Hiroshige's Landscapes","urlPath":"blog/then-and-now-hiroshiges-landscapes-2","url":"then-and-now-hiroshiges-landscapes-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Then and Now: Hiroshige's Landscapes|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"Then and Now: Hiroshige's Landscapes","meta_description":"As a master of the landscape print, Hiroshige captures Edo-period Japan through series such as One Hundred Famous Views of Edo and Famous Views of the 60-Odd Provinces. How have these meisho fared as destinations in the 21st century? Looking to four prints from the exhibition Hiroshige's Landscapes, let's check in.","meta_keywords":"Hiroshige, ukiyo-e, meisho-e, landscape prints, japanese woodblock prints, Japan art","customrecorddata":"72","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"As a master of the landscape print, Hiroshige captures Edo-period Japan through series such as One Hundred Famous Views of Edo and Famous Views of the 60-Odd Provinces. How have these famous places fared as destinations in the 21st century? Looking to four prints from the exhibition Hiroshige's Landscapes, let's check in.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"As a master of the landscape print, Hiroshige captures Edo-period Japan through series such as One Hundred Famous Views of Edo and Famous Views of the 60-Odd Provinces. Though the term meisho traditionally intertwines with literary or poetic landmarks, Hiroshige's meisho-e, or \"famous place pictures,\" purport a different type of poetry. From the rough waves of the Naruto whirlpools to the New Years Festival of Asakusa, Hiroshige shares the natural marvels and vibrant culture of mid-17th century Japan. But what about today? At the time of printing, these images would have served as armchair travelling for consumers, so how have these meisho fared as destinations in the 21st century? Looking to four prints from Hiroshige's Landscapes, let's check in.
\r\n\r\n
\r\n (Left) Asakusa Festival (1853), Famous Views of the 60 Odd Provinces. (Right) Sanja Festival at Asakusa Temple (2012). Photo credit: Travis Suzaka
As the temple eaves and bare trees reach into the cold blue of the sky, the street bustles with activity. The temple path is packed with stalls offering all kinds of goods and food during this neighborhood Toshi no ichi, or \"Year-End Fair.\" The delicate flecks of snow against the night sky and the heavy, layered clothing of the townspeople capture the December chill. While Hiroshige's print captures the 1850s celebration, the picture to the left, taken by the Ronin Gallery's very own Travis Suzaka, offers a modern version of the celebration. In both the past and the present iteration, the festivities take place at Sensoji Temple, one of the most colorful and popular temples in Japan today. Located in Asakusa, at the Northeast fringe of modern Tokyo, this famous place rests along the Sumida River.
\r\n\r\n
\r\n (Left) Tenjin Shrine at Kameido (1856), from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo. (Right) Tenjin Today. Photo credit: AroundTokyo.net.
Visitors hold tight to the rail as they cross the steep curve of the drum bridge. The wisteria hangs lazily towards the water, delicately purple on this summer day. Built along the Eastern edge of Edo, the Tenjin Shrine was developed in the 1660s and given the namesake of the patron saint of learning and calligraphy. The shrine featured not one, but two taikobashi, or \"drum bridges.\" The pair was known as the male bridge and the female bridge, one larger and one smaller respectively. Hiroshige presents the male of the pair. Turning to the contemporary photograph, the bridge looks considerably different. Though the wisteria falls as heavily as it did in the 1850s, the bridge itself fell apart during World War II and was rebuilt with ferroconcrete. Apart from the iconic bridges, the rest of the shrine remains largely unchanged, still attracting visitors to its quiet grounds.
\r\n\r\n
\r\n (Left) \"Bridge Over Pond of Water Lilies,\" by Monet (1899). Oil on Canvas. (Right) \"Claude Monet Giverny Garden,\" by Ariane Cauderlier. Photo credit: Giverny.org.
When considering the taikobashi, it is significant take a brief pause between today and 19th century Japan in turn-of-the-century France. Not only does an iteration of the taikobashi remain in modern Tokyo, but also another resides in Giverny, France. Strongly influenced by Hiroshige's compositional mastery, French Impressionists found inspiration in the Japanese prints arriving in Paris. Particularly drawn to the works of Hiroshige and the \"Eastern aesthetic,\" Claude Monet collected over two hundred prints. In 1899, he built his pond and Japanese bridge in the style of the taikobashi found in Tenjin Shrine at Kameido to serve as his subject in a series of eighteen oil paintings. After his death, Monet's son left the house and gardens to the Academie des Beaux-Arts and today the property serves as public museum.
\r\n\r\n
\r\n (Left) \"Horikiri Iris Garden\" (1857), from the One Hundred Famous Views of Edo. (Right) Horikiri iris garden in Tokyo, Japan (1890). Photo credit: photographium.com.
\r\n Horikiri Iris Garden today. Photo credit: rurousha.blogspot.com.
As water flows languidly through the canal, three hybrid irises command the frame. The color seems to bleed across the light petals of each flower. Founded by Kodaka Izaemon in the 1660s, the Horikiri iris garden grows in an eastern suburb of Edo and remains today in modern Tokyo. By the 19th century, Horikiri had garnered enormous popularity due to spirited competition between flower breeders, each trying to develop an iris more colorful or more exotic than the last. Hiroshige's print presents the most popular of these experiments, the hybrid irises. Though discovered by samurai, the breeding secrets were entrusted to the Horikiri Garden. Looking towards the hand colored photograph, one can see that fifty years after Hiroshige's print, the garden was still in the peak of its beauty. In 1890, the year of this photograph, the hanashobu's (marsh iris) popularity had spread beyond Japan and into the West with enormous success. Yet, by the 1920s, this newfound European demand dwindled and the garden declined. In 1942, the garden was converted into wartime food production. Despite this setback, as the modern day photograph suggests, the plantation was revived after the war as a public garden. The garden blooms in May, boasting two hundred varieties and nearly six thousand flowers to its many modern visitors.
\r\n\r\n
\r\n (Left) Naruto Whirlpools, Awa Province (1855), from Famous Views of the 60-Odd Provinces. (Right) Onaruto- Bridge and Naruto Whirlpools. Photo credit: Wikipedia.com.
White capped waves crash against the rocks in the Naruto Strait. Descending in sharp diagonals from either edge of the print, the rocks direct the eye to the rough churn of the central whirlpool. Looking to the modern day photograph, one can see the same tumultuous water that Hiroshige captured in his print. Though the bridge in the photograph is clearly a modern addition, in both images one can see Awaji on the distant shore. The Naruto strait connects the Kii channel and the Inland sea that separates Japan's main islands of Honshu and Shikoku. As rapid tidal changes create drastic differences in water level, the famous whirlpools form. When this action is combined with the narrowness of the straight, the speed of the water climbs, making Naruto the fourth fastest whirlpool in the world. In Hiroshige's One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, Henry Smith points to the concept of esoragoto, \"making empty pictures that conform to the spirit of the place, rather than its form.\" While scholars and connoisseurs alike can see that Hiroshige often uses imaginary viewpoints and commonly improvises details, his depictions of place ring true. As one compares the prints with the locations as they are today, physical changes are plenty, but the spirit remains. Whether capturing the violent churn of the Naruto whirlpool, the wonder of the hybrid irises, or the festivity of the Asakusa Year End Festival, the feeling of place captured by Hiroshige resonates even in the modern age.
Sources
\r\n\r\n Hiroshige, Henry D. Smith, Amy G. Poster, and Arnold L. Lehman. Hiroshige: One Hundred Famous Views of Edo. New York: George Braziller, 2001. Print.
\r\n\r\n http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/437127 http://aroundtokyo.net/blog/2013/04/29/wisteria-festival-at-kameido-tenjin-2013/ http://www.ukiyoe-gallery.com/kameido-woodblocks.htm
http://www.photographium.com/horikiri-iris-garden-tokyo-japan-1890 http://tokyosnapphoto.blogspot.com/2009/06/horikiri-shobuen-iris-garden.html http://rurousha.blogspot.com/2014/06/flowers-and-towers-at-horikiri-iris.html
http://www.japannavigator.com/2008/06/irises-in-rain-horikiri-park-tokyo.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokushima_Prefecture http://giverny.org/gardens/fcm/visitgb.htm
For the past four years, summer has signaled not only warm weather, but also the arrival of the winner of the annual Ronin|Globus Artist-in-Residence program in New York City. Hosted jointly by Ronin Gallery and Globus Washitsu, Ronin|Globus Artist-in-Residence program seeks to stimulate cross-cultural dialogue by providing the opportunity for Japanese visual artists to live, work and exhibit in New York City. Each year, the selected Artist-in-Residence is the featured artist in Ronin Gallery's summer exhibition. In addition, they receive up to a one-month stay at Globus Washitsu in central Manhattan, a $1,000 cash stipend, and a round-trip ticket between Tokyo and NYC. During their time in New York, the Artist-in-Residence participates in events around the city and a portion of exhibition proceeds goes to the annual charitable sponsor (past sponsors include the Japan Society and Brooklyn Botanic Garden).
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe program assumes a new theme each year. Typically, the annual theme is announced in the fall. In the spring, a blinded panel of prestigious judges select the program winner and finalists based on three criteria: artistic excellence, clarity of concept, and originality in interpretation of theme. Judges are selected to reflect a diversity of viewpoints and opinions. Past panels have consisted of museum curators, individual collectors, philanthropists, and experts on Japanese art.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAs the program celebrates its fifth anniversary, this pattern has been put on hold as we prioritize the health of our artists, team, supporters, and the larger international community. Though our 2020 program is delayed, we're commemorating the fifth anniversary of the program with a look back at four successful years and our four wonderfully talented past program winners.
\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Keisuke \"OZ\" Yamaguchi, The Images of the 33 Reincarnations of Kannon Wave - The Spirit of Tomorrow, 2016, mixed media, 31.5\" x 47.25 \".
As March 2016 marked the fifth anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, the theme of the program's inaugural year was The Great Wave: Images to Support the Japan Earthquake Relief Fund. A portion of the exhibition profits went to the Japan Society's Japan Earthquake Relief Fund.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nKeisuke \"OZ\" Yamaguchi was selected as the inaugural Ronin|Globus Artist-in-Residence. His work blends traditional techniques with thoroughly modern imagery, considering the power of forces unseen. From the energy of scared spirits to the vivid imagery of human emotions, Yamaguchi gives form to a power as ever changing as the waves.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Yamaguchi performs an impromptu live painting demonstration in front of the William Tecumseh Sherman Monument in Central Park in 2016.
Born in Nagano Prefecture in 1986, Yamaguchi attended Nagano National College of Technology for Architecture in 2003. Following his graduation in 2007, he continued his education at Nagaoka Institute of Design, where he studied Architecture and the Environment. His focus has since shifted from architecture to painting. Yamaguchi has actively exhibited his contemporary paintings internationally since 2007. Yamaguchi often integrates process and product in his live painting performances. From the ruins of Ueda Castle in Nagano to Central Park in New York City, Yamaguchi's original technique draws and enchants crowds. Recently, Yamaguchi has found inspiration in ukiyo-e, carrying the spirit of the floating world into his contemporary paintings.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Keisuke \"OZ\" Yamaguchi , Yanada Gorouzaemon Suketake, from the series Portraits of the Faithful Loyal Retainers, 2018, acrylic on canvas, 22.5\" x 15\".
The 2017 program took the theme Iki: Stylish, Simple, and Sophisticated. The concept of iki defies translation, existing as a culturally embedded phenomenon in Japan developed by Edo's urban merchant class during the Edo period. During this program, artists explored iki, an aesthetic ideal tied to human imagination, clarity, and style, through a contemporary lens. A portion of this year's exhibition proceeds went to the Japan Society to support future exhibitions.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Katsutoshi Yuasa, Tokyo Story, 2013, oil-based woodcut on hand-painted paper, 39.5\" x 72\".
Katsutoshi Yuasa was selected as the 2017 Artist-in-Residence. Born in Tokyo in 1978, Yuasa is a contemporary woodblock print artist. His work presents a conversation between the contemporaneity of photography and the tradition of woodblock printmaking. Each woodblock print begins with his own digital photographs, which he then reinterprets as woodblock prints. In his words, the camera creates \"fictional two-dimensional information in the surface—I have decided to use the woodcut technique as a way of adapting the subjective perception to the objective fiction.\" This interplay between the emotional and the factual is neither reality nor fiction: Yuasa creates a \"neutral space—in a new dimension.\"
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Yuasa giving a demonstration of his printmaking technique at Ronin Gallery.\r\n\r\n
Yuasa received BA in Fine Arts from Musashino Art University in 2002, where he studied painting and printmaking. He continued his study of printmaking in London, earning a MFA from the Royal College of Art in 2005. From MI-LAB to Musashino Art University, Yuasa has taught, lectured and led workshops throughout Europe and Asia. He has received numerous awards and scholarships, including Grand Prize at the 2015 CWAJ 60th Anniversary Print Show. He actively exhibits his work in solo and group shows worldwide. His work can be found in prestigious institutions such as the Victoria & Albert Museum.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Katsutoshi Yuasa, Life is good and good for you #1, 2017, woodblock print, 24\" x 84\".
During the program's third year, we partnered with Brooklyn Botanic Garden under the theme Kacho Fugetsu. Composed of the kanji for \"flower,\" \"bird,\" \"wind,\" and \"moon,\" kacho fugetsu evokes both the diverse phenomena of the natural world and a metaphorical significance beyond the physical realm. The third annual program considered contemporary interpretations of this powerful aesthetic and emotional tradition. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden graciously provided a plein air studio space for the duration of the program.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Asako Iwasawa, Breeze from Morning, acrylic on canvas, 29\" x 80\".
Asako Iwasawa was named the 2018 Ronin | Globus Artist-in-Residence. Iwasawa is a contemporary Japanese painter from Akabane, Tokyo. In her entrancing paintings, she looks beyond the physical reality of the natural world and portrays the spirit of nature in her paintings. In her words, \"nature is full of thrills and wonders—it impresses me to no end and fuels my imagination.\" As she treads the boundary between imagination and landscape, she challenges her viewers' sense of place.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Iwasawa at work.
Iwasawa graduated from Tama Art University's Textile Design course before managing Design Studio Himiko. She later discovered a passion for kimono design and worked at the batik studio Kimono Studio Dye Laboratory. Iwasawa spent 10 years living in the countryside, indulging her love for nature. Working as a farmer, she became intimately acquainted with the equally beautiful and harsh realities of the natural world. Though she returned to the city, she brought the vivid world of insects, plants and natural beauty back with her.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Asako Iwasawa, Korean Tree in Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 2018, acrylic on canvas, 29\" x 40\".
The 2019 program took the the theme Ryusui (流水), meaning flowing stream and running water. Ryusui represents the fluid, flowing, formless things in the natural world, changing according to the seasons and the gentle flow of water. Partnering once again with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the 2019 residency included a plein air studio in the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden. Ryusui marked the busiest year of the program so far, with a number of affiliate programs arranged throughout the residency, including a public lecture, excursions to the Hudson River Valley and Fire Island, and tours of Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Yoshihito Kawase, Water, 2019, mineral pigments, sumi, gold and silver leaf on paper, 46\" x 36\".
Yoshihito Kawase was named the fourth annual Ronin|Globus Artist-in-Residence. Working as a nihonga (Japanese-style painting) artist, Kawase uses mineral pigments to create a rich spectrum of color, layering gold, silver and textural carbon ink to create endlessly intriguing reflections of the overlooked wonders of the natural world. In his recent work, Kawase emphasizes the relationship between his subject matter and the materials themselves. Driven by the idea of yohaku—an idea characterized not by emptiness, but through an anxious presence, an ever-present atmosphere—Kawase explores the overlooked aspects, the \"white darkness\" of life in his work.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Kawase at work in the Japanese Hill-and-Garden Pond at Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
Born in Tokyo in 1973, Yoshihito Kawase completed his PhD in Japanese style painting at Tokyo National University of the Arts. Kawase's paintings have been featured in solo and group shows throughout Japan and can be found in permanent collections such as the Museum of Modern Art Ibaraki, the Sato Sakura Museum, and the Tokugawa Art Museum. He is the recipient of the Yamatane Art Museum Nihonga Award (2016) and the 13th Sato International Culture Foundation Scholarship (2005).
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Yoshihito Kawase, Fragrant Summer Breeze, 2019, mineral pigments, sumi, gold and silver leaf on paper, 19.5\" x 24\".
While we hoped to welcome a fifth Artist-in-Residence into our Ronin Contemporary family this summer, we look forward to safety resuming the program in the near future. A thank you to all of our artists, judges, sponsors, and friends who have made this program such a success over the past five years. We look forward to many more years to come! To learn more about the program and to keep an eye on schedule updates, visit the program's official website here.
As we launch our online exhibition Founder's Favorites, we took a moment to speak with Roni Neuer, Ronin Gallery founder and executive director, about her selected works, lifetime of collecting, and advice for new collectors.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Katsutoshi Yuasa, \"Life is good and good for you #2,\" 2017. Woodblock Print.
It was really because of my husband, Herb Libertson. After purchasing a few prints from the Frank Lloyd Wright collection, he became enamored with Japanese woodblock prints. He also had some ukiyo-e that his father brought back from his travels through East Asia as a merchant seaman in the 1920s. To this day, we still have the first print that my husband ever purchased hanging in our home—a Toyokuni III portrait of a Kabuki actor.
\r\n\r\nIt's difficult to say since I'm able to find something I like in almost every print. Whether it be the overall design, the line, color, pattern, history that it portrays, rarity or preservation and impression, every work has something special. If pressed, I would have to say some of the works by Utamaro are among my favorites. For example, in Courtesan Usumizu from Tsuruya, you can really feel her as a person. In works like Overnight Guest, I can step into a scene of 18th century life. When I look at this work I always wonder if it could be Utamaro himself at the window, gazing out at the snow during a night in the yoshiwara.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Utamaro, \"Overnight Guest,\" from Annals of the Green Houses Vol. II, 1806. Woodblock print.
\r\n\r\n Utamaro, \"Courtesan Usumizu from Tsuruya,\" c. 1789. Woodblock print.
Of course! There are so many. Every time I see a unique work or a great impression of a print, the work comes to life and I am captivated. It is a love affair never ends.
\r\n\r\nFounders Favorites is really a farewell to our current website. As I was thinking about this exhibition, I selected the works that I am surprised are still available. They stand out at for a multitude of reasons.
\r\n\r\nKatsutoshi Yuasa's Life is good and good for you #2 stands out as an ode to New York City and its vibrant nature. During this difficult times, it holds a special meaning. Hokusai is known for his powerful Great Wave, but I love the quiet and simple palette of blue and yellow in Choko in Clear Autumn Sky. Kuniyoshi's Tomoe Gozen at Awazugahara Battle is another standout. I love how he captures the strength of this famous female warrior in this triptych. Sometimes a work stands out for its outstanding printing quality—and that's the case with Toyonari's Maiko (Apprentice Geisha). From the gold in the obi to the mica background to the faint blush on her cheeks, the printing quality makes this print come to life.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Hokusai, \"Choko in Clear Autumn Sky,\" from the series Eight Views of Ryukyu, c. 1832. Woodblock print.
\r\n\r\n Toyonari, \"Maiko (Apprentice Geisha),\" 1924. Woodblock print.
What a great honor it's been to curate a collection that encompasses the full spectrum of the art form—from the very beginnings of ukiyo-e in the 17th century through today's contemporary printmakers. The great thing about the Ronin Gallery collection is its scope. It encompasses the entire range of the art form without prejudice to the popularity, rarity, or condition of the print. Each print has its own worth and its own majesty and should be appreciated. I'm proud to have built a collection that gives each work its due.
\r\n\r\nThe new site will be very visually similar to the old site that all of our collectors loved. The big changes are behind the scenes. This means highly sophisticated search function for our collectors and a streamlined backend system for our team. There will be many new features under development over the next year, but I don't want spoil the surprise...keep an eye out for exciting announcements to come.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n Kuniyoshi, \"Tomoe Gozen at Awazugahara Battle,\" c. 1848. Woodblock print.
Buy what you love, live with it. The true purpose of art is enjoyment. It should be able to take you to another place, whether aesthetically or intellectually. It should give you a little spark of joy, even if only for a few brief seconds while you view it. Should you decide to build a collection, define your focus, it could be a specific artist, subject, period or even a color. Also, never sell your first print. It will always have special memories.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Q+A With Roni Neuer, Ronin Gallery Founder","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"7","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"303614","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"10/2/2020 6:27:02 am"}},{"name":"Ronin Gallery at Bryant Park Place","urlPath":"blog/ronin-gallery-at-bryant-park-place-2","url":"ronin-gallery-at-bryant-park-place-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Ronin Gallery at Bryant Park Place|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"Ronin Gallery at Bryant Park Place","meta_description":"Learn about the forty year history of the Ronin Gallery and the making of our new home at Bryant Park Place.","meta_keywords":"Ronin Gallery, gallery space, bryant park place, old engineer's club, hirsch|corti architecture","customrecorddata":"75","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"2","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"Learn about the forty year history of the Ronin Gallery and the making of our new home at Bryant Park Place.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"\r\n Completed in 1907, the Engineers Club building was designed by the architecture firm Whitfield & King and funded by Andrew Carnegie. The club provided a space for engineers to socialize, to share ideas over a casual drink in the comfort of the taproom, and was frequented by notable individuals such as Andrew Carnegie, Herbert C. Hoover, and Nikola Tesla. As home to Ronin Gallery, Bryant Park Place has once again become a space for passionate conversation, education, and celebration of shared interest. Beneath the steel-etched signature of Carnegie himself, the taproom has been transformed into a custom-built space for the care, study, and exhibition of Japanese woodblock prints.\r\n
\r\n\r\n
\r\n
\r\n Ronin Gallery worked with Hirsch | Corti Architecture, Think Construction, and top consultants to create a highly designed home for its encyclopedic collection of 17th through 21st century Japanese prints. From museum-grade lighting and flexible exhibition space, to an unceasing attention to material and historical detail, the new space optimizes the conservation of the collection, the preservation of this historic building, and the experience of the collector.\r\n
\r\n\r\n With the ubiquitous white-box gallery nowhere in sight, this New York establishment plants its roots at the intersection of old world gallery charm and contemporary innovation. Although its address has changed, visitors can continue to expect all of the qualities that Ronin Gallery has embodied for the past 45 years—a dedication to quality, connoisseurship, and accessibility in an open and friendly environment–taken to the next level. As turn-of-the century architecture, contemporary design, and Japanese art come together at Bryant Park Place, Ronin Gallery creates an experience as rare as the collection it holds.\r\n
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Ronin Gallery at Bryant Park Place","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"Interior of Ronin Gallery","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"364937","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"303615","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"10/4/2020 6:45:02 am"}},{"name":"Iconic: Images of the Floating World","urlPath":"blog/iconic-images-of-the-floating-world-2","url":"iconic-images-of-the-floating-world-2","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Iconic: Images of the Floating World|Ronin Gallery","page_header":"Iconic: Images of the Floating World","meta_description":"In celebration of the grand opening of our new gallery at Bryant Park Place, Ronin Gallery is pleased to present a carefully curated collection of Japanese woodblock prints in Iconic: Images of the Floating World. From Hokusai’s Great Wave to Kuniyoshi’s Skeleton Specter, this exhibition presents an unprecedented opportunity to experience some of the most influential designs of ukiyo-e together in a single exhibition.","meta_keywords":"Hokusai, Hiroshige, Utamaro, Kuniyoshi, ukiyo-e, Japanese woodblock prints, masterworks, edo period","customrecorddata":"76","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"In celebration of the grand opening of our new gallery at Bryant Park Place, Ronin Gallery is pleased to present a carefully curated collection of Japanese woodblock prints in Iconic: Images of the Floating World. From Hokusai’s Great Wave to Kuniyoshi’s Skeleton Specter, this exhibition presents an unprecedented opportunity to experience some of the most influential designs of ukiyo-e together in a single exhibition.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"\r\n In commemoration of the grand opening of their new gallery at Bryant Park Place, Ronin Gallery is pleased to present a carefully curated collection of Japanese woodblock prints in Iconic: Images of the Floating World. From Hokusai’s Great Wave to Kuniyoshi’s Skeleton Specter, this exhibition presents an unprecedented opportunity to experience some of the most influential designs of ukiyo-e together in a single exhibition. The term iconic speaks to an immortality, an undimming radiance that crosses cultures and centuries. In the history of art, certain works are universally recognizable, from museum walls to emojis, these iconic designs blur the line between life and art. Explore the exhibition catalog below.\r\n
\r\n\r\n
\r\n
\r\n
\r\n
\r\n In New Perspectives: Early 20th Century Bijin-ga, Ronin Gallery invites you to consider modern “pictures of beautiful women” with fresh eyes. Featuring the work of renowned artists such as Goyo, Kotondo, and Shinsui, this exhibition looks beyond nostalgic appeal to explore these woodblock prints as vital reflections of their cultural context. As Japan wrestled with identity on a national level, woodblock print artists working in the field of bijin-ga or “pictures of beautiful women,” sought to redefine both the genre and the medium. Simultaneously, the women at the heart of these prints fought for a position in Japanese society. Blending the familiar with the new, the past with the present, these works contribute to a national conversation: Who was the modern Japanese woman? What was the role of the woodblock print of in the modern era?\r\n
\r\n\r\n
\r\n
\r\n The turn-of-the-century popularity of ukiyo-e abroad prompted a reappraisal of the woodblock tradition within Japan. This international acceptance sparked a shift in the perception of the medium–from private viewing to public exhibitions, commercial ephemera to fine art. As the artists of the Shin Hanga, or “new print” movement embraced foreign influence and a newfound global audience, they asserted the genres of ukiyo-e with renewed vigor. From shimmering mica and richly textured kimono, to blushing contours and individually discernable strands of hair, these sumptuous prints reveal the skill of the artist as they lend a tangibility to the subject.\r\n
\r\n\r\n Beyond the printed page, Japanese women were defining modern femininity. As they worked for greater economic and social freedom, the moga (“modern girl”) challenged staid expectations of womanhood, sparking larger conversations about gender roles and class. These portraits are as ripe with cultural negotiation as the historical climate from whence they came.\r\n
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"New Perspectives: Shin Hanga Beauties","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"364935","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"303617","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"10/5/2020 10:47:05 am"}},{"name":"/cotton-rose-and-sparrows","urlPath":"cotton-rose-and-sparrows","url":"cotton-rose-and-sparrows","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Cotton Rose and Sparrows by Shizuo Ashikaga | Ronin Gallery","page_header":"","meta_description":"Add Cotton Rose and Sparrows by Shizuo Ashikaga to your art collection today. Ronin Gallery houses an incredible selection of authentic Japanese woodblock prints.","meta_keywords":"","customrecorddata":"","type":2,"pageTypeName":"ProductDetails.Full.View","customrecordscriptid":"","cmscreatable":false},{"name":"Spirit of the Stage: The Theatrical Prints of Kokei Tsuruya","urlPath":"blog/spirit-of-the-stage-the-theatrical-prints-of-kokei-tsuruya","url":"spirit-of-the-stage-the-theatrical-prints-of-kokei-tsuruya","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Spirit of the Stage: The Theatrical Prints of Kokei Tsuruya","page_header":"Spirit of the Stage: The Theatrical Prints of Kokei Tsuruya","meta_description":"In Spirit of the Stage: Kokei Tsuruya, we explore the career and artistic process of the woodblock print artist and modern master of actor portraiture, Kokei Tsuruya. Born in 1946, Kokei holds a unique place among Japan’s contemporary woodblock print artists. Emotionally charged, bold and vividly rendered, his kabuki portraits blend the spirit of ukiyo-e with a distinctly modern angle. With expressive faces and exaggerated gestures, contemporary stars of the kabuki stage bloom from the artist’s imagination, bold against delicate sheets of ganpi paper.","meta_keywords":"Kokei, contemporary Japanese art, woodblock print, kabuki theater","customrecorddata":"101","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"In Spirit of the Stage: Kokei Tsuruya, we explore the career and artistic process of the woodblock print artist and modern master of actor portraiture, Kokei Tsuruya.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"Between cascades of black hair, the actor Ichikawa Danshiro IV pulls his eyebrows together, flares his nostrils, and contorts his mouth into a grimace. The red and blue makeup, known as kumadori, emphasizes the intensity of his contorted expression, while his tensed, splayed fingers extend from the left edge of the paper to punctuate the dramatic pause of the mie–the pose held at the pinnacle of emotion and drama during a kabuki scene. In the play at hand, Kagekiyo, this moment comes just before the imprisoned Heike warrior Kagekiyo escapes his captors. Kokei captures the glamour and drama of this moment through bold lines, shimmering mica, and tangible intensity in the portrait above. As Danshiro IV’s left hand steadies the wooden beam – his means of the escape – Kokei savors the anticipation of freedom. Long after the curtains close and the lights rise in the theater, Kokei offers a window into the extravagant costumes, enduring tales, and emphatic actors of the kabuki stage through his actor portraits.
\r\n\r\nBorn in 1946 in Chigasaki, Kanagawa prefecture as Mitsui Gen, Kokei Tsuruya was raised in Shinjuku ward of Tokyo. Both his father and grandfather worked as professional artists, yet Kokei set off on a different path. Kokei explored woodblock carving as a pastime and collected ukiyo-e, but spent his early adulthood pursuing a corporate career. That is, until the mid-1970s. Profoundly inspired by a Kabuki performance, he soon traded office life for the artist’s workshop and began to design actor portraits. Between 1974 and 1975, he completed 10 prints in the style of the 18th-century ukiyo-e master Sharaku, but these prints received little recognition. Discouraged, Kokei pivoted subject matter and produced a series depicting eight kinds of hell. During a private showing at a gallery in Ginza, this series caught the eye of Takeomi Nagayama, the president of the Shochiku Company, which owned the Kabuki-za (Tokyo’s premier kabuki theater), and a symbiotic relationship between artist and theater blossomed.
\r\n\r\n\r\nBetween 1978 and 2000, Kokei produced around 12 limited edition designs annually, each of which was sold during the production of the play depicted. Kokei completed each print from start to finish – designing, carving, inking, printing, and, ultimately, destroying each block himself. These limited-edition prints were to be sold specifically at the theater. Beginning in May of 1985, members of the “Kokei-kai,” could sign up to purchase his designs for two year, and later, 15-month periods. While the early years of Kokei’s collaboration with the Kabuki-za saw few sales, the partnership with the theater ultimately resulted in enormous success for the artist. As Kokei found inspiration on stage at the Kabuki-za and in the ukiyo-e tradition, he enlivened the yakusha-e (actor print) genre for a contemporary generation of actors and audiences.
\r\n\r\nKokei’s prints not only captured the drama of the Kabuki theater, but also reflected its cycles – of rotating performances, famous roles, and storied lines of actors. In fact, Kokei’s pattern of production aligned with the 25-day runs of performances at the Kabuki-za. He would begin each process with the rehearsal before opening day. After deciding upon an actor and play ahead of time, he used the rehearsal to carefully observe the actor and select a particular moment to depict. Over the next three days, he used these mental observations to create his design. After four days of carving, he spent three days on printing, experimenting with color and completing the set number of impressions. Once the edition was completed, he would destroy the blocks. As a young print collector, Kokei didn’t like to see other artists’ wood blocks for sale. By methodically destroying his own blocks, he both put his mind at ease and ensured the limited edition status of his designs necessitated by his contract with the Kabuki-za. The completed prints were then sold at the Kabuki-za for the following 15 days (until the end of the performance). Some of the impressions were sent to subscribing members of his print club. In the three days before the premiere of the next play, Kokei decided which actor and role would take center stage in his next design.
\r\n\r\nKokei intertwined tradition and innovation not only in his designs, but also through his choice of printmaking materials. Inspired by the thin paper of ukiyo-e and a desire for a technical challenge, Kokei printed many of his portraits upon ganpi paper. This exceptionally thin Japanese paper is made from the ganpi bush, whose thin fibers render the paper slightly translucent with a faint brown hue. For his blocks, Kokei chose Silver Magnolia wood rather than the harder Cherry wood favored for ukiyo-e prints. While Cherry provided the necessary durability for large editions of ukiyo-e, Kokei’s small editions allowed him to prioritize ease of carving over durability. While the depicted actor’s role dictated many color choices, Kokei experimented with both vivid shades and monochrome designs throughout his many actor prints. In 1985, he began to embellish his prints with mica, adding a heightened luxury to his designs.
\r\n\r\nIn 2000, after twenty-two years of actor prints, Kokei looked beyond the stage and the woodblock print. Over the next two decades, he developed a robust portfolio of self-portraits across different mediums. In a 2019 interview with the Pacific Asia Museum, he described how these portraits allowed him to keep learning, to keep developing his skill as an artist. In 2017, Kokei returned to the woodblock print with his ongoing project Banzai Ukiyoe-ha Gosugata (Long Live the Five Figures of Ukiyo-e). These portraits breathe life into the ukiyo-e masters that inspired Kokei’s passion for the art form. Drawing inspiration each artist’s shini-e (funerary portraits) and the spirit of their respective oeuvres, Kokei captures edo-period luminaries in his distinctive style of portraiture. As of March 2021, he has completed portraits of Hokusai, Kuniyoshi, Hiroshige, and Kunisada.
\r\n\r\n\r\nKokei’s work can be found in numerous institutions such as the British Museum, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Pacific Asia Museum, Yale University Art Gallery, and the Honolulu Museum of Art. In 2019, the Pacific Asia Museum at the University of Southern California held the retrospective Tsuruya Kokei: Modern Kabuki Prints Revised & Revisited.
\r\n\r\n\r\nThis March, Ronin Gallery explores the theatrical world of Kokei in Kokei Tsuryuya: Modern Master of Kabuki Prints. Visit the exhibition here.
\r\n\r\nDaryl Howard is a celebrated contemporary American woodblock printmaker. In her work, Howard interweaves influences from her home in Texas with traditional woodblock printing techniques learned in Japan. Rendered in bold, handmade colors with eye-catching gold, silver and copper details, Howard’s prints capture the natural world through a meditative eye. This March, we took a moment to catch up with the artist and chat about her lifetime of Japanese woodblock printmaking, her artistic practice, her pandemic-era explorations, and her latest projects.
\r\n\r\nDaryl Howard at home in her Texas studio. Image courtesy of Daryl Howard.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n1.\tWhat first drew you to Japanese woodblock prints? Both as an artist and as a collector?
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nI was first introduced to the Japanese woodblock print in art history class at Sam Houston State University in 1967, while working on my BFA degree. Until that time, I had only viewed prints that were reproduced in books or on a slide projector in art history class. It was when I took my first printmaking class that I began to understand their complexity, beauty, and extraordinary compositions.
\r\n\r\nI became a collector when I moved to Japan in January of 1971 and met a gentleman, Claude Holeman, who had resided there since 1949 and had collected woodblock prints for over 40 years. Claude became my “guide” into this amazing world. Upon our meeting at a reception for my former husband at Yokota Air Force Base, my journey with the antique print began. Finding out that I had an art degree, he invited us to his home in Kunitachi City for dinner and woodblock print viewing. That night after dinner he unlocked his safe containing over 900 antique woodblock prints—many of which were gifted to him by Dr. Richard Lane, a leading authority on ukiyo-e. By the end of the evening, we had viewed his entire collection and I became “hooked.” This was the first time that I actually viewed original prints and held them in my hands. I had never seen anything like them before in my life of 21 years. We instantly became good friends and would frequent old bookstores and antique print shops in Tokyo on weekends.
\r\n\r\nAfter two years of collecting, I received an invitation to train with Hodaka Yoshida, son of Hiroshi Yoshida. Claude was instrumental in instructing me about the protocol of introduction in Japan. I knew it was amazing that he took me as a student because I was both a female and a westerner. I went on to train for a year in his “home” studio, having tea several times with Fujio, his mother, and Chizuko, his wife—both were also fabulous printmakers.
\r\n\r\n\r\nDaryl Howard. \"Even the full moon listens to falling water.\" 2019. Color woodblock print embellished with silver. Ronin Gallery.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n2.\tWhat was the first print in your collection?
\r\n\r\nThe first print in my collection was Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi’s “Odawara Station” (1850) from Fifty-three Pairings Along the Tokaido Road. Claude Holeman was with me at an old bookstore in Tokyo when we came across it in a stack of woodblock prints and he suggested it to start my collection.
\r\n\r\n\r\n3.\tCombining computerized carving with traditional Japanese brushes and paper, your work combines centuries of tradition with technological innovation. Can you tell us about your practice?
\r\n\r\nSince my training with Hodaka Yoshida in 1974, I have created traditional Japanese woodblock prints. I have used the same print paper, Kizuki (handmade in Fukui on the Sea of Japan), that the Yoshida family has used since Hiroshi started printing in the 1920s. However, my technique of carving the wood changed after my third hand surgery - necessitated by 38 years of carving with hand-held blades. I now draw my designs on a Wacom tablet in the Illustrator program. I send my drawing files to a craftsman who works with a CNC router. His computer reads my drawing and his CNC performs the initial carving of each block of wood. For me today, it is not “how” the blocks are carved but the quality of the end product - the finished print. While I continue to use the traditional brushes, ink and paper as I have done for decades, modern technology has allowed me to continue to make prints long after my carving hands gave out.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nA glimpse of Howard's handmade pigments. Image courtesy of Daryl Howard.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nColor planning in shades of blue. Image courtesy of Daryl Howard.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n4.\tWhat is your favorite part of the printmaking process?
\r\n\r\nThe most amazing part of the printmaking process for me is pulling a new print off of newly carved blocks - it is like the birth of a “being” for me. I call this part of the process “proofing” the blocks, as I frequently will work for days to achieve just the right color palette and the most effective bokashi to go with the carvings.
\r\n\r\n\r\n5.\tEach of your prints bears a poem. Do you have the poem in mind as you create the print? Or do they develop simultaneously?
\r\n\r\nAs I work on a new print, I recall the place of my inspiration, its “essence,” and begin creating a sort of Haiku with my own twist. The words that come to me arrive either during or after my new print is completed, I refer to those as “Daryl-ku.” I have taken several writing courses over the years and am fascinated with words that express the reason for the creation of my work, it then becomes part of my completed image.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nPulling a print from the block. Image courtesy of Daryl Howard.
\r\n\r\n\r\n6.\tThe past year has changed how we all work and live. How has quarantine affected your practice? Has the past year changed your perspective?
\r\n\r\n2020 has definitely shifted my life. I live on a fifty-acre ranch outside Austin, Texas with a spring-fed creek and 13 head of cattle. That did not change. But my husband, Owen Kinney, and I did not leave the property except for grocery trips every two weeks and monthly outside window visits with my 94-year-old mother in San Antonio. My art shows were cancelled. My studio staff of two, Cyndle Roberts and Heather Romero, no longer came daily to assist me - I was alone.
\r\n\r\nCovid gave me the opportunity to focus in a completely different way than I had ever done before. In 2019, an exhibit at the Blanton Museum of Art featured Durer etchings paired with etching artists of the same time period. They had copied Durer’s prints as a didactic process. I was fascinated by what they had created and what they must have learned as an artist through that practice. I explored this idea through works that inspired me. I first reproduced Hokusai’s “Great Wave,” a work that, as Dr. Richard Lane wrote in Hokusai: Life and Work (1989),“…more than any other print, astounded and delighted artists in Paris at the close of the 19th century.”
\r\n\r\nVan Gogh and the other Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painters were highly influenced by the antique prints, just as I have been my entire career. One work I drew daily on my tablet was the image of van Gogh’s oil painting “Bridge in the Rain” (1887), which he based on a woodblock print from his collection, Hiroshige’s “Sudden Shower Over Shin-Ohashi Bridge and Atake” (1856) from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo. No two prints are exactly alike because it is a painterly process for me–I mix the color individually for each block in this edition. With 11 carvings and 23 specific hand-made colors, this image may be the most complex woodblock set that I have ever completed.
\r\n\r\nDaryl Howard, after Vincent van Gogh 1887. \"... as the world stopped... rain washed time away... leaving pools of memories.\" 2020. Color woodblock print. Ronin Gallery.
\r\n\r\n\r\n7.\tFrom your introduction to collecting in 1974, to your training under Hodaka Yoshida, to your recent explorations of “inspiration”—whether Hokusai or Van Gogh—you draw upon both ukiyo-e masters and great ukiyo-e collectors. How do you see yourself within the legacy of Japanese woodblock printmaking?
\r\n\r\nI hope that my legacy within the Japanese woodblock tradition depicts its classic essence. I strive for the same perfection that the masters achieved throughout the centuries. I also want my work to highlight both the places on this earth that have inspired artists for centuries, as well as my beloved Texas, in a medium that is unique to the Japanese culture. As Hiroshi Yoshida travelled the globe and created imagery along his path, that is my hope as well. It is critical for me to keep this tradition alive, as it is essential to who I am as a human being in 2021.
\r\n\r\n\r\n8.\tI hear that a new book project is in the works, juxtaposing your original work with those of masters of Japanese printmaking. What inspired this project? What kind of connections were you exploring between prints? Can you tell us a bit more about what we can expect with this exciting book?
\r\n\r\nI decided last year that since I had no art shows, it would be the perfect time to produce my third book. The first book was published in 1990, The Source…The Image…The Journey, and is sold out. The second, A Warm Stone to Dream Upon, was published in 2003. The author of both titles, Annie Osburn, resides in Albuquerque, N.M. I contacted her and we were both thrilled to get started on number three, Master Reflections–Stories Between the Stones.
\r\n\r\nBecause my new work is currently based on antique prints, it became obvious to my staff that they should pair my original work with my collection of antique prints. When I started seeing the obvious relationships which they were identifying between my woodblock prints and what I have been collecting my entire lifetime, I began to understand why I was doing my 2020 theme work. It literally took someone else to bring this to my awareness. When my author saw the new direction my work was taking, she was convinced the focus for the third book should be, “Reflections of the Master.” The book will present 15 pairings of my antique print collection with my own woodblock prints. Some of the pairings are based on subject matter, some on technical similarities, some composition and others color relationships.
\r\n\r\nDaryl Howard. \"I am the wave that no one sees.\" 2020. Color woodblock print. Ronin Gallery.
\r\n\r\n\r\n9.\tAs we inch towards normalcy, what are you most looking forward to in a less socially-distant world?
\r\n\r\nAs we literally “inch” forward, I look forward to having an “in person” show at Ronin Gallery whenever we regain an acceptable degree of normalcy. I would enjoy presenting workshops there, as well as in my studio outside of Austin. Another goal is to go to museums and galleries, to experience the actual art and not simply view it on my computer screen. I anticipate having to learn again how to relax inside a restaurant so I may enjoy a good meal with friends. This experience has taught me to appreciate all that I once may have taken for granted, but now see as part of the good life.
\r\n\r\nImage courtesy of Daryl Howard.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nTo explore our full collection of Daryl Howard’s work, visit her artist page here. To preorder her new book, follow this link. Want to see the artist in action? Howard was recently featured in the GoDaddy video series Icons of Our Tribe. Be sure to check out the video here!
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Artist Daryl Howard applying ink to woodblock","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"3","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"6","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"Artist Daryl Howard applying ink to woodblock","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"401051","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"401052","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"3/29/2021 2:43:09 pm"}},{"name":"Q+A with Sarah Brayer","urlPath":"blog/qa-with-sarah-brayer","url":"qa-with-sarah-brayer","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Q+A with Sarah Brayer","page_header":"Q+A with Sarah Brayer","meta_description":"Sarah Brayer is an internationally acclaimed artist who works in print and paper mediums. We took a moment to catch up with her about her recent solo exhibition Inner Light at Kyoto’s Komyo-in Temple, her Luminosity series, and her latest book project.","meta_keywords":"Sarah Brayer, Contemporary, paperworks, moon, inner light, luminosity","customrecorddata":"103","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"8","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"Sarah Brayer is an internationally acclaimed artist who works in print and paper mediums. This May, we took a moment to catch up with her about her recent solo exhibition Inner Light at Kyoto’s Komyo-in Temple, her Luminosity series, and her latest book project.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"Sarah Brayer is an internationally acclaimed artist who works in print and paper mediums. She lives in Kyoto, Japan. From celestial explorations to snow covered Kyoto streets, Brayer imbues her work with a meditative spirit. Known for her aquatints and poured washi paperworks, she is the author of several publications and her work can be found in the permanent collections of institutions such as the British Museum, National Museum of Asian Art of the Smithsonian, and Legion of Honor in San Francisco. Brayer’s career has been distinguished with many impressive honors. In 1992, she was the first artist to exhibit at Byodo-in Temple, a world heritage site, as part of Kyoto’s 1200-year celebration. In 2007, she was the first foreign cover artist for Tokyo’s annual CWAJ Contemporary Print Show. In 2013, Japan’s Ministry of Culture recognized Brayer’s explorations with washi (Japanese paper) with the Commissioner’s Award (Bunkacho Chokan Hyosho), applauding her for the international dissemination of Japanese culture. Brayer has been a member of the Ronin Gallery family of artists for four decades. We took a moment to catch up with her about her recent solo exhibition Inner Light at Kyoto’s Komyo-in Temple, her Luminosity series, and her latest book project.
\r\n\r\n\r\nSarah Brayer with Moonlight Mandala in her studio. Image courtesy of Sarah Brayer.
\r\n\r\n\r\nWhat first drew you to Japan? When did you know you were there to stay?
\r\n\r\nI initially came to Japan with a backpack, a one-way ticket, and a thousand dollars in traveler checks. It was an adventure and a chance for me to see more of the world after spending a year in London as an exchange student. From the London experience, I had a strong desire to explore and live abroad. In one sense, I still have this feeling. Once we built our home 20 years ago, and my studio adjacent to our house, that felt like a significant commitment to living in Japan.
\r\n\r\nBiwako Blue (1988) on exhibition at Komyo-in this April. Poured mulberry and mistumata paperwork, 4 panel folding screen. Image courtesy of Sarah Brayer.
\r\n\r\n\r\nAt the end of April, a selection of 30 of your works was featured in the solo exhibition Inner Light at Komyo-in Temple (a sub-temple of Tofukuji, a large Zen temple in Kyoto). Can you tell us about the exhibition?
\r\n\r\n\r\nThis exhibition featured a selection of my major paperworks made during the past 35 years in Japan and New York. In addition to showing my larger folding screens and scrolls, it was the first opportunity to have a large Luminosity gallery in a public space in Japan—I have had several shows in the US, both at the Johnson Museum at Cornell and the Castellani Museum. At Komyo-in, I filled the main meditation hall with my phosphorescent paperworks. There was a lighting cycle and soundtrack to create a calm and spacious feeling that harmonized with the art. I also had a selection of screens, scrolls and mounted paperworks throughout the temple. It was very exciting to show my work in Japan at this stunning site.
\r\n\r\n\r\nOne work, two faces. Midnight Moon (2020) viewed in the light (L) and viewed in the dark (R). Aquatint on indigo-dyed handmade mulberry paper with washi chin collé and phosphorescent pigment. Images courtesy of Sarah Brayer.
\r\n\r\n\r\nIn your Luminosity series, as you combine paper fiber with phosphorescent pigments, you create a single work with multiple appearances – one designed for the light, the other to come alive in the dark. What inspired these explorations with luminescence? How has the series evolved over the years?
\r\n\r\n\r\nThe idea for the Luminosity series came to me while I was musing about how to show a series of significant moon paperworks. I imagined the gallery having darkened walls and spotlights that shifted the light as if clouds passed through the sky at night. At that time, I learned about the pigments, and I thought, what if I added the light directly into the artwork while making the paper? I wonder if it would illuminate the works and if the pigment would bond with the paper? I knew I had to try! The series now includes constellations and a series of moons. Some of the works have numerous layers of paper that move. Over the years, I have refined the use of the phosphorescent glow.
\r\n\r\n\r\nSarah Brayer. Moonlight Mandala (2021). Indigo and ultramarine-dyed mulberry paper, aquatint, chin collé, \tphosphorescent pigment. Image courtesy of Sarah Brayer.
\r\n\r\nMoonlight Mandala glowing in the mediation room at Komyo-in. Image courtesy of Sarah Brayer.
\r\n\r\nIf you could highlight one work from your recent exhibition, which would you choose? Could you tell us a bit about it?
\r\n\r\nMoonlight Mandala was just completed. It shows a moon passing through 12 stages or cycles and is arranged like a mandala—meaning \"mind tool\" in Sanskrit—moving around the night sky. The initial inspiration was one of my editioned paperworks called Midnight Moon. I wanted to extend this image to include different stages of the moon.
\r\n\r\n\r\n
Making washi moons. Image courtesy of Sarah Brayer.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nMidnight Moon in progress at Brayer’s studio. Image courtesy of Sarah Brayer.
\r\n\r\n\r\nIn 1992, you were honored as the first artist to ever hold an invited exhibition at Kyoto’s Byodo-in Temple during the city’s 1200-year anniversary celebration. This month, you returned to a temple setting at Komyo-in Temple for Inner Light. Do you find that a temple setting particularly resonates with your work?
\r\n\r\n\r\nJapanese temples house some of the most beautiful combinations of architecture integrated with (consciously designed) nature. Washi is a natural plant fiber. The works I make from it have a kind of feathery, organic quality. To exhibit them in the temple on tatami mats with open doors, a garden, and natural light is a dream setting that reinforces a meditative quality in my work. The temple setting has an organic quality, and you can feel a sense of calm in a place where practice has occurred for many years.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nMusing at Komyo-in. Image courtesy of Sarah Brayer.
\r\n\r\n\r\nIn addition to your exhibition Inner Light, you are in the process of creating fusuma for the temple’s meditation hall. Can you tell us about making such large-scale works? Does the ultimate destination of these works inform their design?
\r\n\r\n\r\nThe abbot of Komyo-in and I were musing about how we might enliven the doors in a stunning tatami room that faces the Shigemori Mirei garden. He mentioned that he wanted it to become a meditation space. I said I could make some washi fusuma paper doors that brought nature into the room. We listened to a small waterfall in the distance, and I showed him some works that have very fluid strokes and are created by flowing colored fibers into a pool of water. He seemed to think that this was the perfect match for the room, and we both imagined how it might look if I was to extend this waterfall theme to cover eight doors facing the garden! From this conversation, the project arose.
\r\n\r\n\r\nWhat does the production of the large-scale fusuma works look like? Is it a multi-person task to work at that scale? Do you collaborate with other artisans?
\r\n\r\n\r\nWhen I work on the large washi paperworks, I am assisted by professional papermakers in Echizen, who assist me in moving the large screens that are part of my process. We discuss the project on site, and I rely on their expertise in bringing my vision to fruition. The photo below shows me working with Nori-chan, a master papermaker with 50 years of experience.
\r\n\r\n\r\nBrayer working with Nori-chan, a master papermaker with 50 years of experience. Image courtesy of Sarah Brayer.
\r\n\r\n\r\nI hear that you released a book to accompany the recent exhibition. What can we look forward to in this new title?
\r\n\r\nYes, a new book of my unique images on paper was released to celebrate the exhibition. Sharing a title with the exhibition, Inner Light contains 115 large color plates of important paperwork originals from 1987 to 2021. There are also two curatorial essays, one by Meher McArthur and Joann Moser.
\r\n\r\n\r\nThe past year has changed how we all work and live. How has quarantine affected your practice? Has the past year changed your perspective?
\r\n\r\n\r\nThis past year has given me much more time to work slowly and deliberately in a quiet setting with fewer interruptions. I could let go of concerns about marketing my work. However, this extensive exhibition at Komyo-in was in the making for more than a year, and I also got involved with making a book, so it turned out to be a pretty intensive work period. I have enjoyed the quiet time, and I have pursued other practices that support my art and life, such as tai chi, meditation, and spending time in our garden.
\r\n\r\nSarah beside Luminous Motion at her exhibition Inner Light. Image courtesy of Sarah Brayer.
\r\n\r\n\r\nAs we inch towards normalcy, what are you most looking forward to in a less socially-distant world?
\r\n\r\n\r\nActive and intimate conversations, travel, and in-person interactions in the studio and gallery. I am so excited about seeing you in person and showing my work at the new Ronin Gallery.
\r\n\r\n\r\nWe can't wait to see you!
\r\n\r\n\r\nTo explore Sarah’s latest work, visit her artist page here. To order her new book, Inner Light, and explore her other titles, follow this link.
As Tokyo prepared for a summer of international sporting events, the city completed an extensive construction of stadiums and venues around the metropolis to house the competitions. Bordered by the Sumida River to the west and Arakawa River to the east, the Koto Ward is home to the majority of the event locations, given its proximity to the Tokyo Bay and abundance of reclaimed land. The 45 districts of Koto-ku also encompass an area of the city rich in history, where many neighborhoods and landmarks date back to the Edo Period. Documented as one of the oldest hanamachi (geisha entertainment quarters) in Japan, the district of Fukagawa served as the backdrop for many notable ukiyo-e designs. In the print Fukagawa Susaki and Jumantsubo, Hiroshige presents an aerial view of the marshlands, looking northeast on a winter day. In View of the Sangen Teahouse in Snow at Fukagawa Hachiman Shrine in Toto (Edo), Kunisada captures a local beauty trudging through the snow.
\r\nHiroshige. Fukagawa Susaki and Jumantsubo. 1857. Woodblock Print.
\r\n\r\nToday, as one of the remaining shitamachi, or Old Tokyo districts, the neighborhood of Fukagawa is still lined with alleyways of shops and restaurants that preserve a traditional feel. Fukagawa was famously illustrated by Hokusai in his design Under the Mannen Bridge at Fukagawa. Although the wooden planks were replaced with steel, Mannen Bridge still serves as a crossing over the waterways of Koto Ward.
\r\n\r\n\r\nHokusai. Under the Mannen Bridge at Fukagawa. c. 1829-1833. Woodblock Print.
\r\n\r\nMannen Bridge in Koto Ward, Tokyo. Image source: Wikimedia Commons.
\r\n\r\nFarther inland, at the northern tip of Koto Ward lies Kameido, another shitamachi neighborhood known for Kameido Tenjin Shrine. Crowds have visited the shrine every spring since the Edo period to catch a glimpse of the hanging wisteria trellises in full bloom. The gardens and bridge were a favored subject by landscape artists from Hiroshige and Hokusai, to Hiroshi Yoshida and Hasui.
\r\n\r\nHiroshi Yoshida. Kameido Bridge. 1927. Woodblock Print.
\r\n\r\n![\"Kameido](\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kameido_Tenjin_Shrine.jpg\")
Kameido Tenjin Shrine. Image source: Creative Commons.
\r\n\r\nBetween its historical landmarks and ready access to land and sea, the Koto Ward provides a fitting location for Tokyo to both accommodate an international event and share the city’s culture and traditions.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Hokusai: Under the Mannen Bridge at Fukagawa","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"3","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"Kunisada Bijin in Snow at Sangenchaya in Fukagawa","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"449749","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"449750","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"7/26/2021 5:11:19 am"}},{"name":"On Perspective","urlPath":"blog/on-perspective","url":"on-perspective","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"On Perspective","page_header":"On Perspective","meta_description":"Through the use of perspective, artists can both shape our perception and challenge our understanding of the subject. Perspective can be used as a tool to depict lifelike qualities, but it also can also invite the viewer to see familiar things in new ways. When we engage with art, thought and sight go hand in hand. The exhibition On Perspective explores the power of artistic perception. It asks: how does the way we look at a subject change our understanding of it? ","meta_keywords":"perspective, tattoo, ukiyoe, contemporary art","customrecorddata":"105","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"9","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"Through the use of perspective, artists can both shape our perception and challenge our understanding of the subject. Perspective can be used as a tool to depict lifelike qualities, but it also can also invite the viewer to see familiar things in new ways. The exhibition On Perspective explores the power of artistic perception. It asks: how does the way we look at a subject change our understanding of it? This post was written by Inez Olszewski during her 2021 summer internship at Ronin Gallery. We would like to thank Inez for all her hard work!","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"\r\n This post was written by Inez Olszewski during her 2021 summer internship at Ronin Gallery. We would like to thank Inez for all her hard work!\r\n
\r\n\r\n “To see is to think and to think is to see. It’s a different kind of language, but that seems to be the function of art: to change meaning through perception.”\r\n
\r\n\r\n - Richard Serra, Talk With Charlie Rose, 2001\r\n
\r\n\r\n Whether the subject is a bustling cityscape, ripples in the water, or a tattoo, perception is subjective. Through the use of perspective, artists can both shape our perception and challenge our understanding of the subject. Perspective can be used as a tool to depict lifelike qualities, but it also can also invite the viewer to see familiar things in new ways. When we engage with art, thought and sight go hand in hand. The exhibition On Perspective explores the power of artistic perception. It asks: how does the way we look at a subject change our understanding of it?\r\n
\r\n
\r\n
\r\n ![\"Water\"](\"https://www.roningallery.com/core/media/media.nl?id=456060&c=4366028&h=KNzcAczhpfNdUCi7jeGtGrgJy3CXMZvRLWV8hYD4HGWmzTdJ\")
\r\n Yoshihito Kawase. \"Water.\" 2019. Nihonga. Ronin Gallery.\r\n
\r\n\r\n Through exploring how the viewer engages with the works in On Perspective we can be led to create new experiences through unique perspectives. In both \"Water\" by Yoshihito Kawase and \"Deer Near Waterside\" by Shoson our eye is drawn to the large bodies of water that fill in the space. However, the position at which we look at the water creates two different environments for the viewer. In Water we are looking at the ripples from above, and the focal point of work becomes the center of the ripple, in which both real and reflected foliage can be seen. From this angle, the subject of the work is no longer the pool of water, but the greenery that has been abstracted through refraction. The viewer stands in the middle of both worlds, in between the seen and unseen forest and leaves.\r\n
\r\n
\r\n
\r\n ![\"Deer](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=456061&c=4366028&h=5c2fYhLYWoRoClg0DAjmshWj3UiZiw0OcpE3yVuS6GzOXwwN&303525\")
\r\n Shoson. \"Deer Near Waterside.\" c.1913. Color woodblock print. Ronin Gallery.\r\n
\r\n\r\n In contrast, in \"Deer Near Waterside\" the viewer looks across the water to the two deer at their eye level rather than from above. This low angle from which the viewer looks out across to the deer evokes the sense that they have exited the human realm, as if to achieve this perspective, they became a deer themself. This full immersion into the animal realm is brought to us through Shoson's use of perspective, presenting the opportunity to become part of the environment rather than observing them from the sidelines.\r\n
\r\n\r\n ![\"Ritsu](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=456059&c=4366028&h=aDRV9G1EHr3pPLX3ZicZ6rpg1R4ueJMs3UAFEyoMxraRrACf&90031\")
\r\n Masato Sudo. \"Ritsu (standing).\" c.2014. Photograph. Ronin Gallery.\r\n
\r\n\r\n The diverse collection of the Ronin Gallery enables us to look at a range of prints and paintings, from traditional to contemporary, that challenge our sense of perspective. As perspective can unite us with an environment, it can also create a sense of separation. At first glance it is unclear that \"Ritsu (standing)\" by Masato Sudo, is a photograph of a tattooed calf. The dark background cloaks the contours of the lower leg allowing only the highlighted areas of the calf to remain visible. This detaches the audience from the subject, creating a veil of separation. Rather than allowing the viewer to be comfortably rooted in the environment - of the calf, the wearer, and the studio - Sudo challenges them to look at the tattoos in a new way.\r\n
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Two deer wading in water","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"6","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"Nihonga painting of ripples on water by Yoshihito Kawase","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"456066","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"456065","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"8/9/2021 11:14:50 am"}},{"name":"Katsukawa: Early Masters of Kabuki Portraiture","urlPath":"blog/katsukawa-early-masters-of-kabuki-portraiture","url":"katsukawa-early-masters-of-kabuki-portraiture","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Katsukawa: Early Masters of Kabuki Portraiture","page_header":"Katsukawa: Early Masters of Kabuki Portraiture","meta_description":"Ronin Gallery invites you to step into the theatrical world of 18th-century kabuki. Katsukawa: Early Masters of Kabuki Portraiture presents the brightest stars of the kabuki stage through the eyes of the artists of the Katsukawa School. Explore our 53 page full-color exhibition catalogue, complete with an introduction to 18th-century kabuki, artist biographies, and 46 illustrations.","meta_keywords":"Katsukawa, ukiyo-e, shunsho, shunei, shunko, actor prints, theater, kabuki","customrecorddata":"106","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"Ronin Gallery invites you to step into the theatrical world of 18th-century kabuki. Katsukawa: Early Masters of Kabuki Portraiture presents the brightest stars of the kabuki stage through the eyes of the artists of the Katsukawa School. Named for its founder, Shunsho Katsukawa, this artistic lineage redefined the field of actor prints (yakusha-e) in the late 18th century.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"\r\n Ronin Gallery invites you to step into the theatrical world of 18th-century kabuki. Katsukawa: Early Masters of Kabuki Portraiture presents the brightest stars of the kabuki stage through the eyes of the artists of the Katsukawa School. Named for its founder, Shunsho Katsukawa, this artistic lineage redefined the field of actor prints (yakusha-e) in the late 18th century. Breaking away from the implied identities and simple palettes of the reigning Torii School, the Katsukawa artists brought individual actors to life. Through an unremitting flair for the dramatic, attentive portraiture, and virtuosity of color, artists such as Shunsho, Shunko, and Shunei reframed the focus of theatrical prints from an actor’s role to the actor himself.\r\n
\r\n\r\n From snarling villains to graceful onnagata, each portrait invited theater enthusiasts not only to relive the thrill of a surprise entrance, the thwarting of a villain, or the righting of an injustice, but also to appreciate the skill and personality of the actor. Though time has obscured some of the rich cultural context embedded in these prints, their visual impact remains undiminished. From distant stars to storied roles, the actor portraiture of the Katsukawa School allows contemporary viewers a glimpse of the 18th-century kabuki stage long after the curtain closed.\r\n
\r\n\r\n Explore our 53 page full-color exhibition catalogue, complete with an introduction to 18th-century kabuki, artist biographies, and 46 illustrations.\r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n
\r\n From vengeful spirits to ghastly monsters, ukiyo-e teem with supernatural beings and spine-chilling tales. As blue-tinged ghosts carry out their grudges and giant spiders ensnare heroes in their webs, these stories enthrall audiences past and present. With Halloween upon us, we turn to one such tale–the story of Yorimasa and the nue–as told by two masters of the fearsome and fantastic, Kuniyoshi and Yoshitoshi. The nue is a chimeral monster with the head of a monkey, the body of a badger (or tanuki), the legs of a tiger, and a hissing snake as a tail, depending on the source. Though this monster is mentioned in several sources during the late Heian period, this particular story can be found in the 14th-century classic The Tale of Heike.\r\n
\r\n\r\n ![\"In](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=486513&c=4366028&h=ib8foxy7b-fq8P6UNxqoaUiGOmKMTM_4gHmpdtPOsW1jICwL&459994\")
\r\n Kuniyoshi. \"In 1153 at Konoe's Palace the Skilled Archer Yorimasa Shooting the Nue.\" c.1842. Woodblock print. Ronin Gallery.\r\n
\r\n\r\n In 1153, a weary Emperor Konoe could find no rest. For each night as evening fell, dark clouds settled upon the roof of the palace and the emperor slipped into hellish nightmares, punctuated only by haunting cries of something unseen. Despite the best efforts of his trusted advisors, neither medicines nor prayers could offer the emperor a reprieve from these nights of terror. Plagued by sleep deprivation, the emperor sought a more aggressive approach–to locate and silence his mysterious tormentor. The skilled archer Minamoto no Yorimasa rose to the task. That evening, Yorimasa waited as darkness enveloped the palace grounds, watching for the unwelcome visitor to appear on the palace roof. Suddenly, Yorimasa spotted the beast through black clouds. Raised upon the limbs of a tiger, a monkey’s face grew from the body of a badger (or tanuki), while the tail took the form of a snake. Yorimasa steadied his arrow at the mythical nue. This was no simple arrow, but a special arrow, crafted from the feathers of a mountain bird and gifted to Yorimasa by his ancestor, Minamoto no Yorimitsu. The arrow flew straight into the beast, knocking it from its rooftop perch. Yorimasa’s retainer I no Hayata rushed to the wounded nue and finished it off with his sword. With the monster slain, the cry of a cuckoo echoed throughout the grounds, symbolizing a return of peace to the palace. To express the depth of his thanks, the emperor gifted Yorimasa the famous sword known as Shishio.\r\n
\r\n\r\n
\r\n
\r\n ![\"I](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=485881&c=4366028&h=Ukzk1gh9WiuKOhPyRmcevs--Aiy3-bxvufTqA-T9a5z7Htz1&467220\")
\r\n Yoshitoshi. \"I no Hayata Killing the New at the Imperial Palace\" from the series Thirty-six Ghosts and Strange Apparitions. 1890. Woodblock print. Ronin Gallery.\r\n
\r\n\r\n ![\"A](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=485882&c=4366028&h=VCH-H4OAss8SALLQ_1Swf6wGXpA8j_3FBjXQ_nhI8zg18bkr&453768\")
\r\n Yoshitoshi. \"A Poem by Yorimasa\" from the series One Hundred Views of the Moon. 1888. Woodblock print. Ronin Gallery.\r\n
\r\n\r\n While Kuniyoshi’s design dramatizes the tale from a distance, Yoshitoshi takes the opposite approach in two designs that illustrate this story. In the print \"I no Hayata Killing the Nue at the Imperial Palace\" (1890), Hayata and the nue are seemingly intertwined, shrouded in dark clouds as the warrior throws the final blow. While the arrow that protrudes from the monster’s throat recalls the larger story, Yoshitoshi creates an eerily intimate scene of the nue’s last moments. In the second design, \"A Poem by Yorimasa\" (1888), Yoshitoshi evokes a similar intimacy, but this time through Yorimasa and the story’s resolution. With his bow laid beside him, Yorimasa looks up towards the cuckoo that was said to chirp after the nue’s death. The design is quiet and still, with little hint of the danger and drama just moments before.\r\n
\r\n\r\n For more tales of the fantastic and frightening, explore our annual selection of supernatural prints here. Want to explore more spooky stories through woodblock prints? Be sure to visit A Closer Look: Moon of the Lonely House, A Closer Look: Moon Above the Sea at Daimotsu Bay, and Haunted at Sea: The Tale of Yoshitsune and the Taira Ghosts.\r\n
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"cropped image of Kuniyoshi's “In 1153 at Konoe's Palace the Skilled Archer Yorimasa Shooting the Nue.”","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"1,3","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"3","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"Image of Kuniyoshi. In 1153 at Konoe's Palace the Skilled Archer Yorimasa Shooting the Nue. c. 1842. Woodblock print. Ronin Gallery.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"486617","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"486618","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"10/26/2021 1:21:37 pm"}},{"name":"Consignment Sale Rules","urlPath":"consignment-sale-rules","url":"consignment-sale-rules","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Consignment Sale Rules","page_header":"Consignment Sale Rules","meta_description":"","meta_keywords":"","customrecorddata":"","type":1,"pageTypeName":"cms-landing-page","customrecordscriptid":"","cmscreatable":true},{"name":"Meet the Artist-in-Residence Program Past Winners","urlPath":"blog/meet-the-artist-in-residence-program-past-winners","url":"meet-the-artist-in-residence-program-past-winners","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Meet the Artist-in-Residence Program Past Winners","page_header":"Meet the Artist-in-Residence Program Past Winners","meta_description":"","meta_keywords":"","customrecorddata":"108","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"2","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"Past participants of the Ronin Globus Onbeat Artist-in-Residence Program share their experiences with ONBEAT magazine.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"What led me to apply?
\r\nI first visited New York in 2011. Since then, I have been eager to have the opportunity to work there, so I have been paying attention to this program. In 2019, when the call for entries was held on the theme of \"running water,\" I entered a series on the theme of \"water,\" which I had been working on until then, and was able to win the award I had been hoping for.
What I experienced in the program?
\r\nThe Brooklyn Botanical Garden, which I commuted to for a month from my lodging in Manhattan, provided me with a temporary indoor and outdoor studio. While interacting with the local people, I chose only organic materials to create my works. I was able to think again about Japanese culture and the position of Japanese painting.
What has changed since I participated?
\r\n Spending time in New York, where there is a high level of organic awareness, made me realize again that Japanese painting is an organic art form that uses materials of natural origin. I realized the importance of the material power and primitive nature of Japanese painting materials. I would like to continue my activities in New York in the future, although I have been on a hiatus due to Corona.
応募に至る経緯
\r\nNYには2011年に初めて訪れた。その当時から現地で活動する機会を得たいと切望していたので、本プログラムには注目していた。「流水」をテーマに募集が行われた2019年に、それまで続けていた「水」をテーマにしたシリーズでエントリーし、念願の受賞を果たせた。
プログラムで体験したこと
\r\nマンハッタンの宿泊先から一カ月間通い続けたブルックリン・ボタニカル・ガーデン\r\nでは、屋内と屋外にスタジオを仮設していただいた。現地の人々と交流をしながら、オーガニックな画材だけを選んで作品制作をした。改めて日本文化や日本画の立ち位置について考えることができた。
参加して変わったこと
\r\n オーガニックへの意識が高いNYで過ごしたことで、日本画は自然由来の素材を用いるオーガニックなアートだということを再認識させられた。日本画材の素材力やプリミティブ性など大事なことに気が付いた。コロナの影響で休止しているが、今後もNYで活動を続ける予定だ。
What led me to apply?
\r\nA friend of mine who works as a curator in New York recommended me to apply for this program because Ronin Gallery, which runs this program, is an art gallery that mainly deals with Ukiyo-e prints and the theme for 2018 is \"Flower, Bird, Wind and Moon.”
What I experienced in the program?
\r\nAs my main motif is plants, I had a very fulfilling time working at the botanical garden affiliated with this program. I had the opportunity to get to know various people, including the program's jury members, and the opening ceremony at the Ronin Gallery, all of which were valuable experiences.
What has changed since I participated?
\r\nBy having a solo exhibition at the Ronin Gallery, I felt that I had taken my first step in New York. Also, by staying in New York for a month, I was able to experience firsthand the differences between New York and Japan, such as the fact that New York is a city where it is easy to enter an art gallery and the distance between art and people is close.\r\n
応募に至る経緯
\r\nNYでキュレーターをしている友人から、本プログラムを運営するローニンギャラリーは浮世絵をメインに取り扱う画廊であり、2018年度の募集テーマは「花鳥風月」なので、日本的な装飾性を供えた私の作品はプログラムと相性が良いのではと勧められ応募した。
プログラムで体験したこと
\r\n植物を主なモティーフとする私にとって、本プログラムと提携する植物園での制作は、とても充実した時間だった。プログラムの審査員などさまざまな方々と知り合う機会を得たことや、ローニンギャラリーでのオープニングセレモニーなど、いずれも貴重な体験となった。
参加して変わったこと
\r\nローニンギャラリーで個展をしたことで、NYにおける初めの一歩を踏み出した実感が持てた。またNYは画廊に入りやすい街づくりがされていることや、アートと人との距離が近いことなど、一ヶ月間現地に滞在したことでNYと日本の違いを肌で感じることができた。
What led me to apply?
\r\n I had visited many countries in the past as an artist-in-residence, and I wanted to have the same experience in New York, the center of the art world. Therefore, when I heard about this program from the owner of Gallery YUKI-SIS in Japan, I decided to apply without hesitation.
What I experienced in the program?
\r\n The Globus Japanese-style room where I stayed was perfect in terms of safety and convenience, and I was able to carry out my planned photoshoot on the theme of \"the unique relationship between humans and nature in New York '' day and night. I was also able to visit some of the top galleries in New York such as Chelsea, which gave me a good understanding of local trends.
What has changed since I participated?
\r\nAfter returning to Japan, I was able to create a work of art based on the photos I took in New York, making the most of my experience in New York. I was able to build a good relationship with Ronin Gallery, which gave me the opportunity to have web exhibitions and present new works. The experience of this program also inspired me to visit New York many times afterwards.
応募に至る経緯
\r\n過去にもアーティスト・イン・レジデンスを活用してさまざまな国を訪れたが、アートの中心地であるNYでも同様の経験をしたいと思っていた。そのため、日本のGallery YUKI-SISのオーナーから本プログラムの話を聞いた際には、迷わず応募を決めた。
プログラムで体験したこと
\r\n宿泊先のグローバス和室は治安や利便性の面でも申し分なく、予定していた「NYならではの人間と自然の関わり方」をテーマとした写真撮影も昼夜問わず実行できた。また、チェルシーなどNYのトップギャラリーを訪問できたことで、現地のトレンドもよく知ることができた。
参加して変わったこと
\r\n帰国後、現地で撮影した写真をもとに、NY滞在の経験を生かした作品を制作することができた。 ローニンギャラリーと良好な関係が築けたことで、WEB展覧会や新作発表などの機会を得られた。本プログラムでの経験は、その後何度もNYを訪れるきっかけにもなった。
What led me to apply?
\r\n At the end of 2015, I attended a cross-industrial exchange meeting in Tokyo, where I met David, the representative of Ronin Gallery, who was visiting Japan. At that time, I showed him my work and told him about my statement, and as we continued to communicate, I heard about the start of this program and entered without hesitation.
What I experienced in the program?
\r\n I was strongly impacted by New York, which gave me a wide variety of inspiration. Some of the people I met there I still keep in touch with today. I was also able to develop new opportunities to show my work, such as an offer from another local gallery who saw the news of my solo exhibition at Ronin Gallery.
What has changed since I participated?
\r\n My stay in New York gave me an opportunity to reevaluate \"who I am\" and to think more deeply about the theme of \"What is God and Buddha? The confidence and response I gained from selling out the new series that I first presented in New York, which was close to my essence, led me to determine the direction of my subsequent style.
応募に至る経緯
\r\n2015年末に東京で開催された異業種交流会に参加した際に、来日していたローニンギャラリー代表のデービットと出会った。その際、彼に自分の作品を見せてステートメントを伝え、その後も交流を図る中で本プログラムがスタートする話を聞き、迷わずエントリーした。
プログラムで体験したこと
\r\n多種多様なインスピレーションを与えてくれるNYから強いインパクトを受けた。 現地で知り合った人の中には今も交流を続けている方もいる。またローニンギャラリーでの個展のニュースを見た現地の他の画廊からオファーがあるなど作品発表の場の新規開拓もできた。
参加して変わったこと
\r\nNY滞在は「自分は何者か」ということを見直す機会となり、その後「神仏とは何か」というテーマについてもより深く考えるようになった。NYで初披露した自分の本質に近い新シリーズが完売し自信と手応えを得たことが、その後の作風の方向性を決定することにつながった。
![\"Hiroshi](\"https://www.roningallery.com/SSP%20Applications/NetSuite%20Inc.%20-%20CMS/CMS/Site-2/files/AIR%20CMS%20Page/senju.jpg\")
Hiroshi Senju was born in Tokyo in 1958. He obtained a BFA and MFA from the Tokyo University of Arts.\r\nSenju has been awarded the onorable Mention at 46th La Biennale di Venezia in 1995, the the 4th Isamu Noguchi Award in 2017, 2018 Eagle on the World Award, 2021 The Imperial Prize and the Japan Art Academy Prize. Senju's work is in the collections of Shofuso（Philadelphia), Daitoku-ji Jukoin Temple, Yakushi-ji Temple, The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), Los Angeles County Museum of Art (USA, Art Institute of Chicago (USA), and Kongobuji temple (Koyasan). He was the former president of Kyoto University of Art & Design and is presently a professor at Kyoto University of the Arts.
\r\n1958年東京都生まれ。東京藝術大学美術学部絵画科日本画専攻卒業、同大学大学院博士課程単位取得満期退学。\r\n1995年第46回ヴェネツィアビエンナーレにて名誉賞、2017年第4回イサム・ノグチ賞、2018年日米特別功労賞、2021年第77回恩賜賞、日本芸術院賞受賞。松風荘（フィラデルフィア / アメリカ）、大徳寺聚光院、薬師寺、メトロポリタン美術館（ニューヨーク/ アメリカ）、ロサンゼルス・カウンティ美術館（アメリカ）、シカゴ美術館（アメリカ）、高野山金剛峯寺等に収蔵。\r\n京都造形芸術大学前学長。現在、京都芸術大学教授。
\r\n![\"Ryutaro](\"https://www.roningallery.com/SSP%20Applications/NetSuite%20Inc.%20-%20CMS/CMS/Site-2/files/AIR%20CMS%20Page/takahashi%20copy.jpg\")
Ryutaro Takahashi was born in 1946. He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at Toho University and entered the medical office of the Department of Neuropsychiatry at Keio University. He majored in social psychiatry. After working in Peru as a medical specialist for Japan International Cooperation Agency, he opened the Takahashi Clinic in Tokyo in 1990. In addition to community mental health care, he has focused on psychological consultating and mental health care for business people, and was a telephone life consultation respondant to the Nippon Broadcasting System for over 15 years. Takahashi is also a well-known collector of Japanese contemporary art with a collection of over 2000 works. Aside from his psychiatric work, he is the president of Kokoronokai Medical Corporation. In 2020, Takahashi received the Agency for Cultural Affairs Commissioner's Commendation.
\r\n1946年生まれ。東邦大学医学部卒業、慶應義塾大学病院精神・神経科入局。専攻は社会精神医学。\r\n国際協力事業団の医療専門家としてのペルー派遣、都立（現公益財団法人東京都保健医療公社）荏原病院勤務などを経て、1990年東京・蒲田にタカハシクリニックを開設。デイ・ケア、訪問看護を中心に地域精神医療に取り組むとともに、15年以上ニッポン放送「テレフォン人生相談」回答者を務めるなど、心理相談、ビジネスマンのメンタルヘルス・ケアにも力を入れている。日本現代アートのコレクターとして著名で、所蔵作品は2000点以上にも及ぶ。精神科医、医療法人社団こころの会理事長。令和2年度文化庁長官表彰受賞。
\r\n![\"Katsura](\"https://www.roningallery.com/SSP%20Applications/NetSuite%20Inc.%20-%20CMS/CMS/Site-2/files/AIR%20CMS%20Page/katsura.jpg\")
As Managing Director of Christie’s Japan and International Director of Christie’s Asian Art departments, Katsura Yamaguchi has been a fundamental player in securing business deals and relationships in East Asia and New York. Yamaguchi has always had an important presence in Asia and was crucial to the growth of Christie’s offices in Tokyo, Japan. In addition to his business development role, as a former Senior Specialist of Japanese and Korean art he acts as a top-level client liaison worldwide. A native of Japan, Yamaguchi earned his B.A. at Rikkyo (St. Paul’s) University in Tokyo. He is currently guest professor for Kyoto University of Art & Design, a member of Japanese Art Society of America, Director for The Adachi Foundation and a Director for the International Ukiyo-e Society.
\r\n山口桂は、クリスティーズ日本支社長兼アジア美術部門インターナショナル・ディレクターとして、東アジアとニューヨークにおける取引と関係を確保するための基本的な役割を担っている。山口は常にアジアにおいて重要な存在であり、日本の東京にあるクリスティーズのオフィスの成長にも欠かせない存在であった。ビジネス開発という役割に加え、日本および韓国美術の元シニアスペシャリストとして、世界各地の顧客とのトップレベルの窓口として活躍しています。山口は日本出身で、東京の立教大学で学士号を取得しました。現在、京都造形芸術大学客員教授、米国日本美術協会会員、足立財団理事、国際浮世絵協会理事を務めています。
\r\n![\"Johnny](\"https://www.roningallery.com/SSP%20Applications/NetSuite%20Inc.%20-%20CMS/CMS/Site-2/files/AIR%20CMS%20Page/johnny.jpg\")
Johnny Waldman is the founder of Spoon & Tamago, an international blog that is based out of New York City and Tokyo, Japan. Waldman was born in Brooklyn but moved to Tokyo a year later. He spent the first 18 years of his life growing up in Tokyo where his parents taught English. He returned, for the first time, to the United States to attend college where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Art Education and his BFA in Art and Visual Technology. Waldman founded Spoon & Tamago in 2007. Using a unique background and international perspective, Spoon & Tamago attempts to comprehensively cover all aspects of Japanese design from fine art and architecture to product and graphic design with an emphasis on authentically communicating Japanese arts and crafts to the world.
\r\nジョニー・ウォルドマンは、ニューヨークと東京を拠点とする国際的なブログ「Spoon & Tamago」の創始者です。ウォルドマンはブルックリンで生まれ、その1年後に東京に移住しました。最初の18年間は東京で過ごし、両親は英語を教えていました。その後、初めて米国に戻り、大学で美術教育学の学士号と美術・視覚技術学の学士号を取得。2007年、Spoon & Tamagoを設立。ユニークな経歴と国際的な視点を生かし、ファインアート、建築、プロダクト、グラフィックデザインなど、日本のデザインのあらゆる側面を包括的にカバーし、日本の芸術や工芸を忠実に世界に伝えることに重点を置いています。
\r\n\r\nChelsea Foxwell received her PhD in 2008 from Columbia University and her BA from Harvard University. She is the author of Making Modern Japanese Painting: Kano Hōgai and the Search for Images (2015) and co-author and co-curator (with Anne Leonard) of Awash in Color: French and Japanese Prints (Smart Museum of Art, 2012). Foxwell has recently co-edited (with Wu Hung) a volume of essays on East Asian photography and is currently at work on a book that examines the origins of modern Japanese art in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. She is the recipient of grants from the Japanese Ministry of Education, the Japan Foundation, Getty Research Institute, Franke Institute for the Humanities, and the Institute for International Education (Fulbright Scholar).
\r\nフォックスウェルは、2008年にコロンビア大学で博士号を取得し、ハーバード大学で学士号を取得しています。著書に『Making Modern Japanese Painting: Kano Hōgai and the Search for Images (2015)、Awash in Color: French and Japanese Prints (Smart Museum of Art, 2012)の共著者兼共同キュレーター（アン・レナードとの共著）です。また、東アジアの写真に関するエッセイ集をWu Hungと共同編集し、現在、18～19世紀における日本の近代美術の起源を検証する本を執筆中である。文部省、国際交流基金、ゲティ研究所、フランケ人文科学研究所、国際教育研究所（フルブライト奨学生）から助成金を得ています。
\r\n\r\nBradley Bailey is an expert in Japanese art, with a special interest in arts of the Meiji, Taisho, and early Showa Periods. In the past he has curated exhibitions of Japanese painting, Meiji war prints, Asian ceramics, and global contemporary artwork, holding positions as a curator and adjunct professor at UNC-Chapel Hill and Amherst College. He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in the History of Art from Yale University and holds an MBA from the Yale School of Management. At present, he is working on several major exhibitions, including None Whatsoever: Zen Painting from the Gitter-Yelen Collection (co-curated with Yukio Lippit, Harvard University, with a catalogue to published by the MFAH) and a major touring exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Japanese Art Society of America, Meiji Modern: 50 Years of New Japan (co-curated with Chelsea Foxwell, University of Chicago, with a catalogue to be published by Yale University Press).
\r\n日本美術の専門家であり、特に明治、大正、昭和初期の美術に関心を持っています。過去には、日本画、明治の版画、アジアの陶磁器、世界の現代美術の展覧会を企画し、UNC-Chapel HillとAmherst Collegeでキュレーターと非常勤教授を務めていました。イェール大学で美術史の学部と大学院を卒業後、イェール大学経営大学院でMBAを取得。現在、「None Whatsoever」を含むいくつかの大規模な展覧会の企画に取り組んでいます。また、アメリカ日本美術協会の創立50周年を記念した大規模な巡回展「Meiji Modern: 50 Years of New Japan」（シカゴ大学チェルシー・フォックスウェル氏と共同企画、カタログはイェール大学出版局から刊行予定）の企画にも携わっています。
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"9","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"7/1/2021 1:51:00 am"}},{"name":"Ronin Gallery Feedback Form","urlPath":"ronin-gallery-feedback-form","url":"ronin-gallery-feedback-form","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Ronin Gallery Feedback Form","page_header":"Ronin Gallery Feedback Form","meta_description":"","meta_keywords":"","customrecorddata":"","type":1,"pageTypeName":"cms-landing-page","customrecordscriptid":"","cmscreatable":true},{"name":"Hokusai: Another Side of Genius Exhibition Catalog","urlPath":"blog/hokusai-another-side-of-genius-exhibition-catalog-blog","url":"hokusai-another-side-of-genius-exhibition-catalog-blog","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Hokusai: Another Side of Genius Exhibition Catalog","page_header":"Hokusai: Another Side of Genius Exhibition Catalog","meta_description":"Hokusai: Another Side of Genius Exhibition Catalog","meta_keywords":"Hokusai, Ukiyo-e, Japanese prints","customrecorddata":"110","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"2","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"From murals in London to postage stamps in Japan, Hokusai’s Great Wave (Under the Wave off Kanagawa) is one of the most recognizable works in the history of art. In its ubiquity, the image has become a shorthand for many things–not only for Japanese art or Japan, but also more abstractly, as an unstoppable force, a crashing cultural wave. But what is overlooked in the shadow of the wave?","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"\r\n As the sea curls and crests overhead, fishing boats float in the shadow. The fishermen bow before the wave, preparing for the impending crash of water. Even snow-tipped Mt. Fuji appears small beside the power of the sea. Though one may not know the artist Hokusai, the rolling blues and white crests are exceedingly familiar. From murals in London to postage stamps in Japan, Hokusai’s Great Wave (Under the Wave off Kanagawa) is one of the most recognizable works in the history of art. In its ubiquity, the image has become a shorthand for many things–not only for Japanese art or Japan, but also more abstractly, as an unstoppable force, a crashing cultural wave. But what is overlooked in the shadow of the wave?\r\n
\r\n\r\n
\r\n
\r\n Over the course of his career, Hokusai designed over 3000 prints and used more than 30 go (artist names).1 While the name Hokusai evokes iconic designs–the white crest of the Great Wave, the crack of lighting beneath the summit of Mt. Fuji–his genius extends far beyond a few masterpieces: It is a continuous thread uniting his oeuvre. Distinguished by an unerring sense of line, color, and inventive composition, Hokusai’s prints captured Edo-period life and culture with unfaltering creativity. Incorporating new pigments and daring compositions, Hokusai invigorated the familiar and brought to life the imagined. From early surimono and ehon to his revolutionary landscapes of the 1830s, his printed works are marked by an enduring excellence that continues to surprise, delight, and inspire audiences worldwide.\r\n
\r\n\r\n
\r\n
\r\n
\r\n
While the mention of Japanese woodblock prints may call to mind lavish courtesans and dynamic actors, the roots of the medium can be traced to the 8th century. At this time, woodblock printmaking traveled east with Buddhism through China and Korea, to Japan. In 764, Empress Koken eagerly embraced this medium and commissioned the Hyakumanto Darani, or the “One Million Pagodas and Dharani Prayers.” Each wooden pagoda housed a dainty Buddhist sutra, printed as a declaration of devotion and a plea for atonement. The medium largely retained this religious association and spiritual function until the Edo period (1615-1868).
\n\nThe rise of the woodblock print is inextricably tied to the historical and social factors of the Edo period. By the early 17th century, the ancient feudal wars had ended, and Japan entered an unprecedented period of peace and prosperity. The Tokugawa shogunate shifted the center of power from Kyoto to Edo (present-day Tokyo) and instituted a policy of sankin kotai. Meaning “alternate attendance,” this edict required provincial lords (daimyo) and their households to rotate residence between their regional homes and Edo. This measure not only kept local power in check, but also spurred Edo’s rapid urbanization. Surpassing one million residents, Edo became Japan’s largest city and the merchant class thrived. For the first time in Japan, a middle-class emerged and created a culture of their own. At this time, the woodblock print became the popular artistic medium of Edo’s middle class in the form of ukiyo-e, or “pictures of the floating world.” Ever adapting to the public taste, these prints were affordable, commercial works of art.
\n\n![\"Fireworks](\"https://www.roningallery.com/SSP%20Applications/NetSuite%20Inc.%20-%20CMS/CMS/Site-2/files/Blog%20Images/Brief%20Intro%20to%20Ukiyoe/JPR-209061_Main-01.jpg\")
\nToyokuni III. Fireworks over Ryogoku Bridge in the Eastern Capital: Illustration of the Prosperity of the River Opening. 1858. Woodblock print. \n
\n\nUkiyo-e, or “pictures of the floating world,” captured the urban popular culture of the time. While the Buddhist term ukiyo originally emphasized the transitory nature of human life, during the 17th century the term gradually shifted its reference to the ephemeral world of earthly pleasure and indulgence. Catering to Edo’s vast population, the floating world revolved around the Yoshiwara, Edo’s legalized prostitution district, and kabuki theater. Despite the harsh reality of the women who worked within the Yoshiwara, these women became the models of fashion and beauty trends through bijin-ga (pictures of beautiful women). In the neighborhood of Tsukiji, highly stylized kabuki productions served as a major impetus for the growth of ukiyo-e. The two arts engaged in a symbiotic relationship: theaters depended on prints for advertisement, whereas the ukiyo-e artists profited and developed their art form through kabuki subjects. Presenting one or two characters in dramatic poses, yakusha-e (actor portraits) captured the distinctive costumes and recognizable makeup of favorite roles to alert the city to coming attractions. By the mid-18th century, ukiyo-e prints achieved extraordinary popularity. When the government restricted the depiction of actors and courtesans in the 1840s, ukiyo-e artists added landscapes, warriors, ghosts and scenes of everyday life to their oeuvre.
\n![\"The](\"https://www.roningallery.com/SSP%20Applications/NetSuite%20Inc.%20-%20CMS/CMS/Site-2/files/Blog%20Images/Brief%20Intro%20to%20Ukiyoe/JPR-209521_Main-01.jpg\")
\n![\"Dawn](\"https://www.roningallery.com/SSP%20Applications/NetSuite%20Inc.%20-%20CMS/CMS/Site-2/files/Blog%20Images/Brief%20Intro%20to%20Ukiyoe/JPR-209526_Main-01.jpg\")
\n(Left)Kiyonaga. The Sixth Month: Fashionable Scenes from the Twelve Months. c. 1779. Woodblock print. (Right) Hiroshige. Dawn in the Yoshiwara. 1857. Woodblock print. \n
\n\n\nAn ukiyo-e print is often described as the work of a single artist, but in truth, each design is the result of the joint effort of the ‘ukiyo-e quartet’—the artist, engraver, printer, and publisher. The artist designs an image that is then pasted onto a finely prepared cherry woodblock. The engraver follows the artist’s lines with a sharp knife, skillfully hollowing out the intervening spaces. Once carved, the key block is a work of art in of itself. This block is then inked with sumi (black ink) and a sheet of dampened mulberry paper is laid upon it. The printer rubs the paper with a baren (flat circular pad) until the impression is uniformly transferred. This key block impression establishes the design’s outlines and the kento (guide marks) used to align each subsequent color. For a color print (nishiki-e), the artist roughly indicates the color scheme, and a separate block is carved for each hue. The printer layers each color atop the key block impression. When the printing is complete, the publisher distributes the finished work to eager audiences and commissions new designs.
\n \nHokusai. Mishima Pass in Kai Province\n. c.1833. Woodblock print. \n
\n\n\nThe woodblock print became an unmistakable art form in the hands of Edo’s artists. While the product of Edo society, ukiyo-e equally shaped the development of this unique culture by promoting its humor, beauty, fashions, and heroes. Though the floating world began to crumble in the late Edo period, the woodblock continued to evolve as reactive medium: Yokohama-e (Yokohama pictures) recorded and circulated Japan’s first impressions of the foreigners that poured into Yokohama in the 1850s. Kaika-e (enlightenment pictures) reflected the search for modern Japanese identity during the early Meiji Period (1868-1912). Senso-e (war pictures) functioned as propaganda through the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) and Russo Japanese War (1904-1905). During the 20th century, two major print movements emerged, each redefining the medium to reflect a changing Japan. Shin hanga, or “new prints,” artists ushered familiar genres into a new age through limited editions, Western artistic influence, and modern marketing, while sosaku hanga or “creative prints,” artists shed the delegation of labor and celebrated expressive self-carved, self-printed works. Though subjects, styles and materials shifted over time, the woodblock print continues to serve as a responsive artistic medium.
\n\nHasui. Mt. Fuji Seen from Satta Pass. April 1935. Woodblock print. \n
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Dawn at the Yoshiwara by Hiroshige","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"3","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"Dawn at the Yoshiwara by Hiroshige","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"628821","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"628820","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"9/10/2022 1:13:28 pm"}},{"name":"Consignment Page 2022","urlPath":"consignment-page-2022","url":"consignment-page-2022","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Consignment Page 2022","page_header":"Consignment Page 2022","meta_description":"","meta_keywords":"","customrecorddata":"","type":1,"pageTypeName":"cms-landing-page","customrecordscriptid":"","cmscreatable":true},{"name":"Accessibility","urlPath":"accessibility","url":"accessibility","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Accessibility","page_header":"Our Commitment to Accessibility ","meta_description":"Our Commitment to Accessibility ","meta_keywords":"","customrecorddata":"","type":1,"pageTypeName":"cms-landing-page","customrecordscriptid":"","cmscreatable":true},{"name":"test123","urlPath":"test123","url":"test123","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"test123","page_header":"test123","meta_description":"","meta_keywords":"","customrecorddata":"","type":1,"pageTypeName":"cms-landing-page","customrecordscriptid":"","cmscreatable":true},{"name":"A New Generation: Ichikawa Danjuro XIII","urlPath":"blog/a-new-generation-ichikawa-danjuro-xiii","url":"a-new-generation-ichikawa-danjuro-xiii","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"A New Generation: Ichikawa Danjuro XIII","page_header":"A New Generation: Ichikawa Danjuro XIII","meta_description":"A New Generation: Ichikawa Danjuro XIII","meta_keywords":"","customrecorddata":"112","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"The name Ichikawa Danjuro is perhaps the most famous name on the kabuki stage, renowned for a dynamic acting style and iconic roles for more than three centuries. On October 31st, the name reached its thirteenth generation as Ichikawa Ebizo XI (né Horikoshi Takatoshi) succeeded to the name Ichikawa Danjuro XIII. He gave his first performance under his new name in the role of Musashibo Benkei in the play Kanjincho at the Kabuki-za Theater in Tokyo. Though officially announced in May 2020, the succession was postponed due to Covid-19 safety measures. Danjuro XIII succeeds his father, Ichikawa Danjuro XII, who died in 2013. At the same ceremony, the actor’s son Horikoshi Kangen made his kabuki debut under the name Ichikawa Shinnosuke VIII.
\r\n\r\n\r\nVIDEO: Ichikawa Ebizo performs Kanjincho at Hakata-za Theatre (KBS News)
\r\n![\"Still](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=650313&c=4366028&h=LGiAXSYqR_T7SywUfrTq1toSZBNkbw6PuKtPROXsDIunDzUW&1716207\")
A kabuki actor’s succession to a new name is an honor, one that marks a new chapter in that individual’s career and declares their commitment to the spirit and style of a particular lineage. Following the shumei, the official name change ceremony, the actor will perform roles significant to that lineage. Ichikawa Danjuro XIII is celebrated for his mastery of tachiyaku, or male roles, with particular strength in aragoto roles, a specialty of the Danjuro line. Meaning “rough stuff,” aragoto roles are marked by a dynamic and exaggerated acting style. Succession performances will be held at the Kabuki-za through November and December, before touring beyond Tokyo through 2024.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
In celebration of Ichikawa Danjuro XIII, Ronin Gallery invites you to explore past generations of this prestigious stage name. From the 18th-century actors of the Katsukawa school to Kokei’s contemporary kabuki portraiture, this collection captures the spirit of the Danjuro line. You can explore this collection here.
\r\n\r\nThis month we opened our latest exhibition Wanderlust: Hiroshige’s Journey Through the 60-odd Provinces with three days of celebration. From sake flights and culinary delights paired with select provinces, to a gallery walkthrough featuring some of our favorite designs, we invited guests to immerse themselves in Hiroshige’s Japan. A sincere thank you to Chef Hiroko Abe of Abento for making it such a special weekend!
![\"guests](\"https://www.roningallery.com/core/media/media.nl?id=733870&c=4366028&h=BZa_ViinL-hYZYwqXOZnOIkqF0pSgOybM4bE7Sspdd8HxHS9&16243964\")
![\"View](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=733875&c=4366028&h=8k--nDbRmuMDLcZDft5kDfnZEbBKrzTONTMyHSRRlm8bDUvc&24823816\")
The exhibition Wanderlust: Hiroshige’s Journey Through the 60-odd Provinces invites you to indulge your wanderlust through Hiroshige’s complete masterpiece series Famous Places in the 60-odd Provinces (1853-1856). Through the crashing surf at the caves of Enoshima and across the Monkey Bridge nestled high within an autumn canopy, 60-odd Provinces promises a journey that brims with adventure and awe. At Hiroshige’s hand, each of Japan’s 68 historical provinces come to life through a spectrum of natural wonders, regional specialties, and popular pilgrimage destinations. Infused with the values of Edo’s floating world and the 19th-century zeal for travel, these meisho-e (famous place pictures) urge the armchair traveler to discover what’s waiting just beyond each horizon line. Assembled over many years, this set includes all 69 designs of the series as well as the title page.
![\"Satsuma-imo](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=733874&c=4366028&h=fTCIbEMk_oW3Zv9QBY0mYoRs8RpI5bB_hRwoNIYoh04TNyOa&18861115\")
Satsuma-imo Salad (Sweet potato with smoked salmon) paired with Satsuma Province. Today, Kagoshima Prefecture (former Satsuma Province) is still the largest producer of Satsuma-imo sweet potatoes. Catering by Abento.
![\"Katsuo](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=733876&c=4366028&h=0QK2zx5yqrRryv3p5n-jG9p-yIAttGFYjV_gNgCV9tCR8x9r&25917093\")
Katsuo Tataki with Ponzu (skipjack tuna with citrus soy) paired with Tosa Province. Bonito, or skipjack tuna, was a local specialty and important export for Tosa Province. Catering by Abento.
![\"photo](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=733877&c=4366028&h=FJBwWk8d7ggLjP7mWSfrVs_ALLE0g3ZBuplTpWut6pnUJ5b0&2564425\")
Ronin Gallery President David Libertson with Chef Hiroto Abe of Abento.
![\"Gallery](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=733878&c=4366028&h=zh38duzeqrnZMZvtj79pFi-JjgmbObd3r2rfwQiYr0CUXM_S&2211948\")
Gallery Director Madison Folks introduces the exhibition during a gallery walkthrough.
![\"Ronin](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=733872&c=4366028&h=y_iaMJPxIgxNtNlFebFSNrttbXCgkt_szgkfbf8D-SIBDgNl&18039043\")
Connect past and present with our map of Japan’s historical provinces. While one side offers a map corresponding to the print numbers on the wall, the other compares several of Hiroshige’s prints to the same location today. From river cruises to natural wonders, the map will spark inspiration for your next trip to Japan.
![\"View](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=733871&c=4366028&h=xdAMTWKnCyyEtAc9BCGvmuMY7AjLpwvh21umwASyeFGHcJck&16481132\")
Couldn’t make it to the festivities? Wanderlust: Hiroshige’s Journey Through the 60-odd Provinces will be on view in the gallery through April 28th and online here. Want to learn more about the series and travel culture during Hiroshige’s time? Check out our catalog on Issuu here.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Opening Weekend for Wanderlust: Hiroshige's Journey Through the 60-odd Provinces","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"7","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"Opening Weekend for Wanderlust: Hiroshige's Journey Through the 60-odd Provinces","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"733886","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"733887","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"3/20/2023 5:12:03 pm"}},{"name":"/blog","urlPath":"blog","url":"blog","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Ronin Blog","page_header":"","meta_description":"Ronin Gallery Blog","meta_keywords":"","customrecorddata":"","type":2,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-list","customrecordscriptid":"","cmscreatable":false},{"name":"/exhibitions","urlPath":"exhibitions","url":"exhibitions","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Exhibitions","page_header":"Exhibitions","meta_description":"","meta_keywords":"","customrecorddata":"","type":2,"pageTypeName":"","customrecordscriptid":"","cmscreatable":false},{"name":"/exhibitions/Wanderlust%3A-Hiroshige%27s-Journey-Through-the-60~odd-Provinces","urlPath":"exhibitions/Wanderlust%3A-Hiroshige%27s-Journey-Through-the-60~odd-Provinces","url":"exhibitions/Wanderlust%3A-Hiroshige%27s-Journey-Through-the-60~odd-Provinces","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"WANDERLUST","page_header":"WANDERLUST","meta_description":"","meta_keywords":"","customrecorddata":"","type":2,"pageTypeName":"facet-browse","customrecordscriptid":"","cmscreatable":false},{"name":"/exhibitions/Yoshitoshi%27s-100-Views-of-the-Moon","urlPath":"exhibitions/Yoshitoshi%27s-100-Views-of-the-Moon","url":"exhibitions/Yoshitoshi%27s-100-Views-of-the-Moon","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"YOSHITOSHI'S 100 VIEWS OF THE MOON","page_header":"YOSHITOSHI'S 100 VIEWS OF THE MOON","meta_description":"","meta_keywords":"","customrecorddata":"","type":2,"pageTypeName":"facet-browse","customrecordscriptid":"","cmscreatable":false},{"name":"Edo-Period Japan Travel Guide","urlPath":"edo-period-japan-travel-guide","url":"edo-period-japan-travel-guide","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Edo-Period Japan Travel Guide","page_header":"Edo-Period Japan Travel Guide","meta_description":"Map of historical provinces and present-day travel guide","meta_keywords":"","customrecorddata":"","type":1,"pageTypeName":"cms-landing-page","customrecordscriptid":"","cmscreatable":true},{"name":"Hokusai’s Great Wave Sets Record Price of $2.75M at Christie’s","urlPath":"blog/hokusais-great-wave-sets-record-price-of-275m-at-christies","url":"hokusais-great-wave-sets-record-price-of-275m-at-christies","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Hokusai’s Great Wave Sets Record Price of $2.75M at Christie’s","page_header":"Hokusai’s Great Wave Sets Record Price of $2.75M at Christie’s","meta_description":"Hokusai’s Great Wave Sets Record Price of $2.75M at Christie’s","meta_keywords":"Hokusai","customrecorddata":"114","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"10","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"Asia week is over, the deluge of auctions and private sales has concluded, and the dust is settling on a new reality - Hokusai’s Under the Wave off Kanagawa, better known as the Great Wave, sold for $2.75M at Christie’s, New York, a new world record price.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"Asia week is over, the deluge of auctions and private sales has concluded, and the dust is settling on a new reality - Hokusai’s Under the Wave off Kanagawa, better known as the Great Wave, sold for $2.75M at Christie’s, New York, a new world record price. While staggering in its magnitude, it is not all that surprising. There are hundreds of thousands of works of art in the world, but precious few ever achieve the fame required to be considered household names. Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, Vincent Van Gogh’s The Starry Night, Pablo Picasso’s Guernica, Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with A Pearl Earring, and Hokusai’s Great Wave belong to this category of world-famous masterpieces. However, of these, not only is the Great Wave among the most ubiquitous but it is also the only one which can be privately owned.
\n\nWhen the Great Wave was originally produced in c. 1831, a standard, single sheet print had a fixed price at 16 mon (roughly $4 today, the equivalent of a double serving of noodles). If the maximum number of prints were pulled before the blocks needed to be re-carved, it is possible 8000 impressions of the Great Wave were originally produced. However, before we jump forward in time, we must consider that today, it's not so much a question of \"how many were made?\" but \"how many have survived?\"
\n\nGiven the ephemeral nature of woodblock prints even if 8000 Great Waves were originally produced it is likely less than 25% of those prints would have survived past their first few years of ownership and of these only another 25% would have survived until today. Accordingly, the number of extant copies can be assumed to be fewer than 500, with even fewer still in collectible condition. Today, roughly 100 Great Waves are accounted for in public collections with an equal number likely in private collections. It is therefore safe to assume there are less than 250 collectable copies of the Great Wave today.
\n\nLooking at 38 public sales of the Great Waves over the last 30 years shows that the price of the Great Wave has exponentially increased with each decade.
\n\nIn essence, with each decade there are fewer extant prints on the market and considerably more demand for those prints. Based upon an average value of $924,271 and assuming there are 250 Great Waves in existence, then the value of the Great Waves if it was a one-of-a-kind work of art would be over $230,000,000–firmly positioning it as one of the top 10 most expensive works of art alongside Leonardo Da Vinci’s Salvatore Mundi ($450M), Willem de Kooning’s Interchange ($300M), Paul Cezanne’s The Card Players ($250M), Paul Gauguin’s Nafea Faa Ipoipo ($210M), Jackson Pollock’s Number 17A ($200M), Mark Rothko’s No. 6. ($186M), Gustav Klimt’s Water Serpent II ($183.3M), Rembrandt van Rijn’s Portraits of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit ($180M), and Pablo Picasso’s Les Femmes d’Alger ($179.3M).
\n\nGiven the Great Wave’s prominence as one of the most iconic works in art history, $924,271 seems to be a reasonable baseline valuation from which the price of an individual impression can fluctuate up or down. Simply put, not all impressions were created equal and furthermore the years have been kinder to some more than others.
\n\nThe Great Wave sold at Christie’s this March was a very fine print, but not perfect. It had a sharp early impression with the rear peak of Mount Fuji visible. It had strong color with the clouds in the background still visible. It had no centerfold and was only slightly trimmed. But the print had been restored and cleaned; there is evidence that the print had at one time been mounted on a backing and the residual glue from this mounting remains clearly visible on the reverse. Christie’s marketed it as one of the top 20 impressions worldwide and I wouldn’t disagree, but I have seen finer impressions come to market.
\n\nWhich leads to the question, if a top 20 Great Wave sold for $2.75M, what would a top 10, or the finest impression sell for today? Could there be a $5M Great Wave out there waiting to be sold? I wouldn’t be surprised, but that doesn’t make it the “right” price. After all, a single data point doesn’t make or break a market.
\n\nI’m often asked, “Why Japan?” There’s no good, short answer, but I would say it started with a cup of coffee. It was 11 years ago, my first trip to the country, and I had the good fortune to connect with Shinji Nohara, the legendary Tokyo Fixer who brought Anthony Bourdain and others like him into the hidden depths of Tokyo. One of the first things we did was take coffee from Katsuji Daibo, a master who took perhaps 20 minutes to prepare an espresso, roasting and grinding the beans to order. What I tasted, there with Shinji at Daibo, was beyond any cup I’d ever experienced – it was my first exposure to the idea of a shokunin, someone who has dedicated their life to the refinement of their particular craft. I was hooked.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Michael Magers. Daibo-san Fanning Coffee. 2023. Photograph.
\r\n \r\nMy next trip to Japan coincided with the honeymoon of Matt Goulding, an award-winning writer and cofounder of Roads & Kingdoms. I think the initial idea was that the two of us could link up, maybe do a story or two together, and then he and his wife Laura would go on with their travels. The night Matt and I first met in person, at the Park Hyatt in Tokyo, he confided that, buzzed on sake, he had pitched Anthony Bourdain the idea of a book looking at the intersection of food and culture in Japan… and that Tony was at least interested enough to ask for a pitch. Would I consider traveling around for a few weeks, shooting some images and trying to put something together? Of course I would. This, as a wise man once said, would not suck.
\r\n \r\n\r\n\r\n
Michael Magers. Kamiyuishi (traditional hairstylist). 2023. Photograph.
\r\n\r\nOut of that trip came the book Rice Noodle Fish: Deep Travels through Japan’s Food Culture (2015) and more exposure to the concept of shokunin. I was obsessed in my own way about the things we can all learn from prioritizing detail and intention over short term feedback loops. And how slowing down and focusing on process can actually lead to a better outcome, and paradoxically a happier version of work than you achieve by simply chasing one big milestone after another.
\r\n \r\nIt was an idea that I went back to time and again. I returned the next time solely to document as much of the shokunin ethos as possible. For months, I worked with friends to put together a series of shoots across workshops around the country, and in 2014, I spent much of the spring traversing Japan, pulling on a string that led me from the ateliers of ceramic artists and sword-makers to diving with the Ama in the cold waters near the Ise Shrine.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Michael Magers. Fan-Asakusa Sanja Matsuri. 2023. Photograph.
\r\n\r\nBecause Japan rewards persistence and the doors only really start to open when people see you are serious and not just doing a drive-by, I just kept going back. I had exhibitions in Kyoto and Nagasaki, tracked down old subjects (even Daibo-san after his shop had closed) and started to explore new avenues, like traditional tattooing. The common thread was always immersion – if that meant careening through the streets of Tokyo carrying a multi-ton shrine or even getting my first tattoo (done the old way) at 40, I was game. I still am.
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Michael Magers. Untitled from Independent Mysteries. 2023. Photograph.
\r\n \r\nIn 2019, I began a much-needed project of archiving images and realized that in many of them a certain feeling persisted, regardless of time or location. Over a decade of work in countries as diverse as Haiti, Cuba, and of course Japan, there were commonalities in sentiment and theme. That exercise eventually became my book of personal work, Independent Mysteries, which was released in the US just as things started to fall apart in 2020. This exhibition contains a survey of these experiences, both in the form of documentary pieces—as with the ama and shokunin and tattoo work—as well as more abstract images from Independent Mysteries which provide a glimpse into my internal life on the road. Most recently, a new project with Roads & Kingdoms marked my 18th trip back to Japan, again for nearly a month. I truly believe I could keep up this pace for the rest of my life and just barely scratch the surface.
\r\n \r\nMichael Magers, Austin Texas, March 2023
\r\n\r\nTo join Michael Magers on more than a decade of travels through Japan, explore our the exhibition Through a Lens: Mike Magers here. The exhibition will be on view in the gallery through June 26th.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Looking over the shoulder of the Maiko, we see the scene reflected in the mirror - the Maiko smiles, hair heavy with floral ornaments as the traditional hair stylist adds the finishing touches and another woman watches from behind","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"6","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"Looking in through the open door to a tiny bar, we see the bartender looking down, leaning on the bar between a cluster of photos and wine bottles.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"755251","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"755236","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"5/6/2023 12:22:00 pm"}},{"name":"Extending the Narrative: Mike Magers and Ukiyo-e","urlPath":"blog/extending-the-narrative-mike-magers-and-ukiyo-e","url":"extending-the-narrative-mike-magers-and-ukiyo-e","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Extending the Narrative: Mike Magers and Ukiyo-e","page_header":"Extending the Narrative: Mike Magers and Ukiyo-e","meta_description":"Extending the Narrative: Mike Magers and Ukiyo-e","meta_keywords":"","customrecorddata":"116","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"From dives off the coast near Toba to intimate views within the ateliers of artisans, Michael Magers imbues each of his photographs with a story.","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"From dives off the coast near Toba to intimate views within the ateliers of artisans, Michael Magers imbues each of his photographs with a story. These split-second narratives lend a solemnity to fleeting moments of beauty unfolding within a Tokyo sumo stable or a bustling izakaya. While these moments are gone in the click of the shutter, they resonate through centuries of Japanese history. In Extending the Narrative, Ronin Gallery invites you to follow a few of these thematic threads into the past. We’ve paired a small selection of ukiyo-e (pictures of the floating world) with Magers photographs to explore the themes of sumo, tattoo, ama (female free divers), and shokunin (craftspeople).
\n\n\nSUMO
\n\n
Kuniyoshi. “Sumo Wrestlers Shiranui Dakuemon (center left), Tsurugizan Taniemon (center right), with Referee Shikimori Inosuke (left) and Judge Retired Wrestler Miyagino (right).” c. 1843. Woodblock print. Ronin Gallery. JP-104226. $9800. https://www.roningallery.com/sumo-wrestlers-shiranui-dakuemon-center-left-tsurugizan-taniemon-center-right-with-refree-1
In Kuniyoshi’s design, the wrestlers Shiranui Dakuemon (left) and Tsurugizan Taniemon (right) collide in the center, each bracing himself with muscled leg grounded at the far edge of the composition. The tassels of their mawashi swing wildly by their waists, conveying the powerful movement of the match. To the far left, the referee Shikimori Inosuke holds his gunbai (fan used to communicate instructions and decisions during a match) aloft, lunging forward, head cocked, and eyes locked on the wrestlers. To the far right, retired wrestler Miyagino crosses his arms and furrows his brow, concentrating on his role as judge (shinpan) to the match. Published by Fujiokaya, the triptych presents the most exciting sumo match of 1843. Its fame came in part from its location–a special ring built on the grounds of the shogun’s residence–and in part from its audience–the shogun Tokugawa Ieyoshi himself.
![](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=773390&c=4366028&h=wQqkZFcFUYmuphj9voF6UAskLmrb2mFA4qdcv47Bs6DvizTj&249562\")
(Left) Michael Magers. “Untitled Sumo, 2012.” 2023. Photograph. Ronin Gallery. JP-210242. $980 https://www.roningallery.com/Untitled-Sumo\n \n
(Right) Michael Magers. “Untitled Sumo 2, 2012.” 2023. Photograph. Ronin Gallery. JP-210240. $980https://www.roningallery.com/Untitled-2-Sumo
To properly capture this event Fujiokaya commissioned the popular ukiyo-e artist Kuniyoshi Utagawa to capture this moment with all the drama and action for which he was renowned. Through full use of the sweeping horizontality of the triptych format, Kuniyoshi emphasizes the strength and size of the wrestlers, identifying each figure with a cartouche. The muscled bodies of the rikishi (sumo wrestlers) gain a different sense of drama in Magers black-and-white photographs. In 2012, Magers photographed a morning practice at a sumo stable in Tokyo. As light falls across each powerful curve, Magers emphasizes, in his words, the “grace to sumo that seems to defy physics.”
\n\n\n\nTATTOO
\n\n\n\n![](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=773398&c=4366028&h=U0foFTdKUvdrMCqFBgKl7RiYeemOZz0LpEKLv4AzWEHG9luO&581438\")
(Left) “Fully Suited, 2016.” 2023. Photograph. Ronin Gallery. JP-210239. $980 https://www.roningallery.com/Fully-Suited\n \n
(Right) “Horiren the First – Tebori, 2016.” 2023. Photograph. Ronin Gallery. Ronin. JP-210248. $980. https://www.roningallery.com/Horien-1st-Tebori
As one of the oldest forms of body modification, the tattoo is a complicated cultural symbol. While the popularity of traditional Japanese tattooing soars worldwide, attitudes in Japan are more complex. Shaped by centuries of controversy, the Japanese tattoo simultaneously embodies the forbidden and the dissonant to an out-group and sense of belonging and cultural identity for an in-group. In Japan today, tattooed individuals continue to face discriminatory policies due to lingering associations of tattoos with the organized crime syndicate, the yakuza. Michael Magers explores Japanese tattooing at the side of Horiren the First, documenting her work and the clients who wear it. In describing the photograph titled “Fully Suited,” Magers recalls “one evening at an izakaya near her studio, a group of clients stripped down to show off the depth and detail of her work.” Horiren herself can be seen in the other photograph, working on a client’s back through tebori, or hand-tattooing.
\n\n![](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=773399&c=4366028&h=FZuf4MowoIlELnRZuZZdP73-jIi-jnP4kDXBAw4Kqx4IX_Oi&585428\")
(Left) Tokyokui III. “The Imitation Kisen: Actor Ichikawa Kodanji IV as Oniazami Seishichi” from the series Selected Underworld Characters for the Six Poetic Immortals. 1861. Woodblock print. Ronin Gallery. JP-94598. $780. https://www.roningallery.com/kabuki-actor-ichikawa-kodanji-iv-as-oniazami-kiyoshichi\n \n
(Right) Toyokuni III. “Tsuchinoto: Danshichi Kurobei and Mikawaya Giheiji” from the series Playful Comparison of Pictures. 1861. Woodblock print. Ronin Gallery. JPR-209727. $780. https://www.roningallery.com/Danshichi-Kurobei-and-Mikawaya-Giheiji
During the 19th century, the presence of tattoos, such as those adorning on the actors in Toyokuni III’s prints, suggested that the wearer might have been an otokodate (street warriors), member of the fire fighting force, or a rough-and-tumble character of Edo’s underworld. In “The Imitation Kisen: Actor Ichikawa Kodanji IV as Oniazami Seishichi,” this mitate (parody) series juxtaposes famous thieves with a group of six 9th century poets known as the Rokkasen, or “six immortal poets.” Underworld characters proved popular on the kabuki stage. While the image of the poet Kisen can be seen woven in the fabric in the lower right, a portrait of the Actor Ichikawa Kodanji IV in the role of the bandit Oniazami Seishichi dominates the composition. As thistle blooms in red and blue down the actor’s right arm, this tattoo evokes the bandit’s nickname of “Demon Thistle.” In a second actor portrait, Toyokuni III covers the back and arms of the Osaka otokodate Danshichi Kurobe with the serpentine body of a dragon, the crackle of flames, and swirling clouds. The inset portrait presents Danshichi’s victim and father-in-law, Mikawaya Giheiji.
\n\n\n\nAMA
\n\nUtamaro. “Abalone Divers Hunting in Enoshima.” c. 1791. Woodblock print. Ronin Gallery. JPR-209650. $5800. https://www.roningallery.com/Abalone-Divers-Hunting-in-Enoshima
\n\n\nTo the right of the rare hexaptych by Utamaro, a narrow boat bobs atop the waves as a trio of ama (sea women) swim beside it. Dressed only in loincloths, their hair flows behind them with the current. Two hold their knives between their teeth–their catch of abalone in hand–while the third uses her knife the pry a shell from the sea. As the boat’s bow nears the rocky coast, one loosely clothed ama holds her basket at the ready to collect the catch, while others rest on the shore, combing their hair or dipping a foot in the water. To the far left, a crouching ama reaches into her basket, likely to sell the fresh seafood to the two women beside her. The women in this design that are dressed with their hair coiffed are not ama, but likely pilgrims bound for Benten Shrine on Enoshima. Every six years, the shrine would display its treasures, an event that attracted many visitors. It has been suggested that Utamaro’s design intended to capitalize on this public anticipation.
\n\n\n![](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=773393&c=4366028&h=gAUXEzARUkwt1KlkeNCXXApBUuYHT4Il3fY8QMG96G1RsK2q&360719\")
(Left)Michael Magers. “Tako-san” from the series Ama-san, 2014.” 2023. Photograph. Ronin Gallery. JP-210237. $980. https://www.roningallery.com/Tako-san\n \n
(Right) Michael Magers. “Untitled” from the series Ama-san, 2014.” 2023. Photograph. Ronin Gallery. JP-210238. $980.https://www.roningallery.com/Untitled-from-the-series-Ama-San
The term ama, or “sea women,” refers to the free-diving women that make a living diving for seaweed, pearls, shellfish, and other seafood. It is said that the tradition dates back to the 8th century. In Utamaro’s time, these women were perceived as free spirited with coarse manners, idealized and sexualized in ukiyo-e through works such as Utamaro’s erotic album Utamakura (1788). Over the centuries, the number of women working as ama has diminished considerably. Though Utamaro’s ama are forever young, most women in the profession today are well over the age of 60. Diving with wetsuits, goggles, and flippers they can descend 20 meters below the ocean surface. In 2014, Magers visited a group of ama in Toba, Mie Prefecture, where ama have been diving for at least 2000 years. During his visit, he joined them on their dives, capturing them at work among the waves. In place of the idealized archetypes of Utamaro, Magers captures the spirit and skill of these impressive women.
\n\n\nSHOKUNIN
\n\nKogyo. “Kokaji” from the series A Great Mirror of Noh Pictures. 1936. Woodblock print. Ronin Gallery. JP-210222. $480.https://www.roningallery.com/Kokaji
\n\n\nShimmering with metallic pigment, Kogyo presents a key moment from the noh play Kokaji. In the play, the emperor requests a blade from the swordsmith Kokaji Munechika, but without a suitable apprentice, the swordsmith refuses. When the emperor’s messenger insists, Kokaji goes to pray at Inari Shrine for help from the deity. A young boy (Inari in disguise) encourages the swordsmith and promises to act as his smithing partner. Later, Inari appears to the swordsmith and together they complete the emperor’s sword. In Kogyo’s composition, the swordsmith Kokaji raises his hammer above the sword blade, working in tandem with the deity Inari, identified by the leaping fox atop the crown.
\n\nMichael Magers. “Genrokuro Matsunaga” from the series Shokunin, 2014. 2023. Photograph. Ronin Gallery. JP-\n210241. $980.https://www.roningallery.com/Genrokuro-Matsunaga-from-the-Shokunin-Series
\n\n\nThough many swordsmiths shifted profession following the Meiji Restoration (1868), some carried on in their field. The process of making a sword takes several months to forge and multiple artisans to add the decorative elements such as engravings or inlays. In May 2014, Magers experienced the sword making process during his visit with the swordsmith Matsunaga Genrokuro. Eyes trained on the blade, Matsunaga holds the sword to the light as he polishes it. At his studio in Arao, Kumamoto Prefecture, Matsunaga invites visitors to watch him at work, view his collections of antique arms and armor, and witness the sharpness of his creations through tameshigiri (a “test cut” of the sword through a rolled mat).
\n\n\nNOH
\n\n\nMichael Magers. “Aya Iwai – Noh ” from the series Shokunin, 2014. 2023. Photograph. Ronin Gallery. JP-210252. $980.https://www.roningallery.com/Aya-Iwai-Noh-Masks-from-the-series-Shokunin
\n\n\nThe use of noh masks dates to the late Muromachi Period (1392-1573). Around the 16th century, the specialization of mask making within familial lineages allowed new directions for mask styles. Today, around 50 of these mask styles form the archetypes of noh masks. A mask maker’s goal is to create a face that is static and neutral, yet one that will come alive with each movement of the actor wearing it. Carved from hinoki cypress, the application of a mix of crushed shell powder and animal glue creates the signature white surface of the face. Colors and highlights are added through mineral pigments or metallic powders. A single mask can take a year to complete–from the sculpting of the wood to the final flourishes. Magers captures the hand of the Kyoto-based mask maker Iwai Aya as she the applies the finest strands of hair to the side of the mask. As the mask looks out at the viewer, the artisan’s hand brings it to life.
\n\n\nKogyo. “Unrin’in” from the series A Great Mirror of Noh Pictures. 1936. Woodblock print. Ronin Gallery. JP-210223. $480.https://www.roningallery.com/Unrinin
\n\n\nIn Kogyo’s print from A Great Mirror of Noh Pictures, one can see a mask such as those created by Iwai. Kogyo’s delicate use of color, metallic embellishments, and attention to costume brings the theatrical art of noh to life. This print presents a moment from the play Unrin’in. The play follows Kinmitsu as he travels to Unrin Temple in Kyoto to visit a location from Ise Monogatari (Tales of Ise). In act two, Ariwara no Narihira, a central character in Ise Monogatari, appears and performs a dance. At Kogyo’s hand, Ariwara no Narihira appears mid-dance, one arm curved gracefully behind his head, while the other extends an open fan from a glimmering sleeve.
\n\n\nWant to see more of Michael Magers photography? Follow this link to view the exhibition Through a Lens: Michael Magers in its entirety. The exhibition will be on view in the gallery through June 23, 2023.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Kokaji by Tsukioka Kogyo","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"1","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"6","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"Kokaji by Tsukioka Kogyo","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"774130","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"774131","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"6/5/2023 4:34:46 pm"}},{"name":"Kabuki Through the Ages: Iconic Plays and Characters in Ukiyo-e","urlPath":"blog/kabuki-through-the-ages-iconic-plays-and-characters-in-ukiyo-e","url":"kabuki-through-the-ages-iconic-plays-and-characters-in-ukiyo-e","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Kabuki Through the Ages: Iconic Plays and Characters in Ukiyo-e","page_header":"Kabuki Through the Ages: Iconic Plays and Characters in Ukiyo-e","meta_description":"Kabuki Through the Ages: Iconic Plays and Characters in Ukiyo-e","meta_keywords":"Kabuki, ukiyo-e, japanese print, japanese theater, toyokuni, kunisada, kuniyoshi","customrecorddata":"117","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"12","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"Since the 17th century, kabuki theater has established itself as an integral piece of Japanese art and culture","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"\r\n Since the 17th century, kabuki theater has established itself as an integral piece of Japanese art and culture. From tales of dashing heroes like Sukeroku to those of vigilantes and thieves like Sanmon Gosan no Kiri, kabuki theater presents a diverse range of characters and personalities that appeal to audiences across the ages. Many of these characters and dramas have experienced small changes, both in story and appearance, however they often retain key characteristics that remain visible on stage and in prints. From the kumadori (stage makeup) to the actors’ crests and the iconic costumes, kabuki has a type of visual language that can be traced across the various dramas, characters, and their ukiyo-e depictions throughout the centuries.\r\n
\r\n\r\n We invite you to enjoy a selection of kabuki dramas and characters that have made their mark on the kabuki stage over the past 400 years.\r\n
\r\n\r\n Shibaraku: A Kabuki Icon\r\n
\r\n\r\n While there are many kabuki dramas, none seem to be more striking nor iconic than that of Shibaraku. Beginning with the vile lord Kiyohara no Takehira holding a prince and princess prisoner at the Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine. Although they plead to delay the execution, Takehira refuses and instead summons the ruthless warrior Narita Goro to his aid. As Takehira and his underlings prepare for the execution, celebrating with dancing and alcohol, a voice is heard from the hanamichi (walkway) shouting “shibaraku!” (or “stop right there!”). This voice belongs to Kamakura Gongoro Kagemasa, a powerful warrior who has come to the rescue of the prisoners. Although Takehira’s minions attempt to fight him, Gongoro is far superior and fends them off, forcing Takehira to not only release the prisoners but also return a stolen sword to the captive prince. While Shibaraku is its own standalone drama, this scene also appears in many kaomise, or opening-of-the-season productions since the early 18th century, typically worked into the plot to accommodate the tradition.\r\n
\r\n\r\n Identifiable by the hulking crimson costume and angular white head pieces worn by the primary protagonist, the Shibaraku scene has been a common subject of Japanese woodblock prints. While early ukiyo-e artists like Katsukawa Shunsho (1726 -1792) often depicted kabuki actors in Shibaraku scenes, so did later artists, such as Toyokuni III (1786 - 1864). In the pieces “Ichikawa Danjuro in a Shibaraku Scene” from 1850 and “Shibuya: Danjuro as Konnomaru” from 1852, Toyokuni III show two vastly different compositions. The former features almost the entirety of the actor’s body and costume while the latter focuses more on the face and features a landscape background. These two prints represent the diverse ways in which the Shibaraku scene was depicted, even in a similar time period by the same artist. In the late 20th century, this scene has similarly been portrayed by artists such as Yoshitoshi Mori (1898 - 1992), a pioneer of the Sosaku Hanga (creative print) movement. In his 1974 piece “Shibaraku,” the hero of Shibaraku is depicted, although in a slightly lighter garb, still retaining his white headwear, imposing sword, and elaborate kumadori. However, unlike the other two which are stylistically similar, this piece features a contorted figure, representing the expressive style of Mori as well as the flamboyance of the protagonist.\r\n
\r\n\r\n ![](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=819550&c=4366028&h=JRNhYpZGxt4d8KgB8zZ32tnYia3OPobIBL8DTPM_3lHtiXIz&5452479\")
\r\n
\r\n (Left) Toyokuni III. “Ichikawa Danjuro in a Shibaraku Scene.” 1850. Woodblock print. (Center) Toyokuni III (Kunisada). “Shibuya: Danjuro as Konnomaru.” 1852. Woodblock Print. (Right) Yoshitoshi Mori. “Shibaraku.” 1974. Woodblock Print.\r\n
\r\n Sukeroku: A Hero Across Eras\r\n
\r\n\r\n One of the most well-known and commonly performed dramas, Sukeroku is a tale of a lone hero competing against his villainous foe, both for love and his prized family possession. Considered a brazen yet charming man, Sukeroku, or Soga no Goro, has been tasked with avenging his dead father. However, he often finds himself preoccupied with fights, his romance with the courtesan Agemaki, and the search for his family’s stolen sword. Although Agemaki finds herself infatuated with Sukeroku, a samurai named Ikyu finds himself in love with Agemaki. Sukeroku sees Ikyu as the potential thief of the stolen sword, and constantly berates and teases Ikyu in order to goad him into drawing his blade. Although unsuccessful at first, Sukeroku is eventually able to trick Ikyu into drawing his sword, confirming that it is indeed his and that Ikyu killed his father. With this information, Sukeroku is able to challenge the thief and regain his sword, avenging his father in the process.\r\n
\r\n\r\n Considered one of the most popular kabuki dramas, Sukeroku is inseparable from Japanese woodblock prints. Featured in works spanning from the 17th century to today, it is one of the most visually iconic dramas. Sukeroku is typically identifiable by his sleek black kimono and his purple headband, tied fashionably to the side. This visual trend can be seen in both Kunisada’s (Toyokuni III) 1834 print “Courtesan Agemaki, Sukeroku, and Ikyu'' and Kunichika’s (1835 - 1900) 1890 print “Miuraya Scene: Sukeroku and Courtesan Agemaki.” Although designed almost 60 years apart, these two pieces have almost identical triptych compositions, featuring Agemaki on the left, Ikyu on the right, and Sukeroku in the center with his red and black costume on. The difference in appearance of these two pieces, however, speaks to the material differences within their era. Kunisada’s piece does show more fading due to the vegetable dyes while Kunichika’s piece is more vivid due to its aniline dyes, the visual similarities display the lasting popularity of Sukeroku, both on the stage and in the visual arts.\r\n
\r\n\r\n ![](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=819549&c=4366028&h=JFNlGKzFtLq9fu0XXFsaZUCKdKsfLizuAeuqW3rSve70qh63&4359158\")
\r\n
\r\n (Left) Kunisada (Toyokuni III). “Courtesan Agemaki, Sukeroku, and Ikyu” from the seriesScenes from Kabuki Plays. 1834. Woodblock Print. (Right) Kunichika. “Miuraya Scene: Sukeroku and Courtesan Agemaki” from the series Kabuki Plays. 1890. Woodblock Print.\r\n
\r\n Ishikawa Goemon: Same Character Different Style\r\n
\r\n\r\n Some famous plays have several variations. This may happen due to plot changes, removal of scenes, or affiliations with specific actors or theaters. Due to this, characters can show up in several different kabuki plays. One character who appears in multiple different dramas is Ishikawa Goemon, the legendary mercenary from Japanese folklore. A thief and vigilante, Goemon is known for walking the line between criminal and hero. Easily identified by his stern exterior and his black costume, he has shown up in several kabuki dramas, most notably Sanmon Gosan no Kiri. From the 1700s to today, Goemon has proven relevant throughout several centuries of woodblock prints.\r\n
\r\n\r\n A range of artistic depictions of Ishikawa Goemon can be seen in the following pieces by Hokushu (1808 - 1832), Toyokuni III, and Kokei (1946 - Present). Although each of these pieces depict the storied character, facing to the viewer’s left while in his costume, they all offer a distinct interpretation. Between Hokushu’s 1826 example, “Kabuki Actor Nakamura Utaemon III as Ishikawa Goemon at the Okehazama Battle,” and Toyokuni III’s 1862 print “Kabuki Actor Nakamura Shikan IV as Ishikawa Goemon,” there remains the difference in color due to the uses of vegetable and aniline dyes respectively. The two pieces also differ slightly in composition, as Hokushu’s image is purely a portrait while Toyokuni III’s is more heavily embellished on a battledore paddle. Furthermore, Kokei’s 1993 piece, “Kataoka Nizaemon XIII as Ishikawa Goemon”, although similar in composition and pose to the other two, is stylized differently, the image more pale, the proportions slightly exaggerated, and a larger emphasis put on minute lines and details. These changes show a new interpretation of the familiar image, with an image in line with the contemporary nature of the artist and his audience.\r\n
\r\n\r\n ![](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=819551&c=4366028&h=z8K3gWmb6ESeT3-rl0oBy7k7zhjYlL5awQr2Plz_adbo4g3V\")
\r\n
\r\n (Left) Hokushu. “Kabuki Actor Nakamura Utaemon III as Ishikawa Goemon at the Okehazama Battle.” 1826. Woodblock Print. (Center) Toyokuni III (Kunisada). “Kabuki Actor Nakamura Shikan IV as Ishikawa Goemon.” 1862. Woodblock Print. (Right) Kokei. “Kataoka Nizaemon XIII as Ishikawa Goemon” from the series Bust Portraits IX. 1993. Woodblock Print\r\n
\r\n Kabuki theater is a fusion of visual and narrative storytelling, a resilient tradition in Japanese culture. However, even with this rigidity and longevity, the visual manifestation of kabuki in ukiyo-e has evolved over time. To explore more examples of prints like these, you can view them in our exhibition, \"Kabuki Through the Ages: Iconic Plays and Characters in Ukiyo-e.\"\r\n
\r\n\r\n Selected Bibliography\r\n
\r\n\r\n Clark, Timothy, Osamu Ueda, Donald Jenkins, and Naomi Noble Richard. The Actor’s Image: Print Makers of the Katsukawa School. Chicago, IL: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1994.\r\n
\r\n Link, Howard A. The Theatrical Prints of the Torii Masters: A Selection of Seventeenth and Eighteenth-century Ukiyo-e. Tokyo: Honolulu Academy of Arts and Riccar Art Museum, 1977.\r\n
\r\n Toshio, Kawatake, Iwate Akira, Translated by Helen V. Kay. Kabuki. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 1984.\r\n
\r\n Watanabe, Hisao, Edited by Jeff Blair. “Sukeroku”, Kabuki 21, Last Accessed August 13, 2023. https://www.kabuki21.com/sukeroku.php\r\n
\r\n “Shibaraku”, Kabuki 21, Last Accessed August 13, 2023. https://www.kabuki21.com/shibaraku.php\r\n
\r\n “Ishikawa Goemon”, Kabuki 21, Last Accessed August 13, 2023. https://www.kabuki21.com/goemon.php\r\n
A special full moon will illuminate the evening sky this Friday night (Sept. 29th, 2023), marking an auspicious occasion in many East Asian cultures. Known as the Mid-Autumn Festival, or Chushu no Meigetsu in Japanese, the celebration signals the beginning of the annual harvest and usually falls on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar.
\n\nIn Japan, traditionally people would gather in the evening for tsukimi, or moon-viewing. Moon-shaped dango, or rice dumplings, would be stacked in a pyramid and displayed with pampass grass and other seasonal treats as an offering to the moon.
\n\n \n\n![](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=839578&c=4366028&h=NxwBietLDN9T65P71IHX8rVM70EMChT-LeIrkL3X2FEQr7zD&3152367\")
\n\n \n\nIn Yoshitoshi’s design “A Wandering Poet,” he portrays the famous poet Matsuo Basho greeting a group of men enjoying tsukimi with dango, seated below a display of autumn flowers and edamame.
\n\n\n \n\nCelebrate the Mid-Autumn festival by preparing your own tsukimi dango.\n\n
DANGO INGREDIENTS
\n\n250g Dango flour (This brand is great.)
\n210ml water
SAUCE INGREDIENTS
\n2 tbsp soy sauce
\n2 tbsp mirin
\n2 tbsp sugar
\n2 tbsp corn starch, mixed thoroughly with a bit of water
\n2/3 cup of water
INSTRUCTIONS
\n1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
\n2. In a small saucepan, combine soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and 2/3cup of water. Stir slowly as the sauce heats. When it comes to a boil, add corn starch slurry, turn off heat, and mix to remove lumps. You can run it through a sieve if you find lumps in the sauce. Put on side to cool.
\n3. Put dango flour in a bowl and slowly add water as you mix.
\n4. Knead the dough until it’s smooth and soft like your earlobe.
\n5. Separate the dough and roll into logs that are 3/4in thick. Cut into 3/4in long pieces and roll into balls.
![](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=839577&c=4366028&h=6kzZdwgxKC-CdM1kuvEBu05TTzOo0CRnUvMgN2gIgTz9yf6k&2168580\")
\n \n \n ![](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=839575&c=4366028&h=VaeqDWvuEEfN8I416-GWTTwP2nvAaaa5U6sgoIJ2XedHPC86&2115131\")
\n \n6. Drop into boiling water and cook the dumplings for about two minutes. The dango will float to the top when they are cooked.
\n7. Drop the dumplings into a cold-water bath and then put on plate to dry.
\n 8. To create the display, stack the dumplings in layers of nine, four, and one.
![](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=839687&c=4366028&h=nTX7HpcykxDWSpVkvrnjHxEvsA7JPOb-gIEtfq_kveD8BMJR\")
\n \n9. If you wish to enjoy the dango right away, brush a bit of canola oil on the dumplings, and heat in a preheated pan. After the dumplings brown, turn them over to cook on the other side.
\n10. Brush on the sweet soy glaze and enjoy!
![](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=839576&c=4366028&h=uFbsrrb7v4Z8E4FpNwZq3Ja9PcnTd7djHKf9Af73D-OJSh2r&2230214\")
\n\n \n\n Hiroshige and Toyokuni III. Kanagawa. 1854. Woodblock print.
","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_timg_img_alt":"Tsukimi Dango rice dumplings","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_subheading":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pinned_to":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_category":"3","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_post_tags":"","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_hdr_image_alt":"Tsukimi Dango rice dumplings","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_header_image":"839685","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_thumbnail_img":"839686","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_pub_date":"9/28/2023 3:16:48 pm"}},{"name":"Hiroshige: Famous Places in the 60-odd Provinces","urlPath":"blog/hiroshige-famous-places-in-the-60-odd-provinces","url":"hiroshige-famous-places-in-the-60-odd-provinces","template":"default","addition_to_head":"","page_title":"Hiroshige: Famous Places in the 60-odd Provinces","page_header":"Hiroshige: Famous Places in the 60-odd Provinces","meta_description":"","meta_keywords":"","customrecorddata":"119","type":1,"pageTypeName":"ext-blog-post","customrecordscriptid":"CUSTOMRECORD_SC_BLOG_PAGE_TYPE_POST","cmscreatable":true,"fields":{"custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_author":"2","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_excerpt":"Ronin Gallery invites you to indulge your wanderlust through Hiroshige’s complete masterpiece series Famous Places in the 60-odd Provinces (1853-1856).","custrecord_sc_blog_post_pt_content":"Ronin Gallery invites you to indulge your wanderlust through Hiroshige’s complete masterpiece series Famous Places in the 60-odd Provinces (1853-1856). Through the crashing surf at the caves of Enoshima and across the Monkey Bridge nestled high within an autumn canopy, 60-odd Provinces promises a journey that brims with adventure and awe. At Hiroshige’s hand, each of Japan’s 68 historical provinces come to life through a spectrum of natural wonders, regional specialties, and popular pilgrimage destinations. Infused with the values of Edo’s floating world and the 19th-century zeal for travel, these meisho-e (famous place pictures) urge the armchair traveler to discover what’s waiting just beyond each horizon line. Assembled over many years, this set includes all 69 designs of the series as well as the title page.
![\"Sasaki](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=208190&c=4366028&h=745c551fe38854c4f66a&204958\")
![\"The](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=208188&c=4366028&h=b52a5820f9f2381a6fcc&289352\")
![\"Sakagaki](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=208192&c=4366028&h=5f9b01cc4baa94a8f9d9&425089\")
![\"Tsuchiyama\"](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=208191&c=4366028&h=e96bbe4a48033ac142ad&422867\")
![\"Courtesan](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=208195&c=4366028&h=7648a3a2924a7c1a204e&1245667\")
![\"Rorihakucho](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=208187&c=4366028&h=240e93cffd0f32b86247&153547\")
![\"Fireworks](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=208194&c=4366028&h=ced53a7726177cab3292&593227\")
![\"Nine](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=216254&c=4366028&h=406a6d3c33717872a551&164118\")
![\"Kyo:](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=216252&c=4366028&h=25e674adad9a12c8a258&72653\")
![\"Nine-Tailed](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=216253&c=4366028&h=b9ddb41830388078a0d4&215222\")
![\"Sesshoseki](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=216257&c=4366028&h=7aa2e41275bd74b166d2&315536\")
![\"Sesshoseki](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=216256&c=4366028&h=d2d3348c21732c04f6f2&298645\")
![\"Nude](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=240836&c=4366028&h=d59c1a5adde83dd24966&425859\")
![\"Potted](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=240835&c=4366028&h=933193c18934fc836e62&457188\")
![\"The](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=240837&c=4366028&h=4d937ad16458be924beb&484494\")
![\"The](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=240834&c=4366028&h=f330e58a0fb83e6c6469\")
![\"Jade](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=240850&c=4366028&h=26ef87e87de71912326a&410866\")
![\"The](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=243909&c=4366028&h=c0655799b54f84199e20&259015\")
![\"Musashi](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=243911&c=4366028&h=be03ab031864cb19caf1&353391\")
![\"Rori](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=243912&c=4366028&h=dc2c2d2347071bd1c754&402798\")
![\"The](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=243913&c=4366028&h=3cd8585341949eafaaaa&417274\")
![\"Onoe](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=243907&c=4366028&h=f3639ed62b6a2a36fd5f&52662\")
![\"Kaosho](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=243908&c=4366028&h=386f8a8f8bb092eb4f47\")
![\"Stray](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=247815&c=4366028&h=3638d0f53b70ff0631e7&284359\")
![\"The](\"https://www.roningallery.com/core/media/media.nl?id=247821&c=4366028&h=1936da06c3c0b0659e4f&315126\")
![\"Joy](\"https://www.roningallery.com/core/media/media.nl?id=247824&c=4366028&h=fdd2acef42b9440857ed&341739\")
![\"Ginzan](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=247814&c=4366028&h=9fcdf774ef4d03faccd3&272679\")
![\"Nayoro\"](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=247825&c=4366028&h=45673f833c4bba759542&373413\")
![\"Photo-Respiration](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=247816&c=4366028&h=c3e4a8a1eb6b108d9702&290319\")
![\"Monk](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=247822&c=4366028&h=f2250bb232b71fe99c6c&322766\")
![\"Atomic](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=247819&c=4366028&h=98703a03a4a30867e0a2&343285\")
![\"Hanna,](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=247823&c=4366028&h=1b34514f9180fdb04744&214741\")
![\"Kazuo](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=247818&c=4366028&h=39f46e0a4cb26ef4efc3&325723\")
![\"#189](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=247817&c=4366028&h=27a61bbe55f08ac2806f&354778\")
![\"Blue](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=247820&c=4366028&h=996772b493e75ae39f77\")
![\"Under](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=250432&c=4366028&h=c3d8bf601e300081bfff&451819\")
![\"La](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=250431&c=4366028&h=75dd996ad63c6dee3732\")
![\"Hokusai's](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=251772&c=4366028&h=3a8c52289d35f5d050dd&391600\")
![\"Sawamura](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=251771&c=4366028&h=e5c0de05890ce4917add&296900\")
![\"Courtesan](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=251769&c=4366028&h=dbc2c2024ee1943c47b1&218393\")
![\"Hawk](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=251768&c=4366028&h=ea0175ab93a805de1396&240345\")
![\"Rāhula\"](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=251770&c=4366028&h=c694f75454e7299fb621\")
![\"Kaminohashi](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=251781&c=4366028&h=51b005de86d0379a513f&264266\")
![\"Van](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=251778&c=4366028&h=7942ccb78933c0ce76f2&134168\")
![\"Zojo](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=251779&c=4366028&h=8ff44d2eb4d019b7c796&433074\")
![\"Hibiya](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=251782&c=4366028&h=10e18aa6f46c1d50ef68&473289\")
![\"Under](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=251793&c=4366028&h=269401e2388446369208&312605\")
![\"Sudden](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=251792&c=4366028&h=87f3e6d63ffc9488aad8&529100\")
![\"First](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=251783&c=4366028&h=14a85f4111ac6810aa38&144359\")
![\"2nd](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=251784&c=4366028&h=3e46f5cece02ce3ff022&127745\")
![\"Plum](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=251787&c=4366028&h=6b32d046dcb4d9e8c4ec&108473\")
![\"Yellow](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=251786&c=4366028&h=b8d732a8b07f4eb7b704&82738\")
![\"Example](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=251790&c=4366028&h=401e74a78813146dada2&244987\")
![\"Example](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=251789&c=4366028&h=497bd46a5b16998eb562&220499\")
![\"Example](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=251785&c=4366028&h=3299f7fe719910b074bc&291935\")
![\"Censor](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=251791&c=4366028&h=3b4e1926245e0bb1f6de&391042\")
![\"Collector](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=251788&c=4366028&h=15081b564098320f921f&128096\")
![\"Taira](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=251797&c=4366028&h=ef04ac256e1240c98416&310236\")
![\"Stencil](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=251798&c=4366028&h=c4b3d40c676744a5d20e&733812\")
![\"Movable](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=251799&c=4366028&h=97f9f3f05c3b4c2494b3&303004\")
![\"Moon](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=255415&c=4366028&h=b52fdae927dfc345965a\")
![\"Memorial](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=255417&c=4366028&h=7b06df0678ef8bfa450e&448325\")
![\"Rori](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=255419&c=4366028&h=c36c41528c92801f71d4&561345\")
![\"Takiyasha](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=255418&c=4366028&h=453ea8cbb37c309a3fbc&462474\")
![\"Ushiwaka-maru](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=255421&c=4366028&h=c5cdd32e6e0b4d4ff778&463976\")
![\"Miyamoto](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=255420&c=4366028&h=5bf6b93361a9c58b4d37&628510\")
![\"ortrait](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=258329&c=4366028&h=8a70d2855e758e36e3ef&1083914\")
![\"Courtesan](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=258340&c=4366028&h=3723f60b2beb6306e5aa&261427\")
![\"Le](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=258332&c=4366028&h=8e86078376a344ffbbd5&264790\")
![\"The](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=258339&c=4366028&h=14e1c77ce0f6c3aadc2e&376786\")
![\"The](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=258337&c=4366028&h=d30bbe64b1b5b2c44670&321727\")
![\"Looking](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=258335&c=4366028&h=41e0b43d242e2e6d7484&184881\")
![\"The](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=258343&c=4366028&h=54a45291ad581504f4db&296591\")
![\"Boats](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=258338&c=4366028&h=9b1094e251204507ae57&272262\")
![\"Full](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=258334&c=4366028&h=4de98708596447071fac&288380\")
![\"Mademoiselle](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=258333&c=4366028&h=4a5ffc95462ed91a48db&260643\")
![\"Fujieda\"](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=258341&c=4366028&h=1c90126abc3bed64b671&398665\")
![\"Fujiwara](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=267747&c=4366028&h=f61f530ee99591a94fb4&551366\")
![\"Fujiwara](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=267748&c=4366028&h=2e186d9c434df7f9d3e3&551366\")
![\"detail](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=267744&c=4366028&h=48c6cb2f19a3537c9e51&73228\")
![\"Fujiwara](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=267749&c=4366028&h=343eb5979811326168bc&607507\")
![\"Autumn](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=267746&c=4366028&h=bd38fb928bb8da57e755&446975\")
![\"Taira](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=267751&c=4366028&h=34cd4bd9329b492d2da4&525811\")
![\"Full](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=267757&c=4366028&h=997c79068d3839ec81de&468853\")
![\"The](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=267759&c=4366028&h=83845a2ab44551ef40f6&469103\")
![\"Yoroi](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=267756&c=4366028&h=d25bba24ced3919d9531&444978\")
![\"Manet's](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=267754&c=4366028&h=18711e1f4342e2baedbf&154215\")
![\"Hokusai's](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=267755&c=4366028&h=73c7dd73cafabc13e4d0&259370\")
![\"Sazai](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=273069&c=4366028&h=bb713c5f25b5d0725f6e&456654\")
![\"Okabe\"](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=273070&c=4366028&h=d02f1fabaf711dc2824b&448965\")
![\"Shichirigahama,](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=273068&c=4366028&h=b04529cbd342f7a37bbf&365907\")
![\"Kaminohashi](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=273067&c=4366028&h=206333692c8431f52265&299182\")
![\"Kanchenjunga\"](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=273072&c=4366028&h=1b762a94d4084624379c&682430\")
![\"Somegawa](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=273073&c=4366028&h=422156fb53eb99e1994d&565038\")
![\"Fuji](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=273071&c=4366028&h=d59c3726cadd6df627fe&487532\")
![\"Reversible](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=273484&c=4366028&h=cac35ea196a61e47d769&506599\")
![\"Here](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=273482&c=4366028&h=ec4ede15da2884788dc4&529768\")
![\"Un](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=273485&c=4366028&h=9d09b7c81bea97e8f27c&539988\")
![\"Pineapple](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=273486&c=4366028&h=b12484bc543482695cba&472636\")
![\"Shono](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=274788&c=4366028&h=bb8367de297d0e90593a&327925\")
![\"Woman](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=277497&c=4366028&h=aea28133bc6283fc80e1&230026\")
![\"Viewing](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=277498&c=4366028&h=7c3839d22895b5724b63&358475\")
![\"Young](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=277495&c=4366028&h=a896fe9286c8ac2d7298&207827\")
![\"Ushio](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=278702&c=4366028&h=d6aec763e96f8f98c2da&473049\")
![\"Purple](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=278706&c=4366028&h=6787a567bd638e3a9cc7&645701\")
![\"Three](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=278704&c=4366028&h=6892a216be038644b39f&457231\")
![\"Roar\"](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=278705&c=4366028&h=93bbc49a6c3d5718edd6&430422\")
![\"Courtesan](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=278916&c=4366028&h=ab1ceef915a7fb449d4c&218393\")
![\"Chapter](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=281723&c=4366028&h=63c7e4cd9bced4d01057&812856\")
![\"Chapter](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=281726&c=4366028&h=ccc8ace589032dbcf642&818675\")
![\"Chapter](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=281724&c=4366028&h=a38aa33eab7525d1efad&885653\")
![\"Ichimura](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=284430&c=4366028&h=74f69273faa82ca289c8&512015\")
![\"Bando](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=284431&c=4366028&h=299a81f3a784a7474b4f&543813\")
![\"Nozarashi](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=284429&c=4366028&h=6e57045924f118133664&144364\")
![\"Van](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=284433&c=4366028&h=81c101f89c7274e97ebd&164845\")
![\"Illustration](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=285534&c=4366028&h=7189b7fe785c36f2bf20&42563\")
![\"Yokohama](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=285536&c=4366028&h=946007af1d149afd71c7&104934\")
![\"Kinryuzan](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=293350&c=4366028&h=12e9c6b295bd9f9f7c95&55709\")
![\"More](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295565&c=4366028&h=90fc03d7f4848d52a82c&213664\")
![\"Satsuma\"](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295567&c=4366028&h=17ce69b1c1de6b0eec28&270361\")
![\"Destroy](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295566&c=4366028&h=be35576d1216c09f10de&310344\")
![\"Perseverance:](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295572&c=4366028&h=bea1a1311feb0f1586e7&1198917\")
![\"Tattoo](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295574&c=4366028&h=df8074913f8e87a9ab80&1524500\")
![\"Perseverance:](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295573&c=4366028&h=215f9d658ff5a121ee50&806435\")
![\"Monkey](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295577&c=4366028&h=ad5baa8a616e9195251a&393206\")
![\"One](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295575&c=4366028&h=1213be66d0bee1c4f4cd&290656\")
![\"Onomatope\"](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295576&c=4366028&h=9dc163684996ff9d05bc&354825\")
![\"After](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295588&c=4366028&h=ffd1334f7e02b5e25625&374195\")
![\"Dawn](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295587&c=4366028&h=3f962ccc8d63ac81103d&480824\")
![\"Night](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295586&c=4366028&h=e1a34ade9bbd3cf7a635&481889\")
![\"Asakusa](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295590&c=4366028&h=b167a3999d83f908e7c3&143085\")
![\"Moon](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295594&c=4366028&h=e3989a12261628f2ae3f&468017\")
![\"Kiyomizu](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295593&c=4366028&h=9ec38ab4eedaa344892f&416092\")
![\"Moon](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295591&c=4366028&h=7ff3121c44722d731b79&157190\")
![\"Shadows](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295707&c=4366028&h=5b93f7ec2bf76515ca82&230449\")
![\"Rhythm](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295708&c=4366028&h=743caf78a4982cb72dc9&325023\")
![\"In](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295705&c=4366028&h=d31e258d3bd34f8bd32b&183680\")
![\"The](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295710&c=4366028&h=cfa1a798164b18cedd7d&202886\")
![\"A](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295711&c=4366028&h=3d9f970739bf33514b14&512501\")
![\"Jade](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295709&c=4366028&h=9d78c0f642e3c1da9374&471148\")
![\"Beauty](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295717&c=4366028&h=c255c732964e68217989&100663\")
![\"Scent](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295713&c=4366028&h=c0abe9a88270cb4360b3&74667\")
![\"Morning](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295714&c=4366028&h=3bca446baf5972b7b517&99720\")
![\"Outdoor](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295715&c=4366028&h=a94bcaa6e8e19c628a61&96033\")
![\"Moon](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295750&c=4366028&h=e5da28c5999d10b6f13e&624818\")
![\"Suijin](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295773&c=4366028&h=c8fffbd19fc7b0c3b756&363213\")
![\"Arashiyama\"](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295769&c=4366028&h=a3ca027d13596a480a9f&386905\")
![\"Under](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295774&c=4366028&h=551e5d8c7050f734434a&84777\")
![\"Chionin](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295768&c=4366028&h=ddd0659f9dec4f5dbe8a&134865\")
![\"Viewing](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295770&c=4366028&h=346c46ac975170df4a05&123048\")
![\"Minister](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295771&c=4366028&h=819e67303f9f14dc2630&100332\")
![\"Shoren-In\"](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295776&c=4366028&h=e71d3d148b362479df6b&143188\")
![\"Breeze](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295775&c=4366028&h=3fc00a408956cd8693a4&73088\")
![\"Through](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295777&c=4366028&h=70a3421fedf67fe7e876&234611\")
![\"Kiriri\"](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295778&c=4366028&h=6d6080caad5e3889a0ce&143051\")
![\"Pensive\"](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295816&c=4366028&h=f91325176000513e8353&254310\")
![\"Umeo\"](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295815&c=4366028&h=c3059f4c1b321dd2c6a5&317963\")
![\"Nasu](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295817&c=4366028&h=19973692877bc95b2268&377310\")
![\"Saruiwa\"](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295814&c=4366028&h=eae8b3752dc368a0353c&336541\")
![\"Shiobara](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295818&c=4366028&h=6dde981f835b33399edb&1760639\")
![\"Steam](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295835&c=4366028&h=fa800e6cb0260bfacb28&78747\")
![\"Kusatsu](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295833&c=4366028&h=cba79ad8bb06b3ab2661&1150315\")
![\"Sengen](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295830&c=4366028&h=a0e43871a4f17a658764&1773933\")
![\"View](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295826&c=4366028&h=e6b77535f4dc56eab498&212970\")
![\"Dogo](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295834&c=4366028&h=af33853afb284a0fa970&1442954\")
![\"A](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295829&c=4366028&h=564d9009e7d8482a2bd5&500387\")
![\"Ryokan](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295827&c=4366028&h=802503d5efe2acac6ad5&249640\")
![\"Stunning](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295831&c=4366028&h=5b29a563b8ea23986271&795081\")
![\"View](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295832&c=4366028&h=bb797972d7211b92aa26&61424\")
![\"Kinugawa](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295825&c=4366028&h=939d8d4ce5ac853b286e&123401\")
![\"Print](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295839&c=4366028&h=3afd8847b87ad2444a83&92738\")
![\"Print](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295837&c=4366028&h=4dffd82c466a0386c234&167401\")
![\"Bridge](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295841&c=4366028&h=cf99d30ec70b4ddd63be&164066\")
![\"Print](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295836&c=4366028&h=867a8deb6784620aa67f&142195\")
![\"Horikiri](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295840&c=4366028&h=1ad63f79e13a3ead98f0&417177\")
![\"Print](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=295838&c=4366028&h=bcc8d068e1b31c5c9671&113693\")
![](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=303599&c=4366028&h=eb130bf492b586e8550f&804531\")
![\"Yamaguchi](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=303600&c=4366028&h=56feb0495320377e465a&120383\")
![\"Yanada](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=303607&c=4366028&h=ae5a643e10af52bdfc97&469479\")
![\"Tokyo](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=303605&c=4366028&h=39a3e1677a32628a3bd6&354090\")
![](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=303598&c=4366028&h=2f8e38698d698b91ad28&380754\")
![\"Life](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=303597&c=4366028&h=c93789db313ed6823724&49145\")
![\"Breeze](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=303596&c=4366028&h=d00ca47444efae7bceb1&83572\")
![\"Iwasawa](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=303601&c=4366028&h=6ad41cfe7bdb4ec373b7&229718\")
![\"Korean](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=303594&c=4366028&h=8190cea67cadd8c1253e&448485\")
![\"Water](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=303606&c=4366028&h=b9ada1935a9f68272bba&395603\")
![\"Kawase](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=303603&c=4366028&h=37932ffe7d8a590a5dca&218524\")
![\"Fragrant](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=303595&c=4366028&h=44dc7113d38b498b763d&184039\")
![\"Life](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=303613&c=4366028&h=f568d0a064c8bbb3d6b3&48710\")
![\"Overnight](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=303610&c=4366028&h=a3d745c28cd89a06674d&179547\")
![\"Courtesan](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=303612&c=4366028&h=f87a7f9cc4cb21f4bdb0&366635\")
![\"Choko](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=303608&c=4366028&h=dc5c0288fb9274ae11cd&121520\")
![\"Maiko\"](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=303611&c=4366028&h=79c0e0d8fdc30648203b&448975\")
![\"Tomoe](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=303609&c=4366028&h=2a3a0717c8d57ecfa6a4&124508\")
![\"Ichikawa](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=391369&c=4366028&h=Zi-WqhWv1Kxt1lDGZgn8rXAAqHAcnMZ4vjLUlErsQlnhtbiD\")
![\"Ichikawa](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=391370&c=4366028&h=iSuzCpbE1dhYS-nWKfBgqV8685aQQcV2ysnFWdjONwlDMDRu&421966\")
![\"Snow\"](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=391372&c=4366028&h=mFZhnVYf3kz1dfMeXkn7P6if3JLu3bRFAVPJwKozat-uOGSJ&426670\")
![\"Nakamura](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=391373&c=4366028&h=4hpaS2J8s2qfNlCAXysnBjLqCeHWr5_5Zo0TFXahUGarOwCz&447724\")
![\"Daryl](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=400336&c=4366028&h=ibAMq_LTCWIttK8zL6VlAf79g3cYc8QcaAp3qS2Ti6D1S314&20738126\")
![\"Even](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=400340&c=4366028&h=vZ9SG8BZwl4NOp__jOshmLaUPF48IRAwo-y6KUfebgfiG942&378798\")
![\"A](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=400337&c=4366028&h=gPEkZafZHdI-mlTBWlltmMuWJiEtwhpXenpWiMCXzZWr08Mh&14919351\")
![\"Artist](\"https://www.roningallery.com/core/media/media.nl?id=400338&c=4366028&h=NW_EfKybYoyyJ6OHfRoESKQK685cMFOLPVUYFR8DvtS4QgC1&20622208\")
![\"Pulling](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=400341&c=4366028&h=otBeRk04HyFoLKOrKH_u_xWvjWGBG8mlnAb7qoMi8kj8zd6C&15166587\")
![\"as](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=400339&c=4366028&h=vobKpqmgSCSFjP7rrgNzh-zOQzU6-RqQLZlXKINfWjNX5P1R&472070\")
![\"I](\"https://www.roningallery.com/core/media/media.nl?id=400344&c=4366028&h=JozB7mWdDxWp-nMXEgrobCszxF6UZSy14j97H53FQLmnF-Rf\")
![\"Artist](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=400342&c=4366028&h=NdeJQh-W47xhH28go5ypQhmiZHkYHFm-30LsOL7AbK3S-hEi&15554215\")
![\"Sarah](\"https://www.roningallery.com/core/media/media.nl?id=413917&c=4366028&h=5zH6ZFCo7wAZutwYdde1REHxwgUKD2DHPKnsl2X5lKP83z_W\")
![\"Biwako](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=415901&c=4366028&h=hO8UIHzxbLFzOE2cRcL_E_iX3SdeFgZ8RDkmRKtW-QBK5z-m&3232008\")
![\"Midnight](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=413919&c=4366028&h=-dFaZRDTnaun_jpUOvt_gPQROp-6omw5IkB0EoHjG7vIknve&193181\")
![\"Midnight](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=413915&c=4366028&h=NncTCsa7lWqAxrxMCtZJ350iLTu0jp50PQFFDSAK08dTsMAm&33841\")
![\"Moonlight](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=413918&c=4366028&h=R7I-vyslDoZe8rr2AOuayBmCInMbH6WNxqiUI2rtyuW4of6I&170136\")
![\"Moonlight](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=415902&c=4366028&h=09MmIZq5EU2jrwZhgJ9YwkAnwnSPbC9ObAO3suABJqj6NUrN\")
![\"Making](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=413921&c=4366028&h=vz2nniJnXUKFZHyfUxfOC35Ii8hB1QzOEe_-rhIfUSCUKjOf&294526\")
![\"Midnight](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=413924&c=4366028&h=V0PACfVHHKUkS34JKiJ4p0o2lpwST9zgV_aw4NnSxwsk6ogh&386714\")
![\"Musing](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=413920&c=4366028&h=TGFA8qTiHtEcuvYOznhrzz61g60bqSCPkHXl5UPklnwFbf2L&242567\")
![\"Brayer](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=413925&c=4366028&h=gcH9zaB0Ae-W1hcHbXMKH2oNOVX_zbCsPNcLru_rM9oxcgYM&4453563\")
![\"Sarah](\"https://www.roningallery.com/core/media/media.nl?id=415903&c=4366028&h=hSmHYWoBVKOfs-moKNeaAL-f3ifzMoswG8xyNg0YdS1AzNhO&1753718\")
![\"Fukagawa](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=449752&c=4366028&h=6M-qsmYBS9V2ULNcnue26koy6wgSSpzhmjx-dU9MXw5GqWJI\")
![\"View](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=449753&c=4366028&h=N6BtHsclM0n7vK5DI2Bdzbwd70vO8guMdIOtOXp4w-YxyL7_&630322\")
![\"Under](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=449750&c=4366028&h=-o_8809vPiiSADrPT2IC5Yfn10EDMK6AGGsvRycI2hq1uOEa&191676\")
![\"Mannen](\"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Mannen_bashi1.JPG\")
![\"Kameido](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=449756&c=4366028&h=7vZNBv5vRgXekYWM95-P5YzYawe_I68O8XOREwc9bxpbFRes\")
![\"Ichikawa](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=650310&c=4366028&h=dYW2folFT_gcaCHEg7zcKJwZNUDybawgj20EbqLrLDLwhINb\")
![\"Shibuya:](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=650312&c=4366028&h=OSRILtoKPdZqqdLwrUK3ncvCeg1ntHhZlnK9UjGRo2j5vCDq&565702\")
![\"Kabuki](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=650311&c=4366028&h=pNdFfwJnRzfElxYie2wY3I8qnEso0GuD39bZ_Q1Y-s21q4Va&475463\")
![\"Hokusai's](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=740358&c=4366028&h=FNKTtMgNsP0sgaoCaKHkqvfsaKIaIElBUQE283bcO9qWszM1\")
![\"backide](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=740357&c=4366028&h=qOxYr4HJ16hf54hTVrMYeu05iwGhdzGlrKAiJv_oLD8uXTSA&3539129\")
![\"graph](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=740359&c=4366028&h=M8GYTzaN1-9uS6u_xVyPl4G7ElnezMnjCLLAEBDknsUXX153\")
![\"Coffee](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=755235&c=4366028&h=skCLbPrlOvGCjnDlepNB3i-6npBXe4Hj7_cki1YZuejBIWm_&463049\")
![\"Looking](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=755236&c=4366028&h=SLgDk79dwFVTFnYjIaMv3mVnxGBi5kKXh3rFvKafAnLVBhGy&1080716\")
![](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=755237&c=4366028&h=ppq_kwtc-UBnN4x1IF6u1lezCYUhEld79Wnm1mbjrZThFLG2&1463055\"alt=\"in)
![\"Amid](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=755238&c=4366028&h=QK-q04cm8FxW8Y6W9qiClzS3lHhZLtkc6oFheKi2pTHDlPWN&1972914\")
![](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=773397&c=4366028&h=burE20ER9XmH1baVnk8PHc95Y8g9Ha04VCtmiAEyQuUHdUKh&559319\")
![](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=773392&c=4366028&h=hG1k0SKSK7WQDLrVpFRHd8eh0c7v-RgWzzT45h7DLw8t6j6g&312860\")
![](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=773400&c=4366028&h=Pyln2lUbjUJDrK3Po9h9ZvPlpowcTX32qhjoa6oAlFZC2EZA&573502\")
![](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=773401&c=4366028&h=yMCcn0lfKHfZO5AmTA41mSVPhHitLYoX6tog81qpasUP3JhB&661387\")
![](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=773395&c=4366028&h=7HLtpH29X4SJcHMD4v57pNLp8_5D9E1cY6cIf7mkj4D0YZNX&366260\")
![](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=773396&c=4366028&h=UJJJl3vbQbQJVEv18O-n9nPyPE0BTP5kqpAODE_dDwsNnAdN&363698\")
![](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=773402&c=4366028&h=L4k38rfolZzY8GPkDvPHmRLbFJqSYZ74vehF9hSzBPEs2mvH&746782\")
![](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=773394&c=4366028&h=6_xkRAwmKv6kyGczMofdGr9Ha5mmN8cA024yJqJ9hFksgX__&383108\")
![](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=773391&c=4366028&h=Fqs98aS4naTgYBPEgJMZPdqLBO1FPZDelyhSgKaq7aqzm0mk&272231\")
![](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=773403&c=4366028&h=Gp8RVteckZ4FmgiHs9HLPPPFPdQvTdPI9hBLTNAqVtsjNc6l&622687\")
![](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=839573&c=4366028&h=LeDifltze0UVu0fbCwzSgNcXbgzwo4qIMgkYxB3fc4yTFgel&761318\")
![](\"/core/media/media.nl?id=839574&c=4366028&h=zPexdx4gtbM0Pu-cmmanYiy7DZl4aTHIXiqiCA5G7rwnlh9c&590992\")