Category: Japanese Art
-
Quick Print: Yomogyu – The Tale of Genji by Masao Ebina
Masao Ebina (Japanese), Genji Monogatari (“The Tale of Genji”), mid-20th century. Source: artelino The Tale of Genji was the first novel to be published in Japan. Having made its debut during the flourishing Heian period–the equivalent of the Renaissance era in Western art–Genji Monogatari is an extensive work of courtly intrigue and romantic adventure. While…
-
Kawase, Night: Three Contemplative Scenes by Hasui Kawase
Hasui Kawase 川瀬 巴水, Dusk at Ushibori (Ushibori no yugure), 1930, Color woodblock print, oban tate-e, 17 1/16 × 11 13/16 in. Art Institute of Chicago Hasui Kawase is one of those gripping artists with a sharply unique perspective. His landscapes have a je ne sais quoi which sparks instant recognition of the scene as…
-
Quick Print: Cherry Blossoms and Pigeon by Nichimura Hodō (1937)
Nishimura Hodō, Cherry Blossoms and Pigeon, 1937, woodblock print, 14 7/16 × 9 3/8 in., LACMA. Pigeons are funky little creatures. Doesn’t this dove look so vividly spectacular? This elegant dove by N. Hodo seems so life-like in composition. Deep blue-grays transition into subtle earth over the dove’s ornithological frame, a hefty sense of contrast…
-
A Brief History of the Onna Musha, the Female Samurai
What comes to mind when you hear the word samurai? Men wielding katanas? Ironclad Japanese warriors about to strike a blow? Or perhaps a robed samurai on the verge of self-sacrifice. What about a kimono-wrapped lady on the verge of kicking ass? While most women in feudal Japan were expected to adhere to traditional roles,…
-
![[FACTSHEET] Hayami Gyoshū: Modern Nihonga in Blue](https://inkbrushmood.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/HayamiGyoshu-Shugakuin-1918.jpg)
[FACTSHEET] Hayami Gyoshū: Modern Nihonga in Blue
BY: IKB WIND | February 08th, 2024 [ABOUT HAYAMI GYOSHU] Hayami Gyoshū (1894-1935) was a Nihonga painter from the Inten Revival era. His paintings were luminous in nature, with a contemporary sense of perception. For instance, in Tokyo Dancer, the soft, asymmetrical outlines that emphasize the woman’s blue-gowned figure also make her appear airbrushed! Painted…
-
Hasui Kawase & His Stand-Out Perspective
Within the vastness of the floating world, one perspective stands out for its distinctiveness: that of Hasui Kawase. Born in 1883, he became a prominent figure in the shin hanga movement. Shin hanga prints are essentially modernized ukiyo-e, characterized by a more Westernized influence in terms of pigments used and artistic perspective. Some of Hasui…
-
Ohno Bafuku’s Creative Nature Prints
Ohno Bafuku (1888-1972) was a Japanese shin-hanga painter best known for his inspired naturely art works or sosaku-hanga (“creative prints”). Though nature is a frequent theme in Japanese art, Bafuku expresses an intensity and perspective that feels alternative to his era. One need only see Mebaru (20th. CE; above) to appreciate its conceptual beauty. The…
-
Itō Shinsui: Master of Bijin-ga
Itō Shinsui is an expert in beautiful women — or at least in painting them. An icon of the Shin-hanga (modern ukiyo-e) movement, Shinsui specifically excelled at bijin-ga: portraits of beautiful women. What makes Shinsui’s prints so special? Women are certainly not a new topic in the art world, and definitely not in ukiyo-e. From…
-
The Photography of Yoshihiko Ueda
I first became aware of Yoshihiko Ueda after stumbling upon a cover of his photography book, Quinault (1993). I was instantly struck by its dark, ethereal feel — dusky and liminal. I felt like I was traveling undaunted through a mysterious patch of forest, or an unexplored segment of my own unconscious. As it turns…