Art on Tuesday: Outdoor Sketching

This woodblock print was made by Mizuno Toshikata 水野年方 (1866-1908) in 1903, a Japanese artist and teacher of Japanese art. This picture shows a beautiful woman sketching (美人の戸外写生), working concentrated. She is wearing a hakama over her kimono. Maybe it is early in the morning, because of the foggy weather. She brought a parasol with her, but she does not need it at the moment.

Mizuno Toshikata designed mainly ukiyo-e. His style is unique but he shows a variety of themes in his work. He also drew many illustrations for the magazine “Bungei Kurabu“, which was a popular literary magazine in Japan.

A good selection of his work is available under the ukiyo-e search.

Editor’s Note: This post was first published on Japan Kaleidoskop, a blog about Japanese literature and art. It was originally published on April 22, 2014 and was rewritten and updated on June 13, 2023.

Art on Tuesday: Lion Dance

This ukiyo-e was designed in 1934 by one of my favorite Japanese painters, the famous Itô Shinsui 伊東 深水 (1898-1972).

This lady is performing the Lion Dance. In Japanese it is called 鏡獅子 kagami jishi.

The traditional „lion dance“ is a symbol of a new beginning. Usually, it is performed twice a year, often as a dance celebration at a Shintô shrine. Sometimes it is part of a theatre play as in a Kabuki play. It is meant to chase away evil spirits and bring good luck to the audience.

In Japan, these dances are performed often in January on New Year’s Day and during the spring season along with the cherry blossom festivities.

The movie director Yasujiro Ozu 小津 安二郎 made a documentary about the Kabuki called „Kagami jishi“, where a lion dance is performed by the Kabuki actor Omoye Kikugoro IV in 1936. It is around the same time as this ukiyo-e was painted.

On YouTube, you can see the movie and get an impression of the music and dance.

Editor’s Note: This post was first published on Japan Kaleidoskop, a blog about Japanese literature and art. It was originally published on Octobre 29, 2013 and was rewritten and updated on June 6, 2023.

 

Art on Tuesday: Full Moon

This beautiful ukiyo-e of a full moon with plum blossoms was designed by Ohara Koson 小原 古邨 (1877-1945). He was a painter and print designer of Japanese woodblock prints best known for his pictures depicting birds and flowers (kachō-e 花鳥絵). Ohara joined the “shin hanga” (新版画) movement in Japan in the early 20th century. He is one of the most famous artists of his time known for his landscape and animal paintings.

He designed some more ukiyo-e with a full moon as a background. The above picture shows blue flowers and some grass plants with yellow flowers. Some clouds are hanging in front of the full moon.

Ohara Koson also painted this pair of flying geese before a full moon. It is an example of his (kachō-e 花鳥絵) ukiyo-e with animals. There are many other beautiful woodblock prints and paintings he made. A good source where you can find his woodblock prints is wikimedia.org.

Editor’s Note: This post was first published on Japan Kaleidoskop, a blog about Japanese literature and art. It was originally published on April 2, 2013 and was rewritten and updated on May 9, 2023.