Ukiyo-e at Shimane Art Museum: Masterpieces of the Hiraki Collection

I’ve seen a lot of ukiyo-e exhibits, but the temporary exhibit going on now at Shimane Art Museum is really exciting. The Hiraki collection is on display!

Masterpieces of the Hiraki Collection – The Beauty of Ukiyo-e
July 18th (Fri) ~ September 1st (Mon), 2014

Though many of you might already be familiar with ukiyo-e (“pictures of the floating world”), here is a little break-down and explanation of why this collection is so cool (and why everyone needs to come to the museum in person before the exhibit closes on September 1st).

Shimane Art Museum, known just as much for its building and Lake Shinji sunset viewing location as it is for its collections.

Ukiyo-e are prints that were especially popular souvenirs from Edo (now Tokyo). They were carved wood blocks and those blocks were stamped on paper to create several copies of the same image, which is why there may be several existing originals of any particular print. They were popular for people visiting the big city because they were small and light and didn’t go bad like edible specialties, and although they varied quite a bit in price, they were usually quite reasonable and you could get them for a little more than the price of a bowl of soba noodles. They were so prolific that it was easy to send kids out on tasks to buy the newest prints of whatever it was you collected. Their content ranged from landscapes to Kabuki actors in various roles to grotesque illustrations of horror stories–within the medium, you could find whatever genre and style suited your tastes.

The prints were imposed mirror-image on to boards for carving, usually cherry tree wood, but different woods might be used for different levels of detail. There would be a board with the outlines, and as many boards for colors as there were colors in any given piece.

The outlines

A very detailed piece, such as the one below, might require twenty different boards for stamping the various colors. Between each color you need to wait for it to dry. Therefore, it made sense to do these bulk so you had something to do while waiting between stampings on any given single print!

Note how bright the colors are. Ukiyo-e is a medium that fades fast, and international standards for preservation of art state that they must be displayed at 50 lux (compared to, say, 200 lux suggested for oil paintings). This means that ukiyo-e displays must be kept rather dark, but even then, continuous exposure is damaging. The Hiraki Ukiyo-e Foundation manages the print collection and their traveling temporary exhibits to make sure they preserved as possible while still doing exposed enough for their quality to be enjoyed.

Used with permission

Used with permission

One of the other qualities of the collection is the quality the prints had to begin with, even when the prints were still freshly mass-produced. When a new print was made, the artist would make it as well as possible to attract potential buyers. Production was market driven; if a particular print was not very popular they would stop producing it, but if a new print was very successful, they’d focus more on mass production since they felt assured of having buyers even if the quality was a bit lower. Hence, there were a lot of cheap copies available to ukiyo-e collectors, though the more copies there were, the more low-quality copies there were as well.

What makes an ukiyo-e low quality? Like any art that people get lazy with, errors like coloring outside the lines and less crisp lines are common, the variety of colors and details is usually lacking compared to the debut printings, and the quality of the materials used will probably be cheaper. I should know, as lazy art is my specialty as of late. By the way, it’s from lazy ukiyo-e that we get the Japanese phrase “kentouchigai” for misdirection a wrong guess–it refers to the guiding points of the wood block (kentou) not lining up with illustration correctly, thus resulting in colors that are stamped in incorrect places.

The Hiraki collection, however, is composed of the top quality early printings, when the art was braving against the whims of consumerism, elbowing its way through the crowded print market to shine and claim the eyes of passers-by. In fact, many of the pieces in the collection are designated as national Important Cultural Properties or Important Works of Fine Art.

So pretty works of art, yes, one can always find art in books or on the internet. While bother looking at the originals? Because you can’t see the karazuri without seeing the originals, that’s why!

Although I’ve been somewhat familiar with ukiyo-e for many years, I only learned about this when I visited the exhibit. Karazuri is a pattern that is pressed into the paper which physically adds depth to the area it affects, but you can only detect it when looking at it in 3D as opposed to 2D. The rise and fall of the paper is delicate but measured, and pieces with clear examples of it are very rare. For example, the piece on the poster for the exhibit, Utagawa Toyokuni I’s “Portraits of Actors on Stage–Masatsuyu” has a rather surprisingly elegant-looking loin cloth.

One of my other favorite examples of 3D effects from textured paper is of a snowy scene–the stark rise and faded fall of the paper make the paper look shimmery and ethereally fluffy like real snow. Although ukiyo-e may have a reputation for being unconfined by realism or rather sparse on details, many of my favorite works in the collect refute both of these ideas.

While speaking of content in general, I have discovered that I am a big fan of Isoda Koryusai‘s bird-in-parlor-room series, and works like Ishikawa Toyonobu‘s portrait of a young beauty hanging poems on a cherry tree in full bloom certainly looks, to my eyes, like it deserves its status as Important Cultural Property.

This page is in Japanese, but you can see a few more examples of the feature works of the collection. Just bear in mind that this is a very small taste of the variety of the exhibit (it covers ukiyo-e of many different styles and methods and time periods), and they are really, really pretty prints to stare at in person.

…and I suppose it has me inspired to try to be a little less lazy with my art.

 

The Daitengu of Daisen, Hōkibō

Does the term “Tengu” mean anything to you? Although sometimes translated as “goblin,” “gargoyle,” or simply “demon”, this particular type of mythical creature conjures images of human-esque anatomy, attire of a yamabushi (mountain monk often involved in esoteric practices), holding fans that control the wind (and possibly more), and red-faced with a long nose that reflects the inflated sizes of their egos.

Karasu-Tengu as illustrated by Mizuki Shigeru

Although the term (天狗) refers more literally to dogs of heaven, they are more commonly thought of as birds. Some of the lower ranked kotengu (小天狗), who are often pictured with more bird-like faces with beaks as opposed to the signature long nose. Infamously capricious, they are often involved in folktales throughout Japan, like this one. Tengu are as also sometimes known as Karasu-Tengu (カラス天狗), literally “crow Tengu.” As far as their form is concerned, however, they’re more likely based on black kites–not toys, but the giant birds of prey throughout Japan that light to steal people’s bentou in their talons in single swoops.

Some black kites and a large crow in Izumo for size comparison.

Hanging out with the Karasu-Tengu of Tengu Forest at Izumo Kanbeno Sato in southern Matsue. I’ve also found a Karasu-Tengu hiding in the forest behind Tamatsukuriyu Shrine in the Tamatsukuri Onsen area…

If there are lower ranked Tengu, then there are also higher ranked Tengu–Daitengu (大天狗). Although there is no known limit to the Kotengu dwelling throughout the mountains of Japan, according to various texts from Kamakura era and referred ever since, there are only 17 Daitengu, though only the top eight (perhaps that should be Top Eight) are mentioned very often. All the Daitengu possess superior intellect, and whether to the ire or to the honor of the locale (attitudes towards Tengu and whether they are good or bad vary from era to era), they have specific areas they inhabit.

The 7th of these 17 is Hōkibō (伯耆坊), who resides on Mt. Daisen, the highest mountain of the San’in region.

Click for source

One of the local famous wagashi (Japanese confectionary) producers in Matsue, Saiundo, has a signature sweet named after the local Daitengu. The Hōkibō sweet has sugar and slightly chunky red beans on the outside with a layer of soft mochi on the inside, and is based off the shape of his fan, as illustrated below.

Click for source.

Click for source and a larger version.

Hōkibō has generally been looked upon favorably by the locals in Tottori, but according to Edo period records, he moved to Mt. Ōyama in Kanagawa to oversee the flocks of Tengu there due to a Daitengu vacancy left after Sagamibō left to comfort a banished emperor. Hōkibō’s name still reflects his original home, seeing as Mt. Daisen is in the old Hōki Province. He also still makes appearances in Daisen Town’s parade of characters in historical costumes (see here, and here, and here).

You know the funny thing about Mt. Daisen and Mt. Ōyama? They’re both written 大山 (quite literally, “big mountain”).

Seeing as he is often mentioned when the Top Eight of the Daitengu are cooperating in something, such as–under the leadership of the top ranked Daitengu, Sōjōbō of Mt. Kurama near Kyoto–watching over a young orphan of the Genji clan who would eventually grow up to demolish the oppressive Heike clan, as well as be one half of Japan’s most legendary of dynamic duos. It just so happens the other half of that duo was born and raised here in the San’in region, and trained on Mt. Daisen!

Click for source and to view a larger verson of the image. This is an ukiyo-e by Tsukioke Yoshitoshi, one of the last great ukiyo-e artists, although he was known for some rather grotesque subject matter. Hōkibō is taking Benkei down by his leg, while Sōjōbō sits back and watches with Ushiwaka.

This is just one interpretation of the famous meeting on Gojo Bridge in Kyoto between Yoshitsune (or Ushiwaka, his childhood name he still used at the time) and Benkei. In general, the start of their story is that Benkei was a powerful naginata user and beat everyone up, but when he was beaten by young Yoshitsune, he swore fealty to him, and this was the start of their semi-historical, semi-fantastical adventures. Their story has been continually expanded upon in literature for hundreds of years with some basic running themes, such as how Yoshitsune trained with Sōjōbō on Mt. Kurama before meeting Benkei. There are many, many stories of young Benkei (called Oniwaka) here in the San’in region, such as how his mother had cravings for iron when she was pregnant with him, so he was born with a black face and strong as iron, but that’s for another time.

In the meantime, just a little plug for Asiascape‘s “Manga as/in Essay” online magazine. I’ll have a 17 page manga piece running in the “Kurama Tengu” issue. I know, what a traitor I sound like, writing about a Kyoto Tengu rather than a San’in Tengu! But research for that piece is what lead to this entry, and Hōkibō was mentioned in the script for the Noh drama, and by liberally extended definition even the northern part of Kyoto Prefecture can be called part of the San’in region. Well, off to go reward myself with another Hōkibō of the wagashi variety.

 

Another Daikonshima Wonder: Unshuu Ginseng

You probably don’t need to be a health nut to know that ginseng, a human-shaped root full of ginsenosides, is an expensive health product, lauded for its stimulant properties and powering up the immune system–among other systems. Although there is American Ginseng, it doesn’t pack quite the same punch as the Asian variety, commonly known as Korean Ginseng.

I bring this up, of course, because it doesn’t only grow in Korea. Ginseng production is big here in the San’in region, too.

Originally cultivated on Daikonshima (a large island on Lake Nakaumi) in the 17th century, it was sold through an operation lead by the samurai running the Matsue domain as part of an economic recovery plan for the region, it was at its height of popularity around the 1830’s and 1840’s, and it later became a privatized enterprize. When the samurai rain things, they imported ginseng and grew them in the volcanic soils of Daikonshima (also known for the peonies the volcanic soil is so good for). All of the ginseng produced was collectively processed and prepared for sale. This was known as Unshuu Ginseng* (unshuu ninjin, though ninjin is also confusingly the word for not-so-special carrots), known both then and now as a high quality, well-recognized variety. Shimane is still one of the top three producers of ginseng in Japan today.

Mural of Matsue history inside Matsue Castle

*Unshuu (雲州) takes the character for “clouds” from Izumo’s name (出雲) and combines it for the word for “province.” You find these –shuu names for a lot of old provinces throughout Japan. In Japanese, the readers for the characters might change depending how it is combined with other characters.

Why is ginseng production such a big deal? Setting it’s historical popularity as a health supplement aside, growing ginseng is not an easy venture. It takes six years for the ginseng plant to reach maturity enough for the roots to be harvested, and the plant sucks the soil dry of its nutrients–it can take 20 years for that soil for to be suitable for cultivation use again! If you’re a small-time farmer just trying to scrape by, growing this is not a effective use of your resources and time.

That’s where Yuushien Garden comes in for modern day Unshuu Ginseng production. I’ve mentioned this garden many times before as it is my favorite in the region and its peonies are amazing, but I’ve always glossed over the ginseng end of things. But on a not so crowded day, it’s fairly likely you’ll be served a free sample of ginseng tea before you even make it to the ticket booth.

In addition to tea, you can get this supplement in a variety of forms–in soap and beauty products, powder form, even sake! They’re available at various points throughout the walk-through garden course, most notably at the Unshuu Ginseng museum at the end of the course.

It comes in highly potent, sticky form!

Although these are in a form you can purchase and take home with you, I was very excited when I was interpreting for a delegation one time and we got to go to Yuushien for lunch–I had always been intrigued by the ginseng tempura, and I’d finally get a chance to try it! That was not all, however–in the set course of inventive and decorative items they served us that day, they used ginseng in almost everything. I apologize that I did not take pictures that day, but suffice to say that I found it worth spending some extra money on to be able to have it again someday–this coming from someone who has very frequent kaiseki (very fancy multi-course meals) at ryokan around the city. This page is in Japanese and the pictures are small, but it might give you some idea. I can tolerate the tea, but I find the taste of ginseng much more pleasant in in a form you can eat.

That said, I still have yet to try to the ginseng ice cream the garden serves. Someday!

 

The Kojiki a.t.b.b. – Fatal and Fateful Trials – Part 8

Continued from Part 7











Continued in Part 9

 

Oki Adventure: Ocean Views

In anticipation of 海の日 (Umi-no-Hi, “Marine Day”) this Monday, a public holiday set aside for enjoying and giving thanks for the ocean, here are a bunch of photos of various ocean scenes around Oki! Speaking of public holidays for appreciating nature, the land-locked prefectures (hard to believe there would be land-locked prefectures in Japan, huh? There’s 8 by my count!) can’t enjoy this public holiday like everyone else, so this year they decided to create a new public holiday, 山の日 (Yama-no-Hi, “Mountain Day”) to start on August 11, 2016.

This will wrap up my Oki entries for now, but the content of the rest of the trip might come up in the future, too. For now, enjoy the pretty ocean (and neat Geopark rock formations!)! And then go to the beach! If you’re not land-locked, anyway.

We saw comb jellies at this beach when we went back a little later in the day–they’re so cool! Photos don’t really do justice to how they light up. Oh, and this is one of many beaches appreciated by poets and other high-class people banished to the islands. You can still live a comfortable life here, so they are considered appropriate for banishing nobles to.

 

Oki Adventure: Sea Kayaking and Sea Food

After visiting the horses and fishes around Nishinoshima, I headed to the big island of Okinoshima. Among my adventures there was a sea kayaking trip. It wasn’t quite as sunny as when I went scuba diving and there were more waves, but the four of us–a couple fellow JETs, our guide, and myself–got to explore several caves and observe the creatures living in them. That was in addition to all the explanations of unique geological formations the island is known for, but rather than reexplaining them all here myself the official homepage of the Oki Islands Geopark should provide a more useful and enlighting explanation beyond “cool looking rocks! Lava did this!”

Yoroi-iwa, “Armor Rock”

So! On to the kayak tour!

This is at the northern tip of Okinoshima–people don’t live on this little island, but birds nest here, and in seems there used to be customs of swimming to this point for some kind of ritual or festival. Or just to show off your swimming skills, maybe.

Speaking of birds, this guy was part of a nest inside a cave, but he’s still a little clumsy at flying! We watched him fall in the water after a not so graceful flight attempt across the cave, then he swam in front of us for a while before hopping around the rock walls again. His hopping wasn’t very graceful, either. Ah, and the mom and dad birds weren’t so pleased with our visit when they came back later.

This sea slug (or sea hare) wasn’t very thrilled to see us, either. See that purple ink? It’s a last line of defense. Had it have been in the water, you’ve have lost sight of it in a cloud.

Now if we were lobsters, this stuff would gotten all over our scent receptors and made it difficult for us to smell the tasty sea slug. Cool, huh?

We also saw a number of other fish, jellies, barnicles, crabs, and even caught some good glimpses of sazae–turban shells, a local specialty both on the shores of the Oki Islands and the shores of the mainland.

Click for source. Not one of my favorites, but I tolerate them in some dishes like sazae curry or sazae rice.

See look, no sight of sazae! Just harmless little bite-sized pieces.

I much prefer the other local specialty that we saw plenty of, though I’ve only tried kame-no-te (“turtle hands”) once in soup form.

Click for source. Not actually related to turtles, these things grow in groups like barnicles.

Alas, I did not have any more kame-no-te on this trip, but in addition to squid (a major part of local industry) and an assortment of very fresh sashimi, I also tried oysters for the first time in recollection. Although they do serve them raw, right after we got the suggestion for the daily special from our sea kayaking guide, I opted for fried oysters (kaki, not to be confused with persimmons) in curry. Apparently curry style is the best way to serve something one is unfamiliar with, but I’ll stick with normal curry in everyday life, thanks.

That’s a lot of oyster. I prefer shijimi clams, though…

Next time, let’s just stick to some light sight-seeing.

 

Oki Adventure: Horses

Besides the iconic rock formations and 257 meter Matengai cliff, Kuniga Coast on the northwest side of the northwestern island of Nishinoshima is also famous for semi-wild horses and cows.

Nishinoshima has a human population of about 3,600, and a horse population of about 50, and a higher bovine population than 50. Having seen so many photos of the coastline and horses, this is what really brought me to Nishinoshima. While I was enjoying the hike along the coast for a while and energized by the beautiful scenery, I was just a little disappointed that I didn’t see any horses in the area. They’re free to roam, so you’re not certain to find them in the typical photogenic spots–though it’s clear they roamed there, so watch your step.

It was when I was nearing Matengai Cliff that I finally spotted a few horses and circle of cows. Yay!

If you continue hiking back around from Matengai instead of stopping there, you get you a fork in the road (one leading back to the start of the course along the coast, the other down to Urago Port). From this point you can see two coasts, and this is where the rest of the horses were hanging out. Yaaaay! So for your viewing pleasure, here are some more horse photos.

Back to sea adventures next time!

 

Oki Adventure: Scuba diving

A couple weeks ago, I took a wonderful little vacation to the Oki Islands, which were added to the Global Network of National Geoparks last year. Even taking the slow (and cheap) ferry, you can get there from Matsue or Sakaiminato within hours, yet I had not done so until now.

Me? Reusing an old map? Never.

Even for technically being the rainy season, I had perfect timing–despite being the rainy season it didn’t rain during my trip, and since the official swimming season is July-August, my friends I didn’t run into much competition for beach space. Then again, this is Oki–there is always another beach and never the number of tourists you’d find elsewhere.

Besides enjoying the unique sights of the Geopark and the islands’ history, I made sure to go out and do summery things I don’t typically venture to do in daily life. Despite living so close to so many beaches, my bathing suit has had zero use the whole time I’ve lived here. That had to be amended! So I fixed it right away with my first scuba diving experience.

Ready to go! The water at Sotohama Beach was clear, and the sand has a lot of iron, so the beach looks pretty black.

When you arrive at Beppu Port on Nishinoshima Island, the Nishinoshima Tourism Association is directly across from the port, and they have everything you need to guide yourself around and book excursions and workshops for you (thanks, Nicola!). While I was there I sort of decided at random to do some scuba diving with Club Noah the following morning. I was a little bit nervous, but the weather was sunny and windless, the 2~3 hour class was designed for beginners, and I’d have a professional with me to make sure I wouldn’t die in a freak low-speed collision with a rock in 2 feet of water. Perfectly safe, right?

Yeah, perfectly safe. But the first breath underwater was so scary I stood straight up out of the water as if on reflex. Never fear, the guys at Club Noah are used to dealing with people who are sort of freaked out by the thought of deep breaths while you’re surrounded by water. Aided by cheerfulness and patience, I got used to the whole breathing thing, and then we could actually swim around.

It was very shallow water and we only got as far as three meters deep, but there was still a lot to see there. Perhaps we could have gone further if I had been less chicken and more true to my name from the start–just as I was really absorbed in the dive and having a lot of fun and no longer so conscious of breathing, it was time to head back to shore. At least what I saw was pretty!

Goby!

This was a bouncy one that was safe to touch. Gently, of course!

This type of sea slug is called “umiushi” in Japanese–“sea cow.”

We saw rainbowfish that looked more rainbow-y, but this is the one we got a picture of.

No sea horses… but there were lots and lots of horses on Nishinoshima. Next time!

 

The Kojiki a.t.b.b. – Fatal and Fateful Trials – Part 7

Continued from Part 6








After all, young Susano-o did.



Continued in Part 8

 

“Flying Eel”

This is a short and silly little folk tale from Matsue, around Lake Shinji. Eel is one of the Seven Delicacies of Lake Shinji (宍道湖七珍), especially in summer. The birds who make an appearance in this story are also a very typical part of the Lake Shinji scenery.

Photo from Naniwa Honten, one of the more famous restaurants along the banks of Lake Shinji. Click for source.

A long, long time ago, there was an old couple, and one day, the old man said to the old lady, “I’m goin’ out to catch some eel for a tasty dinner tonight. Set up the grill while I’m gone.” With a smile, she saw him off.

He lowered his fishing line into the water and laid back and waited, relaxing at the banks of Lake Shinji. For a long time, nothing happened. A bird circled above him, cawing, “The eels are all asleep! They’re down in their holes! They’re all asleep!” However, the old man paid them no mind and continued to relax and be patient.

At last, there was a tug on the line. “Now I gotcha!” he smiled and sprang to his feet to grab hold of the pole. He pulled and tugged and soon an enormous eel sprang out of the water. “Gotcha!” he shouted as he let go of the pole with one hand to grab hold of its slimy body. As the eel wriggled around and shot itself upwards out of his grip, he grabbed on with the other hand.

Again, the eel surged upwards to try to wriggle free, and as one hand came loose, he grabbed higher.

The eel spurted itself higher. The old man grabbed higher.

Higher and higher.

The old man didn’t even notice when they had gotten so high that his feet had lifted off the ground. Soon enough, he noticed that Lake Shinji was below them, looking further and further away, smaller and smaller, as he and the eel went higher and higher.

Meanwhile, the old lady was starting to wonder what was taking him so long to return home. She grew anxious, then grew worried enough go out and look for him, but she caught no sight of him.

For days, he did not return. With a heavy heart, the old lady thought, “Perhaps he’s never coming back. But where could he have gone?” She began to cry.

At that moment, a large bird swooped down towards her and dropped a piece of paper, which floated down into her hands. Curiously, she took a peek, and saw that it was a woman’s handwriting, yet the words of her husband. It read:

Dear, I caught a big eel the other day, but while tryin’ t’ wrangle it, it shot up towards the sky. I’m still tryin’ t’ catch the dang thing!

Note: Seeing as he is preoccupied catching the eel, your husband was unable to let go and write this message, so I have taken his dictation. Signed, a heavenly maiden.