Happy #NationalCatDay from this whole gang too:
Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861), Cats Suggested As the Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, 1850.
Ukiyo-e woodblock print, H 37.4 cm (14.7 in) x W 77.8 cm (30.6 in).
A fun play on Hiroshige’s The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō, with "cat puns" corresponding to the station names. #JapaneseArt https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cats_suggested_as_the_fifty-three_stations_of_the_Tokaido.jpg
Happy #WorldAnimalDay!
Suzuki Kiitsu (1796-1858)
One Hundred Birds and One Hundred Animals
Japan, Edo period, 1843
pair of hanging scrolls; ink, color, & gold pigment on silk
From “The Life of Animals in Japanese Art” exhibition at National Gallery of Art DC (2019) #JapaneseArt#AnimalsInArt
Blind people crossing an abyss, #Japan, Edo period, 18th c., #hangingscroll (#kakemono), ink on paper. Inscription: Inner life and the floating world are like the blind men's round log bridge - an enlightened mind is the best guide. (賛：養生も浮世も・座頭の丸木はし・わたり心が・よき手びさせ)
For #WorldCassowaryDay: #Cassowary recorded in Illustrated Scroll of Birds (Chōrui zukan) Vol.1, Meiji Japan, late 19th c.
🆔 Southern Cassowary aka Double-Wattled Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius), native to New Guinea/NE Australia/Aru Islands.
(All cassowaries are native to greater Australasia; they were first imported to Japan by Dutch traders in 1646.)
Harvard Art Museums collection: https://harvardartmuseums.org/collections/object/210958 #JapaneseArt#BirdsInArt
In Japanese folklore onryo are the vengeful ghosts of people who die while experiencing strong emotions like anger, jealousy, or hatred. Their souls, unable to pass on, turn into powerful spirits seeking vengeance on everyone they encounter. #JapaneseFolklore#folklore#ghost#JapaneseArt#ukiyoe@folklore
🎨Utagawa Kunisada
For a belated #NationalFoxDay 🦊:
Sacred #Foxes
Japan, Kiyama Jinja, Okayama Prefecture
Kamakura period - Nanbokucho era, 14th c.
wood w/pigments
exhibited in The Life of Animals in #JapaneseArt at National Gallery of Art DC (2019)
In Japanese folklore Tesso is a yokai that takes the form of a gigantic rat and is the vengeful spirit of a monk named Raido who was betrayed by the emperor. Tesso gathered an army of rats that wreaked havoc on the places and people associated with Raido's betrayal. #folklore#JapaneseFolklore#yokai#ukiyoe#JapaneseArt@folklore
🎨Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, 1891.
The next ukiyo-e print shows Urashima Taro sitting beside a tree with the turtle in front of him. He's back home after the three years at the dragon king's palace which is now 'fading away under the sea waves like a dream' and he hasn't yet realised that 300 years have passed.
🎨'Dreaming of the Dragon Palace' - Utagawa Kuniyoshi, 1852 #folklore#ukiyoe#JapaneseArt#JapaneseFolklore@folklore
3/-
This print titled 'Urashima and Dragon Palace' is by Ogata Gekko (1893) and depicts Urashima Taro on the back of the turtle in the ocean, again with a fishing rod over his shoulder. A hazy dragon palace can be seen in the background. #JapaneseArt#ukiyoe#folklore#JapaneseFolklore@folklore
4/-
Traditional paper folding, known as origami in Japan, was originally used only for religious and ceremonial purposes as paper was so expensive. Today origami is a popular creative pastime around the world. #Japan#folklore#ukiyoe#origami#JapaneseArt
🎨Terazaki, 1906.
'Maisaka: Ferryboats on the Sea at Imagiri' from the series 'Famous Sights of the Fifty-three Stations' also known as the 'Vertical Tokaido' - Utagawa Hiroshige, 1855. #JapaneseArt#ukiyoe#Hiroshige#Japan
Handpainted Japanese postcard of a singing sparrow in a tree. Am unable to translate or discover the artist, but a message on the back (in English) is dated 1927, though the card has Made in Japan printed on the back. #JapaneseArt#Sparrows#Postcards
Kawase was intent on painting Japan's beauty, not depicting the damage done by the war. The Meiji shrine itself had been destroyed by bombers, but here he depicts the gardens as unspoiled and idyllic. It's also simultaneously modern, as the people here are in modern Western outfits.