july issue - japan special

tristesse engraved

july 2011 japan special issue

contents **** japan special issue * page 3-12: yasaku kamekura * page 13-38: vintage japanese posters * page 39-50: sachiko hayashi * page 51-67: megumi yamaguchi * page 68-78: kazumi osawa * page 79-100: kodomo no kuni * page 101-103: gen yamaguchi * page 104-125: mikiko takahashi * page 126-136: yoshihiro kikuchi * page 137-141: koshiro onchi * page 142-149: tomoko sugimoto * page 150-155: fujita yosuke * page 156-154: jez riley french *

yasaku kamekura (1915-1997)

vintage japanese posters

sachiko hayashi www.e-garde.net

megumi yamaguchi

The world I drew in a picture. It reaches a persons mind somewhere and the new world is created. Several new stories begin. It is door for the parallel world! Thanks. 絵の中に私が描いた世界。 どこかで人の心に届き新たな世界を創り出す。 ま たいくつもの新しい物語が始まる。 パラレルワールドの扉だ！ 感謝。

kazumi osawa http://kazkai.com/

a cup

lemon

park

daisy

birds

mimosa

early summer

tsukimisou

swimming

snowflake

pages from Kodomo no kuni (japanese children’s magazine 1922-1949)

Gen Yamaguchi 山口源 (1896–1976)

by Clive Christy Hazell

Yamaguchi was born in Shizuoka and lived most of his life in the rural city of Numazu. He was from a wealthy family and was permitted to follow his artistic dreams, and studied under one of the undisputed modernist Japanese print masters, Koshiro Onchi. It was a chance meeting with Shizuo Fujimori in Taiwan in 1914 that sparked Yamaguchi's interest in printmaking however, and in the 20's he became a pupil of Koshiro Onchi. At some point I will do some posting on Taiwanese printmakers, as there is also a strong history nationally of the technique also. Most likely under of the influence of Onchi, Yamaguchi

experimentally applied materials such as leaves and other objects to his woodblocks, and this is evident in one of the works I have featured here.

Yamaguchi's works are mostly notable for the artist's style and the muted colours. His works seem almost meditative, and although they are not vibrant experiments in colour, there is something calming about them. You could almost suggest that there is a touch of Buddhism in his works, but in fact for most of his life Yamaguchi was Christian (although his upbringing was Buddhist). In many ways Yamaguchi's works are interesting because they are not characteristic of Japanese printmaking of the time he worked and there is a kind of fidelity and spirit that suggests something more akin to economy of spirit. His works are therefore, a little hard to characterise, as he is not really a realist and his

works are not universally abstract either. There are parts of his works that are lifted completely out of the field of realism, and then other parts that are very realistic.

Mostly he is famous today for his inventiveness and experimental nature, and these aspects of his works as well as the decorative aspect of his compositions, I like very much. His works are enriched by his various processes and as a result they are always complimentary in allusion, and worth a look.

Mikiko Takahashi

Yoshihiro Kikuchi yoshihirokikuchi.blogspot.com

Koshiro Onchi 恩地 孝四郎 (1891 – 1955)

by Clive Christy Hazell

Onchi was the most important figure in the 'Sosaku Hanga' movement from 1918 until his death and is perhaps one of the most important Japanese print makers you have never heard of. In a lot of ways, Onchi was the heir to a very German artistic movement. By that I mean Onchi happily meandered through every field of art, and the arts, but he never achieved anything as beautifully as he did in his woodblocks. He had a rare visual tact that cannot be compared to other artists of the print. It was partially his skill, but it was also his own native intelligence that led him to express himself in publishing, poetry, magazine editing and a whole slew of other artistic and creative enterprises. However, nothing he did excelled his printmaking perfection.

Onchi managed to say everything that was needed to be said in his works in his very decorative sentences. The thing about Onchi was that he used the best of the Japanese tradition, all the while blazing new trails. He was the son of one of an Imperial Court official, who was also one of the teachers of the previous emperor. Onchi's mother was also a part of the imperial circle and it was because of this rarified world, that Onchi had access to the German Cooperative Middle School in Tokyo. His contact with German culture and the language gave him a very special sympathy with German bildung, culture and artistic movements. This leads back to the German Bildung tradition which has no real comparative in Anglo culture. The philosophy and education are virtually synonymous terms that designate an ongoing process of both personal and cultural maturation. This maturation is evidenced in a harmonization of the individual’s mind and heart and in a unification of society.

Harmonization of the self is achieved through a wide variety of experiences and challenges to the individual’s accepted beliefs. This very German aspect of art, culture and growth has very clear and obvious similarities to traditional Japanese education, in fact German education directly influenced Japan, to the point that even today, you can still see Japanese school students wearing the gakuran which is derived from Prussian army uniforms.

His German inclinations and understanding led him to have a powerful influence on the movement we call "Sosaku Hanga". From 1909 through to the late 20's Onchi used his very German influenced ideas and aesthetic to work as an arts organizer, publisher and overall revolutionary in the arts world of moribund Tokyo. In 1939 he was sent to China as a war artist. However, at the end of the war, Onchi emerged as the master of Japanese printmaking. Onchi was a busy man but his works also make it clear that he was also an artistic entrepreneur who was more than happy to let his art tell a story. He was also desperately determined to rout the conventional.

I think many of his compatriots were struggling with food and living, so much so, that it meant they weren't busy throwing off the shackles of artistic traditions. As a result they created conventional and rather dull works. Onchi seems to have escaped this fate. There is nothing conventional about his work, despite the fact that he used a very conventional technique with a thousand year history. Instead he gives us feelings, and ideas. This was something that the Chinese and Japanese masters who created the technique didn't always manage convincingly.

Onchi developed a friendship with the American, William Hartnett which ultimately led to the introduction of his work and that of his pupils in the USA. From there he exhibited at the S達o Paolo Biennale in 1951 and became Chairman of the Kokusai Hanga Kyokai. The latter part of his life saw him settle into his role as father of the Sosaku Hanga and his influence continued with the next generation of print makers in Japan. It could be easy to dismiss the importance of Onchi, if it were not for the exquisite craftsmanship. He had a perfectly mature knowledge of where to put his colour and shapes. Look at how beautifully the shapes and lines are placed. There is no doubt that this artist knew his stuff.

There are legitimate limitations due to the printmaking processes, that required the truly outstanding artists to work so much harder to create works that truly stop us and make us want to absorb it. Onchi's influence was more than just aesthetics but an entire generation of art in Japan.

tomoko sugimoto www.tomoko-sugimoto.com

fujita yosuke http://fujita-yosuke.moo.jp/

Jez riley French - ‘dreamland, nara - june 2011’ jezrileyfrench.carbonmade.com

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