Seventh Assignment

Ukiyo-e & Saito prints

The print I chose to discuss is Two Characters from the Popularized "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861).  I picked this piece because it's absolutely stunning.  I found myself drawn to it.  Before watching the video of woodblock prints being made I had no idea what the process was like.  I had no idea how much effort and how many steps go in to making a single print.  It looks like painstaking work but the outcome is really beautiful.  When I first saw this print the first things I noticed were the many vibrant colors, small details, and intricate patterns. When you think about the work that went into this print it makes it all the more impressive.

According to the pamphlet, this print depicts two heroic figures from The Romance of the Three Kingdoms which is called one of the four great classical novels of Chinese literature.  These two samurai are clearly heroic, dignified, skilled and well-regarded as one can tell by how they're dressed and holding themselves.  Their heroism is said to be shown through their hairy faces and hands. Something I think is particularly interesting is the pattern that resembles traditional Japanese-style waves on the sleeves, helmet, and bottom of the jacket/pants.  This pattern is one among many included in the extravagant outfit.  Other patterns and materials resemble fire, fur, gold, and flowers. These images connote traits such as strength, prosperity, wealth, honor, and nobility.
The characters' faces remind me of the demonically-portrayed drawings of Perry from the first unit we looked at.  This confused me since the information on this print attributed the hairy face and hands to heroism.  They've even got the blue in the whites of their eyes! Interesting.  Where's the line between hero and demon?

Just look at that detail!!

The Saito print I chose is called Green Buddha.  Originally I was deciding between this and the other Buddha print, Silent Prayer, but chose this one because of the interesting asymmetry.  Also I love the teal color.  This is such a unique-looking portrayal of Buddha and stands out against others I've seen (especially the popular icon-esque images of Buddha) while still maintaining key signifiers like the knobbed hair, long ear lobe, and general long- or oval-shaped head.  The design of the print plays with a lot of shapes which gives it a simplistic, modern feel.  The nose/eyebrow combo for example.  But why the asymmetry? The print would feel, be, and look totally different without it and I think it's vital to it, but what's the significance? It's obviously a deliberate artistic choice.  One ear has the point at the top and a long lobe but the other does not.  One side of the nose and eyebrow is filled in dark, the other is empty.  One eye is also dark while the other is not.  Is it meant to represent shadow?  The wood grain also seems to be left as part of the design, giving texture to the face and providing a nice background.  The wood grain on the neck looks as if it's shadow cast from the left side which would tie in nicely with the darkness or shadowing on the right side of the face.  Buddha also somewhat has a Mona Lisa smile.  Really lovely print, the more I look at it the more I like it and notice about it!

Sixth Assignment

Through the lens of a Western tourist:

This is an image from Boy's Festival Day. Beautiful colored paper kites were hung on a line above the street in celebration of the day's festivities.  Colors were everywhere, brightly adorning the narrow streets with the cheer of youth.

This is an image of blooming cherry blossoms in the Park of Ueno, Tokyo.  The trees, covered with pink flowers, line the pathway, creating an other-worldly arch above it.  The pathway is bustling with pedestrians of all ages who leisurely walk among the blossoms.

This image shows a traditional Japanese 'No' dance performance.  One performer, dressed extravagantly with a painted white face, stands center stage with his arms out and attention outwards. Other performers sit behind or beside him.  The stage is simple with no props.  On the wall behind the actor is a beautifully illustrated tree.

Here we have an image of a Japanese "Daibutsu" Temple at Nara.  Its architecture and color are stunning and so different from that of the West.  The angles of the rooftop seem to mimic the natural lifting of the tree branches.  The trees and sunset reflect in the water below.

This image shows three women seated in carriages drawn by men.  The men are dressed in similar black uniform.  The women are colorfully dressed with elegantly done-up hair.  Each carries a parasol.  The three carriages are in a row under trees on the edge of a road beside a lake.  This method of transportation looks comfortable, fun and great for sight-seeing! But must be tiring for the men on foot.

Fifth Assignment

This is an image of Mt. Fuji which has become a symbol or icon of Japan.  The volcano itself is centered in the top third of the photograph with its reflection in the bottom third.  There is grass growing in both sides of the body of water at the bottom of the image with two figures (one presumably male, one presumably female due to styles of dress) in small wooden boats at either side.  There is fog along the back edge of the water below Mt. Fuji.  The hand-coloring is done in soft, natural colors.  The composition, subject matter, and colors connote a sense of peace and tranquility.  The image also feels balanced due to symmetry (aside from one smaller land mass at the top right which is asymmetrical). 

This image, from the 'peddlers' section, depicts a wooden shop in a street with tons of shiny trinkets.    There are several figures in the photo: a man to the left presumably selling the items, and a woman on the right holding one child with two other children standing beside her.  The man is watching the woman and children who are busy looking at the items in the shop.  The photo is hand-colored with a variety of bright colors which really draw the viewer's attention (and one would guess the potential buyers as well).  But it makes one question: were these items really those colors or is that just how the photographer wished to portray them after the fact?  The color also does not line up with or fully cover the object.  Unlike a lot of other photographs we've seen in previous units (Beato, primarily) this photo looks as if it was taken on-location, that is, not set up in a studio.

Fourth Assignment

This image depicts a village and fields between a cliff side and the bay. There is a road along the cliff on the left side of the image with two figures walking on it.  The pairing of the innumerable  amount of houses with the nature of the cliffs connotes a sense of balance and a harmonious relationship between humans and nature.  The fields also connote this sort of feeling since we can assume the people in this village are familiar with agriculture. The cliffs are also symbols or tropes of Asia (specifically China or Japan, I think).  Something I was curious about was the title.  This photo, or at least the image file in the gallery, is titled "Mississippi Bay". Why is it called this? Is this just what Beato decided to name the image or what the scene reminded him of? Or is there actually a place in Japan called Mississippi Bay (I doubt it)?

This image depicts two sumotori (which are sumo wrestlers below the top two divisions, is that correct?) and three other Japanese men watching them; two of which are seated in front at either side and one standing behind the wrestlers.   The sumotori are dressed in iconic sumo-wrestling garmets.  The seated men are dressed in nearly identical fashion.  The man on the left is holding an open fan.  The standing man is dressed differently, in one-piece attire with pointed shoulders and a shirt or robe undernearth.    Both seated men, though focused on the wrestlers, are angled out towards the camera.  The image, originally in black and white, has been colored in post-production.  The background is very plain.  The composition is very aesthetically pleasing and definitely gives off the impression that it is one of Beato's posed-in-studio photographs.  It includes a variety of different "iconically Japanese" items or styles, such as the clothing, activity and props.

Third Assignment

Title: Picture of the Landing of Foreigners of the Five Nations in Yokohama

Artist: Yoshikazu (fl. ca. 1850-70)

This is a fairly large drawing depicting the "Five Nations" (from the lower left, clockwise: Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, Russia and America).  Each group (country) is drawn in the tropes of that nation.  Not only do they have the flags to represent which group is from which country, the individuals of each group are represented in their nation's "typical" military dress.  I think this picture is particularly interesting because of all the different styles presented, even among the ships in the harbor.  There is also an interaction going on between two Chinese men in the foreground.  This interaction, while important to historical context and to the picture itself, fights for attention among the busyness of the rest of the drawing.  It seems to be a fantastical representation of a friendly yet threatening meeting of the five nations.

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