Kasushika Hokusai Research Paper

Japan’s literati paintings where inspired by China, which was only connected with Japan through Korea. One of the most famous painters of this style was Yosa Buson, using poetic ability with both haiku and his paintings. (Kleiner 1075) These changes soon led to the availability of cheap prints and ukiyo-e to depict the delights of the city. One of the most famous ukiyo-e printmakers was Suzuki Harunobu who influenced the development of polychrome prints. These prints were very sumptuous and colorful and called nishiki-e (“brocade pictures”). These prints were made of the best quality materials and costly pigments and were not very common in the Edo period. Harunobu’s genius in his work is well shown in the Evening Bell at the Clock (Fig. 34-1). This print was based on a Chinese series where the images depicted a certain time of day or time of year in the work. In Harunobu’s version, the subjects were beautiful young women and their activities in their daily lives. The two women in the pint are seen from a regular Japanese elevated point of view, with one drying herself and the other looking away at a clock. Private scenes like this were very common in ukiyo-e. Before Harunobu’s Evening Bell at the Clock, this theme was not a regular subject seen in ukiyo-e, but soon became a common sight. These prints used flatness and rich colors to

Japan is often recognized as a land of peace, beauty, and diverse landscapes and climates that cannot be witnessed anywhere else on the planet. A majority of Japanese citizens practice Shintoism, a polytheistic religion whose gods exist within plants and animals. Because of this, an appreciation for nature is ingrained deep into the foundation of Japan’s values. This can be seen throughout the country’s entire history; much of its art and poetry has been focused solely on its natural beauty. Sudden Shower Over Shin-Ohashi Bridge and Atake is a famous Japanese woodblock print by Utagawa Hiroshige published in 1857, one of many that shows an appreciation for Japan’s beautiful landscapes. The print belongs the ukiyo-e genre that emerged between the 17th and 19th century. Ukiyo-e literally translates to “pictures of the floating world” and the style dominated the art of Japan’s Edo Period. What began as a reflection of Japan’s indulgent and hedonistic culture, portraying subjects like beautiful women and extravagant scenes from the Kabuki theater, gradually transitioned into capturing landscapes and the lives of average people. Hiroshige was one of the pioneers of this transition with his famed One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, a 119-piece series that features celebrated landscapes in his hometown of Edo, known as Tokyo today, and his last great success before his death. Sudden Shower Over Shin-Ohashi Bridge and Atake is one of the pieces that belong to his series.

“The Great Wave: Hokusai” by Donald Finkel is a poem written about “The Great Wave Off Kanagawa”, an artwork produced from 1831 to 1833 by Katsushika Hokusai during the Edo period. The “The Great Wave Off Kanagawa” is just one of "The Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji". This woodblock print portrays a tremendous tsunami overpowering small man-powered boats, along with Mount Fuji in the background. The compelling contrast between the turbulent waves and light colored sky draws the viewer’s eyes to the central figure of Mount Fuji, which was considered a sacred symbol of beauty and immortality. In order for Finkel to develop a connection with Hokusai’s work of art, he finds common ground between the world of the artist and the observer. Donald Finkel’s

Around the age of six years old, Hokusai began painting and even spent time as an apprentice wood-carver in his youth. He began the art of print making when he was eighteen. His most famous painting, The Great Wave, can be seen in museums all over the world even though Japan delayed it from catching on worldwide. Many believe that it was painted in the early 1800s, but Japan was not interacting culturally with other countries apart from trade with China and Korea. It wasn’t until 1859 when the Japanese were forced to open their ports that prints of The Wave spread across Europe. Originally, this piece wasn’t viewed as real art by Japanese politicians and art historians. Wood-block printing was used for commercial use and as a popular form of expression. The Japanese government wasn’t too thrilled “that such a seemingly lowbrow art form had come to define them” (15 Things). About five thousand to eight thousand prints were made but it is speculated that only a few hundreds of The Great Wave remain. The painting actually inspired music like Debussy’s La Mer.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi born 1797 was one of the last great masters of the japanese ukiyo-e style woodblock prints and painting.

Morimura was born in Osaka, Japan, in 1951. He was educated at Kyoto City University of the Arts where he graduated in 1978. Yasumasa Morimura has achieved fame as a contemporary international artist largely due to his provocative interpretations. Using himself as the subject matter, he has recreated iconic images from Western culture in his

Yasumasa Morimura (born in 1951, Japan) has had a career in film-making and conceptual photography for over three decades. Morimura uses costumes, makeup props and digital manipulation to create an almost replica of the original artwork, replacing the original subject with himself. Morimura graduated from the Kyōto City University of Arts in 1978 and then became an assistant at that same university. During his time working he experimented with many mediums and styles including painting, photography and wood-block art. He soon became recognized for his artworks and began to be involved in traveling shows such as ‘Japanese Art After 1945: Scream Against the Sky’ (1994). After some time, and with critics watching skeptically, he began to

On March 22, 1929 in a mountainous region called Matsumoto which can be located in central Japan the world-famous artist Yayoi Kusama was born. Around the age of 10 she began using water color paints and lightly started to dabble in the arts. Kusama says she took up painting around the same time she started experiencing hallucinations. However, her family was not supportive of her pursuing any form of arts and would actually ruin the work she created as such a young age in hopes it would deter her from continuing in the field. Her family came from a very traditional upbringing and because of that wanted Kusama to continue on and go down the more conventional path of becoming a Japanese housewife. Which is completely ironic now considering where

Eerikki Harou was a jarl born in a village in Scandinavia which is now modern-day Aarhus, Denmark. He was nicknamed “Eerikki the Bonesmasher.” Eerikki also was a pagan who worshipped warlike gods such as Odin, the god of war and death. He was known for leading numerous pillages against monasteries in Anglo-Saxon England. Sources say he and his men usually ambushed the monks, killed them swiftly, looted everything valuable out of the monastery, and left the site with many bloody corpses in his trail. His brutal and intuitive tactics caused fear among all people of Europe. This lead to a new prayer in many churches: “Save us, O God, from the fury of the Northmen.” In 878 AD, Eerikki fought with the Great Heathen Army led by Guthrum in the Battle

During the Tokugawa or Edo period, the arts flourished, especially a certain art style called woodblock prints. Woodblock printing originated in China as a method to mass-produce texts. When the technology migrated to Japan, they used it to produce copies of the same picture quickly. The process involved laying the same print over different woodblocks to add layers to the image and create a complete picture. This process was time consuming and took a lot of skill to master since you had to lay the paper precisely every time. Because of this, the prints were usually expensive and mainly owned by royalty and the upper class. The prints usually depicted the everyday life of both commoners and nobility. The woodblock prints of the Tokugawa period

Yayoi Kusama a female Japanese artist and author made her debut to america in the late fifties , she decided to settle down in New York. She has explored various utensils of art like sculptures mostly consisting of pumpkins, fashion, installation art, and so many other adaptations of art.. Kusama enveloped several different concepts in her art with methods not seen before. Most commonly and most identifiable in her works were the concepts of surrealism and abstract. She enveloped these both concepts in her popular installation art. Experiences extending from her childhood would influence her choices in art and her uses of media to create her artworks.

The Life of Hiroshige Ando Hiroshige Ando was born in 1797 in the Yayosu Quay section of the Yaesu area in Edo, now modern day Tokyo. He came from samurai background where his grandfather held a position of power under the Tsugaru clan while his father was the fire warden for the Yayosu Quay area. His mother died in early 1809 with Hiroshige’s father soon following. He became in charge of the fire prevention at Edo Castle at the age of twelve. At around fourteen Hiroshige began painting. In 1823 he resigned his position as fire warden to progress his career as an ukiyo-e painter. In 1829 Hiroshige produced his first landscape ukiyo-e which became known as part of the Eight Views of Omi series. After the first series he began focusing many of

Takashi Murakami is a very influential Japanese artist born after the 1960s. It is not only an artist widely loved in Japan, but also an idol of a new generation of young people in Japan. He challenges the traditional concept of art. The theme is often Japanese traditional comic books, video games, erotic culture-based, colorful and unique style, the cute, sexual fantasy, violence fusion, to show Japanese culture and Japanese society "Superflat" vent. The whimsical creative vision combined with deep darkness implies the values, social outlooks and phenomena that he believes through bright and rich colors. Takashi Murakami's art resisted taboo to the art of conservative Japanese society, but his art work did prominent his “different” between other artists. Every his art work has meaning to our society. As I look at the part of art work “Arhat cycle”, Takashi Murakami used a rich color to paint each Arhat. Unlike traditional art work of Arhat, in Takashi’s art work, he did challenge a lot of idea of Lohan. Originally Arhats are physically and mentally clean; no

Katsushika Hokusai was significant to Japan because he was one of the six greatest ukiyo-e masters. He was a founder of the School of Landscape Artists. The Japanese wood block, from the 18th century, was originally based around figure print (actors and courtesans). Then it tended to change around landscapes and everyday life, this was all because of Hokusai. The artist was said to be responsible for infusing landscape and ukiyo-e art forms. As he used this art form his art works

Rinko Kawauchi is a Japanese photographer known for her soft depictions of everyday life. Born in 1972 in Shinga, Japan, Kawauchi studied photography and graphic design at the Seian University of Art and Design. After graduating in 1993, she went on to work as a freelance photographer in advertising. It was during this time that Kawauchi released three photo books, Utatane, Hanabi, and Hanako (2001). The success of the books turned her into a famed photographer. She has sinced released more photobooks, featured in galleries worldwide, and received several awards. Many of her photos feature a pastel color palette, making her otherwise ordinary subjects seem otherworldly. The photo I chose to analyze is Untitled (I-62). A different take on her usual colorful and simple photos, Kawauchi’s Untitled (I-62) presents a scene that for all purposes should be visually unappealing. Instead, the image is eye catching and pleasant, proposing an interesting question: is there beauty in death?