Oni Art- The Different Styles through the Ages

Various sizes of dots, eyes and self-portraits cover the white walls of the Ota Fine Arts gallery showcasing Yayoi Kusama’s solo exhibition in Singapore. On display are 33 small size painting that are created between 2011 and 2012 and executed around 2004. These paintings show a variety of mediums all produced by the 87 year old dotted Japanese artist. Renowned for using repetitive motifs of dotted organisms within her new range of work we could gain a new viewpoint of her eccentric art. Yayoi Kusama: Prints is a vibrant and breathtaking exhibition it is highly recommended for everyone, especially those who had an admiration for her works, Japanese culture, and prints. Within this small gallery space, Kusama’s legacy and passion could be seen and felt.

Ukiyo-e is the name given to one of the most important art forms in all of Japan. Arriving as a new form of art in the 1700's these prints served as a record of daily life and pleasures in a newly wealthy Japanese society. The Japanese themselves had long regarded pleasure as transient because of their Buddhist heratige, because of this the word Ukiyo-e actually means "pictures of the floating world". These prints were truly art which reflected the whims of the masses. They record popular styles of dress, new hairstyles etc. They also record the popular Kabuki theater actors, the most beautiful geisha's (or prostitutes), and later even landscapes. Within the realm of Ukiyo-e there are many masters, but there is one master,

has a long history in earlier Japanese art and have a wide range of genres Popular

For the context of this paper, a monster is “something extraordinary or unnatural, any imaginary creature that is large, ugly, and frightening” (OED). A faun is described as,“one of a class of rural deities; at first represented like men with horns and the tail of a goat, afterwards with goats' legs like the Satyrs, to whom they were assimilated in lustful character” (OED). Another important term is a labyrinth. A labyrinth is defined as “ a structure formed by paths bordered by high hedges, typically as a feature in a garden” (OED).

An ogre with a pig butt for lips and a half burned half raw sausage pizza for a nose. The ears and eyes themselves would be considered an abomination, with the putrid eyes being that of a thousand stickers that used to come with a brand new flat bill hat. The glare would be so great that it was intended to completely decimate a man’s soul. The ears were normal but they were just weirdly unattached like a freak. The hair was the topping of this treacherous cake flavored with evil. It was the one thing every person feared, tangled up christmas lights. LED, red, blue, or green it didn’t matter! Some were double and others were even tripled. The worst of it all was that of its attacks. It would fart nuclear explosions leading to millions of deaths. Yet it backfired…. literally. Explosions would egress at an unfathomable rate spreading farther than the intended target. People around the world would strategize on how to defeat this monstrosity, was to feed newborn monkeys. The aftermath was horrendous. There was nothing

Traditional ukiyo-e prints showed images from the pleasure districts of the urban cities like Edo. The images were of the beautiful courtesan (bijinga) and famous kabuki actors of the theater district. Similar to magazine of today, ukiyo-e prints during the Edo period provide fashion and culture tips to the wives of wealthy merchant and samurai families. They were also used for advertising and commerce. During the late Edo period a successful effort to bring landscape woodblock print into the world of ukiyo-e was made by Hokusai and Hiroshige. The Luther W. Brady Art Gallery is hosting an exhibit of first edition woodblock prints designed by Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858). The exhibit, Along the Eastern Road: Hiroshige’s Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido was organized by the Reading Public Museum and will be at the Brady Gallery until December

The image given to the public by their leader has carried significance throughout history. As type of governmental style and overall attitude of countries change, so do the seemingly proper portrayal of rulers. This is clearly seen as the portraits of Japanese rulers changed through their country’s modernization. Though common themes of strength and militant emphasis persist throughout the portraits, great differences in overall style and mood correlate to the changing values of Japanese society over time.

Chapter 9 -Japanese Woodblock Prints- Japan is one the oldest country and has been an isolated nation for a while until the united states navy expedition that made a deal after being force for trade with them. Which soon they adapt to westernize themselves to imperialism until after the second world war. Beside all that, they were very gift in creating arts that were very inspiring, woodblock. As it had begun in china when buddhist missionaries brought it them. It features illustrating image and text, even when it’s black and white. But it can have colors that artist made in separate block. take an example how they made it, from the image that feature figures in a gesture, with a few colors of black and white, but the clothes that have more colors (9.2).

One of the major aspects that caught the attention of the Momoyama warlords is the large scale of his work. Such as, Eitoku’s larger than life-size painting “Chinese Lions” (Figure 1) it is more than seven feet tall and about fifteen feet long. It is a six-panel screen or “byobu” in Japanese and this word stands for wind protection. Screens have a notable role in Japanese history as a way of decoration as well as feasible objects and architectural design.

Hello, Chyler! I think my personal favorite work of Ando (Utagawa) Hiroshige is “Sanno Festival Procession at Kojimachi I-chome” (picture below). This woodblock print is just 1 of 118 different woodblock print making up Hiroshige’s “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo,” which is considered “one of the greatest achievements of Japanese art” by the Brooklyn Museum (“Hiroshige's One Hundred Famous Views of Edo”). “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo” is a collection of woodblock prints, created between the years of 1856-1858, that focused on the landscape of Tokyo, Japan. Hiroshige is famous for his landscape prints and this project did not disappoint (“ANDO HIROSHIGE BIOGRAPHY”). It is full of beautiful scenery and colorful pictures. I have left a link

Portrait of an Arhat (Rakan) was created in Edo period of the Japanese art culture. This period started in 1615-1868 when culture expression started to really blossom for the Japanese culture (Singer). From statues, lavish paintings, and religion the art speaks vibrant vibrations. This culturally diverse period gets its name from the city of Edo, known as Tokyo modern day. Which became the headquarters of the government when Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542 – 1616) unified the country (Department of Asian Art). The Tokugawa regime was started in 1603, when the emperor, in “recognition of Ieyasu’s supremacy on the battlefield”, appointed him shogun. Shogun is the highest military position you can carry in Japan (Singer). After this Japan had strict laws on not using motor vehicles were put into place. Going into the 1630s, contact with the outside world was stopped through “official prohibition of foreigners” (Department of Asian Art). Around 1720 Edo had a population of “more than one million residents having more population than London or Paris at the time” (Singer). According to Art of Edo Japan Kyoto, was city of temples and shrines. It was the leading center of arts and crafts production with a population of close to 400,000 (Singer).

Hokusai, in total, had two sons and three daughters with these two wives. His youngest daughter, Oyei, became an artist like her father. During this period, he created multiple brush paintings, called surimono, and drawings for Kyōka Ehon. When his master, Shunsho, died, Hokusai started to dabble in European styles of art. This lead him to be expelled from the studio and that inspired him to branch away from traditional ukiyo-e subjects to the daily Japanese life and landscapes. In 1798, Hokusai passed on his name to his pupil and set out as an independent artist with the name Hokusai Tomisa.To make money after he left the workshop he sold red peppers. He also drew comics, banners, greeting cards, artwork for novels, and just drawings in general to make money. By 1800, Hokusai had developed his use of ukiyo-e for more than just portraiture. He had also adopted the name Katsushika Hokusai, which he is best known by and the name itself refers to the part of Edo he was born in. In 1807, Hokusai collaborated with the popular novelist at the time, Takizawa Bakin. They worked on a series of illustrated books together. They did not get along due to their artistic differences and ended their collaboration on their fourth book. The publisher of the books had to choose whether he wanted to keep Hokusai or Bakin. The publisher chose Hokusai because of the importance of illustrations in printed works at the time. By 1811, Hokusai was fifty-one and changed his name to

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

It is no secret that for centuries, the Japanese woman has been, to most observers, a model of elegance and graceful beauty. A picture of a kimono-clad, modest, and often silent woman has been plastered everywhere, allowing for the upmost passive subjection. If we look deeper into this image of woman, can we tell if this picture is complete? How do these women painted in representative images far in the modern world? The ideal woman in Japan is expected to be both a good wife, and a wise mother. Though these seem like reasonable expectations, there is a much deeper meaning to them that has shown signs of being outdated. During the 1800’s and 1900’s, women were subjected to society’s vision of them, and could not break free for fear of the

This Paper will be an analysis of the development of Japanese landscape painting, analyzing the historical context behind these paintings and what led to the changes in style. Both of these paintings are representative of their specific culture during this rapidly changing time and these changes will be discussed in relation to the artwork. I am going to be discussing Japanese landscape painting, the outside influences shaping Japanese landscape painting but also focusing on the internal elements of Japanese culture shaping the style of artworks. The changing techniques and styles as well as the changing political climate will all be looked at.