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Practice and Teaching of Japanese Classical Dance in Seisho: Interviews with two Performing Arts Teachers
Get PDFThe learning, teaching and performance of classical performing arts such as Nagauta and Japanese Classical dance have been well examined through studies of the careers of the masters of dance schools and renowned performers. However, not much is known about the activities and accomplishments of the mid-level members of these schools, particularly those in areas that are not considered major.
This paper seeks to clarify the circumstances of how Japanese Classical Dance is taught and practiced, and its role within the local community, by interviews with local teachers of Japanese Classical Dance.
The second interviewee is a former pupil of the first interviewee. She was born in 1947 in Kanazawa. The house where she was brought up was near the Nishi Chaya district (a geigi district), and therefore classical performing arts were a familiar environment for her. She started learning Japanese classical dance from early childhood, and in high school she joined a Noh club and also practiced Flower Arrangement. After graduating from high school, she proceeded to junior college, and during that time she became an accredited master of the Seiha-Wakayagi style. When she got married she moved to Kanagawa prefecture, but continued practicing Japanese classical dance. In1994 she obtained a teaching license and became a master of Japanese classical dance. Currently, she continues to work, not only with dance performances organized by schools, but she also actively participates in local charity events.
This paper has focused on the stories of these two teachers, and it is clear that it is possible towithin these contexts also read a story about societal change and about the relationship betweenthe classical arts and the surrounding local community.departmental bulletin pape
Autumn Landscape under the Moon : restoration report : the cooperative program for the conservation of Japanese art objects overseas : No.2015-2
Get PDFクラクフ国立博物館（ポーランド共和国）所蔵 Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie, Poland狩野中信筆 絹本着色 掛軸装 １幅 Kanō Nakanobu, color on silk, a hanging scroll平成 27 年度修復事業 2015 Japanese Fiscal Yearboo
Drunken Fulin: The Greek God of Wine in China – The Exotic Myth Motif Seen on Bags Carried by Camel Figurines Excavated at Sui Dynasty Tombs in Xi’an ja
Get PDFThis paper presents an in-depth analysis of three Sui Dynasty camel figurines recently excavated at Xi'an, China. The so called Drunken Fulin motif, previously known only in historical anecdotes, is clearly depicted on the bags carried by these three camels. These images show the figure of Dionysus supported by two attendants, matching the traditional depiction of the god of wine in Greco-Roman mythology. The entire design consisted of an arcade, amphora-rhyton, ivy vining patterns with warrior figures with heads held high appearing next to these designs. All of these elements were new and stand as definite evidence of the introduction of the worship of the god of wine in ancient China, having spanned the tremendous distance from the classical Mediterranean region. Reference to the Greco-Roman and Byzantine art examples discovered in China in the past century further proves the unique route of the introduction and acceptance of these typical symbols of Hellenistic mythology in China, and it is hoped that this new archaeological study will further benefit scholars of the history of the cultural communication between China and the West via the Silk Road.journal articl
Study on the Author of Ningyo Joruri Daibutsuden Bandai no Ishizue
Get PDFThe authors of Ningyo Joruri Daibutsuden Bandai no Ishizue are Nishizawa Ippu and Tanaka Senryu. Their names appear after the title on the published script. Zoho Diabutsuden Bandai no Ishizue is its revised version. At the end of the published script, the names of Asada Itcho and Toyo-oka Chinpei are given as the names of authors. There the name of Bunkodo is given as the author of Daibutsuden Bandai no Ishizue.
This study explores the issues that have been debated with regard to Bunkodo having been listed on the performance script of Zoho Daibutsuden Bandai no Ishizue, not Nishizawa Ippu and Tanaka Senryu, as the author of Daibutsuden Bandai no Ishizue. It also presents the possibility that Tanaka Senryu and Bunkodo are the same person.departmental bulletin pape
Evaluation of the Quantitative Hardness of Myanmar / Japanese Lacquer Coating Film
Get PDFLacquer is extracted from three plants of the family Anacardiaceae, namely,
Toxicodendron vernicifluum, Toxicodendron succedaneum and Gluta usitata. Toxicodendron vernicifluum is distributed throughout Japan, Korea and China, Toxicodendron succedaneum throughout Taiwan and Vietnam, and Gluta usitata throughout Myanmar and Thailand. Extracted lacquer is different for each species in material properties. For example, lacquer extracted in Japan forms dark brown coating film with unique texture, and lacquer extracted in Myanmar forms black coating film with gloss.
The present study focuses on the properties, especially hardness, of Myanmar lacquer coating film. It is said that Myanmar lacquer coating film is softer than Japanese lacquer coating film, although this is hardly approached scientifically. Therefore, scratch test and nanoindentation test were conducted to evaluate the hardness of Myanmar and Japanese lacquer coating films.
As a result of the tests, it was found that Myanmar film is easier to scratch and more elastic than Japanese film. These properties of Myanmar lacquer make it suitable for the technique unique to Myanmar, namely kinma in which a line is cut in the lacquer coating film for decoration with pigments. In addition, some lacquerware are made from horsetail hair and bamboo, and are soft. Even when this lacquerware changes shape under stress, lacquer coating film is not broken. In this way, Myanmar lacquer coating film is suitable from the aspect of technique and materials. Such knowledge would be useful for Myanmar
lacquerware restoration.journal articl
Trials on Dyeing withFreshIndigo Leaves
Get PDFMost traditional blue dyeing, no matter its depth or tone, has been believed to be done by fermenting indigo leaves. Technical historians point out that indigo dyeing date from the ancient times, when people rubbed fresh indigo leaves on a cloth. Although it has been told that fresh indigo leaves are not suitable for dyeing dark blue, the present author found out that it was possible by overlaying the dyeing. The dark color was obtained only by tadeai fresh leaves, and not by leaves of other indigo plants or fruits of kusagi.journal articl
The First Mayors’ Forum on Conservation of Historic Settlements in Kathmandu and Kavre Valley, 26 Dec. 2017 at Panauti Municipality,Proceedings
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Materials for Art Research: A Reconsideration of Mother-of-Pearl with Ground Color – Based on Techniques Used and Historical Documents
Get PDFIn August 2012, upon a request from the Thai Ministry of Culture, members of the TNRICP staff conducted an onsite survey of the Japanese lacquer doors that adorn the worship hall of Wat Ratchapradit, built in 1864, which has been designated as a first class Royal Buddhist temple. Samples of the mother-of-pearl and lacquer painting materials were carried to Japan where experimental repair was carried out through a study of the materials and consideration of possible repair methods.
The double doors of the inner area of the worship hall are made of 65 pieces of Japanese-made mother-of-pearl on ground color, and 31 pieces of lacquer painting. They are a fascinating standard-setting example of late Edo period, Japanese export-use mother-of-pearl on ground color. The author anticipates that they will further research into 19th-century export lacquer. With thoughts of connections to lacquer doors in mind, the author, Futagami Yoko and Yamashita Yoshihiko, who were involved from the onsite survey for the commissioned research onwards, carried out a “Basic Survey of Late Edo Period Mother-of-Pearl with Ground Color Works,"" thanks to the cooperation of the Nagasaki Museum of History and Culture, the Siebold Memorial Museum, the Kobe City Museum and the Tobacco and Salt Museum.
This article presents a revised version of the “Chronology of Export Lacquer with Mother-of-Pearl with Ground Color,” which was presented at the research group meeting held on July 30, 2018 at the TNRICP. In addition the article presents new information gained from the above-mentioned survey, plus relevant historical materials, while also with the aim of positioning the Wat Ratchapradit doors as a benchmark example of export lacquer with mother-of-pearl with ground color.
First, we examined plaques and plaquettes that can be dated as a precursor in our consideration of 19th-century mother-of-pearl with ground color. The first example is found on the back surface of a plaque with a design of a landscape in St. Petersburg in maki-e, which was a European-made bronze plate with a lacquer picture fired onto it. The back surface has a floral spray design worked in mother-of-pearl. The Writing Chest with Battle Design in Maki-e and Mother-of-Pearl Inlay is signed Sasaya. There is no ground color found on these works, which were made around the year 1800. Counter to these works, the Plaquette with Portrait of Frederick II is a mother-of-pearl with ground color work thought to correspond to the ""rectangular portrait of Frederick II with mother-of-pearl inlay,"" included on the 1793 collection list of Johan Frederik van Reede tot de Parkeler. Thus it is at this stage that mother-of-pearl with ground color appears. However the next benchmark example of mother-of-pearl with ground color on a colored portrait picture does not appear until the 1830 (Tenpô 1) Snuff Box with Portrait of Philipp Franz von Siebold’s Wife and Daughter in Mother-of-Pearl Inlay.
In 1806 the Dutch commissioner Hendrik Doeff was en route to an audience with the shôgun when he saw objects with shell inlay at Aogaiya (shell work shop) in Kyoto and placed an order for such goods. Starting in the 6th month of that year Aogaiya moved to Nagasaki and became a merchant that dealt with the traders on Deshima. While up until around 1800 export lacquer wares consisted largely of planar items such as plaques, plaquettes and pen cases, or large-scale items such as furniture, an order list sent to the shell inlay merchant in 1814 indicates that with the new participation of the shell inlay merchant, there was then a shift to a richer variety of small items.
Next we investigated works from European collections, namely the Paint Box with Design of Landscape, Birds and Flowers in Maki-e and Mother-of-Pearl Inlay that corresponds to no. 448 in the collection catalogue of Jan Cock Blomhoff (1779-1853) who was both warehouse manager and trading commissioner on Deshima, and the Snuff Box with Portrait of Johann Bartholomäus von Siebold in Mother-of-Pearl Inlay, a work with the portrait made in mother-of-pearl with ground color worked solely in silver leaf and ink lines, found amongst the Philipp Franz von Siebold (1796-1866) materials. These works, along with the Tobacco Box with Design of Venus and l'Amour in Maki-e and Mother-of-Pearl Inlay, can be positioned as early examples of mother-of-pearl inlay with ground color.
Nagasaki trade declined in the Tenpô era (1830-44) and this meant Aogaiya similarly went through difficulties. But then in 1840 (Tenpô 11), they participated in an attendance on the shôgun by Nagasaki businessmen. It was the general rule at the time that Kyoto was the center of export lacquer production, but then real power shifted to Nagasaki merchants and at some point this meant a shift of export lacquer production locale from Kyoto to Nagasaki. In 1848 (Kaei 1), we can see that Nagasaki merchants other than lacquer merchants also began to use mother-of-pearl decoration and that Nagasaki-made mother-of-pearl with ground color wares were being exported via Chinese merchants. We can thus determine that it was the presence of Chinese merchants that aided the export of such works to Thailand.
However, given the imagery in the door's lacquer paintings, the Wagôjin image by Nagasaki painter Ishizaki Yûsai (1810-62) and the presence of the Kurokawa family who did lacquer painting, it is highly likely that the lacquer door paintings in Thailand were made in Nagasaki. Judging from information on the activities of the export lacquerware merchants in Nagasaki and lacquer paintings, the author believes that a newly invigorated Nagasaki merchant was connected to the Wat Ratchapradit lacquer doors.
Prior to these studies the Aogai maki-e hinagata hikae (Miniature Design Book for Furniture in Maki-e and Mother-of-Pearl Inlay) and Nurimono hinagata hikae (Miniature Design Book for Furniture in Maki-e and Mother-of-Pearl Inlay) have been considered the two basic texts on Nagasaki-produced mother-of-pearl with ground color. While these books with hinagata, literally miniature, in their titles mean that these books are materials related to set shapes and sizes they cannot be considered fundamental materials for mother-of-pearl with ground color works. The Wat Ratchapradit door materials provide an opportunity for comparing materials and techniques in mother-of-pearl with ground color works, and allow a tightening of production time frames for mother-of-pearl with ground color works which have previously only had a relatively broad chronological framework. These materials are also important given their reflection of the characteristics of Nagasaki-produced mother-of-pearl with ground color. Through a study of the door materials at Wat Nang Chi and the Japanese-made lacquer items in the Thai royal household, we can begin to see a new aspect of 19th-century Nagasaki trade.journal articl