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The Subject and Source of Kikkawa Reika’s Encountering Sorrow
Get PDFEncountering Sorrow by Kikkawa Reika (1875 – 1929) was displayed in the 7th Teiten (Exhibition of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts) exhibition held from October 17 – November 20, 1926 (Taishô 15) at the Tokyo Prefectural Art Museum. The painting was extolled by Teiten judge Fujikake Shizuya and other committee members.
This work consists of a pair of hanging scrolls. The right scroll shows a woman floating in clouds, riding along with two servant women and a dragon. The woman’s appearance resembles that of Avalokitesvara (Jp: Kannon), so clearly Reika was expressing in this figure a sacred being beyond mere mortal. The left screen shows a man leading two horses at the water’s edge. He turns back and his gaze focuses on a dragon, not unlike that depicted in the right scroll, seen in the distance immersed in clouds.
There are numerous theories about the identity of the man and woman depicted in this work, as well as about the subject itself. Fujikake believed that the subject of the work was “Li Sao” (here translated as “Encountering Sorrow”), a lengthy poem by Qu Yuan that appears in the ancient Chinese poetry anthology, Chu ci (variously translated as Verses of Chu, Songs of Chu or Songs of the South). The two figures consist of the poet himself, the chief character in the poem, as the male, and the woman as Fufei (Jp: Fukuhi), who appears in the poem. On the other hand, while agreeing with Fujikake that the scroll’s subject is based on “Encountering Sorrow,” Hosono Masanobu surmises that the woman is the wizard who foretells that Qu Yuan will meet a man of virtue, while the left scroll depicts the final scene in the poem where he wished a dragon would build him a bridge.
Around the same time that Fujikake published his interpretations, the art critic Wakimoto Rakushiken surmised in the Tokyo Asahi Shimbun that the source of the work could be found in “Xiang Furen” (“The Lady of the Xiang”) from the set of poems known as Jiu Ge (Nine Songs). While this interpretation has not gained much attention, Shimao Arata suggested recently that the source could be found in “Xiang Jun” (“The Goddess of the Xiang”) of the Nine Songs.
While agreeing with Wakimoto and Shimao’s interpretations, the author here seeks to provide more positive clarification of the sourcing of this work in “Xiang Jun” or “Xiang Furen” from the Nine Songs.
Like Encountering Sorrow, the Nine Songs are poems included in the Chu ci. “Xiang Jun” and “Xiang Furen” are the third and fourth poems of the set respectively. The two poems have been interpreted as expressing the sorrow Qu Yuan felt upon not being able to see the form of the goddess of the Xiang River no matter how hard he tried. The seven elements depicted in the Reika work, namely: 1) woman leading a dragon; 2) man looking into the distance; 3) servant woman; 4) water’s edge with rocks and flying dragon; 5) two horses; 6) rough belt worn by the man; and 7) flowers held by the woman, can all be explained by either the contents of “Xiang Jun” or “Xiang Furen” or their annotations. It seems most appropriate to identify the woman in the right scroll as the Xiang River goddess descending to earth and the man in the left scroll as Qu Yuan awaiting that descent.
Numerous paintings on the theme of the Nine Songs exist in Chinese painting. A comparison of this work with extant examples of Nine Songs iconography reveals that a direct iconographic similarity can be noted in the Nine Songs images published in the late Ming dynasty Chengshi moyuan (Master Cheng’s Gardens of Ink). The iconography of the Xiang Furen and Yunzhongjun images in this book resemble those of Reika’s right scroll.
Originally the term Li Sao, or Encountering Sorrow, was not a proper noun indicating a specific poem, but rather meant “a poem by Qu Yuan.” Given that the Nine Songs are poems by Qu Yuan, they can be categorized within, “Encountering Sorrow.” This understanding of the term Encountering Sorrow was accepted in Japan. Mention of the Nine Songs was lessening in the Chu ci-related books that were published when Reika was painting this pair of scrolls, so it was not commonly known that Encountering Sorrow was also used as a term indicating Qu Yuan’s poems.
We can surmise the existence of a discrepancy between the artist and the viewer in terms of the understanding of the painting’s Encountering Sorrow theme. In other words, Reika titled this work Encountering Sorrow on the basis of the awareness that the terms Nine Songs and Encountering Sorrow both meant “poems by Qu Yuan.” However, both Wakimoto and Fujikake mistakenly identified the source of the Encountering Sorrow title of the scrolls as the poem entitled “Encountering Sorrow” found in the Chu ci anthology. And their misconception was then handed on and continued without further investigation.
In addition, during his naming of this work Encountering Sorrow, Reika can be thought to have referred to Li sao tu (Illustrations to Encountering Sorrow), a book published at the beginning of the Qing dynasty. This book presents interpretations and illustrations of Qu Yuan’s poems, including the Nine Songs under the collective book title of Illustrations to Encountering Sorrow. Then can’t we consider that when Reika read this book, he would have felt that a painting of a Nine Songs theme could be appropriately titled Encountering Sorrow?
It is fascinating to note that immediately prior to Reika’s production of this work, the Illustrations to Encountering Sorrow volume was reissued in both Shanghai and Tokyo. The illustrations in the book for “Xiang Jun” and “Xiang Furen” poems, with their image of a goddess flying away accompanied by a dragon, resemble this work’s image of a goddess leading a dragon. Further, the detail of the woman holding flowers and the dramatic composition of the two gods gazing at each other are also elements close to this work. What Reika probably saw was Xiao Chimu Li sao tu (Xiao Chimu’s Illustrations to Encountering Sorrow) that was reissued in Tokyo 10 months prior to the creation of this work. Reika had access to this book thanks to his close contact with Masaki Naohiko, the head of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. Masaki was deeply involved in the reissuing of the illustrated Zuhon sokan that included the Xiao Chimu Li sao tu and thus it was an environment in which Reika would have easily obtained the volume.
Further, the Zuhon sokan including the Xiao Chimu Li sao tu also contained the Chengshi moyuan. The iconography for the “Xiang Furen” and “Yun zhong jun” in the Chengshi moyuan can be considered the direct iconographic source for Reika’s painting. Given this environment, this book would also have been at hand. In addition, the rock expression found in the Suyuan shi pu (Catalogue of Suyuan Rocks) contained in the Zuhon sokan resembles the rock expression in Reika’s painting. Thus it is highly likely that Reika referred to the Zuhon sokan during his painting production.
This work is constructed from a reusing of iconography published in Chinese books, and works he personally viewed in the Shôsôin treasures and early illustrated handscrolls. The Chengshi moyuan and Li sao tu particularly inspired Reika. There are many examples of modern Nihonga paintings based on Chinese paintings. This work can also be generally positioned within the context of Chinese painting reception in modern Nihonga.
However, the iconography that Reika used as his model for this work was first made publicly available to the Japanese in the 1920s. The mistaken interpretation of the work’s subject –– even though it is a close copied reuse of Nine Songs iconography and even prior to the understanding of the Encountering Sorrow term –– can be thought to have been based in the fact that the iconography used in this work had been virtually unseen in Japan prior to the 1920s. Historically speaking, the 1920s witnessed an unprecedented interchange of people, things and information between Japan and China, and it was a time when a new image of China was being cultivated. The Zuhon sokan referred to by Reika was also a book created out of this artistic interchange between Japan and China. In this manner, it was the 1920s themselves, a time when Japan was directing a new gaze at China, that underpinned the production of this work.journal articl
Ai-Mitsu’s Landscape with Eye (Part I)
Get PDFLandscape with an Eye (1938) by Ai-Mitsu (1907–1946) is an altogether puzzling painting. The single eye, peering out at the viewer from the midst of a strange, lumpen, fleshy form, exerts a strong impression on its viewer, and yet a sense of mystery remains, what is the lump of flesh, whose eye is it? This painting is often called “a major example of Japanese Surrealism,” but what in fact actually influenced the painter to create this work? And is this positioning of the work appropriate? While various scholars have expressed a diverse range of interpretations, there has yet to be an established theory about the painting.
In 2010 the Independent Administrative Institution National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo, conducted an infrared photographic examination of the Landscape with an Eye. This article is an attempt at reinterpreting the painting on the basis of the new facts discerned from that examination. In detail, Part 1 considers the studies have been conducted on the work in the past and summarizes the previous issues raised, while Part 2 (to be published in Bijutsu Kenkyû 411) will discuss what new interpretations are possible based on the findings of the photographic survey.
Part 1 Issues Were Raised by Previous Studies
Landscape with an Eye was displayed in the 8th Dokuritsu Bijutsu Kyôkai exhibition held in 1938, where it was awarded the Dokuritsu Prize. At the time it was simply titled “Landscape [Fûkei].” Its current title was given to the work by a friend of the artist when a retrospective of Ai- Mitsu’s works was held in the post-war era. In 1966 the painting was acquired by the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, and around that time the judgment that the painting is a major example of Surrealist painting created in Japan was set. Detailed analysis of the work and studies of its influence relationship particularly advanced in the years since the 1988 retrospective.
Previous studies of the work have largely heralded two theories about the nature of the unidentified form that occupies the majority of the composition, stating it is either a lion, or a tree stump.
From 1936 onwards, Ai-Mitsu visited the Ueno Zoological Gardens and made various sketches of the animals in the zoo and particularly created a large number of works with lion motifs. In all of these works the depiction of the lion is not literal and explanatory, but rather a section of the beast that would emerge from amidst a dark setting, or the animal is shown lying on its back. Thus he had a distinctive way of painting lions, and there are many scholars who believe that Landscape with an Eye was painted as along the trajectory from these lion images. In other words, up until now the persuasive argument has been that while he first began depicting lions, as he advanced in his depiction, gradually their forms were transformed, finally arriving at the creation of puzzling forms like that seen in this painting.
There is also the theory that the form is simply the base of a tree stump. Mori Shikô, a painter and friend of Ai-Mitsu’s, recalled that around the first half of the 1930s Ai-Mitsu got a tree stump from the local gardener and brought it into his studio, where he used it in composing his paintings. In addition to the tree stump, Ai-Mitsu’s studio also included a mix of various objects, from bird corpses to dried fish and small stones. Thus the theory exists that these objets became the starting point for some of his works.
There are convincing elements to both the lion and the tree stump theories. It is hard to deny either, and indeed one of the fascinating elements of this works is the duality of its images, and the fact that its images stand in the gap between formation and dismantling.
On the other hand, there is one thing that is clearly painted in the composition, the eye. Up until now many of the scholars who have discussed the work have focused on the idea that in 1938, in other words a time when Japan was at war, Ai-Mitsu felt a sense of oppression, and the owner of this eye has been interpreted as either Ai-Mitsu himself, or it has been interpreted as the watchful eye of authority oppressing free expression.
Dehara Hitoshi has noted the print by the Renaissance sculptor Jean Goujon that was published in the catalogue of the Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism exhibition held at the Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1936. This print was then re-published in the Japanese magazine Mizue. Dehara goes on to state that given the use of a “collage method in which a human eye was placed in the midst of an unrelated boulder,” Landscape with an Eye was in fact influenced by Surrealism. The fact that this strange lump in the composition has multiple interpretations also links it to Salvador Dali’s double image technique, and further suggests a Dali influence in the slight bit of horizon line visible on the right edge of the composition. For these reasons Dehara concluded that Landscape with an Eye is a major example of Japanese Surrealism.
There are also those who have indicated the influence of Max Ernst and Kurt Seligmann. In fact, points in common between the Landscape with an Eye and Ernst’s series of forest paintings can also be indicated in areas such as the manner in which the border between forest and sky was painted. Seligmann himself came to Japan in 1936 and held a solo exhibition, and the glass paintings displayed in that show may have given Ai-Mitsu hints on layered pigment application.
Ai-Mitsu was in fact influenced by all three – Dali, Ernst and Seligmann. However, is Landscape with an Eye simply a copy of the new Western trend known as Surrealism? Takiguchi Shûzô, an art critic who knew Ai-Mitsu recalled, “The voices he heard from Surrealism were actually unique to Ai-Mitsu. Truly, I remember feeling that there was something sudden in the way he took in Ernst.” Takiguchi had the impression that Ai-Mitsu deviated quite a bit from original Surrealism. Isn’t it this deviated bit itself that is important. What was it? Wasn’t there some way of opening painting to new potential in this deviation? What we must first clarify is this point. Then, if this kind of potential can be found in Landscape with an Eye, I propose that we should not position this Landscape with an Eye as “Surrealist painting in Japan,” but rather we should assign it a different position, one suitable for this new potentiality. The 2010 infrared examination of the painting will open the path to such a new interpretation. Part 2 of this article will discuss these issues in detail.journal articl
A Study of “Eiji-fu”: Scores of Japanese Music Transcribed by Kineya Eiji
Get PDFNagauta shamisen performer, Kineya Eiji (1894-1979) was not only active as an accompanist of kabuki performed by famous players but is also well known for his devoted study of repertoires of nagauta of which there were not so many transmitters or which were not popularly performed.
In this paper, a report is made of the scores transcribed by Kineya Eiji, placing focus on the distinguished services that he provided to the transmission of nagauta . Eiji started to transcribe scores when he faithfully recorded the repertoires that he learned from his master, Kineya Eizo III so that he would not forget them. He then learned rarely performed repertoires from nagauta performers of other schools and wrote them down. He eventually employed his own notation to transcribe the results of his studies into scores. Although scores of Japanese music are often expressed with numbers, Eiji used three types of kana letters, and the scores that he wrote are generally called “Eiji-fu.” From around 1929, Eiji began to publish the scores in earnest, first under the supervision of Kineya Eizo III. Of the “Eiji-fu” published, the present author has confirmed 7 types of scores, totaling 210 repertoires.
Eiji was designated Holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property in 1964 for his performance and studies. Using the subsidy he received, Eiji published Eiji fuhon and what may be called a comprehensive study of his works, Eiji sangen-fu.
In the present study, Eiji’ s personal history and the results of his studies of nagauta are examined, based on articles of interview with Eiji and the recollections of his fellow performers. The rules that he used in notating “Eiji-fu” and the circumstances surrounding publication are also analyzed. A list of the scores of 210 repertoires is attached at the end.departmental bulletin pape
Deterioration on the Wall and Indoor/Outdoor Environmental Condition in Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey (2) -Survey on Moisture Content Profile and Thermography, and Numerical Simulation of Moisture Behavior of the Wall -
Get PDFIn order to propose measures for the future preservation of the interior of Hagia Sophia, it is necessary to clarify the causes of deterioration. In the present study,thermal imaging and moisture content distribution measurement were conducted during field
survey in September 2012. Moisture transfer in the wall was analyzed by using the indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity measured in September 2010. In addition, the appropriate time to cover the outside wall in order to prevent evaporation of accumulated
water at the inside surface of the wall was examined by numerical simulation.
The main results obtained are as follows.
1)From the measurement of moisture content, it was found that the wall in all directions of the second cornice has moisture content of more than 20%. Especially the northwest side of the indoor wall surface of the second cornice has the highest average moisture content.
2)The location of water flow on the wall can be identified from thermal image survey. At the location of the water flow, there is large peeling of the mortar joint.
3) Numerical simulation shows that moisture content of the inner wall surface rises because of the penetration of rainwater at the outer wall surface.
4)Numerical simulation shows that appropriate time to cover the outer wall is summer because the moisture content in the wall then is lower than in the other seasons.journal articl
Scientific Analysis of a Black Lacquer Lidded Bowl with Raden -Analysis of Every Layer Using Mapping ATR -
Get PDFCross-sectional analysis is widely used to analyze Japanese lacquer cultural assets. In this research,an attempt was made to use the sample used for cross-sectional analysis for mapping ATR as well.
The candidate for analysis was a black lacquer lidded bowl with raden which is a Ryukyu shikki dating to around the 17th-18th century. As a result of cross-sectional analysis, three layers of lacquer were found, two of which had been applied in past restorations. Py-GC/MS of these three layers revealed that the lacquer used was Rhus verniciflua Stokes. Although it is known that other kinds of lacquer were used in Ryukyu in those days,none could be found on this sample. In addition, a small amount of drying oil was contained in the sample. Whether this drying oil is an ingredient mixed with lacquer or an ingredient of the ground could not be analyzed. Moreover, analysis by mapping ATR showed that degradation had advanced in the lacquer film of the third layer, which is the original lacquered layer.journal articl
The Changed Principle of the Placement Form of the Four Deva’s Images and Their Names in the Joseon Dynasty
Get PDFThe Four Devas is the typical Buddhist god protecting four directions. In this case that the image of the Four Devas (four heavenly guardians of Buddhism) are expressed in Buddhist sculptures or paintings, most of them are placed to an in-between direction by evading the direction of the principal icon instead of normal direction. Although the placement form of the Four Devas does not follow the same way, the forms are very various in accordance with art works. This thesis tries to determine the cause of changing the placement form of the Four Devas and there are some regular rules on the foundation of the change.
After examining textual materials and art works, a regular rule has been understood by the case that one of the Four Devas standing the same direction with the principal icon is turned and placed to counterclockwise when the Four Devas are placed to an in-between direction.
The existing interpretation about the placement has an immovable view that the direction of the principal icon is the south. As we know that Buddhism includes every direction from the existence of the Five Sides Buddha exists, the direction of the principal icon which is a standard of placement of icon can be used to four directions according to icon. The cause of the change of the Four Devas placement form is related to the change of the principal icon because the Fur Devas represented by four ways are placed which direction the principal icon faces.
There is a fact that the Four Devas are placed by the four placement forms though the direction of the principal icon after examining art works. One of the four forms is East Method that the East Deva is placed to the lift side from the principal icon. This method is a classical form used to ancient Buddhist Art in the East Asia and Buddhist Paints in Koryo period.
After Southern Song and Yuan, the placement form whose a main was the East Method had more methods based on the direction Buddha’s character in the principal icon such as South, North, and North, and West Method. Moreover, the icon of the Four Devas was changed from Chinese style to Tibetan style.
This changed placement form and icon are considered by bringing confusion in some parts of icons and names due to the difference of the traditional form and inheritance from Ming dynasty. There are some the Four Devas icons drawn on Buddhist art works as evidences that the West Deva has a pagoda on one hand as a typical motif for the North Deva among the Four Devas expressed on Buddhist art and put some names. Also, this trend is found in Joseon Dynasty.
Until now, there are various interpretations about writing the West Deva instead the North Deva in Joseon dynasty, however, this thesis attempts to have another view point about the placement from of the Four Devas. Even though most of the Four Devas in Southern Song and Yuan dynasty are placed by the direction of the principal icon, the South method is used placement consistently in Joseon period. This direction in South method is the same as one in Yongsanhuesang-do based on Lotus Sutra which was popular in the Joseon period. However, this placement method is not suitable to Buddhist painting on Sutra of Garland of Buddha or Amitabha painting. There is a same point to pay attention that all Buddhist painting on Sutra of Garland of Buddha and Amitabha painting Buddhist paintings are the paintings put the name of the Four Devas in the Joseon period. Especially, in the names, there is a possibility that the name of the Four Devas was written by the direction of the principal icon supplementary because the name based on the East method was put in the Four Devas.journal articl
Shi Tao, the Sight of Evaluation as the Modern Individualism
Get PDFToday, in the history of Chinese paintings, Shi Tao (1642-1707) has been widely recognized from the perspective of the 'individual school. This is the result of ongoing and consistent research. In particular, this study has been focused by artists and historians in 20th Century despite the ambiguity of authenticity in grasping the characteristics of the formalistic style. This phenomenon of the research on Shi Tao would be closely related with Chinese nationalism called as anti-Qing awareness and the historical view of anti-Imperialism.
In this point, this study puts weigh on a new perspective as the renovation of anti-siwang or lin-mo (imitation) in the tradition of lin-mo according to the rise of traditionalism loomed large in the 20th century in China. The reason is because a pictorial perspective was also born in the modern' view which considered Shi Tao as an individual school and is because individualism, which is called originality, was affected by the attention of evaluation in the whole of Chinese arts today.
Shi Tao, who was paid attention too by both traditionalism and reformism which are the two main
streams in the development of Chinese paintings, can be considered that he presented modern explanations in different ways in that the two school showed individuality.
Thus, in this writing, I focus on the point that Shi Tao was accepted in the standpoint of subjective individuality, 'Impressionist Style of contemporary art, to individualists. Also, I would like to concentrate on the point that Shi Tao was the object of renaissance of traditionalism as an alternative to overcome siwang school.
In the popularity of Shi Tao which became more intensified in coming into the 20th century, the modern meaning, in which Shi Tao was accepted as a value of a painting in the literary artist's style re-evaluated with nanga's coming to the fore as the classics of the Orient in Japan, can be found. Also, Shi Tao became in the limelight as the collection of collectors circulating as an ancient tradition in the art market of metropolis in China. This coeval popularity rather enacts the dynamic of the classics of the Orient as colonialism in Korean modern arts in Korea and is still analyzed in the modern phenomenon.journal articl
