I haven’t done a post for a while about one of my favourite Ukiyo-e print series. So lets have a look. It is print #35, Narai Station, currently Narai town in Nagano Prefecture. It is a beautiful little town in the Japanese Alps and it still has the old Edo period feel to it. It… Read More Keisai Eisen – Kisokaido Narai Station, Print #35.
This is a very pretty scene. It shows travellers walking along the track by a fast flowing stream on a clear morning after heavy overnight snow. Snow scenes can be very monochromatic, as with this, but the artist has added bits of colour to break the dreariness. Some of the travellers have colourful coats, the… Read More 69 Stations of the Kisokaido. Plate 15-Itahana snow.
Everybody knows about Japan and their samurai. But did you know men were not the only ones being trained to kill, lead, and fight with deadly weapons back in feudal Japan? Lesser known than their male counterparts, the Onna Bugeisha played an important role in Japan’s history and Empress Jingu is perhaps the most legendary… Read More Empress Jingu and the Onna Bugeisha
Title: Konosu Station, View of Mt Fuji from Fukiage. This scene is dominated by Mt Fuji in the distance and the sharp curves of the Kisokaido (walking path). On the left of the print is a Komuso monk wearing a basket shaped straw hat and white attire of a holy man. He is carrying a… Read More Keisai Eisen – 69 Stations of the Kisokaido – Plate 8.
Title: Snow at Nihonbashi on New Year’s Morning. The Nihonbashi (Japan Bridge), was at the heart of Edo and the starting point of the ichirizuka, the mileposts highway that linked Kyoto with Edo. The view is to the east, towards an early sunrise after a light sprinkling of snow and a misty sky. Despite many… Read More Keisai Eisen – 69 Stations of the Kisokaido – Plate 1.
After 2 years with the same theme, I decided to make a change. Please tell me what you think. I hope this new theme will showcase more of the articles on the front page so people can get a better idea what the article is about. The layout I think is a little more organised… Read More Site Update
鷺娘の精 (The Spirit of the Heron Maiden) woodblock print by Taniguchi Kokyo (1864-1915), dated 1925; from my collection. Oban tate-e (27.0 x 42.5 cm). “Sagi Musume no Sei,” the “Spirit of the Heron Maiden.” A kabuki hengemono dance (one actor/many roles) wherein the spirit of a heron changes into a girl and then back again.… Read More 鷺娘の精 (The Spirit of the Heron Maiden)
