Takashi Murakami

The Japanese artist Takashi Murakami is an interesting study in contrasts. He has a Ph.D in Nihonga, the Meiji era effort to revitalize Japanese arts championed by Ernest Fennalosa. Yet he counts modern manga as a major influence in his work along with Andy Warhol and the pop art movement.

Murakami designs Louis Vuitton purses and million dollar artwork yet also makes t-shirts and mass market merchandise. His concept of "Superflat" and how Japanese culture reflects the country's experiences in the last century are illuminatiingly discussed in this great article.

I had a chance to see an exhibit of his work several years ago juxtaposed with that of one of his inspirations Soga Shohaku, the 18th century artist of the eccentric school.

Here's a short video of Murakami discussing his views on art from the NYTimes Magazine.

The artist cooperative that Murakami founded has a website here .

Shin Hanga

The Shin Hanga (new print) movement of the early 20th century combined traditional Ukiyo-e themes with Western concepts like Impressionism and Art Deco. For me its part of the internationalization of art in the early 1900s, as Westerners and Asians discovered each others' artistic traditions and sought to create modernized versions. Works like Michel Fokine's "The Blue God" and the poetry of Tagore revitalized artistic expressions combining themes from other cultures with that of their own.

Night rain on Shinohashi bridge

In Japan the printmaker Watanabe Shozaburo championed the Shin Hanga process which involves the collaboration of painter, carver, printer and publisher to create a unique end product. The atmospheric print above is by Kawase Hasui, whose work reflects a Taisho era Japan modernizing yet still very connected to its past.

Snow at Zozoji temple, Shiba

This print by Hasui, perhaps his most famous work, was commissioned by the Japanese government and named an Intangible Cultural Treasure.

Shalimar Gardens, Lucknow

Another of the Shin Hanga artists Hiroshi Yoshida, updated ukiyo-e travelogues by painting scenes from around the world. Yoshida and later his son Toshi, used the Shin Hanga process to show landscapes and people far from daily life much the way that Hiroshige painted scenes of the Tokaido and Edo for people in Tokugawa Japan.

El Capitan, Yosemite Valley

Shin Hanga also included some Westerners like the Englishman CW Bartlett, whose watercolors were translated into wood block prints by Shozaburo in Japan. Bartlett spent the latter part of his life in Hawaii and helped to found the Honolulu Printmakers group.

Taj Mahal, Agra

The best place I've found for viewing Shin Hanga is the virtual gallery hanga.com, that not only sells the works but also has a tremendous reference gallery of pictures.

Bobby Valentine and Japanese Baseball

There was an article in the NYTimes this week about former Mets manager Bobby Valentine who's in his second stint as skipper of the Chiba Lotte Marines in the Japan League.

Bobby's very popular with Marines fans due to his outspokenness and accessibility. After winning Chiba's first league championship in its history, he suggested that his team play the World Series winner of that year. Though he doesn't expect either the owners or players' unions to allow any such thing, Valentine expressed his belief that this would be a far truer test of baseball than the World Baseball Classic, where players are thrown together for a brief period.

Such expressions of free thought publicly contradicting the opinions of one's superiors are not a hallmark of Japanese society and the Marines announced over the winter that Valentine would not be returning next year. Surprisingly, this has sparked a very public protest by fans in Chiba who've started a petition to Lotte and unfurled banners during games supporting Bobby.

Japanese baseball teams tend to have names that reflect their corporate owners rather than that of the city or region they represent. The belief, however quixotic that sports teams are civic institutions held in trust by the owners is not prevalent in Japan it seems.

Tea Houses in Kyoto

Like wine bars in Tuscany, Tea Houses are a pleasantly ubiquitous feature of Kyoto. Built originally to serve the pilgrims who visited the city's numerous temples and shrines, tea houses are a very pleasant stopover on any walking tour of Kyoto.

The tea houses tend to have scenic views of gardens and a relaxing ambiance conducive to a restful break. This is a tea house on the Philosopher's Path owned by the Kyoto cosmetics company, Yojiya.


Matcha, the foaming green tea used in Chanoyu, the Tea Ceremony and a sweet made from bean paste are the usual fare. The freshness of the Macha and its distinctive bitterness are balanced by the sweetness of the pastry. These are my favorite sweets bought at the tea house in Kinkau-ji.

The tea house itself at this temple is very simple and refined and I enjoyed sitting inside enjoying the atmosphere.


This is another pleasant tea house located in Ryuan-ji where you can look out onto an old garden.

By the way there are many other types of tea houses in Kyoto far removed from these simple examples ranging from the sophisticated ochaya in Gion where geisha visit, to chashitsu where the tea ceremony is actually practiced.

Kaiseki, a Kyoto Cuisine

Today's Wall Street Journal has an article on Kaiseki, a cuisine based on fresh seasonal vegetables developed in the temples of Kyoto. Being ever interested in food, I found this to be an excellent topic to discuss.

Having been the capital of Japan for over a 1,000 years Kyoto is replete with Temples and Shrines patronized by the powerful who ruled the land. Kaiseki takes the simple vegetarian fare eaten by monks and creates a culinary experience of differing tastes. textures, colors and flavors.


Thanks to the sophisticated palates of those wealthy enough to receive such favors over the centuries, Kyoto now has an abundance of Kaiseki restaurants catering to the rest of us who are not as fortunate. Assuming that money is an object for you, I recommend skipping the ryokan mentioned in the article in favor of spending that money on Kaiseki around the city.

The writer of the article recommends a place in touristy Gion but I actually like those around Nanzen-ji in Higashiyama, on the Eastern slopes of the hills surrounding Kyoto. This area has a more relaxed ambiance reflecting its past as the preferred location of aristocrats building their villas to escape from the city's heat, noise and social pressures. Many of these compounds were transformed into temples after their owner's demise and attracted a variety of traditional arts and crafts that have been practiced here for a quite a while.


This is Okutan where on a beautiful day I sat outside under a parasol enjoying the maples turning colors. The meal consists of items like dengaku, tofu with sweet miso sauce and yudofu, a ceramic pot of tofu and vegetables simmered at your table. For those who are vegetarians by the way most Kaiseki establishments outside of temples use fish byproducts in their dishes so its best to check before you eat.


Another great place to sample the local cuisine is in tea houses located in many temple grounds around Kyoto. This is the yudofu at Ryuan-ji, which I think is one of the best places to go to.

For those enjoying irony, one meaning of the word Kaiseki refers to a heated stone worn by monks near their body to relieve their hunger pangs.

Kabuki

I had a chance to see a performance at Kabuki-za, the famous theater for Kabuki located in the Ginza district of Tokyo. The building has a very interesting look which I would describe as a combination of French Bell Epoque and traditional Japanese Temple design.

It seems to have been destroyed and rebuilt many times since it's construction in 1889 and I understand this cycle will be repeated in 2010 with a three year hiatus till its reopening.

Kabuki is very much a product of the newly affluent urban class of the Tokugawa era who desired an art form of their own. Unlike the symbolic plays of Noh Theater reserved for Samurai, Kabuki reflected the lives of its patrons and focused on common themes like love, social issues of the day and class conflicts.

Reminiscent of the environment at the Globe Theater for Shakespeare's plays, Kabuki tended to have a lively audience that interacted with the actors. In true egalitarian fashion we brown bagged our lunch from the nearby Mitsukoshi department store and ate it in our seats during intermission.

I saw two plays with the second one featuring a Living National Treasure, a designation given to extraordinary artists and craftsmen practicing traditional arts. I was even able to understand the drama thanks to a device that played English commentary in my ear.

During intermission advertisements were shown by means of beautiful curtains that fell over the stage. This one is for IBM Japan.

The person credited with founding Kabuki is Izumo no Okuni, a Noh performer who after the cataclysmic Battle of Sekigahra, visited Kyoto with her troupe to raise money. In 1603 on the dry riverbed of the Kamogawa she thrilled audiences with her performance in male costumes. I ran across this statue near that spot, commemorating the 400th anniversary of the event on a morning bike ride in Kyoto.

Four old Japanese movies I like

I've been watching some old Japanese movies recently and find their perspective very different from modern movies.



Drunken Angel (Yoidore tenshi) - 1948
First up is an early Akira Kurosawa movie showing the chaos and struggle of post war Japan. The usual suspects of Kurosawa movies, Shimura Takashi and Mifune Toshiro are here doing their usual excellent acting, this time as unsympathetic antiheroes in an unpleasant and degraded Tokyo.



Sugata Sanshiro - 1943
Kurosawa's first movie, it's based on a best selling novel dramatizing the exploits of a famous Judoka in the 1880's. The cinematography is really beautiful in the restored version and the sense of a self contained culture with its own vision of beauty and order is very striking.

The pivotal 1886 match between Kodokan Judo and jujutsu schools which established Judo as a superior method of self defense is shown as a key phase in Sanshiro's development.

Thematically the movie shows Sanshiro's evolving faith in his teacher and his art of Kodokan Judo as a Way that connects nature and all human activity.



The 47 Ronin (Genroku Chushingura) - 1941
This movie takes a lyrical and measured pace through the story with a Noh flavor imbuing the scenes. From the opening tableau in the Shogun's palace to a beautiful scene of Oishi Kuranosuke's wife and daughter leaving their home, the movie takes a very personal and visual approach to the story.

Some people seem to prefer the 1963 Hiroshi Inagaki version, though for me the wartime perspective in this movie about what constitutes the Japanese ideal makes this film more interesting.



Dragon Painter - 1919
My last choice is a silent movie based on a book by Mary McNeil Fenollosa, wife of Ernest Fenollosa, the subject of a previous post. The restored French print is very nice and shows off the magical and artistic ambiance of the story.

Though the movie was made in California with Yosemite standing in for rural Japan, the story is about artists and the artistic tradition in Japan.

This film was made by Sessue Hayakawa who most people know from the "Bridge on the River Kwai" as the Japanese officer. Surprisingly, Hayakawa was a major star of the silent film era and acted in over 50 movies by 1920.

Ernest Fenallosa and the Preservation of Japanese Culture

In the late 19th century when many its own citizens failed to appreciate Japan's cultural heritage, Ernest Fenallosa a Boston Orientalist, played a key role in preserving artifacts from Buddhist Temples across Japan. With fellow Harvard man William Sturgis Bigelow and Japanese scholar Okakura Kazuko he tirelessly visited temples and store rooms cataloging and identifying the treasures of the country.

With the end of the Feudal Era many temples had lost their patronage and fell on hard times. In addition, the rapid changes in society led to reactions ranging from apathy in Westernized Japanese to open hostility by reactionary elements who viewed Buddhism as a foreign belief system.

Through his work on preservation and education Fenallosa kept alive centuries of Buddhist artifacts that would have been lost in oblivion or destroyed by fanatics. He helped to found the Imperial Musuem (now the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno Park) and with his associates collected the foundation of the Japanese section of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

In the West his books on Asian culture opened a window into unknown societies and helped to spread Japanese aesthetics. His writings, some coauthored with poets Ezra Pound and W.B. Yeats, covered a variety of arts from Noh drama to the work of the Chinese poet Li Po (Rihaku).

O-Sake o kudasia

I had the good fortune to attend a lecture last year by renowned Sake expert John Gauntner, author of the canonical "The Sake Handbook".

Mr. Gaunter is erudite and accessible, whether discussing technical processes like multiple parallel fermentation or explaining the confusing terminology of Sake classification. His site http://www.sake-world.com/ has about as much information as anyone can reasonably absorb without professional study, which he also offers through classes in Japan.

As with other types of alcohol, Sake's been impacted in recent decades by improvements in technology and distribution. The positive aspects are the general availability of subtle and diverse Sakes from around Japan, balanced by the negatives of market concentration in large producers.


I had a chance last year to visit a traditional kura in Chiba and taste their products. Making Sake the old fashioned way is so time consuming and experiential its difficult to see how small breweries in Japan's depopulated countryside can find a new generation to carry on the tradition.


Japan has many traditions of Sake consumption in social settings though I like this rude but funny poem from the 7th century.

"How ugly,
those who try to appear wise,
by not drinking sake,
they look like monkeys."

- Otomo no Tabito

No doubt this poetry was written while drinking Sake with friends and probably while scowling at a member of the party who wouldn't participate.

Common Sense

The Japanese concept of Joshiki is translated as "common sense" but I think a better choice is "group sense". Joshiki is the unspoken way all things in Japan are done from riding a bike to forming a government. This unwritten code is somehow propagated to all Japanese so they know how to behave in any situation with other Japanese.

It's everywhere, underlying all actions, kind of like The Force except you can't use it to choke people who mock your belief in it.

The inability to use this sixth sense is what I think makes it hard for Japanese to communicate with people from other countries, more than language skills do.

Fortunately, even in the absence of a Jedi master, it seems Joshiki can be cultivated through the study of Aikido.

Lafcadio Hearn

For any blog that looks at Japan from an American's point of view, Lafcadio Hearn is an inspirational antecedent.



Unknown in America but famous in Japan, he was a progenitor of both J-Horror and New Orleans spookiness. A blogger before blogs, he chronicled the cultures of people wherever he went, with a penchant for the bizarre, macbre and weird.

His Irish-Greek parentage and peripatetic life make Hearn one model of a Third Culture Kid, I believe. In New Orleans his books on Creole culture and cuisine along with his subsequent writing on Martinique, documented an unknown and mysterious world on the edges of America.



When Hearn went to Japan he found a culture that was not only alien to the rest of the world but also rich in tales of the supernatural. His books like Kwaidan and In Ghostly Japan give a picture of what Japanese traditionally saw as frightening. Much like jokes, scary stories don't necessarily translate well into other cultures so modern J-Horror seems to combine Western and traditional elements.



For those interested in learning more about Lafcadio Hearn this site has everything from articles written by him to discussions of his life and work. His house in Matsue has been turned into a musuem and I recently saw an interview with his grandson from there. Also, in New Orleans the Hearn Koizumi Center supports publications and research on his writings.

Haiku of Issa

Haiku is one of the quintessentially Japanese cultural artifacts that has universal appeal. Its compactness and simplicity of rules are reminiscent of Sumo for me, where tremendous energy is expended in a 4 1/2 meter circle using a limited set of throws.

A good introduction to Haiku is Essential Haiku by Robert Haas, a Poet Laureate of America. Selections from the big three of Basho, Buson and Issa are included along with detailed annotation by the author.

I like the poetry of Issa for his humanity and humor observing nature, people and insects - especially insects whom he seem to have had a special fondness for.

Don't worry Spider,
I keep house
casually.

All the time I pray to Buddha,
I keep on
killing mosquitoes.

Goes out,
comes back -
the loves of a cat.

Seen
through a telescope,
ten cents worth of fog.

Children imitating cormorants,
are even more wonderful
than cormorants.

The best place on the web I've found for reading Issa's haiku is this professor's site, which has a searchable database with commentary and the original Japanese.