tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/japanese-art-36206/articles
Japanese art – The Conversation
2023-12-05T17:13:01Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/217315
2023-12-05T17:13:01Z
2023-12-05T17:13:01Z
Japan: Myths to Manga – Young V&A exhibition celebrates nature’s influence on Japanese culture
<p><a href="https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/japan-myths-to-manga">Japan: Myths to Manga</a> at the Young V&A is loosely divided into four parts: sky, sea, forest and city. The underlying theme of the exhibition is showcasing how traditions developed in these contexts relate to contemporary Japanese culture. Japan’s dramatic natural landscapes are displayed as the inspiration behind the country’s art and culture.</p>
<p>Visiting the show entails taking a journey from traditional culture (such as kimonos, <a href="https://www.getty.edu/news/why-the-iconic-great-wave-swept-the-world/">Hokusai’s “Big Wave”</a> and Japanese monsters known as <a href="https://yokai.com/introduction/">Yokai</a>) to contemporary culture (such as manga, anime and urban legends). The exhibition explores how those traditional spirits are still alive in contemporary Japan. </p>
<p>In doing so, the exhibition avoids the trap of Orientalist representations of Japan: a different culture is presented without any sweet exoticism.</p>
<p>To engage young people and families, there are several interactive exhibits. This includes <a href="https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20231020-japans-ancient-art-of-taiko-drumming">Taiko</a> (traditional drums) that anybody can try to play, manga drawing, and origami folding. On the surface, the exhibition seems to appeal primarily to children. However, there is plenty to enjoy for adult visitors too, who might notice some interesting techniques of repurposing and retelling at play. </p>
<p>For example, in the “sea” space, Katsushika Hokusai’s iconic <a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/great-wave-spot-difference">The Great Wave Off Kanagawa</a> print is well known. But there is also a parody of it by contemporary artist <a href="https://toruishii.com">Toru Ishii</a>, which epitomises the essence of contemporary Japan. </p>
<p>Ishii’s wave almost swallows Tokyo Sky Tree (a new landmark building) and Tokyo city. Ink bottles, pens and desks are dancing in the wave, led by a knight on a horse. The office workplace has become a place of war. This echoes a well-known advertising slogan for the Japanese energy drink <a href="https://shimaguni.co.uk/blog/a-story-of-japanese-workplace-culture">Regain</a>: “Can you fight for 24 hours?” </p>
<p>Although the translated title of the piece is Going Work War, the painting has a second message about ocean pollution, as the giant wave swallows all kinds of things that do not belong.</p>
<p>Resonating with Ishii’s painting, the clothes made by the 12-year-old artist <a href="https://www.instagram.com/coco_pinkprincess/">Coco-Pink</a> shown in the “city” space speak to the audience. Conscious of global environmental issues, Coco-Pink creates new extravagant outfits using old clothes, reducing waste through her creations. </p>
<h2>Cultural translation</h2>
<p>The exhibition can be interpreted as a work of <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315670898-20/museums-material-culture-cultural-representations-robert-neather">cultural translation</a>. Artists translated their ideas into artwork. Old myths were passed on orally for many hundreds of years, before being translated into the scripts displayed in the exhibition. The curators translated the exhibits by placing them into contexts known to the audience: sky, sea, forest and city. The visitors are offered an impression of Japan as balanced between its nature and cities.</p>
<p>One particularly strong example of this work of translation is in the “sky” section. Its exhibits relate to a Japanese tradition called <a href="https://www.japansociety.org.uk/resource?resource=72">Otsukimi</a>, which involves watching the beautiful full moon while enjoying rice cakes called Tsukimi Dango (“The Rabbit and the mochi”). It’s said that careful observers can see the image of a rabbit making rice cakes on the moon’s surface (“The Rabbit and the moon”). </p>
<p>This tradition travelled to Japan from China in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Heian-period#:%7E:text=Heian%20period%2C%20in%20Japanese%20history,ky%C5%8D%20(Ky%C5%8Dto)%20in%20794.">Heian period</a> (794-1185). Naoko Takeuchi, a famous manga author, translated this myth and tradition into her internationally known manga (later also <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103369/">anime</a>): <a href="https://sailormoon.fandom.com/wiki/Manga">Sailor Moon</a> (1991-1997). </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XDnKDYpvEgo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Trailer for a recent Sailor Moon movie on Netflix.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The girl fighters of Sailor Moon, displayed in five exhibits of manga sketches, all wear sailor uniforms. Sailor style is a popular school uniform among Japanese girls. It is a translation of uniforms worn by sailors in England and was first adopted by a girls’ school in Kyoto in 1920, as part of a wave of democratisation during the Taisho period (1912-1926). </p>
<p>The name of the manga’s protagonist, <a href="https://sailormoon.fandom.com/wiki/Usagi_Tsukino_/_Sailor_Moon_(manga)">Tsukino Usagi</a>, translates as “Moon’s Rabbit”. As much as the Japanese admire the power of the Sun (symbolised by a red disk in the Japanese flag), they are also attracted by the mystical power of the moon. Sailor Moon reflects the understanding of the moon as being female in Japan, but at the same time translates it into a female image of strength and mythical power, fighting for justice. </p>
<p>Attentive visitors understand that they are offered a translated image of Japan as they walk through different levels. It is up them to decide which levels to pick up and translate into new meaning for themselves.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/something-good-156">Sign up here</a>.</em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217315/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nana Sato-Rossberg does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The exhibition showcases how nature coexists with Japan’s major cities.
Nana Sato-Rossberg, Professor in Translation Studies, SOAS, University of London
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/193487
2022-11-08T18:12:58Z
2022-11-08T18:12:58Z
How the philosophy behind the Japanese art form of ‘kintsugi’ can help us navigate failure
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492995/original/file-20221102-45064-bw9n55.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C115%2C4552%2C2902&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/kintsugi-bowl-gold-cracks-restoration-on-1799661814">Marco Montalti/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In our 20s and 30s, there can be immense pressure to measure up to the expectations of society, our families, our friends and even those we have for ourselves. Many people look back and feel disappointed that they hadn’t taken the opportunity to travel more. Others might have envisioned that they would be further along in their careers or personal relationships. In reality, life is hard and we might face setbacks (big and small) that can shatter our dreams, leaving us with fragments we perceive as worthless. </p>
<hr>
<iframe id="noa-web-audio-player" style="border: none" src="https://embed-player.newsoveraudio.com/v4?key=x84olp&id=https://theconversation.com/how-the-philosophy-behind-the-japanese-art-form-of-_kintsugi_-can-help-us-navigate-failure-193487" &bgcolor="F5F5F5&color=D8352A&playColor=D8352A" width="100%" height="110px"></iframe>
<p><em>You can listen to more articles from The Conversation, narrated by Noa, <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/audio-narrated-99682">here</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Feelings of failure <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6691139/">can take a long-lasting mental toll</a> but they don’t have to stop you in your tracks. There are many teachings, practices and philosophies that can help you deal with disappointment, embrace imperfection and remain optimistic. </p>
<p>One such practice is the Japanese art form of <em>kintsugi</em>, which means <a href="https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20210107-kintsugi-japans-ancient-art-of-embracing-imperfection">joining with gold</a>. It has attracted a great deal of attention in recent years as both an art technique, a worldview and metaphor for how we can live life.</p>
<p>Many forms of Japanese art have been influenced by <a href="https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20210107-kintsugi-japans-ancient-art-of-embracing-imperfection">Zen and Mahayana philosophies</a>, which champion the concepts of acceptance and contemplation of imperfection, as well as the constant flux and impermanence of all things. </p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Fail Better" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492275/original/file-20221028-40947-7fl4wu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492275/original/file-20221028-40947-7fl4wu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492275/original/file-20221028-40947-7fl4wu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492275/original/file-20221028-40947-7fl4wu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492275/original/file-20221028-40947-7fl4wu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492275/original/file-20221028-40947-7fl4wu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492275/original/file-20221028-40947-7fl4wu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/fail-better-129121?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022+Fail+Better&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Fail Better</a></strong>, a series for those of us in our 20s and 30s about navigating the moments when things aren’t quite going as planned. Many of us are tuned into the highlight reel of social media, where our peers share their successes in relationships, careers and family. When you feel like you’re not measuring up, the pieces in this special <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022+Fail+Better&utm_content=InArticleTop">Quarter Life</a> series will help you learn how to cope with, and even grow from, failure.</em></p>
<hr>
<p><em>Kintsugi</em> is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery. If a bowl is broken, rather than discarding the pieces, the fragments are put back together with a <a href="https://traditionalkyoto.com/culture/kintsugi/">glue-like tree sap and the cracks are adorned with gold</a>. There are no attempts to hide the damage, instead, it is highlighted. The practice has come to represent the idea that beauty can be found in imperfection. The breakage is an opportunity and applying this kind of thinking to instances of failure in our own lives can be helpful.</p>
<h2>A technique to repair broken pots</h2>
<p><em>Kintsugi</em> was fairly widespread in Japan around the <a href="https://traditionalkyoto.com/culture/kintsugi/">late 16th and early 17th centuries</a>. The origins of this aesthetic go back hundreds of years to the Muromachi period (approximately 1336 to 1573). The third ruling Shogun (leader) of that era, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1358-1408), is said to have broken his favourite tea bowl. The bowl was unique and could not be replaced. </p>
<p>So, instead of throwing it away, he sent it to China for a replacement or repair. The bowl returned repaired with its pieces held in place by metal staples. <a href="https://www.antiquesjournal.com/flipbooks/neajfeb12/index.html">Staple repair</a> was a common technique in China as well as in parts of Europe at the time for particularly valuable pieces. However, the Shogun considered it to be neither functional nor beautiful.</p>
<p>Instead, the Shogun had his own <a href="https://traditionalkyoto.com/culture/kintsugi/">artisans resolve</a> the situation by finding a method to make something beautiful from the broken, damaged object, but without disguising the damage. And so, <em>kintsugi</em> came to be.</p>
<h2>Finding the beauty in imperfection</h2>
<p><em>Kintsugi</em> makes something new from a broken pot, which is transformed to possess a different sort of beauty. The imperfection, the golden cracks, are what make the new object unique. They are there every time you look at it and they welcome contemplation of the object’s past and of the moment of “failure” that it and its owner has overcome.</p>
<p>The art of <em>kintsugi</em> is inextricably linked to the Japanese philosophy of <em>wabi-sabi</em>: a worldview centred on the acceptance of transience, imperfection and the beauty found in simplicity. <em>Wabi-sabi</em> is also an appreciation of both natural objects and the forces of nature that remind us that nothing stays the same forever.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="A series of pottery fragments put back together with gold painted lines." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492990/original/file-20221102-25180-5ycq2x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492990/original/file-20221102-25180-5ycq2x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=668&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492990/original/file-20221102-25180-5ycq2x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=668&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492990/original/file-20221102-25180-5ycq2x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=668&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492990/original/file-20221102-25180-5ycq2x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=839&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492990/original/file-20221102-25180-5ycq2x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=839&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492990/original/file-20221102-25180-5ycq2x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=839&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A modern and avant-garde example of <em>kintsugi</em> from the series Translated Vase by the Korean artist Yeesookyung.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dalbera/26836292545">Jean-Pierre Dalbéra/Flikr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>Wabi-sabi</em> can also be incorporated into contemplating something and seeing it <a href="https://japanobjects.com/features/wabi-sabi">grow more beautiful as time passes</a>. As a craft and an art form, <em>kintsugi</em> challenges expectations. This is because the technique goes further than repairing an object but actually <a href="https://theconversation.com/kintsugi-and-the-art-of-ceramic-maintenance-64223">transforms and intentionally changes its appearance</a>.</p>
<p>In an age of mass production and conformity, learning to accept and celebrate imperfect things, as <em>kintsugi</em> demonstrates, can be powerful. Whether it’s reeling from a breakup or being turned down for a promotion, the fragments of our disappointment can be transformed into something new.</p>
<p>That new thing might not be perfect or be how you had envisioned it would be, but it is beautiful. Rather than try to disguise the flaws, the <em>kintsugi</em> technique highlights and draws attention to them. The philosophy of <em>kintsugi</em>, as an approach to life, can help encourage us when we face failure. We can try to pick up the pieces, and if we manage to do that we can put them back together. The result might not seem beautiful straight away but as <em>wabi-sabi</em> teaches, as time passes, we may be able to appreciate the beauty of those imperfections. </p>
<p>The bowl may seem broken, the pieces scattered, but this is an opportunity to put it back together with seams of gold. It will be something new, unique and strong.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022+Fail+Better&utm_content=InArticleTop">Quarter Life</a></strong> is a series about issues affecting those of us in our 20s and 30s.</em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193487/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ella Tennant does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
A break or moment of failure can be an opportunity to create something new and beautiful.
Ella Tennant, Lecturer, Language and Culture, Keele University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/188523
2022-08-10T04:53:05Z
2022-08-10T04:53:05Z
Part of the Japanese revolution in fashion, Issey Miyake changed the way we saw, wore and made fashion
<p>Throughout his career, Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake, who has died of cancer at 84, rejected terms like “fashion”. </p>
<p>But his work allowed much of the world to reimagine itself through clothing.</p>
<p>Born in Hiroshima in 1938, Miyake studied graphic design in Tokyo where he was influenced by the Japanese-American sculptor <a href="https://www.noguchi.org/isamu-noguchi/biography/biography/">Isamu Noguchi</a> and the black and white photography of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2015/oct/20/irving-penn-beyond-beauty-in-pictures">Irving Penn</a>. </p>
<p>As soon as the post-war restrictions barring Japanese nationals from travelling abroad were lifted, he headed to Paris, arriving in 1964. </p>
<p>There, the young designer apprenticed for eminent <em>haute couture</em> fashion houses <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Laroche">Guy Laroche</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubert_de_Givenchy">Hubert de Givenchy</a>. Such houses made expensive clothes that conformed to prevailing standards of etiquette. Miyake was to go well beyond that.</p>
<p>Miyake was there for the Paris <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2018/05/29/613671633/in-france-the-protests-of-may-1968-reverberate-today-and-still-divide-the-french">student revolt of 1968</a> and was galvanised by the youth quake shaking all rules of society. </p>
<p>The ready-to-wear concept by a couturier had been launched just a few years earlier when Yves Saint Laurent created <a href="https://museeyslparis.com/en/biography/saint-laurent-rive-gauche">Saint Laurent Rive Gauche</a> in late 1966. </p>
<p>The fashion system was changing and Miyake rose to the challenge. </p>
<h2>Japanese fashion revolution</h2>
<p>Miyake arrived in Paris shortly after Kenzo’s “<a href="https://www.drapersonline.com/insight/analysis/kenzo-takadas-colourful-and-inclusive-influence-on-fashion">Jungle Jap</a>” clothes had made waves, with their bright colours and unexpected patterns based partly on Japanese artistic traditions. </p>
<p>The Japanese revolution in fashion was commencing. </p>
<p>Japanese designers including <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/comme-des-garcons-rei-kawakubo-spring-2021-interview">Rei Kawakubo</a> for Comme des Garçons, <a href="https://www.businessoffashion.com/community/people/yohji-yamamoto">Yohji Yamamoto</a> and Issey – all born in the 1930s and 40s – rose to prominence in the 70s and showed in Paris. </p>
<p>All questioned Eurocentric views of fashion and beauty. The Japanese designers reversed the Western focus on symmetry and tidiness and adopted aspects of Japanese aesthetic systems, such as Yamamoto’s use of black with colours such as red, purple, cerise, brown and dark blue.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478438/original/file-20220810-22-yqqo5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Thigh high laced suede boots worn over cotton pants and woven with a quilted look are worn with a full-sleeved lamb wool jacket" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478438/original/file-20220810-22-yqqo5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478438/original/file-20220810-22-yqqo5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=882&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478438/original/file-20220810-22-yqqo5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=882&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478438/original/file-20220810-22-yqqo5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=882&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478438/original/file-20220810-22-yqqo5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1108&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478438/original/file-20220810-22-yqqo5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1108&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478438/original/file-20220810-22-yqqo5s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1108&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An early creation by Issey Miyake presented in New York City in 1972.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Miyake held his first show in New York in 1971 and in Paris in 1973. He integrated technology with tradition, exploring Japanese aesthetics and the uncut, untailored garment. He also commissioned high-tech textiles that influenced fashion around the world.</p>
<p>Miyake’s BODY series included the <a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/675703">famous bustiers</a> of plastic, rattan and resin in which the female body was re-imagined as a type of armour.</p>
<p>In February 1982 the prominent journal Artforum photographed a Miyake bustier <a href="https://www.artforum.com/print/198202">on its cover</a>. </p>
<p>It was the first time a contemporary art journal had featured fashion. </p>
<h2>Covering the body</h2>
<p>Throughout his career Miyake completely re-imagined the potential of textiles. </p>
<p>Working with his textile director Makiko Minagawa and Japanese textile mills, he began to create the famous Pleats collections: using thermally processed polyester textiles that are not pleated before sewing (the regular practice), but manufactured much larger, and then pleated in machines. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://collection.imamuseum.org/artwork/79227/">Rhythm Pleats</a> collection from 1989 was inspired by the French artist Henri Rousseau: Miyake took elements of the colour palette and the strange sculptural shells surrounding women in these paintings, a good example of how his influences were always abstract and suggestive.</p>
<p>His very commercial collection <a href="https://camarguefashion.com.au/blogs/news/introducing-pleats-please-by-issey-miyake">Pleats Please</a> was launched in 1993. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.isseymiyake.com/en/brands/apocable">A-POC (A Piece of Cloth)</a> collection (in collaboration with Dai Fujiwara, 1998) revolutionised clothing design and prefigured anxieties around the unsustainability of fashion and its attendant waste. Clothes were knitted in three dimensions in a continuous tube using computerised knitting technology as a whole and from a single thread. </p>
<p>The garment came in a cylinder and was later cut out by the wearer – there was no waste, as leftover sections became mittens, for example.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/four-clothing-businesses-that-could-lead-us-away-from-the-horrors-of-fast-fashion-165578">Four clothing businesses that could lead us away from the horrors of fast fashion</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Miyake and men</h2>
<p>Miyake’s <a href="https://collections.lacma.org/node/2238481">pneumatic collection</a> in 1991 included knickerbocker trousers for men with plastic bladders and straws – men could inflate or deflate the clothes to suit. </p>
<p>It was the age of the AIDS crisis and attendant body wasting. Calvin Klein had responded with hyper-masculine underwear and hyper-masculine advertising. Miyake, on the other hand, tested the zeitgeist by suggesting we use clothes to make our bodies and appearances suit our needs.</p>
<p>Having worn his clothes myself for some time, I can testify for the liberation they provide. The jackets are unlined and embrace the body in unexpected ways. Sleeves might be manufactured so they create a pagoda shape on your arm and add dynamism to the body. </p>
<p>The colour palette is extraordinary and so different from a diet of sensible woollens or tweeds. </p>
<p>Computer-generated jacquard weaving creates subtle patterns only truly registered by closer looking. The textiles have an unexpected tactility next to the skin. Some of the garments are provided literally rolled in a ball. They weigh virtually nothing, meaning they liberate the traveller. Once unrolled and put on the body, they spring back to life. </p>
<p>There is a real sense that you, the wearer, animate these lifeless things: dressing is a performance and the clothes generate a reality that is both theatrical and practical. Although widely worn (there is a cliche all gallerists once lived in Miyake) people remain intrigued by them, wanting to touch them for themselves. </p>
<p>At the <a href="https://www.travelifemagazine.com/about-issey-miyake-retrospective-a/">Issey Miyake Retrospective</a> in Tokyo in 2016, I saw Miyake and very much wanted to go over and thank him for transforming the potential of fashion for women and men around the world, its material possibility and imaginative possibility. </p>
<p>I’d very much like to thank him for that now.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-japanese-avant-garde-ceramicists-have-tested-the-limits-of-clay-184470">How Japanese avant-garde ceramicists have tested the limits of clay</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188523/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter McNeil does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Issey Miyake’s clothing is both theatrical and practical. The Japanese designer has died aged 84.
Peter McNeil, Distinguished Professor of Design History, UTS, University of Technology Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/184470
2022-06-26T19:58:47Z
2022-06-26T19:58:47Z
How Japanese avant-garde ceramicists have tested the limits of clay
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469709/original/file-20220620-12-gvokm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C4%2C1497%2C1994&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Nakashima Harumi, born Ena City, Gifu prefecture, 1950, Struggling forms, c2005, Ena City, Gifu prefecture, porcelain, under and overglaze, 66.0 x 49.0 x 43.0 cm. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Collection of Raphy Star</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Review: Pure Form, Art Gallery of South Australia.</em></p>
<p>Japanese art post the second world war is infinitely fascinating. At a time when the country was under Allied occupation and Japan had paid a high price for the war in the Pacific to end, its artists were revelling in new found freedom. </p>
<p>Some of the most interesting work of this era was from avant-garde ceramicists. Their revolution in clay led to them abandoning the <a href="https://japanobjects.com/features/mingei">Mingei tradition</a> of Japanese folk craft which included making functional vessels such as tea bowls. </p>
<p>In its place, they redefined themselves as artists, placed a premium on individual expression and, as <a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/m/modernism">modernists</a> with a Japanese inflection, began producing abstract sculptural ceramics. </p>
<p>Three generations of artists now work in this style, and their stunning work stretching from the late 1940s to 2021 is the subject of the Art Gallery of South Australia’s exhibition Pure Form. The title underscores the shift in ceramics from function to form.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/kintsugi-and-the-art-of-ceramic-maintenance-64223">Kintsugi and the art of ceramic maintenance</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A delicate and refined aesthetic</h2>
<p>In a time of often unnamed craftsmen producing humble ceramic objects for everyday use integral to the Mingei tradition, five Kyoto-based ceramicists were abreast of international trends in avant-garde modernism. They formed a group called Sōdeisha, meaning “crawling through the mud association” in 1948. </p>
<p>There was initially a gradual shift to pure form, as seen in Yamada Hikaru’s Glazed jar with sgraffito (scratched decoration) (1951-52). Its shape still alludes to a functional vessel while its <a href="https://www.lakesidepottery.com/Pages/Pottery-tips/How-to-create-sgraffito-pottery-tutorial.htm">sgraffito linework</a> – a decorative technique of incising into pale slip to reveal the clay beneath – is steeped in Korean ceramics. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469678/original/file-20220620-20-q9qj8w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469678/original/file-20220620-20-q9qj8w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469678/original/file-20220620-20-q9qj8w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=723&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469678/original/file-20220620-20-q9qj8w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=723&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469678/original/file-20220620-20-q9qj8w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=723&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469678/original/file-20220620-20-q9qj8w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=909&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469678/original/file-20220620-20-q9qj8w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=909&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469678/original/file-20220620-20-q9qj8w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=909&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Suzuki Osamu, born Kyoto 1926, died Kyoto 2001, Square vase on pedestal foot (Koku yū hōko), c.1950-60, Kyoto, stoneware with overglaze, 23.3 x 13.0 cm.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Gift of Norman Sparnon 1988, Art Gallery of New South Wales, © Suzuki Osamu, photo: Felicity Jenkins</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Other works in the exhibition reference surrealism, such as Square vase on pedestal foot (1950-60) by Sōdeisha member Suzuki Osamu. There are vases devoid of openings, elongated forms negating function, or, as with second-generation Sōdeisha artist Hayashi Hideyuki’s Walk (c. 1980), a minimal geometric form referencing the human body.</p>
<p>A delicate and refined aesthetic underpins the work on show, such as that of Matsutani Fumio, a third-generation artist whose ceramics balance innovation with tradition, as in his Yellow (Ou) (2021). This is a flamboyant extension of the architecture of the tea bowl, replete with beautiful line work. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469675/original/file-20220620-26-uclstg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C415%2C1497%2C1432&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469675/original/file-20220620-26-uclstg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C415%2C1497%2C1432&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469675/original/file-20220620-26-uclstg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469675/original/file-20220620-26-uclstg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469675/original/file-20220620-26-uclstg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469675/original/file-20220620-26-uclstg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469675/original/file-20220620-26-uclstg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469675/original/file-20220620-26-uclstg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Matsutani Fumio, born Ehime prefecture 1975, Yellow (Ou), 2021, Ehime prefecture, stoneware, 43.2 x 52.3 x 28.2 cm.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Collection of Raphy Star, © Matsutani Fumio, photo: Grant Hancock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In terms of drama, Moriyama Kanjiro’s metallic glazed Kai (Turn) (2020) takes the honours for simulating movement. Its tower-like form is constructed from individual pieces assembled and fired to make a stunning swirling sculpture.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469701/original/file-20220620-24-nba5kz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469701/original/file-20220620-24-nba5kz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469701/original/file-20220620-24-nba5kz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=897&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469701/original/file-20220620-24-nba5kz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=897&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469701/original/file-20220620-24-nba5kz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=897&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469701/original/file-20220620-24-nba5kz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1127&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469701/original/file-20220620-24-nba5kz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1127&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469701/original/file-20220620-24-nba5kz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1127&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Installation view: Pure Form: Japanese sculptural ceramics, featuring Kai (Turn) VIII.
by Moriyama Kanjiro.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide; photo: Saul Steed</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Women’s ceramic art and the broader diaspora</h2>
<p>One of the many strengths of this exhibition is its focus on women of the calibre of Tsuboi Asuka, who was instrumental in establishing the Women’s Association of Ceramic Art in Kyoto in 1957. </p>
<p>Women’s rights came to the fore during the occupation, along with suffrage, and women ceramicists gained visibility. </p>
<p>Tsuboi’s three panel work Untitled (c. 2005) delicately inserts Japanese textile patterns in clay, each panel taking on the movement of cloth swaying in the wind. </p>
<p>Another is Tanaka Yu, whose clever wrapped bundles in clay imitate reality. Her Yellow sculpture in the shape of a furoshiki (c. 2108), looking like a beautifully wrapped object complete with a knotted tie, is informed by the ancient Japanese art of cloth wrapping.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469679/original/file-20220620-23-bzjl62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469679/original/file-20220620-23-bzjl62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469679/original/file-20220620-23-bzjl62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469679/original/file-20220620-23-bzjl62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469679/original/file-20220620-23-bzjl62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469679/original/file-20220620-23-bzjl62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469679/original/file-20220620-23-bzjl62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469679/original/file-20220620-23-bzjl62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tanaka Yū, born Ehime prefecture 1989, Yellow sculpture in the shape of a furoshiki, c.2018, Kyoto, stoneware, matte glaze, 46.0 x 54.0 x 38.5 cm.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Collection of Raphy Star, © Tanaka Yū, photo: Hazuki Kani</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Japanese-trained ceramic sculptors now form a diaspora working outside Japan – one is US-based Kaneko Jun in Nebraska, whose large hand-built forms such as Untitled triangle (dango) (2004), employ abstract design features. </p>
<p>Uranishi Kenji is another emigre, based in Brisbane since 2004. His white glazed objects portray the wondrous world of coral in the Great Barrier Reef.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-japan-supernatural-beliefs-connect-the-spiritual-realm-with-the-earthly-objects-around-us-125726">In Japan, supernatural beliefs connect the spiritual realm with the earthly objects around us</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Balancing tradition and the new</h2>
<p>The porcelain sculpture on show is superb. Matsuda Yuriko’s erotically charged foot, In her shoes (c. 2007), with its tightly curled back toes suggesting sexual pleasure, is a stunning piece. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469702/original/file-20220620-22-vqjuq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469702/original/file-20220620-22-vqjuq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469702/original/file-20220620-22-vqjuq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469702/original/file-20220620-22-vqjuq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469702/original/file-20220620-22-vqjuq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469702/original/file-20220620-22-vqjuq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469702/original/file-20220620-22-vqjuq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469702/original/file-20220620-22-vqjuq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Matsuda Yuriko, born Ashiya, Hyōgō, 1943. In her shoes, c2007, Oshino, Yamanashi prefecture, porcelain, underglaze blue and overglaze enamels, 33.0 x 31.0 x 16.0 cm (foot),2.0 x 41.0 x 33.0 cm (base).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Collection of Raphy Star</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Her subject is frequently the female body. Here, the decorative surface evokes the patterning of <a href="https://www.mayfairgallery.com/blog/japanese-meiji-period-art-antiques/">Meiji ceramics</a> while its subject matter sits squarely in the Japanese tradition of <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shunga">shunga</a></em>, or erotic imagery. Refreshingly, it comes from the perspective of a woman. </p>
<p>Yet another porcelain piece, Struggling forms (c. 2005) by Nakashima Harumi, looks almost octopus-like, but has only two feet. Its twists echo that of a Möbius strip, it looks disarmingly like an impossible form, but achieves perfect balance. The blue colour of the dot patterning harks back to the Japanese tradition of <em><a href="https://kogeijapan.com/locale/en_US/setosometsukeyaki/">sometsuke</a></em> which is underglaze painting in cobalt blue on porcelain or stoneware.</p>
<p>In contrast to referencing tradition, Mishima Kimiyo’s ceramic forms in Box Batter -17 (2017) shows bottles in newspaper wrappings in a roughly opened box, very much of their time. Her interest is the imbalance between the human footprint and nature, seen in the detritus of modern life, newspapers, packaging and soft drink bottles littering the environment.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469704/original/file-20220620-15-f3ixby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469704/original/file-20220620-15-f3ixby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469704/original/file-20220620-15-f3ixby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469704/original/file-20220620-15-f3ixby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469704/original/file-20220620-15-f3ixby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469704/original/file-20220620-15-f3ixby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469704/original/file-20220620-15-f3ixby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469704/original/file-20220620-15-f3ixby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mishima Kimiyo, born Osaka, Japan,1932, Box Batter -17,2017, Osaka, stoneware, silk screen prints, 22.0 x 31.0 x 25.0 cm (box), 22.5 x 6.5 cm (bottle, each).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Collection of Raphy Star</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The limits of clay</h2>
<p>This is a must-see exhibition. </p>
<p>Its 100 plus artworks by 65 ceramicists drawn from public and private collections in Australia and Japan, and spanning modern and contemporary work, are dazzling in innovation, skill and aesthetic. </p>
<p>The sculptural leap to pure form in porcelain in Fukami Sueharu’s To the sky (c. 2013), simulates flight itself and leaves viewers elevated by the experience. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469708/original/file-20220620-15-ch956e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469708/original/file-20220620-15-ch956e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469708/original/file-20220620-15-ch956e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469708/original/file-20220620-15-ch956e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469708/original/file-20220620-15-ch956e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469708/original/file-20220620-15-ch956e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469708/original/file-20220620-15-ch956e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469708/original/file-20220620-15-ch956e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fukami Sueharu, born Kyoto, Kyoto prefecture 1947, To the sky, c.2013, Kyoto , slip cast porcelain, celadon glaze (seihakuji), base: walnut , 31.0 x 88.0 x 24.0 cm.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Collection of Raphy Star , © Fukami Sueharu , photo: Grant Hancock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While in the exhibition space, I could hear some, including senior artists, puzzling as to how several of the ceramic objects were actually produced. These ceramicists have indeed tested the limits of clay.</p>
<p><em>Pure Form is at the Art Gallery of South Australia until November 6.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184470/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine Speck has received funding in past years from the Australian Research Council to research art exhibitions. </span></em></p>
Pure Form at the Art Gallery of South Australia brings together some of Japan’s most interesting post-war art.
Catherine Speck, Emerita Professor, Art History and Curatorship, University of Adelaide
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/125726
2019-10-31T03:21:56Z
2019-10-31T03:21:56Z
In Japan, supernatural beliefs connect the spiritual realm with the earthly objects around us
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298651/original/file-20191025-115762-pbjbfh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=55%2C49%2C4022%2C2017&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Utagawa Kuniyoshi's Mitsukuni defies the skeleton spectre
conjured up by Princess Takiyasha
(1845–46)
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Art Gallery of NSW</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Sometimes life appears incomprehensible, of another world. The supernatural has been evoked in many cultures and religions as a way to make sense of the thresholds of mortal and immortal worlds through images and stories. </p>
<p>For some, the supernatural can help make sense of the irrationality of life. For others, it gives context for the textures of grief. And for others still, it provides continuity in the afterlife.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298655/original/file-20191025-115721-1tliqrq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298655/original/file-20191025-115721-1tliqrq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298655/original/file-20191025-115721-1tliqrq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298655/original/file-20191025-115721-1tliqrq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298655/original/file-20191025-115721-1tliqrq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298655/original/file-20191025-115721-1tliqrq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298655/original/file-20191025-115721-1tliqrq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298655/original/file-20191025-115721-1tliqrq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rapunzel (2004) by Miwa Yanagi.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Art Gallery of NSW</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/supernatural/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMInvqIrpe25QIVhBuPCh0rxgEVEAAYASAAEgLby_D_BwE">Japan supernatural</a>, a new exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW, surveys the complex, playful and inventive ways Japanese culture has visualised these themes from the 1700s to today.</p>
<h2>Connection to the everyday</h2>
<p>Defining the supernatural is a difficult task — reflecting our contested mortal and moral understandings. Japan has a compelling history of bringing the mystical to life — from the evocative woodcut prints of scholar, poet and artist <a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/78693">Toriyama Sekien</a> (1712–88), to the powerful storytelling of <a href="https://ghibli.fandom.com/wiki/Hayao_Miyazaki">Hayao Miyazaki</a> (of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0245429/">Spirited Away</a> animated film fame) and the “superflat” popular character reinventions of <a href="http://www.artnet.com/artists/takashi-murakami/">Takashi Murakami</a>.</p>
<p>In Japan — informed by Shinto beliefs around notions of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/animism">animism</a> — a soul (“<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reikon"><em>reikon</em></a>”) lives within all existence and phenomena. Everyday things — from objects to plants to mountains — can be defined as “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kami"><em>kami</em></a>” or deities. </p>
<p>This connection between the natural and spiritual worlds creates a complex understanding and respect for the everyday. Cups can be vessels for long lost ancestors. Would you throw out a cup if it could contain the spirit of your long lost grandmother? </p>
<p>Indeed, both personal and global lessons can be learnt from the animism appreciation of the environment in the face of current <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropocene">Anthropocene</a> challenges. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298654/original/file-20191025-115762-1kwbw7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298654/original/file-20191025-115762-1kwbw7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298654/original/file-20191025-115762-1kwbw7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=225&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298654/original/file-20191025-115762-1kwbw7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=225&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298654/original/file-20191025-115762-1kwbw7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=225&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298654/original/file-20191025-115762-1kwbw7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298654/original/file-20191025-115762-1kwbw7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298654/original/file-20191025-115762-1kwbw7f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fuyuko Matsui’s The parasite will not abandon the body (Ōsei wa karada o saranai), 2011.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Art Gallery of NSW</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Powerful spirits</h2>
<p>The Japan supernatural exhibition begins from the <a href="https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2128.html">Edo Period</a> (1603–1868) and spans three centuries to contemporary manifestations. Stories highlighting the enduring power of the supernatural to understand the limits and potential of humanity are included. </p>
<p>Concepts such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y%C5%8Dkai"><em>yōkai</em></a> — which in English translates roughly to monsters, goblins, demons and spirits — often take the form of everyday animals or objects. The prolific and prescient work of Sekien’s 18th century prints and books gives <em>yōkai</em> a creolised character face that manages to inspire both delight and fear. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298657/original/file-20191025-115739-1x85356.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298657/original/file-20191025-115739-1x85356.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298657/original/file-20191025-115739-1x85356.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298657/original/file-20191025-115739-1x85356.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298657/original/file-20191025-115739-1x85356.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298657/original/file-20191025-115739-1x85356.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=608&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298657/original/file-20191025-115739-1x85356.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=608&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298657/original/file-20191025-115739-1x85356.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=608&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Detail from Toriyama Sekien’s Night procession of the hundred demons (1776)</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Art Gallery of NSW</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Japan, the <em>yōkai</em> have long been deployed in art and culture as a way to reflect upon morality and mortality. As anthropologist <a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8979097">Komatsu Kazuhiko</a> notes in the exhibition catalogue, the <em>yōkai</em> has gained long overdue scholarly attention in recent decades. </p>
<p>“Japan’s <em>yōkai</em> culture is extraordinarily rich,” he writes. “One aspect of <em>yōkai</em> culture relates to religious and spiritual history, another to the arts, including literature, the visual arts, theatre and popular entertainment”.</p>
<p>Japanese supernatural forms frequently change and transform. Only some of these transformative concepts translate into English: <em>bakemono</em> means “changing thing”, <em>mononoke</em> means “things that transform”, and <em>yurei</em> is the Japanese word for ghosts. </p>
<p>Yet art can unlock different cultural perceptions and understandings of otherworldly shapeshifters that go beyond language. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299583/original/file-20191030-17914-1xanqkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299583/original/file-20191030-17914-1xanqkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299583/original/file-20191030-17914-1xanqkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=185&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299583/original/file-20191030-17914-1xanqkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=185&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299583/original/file-20191030-17914-1xanqkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=185&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299583/original/file-20191030-17914-1xanqkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=232&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299583/original/file-20191030-17914-1xanqkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=232&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299583/original/file-20191030-17914-1xanqkd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=232&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Takashi Murakami’s grand scale painting: Vertiginous After Staring at the Empty World Too Intensely, I Found Myself Trapped in the Realm of Lurking Ghosts and Monsters (2019).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo: Kaikai Kiki/Art Gallery of NSW</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Fluid histories</h2>
<p>The haunting presence of the spectral across the centuries creates and curates a different sense of time throughout this exhibition. </p>
<p>The work of Seiken can be found in director Isao Takahata’s woodblocks for the 1994 Studio Ghibli animation <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110008/">Pom Pok</a>. And the exhibition includes key masters of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukiyo-e">Ukiyo-e Period</a> from the 17th to 19th century, such as Katsushika Hokusai who is famous for the timeless print <a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/45434">The Great Wave</a>. </p>
<p>The supernatural in Japan is all-pervasive, playing out in curious ways. For instance, <a href="https://scholars.duke.edu/person/anne.allison">anthropologist Anne Allison</a> has been exploring the emerging Shinto-inspired death industries in Japan.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298652/original/file-20191025-115717-1nn6z6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298652/original/file-20191025-115717-1nn6z6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298652/original/file-20191025-115717-1nn6z6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=323&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298652/original/file-20191025-115717-1nn6z6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=323&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298652/original/file-20191025-115717-1nn6z6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=323&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298652/original/file-20191025-115717-1nn6z6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298652/original/file-20191025-115717-1nn6z6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298652/original/file-20191025-115717-1nn6z6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Regeneration of a breached thought (2012) by Fuyuko Matsui.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Art Gallery of NSW</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Funerals and cemeteries for people without families are emerging. Elderly Japanese people are meeting the strangers they will be buried near — some moving across Tokyo to live with their “<a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/japanese-make-friends-for-life-and-death/news-story/fa9a35ebb6a40b86efa7c06f8ab64d24">grave friends</a>” in this lifetime.</p>
<p>This continuity with life, death and afterlife could teach us plenty about the supernatural in our everyday lives; how to better understand one another, the environment around us, and perhaps even to comprehend the incomprehensible. </p>
<p><em><a href="https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/supernatural/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMInvqIrpe25QIVhBuPCh0rxgEVEAAYASAAEgLby_D_BwE">Japan supernatural</a> runs 2 November to 8 March at the Art Gallery of NSW.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/125726/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Larissa Hjorth receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>
A new exhibition surveys the haunting Japanese traditions and beliefs that connect the supernatural with the everyday.
Larissa Hjorth, Professor of Mobile Media and Games. Director of the Design & Creative Practice Platform., RMIT University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/114873
2019-04-04T14:08:13Z
2019-04-04T14:08:13Z
Japan: spring and prosperity the watchwords as country announces a new era
<p>When Emperor Akihito <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-emperor-jubilee/emperor-akihito-soon-to-abdicate-urges-japan-to-build-sincere-ties-with-world-idUKKCN1QD088">abdicates on April 30</a> it will, quite literally, be the end of an era for Japan. Crown Prince Naruhito will formally accede to the Chrysanthemum Throne and the event will be marked by a change of era name, from “Heisei” to “Reiwa”. </p>
<p>An announcement of this at the prime minister’s official residence in Tokyo was broadcast live on April 1, bringing much of Japan to a standstill. Cabinet chief secretary, Suga Yoshihide, announced simply: “The new era is Reiwa” and unveiled a framed calligraphy that presented the two Chinese characters chosen to write the name. </p>
<p>Within half an hour, Coca-Cola was handing out promotional plastic bottles with the new name, and Grill, a <a href="https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20190401/p2a/00m/0na/018000c">19-year-old Californian sea lion</a> who performs a popular calligraphy act at a marine park at Mitohama, about two hours south of Tokyo, had modified her calligraphy act to reproduce “Reiwa”. </p>
<p>Akihito, who is 85, stated in 2016 that he found it hard to perform his duties and announced in late 2017 that he would abdicate. Medieval emperors <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2016/07/14/editorials/the-emperor-and-abdication/">often abdicated</a> in favour of a relative in order to retain influence while avoiding the demanding ritual workload of the role. However, no emperor has abdicated since 1817, and as abdication is not allowed constitutionally in modern Japan, the government had to pass <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-39971438">special legislation to permit it</a>. Popular support for his decision has nevertheless <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Vast-majority-of-Japanese-support-emperor-s-wish-to-abdicate-poll">been overwhelming</a>. </p>
<p>The monarchy is a symbol of continuity and tradition in Japan and remains highly popular. Akihito is much loved, and it is expected that Naruhito will be received in the same way.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/an-ageing-emperor-steps-down-and-leaves-japan-at-an-awkward-crossroads-63680">An ageing emperor steps down – and leaves Japan at an awkward crossroads</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Era names</h2>
<p>Era names have always had huge significance in Japan – and this is the 248th time a new era has been named since the system started in 645AD. Dates in Japan have traditionally been expressed by the year of the imperial era, the <em>gengō</em> or <em>nengō</em>, and the system still dominates official life. It is commonplace still to talk of such-and-such an event of 1979 as being in Shōwa 54, or one of 2001 as being in Heisei 13. Everyone knows when they were born or married according to this system, which exists in parallel to the western calendar.</p>
<p>Before the modern period, era names were not the same as the emperor’s name, and most emperors’ reigns were characterised by more than one era. Names sometimes changed for reasons of good omen – as in the case of the Taika era (645-650) being replaced by the Hakuchi (“white pheasant”) era (650-655) after the emperor was given a rare albino pheasant and judged it to be lucky. More usually, they were changed to purify the reign from a recent calamitous event. For example, the change from Angen to Jishō in 1177 followed the destruction of a quarter of the capital in a huge fire.</p>
<p>But since 1868, the era name has remained unchanged throughout an emperor’s reign, no matter what happens. Recent emperors have been referred to in Japan solely by their era name after the end of their reign: Emperor Hirohito, as the West knows him – who reigned from December 25 1926 until his death on January 7 1989 – is referred to as the Shōwa emperor in Japan after his era name.</p>
<p>The era name is chosen to embody the hopes of the nation for the new reign, and is constructed from two Chinese characters with Chinese-derived pronunciations. Meiji, which ran from 1868 to 1912, was the “bright” (<em>mei</em>) “rule” (<em>ji</em>) – where the <em>mei</em> carried the connotations of civilisation and enlightenment, reflecting Japan at its post-feudal stage of rapid modernisation.</p>
<p>Meanwhile Taishō (1912-1926) was the “great rectitude”. Shōwa (1926-1989) expressed the hope for “shining peace” – but the history books can tell us that the first two decades of this era are associated instead with militarism, war and defeat. So perhaps it’s no coincidence that the desire for peace was continued in Heisei (1989-2019), “creating peace”.</p>
<h2>What ‘Reiwa’ means</h2>
<p>As Suga unveiled the new name, which had been selected from <a href="https://japantoday.com/category/politics/4-era-names-the-japanese-government-rejected-before-deciding-on-reiwa">a secret shortlist</a> the same morning, a first reaction was naturally: <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-emperor-calendar/whats-in-a-name-japan-debates-meaning-of-new-reiwa-imperial-era-idUSKCN1RE0KW">what does it mean</a>?</p>
<p>The second character (<em>wa</em>) means “peace”, “peaceful” or “harmonious”. A wish for peace is a common element in era names – as we’ve seen it has recurred in the past two era names. It has also long been used to mean “Japanese” as used in <em>washoku</em> “Japanese food”, and <em>wafū</em> “Japanese style”. So it’s a way of indelibly linking the idea of Japan with the idea of peace.</p>
<p>But what about the <em>rei</em> element? This has never been used in an era name and normally carries a range of meanings, including “command”, “law” or “cause to”. It can, however, also mean something more like “auspicious” or “good”. Suga, and 20 minutes later, Japan’s prime minister Shinzō Abe, explained that it was derived from the eighth-century Japanese poetry collection <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Manyo-shu">Man’yōshū</a>, which includes a group of 32 traditional Japanese poems on the theme of plum blossom. </p>
<p>The poems’ preamble states: “Being an auspicious (<em>rei</em>) month in early spring, the weather was pleasant and the wind was peaceful (<em>wa</em>) …” So, as Abe explained, the name has connotations of spring and renewal – but also contains a wish for a Japan where everyone and their hopes for the future can bloom.</p>
<p>It is significant that the name has come from a Japanese work. Previous names have been couched in Chinese literary tradition – so this marks a significant break. Abe and his conservative support in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party <a href="https://japantoday.com/category/features/opinions/new-japan-era-name-echoes-pm-abe's-national-pride-agenda">had been calling</a> for a name rooted in Japanese literary heritage. </p>
<p>Shōwa is remembered as an era of war and defeat followed by national and economic rebirth, while Heisei will be associated with Japan’s economic stagnation and demographic crisis. Ultimately, then, the significance of Reiwa will only be understood in light of the events of the new reign.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114873/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicolas Tranter does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The country has reached back more than a thousand years into its early literary heritage for an auspicious name for a new era under a new emperor.
Nicolas Tranter, Lecturer in Japanese Studies, University of Sheffield
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/91400
2018-02-12T12:45:08Z
2018-02-12T12:45:08Z
Having a tattoo of your lover’s name has been a bad idea for hundreds of years
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205578/original/file-20180208-180836-e2pqvu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An illustration of Japanese courtesans by Utagawa Toyokuni (1769-1825), with one courtesan showing another the
tattoo on her upper arm</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.printsofjapan.com/images/Toyokuni_book_ill._interior.jpg">Prints of Japan</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every Valentine’s Day we are reminded about the importance of showing our commitment to our lovers – whether we are married to them or not. For some people this might mean getting a tattoo of their lover’s name (or initials). </p>
<p>No figures are available about the number of people who choose to demonstrate their commitment in this way. But a quick online search will yield tens of thousands of images, videos, discussions and opinion pieces about getting a lover’s name tattooed, dating someone with a tattoo of an ex-lover’s name and the ubiquitous <a href="https://news.bme.com/2006/07/15/the-curse-of-the-name-tattoo/">curse of the name tattoo</a>. According to this curse, getting a tattoo of a lover’s name dooms a relationship.</p>
<p>The sheer number of posts on social media suggests that this is a much sought-after expression of commitment. And <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/721517/reasons-for-having-a-tattoo-done-by-americans/">recent research</a> backs this up, finding that a common reason for wanting a tattoo is to pay tribute to a partner.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205610/original/file-20180208-180829-wc5ggb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205610/original/file-20180208-180829-wc5ggb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=804&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205610/original/file-20180208-180829-wc5ggb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=804&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205610/original/file-20180208-180829-wc5ggb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=804&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205610/original/file-20180208-180829-wc5ggb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1010&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205610/original/file-20180208-180829-wc5ggb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1010&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205610/original/file-20180208-180829-wc5ggb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1010&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">David Beckham has a tattoo of Victoria on his hand.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">danielhuscroft.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Celebrity ink lovers certainly seem to have caught on to it. Among the best-known are David and Victoria Beckham. Victoria got the initials “DB” on her left wrist in 2009, and David got “Victoria” on his right hand in 2013, as tattooed symbols (two of many) of their commitment to each other and their relationship.</p>
<p>True to the era of sharing that we find ourselves in, celebrities are quick to display any new tattoos for their fans. Just recently, socialite Paris Hilton took to Instagram to share with her 7.2m followers her actor lover Chris Zylka’s new tattoo of “Paris” on his left arm. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205287/original/file-20180207-74482-1f8us8c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205287/original/file-20180207-74482-1f8us8c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205287/original/file-20180207-74482-1f8us8c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205287/original/file-20180207-74482-1f8us8c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205287/original/file-20180207-74482-1f8us8c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205287/original/file-20180207-74482-1f8us8c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205287/original/file-20180207-74482-1f8us8c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Paris Hilton’s post on Instagram.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Instagram</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Enduring symbol</h2>
<p>Such demonstrations of commitment date back many centuries. For example, in 18th-century Japan – a period considered to be the golden age for tattooing in the country – a female courtesan might show her commitment to a male lover by having his name tattooed on her upper arm. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205298/original/file-20180207-74479-1abfxi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205298/original/file-20180207-74479-1abfxi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=879&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205298/original/file-20180207-74479-1abfxi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=879&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205298/original/file-20180207-74479-1abfxi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=879&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205298/original/file-20180207-74479-1abfxi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1105&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205298/original/file-20180207-74479-1abfxi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1105&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205298/original/file-20180207-74479-1abfxi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1105&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A woodblock print by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892) of a Japanese courtesan biting a napkin in pain as she has a tattoo on her upper arm.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikipedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And, often the Japanese word for life (<em>inochi</em>) would be tattooed alongside the lover’s name to signify the courtesan’s hope that the commitment would be of the death-do-us-part kind.</p>
<p>A male lover might also have the name of his favourite courtesan tattooed on his upper arm. Such acts satirised at the time in the 1785 comic book Playboy Roasted a la Edo (<em>Edo umare uwaki no kabayaki</em>) by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sant%C5%8D_Ky%C5%8Dden">Santō Kyōden</a>. This follows the comic misadventures of a wannabe playboy called Enjiro. The narrative reads: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Enjiro hears that tattoos elicit illicit affairs, so he immediately has his arms covered with the names of 20 or 30 fictitious lovers, all the way down to the crooks of his fingers. Enduring the agony, he rejoices …</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Enduring love?</h2>
<p>The biggest problem with getting a tattoo of a lover’s name hasn’t changed either. In the 18th century, like today, not all relationships lasted a lifetime. And when the commitment between the lovers ended, the tattoos were no longer desired. </p>
<p>They could, of course, be removed. <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ToMPAAAAYAAJ&q=Two+principal+methods+for+removing+tattoos+were+advocated+in+the+Yoshiwara&dq=Two+principal+methods+for+removing+tattoos+were+advocated">Two methods</a> used in 18th-century Japan were to burn them off with the bowl of a tobacco pipe or to burn them off with <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yuMUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA29&lpg=PA29&dq=%22moxa+pellets%22+burning+tattoo&source=bl&ots=WvZVrkb8t1&sig=dhcY_RD0tyAaNsMxiQuCEtLYW-w&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj83a2tl6DZAhUMXRQKHbVfAX8Q6AEIOzAI#v=onepage&q=%22moxa%20pellets%22%20burning%20tattoo&f=false">dried mugwort leaves</a> (which are very inflammable). However, either method would almost certainly have been painful. And both methods would likely have left permanent scars to remind the lovers of their failed relationship.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205296/original/file-20180207-74479-k3qjvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205296/original/file-20180207-74479-k3qjvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=873&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205296/original/file-20180207-74479-k3qjvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=873&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205296/original/file-20180207-74479-k3qjvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=873&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205296/original/file-20180207-74479-k3qjvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1097&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205296/original/file-20180207-74479-k3qjvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1097&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205296/original/file-20180207-74479-k3qjvc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1097&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Woodblock print by Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1864) of a courtesan biting a napkin in pain as she has a tattoo burnt off her upper arm with the herb mugwort.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Museum of Fine Arts, Boston</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Fortunately, modern methods of tattoo removal no longer necessitate burning off tattoos. However, <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=8_gnxgy4Yy0C&pg=PA10&dq=reasons+for+getting+a+tattoo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiVxbP9vf_YAhVCCMAKHfyZDwcQ6AEINTAD#v=onepage&q=reasons%20for%20getting%20a%20tattoo&f=false">one of the main reasons</a> people get a tattoo removed nowadays is because they have broken up with their lover. According to Premier Laser Clinic after a five-year study, the most regretted tattoo (and the one most frequently removed) by customers at their clinics was <a href="https://www.londonpremierlaser.co.uk/top-ten-tattoo-regrets-revealed-by-premier-laser/">an ex’s name</a>. </p>
<p>Certainly, many current celebrity ink lovers (Mel B, Melanie Griffith, Kylie Jenner and Heidi Klum to name just a few) have found that their tattoos of lovers’ names <a href="http://people.com/celebrity/celebs-who-cover-tattoos-about-exes/melanie-brown/">lasted longer than their relationships</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205322/original/file-20180207-74473-1q4puv2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205322/original/file-20180207-74473-1q4puv2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=168&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205322/original/file-20180207-74473-1q4puv2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=168&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205322/original/file-20180207-74473-1q4puv2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=168&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205322/original/file-20180207-74473-1q4puv2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=211&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205322/original/file-20180207-74473-1q4puv2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=211&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205322/original/file-20180207-74473-1q4puv2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=211&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Premier Laser Clinic Limited’s advertising for their tattoo removal service.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Premier Laser Clinic Limited</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Their feelings at the time of breaking up possibly similar to that of actress <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/gallery/2009/aug/06/celebrity-tattoo-mistakes">Angela Jolie</a> who, on breaking up with actor Billy Bob Thornton, stated: “I’ll never be stupid enough to have a man’s name tattooed on me again.” </p>
<p>And so, having already spanned centuries and continents, the problem with inking a lover’s name on your body continues to endure.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91400/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Crabbe does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The curse of the tattooed ex was well-known in 18th-century Japan.
Stephen Crabbe, Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics and Translation (Japanese to English), University of Portsmouth
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/85181
2017-10-05T00:27:15Z
2017-10-05T00:27:15Z
Two puppeteers walk into a Japanese bathhouse in The Dark Inn
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/188715/original/file-20171004-6742-1vkvlt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The four rooms of a Japanese ryokan revealed in The Dark Inn. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shinsuke Sugino</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The darkness of the human condition, where people are enslaved by their own desires in a kind of Buddhist hell, may not seem like a pleasant subject for an evening of theatre. But in The Dark Inn, Japan’s brilliant playwright-director Kuro Tanino and his company, Niwa Gekidan Penino, give these themes a captivating and at times mesmerising contemporary updating. </p>
<p>The inability to let go of desire is one of the oldest themes in Japanese drama. Tanino’s play draws on the ancient Japanese form of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noh"><em>Nō</em> drama</a>. Tanino’s story begins with two puppeteers from Tokyo coming to a traditional Japanese mountain inn, known as a <em>ryokan</em>, where people come to take in the healing properties of heated, mineral-laden waters bubbling up from volcanic formations below. It is late autumn, and the men believe they have been invited to perform at the inn. But the inn is deserted. </p>
<p>We discover that the older man, a dwarf (played by veteran actor Mame Yamada), is the father of the other man, who, as we come to see, anticipates and attends to his father’s every need. The size difference between the two heightens one’s sense of the son’s subservience to his father and of his permanent state of arrested social development. Both smoke, heavily, and rarely has smoking ever appeared so necessary and even seductive on stage.</p>
<p>After settling in to the empty room, the men are met by an old lady. She tells the pair that there is no proprietor and that the inn is inhabited by “guests” who seem to simply need to be there. </p>
<p>The story of the guests they encounter is subsequently revealed on a superb revolving stage by Tanino and designer Michiko Inada. It features four astonishingly realistic spaces found in such a <em>ryokan</em>: the entry room; a two-level sleeping area; the wash room where guests prepare to enter the bath; and the <em>onsen</em>, or spa, where the guests soak in the mountain-heated waters.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/188718/original/file-20171004-6742-v2x9x8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/188718/original/file-20171004-6742-v2x9x8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/188718/original/file-20171004-6742-v2x9x8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188718/original/file-20171004-6742-v2x9x8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188718/original/file-20171004-6742-v2x9x8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188718/original/file-20171004-6742-v2x9x8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188718/original/file-20171004-6742-v2x9x8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188718/original/file-20171004-6742-v2x9x8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The onsen in the ryokan.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shinsuke Sugino</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We are introduced to a blind man who believes the heated waters help his vision and who is consumed by this desire to see. Two geishas are both trapped by desire; the younger of the two is given over to lust. The mute bath attendant serves others but his fascination with the new guests goes beyond mere voyeurism. Finally, the old lady, who is devoted to the two geishas but was unable to be one herself because she “wasn’t pretty enough”.</p>
<p>The play’s visual field is so rich and detailed, while the characters are so clearly defined, that at times the viewer’s attention hovers equally between the set, the nuanced and sometimes surprisingly bizarre behaviour of the guests and the translation of the Japanese spoken text appearing on either side of the stage. </p>
<p>Adding another layer to the experience is a rich but subtle sound design by Koji Sato and Yoshihiro Nakamura. It beautifully captures and draws out the sounds of a ticking clock, the pouring of liquid from a thermos, the running of natural spring water, and the ominous sounds of someone clumping slowly down a set of stairs.</p>
<p>The play’s action peaks as the puppeteers finally perform at the insistence of the geishas, both noisily drunk on sake. We see revealed, for the first time, the puppet, a grotesque homunculus, whose enslavement to his physical needs is mirrored by the exaggerated size of his head, hands and facial features. The “show”, a grotesque and carnal ritual between the father and puppet, leads to the play’s final scene, set ten months later in summer, which suggests that these guests, like all humans, are unable to recognise the desires that trap them.</p>
<p>We hear the speeding sound of the bullet train, which passes by the once-remote <em>ryokan</em>. Far from suggesting that modernity will change the human condition, the voice-over assures us that the <em>ryokan</em> is now “waiting for your visit”. The sound of a bell rings, and we in the audience are invited into that world ourselves.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The Dark Inn was staged as part of the <a href="http://www.ozasiafestival.com.au/">OzAsia Festival</a>, running until October 8.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/85181/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>William Peterson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Kuro Tanino’s Dark Inn is a contemporary take on traditional Japanese theatre, contemplating the darkness of desire.
William Peterson, Senior Lecturer in Drama, Flinders University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/84639
2017-09-28T12:48:42Z
2017-09-28T12:48:42Z
Behind the Japanese court ruling that tattoo artists need to be qualified doctors
<p>A ruling by the Osaka District Court is likely to deal a major blow to the tattoo industry in a country where the <a href="https://theconversation.com/ink-stigma-the-japanese-tattoo-artists-fighting-back-72943">stigmatisation of tattoos</a> is already widespread due to their historical associations with gangsters and a general social pressure for conformity. </p>
<p>The issue goes back to April 2015 when five plain-clothed detectives from the Osaka Prefectural Police raided tattoo artist Taiki Masuda’s studio. They confiscated his tattoo equipment and arrested him for having tattooed three customers. Masuda was found guilty in September 2015 in the Osaka Summary Court (broadly equivalent in status to a small claims court in the UK or US) of violating the Medical Practitioners’ Act for tattooing the customers without a medical practitioner’s license. He was ordered to pay a fine of 300,000 Japanese yen (about £1,600 at the time). </p>
<p>Masuda was not the first nor the last tattoo artist in Osaka to be fined in 2015 <a href="http://archive.fo/8m7rV">for tattooing customers</a> in violation of this act. But he was the only one who refused to pay the fine. He opted instead for a full trial in the Osaka District Court (the next highest court after a summary court) because, <a href="http://savetattooing.org">he said</a>, “accepting this fine will make all of the tattoo artists in Japan criminals”.</p>
<p>Article 17 of the <a href="http://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/law/detail_download/?ff=09&id=2074">Medical Practitioners’ Act</a> (1948) states that: “No person except a medical practitioner shall engage in medical practice.” But it does not specifically state what constitutes a “medical practice”. </p>
<p>In 2001, however, in an attempt to regulate the burgeoning permanent cosmetic makeup industry, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare issued a <a href="http://www.pref.mie.lg.jp/common/content/000060657.pdf">notice</a> in which it stated that “針先に色素を付けながら、皮膚の表面に墨等の色素を入れる行為” [lit. putting pigment on a needle tip and inserting ink into the skin] constitutes a medical practice that can only be carried out by those with a medical practitioner’s license. Until 2015, this notice was primarily used by health authorities in regulating cosmetic makeup tattoo practitioners. But this changed when the Osaka Prefectural Police started using it to arrest tattoo artists for violating the Medical Practitioners’ Act.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187971/original/file-20170928-1440-j89tlm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187971/original/file-20170928-1440-j89tlm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187971/original/file-20170928-1440-j89tlm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187971/original/file-20170928-1440-j89tlm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187971/original/file-20170928-1440-j89tlm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187971/original/file-20170928-1440-j89tlm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187971/original/file-20170928-1440-j89tlm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187971/original/file-20170928-1440-j89tlm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Viewed in retrospect, it is not surprising that this change began in Osaka. Tōru Hashimoto, Osaka’s city mayor at the time, was vocal in his opposition to tattoos – in 2012, for example, he asked all Osaka City employees to complete a questionnaire declaring if (and where) they had a tattoo and then suggested that those who did <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2012/05/18/national/osakas-hashimoto-puts-municipal-workers-tattoos-into-the-limelight/#.WcthdUyZNE7">resign</a> as they were not fit to be municipal government employees.</p>
<p>Osaka-based Masuda founded the campaign group <a href="http://savetattooing.org">Save Tattooing in Japan</a> in 2015. Over the past two years, the group has worked to raise <a href="https://www.facebook.com/save.tattooing/?ref=py_c">national</a> and <a href="https://en-gb.facebook.com/savetattooingiverenglish/">international</a> awareness of the situation facing tattoo artists in Japan and also <a href="http://savetattoo.jp/news/one_news-20/">petitioned</a> Japanese prime minister Shinzō Abe for a system of licensing and qualifications for tattoo artists in Japan.</p>
<p>Last year, Takeshi Mikami, a lawyer for the group, <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/cbdabcce-c340-11e6-9bca-2b93a6856354">made clear</a> that Masuda’s trial could have far-reaching consequences for the tattoo industry in Japan. He said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If the court decides that tattooing requires a medical licence, then none of the tattooists will be able to carry on tattooing … This trial has significant meaning, because it will decide whether the art of tattooing can continue in Japan. </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Guilty verdict</h2>
<p>Masuda’s trial was held at the Osaka District Court between April and August 2017. Encouragingly for the tattoo industry, it sparked the interest of the legal community within Japan with experts in Japanese criminal law, including respected university professors, testifying for the defence. Nevertheless, on September 27, the presiding judge, Takaaki Nagase, found Masuda <a href="http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20170927/k10011158511000.html">guilty</a> of violating the Medical Practitioners’ Act for tattooing the customers without a medical practitioner’s license and set his fine at 150,000 Japanese yen (about £992).</p>
<p>It is difficult to predict exactly what will happen next. Masuda has announced that he will <a href="https://www.facebook.com/save.tattooing/">appeal</a> the court’s ruling. But if judicial and police authorities across Japan follow Osaka in requiring tattoo artists to have a medical practitioner’s license, then it is likely that increasing numbers of the approximately <a href="http://savetattooing.org/">5,000 tattoo artists</a> currently in Japan will be charged with the same crime. This would inevitably lead to some giving up tattooing, going underground or going abroad.</p>
<p>It is timely to consider that the next Summer Olympic Games will be hosted by Japan in 2020, at which many tattooed athletes are likely to compete. Earlier this year, Japanese politician <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/06/15/national/tattoo-artists-go-court-legally-shed-shady-image-ahead-2020-games/#.WcwIT0yZNE4">Akihiro Hatsushika</a> stated: “Eventually I’d like to see Japan give better legal endorsement to tattooing so that Olympic athletes can openly enjoy being tattooed here as some form of souvenir for themselves.” </p>
<p>But after the Osaka District Court’s ruling, Hatsushika’s vision is looking more unlikely than ever.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84639/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Crabbe does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Court ruling casts shadow on Japan’s tattoo industry.
Stephen Crabbe, Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics and Translation (Japanese to English), University of Portsmouth
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/78380
2017-06-08T02:35:07Z
2017-06-08T02:35:07Z
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Japanese education
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172530/original/file-20170606-3674-1wtj5p2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">On the left, Katsushika Hokusai's 'The Manifestation of the Peak' (1834); on the right, Wright's rendering of the Huntington Hartford Resort project (1947)</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">© The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Taliesin West, Scottsdale, AZ</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>To mark Frank Lloyd Wright’s 150th birthday on June 8, many will pay tribute to the architect’s unique gifts and contributions to the field. </p>
<p>But Wright also had a rare nonarchitectural passion that set him apart from his mentor, Louis Sullivan, and his peers: Japanese art. Wright first became interested in his early 20’s, and within a decade, he was an internationally known collector of Japanese woodblock prints. </p>
<p>It was an unusual turn of events for a young college dropout from rural Wisconsin. Because Wright was never actually formally trained as an architect, the inspiration he found in Japanese art and design arguably changed the trajectory of his career – and, with it, modern American architecture. </p>
<h2>Space over substance</h2>
<p>It might all have been very different had it not been for a personal connection. In 1885, the 18-year-old Wright met the architect Joseph Silsbee, who was building a chapel for Wright’s uncle in Helena Valley, Wisconsin. The following spring, Wright went to work for Silsbee’s firm in Chicago. </p>
<p>Silsbee’s cousin, Ernest Fenollosa, happened to be the world’s leading Western expert on Japanese art at the time. A Harvard-educated philosopher, he had traveled to Japan in 1878 to teach Western thought to the country’s future leaders. While there, he became enchanted by traditional Japanese art, and returned to the United States in 1890 to become the first curator of Japanese art at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172324/original/file-20170605-16849-1fesvzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172324/original/file-20170605-16849-1fesvzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=229&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172324/original/file-20170605-16849-1fesvzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=229&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172324/original/file-20170605-16849-1fesvzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=229&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172324/original/file-20170605-16849-1fesvzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=288&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172324/original/file-20170605-16849-1fesvzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=288&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172324/original/file-20170605-16849-1fesvzd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=288&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">From left to right: Ernest Fenollosa, his cousin Joseph Silsbee and the young Frank Lloyd Wright.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e3/Fenollosa.jpg/1200px-Fenollosa.jpg">Nick Lehr/The Conversation via Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At the time, Japanese art was not widely appreciated in the U.S. So on his return to America in 1890, Fenollosa embarked on a campaign to convince his countrymen of its unique ability to express formal ideas, rather than realistically representing subjects. </p>
<p>For Fenollosa, the peculiar visual appeal of Japanese art was due to an aesthetic quality <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Nature_of_Fine_Art.html?id=vAVJtwAACAAJ">that he described</a> as “organic wholeness” – a sense of visual wholeness created by the interdependence of each contributing part. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172326/original/file-20170605-16915-mlacue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172326/original/file-20170605-16915-mlacue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=725&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172326/original/file-20170605-16915-mlacue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=725&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172326/original/file-20170605-16915-mlacue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=725&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172326/original/file-20170605-16915-mlacue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=911&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172326/original/file-20170605-16915-mlacue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=911&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172326/original/file-20170605-16915-mlacue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=911&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dow’s interlocking ‘organic line-ideas.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 1899, Arthur Dow, Fenollosa’s friend and one-time assistant at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, published Fenollosa’s theory of organic wholeness in his book “<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=XaN3Rpbb0D8C&dq=arthur+dow+composition+1899&source=gbs_navlinks_s">Composition</a>.” Dow applied this idea to all of the visual arts, which, in his view, were primarily concerned with the aesthetic division of space. The content of the image mattered little.</p>
<p>“The picture, the plan, and the pattern are alike in the sense that each is a group of synthetically related spaces,” Dow wrote. He illustrated this idea with examples of abstract interlocking patterns, which he described as “organic line-ideas.”</p>
<h2>‘Intoxicating’ prints inspire Wright</h2>
<p>It’s unclear whether the young Frank Lloyd Wright ever met Fenollosa in person. But we do know that Wright admired his views, and seems to have obtained his first Japanese woodblock prints from him. </p>
<p>In 1917, Wright <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=j7cNu0OvP8oC&pg=PA83&lpg=PA83&dq=%22The+Print+and+the+Renaissance%22+Frank+Lloyd+Wright&source=bl&ots=KtnodaFC0v&sig=L-ZSn7AK7vQ26RWpoVGPz6iWVkQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjE2s7tuKfUAhVB5oMKHTlyCpUQ6AEIJjAA#v=onepage&q=%22The%20Print%20and%20the%20Renaissance%22%20Frank%20Lloyd%20Wright&f=false">recalled</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“When I first saw a fine print about twenty five years ago it was an intoxicating thing. At that time Ernest Fenollosa was doing his best to persuade the Japanese people not to wantonly destroy their works of art…. Fenollosa, the American, did more than anyone else to stem the tide of this folly. On one of his journeys home he brought many beautiful prints, those I made mine were the narrow tall decorative form <em>hashirakake</em>…”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Produced by pressing a dozen or more carved, differently colored cherry-wood blocks onto a single sheet of paper, the prints were considered a lowbrow popular art form in Japan. But they had been “discovered” by avant garde European artists in the 1870s, and this sparked a craze known as <a href="http://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/j/japonisme">Japonisme</a> that eventually reached the United States a few years later.</p>
<p>Wright, like Fenollosa, felt that “the Japanese print is an organic thing,” and his 1912 book on the subject, “<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=1VNDAQAAMAAJ&dq=the+japanese+print+an+interpretation+by+frank+lloyd+wright&source=gbs_navlinks_s">The Japanese Print: An Interpretation</a>,” was really a general treatise on aesthetics based largely on Fenollosa’s ideas. </p>
<p>Wright’s favorite Japanese print artist, Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849), had published sketches illustrating how the subtleties of living forms could be constructed from simple mechanical shapes, and Wright based his own “organic” architectural plans on similarly overlapping geometric modules – a radical notion at a time when planning was typically based on axes and grids.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172328/original/file-20170605-16898-1nwtifq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172328/original/file-20170605-16898-1nwtifq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=278&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172328/original/file-20170605-16898-1nwtifq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=278&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172328/original/file-20170605-16898-1nwtifq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=278&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172328/original/file-20170605-16898-1nwtifq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172328/original/file-20170605-16898-1nwtifq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172328/original/file-20170605-16898-1nwtifq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Organic’ forms based on regular shapes: On the left, Katsushika Hokusai’s ‘Ryakuga Haya-oshie,’ 1812-15. On the right, Wright’s 1938 plan for the Ralph Jester House.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nick Lehr/The Conversation</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In some of his prints, Hokusai would allow objects <a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/0c/d7/49/0cd74921fc5e06b4c44306700ca5b1dd.jpg">to break through their surrounding frame</a>. Wright similarly allowed elements to breach the frame of his architectural drawings, <a href="http://www.mediaarchitecture.at/architekturtheorie/broadacre_city/content/frank_lloyd_wright_1947_huntington_hartford_play_resort.gif">as he did in his rendering of the Huntington Hartford Play Resort project</a>. </p>
<p>The influence of the Japanese print on Wright wasn’t limited to plans. Another of his favorite woodblock print artists, Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858), often employed foreground vegetation to frame the main subjects of his prints. Wright used the same device in many of his perspective renderings of his own buildings. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172333/original/file-20170605-16888-1nx3slh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172333/original/file-20170605-16888-1nx3slh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172333/original/file-20170605-16888-1nx3slh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=233&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172333/original/file-20170605-16888-1nx3slh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=233&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172333/original/file-20170605-16888-1nx3slh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=233&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172333/original/file-20170605-16888-1nx3slh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172333/original/file-20170605-16888-1nx3slh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172333/original/file-20170605-16888-1nx3slh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In his 1910 rendering of the Winslow House, Wright seems to mimic Ando Hiroshige’s use of vegetation as a frame.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Wright took a similar approach when framing the abstractly patterned “art glass” windows he designed for many of his houses. Unlike conventional plain glass windows, Wright installed patterns over the glass, reducing the distinction between the external view through the window and the surrounding frame. The goal was to blur the normal hard line between interior and exterior space, and to suggest the continuity of buildings and nature.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172516/original/file-20170606-3710-dcoe18.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172516/original/file-20170606-3710-dcoe18.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172516/original/file-20170606-3710-dcoe18.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=134&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172516/original/file-20170606-3710-dcoe18.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=134&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172516/original/file-20170606-3710-dcoe18.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=134&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172516/original/file-20170606-3710-dcoe18.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=169&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172516/original/file-20170606-3710-dcoe18.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=169&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172516/original/file-20170606-3710-dcoe18.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=169&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">From left to right: a conventional window frame, an example of Wright’s ‘distributed’ window frames and an abstract tree pattern in a window of the Susan Lawrence Dana House in Springfield, Illinois.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This breaking of the three-dimensional frame gave Wright the means of creating an architecture that was visibly integrated with nature. The goal of unifying the built and the natural had been shared, but never fully realized, by Wright’s mentor Louis Sullivan. In works such as <a href="http://www.fallingwater.org">Fallingwater</a>, Wright made it a reality. </p>
<h2>Shattering the mold</h2>
<p>In all of these examples, we see a direct link between the Japanese woodblock print artists’ breaking of the conventional two-dimensional picture frame and Wright’s famous “destruction” of the conventional architectural “box.” </p>
<p>Wright’s ultimate goal was to demonstrate the interdependence of the architectural “organism” with its environment, and the Japanese print provided him with the means of achieving this in his buildings. He made no secret of the directly architectural debt he owed to the prints. </p>
<p>“The print,” <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Frank_Lloyd_Wright.html?id=S8zlZcJjNEMC">he declared</a>, “is more autobiographical than may be imagined. If Japanese prints were to be deducted from my education, I don’t know what direction the whole might have taken.” </p>
<p>Without Ernest Fenollosa’s insights, however, the Japanese print might well have remained a beautiful enigma for Wright. And without a chance meeting with his cousin Joseph Silsbee, there might never have been any prints at all in Wright’s career. </p>
<p>Happenstance, it seems, can change lives, and even entire cultures.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78380/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kevin Nute does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
When the young Wright moved to Chicago to work for the architect Joseph Silsbee, he was introduced to Japanese prints. It changed his career, and very possibly the course of American architecture.
Kevin Nute, Professor of Architecture, University of Oregon
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/77750
2017-06-02T08:35:38Z
2017-06-02T08:35:38Z
How Hokusai’s Great Wave came into the world
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170963/original/file-20170525-23227-13qj6j5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=104%2C306%2C2181%2C1541&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Katsushika Hokusai, 'Mount Fuji viewed from the sea,' from One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji, ca. 1834.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">British Museum.</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>By the time Katsushika Hokusai painted The Great Wave he was already a celebrity in Japan. The iconic print was produced in 1831 as part of a print series, Thirty-Six Views of Mt Fuji, when the Japanese artist was 71 years old. Within a few years of his death at 89 in 1849, Hokusai’s fame had spread around the world and his most famous work was on its way to becoming, in <a href="http://www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/p-9302-9780824839604.aspx">Christine Guth’s words</a>, a “global icon”.</p>
<p>I’ve seen it recently as part of a mural near London’s Old Street, on the prow of a boat in Liverpool docks, and decorating a grime-encrusted car window in south London.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170964/original/file-20170525-23279-1brpv0u.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170964/original/file-20170525-23279-1brpv0u.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170964/original/file-20170525-23279-1brpv0u.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170964/original/file-20170525-23279-1brpv0u.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170964/original/file-20170525-23279-1brpv0u.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170964/original/file-20170525-23279-1brpv0u.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170964/original/file-20170525-23279-1brpv0u.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hokusai-inspired mural at Scrutton Street, EC2.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Angus Lockyer</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s tempting to claim that, without Hokusai, there would be no modern art. Manet, Van Gogh and the rest may have started the revolution in France, but they needed Hokusai to break with the stale conventions of representationalism – to realise that one could do more with a two-dimensional surface than simply replicate the world as it is.</p>
<p>If so, then we need to understand the terms of the exchange. Guth and others have begun to unpack the problem of demand, the circumstances by which Hokusai’s work spurred an initial – seemingly inexhaustible – desire to see the world in a new way. But we also need to think a bit more about the question of supply – about what Hokusai was able to do and how he was able to do it. </p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/exhibitions/hokusai.aspx">new exhibition at the British Museum</a> gives us an opportunity to do this. Hokusai himself later claimed that The Great Wave came before he had grasped the “true form” of things – by 90, <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/2017/05/how-hokusai-achieved-immortality/#">he suggested</a>, he would get closer to the essence of art. The exhibition agrees, focusing on the sublime work he produced in his last two decades. It encourages us to move beyond The Great Wave, looking as closely at his paintings as we have at the prints that have so fascinated us.</p>
<h2>Product of his time</h2>
<p>In order to understand them and him, we need to consider three different aspects of Hokusai’s life and work: society, technique, and thought. First, Hokusai’s art was a product of its time and place, made possible by an extensive social network. Hokusai started out in his teens studying under a leading print designer. In time, he had students of his own, the most important of whom was his daughter, Eijo, herself an accomplished painter. Meanwhile, a woodblock print was a group effort – it required a quartet: artist, block cutter, printer and publisher. </p>
<p>But Hokusai also broke with convention. His taking of an “art name” – Hokusai – in 1798 (he was born Tokitarō), was a declaration of independence from the constraints that came with affiliation to a single school. And it was only one of many names he took during his life to mark changes of style, emphasis and interest – scattering old names and seals promiscuously and often making attribution complex. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171112/original/file-20170526-23260-19dlheh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171112/original/file-20170526-23260-19dlheh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171112/original/file-20170526-23260-19dlheh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171112/original/file-20170526-23260-19dlheh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171112/original/file-20170526-23260-19dlheh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171112/original/file-20170526-23260-19dlheh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171112/original/file-20170526-23260-19dlheh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Part of the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, no. 32.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Questions of technique</h2>
<p>Authenticity is one way to begin thinking about technique. The market would like to know which of the many paintings bearing a Hokusai signature and/or seal were indeed the product of his brush – some may be by his students; some are clearly forged. More challenging is the way in which his practice and work force us to reconsider our assumptions about makers and media. </p>
<p>Hokusai drew on an encyclopedic command of Japanese, Chinese and European techniques and styles. It’s difficult to understand his work if we insist on distinct artistic traditions or simple lines of influence. It would also be a mistake to think only about what Hokusai intended. We need to pay close attention to his mastery of craft and the constraints of his materials – the way a brush interacts with paper or silk; the lighting and colouring effects of different pigments; the varying impression of a wood block on a print.</p>
<p>Finally, though, if we want to understand the power of Hokusai’s pictures, we need to understand his thought. Hokusai’s world was one in which horizons were local. Travel was slow and usually by foot, interaction with the outside world was highly regulated. But information was abundant – about the Japanese archipelago, about the Chinese continent, and the world beyond. And Hokusai drew on all of this as he pursued his artistic vision. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171109/original/file-20170526-23241-1qp931n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171109/original/file-20170526-23241-1qp931n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/171109/original/file-20170526-23241-1qp931n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1646&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171109/original/file-20170526-23241-1qp931n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1646&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171109/original/file-20170526-23241-1qp931n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1646&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171109/original/file-20170526-23241-1qp931n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=2069&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171109/original/file-20170526-23241-1qp931n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=2069&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/171109/original/file-20170526-23241-1qp931n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=2069&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Guimet Dragon (1849) on show at the British Museum.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">British Museum</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>His quest, from his coming of age at the end of the 18th century to his death in the mid-19th, seems to have been increasingly to show how the here and now was linked not only to other times and places, but to the unseen forces by which this world is animated. A few years after his death, this would become more difficult. National boundaries hardened, and nature became an empirical object, observed and classified, and quite distinct from the unverifiable claims of religion.</p>
<p>For Hokusai, though, these boundaries were permeable. He sought communion, perhaps – with the gods, who are ever-present in his work; with mythological and historical figures, from China as much as Japan; with the commoners who populate his pictures; and with nature, large and small. He sought to bring the world to life on the page, whether it was a poppy bending in the wind, the mountains and water that surround us, or the unseen forces by which they are animated.</p>
<p>The Great Wave, it turns out, includes exact depictions of the mathematical form of two different kinds of water wave, which William Thomson (later Baron Kelvin), then two years old, would go on to analyse. J.M.W. Turner, Hokusai’s contemporary, proved an equally acute observer of the <a href="http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/turner-waves-breaking-on-the-shore-d02808">properties of waves</a>. Monet, who studied both, fell considerably short. But for Hokusai, the wave and Fuji belonged together, human striving suspended between, dwarfed by the forces of change and the seeming stillness of pure form.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Hokusai: beyond the Great Wave, supported by the Mitsubishi Corporation, is at the British Museum until August 13 2017. More information about the exhibition and the events programme can be found <a href="http://britishmuseum.org/whats_on/exhibitions/hokusai.aspx">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77750/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Angus Lockyer is a co-investigator on the AHRC-funded project: "Late Hokusai: thought, technique, society" which runs until spring 2019.</span></em></p>
Hokusai’s most famous work helped Europeans see the world in a different, more sophisticated way.
Angus Lockyer, Lecturer in the History of Japan, SOAS, University of London
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/72943
2017-02-24T12:53:52Z
2017-02-24T12:53:52Z
Ink stigma: the Japanese tattoo artists fighting back
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/158271/original/image-20170224-32714-vz865q.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Traditional Japanese tattoo</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/save.tattooing/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1706106326288956">Save Tattooing in Japan/Facebook</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Whether you love tattoos or hate them, the British clearly have something of a penchant for engraving their bodies with inky art. There are a staggering <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-09/how-tattoos-and-e-cigs-are-propping-up-u-k-s-shopping-streets">2,228 tattoo parlours</a> in the UK. Compare this with <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/283302/number-of-costa-coffee-stores-in-the-united-kingdom-uk/">2,034</a> Costa coffee shops or <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/218388/number-of-starbucks-stores-in-the-uk/">898</a> Starbucks, and you begin to understand why tattoo studios have been heralded as helping to save the <a href="http://www.biznews.co.uk/news/2016/09/14/will-tattoo-parlours-e-cigarette-vendors-rescue-uk-high-streets/">British high street</a>.</p>
<p>Among the many designs and styles available, Japanese tattoos are particularly popular in the UK. This has created a niche industry – <a href="http://www.planetveritas.com/tattoo-translation/">British-based companies</a> have Japanese speakers translating messages into Japanese for new tattoos and there are <a href="http://www.kashuucalligraphy.com/?page_id=37">Japanese calligraphers</a> based in Britain designing new tattoos specifically with UK ink lovers in mind. </p>
<p>But while this infatuation with Japanese ink may appear to be a modern phenomenon, it is in fact continuing a British tradition that dates back many years ago. </p>
<p>To explain, let’s briefly go back to London in 1881. Sutherland MacDonald has not yet opened London’s <a href="http://www.tattoomuseum.co.uk/page25.htm">first tattoo parlour</a>. So, what do you do if you are a 16-year-old who wants your first tattoo? Well, if you are the Duke of York (the future King George V) you go to Japan and get a famous Japanese tattoo artist – <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=GHOfbQfsMmoC&pg=PA76&lpg=PA76&dq=king+george+v+Hori+Chiyo&source=bl&ots=JgkyOuPlZl&sig=VWOkob-O5kUYWTC-PfSpJk9dSVk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjeycmM05vSAhVMJ8AKHUK-CbcQ6AEIPDAF#v=onepage&q=king%20george%20v%20Hori%20">Hori Chiyo</a> – to ink you.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/158127/original/image-20170223-32698-q2hsir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/158127/original/image-20170223-32698-q2hsir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=622&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158127/original/image-20170223-32698-q2hsir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=622&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158127/original/image-20170223-32698-q2hsir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=622&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158127/original/image-20170223-32698-q2hsir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=782&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158127/original/image-20170223-32698-q2hsir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=782&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158127/original/image-20170223-32698-q2hsir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=782&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">King George V acquiring his first tattoo from the Japanese tattooist Hori Chiyo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1890451061/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=spta-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1890451061">The Tattoo History Sourcebook</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And, since you are the future king, you become something of a celebrity among wealthy upper-class Britons – and getting inked by Japanese tattoo artists becomes the thing for them to do too. </p>
<p>This love of Japanese tattoos lives on to this day. You can now find British tattoo artists specialising in Japanese-style tattoos in almost every city in Britain. </p>
<h2>Tattoo stigma</h2>
<p>So it seems a little ironic that tattoos are still largely taboo in Japan – many gyms and swimming pools ban people who have been inked. Even celebrities are not exempt – Ryan Tedder, from the pop band OneRepublic, had to cover up his tattoos in the gym when the group recently <a href="http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/one-republic-ryan-tedder-interview">toured Japan</a>. There is even a <a href="http://tattoo-spot.jp/">Japanese website</a> that lists recreational facilities, including hot springs, swimming pools and gyms, that allow tattooed members and won’t make them cover up their tattoos. </p>
<p>The general stigmatisation of tattooed bodies in Japan is largely down to both historic gangster associations and expectations of social conformity. The Japanese have a phrase 出る釘は打たれる which literally translates as: the nail that sticks out gets hammered down. And this hammering down seems to be happening all over Japan. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.facebook.com/%E5%A4%A7%E9%98%AA%E5%A2%A8%E7%A5%AD-Straight-Life-490748650988431/">March 2015</a>, the Straight-Life Osaka Tattoo Convention was cancelled without reason a few days before its opening. Perhaps coincidentally, the anti-tattoo politician <a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2012/05/18/national/osakas-hashimoto-puts-municipal-workers-tattoos-into-the-limelight/#.WKwSuRKLSV4">Tōru Hashimoto</a> was mayor of Osaka at this time. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157691/original/image-20170221-18635-1q9zt8v.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157691/original/image-20170221-18635-1q9zt8v.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157691/original/image-20170221-18635-1q9zt8v.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157691/original/image-20170221-18635-1q9zt8v.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157691/original/image-20170221-18635-1q9zt8v.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157691/original/image-20170221-18635-1q9zt8v.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157691/original/image-20170221-18635-1q9zt8v.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157691/original/image-20170221-18635-1q9zt8v.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘No-tattoos’ sign in Japan.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://foter.com/">Japan Daily/Foter.com</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Then in <a href="http://archive.fo/8m7rV">August 2015</a>, tattoo artists at Chopstick Tattoo in Osaka were arrested and fined for using a needle to pierce skin without a doctor’s license – which was said to be against the Medical Practitioners Act. Three months later in <a href="http://archive.fo/jmlS1">November 2015</a>, tattoo artists at <a href="http://8ball.tattoo.jp/?page_id=28">8BALL Tattoo Studio</a> in Nagoya were similarly arrested and fined. </p>
<p>It isn’t only tattoo artists who are at risk – in <a href="http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20170207-00000103-asahi-soci">June 2016</a>, an unnamed nursing student at a higher education institute in Tokyo was suspended for a year when it was discovered that she had tattoos.</p>
<p>But things are starting to change – a campaign group <a href="http://savetattooing.org/">Save Tattooing in Japan</a> has been set up in response to police assertions that only licensed medical practitioners should be allowed to pierce skin in Japan. The groups website explains that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If the police’s interpretation of the law stands, it will spell the end of tattoo artists in Japan. This isn’t only about the freedom to be a tattoo artist. This is a fight for freedom itself.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Phtwasbt2uk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Tattoo artist <a href="https://www.facebook.com/save.tattooing/?ref=page_internal">Taiki Masuda</a> from the campaign group is currently in court in Osaka disputing both his fine and current interpretation of the Medical Practitioners Act. Meanwhile the unnamed nursing student is in court in Tokyo suing the higher education institute because the conditions of entry did not include not having a tattoo. </p>
<h2>Tattooed nation</h2>
<p>Whatever Japan’s relationship towards tattoos, it’s clear that in the UK, they are here to stay. According to <a href="https://yougov.co.uk/news/2015/07/14/myth-busted-people-do-not-regret-their-tattoos/">YouGov</a>, around 19% of Brits have been inked and most – 86% to be exact – don’t regret it. </p>
<p>In my hometown of Glasgow, as many as <a href="https://www.carolenash.com/news/1557-tattooed-cities?highlight=WyJ0YXR0b29zIl0=">40%</a> of the population have six or more tattoos. This might sound like a lot, but Glasgow is in fact only the third most tattooed city in the UK – after Birmingham and then Norwich. </p>
<p>And were King George V alive, I’m sure he, like the many tattooed people in the UK today, would give Japanese tattoos his royal seal of approval.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72943/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Crabbe does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Japanese tattoos have been popular in the UK since King George V. But things are different in Japan.
Stephen Crabbe, Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics and Translation (Japanese to English), University of Portsmouth
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.