An extremely popular painter whose exhibition is held somewhere every year in Japan, Yumeji Takehisa. I have been to the exhibition “Takehisa Yumeji: Master of Japanese Modern Illustration” held at Tokyo Station Gallery now.

See you at Tokyo Station!

The exhibition consists of four sections. Section 1 is about Takehisa Yumeji (1884-1934) in his youth. Section 2 focuses on his work, such as publishing, printing and woodblocks. Section 3 explores in more detail his work connected with music and score sheets, and Section 4 covers such topics as the original artwork for his autobiographical novel Shuppan (Sailing Off), and publications by Ryuseikaku after Yumeji’s death.
(from TOKYO STATION GALLERY website)

As the title of this exhibition “Takehisa Yumeji: Master of Japanese Modern Illustration”, inside the hall the paintings of Taisho Romantics drawn by Yumeji were in full bloom. A thin, supple and colorful world is like a dream. In the Taisho Period when Western culture began to enter, Japanese and Western mixed up, love was enjoyed, popular culture blossomed. It is an era like a slumber, which is fascinated by the fleeting images of the shortness of only 15 years.

Yumeji was a perfect match to the atmosphere of the times, but today I would like to pay attention to Yumeji as a poet not as a painter.

↑ Breath in
↓ Breath out

↑ Morning
↓ Night

↑ Summer
↓ Winter

↑ New moon
↓ Full moon

Today is the summer solstice. It is a big seasonal milestone day four times a year.
Please read this blog on seasonal milestones.

The summer solstice is the longest day with the sun out in the northern hemisphere (the shortest day in the Southern Hemisphere). The length of day becomes longer from the day of the vernal equinox, the day of that vertex is today. Yin and yang theory, the state where the positive energy becomes Max. And from the summer solstice point, the shade energy becomes stronger towards the winter solstice next time. By the way, that moment of summer solstice this year is 7:07 pm in Japan!

Breathing in, breathing in, breathing in, breathing in, breathing in and breathing in… you can not breathing in any more! The moment of being the summer solstice point (I thought, the image method to be likened by breathing). And back from here, we will head towards winter, after 7:07 pm today it is the beginning of the “breathing out” season.

I like the chief editor of “The Notebook of Living” Yataro Matsuura, and I read his books sometimes. Today I introduce one of his book “The keys of thinking”.

Thinking of “Why, What, What is it”.
The secrets of
Working rich,
Living politely.

Handbook on teaching by the chief editor of “The Notebook of Living”.

It has become a rainy season series unexpectedly recent blog, today is about a song that reminds me of rainy days, as I feel that the mood is mostly influenced by the weather.

The theme song of movie “When Marnie Was There”, “Fine On The Outside”. Somewhat suddenly, this song remembered on rainy days, especially during the rainy season before summer. I think the melody and lyrics are suit rainy days.

In the blog of “Hawaii Island – Language –“, I mentioned that there are 130 words to express rain in Hawaiian, so that I searched about Japanese one, and I found a book “Dictionary of rain words”.

This book is a dictionary of words related to rain that number About 1200 words. I thought it is about a bit more than 130 in Hawaiian? but no way, almost 10 times! What a Japanese words.

It is time rainy season (Tsuyu) in Japan, there are 32 rain words for example.

As the summer gets closer, the colors of clothes people wear are bright and colorful, so I like the atmosphere where the city is gorgeous.

And speaking of summer clothes in Japan is a Yukata. After the rainy season is over, when the fireworks festival and the Bon Dance festival season comes, we can see many women who wear Yukata. I think that the figure walking narrowly steps with bare feet to clogs is beautiful.

I think that there are many men who feel happy seeing such women but I would like to talk with a big voice. Men’s kimono and yukata are also very nice. Emphasis on glossiness, sexiness, masculinity, dramatic increase in masculinity! And I think it is comfortable to wear. Yukata is cooler than clothes.

During the rainy season in Japan, the trees are wet in the rain, the green color deepens, and its freshness is very beautiful. Sometimes it is depressed when I am out on a rainy day but when I drink coffee while listening to the sound of rain in the house, I feel healed and comfortable. Things depend on how you look at them any times.

Well, let’s enjoy the rain on a rainy day! So it’s about the movie with rain.
When I looked it up on the internet, the following seems to be well-known as a rain movie.

Umbrellas of Cherbourg
Garden of Words
Singin’ in the Rain
The Notebook Movie
Australia
Breakfast at Tiffany’s

I write about the book “Japan the Beautiful and Myself” by Yasunari Kawabata which I wrote about it in my blog “In the spring, cherry blossoms In the summer, the cuckoo“.

In 1968 Yasunari Kawabata was awarded the first Nobel Prize for literature as a Japanese, attended at the award ceremony in Stockholm with formal wear of a Hakama. He gave speech with a magnificent Japanese and a deep impression. This book is the full text of it. (from Description of item amazon Japan)

The content is described by a song of a priest such as Zen master Dogen, the word of a novelist Ryunosuke Akutagawa and a monk Ikkyu. In the part about “Karesansui” in the Japanese garden and “Wabi Sabi” in the tea ceremony, he also mentions specific arts such as bonsai, flowers, pottery etc. And tribute to Japanese culture is stated through classical literature such as “Ise Monogatari”, “Genji Monogatari”, “Makurano soshi”, “Kokinshu” and “Shinkokinshu”.

I have a lot of opportunities to work with Swedish companies or organizations, so I earn about Sweden. Especially as a designer, I pay attention to the high design quality. Last time I introduced the Swedish coffee brand “Lemmel Kaffe“, so I will introduce two Swedish brands today.

The first is craft beer brand “Ominippollo“. Coffee is also a representative beverage in Sweden and Northern Europe, but craft beer is also delicious. Omnippollo was established in 2011, it was chosen Rate Beer Top 100 Brewery in The World. While this brand of vision is “to overturn the image of people’s beer from the bottom”, its label design is super cool as well as its taste. Their message that they want “experiences” rather than “drinking” is spreading in more than 20 countries, including Sweden, Europe, North America, Australia, along with their worldview.