I am interested in both antiquity/traditional and contemporary art as well, and I have been interested in Ukiyoe recently. I often go to museum to see it or read books about it. I thought again that Ukiyoe is an interesting genre of paintings because there were opportunities to see Hokusai Katsushika works by chance – The Sumida Hokusai Museum (Museum), Hokusai: Old Man Crazy to Paint (Movie), Hokusai and Hiroshige―The Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji and the Fifty-three Stages of the Tōkaidō (Museum), Kurara: The Dazzling Life of Hokusai’s Daughter (Japanese TV Drama).
Today I write about what is real and how to see arts with “Fine Wind, Clear Morning” Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji series by Hokusai Katsushika.

First the big point is art is a wood block print, not painting. Painting is only one thing but wood block print is able to make copies which means there are a lot of “real”. Usually the first printed 200 copies are called “Shozuri (first print)”, they are printed according to instructions of painter. Atozuri (after print) which is printed after Shozuri is printed by printer.

Nowadays the “Fine Wind, Clear Morning” is very popular, and seems also it was popular in the Edo period. According to one thesis is it was sold the most.
It means the look becomes different because wood block print is made by wood, the wood gets worn out so the line has changed. Also sometimes it reduced the process without squatting delicate blurring plates, it becomes a color of the taste of the printer, it was sold good sell colored prints. The more the number, the more “real” is produced.

If you have been a designer for more than 15 years, you will also be naturally aware of the feelings of “creator” other than your genre design (graphic & digital).

I wonder what they are made of? How did the creator did it? What the purpose of it? something like I wonder the background of the creation. I feel happy when I find something common feeling even our genre is different, or it is also happy to find new learnings.

I love any “creators” from designers or craftsmen very much, and I would like to introduce love expressions from designers/creators which I can see from the finished products, so that I named the title of today. In addition to the purpose as a function, there are other purposes such as culturally appeal to emotion or they have social sense of mission. I would like people to look at other roles than functions.

Vol. 1 today is about “Shoji (Shoji is a sliding screen with white paper on thin
wooden laths).” designed by Korin Ogata (he was a Japanese painter, lacquerer and designer of the Rinpa school).
I visited the MOA museum of art in Atami the other day, there are facilities except for the museum such as Noh theater, Tea garden, Tea house etc. And I write about the Shoji of Korin’s Residence (reconstruction) which he spent the last five years and drew national treasure paintings there.

I often have visited to shrines or temple, read books about Japanese culture and leaning about how to wear Kimono recently because the desire to learn Japanese culture properly became stronger year by year. What I would like to learn about next it Ikebana (Japanese flower arrangement).

You can see Ikebana somewhere cultural places, but I only enjoy it seeing not doing for now because I hesitate to do it… However, I found a experience chance of it at MOA museum of art in Atami.

The venue is very nice which is “this reconstruction is a precious document of the traditional machiya style of house from the Edo period. The Residence contains two tea rooms, one five-and-half-mat size and the other three-mat. The latter “Seisei-an” was named after Korin’s pen name, and the sign for the room was created by Japanese artist Okumura Togyu. The reconstruction was supervised by a great authority on the Sukiya style of architecture Dr Sutemi Horiguchi.”

The reconstruction is here.

“First Summer” of the 24 seasons has started today. It writes “Summer is up” in Kanji character, you can feel the sings of Summer and the refreshing wind is quite nice season.

And, the 72 micro-seasons are the followings, they say that animals and plants start actively. Exciting season has started!

【First Summer】
New Season – The First Frogs Call
Next Season – The Earth Worms Rise
Latter Season – Bamboo Shoots Appear

Also it is a child day today. There are some designed Koinobori (carp streamers) these days, I’m happy that the traditional culture is taken over by the times.
*The picture is taken at Tokyo Mid Town

*The image is view from the “Atami Villa (Kyu Hyuga Bettei)”

Today is a side story of Bruno Taut “Atami Villa” 1 / Bruno Taut “Atami Villa” 2.

I wrote about the guide when I visited the Atami Villa in the last article, I introduce about wonderful leanings from the guide.

Taut found the Japanese beauties in Katsura Imperial Villa, Ise Shrine and Shirakawago, and he disseminated them to the word by his books. Today’s blog is about why Japanese architectures attract him.

First, the “Unostentatiousness”.
Katsura Imperial Villa is a “Villa” and Ise Shrine is a “Religious Facility”, but they are humble and simple. The colors from nature are modest. On the one hand, Western villas and religious facilities are gorgeous, also they are colorful. They are opposite of Japan. The architectures are modest in Japan and they are gorgeous in the Wet, but how about clothes? Japanese traditional clothes are Kimono, right it is very colorful and gorgeous. The color of the upper class more vividly, more layers and the hairstyle becomes big and gorgeous. The clothes in the West is dress, dresses look modest and colorless, especially in the Middle Ages.

Japanese culture which is gorgeous clothes look best in the modest space, and Western culture which is modest clothes look best in the gorgeous space. I see, both has good balance.

I introduced about Bruno Taut last blog, I write about the “Atami Villa (Kyu Huga Villa)” this time.

The client was Mr. Rihei Hyuga who was active in trade business in Asia. FYI – the wooden two-storied main house was designed by Jin Watanabe who also designed Wako department in Ginza, the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno and Aichi prefectural office. I think the client Mr. Hyuga knew about art & culture very well and had a nice sense of beauty. Also I heard that Mr. Hyuga said “You can design whatever you want no matter how much it costs” to Taut. Such a dream project it was that the client trusted Taut, left all of it up to Taut and no money restriction. I think client’s understanding for design is necessary to create something great.

This Atami Villa is well know as a “A cellar of the annex” but I think “A guest room for social place” is more suitable for this space. Because there are three rooms and there is also a big window that you can see the Pacific Ocean, it is very luxurious “cellar”.

I have a conscious desire to wear Kimono once a year, always someone had put my Kimono on because it is hard to wear it by myself. However, I decided to go to school to wear it by myself.

– I would like to wear it beautifully by myself
– I would like to learn about the way of moving
– I would like to learn about itself (history, cultural background, patterns, colors, types etc)

You would be able to wear it if you would like to just “wear” it, but it is not only that. Wearing Kimono also has the side of emotional effects. I was very impressed by my teacher’s spirit of wearing Kimono.

Today is about seasons.

“Trees turn the colors into deep green, and feels like beginning of early summer, how are doing?” It is good season to greet so. I heard that these are Japanese-specific expressions that talking about seasons when you meet someone. Today, I explore a little deeply about the culture that the seasons have been incorporated into their lives.

There are three types of seasons to divide; 4 macro-seasons, 24 seasons and 72 micro-seasons. They are sensitive of changing seasons and take advantage of the wisdoms from nature.