Japan art and Confucianism: The Bleak reality of Seppuku for a thoughtful artist Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The artist Watanabe Kazan (1793-1841) highlights the fact that social mobility could break the alleged stratification of old Japan. After all, he was born into a samurai family that was relatively poor. Despite this, Watanabe paid…
Art of Japan and the female warrior Tomoe Gozen: The onna-bugeisha Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Tomoe Gozen is a famous female warrior in Japan who highlights the reality that women played various roles in Japanese society, outside the subservient model often portrayed. Indeed, even before the emergence of the samurai, females had learned…
Art of Japan and Sado Island: Trilogy of Nichiren in the Snow during his exile Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Nichiren (1222-1282) is one of the most famous Buddhist teachers to emanate from Japan. Yet, he was very outspoken during his lifetime and this led him to be exiled and embroiled in the political…
Japanese art and Claude Monet Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Claude Monet was a very important French Impressionist artist and despite new movements including Cubism and Fauvism, he remained committed to Impressionism. Another major art theme that would shape Monet was Japanese ukiyo-e because he became smitten by the contrasting approach to art. Therefore,…
Japan art and one-sided love: Frailty of life despite his boundless love of Paris Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Yuzo Saeki is one of the most intriguing artists to have left the shores of the land of the rising sun. Sadly, his time on this earth was extremely limited because he perished when he…
Contemporary Japanese artist and L. S. Lowry in Full Bloom by Sawako Utsumi Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The contemporary Japanese artist, Sawako Utsumi, adores a plethora of different art styles fused from her native Japan and a mixture of European artists. This notably applies to the Dutch Masters of the sixteenth and seventeenth…
Buddhist monk Jien and a window into old Japan (1155-1225): Poetry and history Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The elite nature of Japanese Buddhism began to change dramatically during the Kamakura Period (1185-1333) because many famous Buddhist leaders in this period would take the faith to all and sundry. Officially, the new era of…
The poetry of old Japan: Yamabe no Akahito and the devoutly Buddhist Emperor Shōmu Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Yamabe no Akahito belongs to the world of eighth-century Japan when Nara was the cradle of high culture in this nation. In truth, the jigsaw of his life is extremely difficult to piece together.…
Japanese art, Goshun, and the influence of Buson: The artistic heaven on earth Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Matsumura Goshun (1752-1811) created countless stunning art pieces that reflect nature and serenity. Indeed, some of his art pieces create a collective illusion of beauty, passivity, and a way of life that is based solely…
The last throes before the ghost of time Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times A lifetime of friendship becomes distant. Moments of confusion grow from minutes to days. Loved ones often erased. The river once flowed and reached my heart. Now the flow is lost. Art hangs on many walls, like eyes reaching into my…
Buddhist art and the Japanese priest Mokuan Reien: The Middle Kingdom and Mu Qi Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Japanese Zen Buddhist priest Mokuan Reien was born in the thirteenth century in the land of the rising sun. Like many Japanese Buddhist holy men – artists and people of culture – the Middle…
Art of Japan and Kume Keiichirō: Stability despite the change Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Japanese artist Kume Keiichirō (1866-1934) belongs to the Meiji, Taisho, and Showa periods of history in the land of the rising sun. In truth, Keiichirō avoided the convulsions that impacted on many during such momentous changes during the…
Contemporary Japanese artist and adorable landscape titled “Hakone in Natural Splendor” Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The contemporary Japanese artist Sawako Utsumi recently produced another adorable art piece that focused on the natural landscape of Hakone. True to the nature of Utsumi, she bypassed the possibility of focusing on Mount Fuji that can be…
Sugawara Mitsushige and Buddhism: Bodhisattva Kannon and the Middle Kingdom Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The passing of time never dampens the beauty of the thirteenth-century Japanese calligrapher Sugawara Mitsushige. Indeed, just like the words of Buddha remain timeless, then images of chapter 25 of the “Universal Gate” representing Bodhisattva Kannon equally remain timeless…
Soga Shōhaku went against the grain in the eighteenth century: Art of the Muromachi Period Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Japanese artist Soga Shōhaku (1730-1781) went against the grain in the eighteenth century because he was greatly influenced by the Muromachi Period. This period, dated 1336 to 1573, but officially coming into existence…
Kanzan Shimomura and art of Japan: The flows of Buddhist art, Kano, Rinpa, and the school of Tosa Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The artist Kanzan Shimomura (1873 to 1930) is a famous son of Wakayama and just like this part of Japan is rich in culture and faith, Kanzan also had a spiritual…
Art of Japan in a changing environment: Paris and Saburosuke Okada Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Saburosuke Okada (1869-1939) was born one year after the Meiji Restoration of 1868 and he would witness many changes throughout his life. This applies to the Meiji Era, the Taisho Era, and the early part of the Showa…
Sengai Gibon and Rinzai Buddhism: Artistic Outreach and Buddhist Contemplation Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The inner-soul of Sengai Gibon (1750-1837) was always multidimensional and the flow that linked all fusions was Buddhism. Artistic wise, we will never know the real capabilities of Sengai because his art and writings were based on simplicity,…
The reality of poverty for the Japanese artist Eisen and his independent nature Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Keisai Eisen (1790-1848) learned to be independent at an early age because he chose a path that was fraught with economic danger. In a sense, Eisen represents aspects of “the real Edo period” for individuals who…
Power dynamics of art and the Tosa School: Richness of culture and Buddhism Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times One of the most famous schools of art in Japan applies to the Tosa school because of areas related to traditional art and the past longevity of this esteemed school. This exemplary art school flowed naturally…
Art of Japan and Kiyoo: Social and political convulsions but artistic continuity Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Japanese artist Kawamura Kiyoo (1852-1934) created many amazing pieces of art during a period of rapid political change. He was born in the old world of the Edo Period (1603-1868) and he witnessed the modernization of…
Japanese art and the stunning artistic beauty of Totoya Hokkei (1780-1850) Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Totoya Hokkei (1780-1850) was born during the Edo Period and while he passed away well before the Meiji Restoration of 1868, it is clear that Western art was increasingly encroaching during the later period of his lifetime. Of…
Japanese art and the exile of a holy Buddhist priest Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Nichiren (1222-1282) was born during a very unstable period in Japan because of internal political convulsions, the devastation of nature, and belief that the world was entering a bleak period based on growing backwardness. Debates took place around the…
Art of Japan and the remaining shadow of Shintoism Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Buddhist temples from various sects appear to dominate the religious discourse in Japan but inwardly the faith of Shintoism remains within the soul, irrespective of cultural, religious, or secular. Indeed, the splendor of ultra-modern cities, for example, Tokyo and Osaka,…
Art of Japan and the Bridge in the Rain: Van Gogh and Hiroshige Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Japanese artist, Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858), is one of the most esteemed ukiyo-e artists to hail from the land of the rising sun. Internationally, Hiroshige inspired many Western artists including Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890). Therefore, several…
Art of Japan and changing times: Yokohama-e and Western encroachment Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Utagawa Sadahide (Gountei Sadahide) witnessed the first years of modernization in Japan that emerged after the 1868 Meiji Restoration. Yet, prior to this dramatic period in Japanese history, the artist Sadahide depicted aspects of Western encroachment. Indeed, while many…
Art of Japan and Nichiren Buddhism in the soul of Rinpa art Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Japanese historical art is blessed with many forms inspired internally and from the richness of ancient China and Korea. At the same time, religious and philosophical influence naturally flowed within the historical legacy of Japanese art. Therefore,…
Japan art and the legacy of Tensho Shubun: Buddhism to the power of the Middle Kingdom Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Japanese artist Tensho Shubun was deeply influenced by landscape artists from the Middle Kingdom (China). Indeed, Shubun is noted for being one of the founding fathers of introducing Chinese-style ink painting in…
Japanese Buddhist poetry of the fourteenth century: Jakushitsu Genkō (1290-1367) Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Jakushitsu Genkō (1290-1367) is a famous Japanese Rinzai Buddhist preacher who became the first abbot of the Eigen-ji temple that was built in his honor. He reportedly said about poetry, “Why pursue words, when one truly seeks silence?” This…
The poetry of Japan and Arakida Moritake (1473-1549): The natural flow of Shintoism Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The poetry of Arakida Moritake (1473-1549) was inspired by the flows of the past, the reality of nature, and the Shinto faith that meant so much to him. Not surprisingly, in the history of Japan prior…
Poet Saigyō (1118-1190) and Japanese Buddhism: the Light of the Buddha and Shintoism Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Japanese Buddhist poet Saigyō Hōshi (birth name Satō Norikiyo) was born in 1118 and passed away in 1190. He was a man of passion, virtue, contemplation, and a soul that wandered places of religious importance.…
Japanese artist illuminates a classic Dutch art piece by Hendrick Avercamp Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The contemporary Japanese artist Sawako Utsumi is once more focusing on the world of Dutch art. This time it is Hendrick Avercamp (1585-1634), unlike past art pieces that focused on Esaias van de Velde (1587-1630) and Aert van der…
