Japan art and Kamisaka Sekka (1866-1942): A delightful dream world Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The artist Kamisaka Sekka (1866-1942) lit up Japanese art during his time on this earth. Of course, lovers of Sekka exist far and wide in modern times based on his adorable art. From a very young age, it was…
Japan art and Sakai Hōitsu: The Persimmon Tree and delightful Crow Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Sakai Hōitsu (1761-1829) produced countless stunning art pieces during his lifetime. Interestingly, in the last few decades of his life, he became a Buddhist monk and lived a life of solitude. In the art of two delightful pieces…
Japan art and Sakai Dōitsu (1845-1913): The richness of rinpa art Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Japanese artist Sakai Dōitsu (1845-1913) belongs to the world of Edo and Meiji despite dying in the early Taisho period. Like many artists who spanned a similar timeline he witnessed enormous convulsions. However, despite the modernization of…
Japan art and Yamamoto Kōitsu (1843-1905): Mysterious Heron and a Crane Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Yamamoto Kōitsu (Kōichi) was born in the Edo period and died during the revolutionary Meiji era. However, the exact years of his birth and death are not set in stone but reportedly 1843-1905. It is known that he…
Japan art and Hishida Shunsō: Faithful cats and nature Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Hishida Shunsō (1874-1911) never had nine lives, unlike the saying goes for cats. However, the stunning art of Shunsō means he lives on long after his death. This is based on the stunning art he produced. In the second…
Japanese art and Hayami Gyoshū (1894-1935): Camellia Petals Scattering Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Hayami Gyoshū (1894-1935) was born in Tokyo and art would become a way of life from a very young age. Like other artists born in the Meiji Period (1868-1912) a new Japan was dawning. Hence, the old traditional art forms…
Japanese art and Sakai Hōitsu (1761-1829): Buddhist monk and sublime art Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Japanese artist Sakai Hōitsu firmly belongs to the Edo Period and one can imagine his way of life. This relates to art, culture, literature, and religion. Equally important, the imagination focuses on the simplicity of life and…
Japanese art and Ishizaki Kōyō (1884-1947): The flow of Rinpa Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Japanese artist Ishizaki Kōyō (1884-1947) was born into a wealthy family in the prefecture of Toyama. During his lifetime, he witnessed the modernization of the Meiji period, to the liberalizing period of Taishō, and the nationalist period of…
Art of Japan and the richness of Culture: Kanzan Shimomura (1873 to 1930) Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Kanzan Shimomura (1873 to 1930) was born during the early years of the Meiji Period (1868-1912). This period was revolutionary for Japan based on modernization and enormous cultural and economic convulsions. Despite this, Kanzan was molded…
Japanese art and Suzuki Kiitsu (1796-1858): Late Edo artist of Rinpa Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Japanese artist Suzuki Kiitsu (1796-1858) created many stunning pieces of art. Ironically, despite belonging to the late Edo period, his stature continues to grow in the modern world. In recent years in Japan, many refined art exhibitions…
Japanese art and the richness of Ikeda Koson (1803-1868) Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The life of Ikeda Koson (1803-1868) is difficult to put together because many areas remain unknown. Yet, he was blessed to study under the renowned Sakai Hôitsu (1761-1828). Hôitsu firmly belonged to a very different Japan that was steeped by…
Japanese art and Hishida Shunsō (1874-1911): Hope to the shadow of death Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The artist Hishida Shunsō was born during the dynamic period of Meiji (1868-1912). However, despite the Meiji era not lasting so long, Shunsō died before the ending of this period of Japanese history. Hence, he died at…
Japanese art and the Bleak Midwinter of the Buddhist Tree of Life Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Sawako Utsumi fuses a stunning landscape with a wandering Buddhist monk in the bleak midwinter of Japan. Indeed, the religious angle, be it Buddhism, Christianity, or Shintoism, is a theme that pops up often in her art.…
Buddhist poetry of Japan and the last twilight before the shadow of time Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Two exquisite short poems by Buddhist holy men from Japan focus on the shadow of life and the memories left behind. It matters not that both poets come from extremely contrasting times in history. For Henjō…
Photography in old Japan and the distortion of reality Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Kusakabe Kimbei was born in 1841 in Edo Japan and died in the 1930s during a period of heightened political tension. Hence, one can only imagine the things he witnessed because many convulsions hit Japan throughout his lifetime. Thus, despite…
Art of Japan and the “Annual Rites and Ceremonies” to the suffering of the boy Emperor Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The artist Tokiwa Mitsunaga was highly acclaimed in twelfth-century Japan. This notably applies to his “Annual Rites and Ceremonies” dated in 1173. Hence, people can get an insight into the various ceremonies that…
Japanese 8th-century poet enriched by the high culture of the Tang Dynasty Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The eighth-century Japanese scholar and poet Abe no Nakamaro (698-770) belongs to the cultural world that was inspired by the Middle Kingdom (China). From a very young age, he showed exemplary skills suited to the world of…
Poetry, religion, and high culture in sixteenth-century Japan Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times In time, the poet Arakida Moritake (1473-1549) became the symbolic head Shinto priest of the prestigious Inner Ise Shrine. Hence, with the Shinto faith meaning so much to Moritake, one can only imagine the inner-peace this provided. After all, the rigors…
Japanese Art and Poetry of Yosa Buson: A bat flits in moonlight Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The poetic skills of Yosa Buson (1716-1784) are extremely legendary inside Japan despite the passages of time. Indeed, despite some notable art pieces by Buson, it is his words belonging to the world of haiku that stand…
Japanese art and Torii Kiyonaga (1752-1815) Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Japanese woodblock (ukiyo-e) artist Torii Kiyonaga was a very innovative artist who helped to enhance the prestige of the Torii School. Indeed, despite Kiyonaga not belonging to the Torii family, he still rose to the top and adopted this esteemed name. Kiyonaga…
Buddhism and poetry in Japan during the Nara Period 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. Hence, his relationship with the…
Contemporary Japanese art and the mirage of time in the bleak midwinter Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Sawako Utsumi hails from northern Japan and in her latest landscape, you can depict the partial influence of Suzuki Kiitsu (1796-1858). Yet, unlike Kiitsu who focused on rinpa art, the latest stunning art piece by Utsumi is…
Japan art before the eclipse of the Taira in the 12th century: Tragic boy Emperor Antoku Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times In twelfth-century Japan, the artist Tokiwa Mitsunaga was highly acclaimed. This notably applies to his “Annual Rites and Ceremonies” dated in 1173. Hence, people can get an insight into the various ceremonies that…
Contemporary Japanese artist and Utrillo in a New Transcendent Light Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The delightful contemporary Japanese artist Sawako Utsumi is once more paying homage to Maurice Utrillo (1883-1955). Like usual, the color scheme and hidden cultural meanings spring to mind. Therefore, the art piece titled “Utrillo in a New Transcendent Japanese…
Ancient Japanese poetry of Mibu no Tadamine Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Japanese poet Mibu no Tadamine belongs to the early Heian poetry scene in Japan. Sadly, not much is known about his actual birth and death. Hence, little is known about the things that reached his heart during his early years of…
Japanese artist and a delightful Dutch winter landscape based on Hendrick Avercamp Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The world of Dutch art in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries really appeals to Sawako Utsumi, who is a contemporary Japanese artist. Historically, the links developed between Japan and Holland (the Netherlands) are also extremely fascinating,…
A Japanese artist who bridged the pre-Edo and start of the Edo Period Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Japanese artist Kano Sanraku (1559-1635) witnessed the power processes of the centralization of Japan that ultimately led to the unification of this nation under the Tokugawa Period of 1603-1868. Naturally, the art world of Japan…
Japanese Buddhist poet of bygone times: Buddha, the way of Shintoism, and culture 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 art and Blackley Forest: The spirit of Judy Doggett Walker and fighting dementia Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The contemporary Japanese artist, Sawako Utsumi, was asked to pay homage to the late Judy Doggett Walker (1934 to 2019) who resided in Manchester, England. Of course, unlike other art pieces by Utsumi, this art…
Japanese Zen Buddhist poetry by Sesson Yūbai and the impact of the Middle Kingdom (China) Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The notable Japanese Zen Buddhist monk, Sesson Yūbai (1290-1346?), witnessed the richness of culture during his stay in the Middle Kingdom (China) and the darkness of the ruling elites who imprisoned him. Hence, his…
Japanese art through the lens of familiarity but in a changed entangled state Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The flow of human life comes and goes at the drop of a hat but observance and familiarity can make yesteryear seem like now. In the art piece titled “The Blossoming of Life” by Sawako Utsumi,…
Samurai Tadamori (1096-1153) in Japanese art and folklore Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Taira no Tadamori (1096-1153) was a famous and notable samurai who was loyal to the Taira clan. In Japanese art and folklore, he is depicted favorably based on his many attributes that were so important in this period of Japanese history.…
