Animal Song: Dog by Maki Haku

Before I analyze the print, I will provide a bit of information about the artist, Maki Haku. He was born in 1924 in Ibaraki prefecture as Maejima Tadaaki. He is known for distorting characters to make his art. His art can be known as abstract calligraphy. He died in 2000.

This print's title is Animal Song: Dog. The character on the print is the character for bark/howl. Also the title of the piece (戌）is not the usual character of dog, this character is used to describe dog as one of the twelve animals of the zodiac. The color red can be seen a passion, blood, or many other things. The red background looks rough as if it had been scratched. Other than the red sky or the character for bark, the only other image in the print is the orange moon. The character seems to be coming from a unseen dog. The stretch of the character also looks as if it was howled at the moon. The title also ties the character in the print to the idea of dogs. Howling is a song for dogs. This print could have been inspired by a book of poetry entitled "Howling at the Moon" by Sakutarou Hagiwara.

Mitate Meisho: Cherry Blossoms

The artist behind my print was Eisen Keisai. Eisen (1790-1848) was an artist and writer known for his prints of beautiful women. He later gained fame in the Bunsei period (1818-1830) for his okubi-e ("large head pictures"). He collaborated with Hiroshige and wrote the biographies of the Forty-seven Ronin. His prints are usually noticed by how openly sensual they are.

This print titled in Mitate Meisho: Sakura no Tubone (Mitate Meisho: Cherry Blossoms) shows a woman relaxing on either a roof or a set of stairs. She is in a kimono that has layers of blue and pink and she has many things in her hair which gives her the appearance of being important. The stairs seems to be on clouds rather on any building. The woman seems to have her gaze averted from the viewer at something unseen. Her left hand is in a position where is looks as if she is clutching herself in protection. She also has one hair out of place on her forehead in contrast with the rest of the hair which is all contained. Her gaze and body language imply that is she is surprised by something that its unseen to the viewer. In the background, there is a cherry tree in bloom which shows that it is mid-spring. Also in the background is a source of water and on the left are some rolling hills with a few green trees. I think that this print was in the genre of bijin-e (beautiful women). I think this print was to show how she is riding on the clouds in pleasure, very similar to the name of ukiyo-e or the floating world. She appears to be floating on a cloud of pleasure rather than being on the ground.

The focus in this print seems to be the woman since everything else is very far from the viewer. The face of the woman seems rather typical and her gaze does not face the viewer, it is off somewhere not in the print. The woman's focus is very different from the viewers. She seems really detached from the rest of the picture. This picture is not part of a triptych but it seems as if it could. I think this print is a oban rather than a chuban. This print does not come across as realistic because of the woman sitting on the clouds. Also that the clouds are about the same height as the boats and trees.

This print's quality is good, but it has some flaws. The paper seemed stained and faded. The paper is browning or yellowing. Also in the white space there is bad staining and shows the age of the print. The colors seems to stay in the lines instead of spreading out. The lines seem rather sharp, because the lines in her hair are rather significant especially the one strand of hair on her forehead. The colors of blue and pink are definitely brighter but they have become dull from the age of the print.

This print gives the viewer a feeling of relaxation over all. The calm waters of the seas and the pleasant views of the cherry blossoms give an feeling of relaxation. The woman provides some resistance to this thought by her expression and body position. Also she gives a bit of sensuality to the print with the small glimpses of her leg and neck. The woman seems in almost stark contrast with the rest of the print with her many emotions struck by her presence. I think the print was to be made to show the floating world at its essence. It shows a woman among several markers of the natural world, but still float above it. The woman's expression and body language break this original idea. The one question that presents itself with this print is what is she looking that makes her fee as if she has to defend herself?

Japanese Photographs

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In this photograph captured by Tamamura Kozaburo depicts the three people dressed as characters for New Year's Day. The middle appears to give the impression of a daruma, a doll to symbolize the wishes for the New Year. The other two figures look masks from theatre or another type of performance. The one on the left looks like a woman's face, while the one on the right almost looks like a tengu or even one of the faces of the white men from earlier in the class. All the figures seem to be trying to portray a story in which motion commences. On the site where I first saw this photograph it remarks that this tradition has faded away and is not seen anymore. I found that interesting to do this tradition because it obviously was larger in the Meiji era and the feeling I got from the photo was this was fun New Year's activity for the young children.

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I thought I should begin with this photograph to show how the Japanese lived with nature in a way that has been largely unseen in America anymore. The use of nature and preservation of nature has kept Japan almost in the past.
This photo shows theatre in Japan. Similar to theatre in American or Europe they use elaborate costumes to perform, however instead of make-up they were masks. Also they have men play women's roles almost Shakespearean in style. They tend to keep their sets grounded in minimalism with the technology we see today.
Again the Japanese have taken nature and implemented it in their art. This is the art form of flower arranging. It is apparently all about aesthetics and has a methodically method to it.
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I love the detail with the trees and the stone lanterns. They line the walk way and you can almost feel the old world charm engulf you.
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And finally these are flags for the Boys' Festival. I found it funny how vivid they are, rather than the darker colors attributed to boys back in the West.

My trip to Japan was to understand the art forms of a country very different from my own. I found the pieces and performances I observed very quaint with a strong sense of nature. I must suggest you go to Japan if you want to see old world charms intertwined with nature in the highest sense. The colors were so vivid while staying true to themselves in every way. I think I may visit again to paint many landscapes in this almost mythical land.

My persona was an artist who visited Japan to become inspired. He went all around the country to understand the various methods of the Japanese. He was constantly going on and on about how old Japan felt and how charming the arts were. His comment on theatre was only after seeing one showing of a Noh performance. I felt that he never dove deep enough to understand the true nature of the arts. His focus was on the background and how he could inspire his own paintings of landscapes rather than understanding the Japanese philosophy or perspective on art.

I found this image interesting for many reasons. I thought that the western style buildings in Kobe were very different from anything else I had seen except from the images of Yokohama. The interesting thing about the image is that it could also be any western style buildings in any Asian city such as Shanghai. However, the tiles on the buildings still preserve that this in Japan rather than anywhere else. It seems to me that the roof tiles are the only things that keep this in Japan rather than it being in another Asian country. This picture gives me the feeling of a western street transplanted in to Japan, but with small changes to the buildings.
In this image, you see a man working on his paper umbrellas and lanterns. His gaze is focused on the words he is writing on the umbrella and he seems to be focused in general in his craft. He is surrounded by umbrellas and lateens on all sides except for his tools which are next to him. I also found it intriguing that the only bright colors are the reds on the lanterns above him. Other an a slightly bright green lateen, all the other colors are rather muted. This image gives the feeling of a quiet focus and intensity to the viewer.

People and Places

In this photograph, two Buddhist priests stand. One of the priests stand in profile, while the other stands at an angle toward the camera. This priest's eyes still do not face the camera, and are averted. They both hold prayer beads. The priest in profile is shown wearing brown colored robes, while the other priest wears green robes. Neither of them wear particularly bright colors most likely because they are religious figures. The only bright color comes from one of the priest's prayer beads. Also only on etch priest's shoes in shown, while the other's robes cover his.
This photo is the village of Hakoni on the lake of Hakoni. In the picture is the main road of the village that is lined with shops and houses. The street goes for a while, almost with the camera facing downhill on the street. With the angle, this shows how large a village Hakoni really is. The signs on the entrances to buildings most likely read what type of stores they are. In the middle of the street, there seems to be four men. Two of those men are carrying a portable temple to a god. While the other two are just observing them. All four seem to be facing the photographer. Also the people in the buildings either are engaged in their own business or facing the photographer.

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In this image, which is set in the new international port of Yokohama is the small armies of countries who gained trade entry to Japan. The countries that are shown are: England, France, the Netherlands, Russia, America, and China. China is the only country without a flag or army that is shown. The presence of the armies in the picture gives the thought that these countries were invading Japan, but rather it was more to most likely protect the citizens of the countries. The boats in the foreground also give the impression that more people are coming to Japan to trade for their countries. The difference in the uniforms is rather obvious with the colors of the uniforms.

The words on the picture also tie together the countries and who they are. I am not sure if the words near each corner of the page are the names of the countries or the commander of the brigade. There is also one phase that is constantly around the page. In the white box in the picture, the same is given many times over. Over all I think this an interesting image of the six countries that traded with Japan and helped to make Yokohama an international city.