Katsushika Hokusai Part IV “Kachô-e” June 26, 2011

Katsushika Hokusai‘s studies of birds and flowers, an artistic genre called kachô-e, are the lesser known of all his works. Kachô-e were popular in the early eighteenth century (1720s-1750s) with the Torii school of print makers. Hokusai was the first to develop kachô-e as a truly independent theme for the single-sheet print format.

Hibiscus and Sparrow

Lilies

Bell Flower and Dragonfly

Orange Orchids

Mount Fuji with Cherry Tree

Plum Blossom and the Moon

Cranes on a Snowy Pine

Peonies and Butterfly

Poppies

Branch of Plum

MORE

Attribution of Hokusai’s Kacho-e   http://www.viewingjapaneseprints.net/texts/topictexts/artist_varia_topics/hokusai3.html

The Art of Katsushika Hokusai Part III June 17, 2011

When he was 12, his father sent him to work in a bookshop and lending library, where the books were made from wood-cut blocks. Two years later, he became an apprentice to a wood-carver. He worked here until he turned 18. After this, was accepted into the studio of Katsukawa Shunshō,  a ukiyo-e artist. Ukiyo-e focused on images of the courtesans and Kabuki actors.

After Shunshō’s death in 1793, Hokusai began exploring French and Dutch copper engravings. He changed the subjects of his works, focusing more on landscapes and images of the daily Japanese life. A change that was a breakthrough in ukiyo-e. Next, he began to produce brush paintings, called surimono.

In 1811,  he created the Hokusai Manga. His later sketches and caricatures influenced the modern form of today’s manga. In all there are 12 volumes that include thousands of drawings.

“Plum Blossoms and the Moon“

“Crane on a Snowy Pine”

“Drawing of a Tengu”

Dragon

“Courtesan. Painting on silk”

“Puppet”

“Old Tiger in the Snow”

“White Shell (Shiragai)”

“Horse Talisman (Mayoke)”

Surimono Uma (no) Senbetsu

“Surimono Anba Umafukuki”

Katsushika Hokusai, The Complete Works     http://www.katsushikahokusai.org/

The Art of Katsushika Hokusai Part II “Journey to the Waterfalls in All the Provinces” June 12, 2011

Hokusai, Self Portrait 1839 Image via Wikipedia

“Shokoku taki meguri” are woodblock prints created from views of the most famous waterfalls in Japan and published in 1832. These “Oban yoko-e“ prints are fluid and alive, contrasting the breathtaking  majesty of nature with the small and fragile human forms nearby. The idealistic images take the viewer to a place found in the vivid imagination of Katsushika Hokusai. So exquisite are the details that one can almost hear the tumbling water crash and roar as its foaming mass sprays the air and crawls over the rocks below .

Oban  is one of three popular print sizes, oban being 10 by 15 inches/25.4 by 38 centimeters in size. Yoko-e is used for a print in the landscape format. Other popular print sizes are  Chuban yoko-e, 7.5 inches by 10/19 centimeters by 25.5, and Aiban yoko-e, 9 by 3inches/22.5 by 34.5 centimeters.

“Kiyo Waterfall by the Kannon Shrine at Sakanoshita, Tokaido Road“

“Roben at Oyama in Sagami Province“

“Yoro Waterfall in Mino Province“

“Amida Waterfall on the Kiso Road”

“Aoigaoka Waterfall in Edo“

“The Falls at Ono on the Kiso Road”

“The Waterfall at Yoshino Where Yoshitsune Washed His Horse”

“Kirifuri Waterfall on Mount Kurokami in Shimotsuke Province“

MORE

Visipix: A world center for visual inspiration  http://visipix.dynalias.com/search/search.php?u=2&userid=2082431059&searchmethod=tree&startsearch1=go

Viewing Japanese Prints/Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849)  http://www.viewingjapaneseprints.net/texts/ukiyoetexts/ukiyoe_pages/hokusai_3falls.html

Artelino Japanese Prints     http://www.artelino.com/articles/japanese_print_sizes.asp

Fuji Arts/A Tour of Japanese Waterfalls (Shokoku taki meguri)     http://www.fujiarts.com/cgi-bin/encyclopedia.pl?page=hokusai_a_tour_of_japanese_waterfalls

Minamoto no Yoshitune     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minamoto_no_Yoshitsune

Related articles

• Katsushika Hokusai Part II “Journey to the Waterfalls in All the Provinces” (legendofthetenguprince.wordpress.com)
• Katsushika Hokusai: Swept away by Japanese genius (independent.co.uk)
• Katsushika Hokusai Part III (legendofthetenguprince.wordpress.com)
• “Hokusai and Rivière: Two Series of ‘Thirty-six Views’” (search.japantimes.co.jp)
• Hokusai Manga (coolhunting.com)
• Hokusai Manga compiles works of Katsushika Hokusai (teleread.com)
• Woodcuts and more: Hokusai show opens in Berlin (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Woodcuts and More: Hokusai Show Opens in Berlin (abcnews.go.com)

The Art of Hokusai Katsushika (1760-1849) Part 1 June 5, 2011

Katsushika Hokusai is a Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker of the Edo period. An expert on Chinese painting, he is best-known for his woodblock print series entitled: Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji.

The The Great Wave off Kanagawa

South Wind, Clear Sky (also known as Red Fuji)

Fuji Bay of Noboto

Asakusa Hongan-ji temple in the Eastern capital [Edo]

View Field in Owari Province

WEB LINKS

Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty-six_Views_of_Mount_Fuji