Drop Everything And Go See The Dazzling Kayama Matazo Retrospective — You’ve Only Got Till March 2nd!
Autumn and Spring Motifs Combined
I had been hearing and reading great things about the big retrospective of Japanese artist Kayama Matazo's (1927-2004) work, which is being held at the National Art Center in Roppongi, but none of the raving comments could have prepared me for the powerful effect that the DEEP AND INTENSE beauty of his works had on me. Before seeing the exhibition today, I did not think I would be writing anything about it since it has been so well publicized. But my head is still spinning from this truly great assembly of works and I thought that I had better urge anyone interested in art to drop any plans for tomorrow or Monday and catch the last days of this show. Simply put, it is dazzling.
Kayama was the son of a Kyoto kimono designer, who came of age just after WW2, when Japan had been literally bombed back to the stone age. Maybe that is why, when searching for a style to work in, he chose the same animal motifs treated by the neolithic artists who painted the murals of the Lascaux Caves, or the prehistoric creators of Japans Haniwa (clay figurines). His early winterscapes with wolves and ravens perfectly capture the dog eat dog world of Japan back in the ruins of those early post-war years.
He continued to paint animals, while trying out styles reminiscent of the surrealists, symbolists, and fauvists. Animals are a theme Kayama would come back to again and again in his career, and his feeling for them can be felt in his loving renderings, especially of cats and birds.
He then turned to traditional Japanese motifs, which he had absorbed like mother's milk growing up in Kyoto, which he used in new ways (for example having autumn and spring scenes in one painting), in an attempt to eliminate TIME from his works. ALL of his fans, waves, full moons, and cherry trees are used tastefully and to great effect.
Sometimes his rendering of traditional wave patterns reminded me of aboriginal painting, with the multiple lines tingling my retina like Thai food tickles my tongue.
As you wander through the exhibit (I kept going back to the beginning and starting over each time I reached the end!) is like a walk through the history of Japanese art, and you will find the influence of nearly all the great schools of Japanese painting (there are even a few ink paintings -- sumi-e).
The retrospective also displays Kayama's kimono, ceramic, and jewelry designs. Once again, I found everything DEEPLY beautiful and in perfect taste.
It's already past midnight and it's been a long and over-exciting day, so I will stop here. Go and see the exhibit for yourself. There are only 3 days left!
Here is the National Art Center's website:
www.nact.jp/english/index.html
In front of the airport-like building are trees decorated with purple, frisbee-like, plastic dishes. From far away they look like an amazing new tree. From up close, they look... well... like trees with purple frisbees in them.
You might not believe this but a few hundred meters away, at the Suntory Art Museum in the Tokyo Mid-Town Complex, there is an equally recommendable exhibition of the treasure of the Mii-Dera Temple in Shiga. I will tell you more about it another day. You can easily combine the two shows for an art-viewing marathon as I did today, but I think it's a little too much stimulation for one day.
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First Burger King Restaurant to Open in Shinjuku Tomorrow
It's been 6 years since Burger King pulled out of Japan, but the "whopper" will back again... tomorrow!
Burger King Japan will open its first Burger King shop in Shinjuku tomorrow at 7am. It'll be on the first floor of a building called "Tokyo Island It's". You may not recognize the name of the building, but some of you may recognize the artwork: a big sculpture of "LOVE" by a very famous American artist, Robert Indiana. Tokyo Island It's is directly linked to Nishi-Shinjuku Station on the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line.
The second Burger King restaurant will open on Friday, June 22 in Ikebukuro. It'll be in the "Alpa Building" of Sunshine City. It's across the street from Tokyu Hands and is less than a 10-minute walk from Ikebukuro Station.
According to the Burger King's website, both of those restaurants will be open from 7am to 10pm. However, it also says "予定" (yotei/plan) after its hours, so I guess their store hours are tentative.
Will the new Burger King shops bring in the chaos like the new Krispy Kreme doughnut shop did in Shinjuku? (There are still long lines there, by the way.) I hope not, but I also hope that my son, who somehow thinks it's fun to stand in a loooong line to get "good food," won't find out about this!
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Free guided tour of Akihabara!
You might have heard of free guided tour of Akihabara in English and other foreign languages, but did you know that the free guided tour is now being offered every Saturday now? This weekly free guided tour will go on until next January, so why not take the advantage of this opportunity… even if you are a longtimer!
"New Discovery of Akihabara" - main page and English page
Free tour ''New Discovery of Akihabara'' on every Saturday, will take you the places where is the most excited in Akihabara such as, pop culture ( Kotobukiya ,Tokyo Anime Center ) , electric town and duty free shop.
Period : Every Saturday
July 7, 2007~January 19, 2008
Tour guide language : EnglishMeeting place : 1st floor of Radio Kaikan
(30 seconds from the Akihabara Electric Town Exit )
Meeting time : 0:50PM
Departure time: 1:00 PMTour course
(please visit the New Discovery of Akihabara website for details):
*1 Radio Kaikan
*2 Electric Town / Shopping District
*3 Tsukumo Robot Kingdom
*4 Overseas model products
*5 Knowledge Field at UDX building
*6 Radio Kaikan (disband)
Fill out a questionnaire and disbands at Radio Kaikan.
( Gift will be given at the end of the tour.)The tour takes approximately 2 hours.
* The tour course may change due to weather.
*Let us remind you that you may be interviewed by Japanese TV or newspapers due to strong popularity of the tour.
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Getting to Tokyo Disneyland from Tsukuba
Tokyo Disneyland is one of the most-visited theme parks in the world (after its cousins in the US) and it is but a short train ride from Tsukuba. For those of you who would like to make a trip to Tokyo Disneyland during your time in Tsukuba, here are two ways to get there by train.
Option 1:
Take the Tsukuba Express from Tsukuba Station to Minami Nagareyama Station (南流山). Take the JR Musashino line (武蔵野) from Minami Nagareyama Station to Maihama Station (舞浜).
Option 2:
Take the Tsukuba Express from Tsukuba Station to Akihabara Station (秋葉原). Take the Yamanote line (山手) from Akihabara Station to Tokyo Station (東京). Take the Keiyo line (京葉) from Tokyo to Maihama Station (舞浜).
If you get good connections, you should be able to make it to Tokyo Disneyland from Tsukuba in just over an hour and a half. The second option requires more transfers, but it might actually be better because all three lines are quite busy, so you shouldn't have to wait for any of the trains for very long.
You can also drive, but it is not really recommended as the traffic around Disneyland tends to be pretty heavy. There are also buses, but they too can get delayed by traffic, so it is probably best to take the train, especially if you have young kids with you. The Tokyo Disneyland website has more information about access options if you want to try another method anyway.
Ticket prices can be seen on the Disney site, but you can also buy tickets from travel agencies, some convenience stores (Lawson, I think) and some hotels. It's a good idea to get your tickets in advance so you don't have to wait that long at the gate. Also, it's a good idea to go on a weekday rather than the weekend if possible. The waiting times are OUTRAGEOUS on holidays.
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Hearing Another Side of the Famous Story (The CHUSHINGURA) at the remains of KIRA KOZUKUNOSUKE‘s manor house (吉良上野介義央の邸跡) in Ryogoku, Tokyo
This small park, actually a courtyard surrounded by traditional NAMAKO style walls, is all that remains of the once grand KIRA MANSION
By Avi Landau
At the start of the 18th century, a series of dramatic events would occur in the city of Edo which made a deep impression on the townsfolk. This was not lost on the artists and writers of the time, who quickly used the basics of the story that had unfolded as an inspiration for woodblock prints and various dramatic works for the Kabuki and Bunraku ( puppet theater) stages. Over the subsequent 300 years ( right up to the present, that is), the same tale has been reworked again and again in countless adaptations- in novels, comics, modern stage productions, tv dramas, and films . Familiar to the Japanese under the title CHUSHINGURA (忠臣蔵)- the 47 Ronin, in English- this story of treachery, ritual suicide, loyalty and revenge, has long been an ICONIC part of Japanese culture ( a staple of the Christmas-New Year`s season), one which you will find the Japanese of today still surprisingly familiar with down to the small details- as I shall point out later.
A small INARI SHRINE which is said to have stood on the grounds of the old manor
But first, for those not familiar with the CHUSHINGURA, let me provide the basic elements of the story.
A Feudal Lord called Asano needed instruction on the etiquette which would be required for a ceremony (involving visitng memebers of the Imperial Court from Kyoto) he would have to perfom at the Shogun`s castle. ( Asano`s fief was in what is now Hyogo Prefecture, but his ancestors, before the Edo Period, actually lived at the foot of Mt. Tsukuba, in Makabe Town- now part of Sakuragawa City)
He called on the services of a well known specialist in the field of proper manners of the time ( especially those related to the Imperial Court)- Lord Kira Kozukenosuke.
Lord Asano failed to perform the above mentioned ceremony properly and was humiliated.
In a rage, Asano drew his sword ( something that was strictly forbidden, under penalty of death, within Edo Castle), and attacked Kira, wounding him slightly.
Lord Asano, as a punishment for this infraction, lost his domain and was ordered to perform ritual suicide. He did this, and was buried at a temple called Sengaku-Ji.
Lord Kira, as a result of the scandal, had to move house, from a location near the castle, to a vast villa on the other side of the Sumida River- in what in now Ryogoku, Tokyo.
After 18 months of laying low and planning, 47 of Lord Asano`s loyal retainers (ranging in age from 15 to 77) attacked Lord Kira`s manor, killed him, took his head, and washed it in a well.
This assault is known as the UCHI IRI ( 討入）, in Japanese, and took place on the 14th day of the twelfth month ( according to the old lunar calendar) in 1702.
The band of samurai then carried Lord Kira`s head across Edo, all the way to the grave of their Lord at Sengaku-Ji, where they presented it as evidence of revenge completed.
The loyal retainers, known to the Japanese today as the Ako Ro-shi (赤穂浪士i, though looked upon with admiration and approval by the Shogunate ( and others) for acting as samurai were supposed to act, were ordered to take their own lives with ritual suicide ( which was considered to be the most beautiful way a warrior could die).
The 47 were then interred beside their master at the Sengaku-Ji Temple
Heavy stuff, which as I said left a deep impression on the Japanese even in its rawest form. When molded into drama by the most talented of writers the story took on a life of its own.
An image of Lord Kira at the site of the old manor house at which he was assassinated
A closer look
One notable element which is common to virtually all the different adaptations of the story is that Lord Kira is a villain. It is greed, lust, spite or just downright evil which lead him to trick Lord Asano into embarrassing himself at the ceremony. In other words, in Japanese culture, Lord Kira has become the consumate, the archetypical BAD GUY.
An the outer wall of the courtyard ( made of beautiful tile and plaster) a plaque give a little history
And most people never really question this image of Kira- his vileness having been so deeply ingrained into peoples heads. The same was true for me, a fan of several versions of the story, until the other day- a day upon which many (incorrectly) commemorate the UCHI-IRI- when I was presented with ANOTHER VERSION OF THE CLASSIC STORY.
Let me begin by going back a couple of days earlier.
I had been talking with some Japanese friends and heard that one of them had recently seen a Kabuki version of the Chushingura. The conversation was animated and I was truly impressed by how well these people knew the story and its various adaptations in film and on television.
They then mentioned that the anniversary of the UCHI-IRI was coming up, saying that it was on DEC. 14th (though the real events happened sometime in January- this discrepancy arises from the fact that Japan changed its calendar to the gregorian Calendar in the 19th century), and how in the past they had visited Sengaku-Ji temple for the occassion. They related how on the memorial day each year, the air was so filled with the smoke of incense offered by overflowing of visitors that one could hardly see or BREATHE!
Now that was something I wanted to see- AND I did have a little time to scoot over to Tokyo on the 14th. Still, thinking about it more carefully, I didnt have THAT much time to get all the way down near Shinagawa. I remembered, however, that Lord Kira`s former mansion, the site of the actual UCHI IRI itself, was in Ryogoku- Just two stops from Akihabara Station and easilly accessible from Tsukuba.
I decided that I had to go there on the memmorial day.
Inside the courtyard pictures tell the story
Arriving at the small courtyard-like park which comprises what remains of the once vast manor house is a little disappointing. My friend Samuel, who had joined me on this adventure even muttered an: It`s so small !
According to a leaflet I picked up there, the grounds of the Kira Estate have in fact over the centuries been reduced to 1/86th of their original size!
The little that does remain IS still impressive, however, with the beautiful NAMAKO walls, made of tile and plaster creating a very special place. Within the courtyard the walls create are the well used to wash Lord Kira`s head, ( the Kubi Arai Ido), a small INARI SHRINE dedicated to Kira`s falled retainers, a carved image of Kira, and a few traditional style paintings ( from woodblock prints?) which tell their own version of the story of what happened 300 years ago.
But the most interesting part of this visit was not the sights to be seen, but the stories to be heard (and read).
We HAD come to Kira`s old neighborhood, so its only natural that we should hear HIS SIDE of the story.
Praying to the spirits of those who died on that fatefull day
What I found so impressive was that the people of that neighborhood ( even the taxi driver) felt it was important for visitors to get to know the REAL Kira. Though villified for centuries and made into Japan`s favorite BAD GUY, I was told that the man was and STILL IS greatly respected in his home town ( and by this I mean his actual domain in what is now Aichi Prefecture), as a good ruler.
Apparently, he created plenty of new rice land with reclaimation projects, and improved salt production ( in an area lacking in that necessity). He is especially remembered for building river embankments which were very important to the presperity of his home region where he is referred to as Kira-Sama ( which bears with it a sense of respect and affection).
Now I am sure that there are those of you ( like me), who feel skeptical about the emotions of a hometown crowd. But, even the scholars who have closely examined the historical record have found nothing notably unusual or bad about Kira. He seems to have been quite an ordinary man of his time ( for someone of his high rank).
It IS possible, however, that Kira did not teach Asano thoroughly ( or correctly) enough to perform his duties properly because of Asano`s failure to pay the appropriate fee ( along with other gifts on the side). The fact was, that though holding a high rank and well respected for his mastery of etiquette ( he had successfully greeted the Emperor at a special ceremony), Kira did NOT have a lot of money and relied on his teaching fees. This probably even meant some other kinds of extra gifts besides payment ( something which is not uncommon even today).
Anyway, what was pointed out to me was that it was not Kira who was greedy and loathsome, but Asano who was just plain crazy!
It was also stressed to me that Asano had about 500 samurai ! Why did only 47 join the attack! Why, they ask, is that never mentioned in the telling of the story.
The more I thought about it, the more I had to agree. Kira probably wasnt that bad of a guy and Asano was certainly a hot-headed nut. I cant wait for the day when a movie is made in japan showing THAT version of the story- with a sympathetic Kira, out-of-control Asano and then the story focusing for a while on the 450 samurai who decided NOT to avenge their master`s death!
My experience on that day,just goes to show you once again that you always have to dig deeper into any version of historical events you might encounter. What you will find will almost surely be more interesting that the highly crafted drama you are presented with.
Oh, and one more thing I learned which might be of interest to those living in the Tsukuba area. When Kira lived in what is now Ryogoku, the neighboring manor was that of the Tsuchiya Clan of Tsuchiura. Apparently the Tsuchiurans were allies of the 47 Ronin and raised their lanterns high to help illuminate their way as they tried to break into Kira`s home.
I have written more about Ryogoku here:
http://blog.alientimes.org/2011/09/ryogoku-is-sumo-and-so-much-more/
All the photos on this posting were taken by Oluwafemi Adelabu Samuel
And if you do make it to Ryogoku by the end January, there is now a special exhibition being held at the Edo-Tokyo Museum ( in Ryogoku) on the Chushingura in pictures! It runs through January 29th.
Here is a link ( in japanese):
http://www.edo-tokyo-museum.or.jp/exhibition/project/index.html
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