"I lived in a hut near the summit of Mt. Fuli, the highest mountain in Japan,
for five months straight, four years in a row,
for a total of 600 days. Each morning,
I photographed the dawn from the same spot, chasing the ever-changing
drama that unfolded before my eyes.
[more inside]
posted by zarq
on Jun 6, 2013 -
8 comments
light AMPLIFICATION - Is the color of future of your future neon pink? Is the language Japanese? Are the city's an eternal nighttime of airbrushed martini glasses, glossy red lips and consumer electronics? Do you jam with the console cowboys in cyberspace? Then this is the tumblr for you. [via
mefi projects]
posted by Artw
on Dec 29, 2012 -
44 comments
With their brutal, simple riffs and aggressive, fast tempos, Accept were one of the top metal bands of the early '80s, and a major influence on the development of thrash. Led by the unique vocal stylings of screeching banshee Udo Dirkschneider, the band forged an instantly recognizable sound and was notorious as one of the decade's fiercest live acts. -
AllMusic
posted by Egg Shen
on Nov 21, 2012 -
29 comments
The Great Wave off Kanagawa is
probably the most iconic Japanese artwork in history, often used to illustrate tsunamis, and
scientists have attempted to analyze what kind of wave it depicts. The woodprint is part of the
36 Views of Mount Fuji series, which depicts the famous mountain from
different spots in Japan. The artist who made the Great Wave, Katsushika Hokusai, created thousands of images, many of which can be viewed online, such as in the internet galleries of the
Museum of Fine Art and
Visipix (Visipix'
Hokusai page). Besides woodprints, Hokusai produced sketchbooks he called manga, one of which, number twelve, can be flipped through on the Swedish
Touch and Turn website.
posted by Kattullus
on Sep 22, 2012 -
36 comments
Kokeshi Dolls originated in North-East Japan as wooden toys for children. They began being produced towards the end of the Edo period (1603~1868) by woodwork artisans, called Kiji-shi, who normally made bowls, trays and other tableware by using a lathe. They began to make small dolls in the winter to sell to visitors who came to bathe in the many hot springs near their villages, which was believed to be a cure for the demands of a strenuous agricultural lifestyle. [more inside]
posted by nickyskye
on Dec 19, 2011 -
20 comments
"In November 1855, the Great Ansei Earthquake struck the city of Edo (now Tokyo), claiming 7,000 lives and inflicting widespread damage. Within days, a new type of
color woodblock print known as namazu-e (lit. "catfish pictures") became popular among the residents of the shaken city. These prints featured depictions of mythical giant catfish (namazu) who, according to popular legend, caused earthquakes by thrashing about in their underground lairs. In addition to providing humor and social commentary, many prints claimed to offer protection from future earthquakes."
posted by madamjujujive
on Apr 8, 2011 -
19 comments
The House of Sharing is a place for the Halmoni to to live together and heal the wounds of the past while educating the future generations of the suffering they survived.
The View From Over Here details her visit to the House of Sharing, a therapeutic group home and museum for surviving "comfort women", who were systematically raped by the Japanese military during World War II. The museum displays art for and by the survivors. Via
Ask a Korean.
[more inside]
posted by ignignokt
on Dec 17, 2010 -
5 comments
An
AWESOME collection of sci-fi illustrations by the prolific Shigeru Komatsuzaki (1915-2001), whose fantastic work appeared on plastic model kit boxes and in magazines and picture books in the 1960s to 1970s.
via [more inside]
posted by Monkeymoo
on Jul 5, 2010 -
18 comments
Nichibunken Databases isn't a link that sounds promising, but oh, what a treasure trove of old Japanese art it is. Among the many lovely collections is the
Japanese folktales in foreign languages, another has maps, which is probably easiest to browse by
decade, then there's the
picture scrolls (some nsfw), and also
illustrations from an 1870s world tour. That's just a small taste of what's there. If, like me, you don't read Japanese, often you'll be going in with scant information of what will be on offer, but even random stumblings will reveal beauty and wonder. Just to get you started, here are
nearly 800 pictures of demons and
over 2500 floating world woodprints.
[Note: Blue dots mean the material is accessible to the public, red dots mean you have to have a login to see it]
posted by Kattullus
on Jun 25, 2010 -
10 comments
Shodo 'Arabi. "An appreciation of calligraphy is a lifelong interest for many Japanese, and for some, acquiring proficiency at it is a lifelong study. Yet, over the past two decades, a few have quietly put down their fude and picked up a bamboo qalam to try their hand at calligraphy in Arabic, which, they often find, is not as alien as they had thought."
posted by chunking express
on Jun 18, 2010 -
6 comments
Following the death of his sister to brain cancer,
Motoi Yamamoto adopted salt as his primary artistic medium. In Japanese culture salt is not only a necessary element to sustain human life, but it is also a
symbol of purification. He uses salt in loose form to create
intricate labyrinth patterns on the gallery floor or in
baked brick form to construct large interior structures. As with the labyrinths and unnavigable passageways,
Motoi Yamamoto views his installations as exercises which are at once futile yet necessary to his healing.
posted by netbros
on Mar 20, 2009 -
25 comments
Mingei is a transcultural word which combines the Japanese words for all people (Min) and art (Gei). The site has a flash interface and features over 5,000 high resolution, zoomable objects. More information on the
Mingei Movement.
posted by tellurian
on Jan 27, 2009 -
13 comments
The digital collection of the
Tokyo National Museum is full of wonder. TNM is the oldest museum in Japan and collects archaeological objects and art from Japan as well as other parts of Asia. The collection can be browsed by
type or
region. Here are some of my favorites:
Buddha's life,
The name "Korin" given to pupil,
Tale of Matsuranomiya,
Coquettish type,
Tea caddy in shape of bucket with handle,
Mirror, design of sea and island,
Traditionary identified as Minamoto no Yoritomo,
Seated Monju Bosatsu (Manjusri) and attendants,
Sword mounting of kazari-tachi type and (my current desktop background)
Figures under a tree. This is but a small sampling of all that can be found in the digital collection
posted by Kattullus
on Dec 22, 2008 -
4 comments
Phase — Mother Earth, a piece created by Mono-ha artist Nobuo Sekine in 1968, has been
re-created:
Consisting of a hole dug into the ground, 2.7 metres deep and 2.2 metres in diameter, with the excavated earth compacted into a cylinder of exactly the same dimensions, Phase — Mother Earth was instrumental in the early development of work by the Mono-ha artist group, and has been considered a landmark work in Japanese postwar art history.
More about Mono-ha inside.
[more inside]
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing
on Dec 3, 2008 -
8 comments
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