How was your New Year holiday?
I have been in my grand-ma’s home in Kyoto. Japan was hit by a heat wave in last summer, and now tortured by chilly cold. Kyoto surrounded by mountains was also terribly cold, but I enjoyed peaceful moments watching TV and eating New Year feast.
For Japanese people, New Year recalls a visit to shrine. I guess a lot of people have already visited one of those for new year’s wish. As we have a word “Yaoyorozu no Kami (=eight million gods)”, we have believed there are so many gods in Japan since ancient era. And these gods have been chosen as subjects of paintings. This time, I would like to introduce you artworks featuring gods worshipped in Japan.
Akizuki Akira Ama-no-Uzume
Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper/sealed/box inscription
JPY. 165,000- 117.2 × 39.0 （202.0 × 52.6） cm
The first is “Amenouzumenomikoto” by Akizuki Akira who is known for Buddhist painting with original taste. He depicted in this painting a goddess who appears in a legend called “Iwatogakure”. Iwato means a cave where Amaterasuomikami, a goddess of sun, withdrew in anger at her younger brother, Susanoonomikoto’s repeated violence. Because of this, the world blacked out, and disaster occurred one after another. Amenouzume, another goddess, saved this crisis. She enthusiastically danced with her breasts exposed in front of the cave, applauded by a lot of gods assisting there. Wondering, Amaterasuomikami slightly opened the entrance, then got dragged out from the cave, and light came back to the world. From her fabulous performance, Amenouzume is now worshipped as goddess of entertainment. Her dance depicted in the artwork would entertain not only gods of ancient times but also contemporary viewers.
Kajita Hanko Benzaiten
Hanging scroll, ink and color on silk/signed and sealed
JPY. 300,000- 124.7 × 50.0 （212.7 × 65.5） cm
The next is “Benzaiten” with beautiful profile. Benzaiten who is known as one of seven gods in Japan derives from Hindu goddess called Saraswati. Probably, this artwork was depicted after Saraswati rather than Benzaiten. The music instrument she holds in hand is a kind of lute called Vina. The bird like goose in the bottom of the screen is a sacred bird called Hamsa, giving a ride to Saraswati. The painter is Kajita Hanko. He is well known as master of brilliant pupils including Maeda Seison, Kobayashi Kokei, or Okumura Togyu today, but this artwork proves his outstanding technique and representation as painter.
Kaho Akira Nachi falls
Framed, ink and color on paper/ signed and sealed
JPY. 450,000- 51.9 × 32.2 （68.2 × 48.5） cm
The last is “Nachi” by Kaho Akira. Nachi Fall located in Kumano, southern part of Wakayama Prefecture is the longest fall in Japan, and from the dignified appearance, it has been worshipped since ancient era. The name of Kumano began to be recognized after an emperor and a retired emperor in the late Heian period and the early Kamakura period did imperial visit to Kumano frequently. In the background, there was spreading of a manifestation theory called “Honjisuijyakusetsu” which taught God was avatar of Buddha, making people believe that the whole region where located Kumano was pure land.
Worshipping Kumano later spread to common people, and at the peak, a mass of pilgrims were compared to a line of ants.
Nachi Fall which Kaho Akira depicted is a subtle world with white and black keynote. The beauty and dynamism emphasizes Nachi Fall’s presence as object of worship.
This is all I wanted to introduce, but now we know there are so many gods with different background have been worshipped such a long time. And it also proves that Japan has been accepting so many different culture and religion from other countries. In Japan, we celebrate New Year visiting shrine only one week after celebrating Christmas, and it often causes antipathy that Japanese people are unfaithful. But it might be showing Japanese people’s generosity in some way.
This year also, Shukado is planning a lot of projects including catalog, news letter, and exhibition. We would appreciate your continuous support.
text by Okubo Kenshi
