This is a fascinating woodblock print. I don't think it qualifies as ukiyo-e because it doesn't seem to embody any of the ideas or aesthetics usually associated with the art form. For one, there is no background. In most of the ukiyo-e prints that I have seen, even portraits of people have some kind of background to frame the subject. Now, there are many exceptions, but I have other reasons to back my argument.
The subject seems too violent. On the Library of Congress ukiyo-e web site, all of the prints of samurai (or actors dressed like samurai) have the subjects in stoic positions. Yes, some of them are posing while holding their swords. But none of them seem to imply any motion or force. The picture above looks like the subject is in the middle of a battle and is deflecting a metal projectile with a shield.
All in all, it looks too busy to be a classic piece of ukiyo-e. Maybe it was made by a more contemporary artist. Maybe this IS a classic ukiyo-e that was even mentioned in class by Mizenko-sensei while I wasn't paying attention (just kidding sensei! I'm ALWAYS paying attention in class ;) ). Maybe I'm full of it.
The most important part of this print would be the blast (cannon ball? fire? sunbeam?) being reflected off the shield. This power is what defines the rest of the scene-- the smoke, the flag and weapon shaking from the shockwave. Most portraits of samurai depict a graceful power pose, a set position meant to show their implied strength. This warrior in shown, amist a high variety of color, is caight in the middle of an attack. Instead of glaring fiercely at the viewer, this man is caught up in his own problems and is burrying his face down into his shoulder to minimize any potential injury. Some might interpret this as a sign of cowardice, but the magnitude of the explosion and the fact that the warrior appears to still be intact shows that this man is the real deal, not one of those posers in the traditional prints. As for the compostion, the amount of writing in the background could be a story of this particular warrior an account of a legendary battle. Overall, thought the representation of this soldier th print seems to be showing the might and durablility of this culture.
I agree with Nate's comment that this is probably not an Ukiyo-E painting--it is styled after the woodblock print style of that era (with a purpose, I believe), but the graphical use of the splintering shield and the complex layers of colour used in the print lead me to believe it's either a contemporary print using the Ukiyo-E's recognizable style to help create a certain feel, or a very late woodblock print out of that tradition. There is a solidity to the Samurai figure but he's under attack. I do not think this is an actor or a kabuki print; considering the amount of text, perhaps this is more contemporary or perhaps historical illustration. The splintering shield brings to mind the Japanese flag, which reinstills a sense of Japanese ownership to the image--not only is the style distinctly from a world-known Japanese style of print, but the image is of a samurai, popular in pop media as connected to Japan, and the bursting sun pattern, though here it is because of an attack and not used as a flag symbol.
While this is quite literally just ink on the page, how the print brings us to believe that this is a 'samurai' is through the heavily developed and easily reocgnized style of armour, the scrunched brow and tense face common in Kabuki-actor prints who are in mie as a strong warrior.
So, honestly, I didn't pay too much attention to the provenance of the image when I pulled it from Google Image Search. The site it came from states that it was done in 1849 by Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi, whom I've found very little information on. One site implies that this was just a studio signature and that the artist's real name was Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) of the Utagawa school of art.
Regardless, I agree that it does not seem like ukiyo-e, but nevertheless, it appears to be a woodblock print. I believe that it falls into the category of surimono, a subtype of wood block print, produced privately rather than commercially like ukiyo-e. The theme, of a "samurai parrying an exploding shell" (http://sanditan.com/?m=200704) is rather historical, which was a common among surimono (http://woodblock.com/surimono/history.html). The large amount of text makes me wonder if a poem is included since that was also common with surimono.
Personally, I chose the image because I like the starburst of the exploding shell against the shield, and also because I thought a woodblock print image would be good to start with since we were starting with ukiyo-e.
Samurai are obviously identified as something quintessentially Japanese, and the traditional armor and accoutrement, the shield, appear to hold against a modern weapon, at least in this captured moment. The late 19th c. was a period on the cusp of change; nations were interacting globally, technology was improving. Japan was being forced to accept those changes, since the West was diplomatically encouraging (with guns and a smile) a breakdown of their isolationist policy. There is conflict in this image and it's greater than one samurai and a shell; it's between past and future, and east and west.
Another thing I noticed is that the image is very patriotic, speaking of the myths of resilience and discipline and strength of the samurai. Of course, another myth that emerges is honor and seppuku (ritual suicide) because of dishonor. It's hard to believe a mere shield can protect against an exploding shell, and so maybe, what we witness in this image is really the honorable death of warrior, honorable because he keeps fighting despite the odds.
I would mark the signifiers here as the fire/blast in the foreground as well as the man (warrior?) behind it. I see some parallels between this and the prints that Professor Mizenko was discussing with us on Friday, most noticeably the artist's signature and the writing in the background.
I think that the vivid coloring of the blast, its significance in the image, and the intense expression on the warrior's face set up a myth of (passion in) war. This seems more modern than the ones we saw in the museum, due mostly to the bright colors, but I could be wrong there.
This image appears to be a woodblock print, or at least styled after one. The image is of a soldier blocking a blast with his shield. The burst on the shield is the first thing that your eyes are drawn to. When I first saw that it appeared to look like a flag, so I searched Japanese flags and found that the military flag of Japan is very similar to a burst (sun) with rays (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rising_Sun_Flag).
The colors of the garb on the soldier are very vibrant and ornamental. The artist is depicting a soldier in combat. It would be interesting to know what the kanji behind him reads, to see if they are depicting a story with the image.
This is a fascinating woodblock print. I don't think it qualifies as ukiyo-e because it doesn't seem to embody any of the ideas or aesthetics usually associated with the art form. For one, there is no background. In most of the ukiyo-e prints that I have seen, even portraits of people have some kind of background to frame the subject. Now, there are many exceptions, but I have other reasons to back my argument.
ReplyDeleteThe subject seems too violent. On the Library of Congress ukiyo-e web site, all of the prints of samurai (or actors dressed like samurai) have the subjects in stoic positions. Yes, some of them are posing while holding their swords. But none of them seem to imply any motion or force. The picture above looks like the subject is in the middle of a battle and is deflecting a metal projectile with a shield.
All in all, it looks too busy to be a classic piece of ukiyo-e. Maybe it was made by a more contemporary artist. Maybe this IS a classic ukiyo-e that was even mentioned in class by Mizenko-sensei while I wasn't paying attention (just kidding sensei! I'm ALWAYS paying attention in class ;) ). Maybe I'm full of it.
Regardless, I think it looks cool.
The most important part of this print would be the blast (cannon ball? fire? sunbeam?) being reflected off the shield. This power is what defines the rest of the scene-- the smoke, the flag and weapon shaking from the shockwave. Most portraits of samurai depict a graceful power pose, a set position meant to show their implied strength.
ReplyDeleteThis warrior in shown, amist a high variety of color, is caight in the middle of an attack. Instead of glaring fiercely at the viewer, this man is caught up in his own problems and is burrying his face down into his shoulder to minimize any potential injury. Some might interpret this as a sign of cowardice, but the magnitude of the explosion and the fact that the warrior appears to still be intact shows that this man is the real deal, not one of those posers in the traditional prints.
As for the compostion, the amount of writing in the background could be a story of this particular warrior an account of a legendary battle.
Overall, thought the representation of this soldier th print seems to be showing the might and durablility of this culture.
I agree with Nate's comment that this is probably not an Ukiyo-E painting--it is styled after the woodblock print style of that era (with a purpose, I believe), but the graphical use of the splintering shield and the complex layers of colour used in the print lead me to believe it's either a contemporary print using the Ukiyo-E's recognizable style to help create a certain feel, or a very late woodblock print out of that tradition. There is a solidity to the Samurai figure but he's under attack. I do not think this is an actor or a kabuki print; considering the amount of text, perhaps this is more contemporary or perhaps historical illustration. The splintering shield brings to mind the Japanese flag, which reinstills a sense of Japanese ownership to the image--not only is the style distinctly from a world-known Japanese style of print, but the image is of a samurai, popular in pop media as connected to Japan, and the bursting sun pattern, though here it is because of an attack and not used as a flag symbol.
ReplyDeleteWhile this is quite literally just ink on the page, how the print brings us to believe that this is a 'samurai' is through the heavily developed and easily reocgnized style of armour, the scrunched brow and tense face common in Kabuki-actor prints who are in mie as a strong warrior.
So, honestly, I didn't pay too much attention to the provenance of the image when I pulled it from Google Image Search. The site it came from states that it was done in 1849 by Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi, whom I've found very little information on. One site implies that this was just a studio signature and that the artist's real name was Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) of the Utagawa school of art.
ReplyDeleteRegardless, I agree that it does not seem like ukiyo-e, but nevertheless, it appears to be a woodblock print. I believe that it falls into the category of surimono, a subtype of wood block print, produced privately rather than commercially like ukiyo-e. The theme, of a "samurai parrying an exploding shell" (http://sanditan.com/?m=200704) is rather historical, which was a common among surimono (http://woodblock.com/surimono/history.html). The large amount of text makes me wonder if a poem is included since that was also common with surimono.
Personally, I chose the image because I like the starburst of the exploding shell against the shield, and also because I thought a woodblock print image would be good to start with since we were starting with ukiyo-e.
Samurai are obviously identified as something quintessentially Japanese, and the traditional armor and accoutrement, the shield, appear to hold against a modern weapon, at least in this captured moment. The late 19th c. was a period on the cusp of change; nations were interacting globally, technology was improving. Japan was being forced to accept those changes, since the West was diplomatically encouraging (with guns and a smile) a breakdown of their isolationist policy. There is conflict in this image and it's greater than one samurai and a shell; it's between past and future, and east and west.
Another thing I noticed is that the image is very patriotic, speaking of the myths of resilience and discipline and strength of the samurai. Of course, another myth that emerges is honor and seppuku (ritual suicide) because of dishonor. It's hard to believe a mere shield can protect against an exploding shell, and so maybe, what we witness in this image is really the honorable death of warrior, honorable because he keeps fighting despite the odds.
Site regarding the artist signature:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.kunisada.de/Kunisada-series72-Ogura/series72-ogura-1.htm
I would mark the signifiers here as the fire/blast in the foreground as well as the man (warrior?) behind it. I see some parallels between this and the prints that Professor Mizenko was discussing with us on Friday, most noticeably the artist's signature and the writing in the background.
ReplyDeleteI think that the vivid coloring of the blast, its significance in the image, and the intense expression on the warrior's face set up a myth of (passion in) war. This seems more modern than the ones we saw in the museum, due mostly to the bright colors, but I could be wrong there.
This image appears to be a woodblock print, or at least styled after one. The image is of a soldier blocking a blast with his shield. The burst on the shield is the first thing that your eyes are drawn to. When I first saw that it appeared to look like a flag, so I searched Japanese flags and found that the military flag of Japan is very similar to a burst (sun) with rays (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rising_Sun_Flag).
ReplyDeleteThe colors of the garb on the soldier are very vibrant and ornamental. The artist is depicting a soldier in combat. It would be interesting to know what the kanji behind him reads, to see if they are depicting a story with the image.