#Japan

Cats

Maneki Neko – Those Lucky Cats

We’ve all seen those jovial, happy cat figurines in Asian restaurants and shops. Sitting upright with their raised paw, smiling face, and trademark...

Nadine Waldmann 4 June 2023

House in Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture, Arbol, 2019. Image credit: Photo © Yasunori Shimomura (pages 38-39) Asian Art

Japanese Interiors: An Ode to Exterior Within Interior

In an essay featured in his book Design as Art published in 1966, the artist and designer Bruno Munari praised the simplicity, brightness, and...

Ania Kaczynska 31 May 2023

Women Artists

An Art Dialog Between Yayoi Kusama and Georgia O’Keeffe

Article presenting the relationship Yayoi Kusama and Georgia O'Keeffe developed during their career.

Amélie Pascutto 22 May 2023

Men praying by turbulent waters in a torrential downpour. Asian Art

Rain in Japanese Art

Although Japanese weather varies greatly across the archipelago, the abundance of rain throughout the year remains a common phenomenon across Japan.

Maya M. Tola 10 May 2023

Utagawa Hiroshige maple trees: Utagawa Hiroshige, Maple Trees at Mama, Tekona Shrine and Tsugi Bridge, One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, 1857, ink on paper, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Detail. Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Maple Trees at Mama by Utagawa Hiroshige

Utagawa Hiroshige’s prints were exported to Europe and became very popular with Western artists. Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh owned...

James W Singer 10 May 2023

Asian Art

Japan’s Greatest Masterpiece: (Thirty) Six Views of Mount Fuji by Hokusai

Everyone knows The Great Wave off Kanagawa, the print created by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai. But not everyone knows that The...

Zuzanna Stańska 10 May 2023

Japanese woodblock prints Asian Art

How Japanese Woodcuts Are Made

Hokusai’s Great Wave from the series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji and Hiroshige’s The Plum Garden in Kameido from One Hundred Famous Views of...

Irina Diana Calu 10 May 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Courtesan Hinaaya of the Chōji House by Kikukawa Eizan

The Courtesan Hinaaya of the Chōji House by Kikukawa Eizan, is one of the woodblock prints from Vincent and Theo van Gogh’s collection in the Van...

Urvi Chheda 10 May 2023

Interview

Navigating the Complexities of Identity: Interview with Tomokazu Matsuyama

Tomokazu Matsuyama is a contemporary New York based Japanese artist who explores his bi-cultural upbringing through his unique artistic style. He...

Ania Kaczynska 1 May 2023

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: Bridge in the Rain (after Hiroshige) by Vincent van Gogh

In the mid-19th century, Japanese ports were suddenly opened up to international trade, and Europeans went crazy for Japanese culture and art,...

Kelly Hill 30 March 2023

Sakura and hanami: Katsushika Hokusai, Fuji from Gotenyama at Shinagawa on the Asian Art

Sakura and Hanami: The Art of Impermanence

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said, “Art is long, and time is fleeting.” This sentiment perfectly expresses the idea of hanami, or flower viewing.

Ledys Chemin 20 March 2023

Contemporary Art

Superfab, Superflat! The Most Renowned Works by Takashi Murakami

Takashi Murakami is a Japanese artist best known for his collaborations with multiple fashion brands and famous singers. You may know him from his 2019 collab with Billie Eilish, for the music video of You Should See Me in a Crown. His creativity is informed by traditional Japanese arts and modern Japanese pop culture. His artworks appeal both to the masses as well as collectors of fine art.

Rucha Vijay Bodas 6 March 2023