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JAPANESE PRINTS A MILLION QUESTIONS TWO MILLION MYSTERIES |
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Ukiyo-e Prints浮世絵版画Port Townsend, Washington |
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The painting of the
hallucinogenic |
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INDEX/GLOSSARY De Thru Gen |
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TERMS FOUND ON THIS PAGE:
Degatari zu, Dōbori, Dōsa, Dōsojin, Dotera, John W. Dower, Earl Ernst, Ebi, Ebisu, Ebiya, Eboshi, Edo, Edo no Hana Zukushi, Egoyomi, E-kyōdai, The Elements of Japanese Design, Ema, Emma, Engawa,
Fudō Myōō, Fuji, Fukiwa, Fukujusō, Fukurokuju, Fundō, Fūrin, Fusuma, Ga, Gagō,
Gaikotsu,
Gandō, Ganpi (also gampi), Ganpishi, Gassaku, Genga, Genji kuruma, Genji monogatari, Genpei and Genpei Nunobiki no Taki
出語り図, 礬水, 道祖神, 褞袍, 蛯, 恵比須 or 蛭子, 海老屋, 烏帽子, 江戸, 江戸の花尽くし, 絵暦, 絵兄弟, 絵馬, 閻魔, 縁側,
分銅, 風鈴,
襖, 画,
雅号, 骸骨,
雁皮紙, 合作, 原画, 源氏車, 源氏物語, 源平, 源平布引瀧 and 原色浮世絵大百科事典
でがたりず, どうさ, どうそじん, どてら, えび, えびす, えびや, えぼし, えど, えど.の.はなずくし, えごよみ, えほん, えきょうだい, えま, えんま,
えんがわ,
ふじ, ふきわ, ふくじゅそう, ふくろくじゅ, ふんどう, ふうりん,
ふすま, が, がご, がいこつ,
がんどう, がんぴ, がんぴし, がっさく, げんが, げんじ.くるま, げんじ.ものがたり, げんぺい, げんぺいぬのびきのたき and げんしょくうきよえだい.ひゃっかじてん |
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One more note about this page and all of the others on this site: If two or more sources are cited they may be completely contradictory. I have made no attempt to referee these differences, but have simply repeated them for your edification or use. Quote anything you find here at your own risk and with a whole lot of salt. |
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TERM/NAME |
KANJI/KANA |
DESCRIPTION/ DEFINITION/ CATEGORY Click on the yellow numbers to go to linked pages. |
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Degatari zu
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出語り図
でがたりず
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Prints which include images of the musicians who accompanied many kabuki performances. John Fiorillo provides a wonderful commentary about this genre. He notes that the literal translation of this term is "pictures of narrators' appearance".
The use of such musicians and chanters makes sense because of the early link between kabuki and music and dance. Long before kabuki had become what we know it as today these different art forms were all parts of a whole. In time they evolved to musicians and a narrator on raised platform behind the actors.
The image to the left above is by Toyokuni I (Ca. 1811-14) was sent to us by our great contributor Eikei (英渓). Thanks Eikei! The one below that is by Kiyonaga who created this style.
Michener in his The Floating World translates degatari as "come out with words".
"Kabuki borrowed from Noh and Bunraku in creative ways and modified the received stylistic conventions. When a play from Bunraku is being performed in Kabuki, for example, the gidayu chanter, accompanied by samisen players, is seated on a dais on the stage left apron. This form of narration is called degatari ('visible narration'). In some instances, the narrators and players are placed in an alcove set on stage left and screened from view by a bamboo blind." (Quoted from: Japanese Classical Theater in Films by Keiko McDonald) Gidayu is the narration for Bunraku or puppet theater. "This form of chanted narration, originated by Takemoto Gidayu (1651-1714), is extremely strenuous, and actors study it from an early age to develop their voices." (Quote from: Kabuki: A Pocket Guide) Samuel L. Leiter in his Historical Dictionary of Japanese Traditional Theatre says that "Gidayū initiates degatari convention of chanting in full view."
Kiyonaga (清長 or きよなが: 1752-1815) was the originator of the print sub-genre known as degatari zu or "pictures featuring the accompaniment". (Source: Ukiyo-e: An Introduction to Japanese Woodblock Prints by Tadashi Kobayashi) "It is a degatari-zu (a print depicting a dance scene with degatari... in the background), a genre made popular during the Tenmei era (1781-89) by Kiyonaga..." (Quoted from: Masterpieces of Japanese Prints: Ukiyo-e from the Victoria and Albert Museum by Rupert Faulkner) |
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In My Friend Hitler and Other Plays of Yukio Mishima it states that another term for degatari is yuka no jōruri. The yuka is a slightly raised platform at stage left and angled toward the audience.
In Brandon and Leiter's volumes on Kabuki degatari is translated as "onstage narrative". They also note that the performers wear formal costumes.
"The general term for the musicians and singers who appear on the stage is degatari, a word written with two Chinese characters meaning to come out and to declaim." (Quoted from: The Kabuki Theatre by Earle Ernst)
"In the Kabuki, the players of the various schools of music are always seated on the stage in full view of the audience. There is a great deal of formality in their arrangement, quite unlike the happy-go-lucky placing of Chinese theatre musicians, who also sit on the stage. The various schools by long tradition occupy special positions during the performance. Nagauta players sit at the rear of the stage facing the audience. Kiyomoto and tokiwazu players sit at the left of the stage to the audience and gidayu players to the right.... ¶ All stage musicians, of whatever school, wear kamishimo, the ceremonial dress of the samurai in former days." This costume appears to date back to the time when Takemoto Gidayu received an honorary title from the government. ¶ "There is a strict formality about the movement of the musicians of the stage, who sit motionless and upright when not performing. In the case of gidayu, both musicians bow on first appearing before the audience, and the tayu lifts the script from the small reading stand in front of him and places it to his forehead as a mark of respect. They sit on a dais, which is known as the degatari dai, it is built on a revolving base divided from the backstage by a screen, against which the musicians sit. In the middle of a play, the degatari dai can be swung round to reveal two more musicians on the other side and this way, the performers are relieved in the speediest fashion without interfering with the course of drama on the stage." (Source and quotes from: The Kabuki Theatre of Japan by Adolphe Clarence Scott) |
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Dōbori |
胴彫 どうぼり |
Body carver: In the hierarchy of carver skills this ranks below that of 'head carvers' and 'hair carvers'.
For more information see our entries on kashirabori and menbori. |
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Dōsa |
礬水 どうさ |
Sizing for paper |
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Hiroshi Yoshida wrote that it seemed to him that in time the sizing disappears from a woodblock print and that this has a positive effect. "I know for a fact that sizing does disappear in time for sized paper may be all right for use for a year or so, but after a longer time the paper has to be resized to be in a proper condition for printing, showing that the sizing does disappear. And I know also that when hōsho [奉書 or ほうしょ] paper-comes fresh from the paper-maker, the pleasing feeling which its surface gives is almost irresistible. Equally remarkable is that loss of that pleasing feeling, which one cannot help noticing, when paper comes back after having been sized prior to using it." ( Japanese Woodblock Printing by Hiroshi Yoshida, 1939, p. 7) ¶ Yoshida stresses the use of sizing for kyōgō or black ink keyblock prints used for making color blocks. "Black ink keyblock print used for making color blocks. "If a sheet of paper lacks dôsa, it will shrink when the pigment is put on to indicate the colour, and the colour block made from it will be smaller than it should be, and will not agree with the others. No emphasis can be too great to stress the fact that a kyôgo must be made right..." (p. 31) ¶ Dōsa "...gives the paper the right surface; it is absolutely necessary..." for the proper absorption of color during the printing process. (p. 41) "Moisture is necessary because of dôsa, and dôsa is necessary in order to harden the surface of the paper, both front and back. Otherwise it cannot be rubbed, as it must be in the printing, and the paper will stick to the block and be damaged." (Ibid.) ¶ Preparation: Sizing should be thicker in the summer than the winter. "Dôsa is prepared by boiling glue and alum in water in the following proportion: glue about thirty-three ounces and alum about fourteen ounces, boiled in about four gallons of water. This is the proportion for preparing the standard dôsa for the top side of the hôsho paper." (p. 74) The sizing is applied to the front of the sheet of paper by a broad brush and then hung up to dry. Then the procedure is repeated for the back side. Dôsa should be applied during dry days and not wet ones. ¶ "It is impossible to print on hôsho without dôsa. The paper sticks to the block, and the baren will not move smoothly on the back, but will damage the paper." (Ibid.)
In the Complete Printmaker: Techniques, Traditions, Innovations (by John Ross and Clare Romano, Simon and Schuster, 1991, pp. 39-40) another description is given for the preparation and application of dôsa. After heating one gallon of water an 8 ounce stick of animal glue is broken into pieces and dissolved in it. 3 to 4 ounces of alum are mixed in. Strain this through a double thickness of cheesecloth. Apply the sizing while still hot.
Sizing has a long tradition of use in European art going back to at least the 12th century. It too had an animal base and was probably produced in somewhat the same way. However, its use was somewhat different. In Japan or anywhere else for that matter sizing permits a far more controlled application of ink or pigment onto and into paper. Too much size and there will be no absorption. Too little and the ink/color will spread uncontrollably. ¶ In the West sizing served another purpose: It protected the support, i.e., canvas, panel, etc., from the corrosive effects of various binders or media.
"The size prevents the binder in the subsequent layers of the painting from being absorbed into the support, thereby weakening the painting. In addition the size prevents the penetration into the support of binders and vehicles that may have a deleterious effect on the support material. In the case of canvas, size also shrinks the fabric, to a taut smooth membrane (held, of course, by the stretcher)." A ground of gesso was placed on top of the layer of size. "Gesso - a mixture of animal glue, chalk (calcium carbonate), and at times a white pigment - has been used for centuries as a ground for both wooden panels and canvas." Today's gesso is not generally made with animal glue. Also, gesso serves another purpose dealing with the reflection of light from the paintings surface.
Source and quotes: The Science of Painting, by W. Stanley Taft, James W. Mayer, Richard Newman, Dusan Stulik, Peter Kuniholm, published by Springer, 2000, pp. 3-4.
And still more about European sizing: "The first stage was to give the whole panel, including any attached parts of the frame, several coats of glue size. Ordinary animal skin glues, boiled to a jelly and then dried in leaves for later reconstitution, were probably used, but according to Cennino the best size was made from parchment clippings soaked and boiled in water. These parchment clippings were waste product of the cutting of sheep or goat skins into rectangular sheets for manuscripts. The resulting glue is clear and pure, rather like modern cooking gelatine. The first applications of size were primarily to reduce the absorbency of the wood, preventing it from soaking up the adhesive from the later ground layers giving it as Cennino says 'a taste for receiving the coats of size and gesso' just as though 'you were fasting and had a handful of sweetmeats, and drank a glass of good wine, which is an inducement for you to eat your dinner'."
Quote from: Art in the Making: Italian Painting Before 1400, by David Bomford, Jill Dunkerton, Dillian Gordon and Ashok Roy, National Gallery, London, 1990, p. 17.
Question: Is there any connection between the Japanese use of sizing and that of the West? Was it a cultural borrowing? If anyone out there knows please contact me. Thanks.
Note that alum can in time produce sulphuric acid which can cause either the degradation of the paper or discoloration or both. Controlling the amount of alum used in sizing must be precise to avoid this problem. Surely Hiroshi Yoshida must be aware of this. In Japanese Papermaking: Traditions, Tools, and Techniques by Timothy Barrett (note #4, p. 285) the author notes "In the past most washi was not sized. When it was, animal glue with some alum was used as a surface size and applied with a brush to the dry sheet. Very early (pre-1400) sutra papers seem to show a surface size that was glazed or pounded into the paper after application of the size. Rice paste may have been added to the vat before sheet forming of some early Japanese papers to act as a size or to change the paper's texture." "Internal size" is a description of paper where the sizing was added to the vat during papermaking. "External size" or "surface size" is dôsa applied after an untreated sheet of paper has been made. "Surface sizes (such as starch or gelatine) not only alter resistance to liquids but also effect surface smoothness, erasability, strength, gloss, stiffness, and printability." (p. 305) |
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Dōsojin |
道祖神
どうそじん |
"A type of deity; a guardian of roads and village boundaries, worshipped in the form of stone images along the roadside. Also known as sae no kami [塞の神 or さえのかみ]... an ancient designation that suggests the function of 'obstructing' or 'keeping out' (sae) evil spirits. The dōsojin is often identified with the god Sarudahiko, who guided... the supposed ancestor of the imperial line, on his descent to earth. The object of worship takes various physical forms: a pair of figurines; male and female; an inscribed stela; or a simple stone, round or phallic in shape." Today their function has been expanded to support marriages, births and especially children.
Quote from: Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan, vol. 2, p. 132, entry by Ōtō Tokihiko.
In the The Power of Denial: Buddhism, Purity, and Gender by Bernard Faure (published by Princeton University Press, 2003, pp. 233-4) notes that "...those stone statues of the bodhisattva Jizō, which originally marked the border between this world and the other." Later Faure follows this with information about the 'stone woman' (umazume [石女 or うまずめ]) which refers to a sterile woman, but also has allusions "...to a certain type of lithic marker, the so-called uba-ishi [乳母石 or うばいし], meaning in this case, stones that are endowed with the power to bring fertility. One apparent exception is the 'Killing Stone,' immortalized by the Nō play Sesshō seki [殺生石 or せっしょうせき] In this case, the connotations seem quite negative. Yet one tradition claims that it was brought to Shinnyodō in Kyoto and carved into a Jizō statue. This statue is today part of the mizuko [水子 or みずこ] cult for aborted or stillborn children, but is also the object of prayers for fecundity and for the health of young children."
The photos of the dōsojin to the left are shown courtesy of 663highland at http://commons.wikimedia.org/. The same with the photo above. |
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Dotera |
褞袍
どてら |
A padded, cold weather robe or kimono. Dotera are also called tanzen (丹前 or たんぜん). Martin's Pocket Dictionary defines this garment as a padded bathrobe and many sites on the Internet describe it as being worn over an ordinary yukata. There is little verifiable information which we could find in English on this subject under the term dotera - almost nothing, in fact, but there is somewhat more under its alternative tanzen. Clearly from a number of sources the tanzen is also worn after a bath.
The image to the left is by Kuniyoshi. The one below is by Toyokuni III.
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Dower, John W. |
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Author of The Elements of Japanese Design 1 |
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Ebi |
蛯
えび |
Shrimp, prawn, lobster or crayfish. Ebi is a word that has numerous uses in combination with many proper names such as Ebizo, an actor's name.
One thing to note is that there are quite a few variations on the kanji characters which mean ebi. These include 蝦, 海老 and 鰕.
If you are interested in seeing more information and decorative examples of this motif then click on The Many Uses of Ebi. 1
In Mock Joya's Things Japanese (p. 465) it states "The ebi is regarded as a symbol of old age, the Japanese characters for ebi meaning 'the aged of the sea.' Thus ebi has been used on various happy occasions, not only on the table but also as ornaments. Lobsters used in New Year decorations were formerly preserved often as a charm for curing sickness and preventing evil fortune."
According to James Hall in his Illustrated Dictionary of Symbols in Eastern and Western Art (1994, pp. 34-5) by contrast, in China "...they are sometimes seen at the feet of the Kuan-yin... and symbolizes married bliss and harmony."
In Kodansha's Dictionary of Basic Japanese Idioms by Jeff Garrison (2002, p. 59) tells us that the phrase to "catch a sea bream with a shrimp" (海老で蛸を釣る) means "get a lot of bang for the buck" or "make a killing". (For a ton of stuff concerning the sea bream go to one of our Toyokuni III pages.) |
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Ebisu |
恵比須 or 蛭子
えびす |
One of the Seven Lucky Gods, the Shichi-fukujin. A god of fishermen and prosperity. Of the seven he is the only one with a purely Japanese origin. His symbols are the fishing pole and the red tai, i.e., red sea bream. 1
See also our entry on hiruko, the leech child. |
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Ebiya |
海老屋 えびや |
A Yoshiwara brothel 1 |
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Eboshi |
烏帽子
えぼし |
A tall lacquered courtier's cap. The image to the left is one of several variations used as a family crest or mon.
"In ancient days, all men, regardless of their position or occupation wore hats. Eboshi, a little pointed hat that was lacquered black, was usually tied on their heads. But sometimes, those who did not possess a proper eboshi or were too lazy to wear them, used to tie on their foreheads a piece of black paper cut in a triangle so that it looked as if they were wearing eboshi. From this developed the old custom of tying a triangular piece of white paper on a dead person's forehead. ¶ Of course, later, only nobles or those with court rank wore eboshi and commoners wore only sedge or other kinds of kasa."
Quoted from: Mock Joya's Things Japanese, pp. 26-7.
"Kammuri were gradually replaced by the lower-ranking eboshi, a soft or hard roundish hat of silk or gauze, later made of paper covered with lacquer. Etiquette prescribed the wearing of a head covering when greeting another person, and eboshi, like kammuri, were such an integral part of a nobleman's dress that, despite their lack of function, they were often worn indoors, sometimes even while sleeping. During the Muromachi period (1333-1568), when the chommage hairstyle... came into use, the popularity of the eboshi declined, and it was worn thereafter only in ceremonies or rituals of the court or shrines."
Quote from: Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan, vol. 3, pp. 118-9, entry by Ishiyama Akira.
See also our entry on kammuri on our Kakuremino thru Kento index/glossary page.
"A type of black (occasionally gold) lacquered hat in various styles worn by priests, warriors, noblemen, shirabyōshi, and others." Shirabyōshi were "Female entertainers of the Heian and medieval periods who wore male court caps and while (shira) robes, danced to percussion accompaniment, and sang songs, including imayō ["...or popular songs of the Heian and Kamakura periods, sung professionally...or by aristocrats themselves at elite entertainments"]. They are portrayed in many traditional plays."
Quotes from the glossary section of Traditional Japanese Theater: An Anthology of Plays, edited by Karen Brazell, Columbia University Press, 1998.
In one example from this book there is a photograph of an actor portraying a Shinto priest wearing an eboshi. In another an actor wears the mask of a young woman with an eboshi atop 'her' head. Variations of this type of head wear are used in Noh, puppet and kabuki.
While looking for information to add to this entry I glanced at The Great Japan Exhibition: Art of the Edo Period 1600-1868 catalogue (p. 215 - item #237) which shows a "Helmet in the form of a court cap" from the Momoyama period. The description of item #236 describes that helmet as "Leathered covered in gold foil and cut with conventional foliage decoration, with the character mu picked out in black lacquer". [Mu is the character representing the Zen Buddhist concept of 'non-existence'.] This entry continues: "Court caps (eboshi) of various types were, like headcloths (zukin) much imitated by Momoyama period armourers. Thsi example, said to have been used by the warrior Uesugi Kenshin (1530-1578), was probably inteded to be mounted on a helmet in Hineno style which is also in the Uesugi shrine."
Uesugi Kenshin is tangentially referenced on our Yoshitaki page dealing with the theme of Yaegakihime. |
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Edo |
江戸 えど |
Former name of Tokyo. Prior to its selection by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1603 as the location of the new base for the shogunate Edo had been only a small fishing village. In time real power emanated from Edo while the imperial capital remained in Kyōto. |
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Edo was originally a landed
estate or shōen -
In the early 17th century "Most of the lords built three large residences in Edo, the more assuming holding over a hundred acres of land in the city, with the result that daimyo residences (which included the quarters of their retainers) took up almost half of the city's area. Most of the daimyo maintained hundreds and some even thousands of retainers and servants, accounting for a considerable part of the city's population." (Quote from: 'Sumptuary Regulation and Status in Early Tokugawa Japan’ by Donald H. Shively, Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, Vol. 25, (1964 - 1965), p. 149)
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Egoyomi |
絵暦 えごよみ |
Literally a "picture calendar" - a type of surimono. "...frequently distributed among friends to bypass government control of the issuance of official calendars as well as to serve as witty greeting cards."
Quoted from: Jewels of Japanese Printmaking: Surimono of the Bunka-Bunsei Era 1804-30 by Joan Mirviss and John Carpenter - cat. entry #13, p. 60.
"Calendar prints (egoyomi) first appeared in the early eighteenth century. They were customarily exchanged among friends at New Year, and have the numbers of the 'long' and 'short' months of the new lunar year hidden in some part of the design."
Quoted from: The Actor's Image: Print Makers of the Katsukawa School, Timothy Clark, Osamu Ueda and Donald Jenkins, Princeton University Press, 1994, p. 76, note 2. |
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Most sources believe that the restrictions on the publication of calendars started in 1684. Previously there had been advances in astronomical measurements which brought doubts about the calculations being used. So a new system was put into effect in 1685. The new astronomical bureau was called the Tenmongata and did not supercede the older one but worked in concert with it in the production of each new calendar. "The Tenmogata took over the astronomical calculations... while the [older bureau] retained responsibility for the astrological elements." After 1684 privately printed calendars were prohibited. "Thereafter, all calendars were supposed to be calendrically and astrologically uniform." "...only recognised publishers could engage in this trade. They were generally known as calendar makers (rekishi 暦師) and there was a fixed number in the towns where they were permitted. In Edo there was a different system, for there was an established guild of calendar publishers: originally there were 28 of them but, as a result of an internal dispute, in 1697 the number was reduced to 11 and all others were forbidden to publish calendars." In 1841 all guilds were abolished under the Tempō reforms. ¶ Between 1697 and 1851 there were numerous edicts pronounced in an effort to control the calendar industry. "Several of these refer to the circulation of unauthorized calendars, presumably printed by those who were not members of the guild." They attempted to protect the guild's monopoly while "...they also testify to the supply of illicit calendars." ¶ There were two types of calendars considered illicit: the first were the 'abbreviated calendars' which were produced and released before the official one was approved by the Tenmnogata; the second were single-sheet calendars which "...were sold in shops and even hawked on the street corners, and offenders were to be severely punished..." because "...calendars were a 'serious matter'..." This "...almost certainly applies to the illustrated single-sheet calendars known as egoyomi 絵暦, and to some surimono prints which convey calendrical information."
The Japanese have long dai (大 or だい) and short shō (小 or しょう) months "...which were cunningly concealed within the composition of the [egoyomi]. For the visually sophisticated connoisseurs who produced and exchanged the egoyomi, deciphering the hidden signs and meanings within the print were part of the enjoyment. The characters dai and shō appear in many ways; in the pattern of clothing, on the walls or in objects, as alternating large and small objects, hidden in text or as decorative letters or numerals. They were printed privately to coincide with the New Year and often included a suitable poem, were not for sale and were exchanged between friends often at gatherings of poetry circles. ¶ By the early 19th century, the tradition of exchanging egoyomi had evolved into a new type of commissioned print, surimono (literally 'printed thing'). (Quoted from: Japanese Popular Prints: From Votive Slips to Playing Cards by Rebecca Salter.) |
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Ehon |
絵本
えほん
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Literally "picture book": One could speak volumes about this subject, but for now I want to limit myself to two elements. The first is a general description of ehon. On the inside flap of Ehon: The Artist and the Book in Japan by Roger Keyes it states that ehon "...are part of an incomparable 1,230-year-old Japanese tradition. Created by artists and craftsmen, most ehon also feature essays, poems, or other texts written in beautiful, distinctive calligraphy. They are by nature collaborations: visual artists, calligraphers, writers, and designers join forces with papermakers, binders, block cutters and printers. The books they create are strikingly beautiful, highly charged microcosms of deep feeling, sharp intensity, and extraordinary intelligence."
The second is based on a comment Keyes made on page 140 which had always puzzled me: "Most Japanese books of this period [ca. 1800 and earlier] were printed on semi-transparent paper. Even though the sheets were printed on one side and folded in half, faint images would often show through. Most readers simply disregarded this, just as they overlooked the 'invisible' assistants dressed in black on the theater stage." (See our entry on kurogo.)
On the left are three illustrations contributed to this site by our great contributor E. The top one shows the cover of volume 2 of Settei's Onna Buyu Yoso-i Kurabe (Competition of bravery in women) of 1757. The middle and bottom ones clearly illustrate the point being made by Roger Keyes.
Thanks E!
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E-kyōdai |
絵兄弟
えきょうだい
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"'Sibling pictures' (e-kyōdai) are works in which a small inset picture in a cartouche resembles the main part of the design in some way, creating an interesting comparison between the two. This kind of pictorial device was already used in works by Torii Kiyonaga dating from the 1780s, but the name comes from Santō Kyōden's comic novel (kokkei-bon) E-kyōdai (Sibling Pictures), published in 1794."
Quote from: The Passionate Art of Kitagawa Utamaro, published by the British Museum Press, London, 1995, text volume, p. 181.
For years viewers have asked me what this or that cartouche means. Generally I can't tell them, but now at least I can in a small percentage of them.
The detail from a Yoshitoshi print to the left above shows a bijin under an umbrella in a snowstorm mimicked by what may be a peasant walking away from us in the cartouche above. Below that is a detail from a Kuniyoshi print of an actor wearing a summer robe, seated on a red cloth on the grass looking down at a turtle. The cartouche in the upper right of that print shows one of the propitious gods accompanied also by a turtle. We have added an enlarged detail of that section for greater clarity. (I have doctored the original Kuniyoshi image blocking out much of the detail work so you can focus on the more pertinent elements.)
For another example in a print by Chikanobu click on the number one in the column to the right. 1
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The Elements of Japanese Design: A Handbook of Family Crests, Heraldry and Symbolism |
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This book by John W. Dower published by Weatherhill originally appeared in 1971. The image to the left is the cover of the 1991 paperback edition. Excellent volume with tons of basic information and over 2,700 illustrations. However, it is not a good guide for identifying the specific crests, i.e., mons of individual kabuki actors. 1 |
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Ema (also euma) |
絵馬
えま (えうま)
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Today these are votive plaques given to a shrine or temple in hopes of getting one's wishes fulfilled or in thanks for a wish granted. Literally the word 'ema' means 'horse picture'. Originally horses had an ancient connection to Shinto beliefs: Horses served both as vehicles for certain gods and as messengers between the spiritual and temporal worlds. One of the functions of the ema was to end drought by bringing rain. In time the plaques displayed other hopefully propitious images, but they were still called ema. Their first known mention comes from several 11th and 12th century manuscripts and/or illustrated scrolls. In time the ema could be decorated with almost anything associated with a specific god or any human condition or endeavor. For example, if someone wanted to give up smoking, gambling or a sexual addiction the ema might include an image of a lock. Many emas were produced as wished for palliatives: Hemorrhoids relief might show a stingray; warts an octopus because in Japanese those words are homonymous; sexual dysfunction....well, I think you can guess what is shown then; etc.
Eventually larger emas were created and often showed off the skills of aspiring and established artists like several members of the Kanō school, Hanabusa Itchō, Shunshō, Hokusai, Toyokuni I and Kuniyoshi, et al. (Source: Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan, vol. 2, pp. 196-7, entry by Money Hickman)
The graphic to the left above was contributed to our site by David Wilcox. The choice of a horse was mine. Thanks David! One note: often the symbolic image is accompanied by kanji characters, but neither David nor I felt that we were versed enough to know which terms would be the most appropriate. The image to the left below is a detail from a Kunisada print. And the image immediately below is from an ehon showing an artist who produced and sold ema. Notice that most of them are of zodiac figures. The coloring is mine.
"...the mother of Kūkai, who, as we will see, was worshipped at Jison-in (at the foot of Kōyasan) as a deity of childbirth, received ex-votos (ema) representing female breasts. Similar images were also offered at Mikumari Shrine in Yoshino, whose most important icon was Tamayorihime, the mother of the mythical ruler Jinmu... the name of the shrine, read originally as mikumari (water-dividing), came to be read as mikomori (protecting children). " (Quoted from: The Power of Denial: Buddhism, Purity, and Gender, by Bernard Faure, published by Princeton University Press, 2003, p. 160) |
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Emma |
閻魔
えんま |
King of Hell, i.e., Jigoku in Japanese 1, 2
Emma rules the spirit world and all deceased souls appear before him. "He has a bright mirror before him. When we appear before him, we see ourselves reflected in it. It illuminates our entire being, and we cannot hide anything from it. Good and bad, all is reflected in it as it is. Emma-samma looks at it and knows at once what kind of person each of us was while living in the world. Besides this he has a book before him in which everything we did is minutely recorded. ...there is no deceiving him. His judgment goes straight to the core of our personality. It never errs. His penetrating eye reads not only our consciousness but also our unconscious. He is naturally legalistic, but he is not devoid of kindheartedness, for he is always ready to discover in the unconscious something which may help the criminal to help himself."
Quote from: Mysticism, Christian and Buddhist, by Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, published by Forgotten Books, n.d., pp. 110-111. |
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Engawa |
縁側
えんがわ
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A veranda or porch which is protected by an overhanging eave and is generally an extension of an interior room.
The two images to the left were generously contributed to our site by E. Thanks E! Normally we only use one image, but both are so good we decided that we couldn't pass up one for the other. The top one is by Toyokuni I (豊国) and the lower one is a detail from an Eishi (栄之) print.
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槐 えんじゅ |
The Japanese pagoda tree: The flowers buds were used to create a traditional yellow dye. For more about this tree please visit out web log post at http://printsofjapan.wordpress.com/2009/06/20/traditional-yellow-pigments/.
This image was posted at commons.wikimedia.org by Warburg |
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(The) Forty-seven Loyal Retainers |
四十七士 しじゅうしちし |
"The story of the vendetta carried out by forty-seven rōnin (masterless samurai) who remianed faithful to the memory of their former master..." |
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Popularly known as the Chūshingura it was originally written for the puppet theater in 1748. "At the time the major Japanese dramatists were writing their plays for puppets rather than actors, a choice often attributed to dissatisfaction with the liberties that Kabuki actors often took with the texts."
Source and quotes from: Chūshingura: The Treasury of Loyal Retainers, A puppet play translated by Donald Keene, Columbia University Press, 1971, pp. ix-x.
Its full title is Kanadehon Chūshingura. "The first word means 'a copybook of kana,' a penmanship book for the writing of forty-seven symbols making up the Japanese syllabary." Written in kana, "...simple Japanese, rather than the high-flown style of the Confucian philosophers who praised the immortal forty-seven. But only pedants now use the full title of the play..."
Ibid., p. xi
For our entry on rōnin click on that highlighted word.
More extensive information will be added eventually on a page devoted to print with this theme. |
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Fú |
蝠
ふ (But with a rising tone in Chinese unlike Japanese) |
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札 ふだ |
One definition of this term is "charm/talisman". Below is a detail from a Hiroshi Yoshida print, Utagahama (歌ヶ浜 or うたがはま), from 1937 showing fuda applied to the beams and posts of the structure.
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Fuda were originally applied to columns and beams at temples and shrines by pilgrims using niwaka, a kind of gelatin glue. "The act of visiting temples and shrines to paste fuda appeared to be more fun than devotional, and became particularly unpopular with those in charge of the buildings who saw it as a form of vandalism akin to grafitti nowadays. This is an even greater problem today, when fuda are mass-produced as sticky seals which can damage buildings; the original paste was at least the relatively harmless nori (rice paste). Many shrines and temples now outlaw the activity, although this can act as encouragement to renegade pasters who try it anyway. [¶] The art of pasting the fuda underwent technical development too. Originally they were stuck by hand, in low places, but it then came to be seen as a challenge to paste them as high up as possible. An extraordinary early technique was called nagebari; a pasted fuda was placed on a damp towel and hurled high up at a beam or the ceiling. This may have been effective, but it lacked the control over position and placement which was important for the Edoite competitive spirit inherent in pasting. The preference was for a prominent spot where everyone could see and appreciate not only the design of the fuda but also acknowledge that the person had visited. These spots were called hitomi (literally 'seen by people')..." but had the disadvantages of being exposed to the natural elements or removal by others and might last at most only a few years. Another method was called 'secret pasting' or kakushibari where they were hidden away from the wind and rain and other humans and therefore might last for 50 to 60 years undisturbed. ¶ In time someone invented a long extension pole of bamboo to which could be attached two brushes, the meotobake or 'husband and wife brush.' One brush would dust a spot clean and the other brush would moisten the area before the fuda would be applied. (Source and quotes from: Japanese Popular Prints: From Votive Slips to Playing Cards by Rebecca Salter, pp. 96-97) |
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Fudō Myōō |
不動明王 ふどう.みょうおう |
Originating in the Hindu pantheon he came to be regarded as one of the five wise kings who despite his stern countenance is a saver of souls. His attributes are the sword with which he fights evil and the rope which he uses to lasso individuals who can be saved.
Anyone familiar with Fudō Myōō knows that he is always accompanied by flames. Daisetz T. Suzuki tells us why: "Acala's [the ancient Indian name for Fudō Myōō] anger burns like a fire and will not be put down until it burns up the last camp of the enemy: he will then assume his original features as the Vairocana Buddha, whose servant and manifestation he is. The Vairocana holds no sword, he is the sword itself, sitting alone with all the worlds within himself."
Quote from: Zen and Japanese Culture, Daisetz T. Suzuki, Bolingen Series LXIV, Princeton University Press, 1993, p. 90. 1 |
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The detail shown above is from a print by Toyokuni III portraying an actor as Fudō. Notice the fangs - one pointing up and one down. The eyes are not following true to form. Instead one eye is crossed - a dramatic technique invented by one of this actors predecessors. The image below is a detail of a photo posted at commons.wikimedia.org by Kenpei. It is of a sculpture of Fudō of indeterminate age but clearly modern. But that is not the point - the fangs are pointing in different directions. Again the eyes are not so easily read.
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Fuji |
藤
ふじ
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Wisteria: "Originally a wild mountain plant that twined itself around trees....was domesticated at an early date, and by the late Heian period was celebrated at parties sponsored by Japanese aristocrats. [Its]...trailing racemes of purple flowers, among the most popular of family crest and general decorative motifs..."
"The Fujiwara, whose name contains the ideograph for wisteria, was the most prominent court family in the Nara and Heian periods and had a tutelary relationship with those two religious institutions." (Quoted from: Symbols of Japan: Thematic Motifs in Art and Design, by Merrily Baird, p. 67)
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Above is a detail from a May 1932 print of the wisteria at Kameido.
Above is the same scene as the Hasui, but from a somewhat perspective. This one is by Hiroshige and the original is in the Brooklyn Museum of Art.
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Fukiwa |
吹輪
ふきわ |
An elaborate headdress worn by a princess.
Professor Samuel Leiter translates fukiwa as literally meaning "blow circle." A "...beautiful wig worn mainly by princesses (hime or himesama) in jidaimono. The large, round topknot (mage) contains a red hand drum-like ornament inserted horizontally through it, with a red bow and decorative starched paper strips (takenaga) hanging from beneath the topknot. Flower combs with silver plum blossoms and butterflies are inserted at the front."
Quoted from: New Kabuki Encyclopedia: A Revised Adaptation of kabuki jiten, compiled by Samuel L. Leiter, 1997, p. 99. 1 |
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Fukujusō |
福寿草
ふくじゅそう
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Literally "the grass of luck and longevity" and also referred to as the "pheasant's eye". This is the Adonis flower a symbol of the New Year and prosperity. Hokusai included it in more than one surimono.
The image to the left is a detail from a print by Yoshitoshi where a woman is trying to decide between the purchase of two different Adonis flower selections.
In Mock Joya's Things Japanese (pp. 193-4) it states that the "Fukuju-so (Adonis amurensis) has bright little golden blossoms. Its buds are silver gray, the leaves are green, but its blossoms are bright gold. Its name in Japanese means 'wealth-long-life-plant.' Because of its golden blossoms and also its lucky name, the flower is much admired by the people who use it especially for decorating their homes for the New Year celebration." This plant prospers in colder climes and is said to have originated in Hokkaido which was called Ezo-ga-shima. There is a story that says that "Once there lived in Ezo a beautiful goddess called Kunau. Her father betrothed her to the god of the earth-mole. But she did not care for the groom-elect selected by her father. Her refusal to marry the god of the earth-mole so angered her father that she was reduced to becoming a common wild blossom as punishment for disobeying her father. ¶ Thus she turned into a blossom which came to be known as Kunau or Kunau-nonnon. ¶ By the Ainu people, fukuju-so is still called Kunau. The tale of the Goddess Kunau is related by Ainu parents to their little daughters as a lesson teaching them the duty of obeying their parents. But if they were sure to be transformed into such beautiful blossoms, Ainu maidens might oppose the command of their parents to marry and follow the example of the Goddess Kunau."
These photos are shown courtesy of Shu Suehiro at http://www.botanic.jp/index.htm. |
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Fukurokuju |
福禄寿 ふくろくじゅ |
One of the Seven Propitious Gods. He is the god of wealth and longevity. 1 |
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Fundō |
分銅
ふんどう |
A weight or counterweight: One of the symbolic lucky treasures. To the left (above) is an image of a fundō from the robe of a beautiful woman or bijin in a print by Eishō. Her kimono is covered with this and other treasure symbols. Often seen along with other treasures as decorations on ceramics, fabrics and other items. The image on the bottom left is another variation on the fundō motif - also found on an Eishō print.
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Fūrin |
風鈴
ふうりん |
Wind chimes which are considered a sign of summer. The two kanji characters mean 'wind' 'bell'.
The top example to the left is from a print by Toyokuni III in combination with Hiroshige. The one at the bottom is a detail from a Chikanobu print. Click on the numbers to the right to see the full prints. 1, 2
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Fusuma |
襖 ふすま |
Sliding screen used as a room partition |
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"Rooms in houses rarely have more than one solid wall.... The other sides are closed off with sliding windows and doors, which move on double runners at the top and the bottom. At the bottom is a groove level with the floor or the mats, at the top a rafter one or two ells below the ceiling so that panels can be opened up and taken away as one pleases."
Quoted from: Kaempfer's Japan: Tokugawa Culture Observed, edited and translated by Beatrice M. Bodart-Bailey, University of Hawaii Press, 1999, p. 263.
U. A. Casal in his "Lore of the Japanese Fan", Monumenta Nipponica, vol. 16, no. 1/2, 1960, p. 82 tells the story of Araki Murashige (荒木村茂 or あらきむらしげ) who is summoned for an audience with Oda Nobunaga (織田信長 or おだのぶなが), but suspects that this could be dangerous. In those days "In lordly mansions the sliding doors (fusuma) were not of paper, but of heavy, wooden panels in even heavier frames. They moved in shallow grooves, as the paper fusuma (or karakami) still do. It was just outside of the open fusuma that the vassal had to make his first kowtow which would bring his neck right above the grooves..." Suspecting that this was the moment he feared he whipped out his long metal-based war fan and held it right below his chin. Suddenly the wooden panels were propelled toward his head, but stopped short with a loud noise.
There were similar scenes akin to this loads of movies: Star Wars, Flash Gordon. Not exactly the same, but similar where the walls were closing in until the heroes figured out a way to stop their progress.
Cool as a cucumber Murashige acted as though nothing had happened. Nobunaga was so impressed he forgave him whatever it was that had angered him in the first place. Their detente didn't last forever, but that is another story.
Fusumashōji (襖障子 or ふすましょうじ) were opaque sliding panels as opposed to akarishōji (明障子 or あかりしょうじ) which are lighter weight and translucent. First employed during the Muromachi period (室町時代 or むろまちじだい: 1392-1568). |
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Ga |
画 が |
Literally this means picture or drawing, but following a signature it means "drawn by" or "did this picture." 1 |
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Gagō (also called a gō) |
雅号 がご |
An art name. |
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In the West we have Christian names, surnames, nicknames, noms de plume, stage names, etc., but we have nothing quite like the assortment of names the Japanese have. Not only that but they are often changed and this makes it difficult for a novice to the field to know who is who. "You can't tell the players without a scorecard."
Richard Lane, who actually calls the gō a nom de plume, notes: "Indeed, of the thirty or more alternative names that Hokusai employed during his seventy-year career, about half were passing fancies. Most were used with the previous name for some time, so as not to confuse his public..."
Quoted from: Hokusai: Life and Work, published by E. P. Dutton, 1989, p. 23.
It is interesting that a quick search on the term gagō can also mean refined diction or polite expression. Gō by itself means word or language. |
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Gaikotsu |
骸骨
がいこつ |
Skeleton(s)
To the left is a detail from a print by Kyōsai.
For much more about skeletons in Japanese art go to our web log at http://printsofjapan.wordpress.com/. Today is June 19, 2010. As of now we have two posts devoted to skeletons, skulls and bones and will be adding a third post soon. |
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蝦蟇
がま |
Toad: In The Animal in Far Eastern Art... by T. Volker it says on page 167 "Besides the hare and the white tiger, gama, the toad is said to inhabit the moon, an idea that originated in ancient Chine. When once it looked as if the clouds would would capture the moon, the Archer-Lord... freed her with his shots. He was rewarded with an elixir of life but his Consort... stole it from it and with it fled to the moon. For punishment she was there changed into a toad." ¶ Demon toads fed on snakes, had poisonous spittle and could bring death to an entire countryside by spitting into the air. However, some had good qualities and could bring rain when it was needed. (Ibid., p. 168)
The Bufo japonicus shown to the left was posted at commons.wikimedia.org by Yasunori Koide.
Toads are also referred to as hikigaeru (蟇蛙 or ひきがえる) or simply as hiki. |
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蝦蟇仙人
がませんにん |
The Toad Hermit: This Taoist tale came to Japan from China. He "...was a seller of magic herbs. He lived in the mountains in company with a giant toad. A legend tells us that when he went bathing he was in the habit of changing into a four-legged toad. A different legend has it that once, he was going to bath [sic] in the river, a certain man... followed him and that Gama sennin gave this person a magic pill that changed him into a toad. Gama sennin feeding a pill to his toad is a frequent image. It is also said that once he found a sick toad, took it home and nursed it back to health. After it regained its health the animal turned out to be a demon, skilled in the magic arts, and instructed his benefactor in the secrets of his science. [He] is depicted as a very ugly fellow without eyelashes and a skin studded with pimples and warts." The toad is always nearby or on him or in some cases he is riding it. (Source and quote from: The Animal in Far Eastern Art... by T. Volker, p. 168)
The image to the left was posted at commoms.wikimedia.org by Tobosha. It is from a painting by Kyōsai. Above is a detail from a Hiroshige print from ca. 1820. The red background is ours.
Gama senin is also called Kō sensei (侯先生 or こうせんせい). The Chinese version is referred to as Hou Hsien-shęng. |
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WARNING: Do not be fooled into believing that every figure you see with a toad or toads (or frogs) is Gama senin. One is Tenjiku Tokubei (天竺徳兵衛 or Tenjiku Tokubei) who can often be seen astride a gigantic toad. Or, Jiraiya, another fictional character much loved in the early 19th century. |
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Gandō |
龕灯
がんどう |
A handheld lantern which directs a light very much like a flashlight does.
The image to the left is a detail from a print by Ashiyuki. To see the full print and much more info click on this link: |
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Ganpi (also gampi) |
雁皮 がんぴ |
A rare type of paper made from the wikstroemia plant 1 |
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Gassaku |
合作
がっさく |
A single work of art produced by two or more artists, i.e., a collaboration. In the example to the left the figures are by Toyokuni III and the flowers are by Hiroshige. There are many such examples in ukiyo prints and paintings.
There is a very informative and interesting article on this topic by Jan de Jong originally published in "Andon". Below is a link to that article in pdf form. I would encourage everyone to read this.
http://www.orandajin.com/dasite/Gassaku.pdf
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Genga |
原画 げんが |
This is the initial sketch, the first thoughts, for what will eventually be transformed into a woodblock print. But that is several stages down the road. "Drawings have served very different purposes for the Japanese and Western artist. In Japan, there has never been any real tradition of drawing purely for the sake of drawing. Students practiced drawing in order to learn it and use it as a preparatory stage in the process of making a painting or woodblock print." (Drawings by Utagawa Kuniyoshi from the collection of the National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden, by Matthi Forrer, 1988, p. 9) The exceptions are the Zenga, Shijō and Nanga schools among others. The first drawing precedes the hanshita which were used to carve the key block. As seen in many surviving examples genga can be very free form only hinting at the finished printed product. Lines may swirling flourishes and calligraphic brushwork which will never appear in the ukiyo print, but which, to my mind, show the true artistry involved in creating. The genga can be 'corrected', 'emended', added to, subtracted from and generally used as a working model. Eventually a more precise drawing will be made from this first form and from this an exact drawing will be worked up for pasting down onto the surface of a woodblock for carving by the master carver. In the process this final drawing is sacrificed to the knife.
Richard Kruml in Ukiyo-e to Shin Hanga: The Art of Japanese Woodblock Prints (p. 31) uses the term gakō (画稿 or がこう) for genga. "...a preparatory sketch (gakō) had to be drawn using a deer's fur brush and sumi on high-quality mino-gami paper."
PLEASE: If anyone out there has a genga which they could let us reproduce here we would be extremely grateful. Your privacy will be respected. |
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Genji kuruma |
源氏車 げんじ.くるま |
A decorative pattern of interlocking wheels --- probably of an ox cart which was a traditional means of transportation for the nobility. |
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Genji monogatari |
源氏物語 げんじ.ものがたり |
"The Tale of Genji" - Japan's first great novel written in the 11th century by Murasaki Shikibu (紫式部 or むらさきしきぶ). |
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Genpei |
源平 げんぺい |
A term which means both the Genji and Heike clans or the two opposing sides 1 |
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Genpei Nunobiki no Taki |
源平布引瀧 げんぺいぬのびきのたき |
Kabuki play: "The Genji and Heike at Nunobiki Waterfall" 1 |
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Genshoku Ukiyoe Daihyakka Jiten |
原色浮世絵大百科事典
げんしょくうきよえだい ひゃっかじてん |
An 11 volume ukiyo-e encyclopedia.
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In a syllabus for an art history class at Columbia University the Genshoku Ukiyoe Daihyakka Jiten is described as "the single most important and useful reference work in this area." Abundantly illustrated it offers visually more than any other source material on ukiyo-e subject matter that I know of. The text is entirely in Japanese and although my understanding of that language is somewhere to the far side of miserable these volumes still offer me a wealth of information. (Remember: every picture is worth a thousand....) Hours of struggling often end in epiphanies.
Volume 3 alone has been invaluable. At the back of that volume are two lists unlike any others I have seen anywhere: 1) A critical listing of more than 1,000 publishers' seals - far from comprehensive, but better than anything else I have ever seen. Each illustrated entry is accompanied by detailed information about that particular publishing house. And 2) what I believe is the most extensive list of date and censor seals that can be found anywhere.
I am not uncritical of encyclopedias in general whether they are written in English or any other language, but I have to admit that they are almost always the best starting point for a research project. Anyone interested in ukiyo-e who has access to this set should seriously consider spending the time it takes to get to know it well. It is rich and you will surely reap the benefits. |
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LINKS TO OUR OTHER INDEX/GLOSSARY PAGES Click on any of the pages listed below!
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