'Sōtatsu: Making Waves': an exhibition review

choi

Lee Lawrence, A Master Resurfaces; Despite his celebration of the power and beauty of nature, Sotatsu had sunk into near oblivion. Wall Street Journal, Jan 7, 2016.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/sota ... s-review-1452123184

Note:
(1) This is a review on an exhibition:

Sotatsu: Making Waves. Arthur M Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Oct 24, 2015 to Jan 31, 2016 (video).
http://www.asia.si.edu/sotatsu/
(Discover Tawaraya Sōtatsu, one of the most influential yet elusive figures in the history of Japanese visual culture.Sōtatsu: Making Waves is the first exhibition outside Japan to tell his story—a once-in-a lifetime experience in which two of the artist’s most important paintings, the Freer’s Waves at Matsushima and Dragons and Clouds, will be on public view”)

(2) "Walking into 'Sotatsu: Making Waves' we can almost hear the splash of waves swirling, eddying and cresting in a wild, enigmatic golden seascape that spills across two six-paneled folding screens."

Eddy (fluid mechanics)
www.britannica.com/science/eddy-fluid-mechanics
("Eddy, fluid current whose flow direction differs from that of the general flow"/ caused by an obstacle ("In the lee of an obstacle"), wind, etc)
(a) lee (n):
"1:  protecting shelter
2:  the side (as of a ship) or area that is sheltered from the wind"
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lee

For example, a boulder on river bed has the lee on the back side (relative to the flow direction).
(b) Not to be confused with lees (n) 渣滓；沉澱物.

choi

(3) "Probably made about 1625 and 1628, the scene floats, unmoored to anything but the ink drawing that is occasionally visible beneath the pigments (a technique known as horinuri 彫塗). Despite its title, 'Waves at Matsushima 松島図' doesn’t feel like the representation of a place."
(a) 彫（り）塗（り）: "日本画の彩色技法の一。初めに引いた描線を塗りつぶさないように線を避けて彩色するもの。"
松村 明 (ed), デジタル [Digital] 大辞泉. 小学館, undated.
https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%BD%AB%E5%A1%97-631580

My translation: horinuri: one of color skills in Japanese painting. First delineate boundaries, then paint with color while averting the outlines  

* For dictionary, see (4).
(b)
(i) 松島図屏風
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/松島図屏風
(俵屋宗達の筆となる屏風画。6曲1双、紙本金地着色; 宗達の代表作の一つだが、明治時代後半にアメリカに輸出され、1960年代まであまり存在を知られていなかった)

my translation: painting on [two] folding screens by 俵屋宗達. Six panels [each] a pair, on paper with golden background; A “代表作 masterpiece or representative work” of 宗達, it was exported to US in the latter half of Meiji period [1868-1912] -- and thus up to 1960s, its [continued] existence was relatively uncertain

* Here 曲 is pronounced with its Chinese pronunciation “kyoku” -- the same as the one when defined as a “tune.”
(ii) 屏風
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/屏風
("向かって右側の屏風を右隻、左側の屏風を左隻と呼ぶ。 * * * 奈良・平安時代は一隻六扇（六曲）が一般的で")

my translation: When you face [a pair of folding screens], the right one is 右隻, and the left one, 左隻. In the Nara and Hei-an periods, a folding screen has six panels usually
(c) Matsushima  松島
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matsushima


(4) Japanese English dictionary:
* 彫る(P); 雕る; 鐫る 【ほる】 (v): "to carve; to engrave; to sculpt; to chisel"
* nuru 塗る 【ぬる】 (v): "to paint; to plaster; to lacquer; to varnish; to spread; to smear; to put up (wallpaper)  <ジョンがドアにペンキを塗っていた。        John has been painting the door>"
  ^ glossary of Japanese words of Dutch origin
     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gl ... rds_of_Dutch_origin

     Quote:         "Japanese transliteration (rōmaji) ...... Japanese term (kanji or kana) ......        Dutch term ..............English term(s)
                        penki .................................................ペンキ .......................................(pek) verf, teer ........house paint"
* seki [Chinese pronunciation] 隻 【せき】 (ctr): "(1) counter for ships (large boats); (2) counter for half of a pair (eg half of a folding screen); (3) counter for fish, birds, arrows, etc"
* tarashikomu 垂らし込む 【たらしこむ】 (v): "to drop into, drop-by-drop"
   ^ tarasu 垂らす 【たらす】 (v): "(1) to dribble; to spill; (2) to suspend; to hang down; to slouch; to dangle  <彼女は御茶にレモンの汁をたらした。        She dropped lemon juice into her tea>"
   ^ 込む 【こむ】 (v): "to go into; to put into"
* nijimu にじむ 《滲む》 (v): "(1) to run (of liquid); to spread; (2) to blur; to blot; to be blurred; (3) to ooze; to well up (of tears, etc)"
* kataoshi 型押し 【かたおし】 (n,v): "stamping; embossing"

choi

(5) "Scholars know little about Tawaraya Sotatsu * * * Except for the occasional flare of interest—including Charles Lang Freer’s purchase of two of the show’s masterpieces in 1906 and 1905—Sotatsu wasn’t on many people’s radar until the Japan Fine Arts Association 日本美術協会 [1879- ] exhibited his work in 1913."
(a) Tawaraya Sōtatsu  俵屋 宗達  ("fl [flourished] early 17th century")  em.wikipedia.org
(i) The "tawara" and "ya" are Japanese pronunciation of 俵 and 屋.
(ii) 俵
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/俵
("俵（たわら）は、わらを円柱形に編んで作られた袋。米や芋など農産物や、木炭や塩魚など各種の産品を包装し、出荷・保管・運搬する為に用いられた")

my translation: 俵 is a cylindrical bag made of straw (わら藁), used to wrap, ship, safeguard, transport agricultural products (rice, taro), charcoal and salted fish
(iii) The "sō" and "tatsu" are Chinese pronunciations, respectively, of kanji 宗 and 達.
(b) Charles Lang Freer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Lang_Freer
(1854 – 1919)
(c) Return to (1).
(i) Click the link "Waves at Matsushima" and you will learn the number assigned to the painting is F1906.231-232, So Freer the person donated it to Freer gallery in 1906.
(ii) Click "Dragon and Cloud" and you will see catalog number F1905.229-230.

choi

(6) "co-curator FURUTA Ryō 古田 亮 from Tokyo University of the Arts"

(7) "The first part of 'Sotatsu' focuses on the breadth, inventiveness and exuberance of his work. Plucking episodes from Japanese literature, for example, the artist variously arranged scenes from the 'Tale of Genji' across an eight-panel gilded screen, encapsulated moments from the 'Tales of Ise' in small, colorful compositions”
(a) The Tale of Genji 源氏物語  (world's first novel; was finished in its present form by 1021, when the author of the Sarashina Nikki wrote a diary entry about her joy at acquiring a complete copy of the tale)
(b) The Tales of Ise 伊勢物語  (a collection of waka ['和歌, literally, "Japanese poem" '] poems and associated narratives; authorship unknown)  en.wikipedia.org

ja.wikipedia.org: 書名の文献上の初見は『源氏物語』

my translation: The title 伊勢物語 was first recorded in The Tale of Genji [it goes on speculating 伊勢 could be the bane of an ancient province 伊勢国, poetess Ise, Priestess 伊勢斎宮 at Ise Grand Shrine 伊勢神宮) , etc]

(8) “In his ink paintings, meanwhile, Sotatsu variously distilled a plum tree to its bare essentials, evoked the ethereal nature of an eccentric Zen priest perched in a tree, and infused giant dragons with otherworldly force and mystery. The tones range from smoke-wisp [ie wisp of smoke] grays to outer-space blacks. As in much of his painted work, Sotatsu here and there deployed a technique known as tarashikomi. He added layer upon still-moist layer so that the ink pooled into random, semi-translucent shapes, imbuing the work with depth and texture.”
(a) 垂らし込み／溜込: "日本画の技法の一。色を塗って乾かないうちに他の色を垂らし、にじみの効果を生かすもの。俵屋宗達の創案と考えられ、琳派(りんぱ)が多く用いた。"
https://kotobank.jp/word/垂らし込み-563197
(i) my translation: one of skills in Japanese painting. While the color of a paint stroke remains wet, something to create a percolating effect. It is thought that 俵屋宗達 created it, which was then copiously applied in 琳派.
(ii) A noun which is pronounced “nijimi,”  にじみ has a verb counterpart “nijimu.” For definition of the latter, see (4).
(b) two videos to demonstrate tarashikomi:
(i) 桜を描いてみましょう Wet drawing style Cherry blossoms. YouTube.com, uploaded by sakaihouichi on Jan 28, 2010
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRCeZm4MTNY
("「たらしこみ」「おとしこみ」とも言います。 'Tarashikomi' 'Otoshikomi' also known")
(ii) Sumi-e Drawing Dog Tarashikomi Technic たらしこみ. YouTube.com, uploaded by 水墨画TV on Jan 5, 2007.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyYt0w4SCwo

* The "sumi" and "e" are both Japanese pronunciations of kanji 墨 (ink) and 絵, respectively.

choi

(9) “Priming us to detect Sotatsu’s favorite techniques, a video early on illustrates horinuri, tarashikomi and a third technique, kataoshi, in which the artist used stamps to create patterns or repeat motifs. These appear in handscrolls and poem cards (some 7.5-by-6.5 inches) on which Sotatsu created designs with any combination of silver, gold, mica, ink and paint while Hon’ami Koetsu, a well-connected calligrapher and potter, penned classic verses.”
(a) “a video early on.”

The video at issue:
Sōtatsu’s Methods: The Visibility of Craft. YouTube.com, uploaded by "Freer | Sackler" on Dec 10, 2015.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72-UbC-LnKg
(b)  
(i) See (4) for the definition of kataoshi.
(ii) To press crocodile skin (with or without heat) in the making of a purse is also 型押し.
(c) mica  雲母
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mica
("Wet-ground mica, which retains the brilliancy of its cleavage faces, is used" in paints, cosmetic industry, and some brands of white toothpaste)
(d) HON-A-MI Kō-etsu  本阿弥 光悦
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honami_Kōetsu
(1558 – 1637)

choi

(10) “So how could Sotatsu have sunk into near oblivion? The second part of the show may point to an answer. We see painters well into the 20th century reprising Sotatsu’s techniques and compositions—most famously, O-GATA Kōrin 尾形 光琳 (1658-1716), who painted his own homage to ‘Waves at Matsushima’ and disseminated tarashikomi, making it a favored technique in the long-lived Rinpa 琳派 style he helped engender. We can almost feel these tributes falling like a thick mantle over the master, obscuring him from view.”

"OGATA Kōrin (1658-1716), who painted his own homage to 'Waves at Matsushima' "
(a) https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/松島図屏風
("尾形光琳の描いた松島図屏風は、宗達が描いたものを模したものであり、光琳は少なくとも4回描いている。現在ボストン美術館にあるものが有名で、これはアーネスト・フェノロサが買い求めたものである")

my translation: The 松島図屏風 painted by 尾形光琳 were modeled after Sōtatsu's. He at least painted four times. Presently the one in Museum of Fine Arts (at Boston) is famous, which was bought by Ernest Francisco Fenollosa," an American
(b) Ogata Kôrin, Waves at Matsushima 松島図屏風. Museum of Fine Arts (accession number 11.4584).
www.mfa.org/collections/object/waves-at-matsushima-25005

(11) painting caption: “Tawaraya Sotatsu’s ‘Nobles Viewing the Nunobiki Waterfalls,’ from the ‘Tales of Ise’ (early to mid-1600s). PHOTO: MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ARTS”
(a) 「宗達：創造の波」展作品リスト　（2015年11月2日現在）  List of works (as of November 2, 2015).  Japan Foundation, Nov 2, 2015
https://www.jpf.go.jp/j/project/ ... a/2014/pdf/1101.pdf

“Object 作品                                                                                                                                                        Collection 所蔵
伊勢物語色紙（布引の滝）                                                                 俵屋宗達                        1600年代初期から中期        ミネアポリス美術館
Nobles Viewing the Nunobiki Waterfalls, Tales of Ise, episode 87         Tawaraya Sōtatsu         Early to mid-1600s                 Minneapolis Institute of Art”

(b) The Japan Foundation  国際交流基金
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Foundation
(1972- ; a government agency of Japan that turned into "an independent administrative institution under the jurisdiction of the Foreign Ministry of Japan" in 2003)

Not to be confused with Japan Society (1907- ; based in Manhattan; a NGO).