Enjoy traditional Japanese forms works celebrating Meiji Jingu by Japanese Contemporary Artists

The literal meaning of the expression “shikansuiyo” (紫幹翠葉) is “purple trunk, green leaves”, but it is used to refer to a beautiful scene from nature. Since prehistoric times, the Japanese people have prayed in thanks to the spirits of the mountains and forests, and that attitude forms the basis of the traditional Japanese relationship with nature. And it is not only in the symbolic Mt. Fuji or cherry blossom that beauty is to be found, but in the humble everyday nature of rice fields, wild flowers and birds, as well.For this exhibition, the forty participating artists have prepared their works with particular thought for the shrine and its sacred forests, and with a passion, awe and respect for nature and our daily lives. The media chosen for their works are the traditional Japanese forms of folding screens, hanging scrolls, partition screens (paintings) and folding fans. A centerpiece of the show is the fan-shaped paintings exhibited together along one wall, which were commissioned from thirty contemporary artists, renowned for both their skill and talent.

Since the 1990s, Takeshi Honda has produced works in a “mountain walking” series. Living in the Tono region of Iwate prefecture, he sometimes walks for more than ten hours in the mountains. He photographs the mountain scenery and draws it with charcoal pencil. For Honda it is a process of recording memory, and an affirmation of his own existence.

This work of cute frogs that were found printed on a toy box, arranged around a space in the middle of the image, is painted with mineral pigments in the traditional Nihonga technique. Just as the sacred forest has been nurtured over one hundred years, so the Japanese have loved small animals and plants since ancient times. The term “Nihonga” was coined in the Meiji era, and Nakamura’s work investigates how that technique can be applied to contemporary times.

Just as in Emperor Meiji’s poem “utsusemi no yoyogi no sato shizukanite to no hoka no kokochi kososure” (“The quiet of Yoyogi makes it feel far away from the city”), even today the imperial gardens are so quiet it is easy to forget you are in the center of Tokyo. Artist Ryo Shinagawa found that quiet in the irises, and they gave birth to this work. By using a gold-leaf screen which draws you into its world, the work lures you into a meditative state “far away from the city”.

This work uses as its motif the Yatagarasu three-legged crow that appears in Japanese mythology and is connected to the emperor. This could be said to be Tenmyouya’s first ever abstract work. With references to western artists Mark Rothco and Yves Klein, he has created a powerful screen reminding one of the unseeable nature of Japan’s gods. 

Yoi Kawakubo is a photographer living in London. This work is a photograph of Mt. Fuji seen from west Izu Peninsular, mounted on a hanging scroll. In the foreground the island seem to be a married couple rock. The work not only shows a deep affection for nature, but reminds us of the problems of the environment, too, triggering thoughts on how we might rethink our daily lives.

At Meiji Jingu there are people who quietly sweep the approaches, knows as The Sweepers (Hakiyasan). Artist Hiroshi Sugito was struck by their steady work, never disturbing the pilgrims coming and going. Their movements, and the unique shape of their hand-made brooms became the motif for this work.