Edo Art Revealed: Ukiyoe in Boston
(this article first appeared in the october 23, 2006 issue of newsweek international)
Works Long Stored in Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Reach Tokyo
Though it happened a decade ago, Masato Naito vividly remembers the moment of discovery. He and fellow art scholars were studying old Japanese paintings in a research room at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. Unfolding a piece of old fabric, they glimpsed a rare cotton banner bearing the portrait of Zhong Kui, the Demon Queller, the legendary Chinese figure believed to ward off evil. The piece was quickly confirmed to be the only existing banner handpainted by the renowned Edo artist Katsushika Hokusai. "We were so excited," recalls Naito, the chief curator of Tokyo's Idemitsu Museum of Arts. That wasn't the only surprise they found while studying more than 700 ukiyo-e paintings collected by a 19th-century Boston surgeon named William Bigelow, which had never been thoroughly examined before. "We didn't know of the existence of 90 percent of them," says Naito. "Those were the happiest days of my career."
Works Long Stored in Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Reach Tokyo
Though it happened a decade ago, Masato Naito vividly remembers the moment of discovery. He and fellow art scholars were studying old Japanese paintings in a research room at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. Unfolding a piece of old fabric, they glimpsed a rare cotton banner bearing the portrait of Zhong Kui, the Demon Queller, the legendary Chinese figure believed to ward off evil. The piece was quickly confirmed to be the only existing banner handpainted by the renowned Edo artist Katsushika Hokusai. "We were so excited," recalls Naito, the chief curator of Tokyo's Idemitsu Museum of Arts. That wasn't the only surprise they found while studying more than 700 ukiyo-e paintings collected by a 19th-century Boston surgeon named William Bigelow, which had never been thoroughly examined before. "We didn't know of the existence of 90 percent of them," says Naito. "Those were the happiest days of my career."
Regional Roundup Tokyo is up at ARTINFO
"A. 2005" (2005)
Futo Akiyoshi Courtesy of Taro Nasu Tokyo
Regional Roundup - Tokyo is up at ARTINFO. Go to http://www.artinfo.com/News/Article.aspx?a=22611.
Shows mentioned are: Miyako Ishiuchi's "mother's" at Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography; Leiko Ikemura's "Pacific" at Shugoarts; Yosuke Amemiya at Yuka Sasahara and Futo Akiyoshi at Taro Nasu.
New Book by Chikako Atsuta
Here it is, "Living with the Internet on the East Coast," by my good friend, the late Chikako Atsuta.
Buy the book at:
http://www.shinpusha.co.jp/cgi-bin/php2/data_more.php?more=4-289-00133-5&select=&mode2=mbook
http://item.rakuten.co.jp/book/4105501/
http://www.bk1.co.jp/product/2703022
http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/4289001335/ref=sr_11_1/250-2834863-6466606?ie=UTF8
Or you can find her writings (both in Japanese and English) at:
http://chikako-atsuta.net/
She left us on August 20, 2004. Her legacy lives on.
Joey Sr. likes Asian girls... but we don't like him
Last year I saw an episode of "Joey," the "Friends" spin off, in which Joey the actor is excited that he'll be interviewed by People magazine. He says to his agent: "Wow, People magazine. My mom is gonna be so excited. If you just get me into Playboy with an Asian on the cover, my dad can read about me too!" (Episode title: Joey and the Valentine's Date).
Then last night, I saw (and you wonder why I would still watch this show) another episode, "Joey and the Dad." His friend Alex is upset with Joey's father, who's visiting from New York.
Joey wonders why she's unhappy (yes, Alex is a she -- an attractive woman), and says: "I get it; you are insulted because he didn't make a pass at you. All right, well, if you want him to, just throw on a geisha outfit; he's got this Asian thing."
And a big laugh. I just don't get this... how is this funny? Somebody said this is a way to portray his dad as pathetic, ignorant and insensitive. On whose expense?
Then last night, I saw (and you wonder why I would still watch this show) another episode, "Joey and the Dad." His friend Alex is upset with Joey's father, who's visiting from New York.
Joey wonders why she's unhappy (yes, Alex is a she -- an attractive woman), and says: "I get it; you are insulted because he didn't make a pass at you. All right, well, if you want him to, just throw on a geisha outfit; he's got this Asian thing."
And a big laugh. I just don't get this... how is this funny? Somebody said this is a way to portray his dad as pathetic, ignorant and insensitive. On whose expense?
My favorite Mako moments on TV
Mako in "Columbo: Muder Under Glass" (1978)
According to an essay by Yumiko Murakami, author of a Mako Iwamatsu book (in Japanese) titled "East Meets West: Mako and Susie's US-Japan Stories" (1993), in the August 1, 2006 Asahi Shimbun, Mako didn't care much for his film roles. He did movies in order to support East West Players, which he co-founded in Los Angeles in 1965.
Unfortunately I'm not familiar with Mako's theater work because I've always lived in Tokyo. I am familiar, however, with some of his numerous guest starring roles in TV shows.
Some of my favorite Mako moments on TV:
1) Mr. Ozu, a Japanese businessman in the episode "Murder Under Glass" (1978) of "Columbo." The murderer is a French food critic, who entertains Mr. Ozu with fugu and geishas. At home. Where Columbo shows up and gets a clue from Ozu. But really, if you just get in L.A. from Tokyo like Ozu did, would you eat fugu there? I don't think so...
