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Utamakura (Utamaro)
''Utamakura'' (, "poem of the pillow") is the title of a 12-print illustrated book of sexually explicit ''shunga'' pictures, published in 1788. The print designs are attributed to the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Kitagawa Utamaro, and the book's publication to Tsutaya Jūzaburō. Background Ukiyo-e art flourished in Japan during the Edo period from the 17th to 19th centuries, and took as its primary subjects courtesans, kabuki actors, and others associated with the "floating world" lifestyle of the pleasure districts. Alongside paintings, mass-produced woodblock prints were a major form of the genre. In the mid-18th century full-colour ' prints became common, printed using a large number of woodblocks, one for each colour. Kitagawa Utamaro (–1806) began designing prints in the 1770s; made his name in the 1790s with his ''bijin ōkubi-e'' ("large-headed pictures of beautiful women") portraits, focusing on the head and upper torso. He experimented with line, colour, and printin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
UTAMAKURA (POEM OF THE PILLOW)
is a rhetorical concept in Japanese poetry. Definition is a category of poetic words, often involving place names, that allow for greater allusions and intertextuality across Japanese poems. enables poets to express ideas and themes concisely—thus allowing them to stay in the confines of strict structures. Some scholars see the use of geographical allusion as the evidence for a restricted scope of poetry writing. Although the poets' "true" meaning was true because the essence was initially pre-established, the poems were written within fixed topics (). The poet could inhabit a subjective position or persona and write about the topic, but not necessarily about their personal feelings; therefore, could have restrained the scope of topics a poet could write about. include locations familiar to the court of ancient Japan, such as: * particularly sacred Shinto and Buddhism, Buddhist sites, * places where historic events occurred, and * places that trigger a separate mental ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nishiki-e
is a type of Japanese multi-coloured woodblock printing; the technique is used primarily in ukiyo-e. It was invented in the 1760s, and perfected and popularized by the printmaker Suzuki Harunobu, who produced many ''nishiki-e'' prints between 1765 and his death five years later. Previously, most prints had been in black-and-white, coloured by hand, or coloured with the addition of one or two colour ink blocks. A ''nishiki-e'' print is created by carving a separate woodblock for every colour, and using them in a stepwise fashion. An engraver by the name of Kinroku is credited with the technical innovations that allowed so many blocks of separate colours to fit together perfectly on the page, in order to create a single complete image. This style and technique is also known as , referring to Edo, the name for Tokyo before it became the capital. Edo Era Nishiki-e is also known as Edo-e, or azuma-nishiki-e. The technology to produce nishiki-e made printing complex colors and fig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Utamaro's Pictures Of Abalone Divers
The Japanese ukiyo-e artist Kitagawa Utamaro made a number of prints depicting ''ama'' divers—women whose work is to dive for shellfish or pearls—catching haliotis abalone sea snails. Amongst the prints are the first print in the erotic book ''Utamakura'' (1788); two triptychs called ''Awabi-tori'' (, "Abalone divers"), one from and the other from ; and the hexaptych ''Enoshima Yūryō Awabi-tori no Zu'' (, "Abalone divers hunting in Enoshima") of . Utamaro's heir published the triptych ''Enoshima Awabi-ryō no Zu'' (, "Catching abalone in Enomshima") in the early 19th century, signed ''Utamaro''. __TOC__ Background Ukiyo-e art flourished in Japan during the Edo period from the 17th to 19th centuries, and took as its primary subjects courtesans, kabuki actors, and others associated with the "floating world" lifestyle of the pleasure districts. Alongside paintings, mass-produced woodblock prints were a major form of the genre. In the mid-18th century full-colour ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edmond De Goncourt
Edmond Louis Antoine Huot de Goncourt (; 26 May 182216 July 1896) was a French writer, literary critic, art critic, book publisher and the founder of the Académie Goncourt. Biography Goncourt was born in Nancy. His parents, Marc-Pierre Huot de Goncourt and Annette-Cécile de Goncourt (née Guérin) were minor aristocrats who died when he and his brother Jules de Goncourt were young adults. His father was a former cavalry officer and squadron commander in the Grande Armée of Napoleon I, and his grandfather Jean-Antoine Huot de Goncourt had been a deputy in the National Assembly of 1789. Edmond attended the pension Goubaux, the Lycée Henri IV, and the Lycée Condorcet. At the Lycée Condorcet, he studied rhetoric and philosophy from 1840 to 1842, followed by the study of law between 1842 and 1844. After their mother's death in 1848, the brothers inherited an income which enabled them to live independently and pursue their artistic interests. Edmond was able to leave a treas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ama (diving)
are Japanese divers famous for collecting pearls, though traditionally their main catch is seafood. The vast majority of are women. Terminology There are several sea occupations that are pronounced "ama" and several words that refer to sea occupation. * – a female sea-diving fisherperson * – a male sea-diving fisherperson * , – a sea-diving fisherperson of either gender * ''uminchu'' () – a sea fisherperson of either gender in Okinawan While one definition of ama specifically refers to divers, another definition refers to fisherpersons in general. History Japanese tradition holds that the practice of may be 2,000 years old. Records of female pearl divers, or , date back as early as AD 927 in Japan's Heian period. Early were known to dive for seafood and were honored with the task of retrieving abalone for shrines and imperial emperors. traditionally wear white, as the colour represents purity and also to possibly ward off sharks. Traditionally and even ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kappa (folklore)
A — also known as , , with a boss called or – is a reptiloid ''kami'' with similarities to ''yōkai'' found in traditional Japanese folklore. ''Kappa'' can become harmful when they are not respected as gods. They are typically depicted as green, human-like beings with webbed hands and feet and a turtle-like carapace on their back. The ''kappa'' are known to favor cucumbers and love to engage in sumo wrestling. They are often accused of assaulting humans in water and removing a mythical organ called the ''shirikodama'' from their victim's anus. Terminology The name ''kappa'' is a contraction of the words ''kawa'' (river) and ''wappa'', a variant form of 童 ''warawa'' (also ''warabe'') "child". Another translation of kappa is "water sprites". The ''kappa'' are also known regionally by at least eighty other names such as ''kawappa'', ''kawako'', ''kawatarō'', ''gawappa'', ''kōgo'', ''suitengu''., citing Ōno (1994), p. 14 It is also called ''kawauso'' 'otter', ''dan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Utamaro (1788) Utamakura Print No
Kitagawa Utamaro ( ja, 喜多川 歌麿; – 31 October 1806) was a Japanese artist. He is one of the most highly regarded designers of ukiyo-e woodblock prints and paintings, and is best known for his ''bijin ōkubi-e'' "large-headed pictures of beautiful women" of the 1790s. He also produced nature studies, particularly illustrated books of insects. Little is known of Utamaro's life. His work began to appear in the 1770s, and he rose to prominence in the early 1790s with his portraits of beauties with exaggerated, elongated features. He produced over 2000 known prints and was one of the few ukiyo-e artists to achieve fame throughout Japan in his lifetime. In 1804 he was arrested and manacled for fifty days for making illegal prints depicting the 16th-century military ruler Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and died two years later. Utamaro's work reached Europe in the mid-nineteenth century, where it was very popular, enjoying particular acclaim in France. He influenced the Eu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sei Shōnagon
was a Japanese author, poet, and a court lady who served the Empress Teishi (Sadako) around the year 1000 during the middle Heian period. She is the author of . Name Sei Shōnagon's actual given name is not known. It was the custom among aristocrats in those days to call a court lady by a nickname taken from a court office belonging to her father or husband.Keene 1999 : 412. derives from her father's family name "Kiyohara" (the native Japanese reading of the first character is , while the Sino-Japanese reading is ), while refers to a government post. Her relationship to this post is unknown, though—neither her father nor either of her two husbands held such a post. Bun'ei Tsunoda has suggested that it may have belonged to a third husband, perhaps Fujiwara no Nobuyoshi.Keene 1999 : 412, citing (427, note 3) Tsunoda 1975 : 30-32. Her actual name has been a topic of debate among scholars, and the name is a possibility. Early life Little is known about her life except w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henjō
, better known as , was Japanese waka poet and Buddhist priest. In the poetry anthology ''Kokin Wakashū'', he is listed as one of the six notable waka poets and one of the thirty-six immortals of poetry. Biography Munesada was the eighth son of Dainagon , who was a son of Emperor Kanmu, relegated to civilian life. He began his career as a courtier, and was later appointed to the position of ' to Emperor Ninmyō. In 849 he was raised to the . After Emperor Nimmyō died in 850, Munesada became a monk due to his grief, taking the religious name ''Henjō'' (literally “Universally Illuminated”). He was a priest of the Tendai school. In 877 Munesada founded in Yamashina, in the southeast part of Kyoto, but continued to be active in court politics. In 869 he was given another temple, , in the north of Kyoto and managed both temples. In 885 he was ranked high priest and was called . He was rumored to have had a love affair with the famous female poet Ono no Komachi. Thir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hakone
is a town in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the town had a population of 11,293 and a population density of 122 persons per km². The total area of the town is . The town is a popular tourist destination due to its many hot springs and views of Mount Fuji. Geography Hakone is located in the mountains in the far west of the prefecture, on the eastern side of Hakone Pass. Most of the town is within the borders of the volcanically active Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, centered on Lake Ashi. Surrounding municipalities Kanagawa Prefecture * Odawara *Yugawara * Minami-ashigara Shizuoka Prefecture' * Gotemba * Susono * Mishima * Oyama * Kannami Climate Hakone has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Hakone is 13.3 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2221 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mount Tsukuba
is an mountain located at the northern-end of Tsukuba, Japan. It is one of the most famous mountains in Japan, particularly well known for its double peaks, and . Many people climb the so-called "purple mountain" every year for the panoramic view of the Kantō plain from the summit. On clear days the Tōkyō skyline, Lake Kasumigaura and even Mount Fuji are visible from the summit. Japanese mountains are mostly volcanic, but Mount Tsukuba is non-volcanic granite and gabbro in origin. Renowned beautiful granites are produced in the northern quarries even today. Etymology The , a national geography completed in 721 AD, says Mount Tsukuba was named after a noble called . According to this account, the area around Mount Tsukuba was once called . Under the reign of (Emperor Sujin), Tsukuha no Mikoto from the was appointed as its governor. He had a strong desire to leave his name in history, so he renamed the area "Tsukuha", which is now pronounced Tsukuba. History As leg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Utamaro (1788) Utamakura Preface
Kitagawa Utamaro ( ja, 喜多川 歌麿; – 31 October 1806) was a Japanese artist. He is one of the most highly regarded designers of ukiyo-e woodblock prints and paintings, and is best known for his ''bijin ōkubi-e'' "large-headed pictures of beautiful women" of the 1790s. He also produced nature studies, particularly illustrated books of insects. Little is known of Utamaro's life. His work began to appear in the 1770s, and he rose to prominence in the early 1790s with his portraits of beauties with exaggerated, elongated features. He produced over 2000 known prints and was one of the few ukiyo-e artists to achieve fame throughout Japan in his lifetime. In 1804 he was arrested and manacled for fifty days for making illegal prints depicting the 16th-century military ruler Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and died two years later. Utamaro's work reached Europe in the mid-nineteenth century, where it was very popular, enjoying particular acclaim in France. He influenced the Eu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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