The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme is back, and yesterday I went to see a film called Miss Hokusai (百日紅), directed by Keiichi Hara (原 恵一). Set in early 19th century Japan – and based on the original 1980’s manga series Sarusuberi by female artist Hinako Sugiura – this award-winning animation brings to life the … Continue reading
Thank you to everyone who entered my competition for a chance to win a copy of Japan Journeys – Famous Woodblock Prints of Cultural Sights in Japan by Andreas Marks (see the review and competition post here). The winner has been selected by a random draw, and will be contacted shortly. I’m delighted to announce that the winner … Continue reading
Japan Journeys – Famous Woodblock Prints of Cultural Sights in Japan by Andreas Marks (Tuttle, 2015) is a beautiful book. Gathering together around two hundred Japanese woodblock prints (ukiyo-e / 浮世絵), art historian Andreas Marks takes us on a journey through Japan’s famous sights as depicted by artists such as Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川 広重), Katsushika Hokusai … Continue reading
Wishing you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS from Haikugirl’s Japan! Thanks for reading! (*^_^)v (Image: Utagawa Hiroshige & Utagawa Kunisada – An Eastern Genji in a Snowy Garden, 1854)
Did you like the little teaser I left you with in my last post? Well, now all is revealed! The place I simply couldn’t leave Hakone without visiting was the Amazake-chaya (甘酒茶屋). The Amazake-chaya in Hakone is an old teahouse along what used to be the Tokaido (東海道), a road that linked Tokyo with Kyoto … Continue reading
A few weeks ago I attended a free public lecture at the University of Bristol. The ‘George Hare Leonard Memorial Lecture’ was entitled ‘The 400th Anniversary of the English East India Company in Japan – 1613 – 2013: A Forgotten Episode in Cultural History’ and the speaker was the wonderful Timon Screech, Professor of the History of … Continue reading
When I went to see Shunga – Sex and Pleasure in Japanese Art at the British Museum recently, I also stopped by to see a small, related temporary exhibition. For a short period Room 3 was home to a screen called ‘Courtesans of the Tamaya House’ attributed to Utagawa Toyoharu (1735–1815), painted in the 1770s … Continue reading
I visited London at the weekend especially to see the new exhibition that has been making great waves among the Japan blogging community here in the UK – Hokusai Exposed. I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect, but from what I had read I was hoping for something pretty special. The exhibition is being held … Continue reading
There’s an exhibition on at the British Museum in London at the moment which is causing quite a storm: Shunga – Sex & Pleasure in Japanese Art. For those of you who don’t know, ‘shunga’ (春画) is the term for erotic art, literally meaning ‘spring pictures’ (‘spring’ is a euphemism for sex). Shunga, usually in the … Continue reading
A really interesting sounding exhibition opened in London this weekend and, although I won’t be able to get to it myself until next week, I wanted to tell you all about it now so you can go along too. It really does sound quite special! HOKUSAI EXPOSED An Immersive Exhibition of Katsushika Hokusai Works and … Continue reading
Haikugirl's Japan 