About Me

My photo
Oregon, United States
loves: you win if you guessed "pets" and "museums". Also books, art history, travel, British punk, Korean kimchi, bindis, martinis, and other things TBD. I will always make it very clear if a post is sponsored in any way. Drop me a line at thepetmuseum AT gmail.com !

Friday, May 20, 2016

three seasonings?


Leonard A. Lauder Collection of Japanese Postcards, www.mfa.org


Kajita Hanko (Japanese, 1870-1919) didn't get enough time on the earth. If he'd lived longer we could have had more treats such as this 1905 illustration for a series based on The Tale of Genji:
"New Herbs (Wakana) II."  ("New Herbs Wakana I" is here.)  Most of his work seems to have been illustrations (kuchi-e) for Japanese romance novels and magazines.  The Tale of Genji is a gigantic and ancient Japanese classic, but it has a romantic feel.  Most illustrations for it stick to all its pretty and noble people in their robes sitting about their pavilions.  You can imagine how thrilled I was to find this close-up, intimate and unexpected take on one of my favorite books.

No comments: