With the rainy season over and hot summer now upon us, it's time to cool down - so here's a depiction of one of the ways that the Edo townsfolk beat the heat! My reference books tell me that sea bathing wasn't common in those days, but that waterfalls of this type were favourite places for relief from hot summer temperatures, with food and drink vendors setting up shop in the coolness of the river valley near the base of the fall.

The image is from an extended series of prints entitled Edo Miyage (Souvenirs of Edo), designed (nominally) by Hiroshige. I include the 'nominally' for the usual reason - his name is there on the prints, but going by the rather low quality of design, one wonders just how much he was actually involved with their production.

We have to remember though, that the point wasn't to make great 'art', but simply to supply people with a souvenir of a trip to a famous place, so I suppose I shouldn't be too critical. There must have been steady demand for prints of this type, and I imagine that they sold for quite reasonable prices at the time.

I have quite a few of the prints from this series, and although I could never consider using most of them for my work, there are a few that 'make the grade'. This one depicts Fudo no Taki (Fudo Waterfall) in the Oji area, and even with its clumsy little 'stick' figures and rudimentary depiction of foliage provides such a fascinating snapshot of Edo period life that I couldn't resist including it in this Treasure Chest set.

Who are those people under the waterfall? Would he be a servant, scrubbing her back? But would an upper-class woman do this outdoors in public with people looking on? Or is it more probably a shitamachi couple, who would presumably be less concerned about such things? Or perhaps I'm on the wrong track entirely, and he is a religious attendant, and this is some type of ritual being performed under the falling water.

I sure wish there were some falls like this near me!

David
Monday, July 18, 2005

(Here's the print in context in the Treasure Chest series.)

Posted by Dave Bull at 03:33 PM | Comments (1)

Our series reaches the half-way point with this beautiful and delicate image by Ogata Gekko. It is a small portion 'clipped' from a full size print - one of the designs in the series Fujin Fuzoku Zukushi (Customs and Manners of Women), this one dating from Meiji 25 (1892).

A few weeks back I had been searching through my books and prints looking for a Tanabata-related design to use for this spot in the Treasure Chest, but had turned up nothing that seemed suitable. I had almost given up and become resigned to using a non-seasonal image when I came across this Gekko print, which I had completely forgotten I owned. (Do I have too many prints, do you think?) There is nothing overtly Tanabata (Star Festival) about it, but this is close enough for me - a beautiful young lady weaving at her loom ...

And look at that butterfly in the window - an absolute masterstroke, transforming what is, on the face of it, a basically prosaic image, into something far more appealing and interesting!

Ogata Gekko is just one of a large number of men who worked in a similar style in the late Meiji period; their names are almost completely unknown to the world at large, as they have been mostly overshadowed by the Edo-era giants. But more and more I find myself being drawn toward their images. Making the 'Autumn' print in the 'Beauties of Four Seasons' series last year was a breakthrough for me; until then I had looked at such detailed Meiji prints in awe, never daring to try cutting and printing one. Successfully completing that print though, has left me in a position to approach these images with increased confidence in my ability to do a creditable job at reproducing them.

It's certainly too soon to start to talk to you about my plans for upcoming projects, but it won't be giving away any great secret if I tell you that I am looking long and hard at some wonderful Meiji designs ...

With or without butterflies, there is a vast treasure trove just waiting to be tapped!

David
Monday, July 4, 2005

(Here's the print in context in the Treasure Chest series.)

Posted by Dave Bull at 01:08 AM | Comments (2)