鏡餅 | Kagami-mochi | Mirror Rice Cake | New Year Special

Happy New Year to all! In my part of the world it is at least 😄Given that I am a learning Buddhist, this is an important time for me particularly with the advent of a new start, so I will celebrating so this will only at most be a short blog post, I can spend up to 3 days on researching some of these topics after all. As a side note I cannot believe it has been 11 months since I started writing this blog; time goes so quickly as you get older I swear! This time round I thought I would explain some of those New Year decoration pieces you see in Anime released around this time.

すべてに幸せな新年！ 世界の私の部分では、少なくとも😄 サイドノートとして, 私はこのブログを書き始めてから11ヶ月が経過しているとは信じられません。 今回は、この頃にリリースされたアニメで見られる新年の装飾作品のいくつかを説明しようと思いました。

Elaborate Kagami Mochi (2005, PD) Shin-改

Kagami Mochi are a traditional Japanese New Year decoration made of two unequally proportioned round mochi (Rice Buns) stacked on top of each other and a Daidai (a bitter type of orange) atop them with a leaf. Sometimes there is a Konbu (a Sheet) and dried persimmons underneath the Mochi which sits on a Sanpou ( Stand | 三宝) over a Shihōbeni ( Another Sheet | 四方紅) to keep fires away from the house in the coming months. Gohei ( Folded Paper Shinto Strips | 御幣) a type of Shimenawa ( An Enclosing or Boundary Rope | 標縄 or 注連縄 ) are also usually attached, as this is a decorative attachment affiliated with Shinto, which you will often see at Shrines which use these as a way to attain spacial-purity in Shintoism.[1] Other common decorations include Fans, Hemp knots and wrapping decorations made from polychromatic or gold ornamental designs.

鏡餅（かがみもち）は、日本の伝統的な正月飾りで、二つの不均等な比例した丸い餅を重ね、その上に葉を付けた橙（だいだい）を作ったものである。 餅の下には昆布と干し柿があり、それは四方紅の上に三宝（さんぽう）の上に置かれ、今後数ヶ月の間に家から火を遠ざけるために置かれることがあります。 御幣（ごへい）注連縄（しめなわ）の一種で、神道に付随する装飾的な付属品であり、神道の空間的な純度を得るためにこれらを使用する神社でよく見られる。[1]他の共通の装飾は多色か金の装飾用の設計からなされるファン、麻の結び目および包む装飾を含んでいます。

A Basic Handmade Kagami-Mochi (2007, CC2.0) Ivva

It is said they are stacked this way as the mochi representing the new and old years coming and going, the Daidai a continuing line of success for a family. Kagami-Mochi are placed in the Kamidana (Home Altar | 神棚 ) as an offering to allow the gods to be aware of the passing of the New Year, just in case they got too drunk on O-Miki ( Sacred Rice Wine | 御神酒) or something the night before and forgot to bestow blessings on the mortals. This was engaged as part of the Shinto ritual of Kagami Biraki ( Opening the Mirror | 鏡開き) where the Mochi is broken with a hammer into around the middle of January and eaten in small pieces.[2] I presume the mirror part has something to do with Amaterasu's mythology(?) which used mirrors as a motif to entice Amaterasu from her cave to welcome the Spring, or a Seasonal Change allegory from Winter to Spring. They are also placed confusingly (Buddhism is pretty clear that the Buddha was not a god per se) on the Butsudan ( Buddhist cabinet | 仏壇 ) in honour of the family at New Year, a time which in Japan is meant to be spent with family. [1]

このように積み重ねられているのは、新旧の年の行き来を表す餅であり、家族の成功の継続的なラインであると言われています。 神棚には、前夜に御神酒や何かに酔って人間に祝福を与えるのを忘れた場合に備えて、神に新年の経過を知らせるための供え物として鏡餅が置かれている。 これは、1月中旬頃に餅をハンマーで割って小片にして食べる鏡開きの神事の一環として行われたものである。[2]鏡の部分はアマテラスの神話と関係があると思います（？ 鏡をモチーフにして、洞窟からアマテラスを誘惑して春を歓迎したり、冬から春への季節の変化の寓話をしたりしました。[1]

Tsurushibina Hina Matsuri (2012, CC3.0) Sakaori

Kagami first appeared in the 1300's CE, with the origins being rather murky, but are thought to relate in some way to the importance mirrors held to Japanese people in these times. Kagami-Biraki as a ritual was begun by Tokugawa Ietsuna ( 徳川 家綱 | 1641-1680) around the Kanbun period (1661-1673 CE) as an auspicious ceremony meant to aid him in victory over his enemies in a coming battle.[2] Around 1884, the practice of Kagami-Mochi began to be used in Judo dojos as a way to celebrate the New Year, spreading later to Aikido, Karate and Jujutsu dojos as well. Mochi are also a traditional form of food in Japan as they are made from a staple food in Japan (rice), and play many roles in other traditional events and days like Hinamatsuri ( The Doll Festival).  Traditional Kagami-Mochi were made by hand, but modern versions are sometimes made from plastic moulds, and the Daidai with a Mikan orange.[1] 

鏡餅は1300年代に初めて登場し、起源はやや暗いですが、これらの時代に日本人が持っていた鏡の重要性に何らかの形で関連していると考えられています。 鏡開き（かがみびらき）は、寛文年間（1661年-1673年）頃に徳川家綱（ Tokugawa Ietsuna |1641年-1680年）によって、来るべき戦いで敵に勝利するための縁起の良い儀式として始められた儀式である。[2]1884年頃、鏡餅の練習は新年を祝うための方法として柔道道場で使用されるようになり、後に合気道、空手、柔術道場にも広がりました。 餅は日本の主食（米）から作られているため、日本の伝統的な食べ物でもあり、ひな祭りなどの伝統的なイベントや日に多くの役割を果たしています。  伝統的な鏡餅は手作業で作られていましたが、現代版はプラスチック製の型とみかんの橙色の台で作られることがあります。[1]

Happy Holidays!

Bibliography | 参考文献の参照

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kagami_mochi

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kagami_biraki

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紅花 | Benibana | Safflower | Fabrics #10

The dye Benibana comes from the Safflower plant, which produces a natural vibrant red, known as Beni ( 紅 ). The dye is usually used as a luxurious one, and the red is often reserved for children and events like the New Year. Also some new vocabulary, Dye is Senryou ( 染料 ) and the pigment Ganryou ( 顔料 ).[3] Benibana is a fascinating dye that whilst coming in many variations of yellow-red, it is mostly known for the red variation in Japanese textiles and KTC particularly denoting China, wealth and luxury in Early Japanese history (500-1500 CE). This vogue came into fashion heavily after the establishment of the Sakoku policies of the Tokugawa, which saw Beni Ganryou become fashionable in the early half of the 18th century and play a pivotal role in the development of Ukiyo-E and Kabuki culture into the Meiji period making Beni dyed and decorated Kimono highly sought after and emulated fabrics and garments as well a cosmetic product into the 21st century.

Orange Safflower (2017, CC1.0) PxHere

Interestingly, the Benibana is actually a relative of the thistle family. The plant itself grows between April and July, but is only picked for one week in July. They are then dried and processed to rid them of any yellow dye in a process known as Hanafuri ( Flower shaking ) in which the Red Beni colour appears. The Hanafuri is then pressed and left to ferment, for 2-3 days and then pounded with a pestle in a large mortar. This fermented Hanafuri is rolled by hand becoming Hana-mochi ( Flower Rice Cakes ). The Hanamochi must be left to sit in a straw-ash lye and cold water concoction, sometimes smoked Ume (Plum) and rice vinegar solution as well to let the red dye take to the mass as a transparent red or light pink dye, or soaked to make a deep red. This solution is then dyed into Floss silk, cotton, yarn and hemp. The leftover solutions of vinegar known as Sedimentation were often used to make Yuzen-zome ( Paste-resist dye technique | 友禅染 ) and Shibori-zome ( Tie-dye technique | 絞染).[1][3]

Safflower originates from Egypt, and was traded on the Silk Road into China via India before 400 CE.[14][15] Benibana is thought to have come into Japan from the Chinese leg of of the Silk Road around 473 CE.[15] Benibana then began being grown in the 7th century in Japan, being grown principally in the Yamagata area and was then known as Kurenai or Suetsumu-Hana.[1][3][15] Textiles extant from this time, such as the shoes of Empress Komyo (701–760 AD) and undergarments were made using Benibana and other weaves inspired by Chinese court weaves of the time also heavily use Benibana.[16][17] These textiles were heavily influenced by Tang China's love of Red as well.

Empress Komyo (1897, PD) Kanzan Shimomura

Restored Shoshoin Kara-Ori Benibana Nishiki (c700 CE) Shosoin Repository

Chinese adoration for red filtered into the Nara and Heian courts which kept this tradition of using Benibana in their textiles as Japan often followed Chinese trends at this time. After the death of Empress Komyo, Benibana was worn by gentile women as a cosmetic in the Heian court. Textiles from this period used Benibana as a lush background dye, or alongside Flower and Bird Motifs which were fashionable imports reflective of Song period Chinese paintings (between 960-1279).[15] During the Muromachi period (1336-1573), the Hanamochi or Benimochi (Red Ball | 紅餅 ) method was invented with the leaves being removed and immediately crushed into the Hanafuri to Benimochi method.[3]

Kitamae-bune (c1926, PD) Iida Yonezou

The next recorded instance of Benibana being used is in the records of  the Samurai Gamō Satoyasu (active 1587-1600) in 1595 as being cultivated in the Mogami prefecture.[15] In the Edo period the Fudai warlord Mogami Yoshimitsu (1546-1614?) began cultivating Benibana which was transported as Hana-Mochi along the Mogami river by Kitamae-Bune ( Northern Bound Cargo Ships | 北前船 ) to be taken to Kyoto.[1][14] The deep red was deeply coveted in the Edo period, as it was used to get around Muromachi period sumptuary laws which only became laxed by the middle of the 17th century.[2][3]

By 1684, the colour schemes of Kosode worn by the townspeople and Bakufu became darker at the bottom [and] lighter at the top ... as darker Kosode [used] more dye [to display wealth], ... requir[ing] deep pockets ... which became 'Iki' (1680s sexy). Popular dark dyes included Beni reds (amongst samurai) [or] Nise-kurenai ( Fake / 'Dutch' red「| 似せ紅 )] for the [Heimin]) ... [with a] pound of [Ganryou] ... said to be [equivalent to] a pound of gold.[4]

Tan-E which uses Orange, not Beni (c.1675-1679, PD) Sugimura Jihei

Single Sheet Tan-E (1698) Torii Kiyonobu I

In the Genroku era (1688-1704) Japanese art saw the rise of the coloured Ukiyo-E print, Tan-E ( Blue-Green and Yellow Prints | 丹絵 ) being the first coloured prints which used yellows, oranges and subdued greens in their colour schemes with washed out pallettes due to unstable pigment mixes from the availability of the dyes of the time. By the 1720's Beni-E ( Red Prints | 紅絵 ) came into Vogue, being Ukiyo-E made by taking a monochrome Sumizuri-E print and affixing the red Benibana colour atop the Sumizuri-E in a red-pink wash.[3][6] This process was created by  Izumiya Gonshirou ( 泉屋権四郎 ) between 1716-1719 who would have handpainted in all of his work in this style.[5][6]

Beni-E (c.1720, PD) Torii Kiyonobu I

From 1720 the technique used by the prominent Ukiyo-E Komin Okumura Masanobu ( 奥村政信 | 1686-1764), Nishimura Shigenaga ( 西村重長 | 1693-1756), and Ishikawa Toyonobu ( 石川豊信 | 1711-1785) between 1717-1764, in conjunction with the development of Urushi-E ( Lacquer Prints | 漆絵 ) which was developed between 1725-1744, by using Sumi ( Chinese Ink | 墨) which is applied with a brush using stronger red and yellow pigments than Tan-E, into red, black, yellow, green, and light brown.[5] Urushi-E is distinguishable from Beni-E as Nikawa (Animal Collagen Glue | 膠) is mixed with pigments atop Sumizuri-E to create the gloss effect of Lacquerware over the black lines of the image, usually details such as the Hair or Obi.[11] Many of these prints became part of the E-Goyomi ( Lunar Calendars |  絵 暦 ) genre which became popular at the time to reproduce using early tricolour prints, many in yellows, greens and browns.

Urushi-E (c.1728, PD) Okumura Toshinobu 

 The prints eventually began to use 2-3, then 3-5 colours as pigments became more reliable for the stability of their colour duration. As the international trade routes became more structural and supply chains more durable and standardised through Globalisation, access to pigments from resource rich countries, Blue for example from Afghanistan,[8] increased access for these pigment ingredients to countries with the money to pay for these products. 

Japan not being the most resource rich often had to barter for these goods and thus until the advent of Globalisation; in large part due to the mercantilism of Arabian, 'Indian' and European traders and the Silk Road in Asia; pigment was an expensive good almost akin to a luxury item if bought in bulk and so was used sparingly, or mixed with other products produced in Japan to create a more vibrant colour than the wishy-washy effect raw pigments produced in the early Edo period.  

Dried Komachi-Beni (2011, CC2.5) Say0001

Komachi-Beni Sasabeni (2017) NHK, TheKimonoGallery

With Beni, products such as Plum vinegar to create colours such as Hikari-Beni ( Shiny Red | 光紅 ) or Komachi-Beni  ( Arts district Red | 小町紅 ) which was used to make the red lip cosmetics worn by some practicing Geisha in the Edo period, which produces a deep, glimmering red which almost looks green in nightlights.[9][10][12] After 1744 Beni-E had developed into the Benizuri-E ( Crimson Painted Prints | 紅刷絵) which successfully mixed green and Beni into one print using two seperate plates for each of the two colours.[6][7] 

Benizuri-E (c.1744, PD) Ishikawa Toyonobu

By the Horeki era (1750-1765), it had become popular among the Samurai class to own and exchange  E-goyomi. These E-goyomi were the forerunner to full colour prints. The prints images which accompanied these images were said to resemble Chinese brocade, and it was pursued further to create the first full colour prints in Ukiyo-E by the Suzuki clan, a family of retainers of the Tokugawa clan. By 1764, this had given way to Nishiki-E ([Bashu] Brocade Prints | 錦絵 ) which adopted Beni as one of its main primary colours. Suzuki Harunobu ( 鈴木 春信 | 1725-1770) was the first to make Nishiki-E using a mechanised polychromatic image. This new development was brought about by the plethora of single use woodblock prints used to layer the image, so one for yellow, one for green and one for the Beni sections of the image.[13]

Nishiki-E (1765-1770, PD) Suzuki Harunobu

This use of Benibana made it a solid primary colour and pigment to use, and it continued its popularity as a pigment in Kimono worn by the wealthy and in Kabuki costumes. By the early 19th century, production reached its height with Benibana used as a dye for cosmetics and the Kyoto weaving industries.[15] 

Beni Dyed Kimono (c1850, PD) MET

During the late Meiji period the trade in Benibana infused fabrics decreased due to the increase in cheaper chemical dyes being imported from abroad into Japan which cheapened the image of Benibana textiles which could produce as vibrant a dye as their synthetic counterparts at a similar price-point, leading to the favouring of the chemical dyes and textiles.[15] During the 1950's and 1960's, the crafts process was reinvigorated and Benibana pongee was rediscovered and today Benibana is the prefectural flower of Yamagata.[1][14] This has allowed Benibana to have a new lease on life as a recognised traditional craft and with the use of the Showa-Benibana variant to make commercial dyes.[15]

Bibliography

[1] https://nitta-yonezawa.com/en/benibana

[2] See Sumptuary Laws in Bijin #3

[3] http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/b/beni.htm

[4] The Genroku Osaka Bijin (1680 - 1700) from Bijin #3

[5] http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/b/benie.htm

[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukiyo-e#Colour_prints_(mid-18th_century)

[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benizuri-e

[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapis_lazuli

[9] https://www.japanese-wiki-corpus.org/culture/Hikari-beni%20(red%20pigment%20made%20from%20safflowers).html

[10] https://dictionary.lingual-ninja.com/dictionary/%E5%B0%8F%E7%94%BA%E7%B4%85

[11] http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/u/urushie.htm

[12] https://thekimonogallery.tumblr.com/post/162977389835/kakekotoba-what-fascinates-me-most-of-all

[13] https://picryl.com/media/standing-lady-fixing-her-hair-c65e8a

[14] http://www.kimono.or.jp/dictionary/eng/benibanatsumugi.html

[15] https://www.lib.yamagata-u.ac.jp/database/benibana/bunken/note.html

[16] Scientific evidence by fluorescence spectrometry for safflower red on ancient Japanese textiles stored in the Shosoin Treasure House repository, Rikiya Nakamura et al, November 2014, Vol 59, No.6, p.367, Studies in Conservation Journal

[17] https://www.kunaicho.go.jp/event/sannomaru/tokubetuten.html

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Xmas

Due to the holidays coming up, Ill be working longer hours than usual to make up for the time off, so I''' be unable to post this Sunday, and next is Xmas itself, so whilst I may have the freetime at that point to make a blogpost, I will not be posting a full blog post this week. Instead, enjoy 500 years of Kimono for the time being.

Happy holidays!

16th century

Tagasode Byobu (1573-1599) Unknown

17th century 

Carp in a Waterfall (1687) Yoshida Hanbei

18th century

Woman in Black Kimono (1783) Katsukawa Shunsho

19th century

Woman (1868) George Price Boyce

20th century

Moga (1928) Unknown

21st century

Uno (2017) Tokyofashion 

宮崎友禅 | Miyazaki Yuzen as Genroku Komin and Wamono Bijin | 1688-1736 | Bijin #10

This post will be slightly different, more of an essay than Bijin post only due to the nature of the difference in thought between Western and European Art. The post endeavours to explore the fluid relationship between Japanese mediums, across different formats and styles of Japanese Fans. Also how the Human Figure came into this crossroads in Japanese Art and Miyazaki's lasting influence on KTC.

Miyazaki (1654-1736) was a prolific fan painter and creator of the Yuzen dying technique. His painting style was immensely popular and featured on a number of Kosode from the Genroku, Hoei, Shotoku and Kyohu periods (1688-1736). Miyazaki's fan designs or Yuzen-zome designs directly onto the surface of Kosode were popular with Kyoto Chonin by 1690.[1][2] This design process is now a staple design motif found on Kimono today. 

Miyazaki's popularised Fan motifs (1717) Nakamura Senya

Fans

The concept of the fan originates in Ancient Egypt 4000 years ago. Eventually these became widespread in China which in turn influenced Japanese fans. The first known use of Japanese fans ( Sensu | Fan | 扇子) comes from 600 CE, being greatly influenced by Chinese flat hand fans at the time made of feathers or paper in a flat oval shape, inspiring Uchiwa fans. In 800 CE, Japan invented the first folding fan, the Akomeogi ( 衵扇 ), named after the courtly attire of Akome ( Cover-over Layer | 袙 ).[3] The oldest existing Hi-ogi dating from 877 CE, which at the time was used by Shinto priests and male courtiers.[7] According to Chinese lore, the Japanese monk Chōnen ( ちょう然/奝然 | 938-1016) offered Hi-ogi ( 20 Hinoki strip folding fans | 桧扇) and 2 Kawahori-ogi ( Paper fans | 蝙蝠扇) to the Song emperor Zhao Jiong (939-997) in 988. In the 10th century, Folding fans were once again taken by Korean envoys to the Chinese to use to pay tribute to the Middle Kingdom. 

By this time, Sokutai and Junihitoe had become the fashionable Wamono dress style in the Japanese court, and Heian women popularised the painted folded fan as Akomeogi by taking the name from their skirts 4th dress layer.[7] Eventually by the late Heian and Kamakura period in Japan, folding fans were regulated by sumptuary legislation much like later Tokugawa sumptuary legislation on fabric imports, until by the 15th century when they became used by the Japanese public.[4][7] During the 1400's, Japan began to export Folding fans due to their popularity on the asian mainland, and presumably further afield with the arrival of Portuguese traders during the Nanbanjin trading period from the 1560's onwards.[6] Edo period (1600-1868) fans were made by one Komin, and decorated on one-side, mass market fans included both sides.[7] By the Meiji period, folding fans were a staple global fashion accessory and the height of European fashion between the Tudor and Victorian periods in the English courts to own one, with a particular resurgence amongst the Victorian middle classes after Japan opened up from Sakoku in the 1860's. In the modern day, it can take up to 87 craftspeople to make a single fan.[7]

The earliest folding fans or Hiogi, were made by combining together 5-20 multiple thin strips of Hinoki wood at 30 cm long called Mokkan ( [orig.] Wood Recording Tablets | 木簡 ) with tightly bound silk string, afixed to a paper background.[4][7] Highly decorative fans included many layers of decoration such as fans made by Komin and adorned with tassels. The flat design was often made by artist for a specific purpose or to reference a literary text for example onto paper and layered onto the wooden sticks. Some fans in the Heian era though were made to convey Waka poetry, as seen in the Tale of Genji, and was regarded as something of a feminine artform. According to legend, the shape was inspired by a Heimin who saw a bat unfurl its wings.[5]

Fans held many uses, including to show taste, send messages to other courtiers, signal warfare in battle, as weapons, toys, decorative art and to engage in court ritual. Shinto priests still use folding fans today in their ceremonies, and many performing arts such as Geisha and Kabuki still use folding fans as part of traditional ritual dances, using ivory, bone, mica, mother of pearl, sandalwood, or tortoise shell.[4] Folding fans are today considered a traditional Japanese handicraft by the goverment, such as the Hyakudate ( 100 Bamboo stick Fan ) made by Aiba of Kyoto, who have made their Uchiwa fans for 300 years.[6]

Figures in Fans

Human figures appeared on Fans in Japan in the same way as they appeared on Screens, Lacquerware and other decorative items, due to the backdrop gargantuan shifting financial geo-social politics of the Edo period, and the Japanese understanding of Art in contrast to its Western Counterpart.

"[A]rt and crafts are one in the same process, unlike in the West when during the Renaissance [Art & Craft] split under secularisation during the Enlightenment period through the rationalism (in the art world, nature) vs empiricism (mechanised) debates into Art (divine works of nature) and the lesser crafts (mechanical and hand labour work) in the Occident."[8]

In the century before Miyazaki, the human figure underwent vast changes in Japanese Art, including being included in public Japanese art full stop. This was mostly down to the fact that Japan went from being a Rice-Economy, to a Currency Economy from 1590-1660. As such, most art in the late Sengoku period was made for wealthy Kyoto Kuge who had different tastes, desires and needs than the Heimin who consumed Bijin-ga in the 1670s would have, the Kuge wanted devout Tosa depictions of good Buddhist figures, the Heimin of the 1590s to feed their children, so very little Azuchi-Momoyami art even carried human figures in them. This came from Classical Buddhist notions of beauty imported from the Asian mainland, which held that portraiture was a vain venture, such as idolatry in some Christian and Muslim traditions.[12] However Bijin-ga can be held to a be a classical Chinese genre begun in the 6th century by Chinese painters depicting women who wrote love poetry.[13]

Back to Japan, between 1598-1615, Tokugawa Ieyasu craftily devises his Stabilisation Policies to bring an end to the Sengoku Jidai, using stability to consolidate control over the patchwork fiefs and warlords of Japan and ensuring its continuation by creating a stable Japanese society and economy. This changed the nature of power structures in Japan. Suddenly, Kyoto was no longer the aspiring culture everybody looked up, but instead, Edo culture was the new rising popular culture. One such policy being Sankin Kotai (1635) which saw warlords uproot to Edo, Ieyasu's new defacto capital for 6 months annually, bringing all their money and retinue with them, which turned Edo from a fishing port into a wealthy city.[11]

Setting the stage for Bijin-ga (1624-1673)

Tagasode Byobu (c.1573-1615) Anonymous

Southern Barbarians Screen (c1600) Kano Naisen

By the 1620's, the warlords had become bored without any Hanazuka ( Nose Mounds | 鼻塚 ) to pile up. So instead, the bored Ronin took to handicrafts, becoming Machi-Eshi, who patronised the new artform Kabuki, and fraternised with the new religion, Christianity. With this, came a shift in the use of the human figure in Japanese art by the Kanei era (1624-1644) from dukkha-vessel to sentient two dimensional being.[14] This came at first in Byobu, with first the Tagasode and then Hikone Byobu, inspired in part by the Kano school's depictions drawn from the wealthy Nanbanjin trades.[9][10] Figures of the 1630s reflected the changing times with the growing middle Chonin classes buying art in which they appeared. Figures then shifted after Sakoku in 1639; as Japan reverted to its pre-contact identity and 'unique' national psyche when it closed its borders; with the Bakufu more keen to promote Wamono than Nanbanjin affairs both to prevent further Kirishitan conversions and to reenergize the domestic Japanese economy. 'Japanese' Beauty in the arts became more valuable than Korean or Portuguese forms, and instead the rise of the conservative Buddhist Tosa figure which used the figure as was found in Yamato-E Fuzokuga became more socially acceptable, in lieu of the flashy Kano school depictions which drew on the Nanbanjin trade for their inspiration.[14]

[14]

Image taken from the Hikone Byobu (c1624-1639) Anonymous

 ta

The Four Earthly Pleasures (c1624-1644) Iwasa Matabei

During the Shoho era (1644-1648), the human figure underwent an appraisal under the guiding hand of Iwasa Matabei, who drawing on the Beauties Genre of Tang Chinese figure painting and the Kano school, but using the Tosa Yamato-E figure as a vehicle, created early Japanese high art using human figures.[14] Matabei's portraiture marked a shift in this appreciation of worldly forms from Buddhist Genre Painting into the figure as High or courtly art, and was depicted on Byobu as such.[13] By the late 1650s, Kakemono depicted early Bijin, prominently in Shikomi-e or images of young half-dressed androgynous figures.[14] It was the push for Japanese Bijin which saw the growth of the pleasure quarters and patronage of these by Chonin and Heimin. In 1666 with the publishing of Asai Ryoi's Ukiyo Monogatari, the Ukiyo genre or worldly pleasures genre mostly enacted by the new Chonin middle classes came into vogue. Ukiyo-e being the brainchild of the Komin-Chonin relationship, producing newly publicly available hedonistic and androgynous Shikomi-e Bijin-ga and later Yakusha-E prints. 

Matsuura Byobu (c.1630-1650) Unknown

Kambun Bijin (1661-1673) Anonymous

BeautyLooking Back (c1672-1686) Hishikawa Moronobu

By the Kambun period, early Bijin-ga as it is known had become an acceptable format to paint the human figure in, as Shikomi-E were deemed Ga ( Refined ) icons of Dancing Artisans (Geisha). Most production done for and by Chonin who increasingly merged High Brow Art (The Iwasa family, Tang China, Tosa, Kano) with Low Brow Content (Vanity Pictures), under the permissive nature of the times ; Shunga had begun to become explicit and was widely read for example.[14] These were simple Kosode which carried usually 2-3 colours max, and were displayed in the S-Shape Silhouette, often holding Mai-Ogi ( Dancers Fans ). The 1670's saw the widespread acceptance of Bijin-ga, extolled by Komin like Hishikawa Moronobu and Sugimura Jihei and their wealthy Chonin patrons who bought and commissioned these prints, paintings and Ogi designs commerating these beauties.

Fans on figures

View of Kyoto (c.1580-1585) Kano Motohide

TLiezi on a Cloud (1590-1599) Kano school

Fans operated themselves in these religious, aesthetical and then within Bijin-ga boundaries as well, as part of GKTC. This mostly reflects the main schools of though derived from Chinese aesthetical traditions, which in Japan were for the most part reflected in the Kano school by painters like Kano Motohide, and Kiyohara Yukinobu who painted human figures on fans in the early 17th century. Related to the huma figure which developed thus:

The religious figure had existed therefore for a longer time than pop culture iconography depicting human figures. This figure accompanied Buddhist texts as a pastime for the monks and writers who created Buddhist scriptures and texts and to allow the reader deeper connection with the subject material by placing human figures in the narrative. Over time, it became acceptable to have human figure Kakemono displayed in wealthy peoples homes as a sign of their devout faith by the early 17th century. [... T]he depiction of Heimin came in with the Tosa School and their Yamato-E Fuzokuga [... and in] Kyoto scenes depicting harmonious scenes of nature, Chinese philosophers and a whole lot of gold were more the Kano aesthetic in this pre-Sankin Kotai world. Pop culture as print media, simply did not have the demand required to profligate the idea of an established common beauty until the 1650s, as all demand was in the hands of the elite who required and expected different outcomes in their commissioned art pieces [of which the majority were E-maki]".[11]

"[After popular culture moved to Edo under] the enforcement of Sankin Kotai a brand new Japanese society with new expectations had formed as younger generations had more leisure time and greater stability than their elders."[11]

This popular culture is similar to Fans becuase fans were originally held by the Kano school to be venerable art objects. They went alongside the development of Bijin-ga as they were considered refined art objects, so from the Kanei-era they added credence to the Refined nature of the Wa Bijin ideal. For Heimin, Yamato-E allowed an 'in' for their presence and worlds to be depicted on fans as socially acceptable, as many Heimin although certainly aware of Confucius if they did well in Terakoya ( Heimin School | 寺子屋), were not themselves Chinese philosophers. The development of fans from the Kano school, who used Classical Chinese lore, may be considered due to the fact that a common motif of the Pining Chinese Beauties was to be found holding a hand fan, such as in Du Fu's (712-770) Ballad of the Beauty.[12][14]

Edo period Terakoya (1844-1848) Issunshi Hanasato

"This meant that classical, conservative and traditional appraoches to how beauty, vanity and inevitable human behaviour were codified to meet social and class structures of their day saw to it that the human figure in early 17th century western Kano depictions, whether on fans, screens or lacquer, were rare."[11]

As such, this was the world of fans which depicted Beauty and Beauties, before 1650. After 1650, fans had begun to made by the lower class Komin, again due to the shift in popular culture from Kyoto to Edo and with it the power of the Samurai-Komin relationship to the Chonin-Komin relationship to dictate popular culture on art.[11] This shift by 1661 was towards the Chonin world of worldly pleasures and we can pair this with the overall development of the Bijin from there directly to the Shikomi-E, which used fans as a way to bring the High Brow, to the Low Brow.[14]

Komin Codifying the Genroku Wamono Bijin

When in the Jokyo and Genroku era (1684-1704) Miyazaki contributed his Yuzen-zome technique, he often did this by painting on a number of fan designs as well, just the paper component though. This was done under the widespread acceptance and proliferation of wholly Komin Wamono that spread due to necessity under Sakoku which celebrated Japanese domestic art manufactures and handicrafts by the 18th century.[15] When Miyazaki began to add fan designs to his Kosode designs, including in his 1688 Yuzen Hinagata book on Kosode design, he popularised the Ogi in both ode to past aesthetical ideals and towards the tolerant and exciting new climate around him which Kosode design was undergoing. Whilst fans in particular had been used before Miyazaki, he popularized the trend for fan designs on Kosode after 1690, which after 1639 had taken on on the overtones of Sakoku necessity to redefine 'Japaneseness' or by undergoing a Wamono reappraisal.[15]

Miyazaki therefore whilst not depicting the Bijin, contributed to Bijin-ga and KTC by creating the clothes which Beauties were seen in. His High-Brow-Low-Brow Harkening was a major component of Komin practice, which realistically was more Yamato-E than the Kuge could ever hope to be in their ivory and gold castles, for they repersented trends felt and worn by the Heimin and Chonin, or commonfolk and townspeople themselves as products of the new Tokugawa Japan.[2][11][14][15] Thus Miyazaki codifies JKTC fashion in a more succinct way, as the Machi-Eshi did in the early 17th century before him, codifying what it meant to be a Wamono Bijin instead of the Chinese derived equivalent pushed by the Kano school, or the Classcial Heian depictions of the Tosa.[14][15] In context therefore, we see how as cultural markers, Komin like Miyazaki Yuzen contributed more to the 'Japaneseness' of the Wamono Bijin, than most courtiers of his time ever did among the masses.

Bibliography

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miyazaki_Y%C5%ABzen

[2] See Essay #8

[3] For the Akome Layer see https://www.iz2.or.jp/english/fukusyoku/wayou/index.htm

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_fan#Japanese_hand_fan

[5] https://japan-avenue.com/blogs/japan/japanese-folding-fans-history

[6] https://japanobjects.com/features/japanese-fans

[7] https://becos.tsunagujapan.com/en/kyo-sensu-fans/

[8] See The Artisans in Essay #8

[9] See Essay #9

[10] See 17th century in Appreciation Timeline

[11] See Bijin #8

[12] See The Changing Japanese Figure in Bijin #6

[13] See Bijin #7

[14] See Bijin #1

[15] See Phases of popularity in Essay #9 and Essay #8

Bijin Series Timeline

8th century

- Introduction of Chinese Tang Dynasty clothing (710)

- Sumizuri-e (710)

- Classical Chinese Art ; Zhou Fang (active 766-805) ; Qiyun Bijin

15th century 

- Fuzokuga Painting schools; Kano (1450-1868) and Tosa (1330-1690)

16 century 

- Nanbanjin Art (1550-1630)

- Byobu Screens (1580-1670)

 - End of Sengoku Jidai brings Stabilisation policy (1590-1615)  

17th century  

- Land to Currency based Economy Shift (1601-1655)

- Early Kabuki Culture (1603-1673) ; Yakusha-e or Actor Prints

- Sumptuary legislation in reaction to the wealth of the merchant classes (1604-1685) 

- Regulation of export and imports of foreign trade in silk and cotton (1615-1685)  

Iwasa Matabei (active 1617-1650) ; Yamato-e Bijin  

- Sankin-Kotai (1635-1642) creates mass Urbanisation  

- Popular culture and print media production moves from Kyoto to Edo (1635-1650); Kiyohara Yukinobu (1650-1682) ; Manji Classical Beauty

- Shikomi-e (1650-1670) and Kakemono-e which promote Androgynous Beauties;

 Iwasa Katsushige (active 1650-1673) ; Kojin Bijin

- Mass Urbanisation instigates the rise of Chonin Cottage Industry Printing (1660-1690) ; rise of the Kabunakama Guilds and decline of the Samurai

- Kanazoshi Books (1660-1700); Koshokubon Genre (1659?-1661)

- Shunga (1660-1722); Abuna-e

Kanbun Master/School (active during 1661-1673) ; Maiko Bijin 

- Hinagata Bon (1666 - 1850)

Yoshida Hanbei (active 1664-1689) ; Toned-Down Bijin

- Asobi/Suijin Dress Manuals (1660-1700)

- Ukiyo-e Art (1670-1900)

Hishikawa Moronobu (active 1672-1694) ; Wakashu Bijin

- The transit point from Kosode to modern Kimono (1680); Furisode, Wider Obi 

- The Genroku Osaka Bijin (1680 - 1700) ; Yuezen Hiinakata

Sugimura Jihei (active 1681-1703) ; Technicolour Bijin 

Miyazaki Yuzen (active 1688-1736) ; Genroku Komin and Wamono Bijin 

Torii Kiyonobu (active 1688 - 1729) [Coming Soon]

Nishikawa Sukenobu (active 1700-1750) [Coming Soon]

Kaigetsudo Ando (active 1700-1736) [Coming Soon]

Kaigetsudo Doshin (active 1704-1716) [Coming Soon]

Baioken Eishun (active 1710-1755) [Coming Soon]

Kaigetsudo Anchi (active 1714-1716) [Coming Soon]

Miyagawa Choshun (active 1718-1753) [Coming Soon]

Miyagawa Issho (active 1718-1780) [Coming Soon]

Nishimura Shigenaga (active 1719-1756) [Coming Soon]

Matsuno Chikanobu (active 1720-1729) [Coming Soon]

Torii Kiyonobu II (active 1725-1760) [Coming Soon]

Kawamata Tsuneyuki (active 1736-1744) [Coming Soon]

Miyagawa Shunsui (active from 1740-1769) [Coming Soon]

Ishikawa Toyonobu (active 1745-1785) [Coming Soon]

Tsukioka Settei (active 1753-1787) [Coming Soon]

Torii Kiyonaga (active 1756-1787) [Coming Soon]

Shunsho Katsukawa (active 1760-1793) [Coming Soon]

Utagawa Toyoharu (active 1763-1814) [Coming Soon]

Suzuki Harunobu (active 1764-1770) [Coming Soon]

Torii Kiyonaga (active 1765-1815) [Coming Soon]

Kitao Shigemasa (active 1765-1820) [Coming Soon]

Kitagawa Utamaro (active 1770-1806) [Coming Soon]

Kubo Shunman (active 1774-1820) [Coming Soon]

Tsutaya Juzaburo (active 1774-1797) [Coming Soon]

Utagawa Kunimasa (active from 1780-1810) [Coming Soon]

Tanehiko Takitei (active 1783-1842) [Coming Soon]

Katsukawa Shuncho (active 1783-1795) [Coming Soon]

Choubunsai Eishi (active 1784-1829) [Coming Soon]

Eishosai Choki (active 1786-1808) [Coming Soon]

Chokosai Eisho (active 1792-1799) [Coming Soon]

Kunimaru Utagawa (active 1794-1829) [Coming Soon]

Utagawa Toyokuni II (active 1794 - 1835) [Coming Soon]

Teisai Hokuba (active 1800-1844) [Coming Soon]

Totoya Hokkei (active 1800-1850) [Coming Soon]

Utagawa Kunisada Toyokuni III (active 1800-1865) [Coming Soon]

Urakusai Nagahide (active from 1804) [Coming Soon]

Kitagawa Tsukimaro (active 1804 - 1836)

Kikukawa Eizan (active 1806-1867) [Coming Soon]

Keisai Eisen (active 1808-1848) [Coming Soon]

Utagawa Kuniyoshi (active 1810-1861) [Coming Soon]

Utagawa Hiroshige (active 1811-1858) [Coming Soon]

Yanagawa Shigenobu (active 1818-1832) [Coming Soon]

Utagawa Kunisada II (active 1844-1880) [Coming Soon]

Toyohara Kunichika (active 1847-1900) [Coming Soon]

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (active 1850-1892) [Coming Soon]

Toyohara Chikanobu (active 1875-1912) [Coming Soon]

Goyo Hashiguchi (active 1899-1921) [Coming Soon]

Yumeji Takehisa (active 1905-1934) [Coming Soon]

Torii Kotondo (active 1915-1976) [Coming Soon]

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