Munakata Shiko

[ . BACK to Daruma Museum TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Munakata Shikoo 棟方志功 Munakata Shiko








.................................................................................





source : gyararikunya.jugem.jp

at 総本山大岩山日石寺 Toyama
. Nissekiji Ooiwasan 大岩山日石寺 Oiwasan, Nisseki-Ji . 　　


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::



source :　www.oida-art.com

不動明王の柵

.................................................................................




source and more by Shiko : artnet.fr...


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Shikō Munakata 棟方志功
(September 5, 1903 – September 13, 1975)
a woodblock printmaker active in Shōwa period Japan. He is associated with the sosaku hanga movement and the mingei (folk art) movement. Munakata was awarded the "Prize of Excellence" at the Second International Print Exhibition in Lugano, Switzerland in 1952. He was awarded the Order of Culture, the highest honor in the arts by the Japanese government in 1970.

Munakata was born in Aomori city, Aomori prefecture in northern Honshū as the third of 15 children to a local blacksmith. Due to the impoverished circumstances of his family, he had only an elementary school education; however, he exhibited a passion for art from early childhood. In third grade, he began illustrating kites for his classmates.

Munakata's early career was not without obstacles. Unable to sell his paintings, he was forced to repair shoes and sell natto part time to survive. He was rejected by the Bunten (The Japan Art Academy Exhibition) four times, until one of his paintings was finally accepted in 1928. However, by this date, his attention had shifted away from oil painting to the traditional Japanese art of woodblock printing.



Quotations of Shiko Munakata

"Like the vastness of space, like a universe unlimited, untold, unattainable, and inscrutable- that is the woodcut."

"The nature of the woodcut is such, that even a mistake in its carving will not prevent it from its true materialization."

"The concern that it be ugly is characteristic of human thoughts and not of the woodcut itself."

"It is inherent in the woodcut that it can never be ugly."

"The woodcut, unconcerned with good and evil, with ideas, with differences, tells us that it consists of truth alone,"

"It is precisely the beauty of this which will further enlarge the limitlessness of the world of beauty."

(from Shiko Munakata, Munakata:
the “Way” of the Woodcut, Brooklyn, Pratt Adlib Press, 1961).

©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !




. . . CLICK here for Photos !



へたくそだからいい - unskillful is just right


source :　xxx

His eyesight was very bad and he had to lean heavily over his artwork to see what he was doing.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::




Daruma Whiskey Bottle


. Suntory Old サントリーオールド Daruma .


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::




南無不動明王 Namu Fudo Myo-O
Thinking of the victims of the catastrophy on March 11.
source :　松謡堂文庫


. Japan after the BIG earthquake March 11, 2011　.



:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::



志功の天女 Tennyo


人戀へば志功の天女冬の燈に
hito koeba Shikoo no tennyo fuyu no hi ni

if you are in love
the Apsars of Shiko
are a light in winter

河野多希女 Kano Takijo



桃咲くや志功天女の腰ゆたか
momo saku ya Shikoo tennyo no koshi yukata

peach are blossoming -
the Apsaras of Shiko
have bulging hips

加藤いろは Kato Iroha

. Apsara, Apsaras, Heavenly Maidens .

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　



“A cypress tree in the front garden”, 1959.
- Arts of Asia November-December 2015 issue -

庭前柏樹子 teizen hakujushi

Jōshū 趙州, in the Mumonkan (case 37):
A monk asked Joshu:
“Why did Bodhidharma come from the West?”
Jōshū answered :
“The cypress tree in the courtyard”.

(This has been translated in a great number of ways. The ideograms mean something like “courtyard / in front / cypress / tree / (child)”. Among the translations commonly found are “the cypress in front of the yard”, “that oak tree in the garden”, “the tree in the middle of the garden”, and even stranger things.
The “oak” translation apparently comes from the Japanese reading of the ideogram “柏”, which may or may not have been the Chinese meaning at the time when Jōshū spoke this, or at the time when the Mumonkan was written, I have no idea.
But really it doesn't matter.)
source : xxx

一人の僧が趙州和尚に問う。
「如何なるか是（こ）れ祖師西来意 （そしせいらいい）」
趙州和尚は、「庭前の柏樹子」と応えただけである。柏樹は、日本の広葉樹の柏餅のあの柏のことでなく、常緑樹のカイヅカイブキと同種の柏槙 byakushin（びゃくしん）のことで、いまでも中国の寺院では大木の柏槙をみるが、趙州のいた観音院でもこの柏樹が茂っていたのだろう。
- source : jyofukuji.com/10zengo -
byakushin 柏槙 a kind of mountain juniper

. Koan and Haiku 公案と俳句 .

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

- quote -
Munakata Shiko Memorial Museum of Art
2-1-2 Matsubara, Aomori City, Aomori

A museum where you can learn about, see, and feel the genius of the world-famous woodblock print artist Shiko Munakata.
This museum was opened in 1975 to commemorate the awarding of the Order of Culture to Shiko Munakata, the extraordinary woodblock print artist born in Aomori. Its goal is to inform future generations about the wide-ranging creative activities of this world-class artist, who did not focus on woodblock prints alone.
The long-cherished desire of Shiko Munakata
is reflected in the works exhibited here: to display comparatively few works, so that the viewer spends time looking closely at each and every one. The art of Munakata is condensed into woodblock prints impressive in their scale, such as Ten Great Disciples of the Buddha, as well as exquisite Yamato-e classical paintings (painted by hand), oil paintings that reflect his admiration for van Gogh, and fascinating, dynamic calligraphy. Moreover, the museum exhibits the printing blocks he used and many other artifacts that provide visitors with a multifaceted understanding of Shiko Munakata.
As well as the works themselves,
the building and garden are also very appealing. The museum building itself, in the azekura (log-cabin) style, and the pond-stroll-style Japanese garden have been designed to complement each other with their unique appearance, and never fail to captivate visitors. There's no doubt that you'll be delighted by the beauty of the Tohoku region, no matter what the season.
- source : jnto.go.jp/eng/location -

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

. Fellow Pilgrims .


[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
- #munakatashiko #shikomunakata -
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::