HAIKUS FOR PAINTINGS OF THE FAMOUS PLACES SIXTY PLUS PROVINCES BY HIROSHIGE I

This bilingual haiku anthology features Rokujū yoshū meisho zue (Paintings of the Famous Places of the Sixty-plus Provinces, 1853-1856), a masterpiece ukiyo-e woodblock print series by Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-October 1858). Hiroshige is known for world-famous ukiyo-e woodblock print series, such as Tōkaidō gojū-san tsugi (The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō Road, 1833-1834) and Meisho Edo hyakkei (One Hundred Famous Scenes of Edo, 1856-1858). Hiroshige's work caused a sensation in the French art world in the late 19th century so that 'Japonism' became a source of inspiration for many Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painters, including Édouard Manet (1832-1883), Claude Monet (1840-1926) and Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890). Monet created The Water Garden with a Japanese bridge in Giverny in France, after Hiroshige's print, and painted the Japanese Bridge series and the Water Lilies series. Van Gogh in turn copied Hiroshige's prints, in which he even painstakingly copied the title, signature, and caption written in Chinese characters. The Paintings of the Famous Places of the Sixty-plus Provinces series was categorized into eight chapters corresponding to the administrative divisions of Japan at that time: 5 provinces in Gokidai (Kidai, current Kansai region); 16 provinces in Tōkaidō (encompassing the current eastern Kinki region, Tōkai region, and Kantō region [including Edo]); 8 provinces in Tōsandō (encompassing the current Chūbu region, Kantō region, and Tōhoku region); 7 provinces in Hokurikudō (current Hokuriku region); 8 provinces in San'indō (current San'in region); 8 provinces in San'yōdō (current Chūgoku region); 6 provinces in Nankaidō (encompassing the current southwestern Kansai regionand Shikoku region); and 11 provinces in Saikaidō (current Kyūshū region). In depicting the beauaiful scenes and breathtaking views of the 69 famous places, Hiroshige often infused allusions to the historic significance and sentiment of each locale. Unlike The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō Road(1833-1834) in which Hiroshige used the landscape mode, he used the portrait mode entirely for this series. While the former format was instrumental in depicting peaceful and serene scenes and views of each place aesthetically, the latter format was effective in accentuating a bolder structure, giving a striking image to each locale. * * * This new haiku collection (2026) presents 36 newly written haikus, corresponding to the first 36-out of the total of 69-ukiyo-e woodblock prints in The Paintings of the Famous Places of the Sixty-plus Provinces (1853-1856) by Hiroshige, as a homage, along with appropriate season words per the Japanese calendar and annotations.

Pagina's: 184, Paperback, Independently published