Old Meiji Poetry Tarot...based on Ogura Hyakunin Isshu

[Cerulean]

I'm matching classical Japanese poetry, tarot and old Japanese card games. I'm adding Meiji-20th century bits that influenced my greats and grandparents in their Westernization.

My beloved Ukiyoe Tarot is in the oop category now...it had the right mix of folktales, shinto, Mahayana Buddhism (Shingon) and outdated but lovely color palettes.. I had an old notebook where I had done some color studies and related meditational notes with one of my copies of the deck...and I dismantled the old notebook of cards to add to my new large sketchbook of the

100 Poets Card Game...tanka (haiku plus the two sentence conclusion lines of 7 syllables) selections from the 7th and 13th centuries that make the card game.

Anyway, the seasonal poems (more autumn than winter, spring and summer) and ukiyoe tarot cards are now matched together in a study scrapbook. 77 of 78 cards matched to poems, then I'm going to add a copy of the *hana-fuda 49 cards of flower-season to the pages of poems as well. I was going to add the seasonal Japanese
flower and calendar changes...such as New Year's, Eve of Spring, vernal equinox, etc...I'm trying to add recipes as I can...my parents made certain the older girls had a taste of a few of the celebrations and ways the grandmothers, aunts and mothers 'made do' during lean times...

I've not forgotton the novelty twentieth century East-West tarot ideas...but just expanded them to see what I can bring to the table.

Maybe it'll be a web deck of interest, especially if I can get the recipes right---I'll save my tanka efforts for personal use and use the old poems for the text...and I'm experimenting with a color palette that mimics the Meiji era handcolored photos by Felice Beato...if anything, it mixes cards with treasures inherited from my beloveds...

Regards,

Cerulean

* Hana Fuda is based on Portugese gambling decks introduced in the port of Nagasaki in the late 1500s until the bans against Westernisms in the 1600s).

 

[darwinia]

100 Poets Card Game...tanka (haiku plus the two sentence conclusion lines of 7 syllables) selections from the 7th and 13th centuries that make the card game.

Ah Mari, it is a bitter thing for me that no one like you lives beside me!

I take it these cards are in Japanese? They sound lovely and very much like something I'd use, having an extensive collection of modern haiku, along with traditional. Unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to use them in Japanese.

I like hearing about your projects, they sound peaceful yet stimulating, a nice balance for the mind and soul.

 

[Cerulean]

I'll give you English links

...actually, I'll post them here.


After I saw the Milan Maria Stuarda novelty 19th century tarot based on the operas of an Italian composer, I thought of how can I combine what I know...and reach back and forward... I only chose what I knew and because I want to combine study and substance of my small bits and pieces...

David Bull's famous re-doing of the 100 Poets prints with commentary in English:

http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~xs3d-bull/hyaku-nin-isshu/choose_which_print.html

A wonderful American university version of the game and text:
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/japanese/hyakunin/

Hope that helps get you started.

I welcome seeing your ideas, soon, Darwinia!

You know Jane Hirshfield's Nine Gates of Poetry book backwards and forwards...it's taken me about six years to run through maybe a third of her references in various classes...maybe you'll do another compiliation or East-West-North-South exploration as well!

After I saw the Milan Maria Stuarda novelty 19th century tarot based on the operas of an Italian composer, I thought of how can I combine what I know...and reach backwards and forward in an artbook/journal journey...

I only chose what I knew and because I want to combine study and substance of my small bits and pieces...

Look forward to any seasonal tanka studies if you wish to begin them...

Regards,

Cerulean

 

[darwinia]

Wow. another door opens. I have never heard of these.

I originally bought the haiku books just because I wanted to see what modern Western poets and writers did with the form. Then I bought an anthology of Japanese Poetry with additional forms.

This I bought the Ukiyoe. I did one digital picture with a piece of clip art, The Empress from the Ukiyoe, and an older traditional haiku that turned out well.

I haven't had much time to explore lately but these 100 poets prints sound just fascinating.

I bought my Ukiyoe used from someone without a box and I'm dying to make a box for it and decorate with some snippets of art and poetry.

Here's a picture I made once Mari, with art from an exhibit of Japanese art at the Bayly Museum. The link doesn't work anymore, so I'm not sure if the exhibit is still up online, but it's the same site as your 2nd link for the University of Virginia library.
http://www.ransen.com/Gliftic/Gallery/Customers/Gware-JJ.htm

 

[Cerulean]

Yoshi Toshi is Meiji and an influence for me

I've long admired Yoshitoshi's Meiji period art - here's a new link

http://www.sinister-designs.com/graphicarts/yoshitoshi.html

He was quite dramatic, which is quite appealing. The staginess refers to stories and the 100 Scenes of the Moon is
splendid.

I saw the 100 Moons is available on Amazon.com for not too expensive price

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0890134383/ref=nosim/aeclectic/

http://www.artelino.com/articles/tsuki_hyakushi.asp

I believe there was an out of print week-illustration calendar from the exhibit. Long time ago I took the favored illustrations and pasted them in an old scrapbook. But I decided not to raid that scrapbook, because it has the old images that appealed to me at a different time in my life.

Other nformation about Yoshitoshi:

http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/yoshitoshi_tsukioka.html

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...s?q=Yoshitoshi+ukiyoe&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&sa=G

Some of his images can be upsetting, but the dramatic ''kabuki" staginess of some the scenes in story context can rival our readings of M. Shelley's gothic horror of Frankenstein or perhaps earlier, Dante Algheri's Inferno and Purgatory portions of the Divine Comedy.

Have a great exploration in the coming year!

Cerulean

 

[darwinia]

Re: Yoshi Toshi is Meiji and an influence for me

I've long admired Yoshitoshi's Meiji period art.

He was quite dramatic, which is quite appealing. The staginess refers to stories and the 100 Scenes of the Moon is
splendid.

Very vibrant and lots of movement. The second URL you cited says this:

"His work is brilliant and flamboyant, and shows signs of his mental instability."

And this phrase from the first URL struck me:

"Yoshitoshi's Moon Series stands out as being very different from all dominating styles and trends."

The book by Stevenson sounds fabulous.

It reminds me of why we celebrate music and art today, or why we pretend to. Our society pretends to encourage the individual and unique innovators but we really don't, we like everybody to be the same. We recognize the new and rush to envelop it but then we seek to destroy or vilify it or copy it endlessly into mediocrity.

Perhaps all societies are like that? We like the brilliance of difference but it frightens somewhat. We remember the uniqueness, but also fear it.

 

[darwinia]

The only art book I have, which I recently bought to go with my Japanese poetry books, is "Japanese Art" by Joan Stanley-Baker. It covers all periods and many types of art like painting, fabric, pottery, architecture, statuary etc. Lots of pictures and information, but an overview.

I find the chapter on Ukiyo-e (I must remember to keep the hyphen in there unless I'm referring to the Ukiyoe Tarot), very sketchy. They mention several Masters of that time, but not the obviously different Yoshitoshi.

(Judy nudges Mari and says "I think I need another book." Mari vigorously nods her assertion that this is SO.)

Okay, the Stevenson book is way out of my league financially but I noticed several other books:

1) One Hundred Aspects of the Moon: Japanese Woodblock Prints by
Yoshitoshi
by Tamara Tjardes, Yoshitoshi Taiso
Paperback: 112 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.39 x 8.02 x 10.02
Publisher: Museum of New Mexico Press; (January 1, 2003)
ISBN: 0890134383
$48 CDN (Online $34)

2) Masterpieces of Japanese Prints: Ukiyo-E from the Victoria and Albert
Museum
by Richard Lane, Rupert Faulkner, B. W. Robinson, Victoria and Albert
Museum
Paperback: 152 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.62 x 11.78 x 9.06
Publisher: Kodansha International (JPN); (April 1, 1999)
ISBN: 4770023871
$54 CDN (Online $38)

3) Floating World of Ukiyo-E : Shadows, Dreams and Substance
by James Douglas Farquhar, Katherine L. Blood, Lawrence E. Marceau
Hardcover: 232 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.98 x 11.32 x 9.30
Publisher: Harry N Abrams; (September 1, 2001)
ISBN: 0810941694
$75 CDN (Online $53)

All are available from Chapters and all are pretty expensive. Can you recommend ONE of these Mari? I like a lot of pictures, but I also like lots of information too, particularly when buying expensive books.

Wouldn't I like to buy them all!

Thanks

 

[Cerulean]

Please send pm email.

You can email me through the Aeclectic.net forum send me an email and I can send the url for the Toshiyoshi moon pictures. He was definitely an innovation for Meiji-related influences.

I'm incorporating some ideas from F.Beato and La Farge picture studies, as they had direct Meiji East-West influences.

One interesting survey of 250 years of "ukiyoe" (everyone gets tired of splitting up the word) art is the following title, which may be available used:

"Ukiyo-e: 250 Years of Ukiyo-e Art" by Roni Neuer and Susugu Yoshida.

I started looking at these topics out of college, so my older references may not be the most cost-effective. I've also noticed more titles on the Eastern-Western influences and topics related to such things include photography, ceramics, poetic awareness, mingei crafts and costume/kabuki/no popular culture influences...Kodansha International has many pretty introductions available at the library or in picture books, small slices of bigger topics.

Maybe there something from the Thames and Hudson art pocketbook series--or is that the Joan Stanley-Baker pocketbook that I have as well--that will also be titled similar to the nickname of "The Floating World".

Take care!

Cerulean Mari

 

[darwinia]

Re: Please send pm email.

You can email me through the Aeclectic.net forum send me an email and I can send the url for the Toshiyoshi moon pictures. He was definitely an innovation for Meiji-related influences.

I don't talk to people any more Mari. I gave it up and have decided to become a recluse who matches up bird pictures with the Thoth Tarot.

You've got me going on the Dante Tarot too. I just read your review at amazon after discussing it with a friend who is slogging through the Inferno at Project Guttenberg. I gave my three books of the Comedy to the local library, and of course I could kick myself now.

Thanks for your help and all the tips. Oh, and good luck with your project. I would never have thought recipes would go with that, but it's traditional and cultural, so why not? I love mixing things up, it's so good to see others bucking convention and creating their own links with tarot.

 

[Owlface]

meiji tarot

This sounds like a very beautiful project indeed. My mouth is WATERING at the thought of art AND poetry. I too like the drama inherent in Yoshitoshi's work. And would snap up the end result like a flash. Having said that, I know any creative work worth anything takes time, and revision, and more time, and editing, and adding, and more editing, etc. so, Cerulean, I wish you well for however long it takes.