“The 300th Anniversary of his Birth: Jakuchu” at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum runs until May 24; 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. (Fri. until 8 p.m.). ¥1,600. Closed Mon. www.tobikan.jp
05/24/2016
Art
Ito Jakuchu: Quite the rare bird
by C.B. LiddellSpecial To The Japan Times Article history
The best time to see Ito Jakuchu’s work was back in 2000 or 2006, when there were two major exhibitions that aimed to re-evaluate the underappreciated 18th-century Kyoto painter. Now that re-evaluation has picked up plenty of steam we are currently experiencing a powerful “Jakuchu Boom,” which means that the “300th Anniversary of his Birth: Jakuchu” at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art is a busy and crowded exhibition — not ideal conditions for appreciating the colorful yet delicate beauty of his work. Jakuchu is particularly loved for his vivid depictions of animals, especially birds, of which there are several excellent examples, but a similar artistic love is bestowed by the artist on all aspects of nature, revealing a Buddhistic embrace of life in its various forms. Perhaps the most impressive of the bird-themed works is “Cactus and Domestic Fowls” (1790), a piece painted on six golden door panels from Saifuku-ji Temple in Niigata Prefecture. The contrast between the gold and the colors emphasizes the strutting forms of the birds, while the cactus makes a lazy appearance on the side as if to comment on the prickly nature of the proud fowls. This work also reveals Jakuchu’s constant subtle humor that riffs off the eccentricities of the animal world as well as the constraints and possibilities of artistic media. You can find it in many other works, such as his kappazuri (also known as katagamizuri-e, prints printed in black and then color stencilled) “Cockatoo” (1771). Jakuchu seems to have chosen the upside-down pose of the little bird to refer to the various inversions of the printing process. A completely different technique also reveals artistic humor — “Phoenix” (undated), an hanging scroll ink painting that was completed relatively quickly. Playful brush strokes around the neck of the bird loosen and enliven what would otherwise have been an overly precise and straight composition, while also throwing a hint of gentle mockery at the austere bird. Such gentle touches constantly shine through Jakuchu’s work, suggesting that he may even have been subtly commenting on the vanity and pomposity of the society around him. Jakuchu’s name appears second to Maruyama Okyo’s in the “Heian Jinbutsushi” (“Record of Heian Notables”), a kind of who’s who of Kyoto of the period, testifying to his high standing in his own time. But, if he was such an accomplished and recognized artist, why did he need a boom to come back into favor? This implies a period of neglect. Perhaps it’s because, unlike Okyo, who founded a school and thus had many disciples and followers to keep his reputation high, Jakuchu was a more solitary creature. His painting studio was even named Dokurakuka, literally meaning “solitary pleasure nest.” One imagines that he may have been something of an odd bird.
Art
Kyoto museum celebrates the works of native son Ito Jakuchu
by Matthew Larking Special To The Japan Times
雨上がりの日に
英の勉強（4）ー （う、え）
ウイルス感染 virus infection ウイルス対策ソフト antivirus software
魚の目（足の指の）corn (on a toe)
鵜飼 cormorant fishing / fishing with cormorants
浮き彫り作品 work in relief
受け皿銀行 bridge bank / takeover bank
薄型大画面テレビ large-screen flat-panel television
薄型テレビ flat-screen television［TV］
うそ発見器 polygraph / lie detector
うそ八百 all sorts of lies / a pack of lies
歌い放題カラオケ all-you-can-sing karaoke
内金 down payment / part payment
内ゲバ intrafactional strife（集団間) / intragroup strife（同一グループ）
内税方式 tax-inclusive system 外税方式 tax-exclusive system
内弁慶 a lion at home［inside］and a mouse abroad［out-side］
内幕 inside facts (of the political world) / inside knowledge / actual conditions
宇宙 space / (the) universe / (the) cosmos
宇宙開発 space development
宇宙開発事業団 National Space Development Agency ［NASDA］
宇宙基地 space station 宇宙空間 outer space 宇宙ゴミ space debris
宇宙時代 the Spaced Age / the space age 宇宙食 space food
宇宙塵 space dust 宇宙ステーション space station / space platform
宇宙中継 transmission by communication satellites 宇宙服 space suit
宇宙遊泳 spacewalk / walk in space
宇宙人 alien / man from another planet
宇宙船 spacecraft / spaceship / space shuttle
宇宙飛行士 astronaut（米）cosmonaut（ロシア）
うつ病 depression / melancholia
雨天中止 rainout
鰻重 broiled eel served over rice in a lacquerred box
海風前線 sea breeze front
海の幸 marine products / seafood
埋め立て地 reclaimed land ［ground］ / landfill
裏書き endorsement (小切手などの)
裏金 off-the-books money / slush fund (政治活動) kickback money（リベート）
裏口 backdoor 裏口入学 backdoor admission to a school / buying one's way
into school 裏口融資 backdoor loan / loan through back channels
裏取引 behind-the-scene bargaining / backstage deal
裏話 inside story ※内幕 inside facts (of the political world) / inside
knowledge / actual conditions
裏番組 program on a different channel
裏ビデオ hard-core porn video
裏技 trick / knack
占い fortune-telling / augury
売り掛け credit sales
売り手労働市場 scarcity of labor supply / tight labor market
うるう年 leap year / intercalary year
売れ筋商品 hot-selling product
運航管理 operation control / flight control
運賃 fare
航空運賃 air fare タクシー料金 taxi fare
運賃精算(所) fare adjustment (office)
運賃値上げ fare hike ［increase, raise］
運賃値下げ reduction in freight / a fare reduction 運賃表 fare chart
運転資金 working fund / operating capital / working capital
運動資金 campaign funds
運命共同体 common destiny / community held together by fate
エアコン air-conditioning (冷房機) / air conditioner (空調調節装置)
営業外利益 non-operating income 営業利益 operating income
営業停止処分 suspension of business
英才教育 special education for gifted［brilliant］children
エイズ AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome)
エイズ患者 AIDS patient / person (infected) with the AIDS virus
エイズの流行 AIDS epidemic
衛星 satellite 衛星（生）中継 live transmission vir satellite
衛星放送 satellite broadcasting
栄養 nutrition / nourrishment / nurtriment / nutrient
栄養過多 over nutrition 栄養剤 nutrient substance
栄養失調 malnutrition 栄養障害 nutritional disturbance
栄養ドリンク energy drink
栄養不良 undernourishment / lack of nourishment
栄養補助食品 (dietary) supplement
営利企業 profit-making buisiness ［enterprise］
営利団体［組織］ profit-making organization
非営利団体 non-profit organization
AO入試 admission office-managed entrance examination for colleges and
universities
A型肝炎ウイルス hepatitis A virus ［HAV］
A級戦犯 the A class war criminal
液晶 liquid crystal
液晶カラーテレビ liquid crystal color television
液晶画面 liquid crystal display / [LCD] liquid crystal picture [screen]
液晶テレビ LCD television
疫病 plague / epidemic
駅弁 box lunch sold at stations or on trains
エコノミークラス症候群 economy-class syndrome / deep vein thrombosis
越境入学 going to a school outside one's school zone
エビ shrimp / prawn
烏帽子 headgear worn by nobles in court dress
絵馬 votive picture［tablet］of a horse （※奉納 votive）
エリート社員 white-collar employee of a big company
エルニーニョ現象 El Nino effect
円 (the) yen
円借款 yen-based loan / yen credit
円相場 yen exchange rate / yen-dollar moves
円高差益 benefits of the yen's appreciation
円建て quotation in yen
円安（ドル高） the yen's depreciation (against the U.S. dollar) / cheap yen
rate
円高 strong yen (rate) / high-value yen / yen appreciation
遠隔作業機 remotely operated vehicle ［ROV］遠隔操作カメラ remote -control camera
遠隔授業 distance learning using multimedia technology
沿岸漁業 coastal fisheries 遠洋漁業 deep-sea fisheries / pelagic fishing
遠距離恋愛 long-distance romance ［relationship］
遠近両用めがね bifocals / bifocal glasses
冤罪 false charge / unjust accusation
援助交際 juvenile prostitution / compensated dating
エンスト engine stall
延滞利子 overdue interest
延命治療 life-prolonging treatment
(8/17)(8/10)(7/26)(7/14)(6/28)