,transcriber's ,notes ,obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected4 ,variations in hyphenation have been standardised but all other spelling and punctuation remains unchanged4 ,sidenotes1 page headings in the original1 have been placed at the beginning of the relevant paragraphs and marked ,sidenote3 4444 ,on ,page #bf lespedozas has been corrected to lespedezas4 ,italics are represented thus italic4 ,the ,wisdom of the ,east ,series ,,edited ,,by ,l4 ,,cranmer-,,byng ,dr4 ,s4 ,a4 ,,kapadia ,,the ,,spirit ,,of ,,japanese ,,art ,,wisdom ,,of ,,the ,,east ,,the ,,spirit ,,of ,,japanese ,,art ,,by ,,yone ,,noguchi ,,author ,,of 8,,the ,,spirit ,,of ,,japanese ,,poetry0 ,illustration2 ,sun rising over ocean ,,london ,,john ,,murray1 ,,albemarle ,,street1 ,w4 #aiae ,,all ,,rights ,,reserved ,,contents ,,page ,,introduction #i ,i ,,koyetsu #ag ,,ii ,,kenzan #be ,,iii ,,utamaro #cb ,,iv ,,hiroshige #ch ,v ,,gaho ,,hashimoto #dd ,,vi ,,kyosai #ef ,,vii ,,the ,,last ,,master ,,of ,,the ,,ukiyoye ,,art #fg ,,viii ,,busho ,,hara #gi ,,ix ,,the ,,ukiyoye ,,art ,,in ,,original #ic ,x ,,western ,,art ,,in ,,japan #ajj ,,appendix ,i ,,the ,,memorial ,,exhibition ,,of ,,the ,,late ,,hara #aji ,,appendix ,,ii ,,the ,,nervous ,,debility ,,of ,,present ,,japanese ,,art #aac ,,to ,,edward ,f4 ,,strange ,,of ,,the ,,south ,,kensington ,,museum ,,editorial ,,note ,the object of the ,editors of this series is a very definite one4 ,they desire above all things that1 in their humble way1 these books shall be the ambassadors of good-will and understanding between ,east and ,west--the old world of ,thought and the new of ,action4 ,in this endeavour1 and in their own sphere1 they are but followers of the highest example in the land4 ,they are confident that a deeper knowledge of the great ideals and lofty philosophy of ,oriental thought may help to a revival of that true spirit of ,charity which neither despises nor fears the nations of another creed and colour4 ,l4 ,,cranmer-,,byng4 ,s4 ,a4 ,,kapadia4 ,,northbrook ,,society1 #ba ,,cromwell ,,road1 ,s4 ,,kensington1 ,s4,w4 ,,introduction ,in the ,ashikaga age 7#acce-aegc7 the best ,japanese artists1 like ,sesshu and his disciples1 for instance1 true revolutionists in art1 not mere rebels1 whose ,japanese simplicity was strengthened and clarified by ,chinese suggestion1 were in the truest meaning of the word ,buddhist priests1 who sat before the inextinguishable lamp of faith1 and sought their salvation by the road of silence2 their studios were in the ,buddhist temple1 east of the forests and west of the hills1 dark without1 and luminous within with the symbols of all beauty of nature and heaven4 ,and their artistic work was a sort of prayer-making1 to satisfy their own imagination1 not a thing to show to a critic whose attempt at arguing and denying is only a nuisance in the world of higher art2 they drew pictures to create absolute beauty and grandeur1 that made their own human world look almost trifling1 and directly joined themselves with eternity4 ,art for them was not a question of mere reality in expression1 but the question of ,faith4 ,therefore they never troubled their minds with the matter of subjects or the size of the canvas2 indeed1 the mere reality of the external world had ceased to be a standard for them1 who lived in the temple studios4 ,laurance ,binyon said of them3 8,hints of the divine were to be found everywhere--in leaves of grass1 in the life of animals1 birds1 and insects4 ,no occupation was too humble or menial to be invested with beauty and significance40 ,through them the ,ashikaga period becomes very important in our ,japanese art annals4 ,binyon says3 8,the ,ashikaga period stands in art for an ideal of reticent simplicity4 ,a revulsion from the ornate conventions1 which had begun to paralyse the pristine vigour of the ,yamato school1 and fresh acquaintance with the masterpieces of the ,sung era1 brought about by renewed contact with ,china1 after a hermit period of exclusion1 created a passion for swift1 impassioned or suggestive painting in ink1 on silvery-toned paper40 ,people1 like myself1 who are more delighted at the ,national ,gallery in ,trafalgar ,square with1 for instance1 8,a ,summer ,afternoon after a ,shower10 or a 8,view at ,epsom10 by ,constable1 and with 8,walton ,reach10 or 8,windsor from ,lower ,hope10 by ,turner1 than with their other bigger things1 will be certainly pleased to see 8,temple and ,hill above a ,lake10 by ,sesshu1 or 8,travellers at a ,temple ,gate10 by ,sesson1 representing this interesting ,ashikaga period1 exhibited in the new wing of the ,british ,museum4 ,you have to go there and spend an hour or so with the ,arthur ,morrison collection of ,japanese art1 if you wish to feel the real old ,japanese humanity and love that our ancient masters inspired into their work4 ,to be sure1 none of the things exhibited there1 small or large1 good or poor1 are so-called exhibition pictures1 which are often a game of artistic charlatans4 ,in real ,japanese art you should not look for variety of subjects2 but when you find an astonishing richness of execution1 certainly it is the time when your eyes begin to open toward another sort of asceticism in art4 ,how glad ,i am that our ,japanese art1 at least in the olden time1 never degenerated into a mechanical art6 ,what a pity ,sesson's 8,travellers at a ,temple ,gate10 this remarkable little thing1 has been mended in two or three spots4 ,if you wish to see the real power and distinction of great ,sesshu1 you might compare his 8,daruma0 in the exhibition with the other 8,daruma0 pictures by ,soami and ,takuchu also in the exhibition3 the point ,i should like to bring out is that ,sesshu's 8,daruma0 is an artistic attempt to proclaim the spiritual intensity which shines within from the true strength of consciousness and real economy of force1 while the others are rather a superficial demonstration4 ,there is no other ,japanese school so interesting1 even from the one point of style in expressive decoration1 as the ,koyetsu-korin school1 the much-admired branch of ,japanese art in the ,west4 ,although ,i was glad to see a good specimen of ,sotatsu in 8,descent of the ,thunder ,god on the ,palace of ,fujiwara0 in the exhibition1 ,i hardly think that such a figure painting 7a really good work in its own way7 shows ,sotatsu's best art2 while my memory of the ,sotatsu exhibition at ,uyeno of ,tokyo a few years ago is still fresh1 ,i am pleased to connect ,sotatsu with the flower-screens and little ,kakemono for the tea-rooms1 now with a pair of rabbits nibbling grasses1 then with a little bunch of wild chrysanthemums4 ,you will see what an admirer ,i am of this school1 since ,i have dwelt at some length on ,koyetsu and ,kenzan in this little book of ,japanese art4 ,i regret that ,i have to beg for some more time before ,i make myself able to write on great ,korin2 ,i am sure that ,hoitsu1 one of the most distinguished decadents of the early nineteenth century1 and the acknowledged successor of the ,koyetsu-korin school1 would give us a highly interesting subject to discuss4 ,oh1 those days at ,bunkwa and ,bunsei 7#ahjd-ahcj76 ,dear1 rotten1 foolish1 romantic old ,tokugawa civilisation and art6 ,two articles on ,harunobu and ,hokusai are still to be written for the ,ukiyoye school2 ,i know1 ,i believe1 that without those two artists the school would never be complete4 ,i am happy to think that ,i have ,gaho ,hashimoto in the present book as the last great master of the ,kano school2 but ,i cannot help thinking about ,hogai ,kano1 ,gaho's spiritual brother1 who passed away almost in starvation4 ,indeed1 ,hogai's whole life of sixty years was a life of hardship and hunger2 when he reached manhood1 the whole country of ,japan began to be disturbed under the name of the ,grand ,restoration4 ,in those days1 the safety of one's life was not assured2 how then could art claim the general protection8 ,all the artists threw away their drawing-brushes4 ,hogai tried to get his living by selling baskets and brooms2 his wife1 it is said1 helped him by weaving at night2 their lives were hard almost without comparison4 ,following the advice of a certain ,mr4 ,fujishima1 ,hogai drew pictures and gave them to a dealer at ,hikage ,cho1 ,tokyo1 to be sold4 ,after three long years1 he found that only one picture had been sold1 and so he gave the rest of them1 more than fifty1 to ,mr4 ,fujishima1 who1 by turns1 gave them away to his friends4 ,and those pictures which were given freely by ,mr4 ,fujishima are now their owners' greatest treasures4 ,thus is the irony of life exemplified4 ,it was thought by ,hogai a piece of good fortune when he was engaged by ,professor ,fenellosa for twelve yen a month2 this ,american critic's eye discerned ,hogai's unusual ability4 ,it is almost unbelievable to-day that such a small sum should have been acceptable2 but it may have been the usual payment in those days1 and the ,professor's friendship was more to ,hogai than money4 ,he received fifteen yen afterward when he was engaged by the ,educational ,department of the ,government in #ahhd2 how sad he could not support himself by art alone4 ,and alas1 he was no more when the general appreciation of his great art began to be told4 ,quite many specimens of ,hogai's work are treasured in the ,boston ,museum at present4 ,how changed are the conditions now from ,hogai's day6 ,but are these fortunately changed conditions really helpful for the creation of true art8 ,to look at some of the modern work is too trying1 mainly from the fact that it lacks1 to use the word of ,zen ,buddhism1 the meaning of silence2 it seems to me that some modern artists work only to tax people's minds4 ,in ,nature we find peacefulness and silence2 we derive from it a feeling of comfort and restfulness2 and again from it we receive vigour and life4 ,i think so great art should be4 ,many modern artists cannot place themselves in unison with their art2 in one word1 they do not know how to follow the law or michi1 that ,mother ,nature gladly evolves4 ,it is such a delight to examine the works of ,hogai1 as each picture is a very part of his own true self2 the only difference is the difference that he wished to evoke in interest2 his desire was always so clear in the relation between himself and his work1 and accidentally he succeeded as if by magic in establishing the same relationship for us1 the onlookers4 ,it goes without saying that the pictures of such an artist are richer than they appear2 while he used only ,chinese ink in his pictures1 our imagination is pleased to see them with the addition of colour1 and even voice4 ,the subjects which are treated in the present volume are various1 but ,i dare say that all the artists whose art ,i have treated here will well agree in the point of their expression of the ,japanese spirit of art1 which always aims at poetry and atmosphere1 but not mere style and purpose4 ,y4 ,n4 ,,london1 ,may #ac1 #aiad4 ,,the ,,spirit ,,of ,,japanese ,,art ,i ,,koyetsu ,when ,i left home toward a certain ,doctor's who had promised to show me his collection of chirography and art1 the unusual summer wind which had raged since midnight did not seem to calm down2 the rain-laden clouds now gathered1 and then parted for the torrent of sunlight to dash down4 ,i was most cordially received by him1 as ,i was expected2 in coming under threat of the weather ,i had my own reasons4 ,i always thought that summer was worse than spring for examining 7more difficult to approve than deny7 the objects of art1 on account of our inability for concentrating our minds2 the heat that calls all the shoji doors to open wide confuses the hearts of bronze ,buddhas or ,sesshu's 8,daruma0 or ,kobo's chirography or whatever they be1 whichever way they have to turn1 in the rush of light from every side2 ,i thanked the bad weather to-day which1 ,i am sure1 ,i should have cursed some other day4 ,the ,doctor's house had an almost winter-sad aspect with the shoji1 even the rain-doors all shut1 the soft darkness assembling at the very place it should1 where the saints or goddesses revealed themselves2 hanging after hanging was unrolled and rolled before me in quick succession4 8,doctor1 tell me quick whose writing is that80 ,i loudly shouted when ,i came to one little bit of ,japanese writing4 8,that is ,koyetsu's10 he replied4 8,why1 is it8 ,it seems it is worth more than all the others put together2 ,doctor1 ,i will not ask you for any more hangings to-day10 ,i said4 ,and a moment later1 ,i looked at him and exclaimed in my determined voice3 8,what will you say if ,i take it away and keep it indefinitely80 8,i say nothing at all1 but am pleased to see how you will enjoy it10 the ,doctor replied4 ,sidenote3 ,,yearning ,,of ,,poetical ,,soul ,the evening had already passed when ,i returned home with that hanging of ,koyetsu's chirography under my arm4 8,put all the gaslights out6 ,do you hear me8 ,all the gaslights out6 ,and light all the candles you have60 ,i cried4 ,the little hanging was properly hanged at the 8tokonoma0 when the candles were lighted1 whose world-old soft flame 7wasn't it singing the old song of world-wearied heart87 allured my mind back1 perhaps1 to ,koyetsu's age of four hundred years ago--to imagine myself to be a waif of greyness like a famous tea-master1 ,rikiu or ,enshu or1 again1 ,koyetsu1 burying me in a little ,abode of ,fancy with a boiling tea-kettle2 through that smoke of candles hurrying like our ephemeral lives1 the characters of ,koyetsu's writing loomed with the haunting charm of a ghost4 ,they say3 8,where's cherry-blossom8 ,the trace of the garden's spring breeze is seen no more4 ,i will point1 if ,i am asked1 ,to my fancy snow upon the ground40 8,what a yearning of poetical soul60 ,i exclaimed4 ,it is your imagination to make rise out of fall1 day out of darkness1 and ,life out of ,death2 not to see the fact of scattering petals is your virtue1 and to create your own special sensation with the impulse of art is your poet's dignity2 what a blessing if you can tell a lie to yourself2 better still1 not to draw a distinct line between the things our plebeian minds call truth and untruth1 and live like a wreath shell with the cover shut in the air of your own creation4 ,praised be the touch of your newly awakened soul which can turn the fallen petals to the beauty of snow2 there is nothing that will deny the yearning of your poetic soul4 ,it is not superstition to say that the poet's life is worthier than any other life4 ,some time ago the word loneliness impressed me as almost divine as ,rikiu pledged himself in it2 ,i wished1 through its invocation1 to create a picture1 as the ancient ditty has it1 of a 8lone cottage standing by the autumn wave1 under the fading light of eve40 ,but ,i am thankful for ,koyetsu to-day4 ,how to reach my own poetry seems clearly defined in my thought2 it will be by the twilight road of imagination born out of reality and the senses--the road of idealism baptised by the pain of death4 ,sidenote3 ,,abode ,,of ,,vacancy ,what remains of ,koyetsu's life is slight1 as his day was not feminine and prosaic1 like to-day1 with love of gossip and biography-writing2 he1 with the friends of his day1 ,sambiakuin ,konoye1 ,shokado1 both of them eminent chirographers of all time of ,japan1 ,jozan the scholar1 ,enshu the tea-master1 and many others1 realised the age of artistic heroism which is often weakened by the vulgarity of thought that aims at the ,future and ,fame4 ,the utter rejection of them would be the prayer itself to strengthen the appreciation of art into a living thing4 ,koyetsu made his profession in his younger days the connoisseurship of swords as well as their whetting2 it was for that service1 ,i believe1 that ,iyeyasu1 the great feudal ,prince of ,yedo1 gave him a piece of land1 then a mere waste1 at ,taka ga ,mine of the lonely suburb of ,kyoto1 by the ,tanba highway1 where he retired1 with a few writing brushes and a tea-kettle1 to build his ,taikyo ,an1 or ,abode of ,vacancy1 giving his sthetic fancy full swing to fill the 8vacancy0 of abode and life4 ,he warned his son and family1 when he bade them farewell1 it is said1 that they should never step into ,yedo of the powerful lords and princes1 because the worldly desire was not the way of ennobling a life which was worth living4 ,we might call it 8seihin01 or proud poverty that ,koyetsu most prized1 as it never allures one from the chasteness of simplicity which is the real foundation of art4 ,there is reason to believe that he must have been quite a collector of works of art1 rich and rare1 in his earlier life2 but it is said that he most freely gave them away when he left his city home for his lonely retirement2 indeed he was entering into the sanctuary of priests4 ,what needed he there but prayer and silence8 ,there is nothing more petty1 even vulgar1 in the grey world of art and poetry1 than to have a too close attachment to life and physical luxuries2 if our ,orientalism may not tell you anything much1 ,i think it will teach you at least to soar out of your trivialism4 ,sidenote3 ,,the ,,style ,,called 8,,gyosho0 ,koyetsu's must have been a remarkable personality1 remarkable because of its lucidity distilled and crystallised--to use a plebeian expression1 by his own philosophy1 whose touch breathed on the spot a real art into anything from a porcelain bowl to the design on a lacquer box2 ,i see his transcendental mien like a cloud 7that cloud is not necessarily high in the sky all the time7 in his works that remain to-day1 more from the reason that they carry1 all of them1 the solitary grace of amateurishness in the highest sense4 ,to return to the unprofessional independence itself was his great triumph2 his artistic fervour was from his priesthood4 ,i know that he was a master in porcelain-making1 picture-drawing1 and also in lacquer-box designing 7what a beautiful work of art is the writing box of raised lacquer called ,sano ,funahashi1 to-day owned by the ,imperial ,museum of ,tokyo72 but it seems that he often betrayed that his first and last love was in his calligraphy4 ,once he was asked by ,sambiakuin ,konoye1 a high nobleman of the ,kyoto ,court1 the question who was the best penman of the day2 it is said he replied1 after a slight hesitation3 8,well1 then1 the second best would be you1 my ,lord2 and ,shokado would be the third best40 ,the somewhat disappointed calligraphist of high rank in the court pressed ,koyetsu3 8,speak out1 who is the first6 ,there is nothing of #8,well1 then1' about it40 ,koyetsu replied3 8,this humble self is that first40 ,the remarkable part is that in his calligraphy ,koyetsu never showed any streak of worldly vulgarity4 ,its illusive charm is that of a rivulet sliding through the autumnal flowers2 when we call it impressive1 that impressiveness is that of the sudden fall of the moon4 ,to return to this hanging of his 7thousand thanks to the ,doctor7 to which ,i look up to-day as a servant to his master1 with all devotion4 ,the sure proof of its being no mean art1 ,i venture to say1 is seen in its impressing me as the singular work of accident1 like the blow of the wind or the sigh of the rain2 it seems the writer 7great ,koyetsu7 was never conscious1 when he wrote it1 of the paper on which he wrote1 of the bamboo brush which he grasped4 ,it is true that we cannot play our criticism against it2 it is not our concern to ask how it was written1 but only to look at and admire it4 ,the characters are in the style called 8gyosho10 or current hand1 to distinguish from the 8kaisho10 or square hand2 and there is one more style under the name of 8sosho10 or grass hand1 that is an abbreviated cursive hand4 ,as this was written in 8gyo0 style1 it did not depend on elaborate patience but on the first stroke of fancy4 ,i have no hesitation to say that1 when it is said that the arts of the calligrapher and the painter are closely allied1 the art of the calligrapher would be by just so much related with our art of living2 the question is what course among the three styles we shall choose--the square formalism of 8kaisho0 or the 8sosho0-like romanticism8 ,it does no justice to call 8gyosho0 a middle road2 when you know that your idealism is always born from the conventionalism of reality of 8kaisho0-like materialism1 it is not wrong to say that ,koyetsu wisely selected a line of 8gyosho0-like accentuation--not so fantastic as a 8sosho0 calligraph--with the tea-kettle and a few writing brushes1 to make one best day before he fell into the final rest4 ,,ii ,,kenzan ,i used to pass by ,zenyoji1 a little ,buddhist temple by the eastern side of ,uyeno ,hill 7whose trees1 almost a thousand years old1 in the shape of a dragon1 perhaps created by a ,kano artist1 have been ruined by the smoke that never departs from the railroad terminus71 where ,i knew1 from the calligraphic sign carved on a stone by the temple gate1 that ,kenzan ,ogata1 the famous artist on paper or porcelain1 and younger brother of the great ,korin1 was buried in the graveyard within2 but if ,i did not step in1 as in fact ,i did not step in1 although ,i passed by countless times1 as ,i lived then in the neighbourhood of the temple in classical ,negishi--classical in association with the nightingale and that wonderful pine-tree called ,ogyo no ,matsu 7here also lived ,hoitsu1 the famous decadent of the early nineteenth century7--that was because ,i had little interest in any grave1 even in ,kenzan's4 ,and the temple looked so dusty1 smoky1 and altogether dirty4 ,how sorry ,i felt in thinking that ,kenzan's artistic soul must be suffering from the snoring1 growling1 and hissing of the engines day and night4 ,alas1 he could not foresee the future of a few hundred years when he died4 ,but ,i welcomed the news when the sudden removal of the grave was reported as a result1 a fortunate result indeed1 of the expansion of the railway track2 this time1 to be sure1 ,i thought1 his grey-loving1 solitary soul would be pleased to find a far better sleeping-place1 as he was to be moved to the large old garden of the ,kokka ,club 7a well-known artist club71 with a deep pond where many gold fish peep underneath the umbrella-like lotus leaves in early summer1 and in later autumn the hagi or two-coloured lespedezas 7,kenzan's beloved subject7 would lean upon the water to admire their own images2 and it is a matter thrice satisfactory to think that this new place is also in ,negishi 7which somehow recalls ,hampstead1 though there is no natural resemblance between them74 99 99 99 99 99 ,i was invited to attend the memorial exhibition of ,kenzan's work to commemorate the removal of his grave the other day4 ,with the greatest anticipation ,i went there with two friends of mine1 a fellow poet and an artist1 both of them great admirers of ,kenzan ,ogata4 ,when we entered the ground1 we found at once that the ,buddhist ceremony1 that is the ,sutra-reading called ,kuya ,nembutsu1 around the newly dug grave by the lotus pond under the trees1 was well started already2 some ten or eleven priests1 in fact the devoted members of the club1 but in long black robes1 were seen through the foliage from the distance1 hopping around like the vagarious spirits of a moment 7this fantastic ceremony1 ,kuya ,nembutsu7 while reciting the holy book2 the voice of the recitation most musically broke the silence4 ,we did not approach the grave1 but went straight into the exhibition rooms1 because we knew that the best prayer we could offer to ,kenzan was to see and rightly appreciate his works of art4 ,we all of us were unable to speak a word at the beginning1 as our tongues 7our heads too7 lost their powers against his peculiarly distinguished art1 which is the oldest and again the newest4 ,when our minds became better composed1 we sat in a corner of the room where the hangings of his flowers or trees1 and the tea-bowls or incense-cases with his favourite designs1 had been well arranged2 we felt inclined to talk1 even discuss his art4 ,sidenote3 ,,the ,,oldest ,,and ,,the ,,newest 8,what a pleasing egotism10 ,i ventured to say1 8in that picture of lilies or this picture of fishes2 the lilies and fishes are not an accessory as in many other ,japanese pictures1 but the lilies and fishes themselves in their full meaning4 ,again ,what a delightful egotism60 8,you might call flowers feminine10 my artist-friend interrupted me4 8,but ,i should like to know where is a thing more truly egotistic than the flowers40 8,that egotism in the picture10 ,i proceeded1 8might be a real result from the great reverence and intense love of ,kenzan for his subjects2 we can see that his mind1 when he painted them1 was never troubled with any other thing or thought4 ,you know that such only occurs to a truly gifted artist4 ,after all1 the greatness of ,kenzan is his sincerity4 ,and it goes without saying that the pictures on tea-bowls we see here are not things which were made to some one's order4 ,we become at once sincere and silent in their presence2 to say that his art was spiritual is another way to express it--by that ,i mean that we are given all opportunities to imagine what the pictures themselves may not contain4 ,our imagination grows deeper and clearer through the virtue or magic of his work2 and again his work appears thrice simplified and therefore more vital4 ,the art really simple and vital is never to be troubled with any rhetoric or accessories of unessentials2 before you make such a picture1 you must have1 to begin with1 your own soul simplified and vital in the true sense4 ,kenzan had that indeed40 ,sidenote3 ,,expression ,,of ,,personality 8,to call ,kenzan's work merely beautiful10 my friend-poet said1 evidently in the same mind with myself1 8whether it be the picture on paper or ,china-bowls1 does no justice2 what he truly aimed at was the artistic expression1--and he was most successful when he was most true4 ,to him1 as with the other great artists of ,east or ,west1 the beauties only occurred--and ,kenzan's beauties occurred when his simple art was most decorative2 in his decorativeness he found his own artistic emotion4 ,it was his greatness that he made a perfect union of emotion and intellect in his work2 to say shortly1 he was the expression of personality40 8,what a personality was ,kenzan's6 ,again what a personality60 ,i exclaimed4 ,i proceeded1 as ,i wished to take up the talk where my friend poet had left off1 8,it is his personality by whose virtue even a little weed or insignificant spray of a willow-tree turns to a real art2 he had that personality1 because he had such a love and sympathy4 ,indeed the main question of the artist is in his love and sympathy2 the external technique is altogether secondary4 ,when you commune with the inner meaning1 that is the beginning and also the ending4 ,we see here the picture of a cherry-tree covered by the red blossoms1 which might happen to be criticised as a bad drawing2 but since it does appear as nothing but a cherry-tree1 proud and lovely1 ,i think that ,kenzan's artistic desire was fully answered4 ,he was an artist1 not merely either an illustrator or a designer4 ,he was a true artist1 therefore his work is ever so new like the moon and flowers2 and again old1 like the flowers and moon40 8,if the so-called post-impressionists could see ,kenzan's work60 my friend-artist suddenly ventured to exclaim1 8,i am sure that ,vincent ,van ,gogh would be glad to have this six-leafed screen of poppy-flowers40 8,really the picture is the soul of the flowers10 ,i said1 8but not the external flowers4 ,it is mystic as the flowers are mystic4 ,and imagine ,kenzan's attitude when he drew that screen6 ,i believe that he had the same reverence as when he stood in the religion of mysticism to paint a goddess2 indeed his work was prayer and soul's consolation4 ,though the subject was flowers1 ,i have no hesitation to call the picture religious4 ,i almost feel like lighting a candle and burning incense before this screen of poppies40 ,sidenote3 ,,the ,,baptism ,,of ,,poverty ,as with other gifted artists1 we see ,kenzan's real life behind his work4 ,some critic ably said that true art was an episode of life2 ,i can imagine that1 when his artistic fancy moved and his work was done1 he must have thrown it aside into the waves of time1 off-hand1 most unceremoniously1 and forgotten all about it4 ,we can truly say of his works that they never owed one thing to money or payment for their existence--and that is the greatest praise we can give to any work of art4 ,his material life might be said to have been quite fortunate in that he was invited to ,yedo 7present ,tokyo7 by the ,prince of the ,kanyeiji ,temple of ,uyeno1 under whose patronage his art was pleased to take its own free independent course2 but his greatness is that when the ,prince passed away and he was left to poverty1 he never trembled and shrank under its cold cruel baptism2 indeed that baptism made his personality far nobler1 like the white flame from which the whiteness is taken out1 and consequently his art was a thing created1 as we say here1 by the mind out of the world and dust4 ,the works which to-day remain and are admired by us are mostly the work he executed after he reached his seventieth year4 ,we have many reasons to be thankful for the fact that he left ,kyoto1 the old city of court nobles and ladies1 somewhat effeminate1 and the side of his brother ,korin1 whose great influence would have certainly made him a little ,korin at the best2 we see no distinction whatever in the work which he gave the world under ,korin's guidance4 ,his art made a great stride after he appeared in the ,yedo of the warriors and manliness and touched a different atmosphere from that of his former life2 ,i will point1 when you ask me for the proof1 to the now-famous six-fold screen with the picture of plum-blossom1 or the hanging also of the plum-blossom owned by the ,imperial ,museum4 ,oh1 what a noble plum-blossom1 which reminds us of a samurai's heart1 simple and brave6 ,,iii ,,utamaro ,i feel ,i scent1 in facing ,utamaro's ladies1 whether with no soul or myriad souls 7certainly ladies1 be they courtesans or geishas1 who never bartered their own beauty and songs away71 the rich-soft passionate odour of rare old roses2 when ,i say ,i hear the silken-delicate summer breezes winging in the picture1 ,i mean that the ,japanese sensuousness 7is it the scent or pang of a lilac or thorn87 makes my senses shiver at the last moment when it finally turns to spirituality4 ,it was our ,japanese civilisation of soul1 at least in olden time under ,tokugawa's regime1 not to distinguish between sensuousness and spirituality1 or to see at once the spiritual in the sensuous2 ,i once wrote down as follows1 upon the woman drawn by lines1 or1 more true to say1 by the absence of lines1 in snake-like litheness of attitude1 ,i might say more subtle than ,rossetti's ,lillith1 with such eyes only opened to see love3 8,too common to say she is the beauty of line1 ,however1 the line old1 spiritualised into odour1 7,the odour soared into an everlasting ghost from life and death71 ,as a gossamer1 the handiwork of a dream1 ',tis left free as it flaps3 ,the lady of ,utamaro's art is the beauty of zephyr flow4 ,i say again1 the line with the breath of love1 ,enwrapping my heart to be a happy prey3 ,sensuous8 ,to some so she may appear1 ,but her sensuousness divinised into the word of love40 ,sidenote3 ,,the ,,lady ,,of ,,utamaro',s ,,art ,although ,i can enjoy and even criticise ,hiroshige or ,hokusai at any time and in any place1 let me tell you that ,i cannot do so with ,utamaro1 because ,i must be first in the rightest mood 7who says bodies have no mood87 as when ,i see the living woman2 to properly appreciate his work of art ,i must have the fullness of my physical strength so that my criticism is disarmed4 7,criticism8 ,why1 that is the art for people imperfect in health1 thin and tired47 ,i feel1 let me confess1 almost physical pain--is it rather a joy8--through all my adoration in seeing ,utamaro's women1 just as when with the most beautiful women whose beauty first wounds us2 ,i do not think it vulgarity to say that ,i feel blushing with them1 because the true spiritualism would please to be parenthesised by bodily emphasis4 ,it is your admiration that makes you bold2 again your admiration of ,utamaro's pictures that makes them a real part of yourself1 therefore your vital question of body and soul2 and you shall never be able to think of them separately from your personal love4 ,when ,i say that we have our own life and art in his work1 ,i mean that all ,japanese woman-beauty1 love1 passion1 sorrow and joy1 in one word1 all dreams now appear1 then disappear1 by the most wonderful lines of his art4 ,i will lay me down whenever ,i want to beautifully admire ,utamaro and spend half an hour with his lady 78,to-day ,i am with her in silence of twilight eve1 and am afraid she may vanish into the mist071 in the room darkened by the candle-light 7it is the candle-light that darkens rather than lights72 every book or picture of ,western origin 7perhaps except a few reprints from ,rossetti or ,whistler1 which would not break the atmosphere altogether7 should be put aside4 ,how can you place together in the same room ,utamaro's women1 for instance1 with ,millet's pictures or ,carpenter's 8,towards ,democracy8 ,the atmosphere ,i want to create should be most impersonal1 not touched or scarred by the sharpness of modern individualism or personality1 but eternally soft and grey2 under the soft grey atmosphere you would expect to see the sudden swift emotion of love1 pain1 or joy of life1 that may come any moment or may not come at all4 ,i always think that the impersonality or the personality born out of the depth of impersonality was regarded in older ,japan as the highest1 most virtuous art and life2 now not talking about life1 but the art--,utamaro's art1 the chronicle or history of the idealised harem or divan4 ,how charming to talk with ,utamaro on love and beauty in the grey soft atmosphere particularly fitting to receive him in1 or to be received by him in4 ,i would surely venture to say to him on such a rare occasion3 8,you had no academy or any hall of mediocrity in your own days to send your pictures to2 that was fortunate1 as you appealed directly to the people eventually more artistic and always just4 ,i know that you too were once imprisoned under the accusation of obscenity2 there was the criticism also in your day which saw the moral and the lesson1 but not the beauty and the picture4 ,when you say how sorry you were to part with your picture when it was done1 ,i fully understand your artistic heart1 because the picture was too much of yourself2 perhaps you confessed your own love and passion too nakedly4 ,i know that you must have been feeling uneasy or even afraid to be observed or criticised too closely40 ,sidenote3 ,,the ,,accusation ,,of ,,obscurity ,as a certain critic remarked1 the real beauty flies away like an angel whenever an intellect rushes in and begins to speak itself2 the intellect1 if it has anything to do1 certainly likes to show up itself too much1 with no consideration for the general harmony that would soon be wounded by it4 ,utamaro's art1 let me dare say1 is as ,i once wrote3 8,she is an art 7let me call her so7 ,hung1 as a web1 in the air of perfume1 ,soft yet vivid1 she sways in music3 7,but what sadness in her saturation of life67 ,her music lives in intensity of a moment and then dies2 ,to her1 suggestion is her life4 ,she is the moth-light playing on reality's dusk1 ,soon to die as a savage prey of the moment2 ,she is a creation of surprise 7let me say so71 ,dancing gold on the wire of impulse40 ,some one might say that ,utamaro's ladies are brainless1 but is it not1 as ,i said before1 that the sacrifice of individuality or personality makes them join at once with the great ghosts of universal beauty and love8 ,they are beautiful1 because all the ghosts and spirits of all the ages and humanity of ,japan speak themselves through them2 it is perfectly right of him not to give any particular name to the pictures1 because they are not the reflection of only one woman1 but of a hundred and thousand women2 besides1 ,utamaro must have been loving a little secrecy and mystification to play with the public's curiosity4 ,sidenote3 ,,the ,,ukiyoye ,,woman ,we have his art2 that is quite enough4 ,what do ,i care about his life1 what he used to wear and eat1 how long he slept and how many hours he worked every day2 in fact1 what is known as his life is extremely slight4 ,it is said that he was a sort of hanger-on to ,juzaburo ,tsutaya1 the well-known publisher of his day1 at the house within a stone's throw of ,daimon or ,great ,gate of ,yoshiwara1 the ,nightless ,city of hired beauties and lanterns1 where1 the story says1 ,utamaro had his nightly revel of youthful days as a fatal slave to female enchantment2 while we do not know whether he revelled there or not1 we know that as ,yoshiwara of those times was the rendezvous of beauty1 good looks1 and song1 not all physical1 but quite spiritual1 we can believe that he must have wandered there for his artistic development4 ,indeed there was his great art beautifully achieved when he suddenly entered into idealism or dream where sensuousness and spirituality find themselves to be blood brothers or sisters4 ,in the long history of ,japanese art we see the most interesting turn in the appearance of a new personality1 that is the ,ukiyoye woman2 and who was the artist who perfected them to the art of arts8 ,he was ,utamaro4 ,you may abuse and criticise1 if you will1 their unnaturally narrow squint eyes and egg-shaped smooth face2 but from the mask his woman wears ,i am deliciously impressed with the strange yet familiar1 old but new1 artistic personality4 ,the times change1 and we are becoming more intellectual1 as a consequence1 physically ugly2 is it too sweeping or one-sided to say that8 ,i have1 however1 many reasons for my wishing to see more influence of ,utamaro's art4 ,,iv ,,hiroshige ,the ,sumida ,river's blue began to calm down1 like that of an old ,japanese colour-print1 into the blue1 ,i should say1 of silence which had not been mixed with another colour to make life2 that blue1 it might be said1 did not exist so much in the river as in my very mind1 which has lately grown1 following a certain ,mr4 ,hopper1 to cry1 ,hiro--,hiro--,hiroshige the ,great60 ,the time was late afternoon of one day in last ,april2 the little boat which carried a few souls like mine1 who1 greatly troubled by the modern life1 were eager to gain the true sense of perspective towards ,nature1 glided down as it finished the regular course of the 8,cherry-blossom viewing at ,mukojima40 ,and my mind entered slowly into a picture of my own creation--nay1 ,hiroshige's4 8,look at the view from here4 7,i was thinking of ,hiroshige's ,sumidagawa ,hanasakari among his ,yedo pictures47 ,it may be too late now to agree with ,wilde when he said that ,nature imitates ,art10 ,i said to my friend4 ,he saw at once my meaning1 though not clearly1 and expanded on how artistically the human mind has been advancing lately2 and ,i endorsed him with the fact that ,i have come to see1 for some long time1 the ,japanese scenery through ,hiroshige's eye4 ,my friend exclaimed3 8,is it not the same thing1 when you think ,nature imitates ,art1 that your mind itself imitates the ,art first80 ,it is not written in any book how much ,hiroshige was appreciated in his day2 but ,i believe ,i am not wrong to say that he is now reaching the height of popularity in both the ,east and the ,west1 of popularity in the real sense1 and you will easily understand me when ,i say that he is the artist of the future in the same sense that ,i disbelieve in the birth register of ,turner and ,whistler4 ,he is1 in truth1 greatly in advance1 even if ,i fancy he is an artist of the present day1 your contemporary and mine2 ,i always go to him to find where ,nature is pleased to put her own emphasis4 ,every picture of his ,i see seems to be a new one always2 and the last is ever so surprising as to leave my mind incapable for the time being of apprehension of his other pictures4 ,one picture of his is enough2 there is the proof of his artistic greatness4 ,sidenote3 ,,nature ,,in ,,her ,,emphasis ,we did not know until recently what meant the words realism and idealism 7should we thank the ,western critics87 except this3 8,the artist1 whatever he be1 idealist or realist or what not1 is good when he is true to his art4 ,i mean that technique or method of expression is secondary2 even the seeming realistic picture of ,oriental art is1 when it is splendid1 always subjective40 ,i have many reasons to call ,hiroshige an idealist or subjective artist1 now playing an arbitrary art of criticism after the ,western fashion1 as ,i only see his artistic wisdom1 but nothing else in his being true to ,nature2 that wisdom1 ,i admit1 helped his art to a great measure1 but what ,i admire in him is the indefinable quality which1 as ,i have no better word1 ,i will call atmosphere or pictorial personality4 ,it seems that he learned the secret from ,chinese landscape art how to avoid femininity and confusion2 the difference between his art and that of the ,chinese artist is that where the one drew a bonseki1 or tray-landscape1 with sand from memory1 the latter made a mirage in the sky4 ,when ,hiroshige fails he reminds me of ,emerson's words of suggestion to look at ,nature upside down through your legs2 his success1 as that of the ,chinese artist1 is poetry4 ,and our ,oriental poetry is no other kind but subjectivity4 ,i have right here before me the picture called 8,awa no ,naruto10 which is more often credited to be the work of the second ,hiroshige2 now let me1 for once and all1 settle the question that there were many ,hiroshiges4 ,it is my opinion there was only one ,hiroshige2 ,i say this because in old ,japan 7a hundred times more artistic than present ,japan7 the individual personality was not recognised1 and when an artist adopted the name of ,hiroshige by merit and general consent1 it meant that he grew at once incarnated with it2 what use is there to talk about its second or third8 ,i prefer to regard ,hiroshige as the title of artistic merit since it has ceased in fact to be an individuality2 indeed1 where is the other artist1 ,east or ,west1 whose life-story is so little known as ,hiroshige's8 ,and ,i see so many pictures which1 while bearing his signature1 ,i cannot call his work1 because ,i see them so much below the ,hiroshige merit--for instance1 the whole upright series of ,tokaido and ,yedo1 and so many pictures of the 8,noted ,places in the ,provinces of ,japan--because they are merely prose1 and even as prose they often fail4 ,but to return to this 8,awa no ,naruto10 a piece of poem in picture1 where the whirlpools of the strait1 large and small1 now rising and then falling in perfect rhythm1 are drawn suggestively but none the less distinctly4 ,i see in it not only the natural phenomenon of the ,awa ,strait1 but also the symbolism of life's rise and fall1 success and defeat2 ,i was thinking for some time that ,i shall write a poem on it1 although ,i could not realise it yet4 ,sidenote3 ,,hiroshige ,,the ,,chinese ,,poet ,i have my own meaning when ,i call ,hiroshige the ,chinese poet4 ,upon my little desk here ,i see an old book of ,chinese prosody2 there is a popular ,chinese verse1 ,hichigon ,zekku1 or ,four ,lines with ,seven ,words in ,each1 which is almost as rigid as the ,english sonnet2 and the theory of the sonnet can be applied to that ,hichigon ,zekku without any modification4 ,we generally attach an importance to the third line1 calling it the line 8for change10 and the fourth is the conclusion2 the first line is1 of course1 the commencing of the subject1 and the second is 8to receive and develop40 ,it seems that ,hiroshige's good pictures very well pass this test of ,hichigon ,yekku qualification4 ,let me pick out the pictures at random to prove my words4 ,here is the 8,bright ,sky after ,storm at ,awazu10 one of the series called ,eight ,views of the ,lake ,biwa2 in it the white sails ready to hoist in the fair breeze might be the 8change0 of the versification4 ,that picture was commenced and developed with the trees and rising hills by the lake1 and the conclusion is the sails now visible and then invisible far away4 ,now take the picture of a rainstorm on the ,tokaido4 ,two peasants under a half-opened paper umbrella1 and the ,kago-bearers naked and hasty1 are the 8third line0 of the picture2 the drenched bamboo dipping all one way and the cottage roofs shivering under the threat of ,nature would be the first and second lines1 while this picture-poem concludes itself with the sound of the harsh oblique fall of rain upon the ground4 ,you will see that ,hiroshige's good pictures have always such a theory of composition2 and he gained it1 ,i think1 from the ,chinese prosody4 ,in the ,east1 more than in the ,west1 art is allied to verse-making4 ,sidenote3 ,,the ,,farewell ,,verse ,when we consider the fact he was the artist of only fifty years ago1 it is strange why we cannot know more of his own life story1 and how he happened to leave the words that generally pass as a farewell verse as follows3-- 8,i leave my brush at ,azuma1 and go on the journey to the ,holy ,west to view the famous scenery there40 ,i cannot accept it innocently1 and ,i even doubt its origin1 as it is more prosaic than poetical4 ,it is only that he followed after a fashion of his day if he left it1 as the verse is poor and at best humorous4 ,but when it is taken by the ,english seriousness1 the words have another effect4 ,indeed1 ,hiroshige has had quite an evolution since he was discovered in the ,west2 he is1 in truth1 more an ,english or ,european artist than a ,japanese in the present understanding4 ,v ,,gaho ,,hashimoto ,sidenote3 ,,kokoromochi ,,in ,,picture ,the art of ,gaho 7,hashimoto's nom-de-plume1 signifying the 8,kingdom ,refined07 is not to discard form and detail1 as is often the case with the artists of the 8,japanese school10 while they soar into the grey-tinted vision of tone and atmosphere4 ,his conventionalism--remember that he started his artist's life as a student of the ,kano school1 whose absurd classicism1 arresting the germ of development1 invited its own ruin--was not an enemy for him by any means4 ,with the magic of his own alchemy he turned it into a transcendental beauty1 bearing the dignity of artistic authority4 ,i am sure he must have been glad to have the conventionalism for his magic to work on afterward2 and when he left it1 it seems to me1 he looked back to it with a reminiscence of sad longing4 ,conventionalism is not bad when it does not dazzle4 ,to make it suggestive is an achievement4 ,to speak of ,gaho's individuality in his pictures does no justice to him4 ,his thought and conception are the highest1 and at the least different from many another artist in the ,west4 ,it is not his aim at all to express the light and colour of his individuality4 ,i believe that he even despised it4 ,he had the volumes of the ,oriental philosophy in himself2 and his idea1 ,i believe1 was much influenced by the ,zen sect ,buddhism1 whose finality in teaching is to forget your ego4 ,gaho often talked on ,kokoromochi in picture1 to use his favourite expression1 which1 ,i am sure1 means more than 8spirit40 8,now what is it80 he was frequently asked4 8,is it in its nature subjective or objective8 ,or is it something like a combination of the two80 ,he was never explanatory in speech in his life4 ,he thought1 as a ,zen priest1 that silence was the best answer4 ,let me explain his ,kokoromochi in picture by my understanding4 ,it is life or vital breath of the objective character1 which is painted by one who has no stain of eye or subjectivity4 ,to lose your subjectivity against the canvas1 or1 ,i will say1 here in ,japan1 the silk1 is the first and last thing4 ,and the perfect assimilation with the object which you are going to paint would be the way of emancipation4 ,you have to understand that you are called out by a divine voice only to be a medium1 but nothing else4 ,i am afraid that the phrase1 8,let ,nature herself speak10 has been over-used4 ,however1 it is peculiarly true in ,gaho's case4 ,i think ,gaho thought that to flash the rays of his individuality in his picture was nothing but a blasphemy against ,nature4 ,in that respect he is the humblest artist1 and at the same time his humility is his own pride4 ,indeed1 it is only through humility you are admitted to step into the inner shrine of ,nature4 ,art for ,gaho was not the matter of a piece of silk and ,chinese ink1 but a sacred thing4 ,and to be an artist is a life's greatest triumph1 and ,i am sure that ,gaho was that4 ,i have been for some long time suspecting the nature of development of artistic appreciation of the ,western mind1 when only ,hokusai's and ,hiroshige's pictures1 let me say1 of red and green in tone of conception1 called its special attention1 and ,i even thought that our ,japanese art1 with the silence of blue and grey1 would be perfectly beyond its power of reach4 ,when ,nature soars higher1 she turns at once to the depth of dreams1 whose voice is silence4 ,to express the grey stillness of atmosphere and tone is the highest art1 at least1 to the ,japanese mind4 ,not only in the picture1 but in the 8tea house0 or incense ceremony1 or in the garden1 the appreciation of silence is the highest sthetics4 ,it gives you a strong but never abrupt thrill of the delight which is nobly touched by the hands of sadness1 and lets you lose yourself in it1 and slowly grasp something you may be glad to call ideal4 ,and the same sensation you can entertain from ,gaho's art1 which you might think to be reminiscent of a certain artistic paradise or ,horai1 the blest--one of his favourite subjects--enwrapped in silent air4 ,you may call it idealism if you will1 but it was nothing for him but the realisation4 ,while you think it was his fancy1 he saw it with his own naked eyes4 ,it is true that he had been delivered from idealism4 ,and ,i should say that dream1 too1 is not less real than you and ,i4 ,sidenote3 ,,nothing ,,but ,,the ,,realisation ,he never jars you4 ,his art is a grey ghost of melody born from the bosom of depth and distance1 like a far-off mountain4 ,and it gives you a thrill of large space that binds you with eternity1 and you will understand that what you call reality is nothing but a shiver of impulse of great ,nature4 ,his art1 indeed1 is the highest art of ,japan1 which1 ,i believe1 will be also the highest art of the ,west4 ,it quite often stirs me with a ,western suggestion1 which1 however1 springs from the soil of his own bosom4 ,i know that there is a meeting-point of the ,east and ,west1 and that1 after all1 they are the same thing4 ,he found the secret of art1 which will remind any highly developed mind of both the ,east and ,west of some memory1 and let it feel something like an emotion and fly into a higher realm of beauty4 7,gaho's beauty is the beauty of silence47 ,it goes without saying that his art is simple1 and his vision not complex4 ,however1 it is not only an ,oriental philosophy to say that the greatest simplicity is the greatest complexity1 and ,i will say that ,gaho holds both extremes4 ,the elements of his art embrace something older than art1 larger than life1 something which inspires you with the sense of profundity4 ,they give us strange and positive pulses of age and nature1 and the sudden rapture of dream1 for which we will gladly die4 ,they give us the feeling of peace and silence1 and suggest something which we wish to grasp4 ,the delight we gain from ,gaho is purely spiritual4 ,his pictures are living as a ghost which vanishes and again appears4 ,his conception of ,buddhism was not sad1 although this religion is generally said to be a pessimism1 but joyous and sympathetic4 ,i am sure that to associate ,buddhism with something of grief and tears is not a proper understanding at all4 7,see ,gaho's pictures of the ,buddha and ,rakans1 the ,buddha disciples4 ,they do not inspire any awfulness47 ,tenderness and joy1 with a touch of sorrow1 which is poetry1 are the road toward the ,nirvana4 ,for ,gaho1 silence meant the highest state of peacefulness4 ,the sad joy1 which is the highest joy1 is an evolution which never breaks the euphony of life1 while tears and grief are rebellious4 ,his art inspires in us a great reverence1 which is religious1 and it is always justified4 ,and it reveals a light of faith under which he was born as an artist1 and he was glad to fulfil his appointed work4 ,then his aspiration is never an accident1 but the force which he cherished and has made grow4 ,sidenote3 ,,gaho',s ,,three ,,periods ,gaho's life of seventy-five years1 which had closed in the month of ,january1 #aijg1 can be divided into three periods4 ,the first is that in which he was engaged in the pursuit of the ancient method by copying the models after the fashion of the ,kano school2 the second was that in which he slowly broke loose from the trammels of the ,kano school1 and ventured out to make a thorough exploration of the conspicuous features of various other schools2 and the final was that in which he revealed himself nobly1 with all the essence of art which he had earned from his tireless journey of previous days4 ,in one word1 he was the sum total of the best ,japanese art4 ,it is said that his long life was but one long day of study and work4 ,he shut himself in his silent studio from early morning till evening1 from evening till midnight1 sitting before a piece of spread silk1 with a ,chinese brush in hand1 as if before a ,buddhistic altar where the holy candles burn4 ,now his research went deep in the ,chinese schools of the ages of ,sung1 ,yuen1 and ,ming1 and then his thoughts lingered by the glimmer of the ,higashiyama school's reminiscences4 ,he confessed that he received no small influence from the ,korin school1 and ,i have more than one reason to believe that his knowledge of the ,western art also was considerable4 ,his catholicity of taste severely discriminated them1 and his philosophy or conception of art stood magnificently above them1 and never allowed them to disturb it under any circumstances4 ,his great personality made him able to sing the song of triumph over his boundless artistic knowledge which had no power to oppress him4 ,you might call his art a work of inspiration if you wish2 but ,i am sure that he hated the word inspiration4 ,it was through the religious exaltation of his mind that he could combine himself with ,nature1 and he and the subject which he was going to paint were perfectly one when the picture was done4 ,his artist's magic is in his handling of lines4 ,he believed that ,japanese painting was fundamentally one of lines4 ,what a charm1 what a variety he had with them6 ,see the difference between the lines he used for the pictures of a tiger or a dragon in clouds1 the ,oriental symbol of power and exaltation1 and a bird or other delicate subject4 ,the lines themselves are the pictures4 ,however1 that does not mean to undervalue his equal pre-eminence in his art of colour4 ,sidenote3 ,,his ,,four ,,years ,,of ,,pupilage ,gaho--or ,gaho ,hashimoto--was born in the fifth year of ,tempo 7#ahcb7 at ,kobikicho1 in ,yedo1 now ,tokyo4 ,from his seventh year he was taught how to draw and paint2 at thirteen he became for the first time a pupil of ,shosen ,kano4 ,it is said that ,gaho was from an artistic family2 we can trace back to ,yeiki ,hashimoto1 who lived some time in the ,meiwa 7#agfd71 and from whom the family line has continued unbroken down to the present4 ,yeiki was originally a native of ,kyoto2 and there he happened to be known to ,suwonokami ,matsudaira1 the ,shogun's minister1 who took him into his service2 and on the lordship's return to ,yedo ,mr4 ,hashimoto accompanied his master4 ,and he happened to settle at ,kobikicho1 where the ,kano family lived1 and soon gained ,kano's friendship4 ,since that time the family line was continued by ,ikyo1 ,itei1 and ,yoho4 ,gaho was ,yoho's son4 ,the year after he became a student of the ,kano school he lost his father and also his mother4 ,it is said to be extraordinary that he was called upon to act1 after only four years of pupilage1 as an assistant to his master ,shosen in painting personal figures on the cedar door of the ,shogun palace4 ,at twenty years of age he was made head pupil4 ,when he married he was twenty-six years old1 and he began to lead his independent life1 which turned tragic immediately4 ,while the problem of getting his subsistence was not easy1 his wife1 whom he married with hope1 became insane4 ,mrs4 ,hashimoto was obliged to withdraw to the ,higuchi village in ,saitama prefecture1 where was an estate of her husband's master1 to avoid danger in the city2 but she grew worse1 and ran mad4 ,and it is said that such a sad turn was from the reason that she was often tormented by some country ruffians4 ,she was soon taken back to the city again1 where she was put under her husband's sole protection4 ,thus1 when poor ,gaho's mind was completely engrossed with his family trouble1 the great restoration of ,meiji 7#ahff7 was announced1 and the feudalism which had prospered for some three hundred years fell to the ground4 ,whole ,japan was thrown at once in the abyss of social tumult and change2 under the speedily felt foreign invasion she lost herself entirely4 ,what she did was to destroy old ,japan2 she thought it proper and even wise4 ,it was the darkest age for art2 when people did not know of the safety of their own existence1 it goes without saying that they had no time to admire art and spend money for it4 ,it is perfectly miraculous to think how the artists managed to live2 there are1 of course1 many heart-rending stories about them4 ,sidenote3 ,,twenty ,,sen ,,for ,,his ,,three ,,days ,gaho's is sad enough1 although it may not be saddest of all4 ,he gave up his own painting temporarily1 and tried to get a pittance by painting pictures on folding fans which were meant for exportation to ,china4 ,and it is said that he was often scorned by his employer for his clumsy execution and1 sadder still1 he was told to leave his job4 ,is it ,heaven's right to treat one who was destined to be a great artist like that8 ,he now resorted to a manual work of linking metal rings for making a sort of net-work2 this chain-work1 when finished1 it is said1 was made into something to be worn as an undergarment4 ,then he turned to take up the handicraft of making 8koma10 or bridges 7a kind of small wooden or bamboo pillow inserted between the body of a musical instrument and its strings71 of the shamisen1 a ,japanese guitar2 and he was paid1 ,i am told1 one sen for a single piece of that koma1 and to make twenty it took him three days4 ,fancy his earning of twenty sen for his steady work of three days6 ,to recollect it in his later days must have been for him the source of tears4 ,and fancy again his immense wealth when he died1 the wealth which1 not his greed1 but his single-minded devotion to art invited6 ,in fact1 there was no person so unconcerned of money as this ,gaho4 ,it was his greatness to believe amid the sudden falling of art that the ,japanese art which had grown from the very soil a thousand years old could not die so easily1 and that the people's mind would open to it in a better condition2 it was his prophetic foresight to behold the morning light in the midnight star4 ,he was patiently waiting for his time when he should rise with splendour2 and he never left himself to be ruined among the sad whirl of society and the nation's unsympathetic commotion4 ,he walked slowly but steadily toward the star upon which he set his lofty eyes4 ,he stood aloof above the age4 ,his life1 not only in his art1 was the song of triumph too4 ,to his relief1 his insane wife died2 and his appointment as a draughtsman at the ,imperial ,naval ,academy meant for him a substantial help4 ,he kept it up till the eighteenth year of ,meiji1 when the revival of ,japanese art began to be chronicled1 as ,gaho expected1 in the formation of art societies like the ,kanga ,kwai or ,ryuchi ,kwai4 ,when he left the ,naval ,academy he was called to do service at the ,investigation ,bureau of ,drawing and ,painting in the ,department of ,education4 ,his fellow-workers were the most lamented ,hogai ,kano1 another great artist of modern ,japan1 and the late ,mr4 ,okakura1 that able art critic1 in whose guidance ,kano trusted4 ,and those three men at the start are the true life-restorers of ,japanese art4 ,when the ,tokyo ,school of ,art was founded 7#bbnd year of ,meiji71 ,gaho was first made warden of the school1 and then its director4 ,and he was appointed professor when his investigation bureau happened to close up4 ,however1 he voluntarily resigned his professorship when ,mr4 ,okakura1 then the president of the school1 was obliged to resign his office4 ,gaho took the principal's chair of the ,nippon ,bijitsu when ,okakura established it afterwards2 but this school soon became a story of the past4 ,sidenote3 ,,gaho',s ,,successors ,gaho has left his successors perhaps in those artists like ,kwanzan ,shimomura1 ,taikwan ,yokoyama1 ,kogetsu ,saigo and others1 who are doing some noteworthy work4 ,and ,i believe that he died at the right time if he must4 ,,vi ,,kyosai ,sidenote3 ,,the ,,wine ,,and ,,artists' ,,minds ,sidenote3 ,,the ,,illustrated ,,autobiography ,i acknowledged my friend's characterisation1 after some reluctance1 of our ,kyosai ,kawanabe as a ,japanese ,phil ,may2 as the artist of ,punch has often received the appellation of an ,english ,hokusai1 ,i do not see much harm1 speaking generally1 in thus falling into the feminine foible of comparison-making4 ,putting aside the question of the material achievement in art of those artists of the ,east and ,west1 in truth so different 7,kyosai surpassing the other1 let me say1 in variety71 one will soon see that their innermost artistic characters are closely related2 their seeming difference is the difference of education and circumstances from which even their original minds could hardly escape4 ,i do not know much of the bacchanalianism of ,phil ,may1 but ,i know well enough that its sway is not so expansive in ,england as in ,japan1 at least old ,japan1 where the fantastic artists like ,kyosai revelled around the ghosts they created in the sweet cup of sak4 ,when we see ,kyosai writing in front of his name the epithet ,shojo1 applied to the half-human red-haired bacchanals of ,chinese legend1 we might say he betrayed1 beside his full-faced confession of the love of the cup1 the fact of his natural attachment to ,toba ,sojo1 that apostle of humour1 whose pictorial wantonness may have given him many a hint2 indeed he might have1 like ,phil ,may1 adorned the pages of ,punch1 although many an admirer of his1 like ,josiah ,conder in ,paintings and ,studies by ,kyosai ,kawanabe1 a sumptuous book on the artist containing the representative work of his last eight years1 sees only the serious side of his work4 ,and when he changed the ,chinese character of his name from that of 8dawn0 to that of 8madness10 ,i think that he was laughing1 at his own expense1 over the lawless excitement he most comically acted when the excess of wine deceived him away from the imaginative path of inspiration1 while1 like ,hokusai in the well-known epithet ,gwakyo ,rojin or ,old ,man ,crazy at ,painting1 he sanctified to himself his own craze for painting4 ,it is an interesting psychological study to speculate on the possible relation between the ,japanese wine and our artists' minds2 ,i think it was a superstition or faith1 ,i might say1 founded on tradition1 that they called the wine an invoker of inspiration1 as ,i see the fact to-day that many of them find the divine breath in something else4 ,however1 ,i am thankful to the ,japanese liquid with its golden flash1 if it really acted as the medium through which ,kyosai's many pictures came into existence1 while his many other works1 for instance the frontispiece woodcut of ,professor ,conder's ,kyosai book1 the elaborate picture of a ,japanese beauty of the eleventh century1 or the famous courtesan1 ,jigoku-dayu1 in company with a demon1 also the highly finished work owned by ,mrs4 ,william ,anderson1 or the other pictures ,i have seen more or less by accident1 prove that he can be an equally splendid artist in a different direction while in perfect sobriety4 ,he was born in the year #ahca1 that is about thirty years1 roughly speaking1 before the fall of the ,tokugawa feudalism1 when the age was fast decaying into loose morality and sak-drinking2 and when he became a man1 he found that the art's dignity under whose kind shadow he had studied as a student of ,tohaku ,kano1 the leading artist of that famous ,kano family in those days1 had fallen flat1 and that his ability made no satisfactory impression on people who had likely forgotten their artistic appreciation in the tumult of the ,restoration2 and ,i think it was natural enough for ,kyosai to call upon the wine1 as we say here1 to sweep away the grievance1 and to invoke1 through it1 a divine influence upon his art4 ,and it is the old ,japanese way to speak of wine-drinking and general revel with innocent gusto1 as ,i find in ,kyosai ,gwaden1 an illustrated autobiography here and there humorously exaggerated but none the less sincere1 from which all the writers on ,kyosai1 ,professor ,conder included1 draw the materials of his life2 he is often in danger of being criticised for his self-advertising audacity1 this artist of fine madness4 ,he often reminds me of ,hokusai1 not so much in his artistic expression as in temperament4 ,the books1 ,i mean ,kyosai ,gwaden1 cannot be said1 ,i think1 to be more interesting in text than the pictures themselves2 these are a series of off-hand sketches showing the actual scenes of his arrest and imprisonment1 the story of which ,professor ,conder's ,english propriety excluded1 although it seems perfectly harmless as it was1 on his part1 merely the conduct arising out of merriment from excess of wine2 beside1 his sketches show us the sickening gloominess of prison life in those days when one's freedom and right were denied rather than protected4 ,kyosai drank most terribly at a party held at a restaurant in ,uyeno ,park2 he made on the spot the caricatures--while overhearing the talk of a foreigner on horseback who1 being asked by a tea-house maid at ,oji if he came alone1 replied that he came accompanied by 8a pair of fools--in which he drew the picture of two people tying the shoe-strings of one man with the longest legs1 and also the picture of men of the longest arms pulling out the hairs of ,daibutsu's nostrils4 ,the authorities1 though it is not clear how the matter came to their knowledge1 stepped into the place and arrested him on the ground of insulting the officials2 we must be thankful for the 8enlightenment0 of to-day when nobody would possibly get1 as ,kyosai got in #ahgj1 ninety days in the cell from such pictures4 ,the real meaning of ,kyosai's impromptu in art is rather vague2 but it is in my mind a satirical love to understand them as a huge laughter over ,japan's slavishness to the ,west4 ,and ,i often wonder if they are not caricatures which could be used to-day4 ,where is another ,kyosai who could raise such a striking brush of scorn and sneer as to startle authority8 ,sidenote3 ,,the ,,proud ,,plebeianism ,kyosai used to absorb his spare time1 while a young student at ,kano's atelier1 in the study of the ,no drama--out of natural love1 ,i believe1 combined with zeal to find an artistic secret in its heterogeneity1 unlike the other students who sought their outside amusement nightly in popular halls of music and song2 and it was an elderly lady of the ,kano family who encouraged him by furnishing funds for teacher and costumes1 being impressed1 as a ,no admirer herself1 by the young man's noble intention4 ,it seems that ,kyosai had not been able to fulfil the old lady's desire to see him in one of her favourite pieces called ,sambaso1 whether from his imperfect mastering of it then or from some other reason1 when she suddenly fell ill and died2 doubtless1 ,kyosai took the matter to his heart of hearts4 ,it was on the day of her third anniversary that he gathered all the musician accompanists of flute and drum before her lonely grave at ,uyeno1 and he1 of course in the full costume of the character1 performed the whole piece of the said ,sambaso4 ,fancy the scene in the graveyard damp with mosses1 dark with the falling foliage2 and the actor is no other but fantastic ,kyosai4 ,where could be found a more gruesome sight than that8 ,this story among others we find in ,kyosai ,gwaden is most characteristic in that no other artist of the long ,japanese history1 perhaps with the possible exception of ,hokusai1 could make it fit for himself2 the story reveals ,kyosai's honesty almost to a fault1 that sounds at once childish or madman-like1 a temperament1 unlike that of ,southern ,japan of female refinement and voluptuousness1 which only the proud plebeianism of the ,yedo civilisation 7what an ultra-,european imbecility of present ,tokyo67 could create1 the temperament1 uncompromising1 most difficult to be neutral4 ,if we call ,icho ,hanabusa the most proper representative of old ,yedo's ,genroku ,age1 the time when people found spirituality through the consecration of materialism1 ,i think we can well call ,kyosai the representative of the later ,tokugawa ,age 7although his life extended a good many years into the present ,meiji era7 which1 again like his own art1 fell with the abruptness of an oak-tree4 ,i have some reason when ,i beg your attention to the above characteristic story of ,kyosai4 ,the love of the ,no drama1 the classic of lyrical fascination exclusively patronised by nobles and people of taste1 would never be taken as strange in ,kyosai who stayed sixteen long years with that master of the old ,kano art1 ,tohaku ,kano1 till he parted from it in his twenty-seventh year perhaps for an art wider and truer1 or1 let me say1 to find his own artistic soul all by his own impulse and strength2 and when we see what attachment1 even reverence1 he had1 during his whole life1 toward the name of ,toiku given him by the old master1 the name we find in ,kyosai ,gwaden and other books1 we can safely say that his classic passion in general must have been quite strong4 ,the question is where his plebeianism could find room to rise and fall4 ,that is the point where1 not only in his art1 also in his personality1 he showed in spite of himself a tragi-comic oddity1 mainly from the rupture between the two extremes of temperament4 ,i am told by his personal friend who survives to-day that he was rather pleased to shock and frighten the most polite society which reverently congregated in the silent house of the ,no drama1 to begin with1 by his informal dress only suitable for the street shopkeeper or mechanic1 then with his occasional shout of praise over the beautiful turn of the acting1 in a voice touched with vulgar audacity2 he exclaimed1 8,umei60 ,yedo slang for 8splendid10 which was at least unusual for a ,no appreciator4 ,nobody seemed1 ,i am told1 to criticise him when his good old heart was well recognised4 ,so in his own art4 ,i can point out1 even from ,professor ,conder's collection alone1 many a specimen where the aristocratic aloofness of air is often blurred by his plebeianism--for example in the pictures of 8,daruma10 8,the ,goddess ,kwannon on a ,dragon10 8,carp swimming in a ,lake10 and others2 the meaning ,i wish to impress on your mind will become clear directly when you compare them with the work of ,sesshu1 ,motonobu1 and ,okyo on similar subjects4 ,and again ,i have enough confidence to say that his elaborate pictures of red and green1 after the ,ukiyoye school1 were more often weakened by the classic mist2 although he did not wish to be looked upon as of that school1 ,i think it was the main reason that he rather failed as an ,ukiyoye artist4 ,i endorse my friend to whom ,i praised and abused ,kyosai lately only to get his true estimation1 when he declared that ,kyosai could not become one of the greatest artists of ,japan simply from his inability to sacrifice his versatility2 that versatility was the kind we can only find in ,hokusai4 ,he was the most distinguished example of one who failed1 if he failed1 from excess of artistic power and impulse4 ,sidenote3 ,,weakened ,,by ,,the ,,classic ,,mist ,any one who sees ,kyosai ,gwaden will certainly be astonished by his extraordinary persistence of study displayed in the first two volumes1 in which he shows encyclopedically the delicate shades of variety of nearly all ,japanese artists acknowledged great1 from ,kanaoka down to ,kuniyoshi1 also specimens of ,chinese masters inserted at intervals4 ,when ,i say that his artistic study was thorough even in the modern sense1 ,i mean he always went straight to ,nature and reality to fulfil what the pictures of old masters failed to tell him4 ,kyosai ,gwaden tells1 as an early adventure in ,nature study1 how he hid in a cupboard a human head which he picked up from a swollen river and horrified the family with his attempt to sketch it in his ninth year2 when fire broke out and swept away even his own house1 he became an object of condemnation1 as he acted as if it were the affair of somebody else1 and was seen serenely sketching the sudden clamour of the fire scene4 ,the books contain somewhere a page or two of unusually amusing sketches of his students at work on different living objects1 from a frog and turtle to cocks and fishes2 ,kyosai's love of fun in exaggeration 7indeed exaggeration is one of the traits conspicuous even in his most serious work7 again is seen in the sketches1 when he made a monkey play at gymnastics and pull the hair of the earnest student with the brush4 ,i often ask myself the question of the real merit of realism in our ,japanese art1 and further the question how much ,kyosai gained from his realistic accuracy2 ,i wonder what artistic meaning there is1 for instance1 when people1 even acknowledged critics1 speak with much admiration of the anatomical exactness of those skeletons fantastically dancing to the ghost's music in that famous ,jigoku-dayu picture4 ,let me ask again what the picture would lose1 supposing1 for instance1 the most whimsical dancers around the courtesan's gorgeous robe had two or three joints of bone missing2 is not ,kyosai's realistic minuteness1 which the artist was perhaps proud of displaying1 in truth1 rather a small subordinate part in his pictures8 ,he was already in the present age1 many years before his death1 when many a weak artistic mind of ,japan only received1 from the ,western art1 confusion and reasoning1 but not strength and passion4 ,now let me ask you3 was it ,kyosai's artistic greatness to accept the ,western science of art8 ,sidenote3 ,,the ,,realistic ,,minuteness ,he was never original in the absolute understanding as ,sesshu1 ,korin1 in a lesser degree ,harunobu and ,hokusai were2 it might be that he was born too late in the age1 or is it more true to say that his astonishing knowledge of the old ,japanese art acted to hold him back from striking out an original line8 ,education often makes one a coward4 ,when ,i say that he was himself the sum total of all ,japanese art1 ,i do not mean to undervalue him1 but rather to do justice to his versatility and the swing of his power4 ,and it was his personality1 unique and undefinable1 that made his borrowing such an impression as we feel it in fact in his work4 ,after all1 he has to be judged1 in my opinion1 as an artist of technique4 ,i do not know what picture of his the ,victoria and ,albert ,museum and the ,british ,museum have1 except a few reproductions in books1 which impressed me as poor examples4 ,it is not too much to say that ,professor ,conder's ,kyosai book is the first and may be the last2 there is no more fit man than he1 who as ,kyosai's student knew him personally during the last eight years of his life4 ,the book contains some good specimens which belong to that period2 but what ,i most wish to see1 are the pictures he produced in his earlier age4 ,he is one of the artists who will gain much from selection2 who will ever publish a book of twenty or thirty best pieces of his life's production8 ,,vii ,,the ,,last ,,master ,,of ,,the ,,ukiyoye ,,art ,yoshitoshi ,tsukioka1 as ,kuniyoshi's home student of high talent in his younger days1 it is said1 had a key to the storehouse entrusted to his care1 where ,kuniyoshi treasured foreign colour-prints of saints or devils strayed from a ,dutch ship1 ,heaven's gift most rare in those days1 which made him pause a little and think about a fresh turn for his work4 ,when we know that vulgarity always attracts us first and most1 provided it is new to us1 we cannot blame ,yoshitoshi much when he reproduced in his work1 indeed1 stealing a march on his master1 an immediate response to the ,western art1 whose secret he thought he could solve through varnishing4 ,doubtless it was no small discovery for ,yoshitoshi4 ,and the general public were equally simple when 8,kwaidai ,hyaku ,senso10 his first attempt after the new departure1 quite impressive as he thought1 was well received by them2 when he went too far in this foreign imitation through his little knowledge1 as in his 8,battle at ,uyeno10 he varnished the whole picture4 ,we have another instance that time is1 after all1 the best judge1 as we know that those pictures of ,yoshitoshi's early days1 when he had not yet found his own art1 are most peacefully buried under the blessed oblivion and heavy dusts to-day4 ,you cannot make an art only by wisdom and prayer1 and it is better to commit youthful sin when one must1 like ,yoshitoshi1 with his period of foreign imitation1 since his later work would become intensified1 chastened1 and better balanced by his repentance4 ,sidenote3 ,,the ,,success ,,of ,,failure ,to speak most strictly1 ,kuniyoshi should be called the last master of the ,ukiyoye school1 this interesting branch of ,japanese art interpreting the love and romance of the populace1 peculiarly developed through the general hatred of the aristocratic people2 but ,i have reason to call ,yoshitoshi ,tsukioka the very last master of that school1 in the same sense that we call ,danjuro or ,kikugoro the last actors1 not less by the fact of the age1 already heterogeneous1 naturally weakened for holding up the old ,japanese purity1 against which he struggled hard to find an artistic compromise1 than by his own gift4 ,i have often thought that1 if he had been born earlier1 he might have proved himself another ,hokusai1 or1 better still1 if the time were still earlier1 when love and sensuality were the same word in peace and prosperity1 he would not have been much below ,utamaro4 ,if he failed1 as indeed he failed1 now1 looking back from to-day1 it was the failure of his age4 ,although it may sound paradoxical1 ,i am pleased to say that his failure was his success1 because ,i see his undaunted versatility glorified through his failure2 he helps1 more than any other artist1 the historian of ,japanese art to study the age psychologically--in fact1 he serves him more than ,hokusai or ,utamaro4 ,he is an interesting study1 as ,i said before1 as the last master1 indeed1 as much so as ,moronobu ,hishikawa as the recognised first master4 ,i say ,yoshitoshi failed1 but ,i do not mean that he was a so-called failure in his lifetime2 on the contrary1 he was one of the most popular artists of modern ,japan--at least1 in the age of his maturity2 what ,i should like to say is that the artistic success of one age does never mean the success of another age1 and ,yoshitoshi's success is1 let me say1 the success of failure when we now look back upon it4 ,i can distinctly remember even to-day my great disappointment1 now almost twenty-five years ago1 as a most ardent admirer of ,yoshitoshi1 when1 appearing before the publisher's house as early as seven o'clock the morning after ,i had read the announcement of his new picture of a dancer1 ,i was told that the entire set of copies was exhausted2 his popularity was something great in my boyhood's days4 ,it was in #ahge that he first took the public by storm with his three sheets of pictures called 8,ichi ,harano10 an historical thing which showed ,yasumasa1 a court noble1 playing a bamboo flute under the moonlight1 perfectly unconscious of a highwayman1 ,hakama ,dare by name1 following him1 stepping softly upon the autumn grasses1 ready to stab the noble with his sword4 ,the popularity of this picture was heightened by the fact that ,danjuro1 the greatest tragedian of the modern ,japanese stage1 wanted to reproduce the pictorial effect in a play1 and have ,shinsuke ,kawatake write up one special scene to do honour to ,yoshitoshi1 under the title 8,ichi ,harano1 by ,yoshitoshi1 ,powerful with his ,brush40 ,it was a great honour indeed1 such as no artist to-day could expect to receive4 ,we have many occasions1 on the other hand1 when ,yoshitoshi served the actors and his bosom friends1 ,danjuro and ,kikugoro1 to popularise their art4 ,since the day of the ,first ,toyokuni1 it had been the custom for the artists of this popular school to work together with the stage artists4 ,sidenote3 ,,the ,,carver ,,and ,,printer ,yoshitoshi brought out the series of three called 8,snow1 ,moon1 and ,flower10 two of them commemorating ,danjuro in his well-known rle of ,kuyemon ,kezuri1 and one ,kikugoro in ,seigen1 whose holy life of priesthood was disturbed by love beyond hope4 ,although ,i hesitate to say they are the best specimens--yes1 they are in their own way--they have few companions in the long ,ukiyoye annals as theatrical posters1 for which exaggeration should not be much blamed4 ,the striking point of emphasis in design1 hitting well the artistic work1 make them worthy4 ,i have them right before me while writing this brief note on ,yoshitoshi4 ,i recall what ,i heard about the ,kezuri picture2 it is said that the artist spent fully three days to draw this 8hundred-days wig10 to use the theatrical phrase4 ,what an astonishing wig that rle had to wear4 ,and what painstaking execution of the artist2 and again what wonderful dexterity of the ,japanese carver and printer4 ,at the time when these pictures were produced it is not too much to say that the arts of carving and printing had reached the highest possible point--that is to say1 they had already begun to fall4 ,i am pleased to attach a special value to them as the past pieces which well combined those three arts4 ,by the way1 the name of the carver of those pictures is ,wadayu4 ,now1 returning to ,yoshitoshi and his actors-friends4 ,the former was always regarded by the latter as an artistic adviser whose words were observed as law2 ,yoshitoshi was the first person ,danjuro used to look up when in trouble with the matter of theatrical design in dress4 ,i have often heard how the artist helped ,kikugoro4 ,this eminent actor once had a great problem how to appear as ,shini ,gami1 or the ,spirit of ,death1 in the play called ,kaga ,zobi1 and asked ,yoshitoshi for a suggestion2 and it is said that a rough sketch he drew at once enlightened ,kikugoro's bewildered mind1 and1 as a result1 he immortalised the rle4 ,it was the age when realism1 of course1 in more vague1 doubtful meaning than the present usage1 had completely conquered the stage1 the old idealistic stage art having fallen off the pedestal4 ,certainly ,danjuro1 the first of all to be absorbed in that realism which prevailed here twenty or twenty-five years ago1 did never serve the stage art for advancement1 but1 on the contrary1 it was the realism1 if anything1 that cheapened1 trivialised1 and vulgarised the time-honoured ,japanese art2 but it seemed that there was nobody to see that point of wisdom4 ,it is ridiculous to know how ,danjuro insisted1 as ,tomonori1 in the play of ,sembon ,sakura1 that the blood upon his armour should be painted as real as possible1 and troubled the great artistic brush of ,yoshitoshi on each occasion during the whole run of the play2 but how serious the actor was in his thought and determination6 ,again that realism was the main cause why ,yoshitoshi's art failed to compete with the earlier ,ukiyoye artists like ,shunsho1 ,utamaro1 and even ,hokusai2 it was an art borrowed from the ,west doubtless1 when ,i observe how ,yoshitoshi1 unlike the earlier artists1 was delighted to use the straight1 forceful lines as the modern ,western illustrators2 the picture called 8,daimatsuro0 is a fit example in which he carried out that tendency or mannerism with most versatility4 ,i daresay that his pictures1 whether of historical heroes or professional beauties1 which were least affected by the so-called realism or ,western perspectives and observed carefully the old ,ukiyoye canons1 limiting themselves in the most artistic shyness1 would be only prized as adorning his name as the last master2 for the ninety per cent4 we have no grief for their hastening into blessed dusts4 ,i have in my collection the three-sheet picture called 8,imayo ,genji10 showing the view of ,chigoga ,fuchi at ,yenoshima1 with the romantic posture of four naked fisherwomen1 which is dated very early in ,yoshitoshi's artistic life1 no doubt being the work of the time when he was still a home student at ,kuniyoshi's studio or workshop2 you can see the artist's allegiance to his teacher in those somewhat stooping woman figures2 there is no mistake to say that ,yoshitoshi1 at least in this picture1 had studied ,hiroshige and ,hokusai to advantage for the general effect of rocks and fantastic waves4 ,sidenote3 8,,imayo ,,genji ,although it is clear that it is not a specimen of his developed art1 ,i have in mind to say that it will endure1 perhaps as one of the best ,ukiyoye pictures of all ages1 through its youthful loyalty to the traditional old art and the painstaking composition for which the best work is always marked4 ,how artistically troubled1 even lost1 are his later works1 though once they were popular and even admired6 ,sidenote3 ,,the ,,faint ,,echo ,,of ,,okyo ,although he was1 as ,i said above1 most popular in the prime of his life 7by the way he died in his fifty-fourth year in ,june of #ahib71 he had many years of poverty and discouragement when he complained of the fact that he was born rather too late2 his hardship1 not only spiritual1 but material1 soon followed after the happy period of student life with ,kuniyoshi1 when his artistic ambition forced on him independence4 ,it was the time most inartistic1 if there was ever such a time in any country1 when the new ,meiji ,government had hardly settled itself on the sad ruins of the ,tokugawa feudalism1 under which all prosperity and peace1 even art and humanity1 were buried1 and the people in general even thought the safety of their lives was beyond reach1 now with the so-called ,civil ,war of ,meiji ,tenth1 and then with that or this4 ,how could the artists get the people's support under such a condition of the times2 indeed1 ,yoshitoshi fought bitterly for his bare existence then4 ,it was the time when he was extremely hard-up that his home-students1 ,toshikage and ,toshiharu1 bravely served him in the capacity of cook or for any other work2 we cannot blame him that he tried1 with such pictures as the series called 8,accident of the ,lord ,ii10 to amuse and impress the people's minds1 which grew1 in spite of themselves1 to love battle and blood4 ,and the best result he received from such work1 happy to say for his art1 was the realisation of failure4 ,but he was quite proud1 ,i understand1 when he published it1 and even expected a great sale4 ,and when he could not sell it at all1 it is said1 he determined that he would run away alone from ,tokyo for good1 leaving his students behind4 ,although there is no record of its sale to-day1 ,i am sure that it did not sell well1 or1 in another way of saying1 it sold well enough to save him from the shame of running away4 ,doubtless the people demanded pictures of such a nature1 perhaps to illustrate the time's happening1 as it was the time before the existence of any graphic or illustrated paper1 and to fill that demand ,yoshitoshi brought out a hundred pictures of battles and historical heroes1 more or less in bloody scenes1 which are mostly forgotten4 ,it was in #ahhe that he fairly well found his own art 7good or bad7 with the historical picture1 8,kiyomori's ,illness02 the chief character1 the ,lord ,kiyomori1 suffered from fever and dream1 as we have it in legend1 as a destiny brought from his endless brutality and covetousness2 the fact that ,yoshitoshi's mind was much engaged in the study of the ,shijoha school at that time will be seen1 particularly in this picture1 of which the background is filled with the faint echo of great ,okyo in the drawing of the ,emma1 or ,judge of ,hades1 the green demon1 and other things of awful demonstration4 8,inaka ,genji10 a picture to commemorate the occasion of ,ransen's changing his name to ,tanehiko1 and 8,ukaino ,kansaku10 a picture of the spirit of a dead fisherman being saved by the holy prayer of the priest ,nichiren1 are the work of about the same time4 ,when ,yoshitoshi began to publish his series of one hundred pieces under the name of 8,tsuki ,hyakushi10 or 8,one ,hundred ,views of the ,moon10 his popularity almost reached high-water mark2 ,i can recollect with the greatest pleasure how delighted ,i was to be given a few of these moon pictures as a souvenir from ,tokyo when ,i was attending a country grammar school1 and ,i can assure you that my artistic taste and love1 which already began to grow1 expressed a ready response to value4 ,among the pictures1 ,i was strongly attracted by one thing1 which was the picture of a crying lady alone in a boat1 with a biwa instrument upon her knees2 from admiration ,i pasted the picture on a screen1 which remained as it was during these twenty years1 unspoiled1 spotless1 and perfect1 and ,i had the happy occasion to see it with renewed eyes lately when ,i returned to my country home4 ,i felt exactly the same impression1 as good as at the first sight of twenty years ago4 ,although the series carry the title of moon1 nearly all of the pictures have no moon at all2 it was the artistic merit of the artist to suggest that they were all views of the moonlight4 ,we can point out many shortcomings in his work as a pure ,ukiyoye artist2 but1 after all1 ,i think that nobody will deny his rare and versatile talent4 ,if only he had been born at the better and proper time6 ,and if we must blame his degeneration1 ,i think it is quite safe to say that the general public has to share equally in the criticism4 ,he was an interesting personality1 full of stories and anecdotes1 which the ,english people would be glad to hear about when they are well acquainted with his work2 but ,i will keep them for some other occasion1 because ,i wish at present to introduce him simply through his work4 ,let it suffice to say that he was humane and lovable1 having a great faith in his own class of people--that is1 the plain street-dwellers2 when ,i say he was1 too1 the artist or artizan of ,tokyo or ,yedo1 like ,utamaro1 ,hokusai1 and ,kuniyoshi1 ,i mean that he was gallant and chivalrous1 always a friend of the lowly1 and a hater of sham4 ,sidenote3 ,,the ,,hater ,,of ,,sham ,he was born in #ahci1 to use the ,japanese name of the era1 the ,tenth of ,tempo1 at ,shiba of ,yedo1 present ,tokyo4 ,when a little boy1 he was adopted by the family of ,tsukioka2 his own name was ,yonejiro4 ,like other ,japanese artists1 he had quite many gago or noms de plume2 to give a few of them1 ,ikkasai1 ,sokatei1 ,shiyei1 and others4 ,although he did not change his dwelling-place as ,hokusai did1 he moved often from one house to another2 it was at ,miyanaga ,cho of ,hongo where he married ,taiko4 ,he bought a house at ,suga ,cho1 ,asakusa1 in #ahhe2 but his sensitive mind was disturbed when he was told by a fortune-teller that the direction of his house was unlucky1 and was again obliged to move to ,hama ,cho of ,nihonbashi1 when he was taken ill with brain disease4 ,as ,i said before1 he died in ,june of #ahib4 ,the students he left behind include many artists already dead2 to give the best known1 ,keishu ,takeuchi2 ,keichu ,yamada and ,toshihide ,migita are the names of artists still active to-day4 ,,viii ,,busho ,,hara,a ,a ,see the ,appendix ,often ,i tried to write about ,busho ,hara the artist 7,i use the term in the most eclectic ,japanese conception1 because his art served more frequently to make his personality distinguished through its failure rather than through its success72 that my attempt turned to nothing was perhaps because my mind1 solitary and sad like that of ,hara1 did not like to betray the secret of the recluse whose silence was his salutation4 ,besides1 my heart and soul and all were too much filled with this ,busho ,hara from the fact of his recent unexpected death--7by the way1 he was in his forty-seventh year1 that interesting age for an artist1 as it would be the beginning of a new page1 good or bad72 and ,i am1 in one word1 perfectly confused on the subject4 ,when ,i wish to think of his art alone1 and even to measure it1 if possible1 through the most dangerous1 always foolish way of comparison with others1 ,i find always1 in spite of myself1 that my mind1 even before it has fairly started on his art1 is already carried away by the dear1 sweet1 precious memory of his rare personality4 8,above all1 he was rarest as friend10 my mind always whispers to me every two minutes from the confusion of my thought1 this and that1 and again that and this1 on him4 ,to say that ,i think of him too much and for too many things would be well-nigh the same as to say that ,i am unfitted to tell about him intelligibly4 ,i confess that ,i had a little difference with him on the subject of his own art here and there1 while ,i was absorbed in his conversation or criticism 7,i always believed and said--did he dislike me when ,i said that8--he was a better and greater critic than artist71 now by the cozy fire of a winter evening1 then with the trees and grasses languid with summer's heat2 he was the first and last man to whom ,i went when ,i felt particularly ambitious and particularly tired1 and ,i dare say that he was pleased to see me4 ,my own delight to have him as my friend was in truth doubled1 when ,i thought that his personality and art1 remarkable as they are honest1 true1 and sympathetic1 were almost unknown at home except in a little narrow community2 as ,i said before1 he was a recluse4 ,in ,england1 many readers of ,mr4 ,markino's book1 ,a ,japanese ,artist in ,london1 will remember ,hara's name1 as it is frequently repeated in the book2 and a certain well-known ,english critic had an occasion once or twice to mention his name and kindly comment on his work in the ,graphic4 ,that was in #aijf1 when he was about to leave ,london after a few years' stay there4 8,shall ,i go to ,england again for a change or to take a few pictures of mine80 he often exclaimed4 ,england was his dream1 as she is mine4 ,how unfalteringly our talk ran2 every time the subject was ,england and her art4 ,sidenote3 ,,his ,,dream ,,of ,,england 8,now is it settled1 let us suppose10 ,hara would say in the course of talk1 slightly twisting his sensitive mouth1 holding up straight back his well-poised head 7what a philosopher's eyes he had1 gentle and clear71 8that we shall go to ,england some time soon in the future4 ,yes1 we shall go there even if we are not begged by ,japan to leave the country4 ,the most serious question is1 however1 where we shall sleep and dine4 ,i have had enough experience of a common ,english boarding-house2 ,i am haunted even to-day by the ghosts of ,yorkshire pudding and cold ham4 ,and suppose that a daughter or a son of that boarding-house might sing aloud a popular song every ,saturday evening2 ,i should like to know if there is anything more sad than that4 ,still1 suppose that one next to you at table will ask you every evening how your work might sell2 certainly that will be the moment when you think you will leave ,england at once for good4 ,but it is ,england's greatness that she has art appreciators as well as buyers4 ,oh1 where is the true art appreciator in ,japan1 even while we admit that we have the buyers8 ,i will take a few pictures with me when ,i go to ,england next1 and show them to the right sort of people2 really1 truly1 only ,london of all the cities of the world has the right sort of people in any line of profession4 ,besides1 ,i should like to examine the ,english art again and let the people there listen to my opinion2 ,i was not enough prepared for such a work when ,i went there last40 ,sidenote3 ,,the ,,enemy ,,in ,,his ,,own ,,self ,but ,i believe that his own self-education in art1 which he most determinedly started at the ,national ,gallery1 where he was forcibly attracted by ,rembrandt and ,velasquez1 must have been happily developed1 when the same ,graphic critic spoke of his 8sensitive and searching eyes10 and 7printing ,hara's intelligent rendering of ,rembrandt's 8,jewish ,merchant0 on the page7 said that it proved the painter was at the root of the matter1 and declared that the critic had rarely seen better or more intelligent copy1 and again to prove that ,hara was not merely a copyist or imitator1 he also reproduced on the same page his original work called 8,the ,old ,seamstress40 ,and ,i am doubly pleased to find that the same ,english critic mentioned him somewhere as a 8keen and acute critic1 but generous withal02 ,i was so glad to have ,hara as my friend for the rare striking power of his critical enlightenment 7,oh1 where is another sane artist like himself871 even when he failed to make a strong impression on me with his art4 ,it was his immediate question on his return home how to apply the technique of oil painting he learned in ,london to ,japanese subjects2 if he failed in his art1 as he always believed and ,i often thought he did1 it was from the reason1 ,i dare think1 that he had indeed too clear a view of self-appraisal or self-criticism under whose menace he always took the attitude of an outsider towards his own work4 ,how often ,i wished he were wholly without that critical power1 always hard to please1 altogether too fastidious6 ,his artistic ambition and aim were so absolute and most highly puritanic2 as a result1 he was ever so restless and sad with his art1 and often even despised himself4 ,he had a great enemy1 that was no other but his own self2 he was more often conquered by it than conquering it4 ,i have never seen in my life a more sad artist with the brush1 facing a canvas1 than this ,busho ,hara4 ,besides1 his poor health1 which had been failing in the last few years1 only worked to make his critical displeasure sharper and more peculiar2 and he utterly lost the passion and foolishness of his younger days4 ,how often we promised1 when we parted after a long chat1 which usually began with ,yoshio ,markino1 dear friend of his and mine in ,london1 and as a rule ended with reminiscences of our ,english life1 that we would hereafter return to our younger age1 if possible to our boys' days1 and even commit the innocent youthful sins and be happy2 but when we met together again1 we were the same unhappy mortals1 ,hara with a brush1 ,i with a pen4 ,he always looked comforted by my words when ,i told him my own tragedy and difficulties to write poetry2 both of us exclaimed at once with the same breath and longed for life's perfect freedom4 ,how he wished to cut away from himself and bid a final farewell to many portrait commissions1 and become a lone pilgrim on ,nature's great highway with only his brush and oil2 that was his dream4 ,sidenote3 ,,at ,,the ,,hospital ,let me repeat again that he was sad with his brush only to make his art still sadder2 when he was most happy1 it was the time when he left his own studio to forget his unwilling brush and send his love imaginations under the new foliage of spring trees and make them ride on the freedom of the summer air4 ,how he planned for future work while contemplating great ,nature2 he was a dreamer in the true sense4 ,and dream was to him more real as he thought it almost practicable4 ,i do not mix any sarcasm in my words when ,i say that he was a greater artist when he did not paint2 he rose to his full dignity only when out of his studio2 and it was most unfortunate that ,i found him always ill when he was out of it4 ,but ,i will say that ,i never saw one like himself so well composed1 even satisfied1 on a sick bed2 that might have been from the reason that his being absorbed in ,nature1 his thought and contemplation on her1 did not give an opportunity for bodily illness to use its despotism4 ,he gave me in truth even such an impression that he was glad to be ill so he could lay himself right before the thought of great ,nature4 ,once in the spring of #aiaa ,i called on him at the hospital1 when he successfully underwent a surgeon's knife 7he was suffering from typhlitia72 although he was quite weak then1 he was most ambitious and happy to talk on the beauty of ,nature2 and he said3 8,i almost wonder why ,i did not become ill and lay me down on this particular bed of this hospital before1 and 7pointing to the blue sky through the window with his pale-skinned slender hand that was unmistakably an artist's7 see how the eastern sky changes from dusk to milky grey1 again from that grey to rosy light4 ,how often ,i wished you1 particularly you1 might be here with me all awakening in this room1 perhaps at halfpast three o'clock2 that is the time exactly when the colours of the sky will begin to evolve4 ,thank ,god all the other people are sleeping then4 ,at such a moment ,i feel as if all ,nature belonged to me alone in the whole world1 and ,i alone held her secrets and her beauty2 ,i am thankful for my illness1 as it has made me thus restful in mind and allowed me to carefully observe ,nature1 and build my many future plans4 ,i can promise you that ,i will whistle my adieu to the commissioned work1 all of it1 when ,i grow stronger again1 and become a real artist1 the real artist even to satisfy you4 ,oh1 how ,i could paint the mysterious changes of the sky which ,i have been studying for the last week60 ,again ,i saw him in his sick-bed at his little home one afternoon2 we grew1 as a matter of course1 quite enthusiastic and passionate as our talk was on art and artists2 it was the foundation of his theory1 when he expanded on it1 not to put any difference between the arts of the ,east and the ,west2 he seemed to agree with me on that day when ,i compared even recklessly ,turner with our ,sesshu4 ,although he entered into his art through the technique1 ,i observed that he was speedily turning to a ,spiritualist2 ,i often thought that he was a true ,japanese artist even of the ,japanese school1 while he adopted the ,western method4 7,it was the ,graphic critic who said that he was 8perhaps the ablest ,japanese painter in our method who has visited our shores407 ,he and ,i saw that time the famous large screen by ,goshun belonging to the ,imperial ,household called 8,shosho no ,yau10 or 8,the ,night ,rain at ,shosho02 as our minds were still absorbed in its soft mellow atmosphere and grey flashes of sweeping rain1 we often repeated our great admiration for that ,goshun4 8,it's not merely an art1 but ,nature herself10 he exclaimed4 ,the afternoon of the summer day was slowly falling2 the yellow sunbeams1 like an elf or fairy1 were playing almost fantastically with the garden leaves2 ,hara was looking on them absent-mindedly1 and when he awoke from his dream1 he said3 8,suppose you cut off a few of those leaves1 even one leaf1 with that particular sunlight on them2 they are indeed a great art4 ,who can paint them as exactly they are8 ,to prove it is a real art1 when the artist is great and true1 a large canvas and big subject are not necessary at all2 one single leaf would be enough for his subject4 ,i recall my first impression of ,turner's work2 ,i thought then that even one inch square of any picture of his in the ,national ,gallery would be sufficient to prove his great art4 ,i always vindicated his mastery of technique to the others who had the reverse opinion2 what made ,turner was never his technique4 ,to talk about technique4 ,i believe that even ,i have a better technique than is shown in most of the pictures drawn by ,rossetti2 but there is only one ,rossetti in the world40 ,on my way home after leaving him1 ,i could not help wondering if he were not turning to a pessimist3 ,i was afraid that he was in his heart of hearts denying his own ability and art4 ,sidenote3 ,,turner',s ,,great ,,art ,one day last ,september1 when my soul felt the usual sadness with the first touch of autumn1 ,i received a note from ,hara saying that his stomach had been lately troubled1 and he wished ,i would call on him as he wanted to be brightened by my presence4 ,i could not go then to see him on account of one thing and another2 and when ,i was told by one of his friends and mine that ,hara's illness was said to be cancer1 even in its acute form1 and that he was eagerly expecting my call1 ,i hurried at once to his house4 ,he was very pale and thin4 ,as ,i was begged by ,mrs4 ,hara at the door not to let him talk too much1 as it was the doctor's command1 ,i even acted as if ,i hated conversation on that day2 it was ,hara 7bless his sympathetic gentle soul7 who1 on the contrary1 wished to make me happy and interested by his talk4 ,he talked as usual on various arts and artists2 when he slowly entered into his own domestic affairs1 he said3 8,i have decided to sell all my works of the last ten years1 good or bad1 among my rich friends1 and raise a sufficient fund to provide for my old mother and wife2 to have no child is at least a comfort at this moment4 ,i think ,i call myself fortunate since such a scheme appears to be quite practicable2 but if ,i could have even one picture which ,i could proudly leave for posterity--that might be too great an ambition for an artist of my class4 ,will you laugh at me when ,i say how ,i wish to live five years more1 if not five years1 two years at least1 if not two years1 even one year8 ,it might be better1 after all1 for me to die with hope than to live and fail40 ,with a sudden thought he changed the subject2 he thought1 doubtless1 he had no right to make me unnecessarily sad1 and resumed the talk on ,hokusai and ,utamaro where he had left off a little while before4 8,i wish that you will see ,utamaro's picture in my friend's possession2 it is1 needless to say1 the picture of a courtesan4 ,how that lovely woman sits6 7,here ,hara changed his attitude and imitated the woman in the picture47 ,oh1 these charming bare feet6 ,that is where ,utamaro put his best art2 ,i cannot forget the feeling that ,i felt with the most attractive naked heels of the picture40 ,sidenote3 ,,hara ,,gone ,,to ,,his ,,rest ,i gave him many instances of doctors' mistakes to encourage him1 before ,i left his house4 ,i called on him two weeks or ten days later2 but ,i was not admitted to his presence1 as the doctor had already forbade any outside communication4 ,at my third call ,i was told that he was growing still worse2 it was on ,october #bi that ,i made my fourth call1 and ,i found at once that the house had been somewhat upset4 ,alas1 my friend ,busho ,hara had gone already to his eternal rest6 ,i rushed up to the upstairs room where the cold body of the artist was lying2 he could not see or hear his friend4 ,i cried4 ,i was told by one of ,hara's friends1 who saw his last moment1 how sorry he was that he did not see me when his final end approached1 and that he had begged him to tell me that he was wrong in what he told me before about art4 ,now1 what did he mean by that8 ,i already suspected1 as ,i said before1 that he was growing to deny his own art2 now ,i should like to understand by that final special message to me that he wished to wholly deny all the human art of the world against great ,nature before his death4 ,when he grew weaker and weaker1 ,i think that he found it more easy to dream of ,nature2 whether conscious or unconscious1 he must have been in the most happy state1 at least for his last days1 as he was going to join himself with her4 ,i never saw such a dead face so calm1 so sorrowless1 like ,hara's2 it reminded me of a certain ,greek mask which ,i saw somewhere2 indeed1 he had a ,greek soul in the true meaning4 ,we six or seven friends of his kept a tsuya1 or wake1 before his coffin1 as is the custom1 on the night of the #bith2 the night rapidly advanced when the reminiscences of this passed great artist were told to keep us from falling asleep4 ,one man was speaking of the story of ,hara's friendship with ,danjuro ,ichikawa1 the great tragedian of the old kabuki school of the modern ,japanese stage4 ,once he played the rle of ,benkei in 8,adaka ga ,seki10 which he wished ,hara to draw2 it was a most unusual treat on the actor's part to give the artist one whole box at the ,kabuki ,theatre during fifteen days only for that purpose1 where he appeared every day not to draw1 but to look at the acting4 ,but ,hara very quickly sketched him one day at the moment when he thought that the actor was prolonging his acting at a certain place to make him easy to sketch2 in fact1 ,danjuro made his acting in some parts stand still for fifteen minutes4 ,strangely enough1 the other actors who were playing with him did not know that1 while ,hara rightly read the actor's intention and thought4 ,danjuro said afterwards that ,mr4 ,hara understood him through the power of his being a great artist4 ,did he draw the picture and finish it8 ,that is the next question4 ,he did not1 as was often the case with ,hara2 he wrote the actor bluntly he was sorry that this spirit was gone1 making it impossible to advance4 ,the one who told the story exclaimed3 8,i never saw an artist like ,hara so slow to paint1 or who found it so difficult to paint40 ,sidenote3 ,,sitting ,,at ,,the ,,shop ,,front ,among us there was a well-known frame manufacturer1 ,yataya by name1 who1 it is said1 was ,hara's very first friend in ,tokyo1 where he came thirty years before from his native ,okayama2 he spoke next on his dear friend3 8,he made his call on me at my store in ,ginza almost every night2 he never came up into the room1 but sat always at the shop front4 ,and there he gazed most thoughtfully on the passing crowd of the street with his fixed eyes2 he made himself quite an unattractive figure especially for the shop front4 #8,who is that sinister-looking fellow8' ,i was often asked4 ,i am sure that he must have been there studying the people2 his interest in anything was extremely intent4 ,he was a great student40 ,while ,i am now writing upon ,hara1 ,i feel ,i see that he is sitting at a certain shop front1 perhaps of ,hades4 ,is he not studying the action of the dead souls clamorous as in their living days8 ,,ix ,,the ,,ukiyoye ,,art ,,in ,,original ,i often think the general impression that the best ,ukiyoye art reveals itself in colour-print has to be corrected in some special cases1 because the ,ukiyoye art in original kakemono1 though not so well appreciated in the ,west1 is also a thing beautiful2 and ,i feel proud to say that ,i have often seen those special cases in ,japan4 ,on such occasions ,i always say that ,i am impressed as if the art were laughing and cursing fantastically over the present age1 whose prosaic regularity completely misses the old fascination of romanticism which ,japan of two or three hundred years ago perfected by her own temperament4 ,whenever ,i see it 7mind you1 it should be the best ,ukiyoye art in original7 at my friend's house by accident1 or in the exhibition hall1 my heart and soul seem to be turning to a winged thing fanned by its magic2 and when my consciousness returns1 ,i find myself narcotised in incense1 before the temple of art where sensuality is consecrated through beauty4 ,it is not too much to say that ,shunsho ,katsukawa1 who died in #agib at the age of ninety-seven1 gained more than any other artist from the originals1 through his masterly series of twelve pieces1 8,a ,woman's ,year10 owned by ,count ,matsura1 a most subtle arrangement of figures whose postures reach the final essence of grace perhaps from the delicate command of artistic reserve1 the decorative richness of the pictures heightened by life's gesticulation of beauty2 whilst the harmony of the pictorial quantity and quality is perfect4 ,behind the pictures we read the mind of the artist with the critic's gift of appraising his own work4 ,when we realise the somewhat exaggerated hastiness of later artists1 for example1 artists like ,toyokuni the ,first1 or ,yeizan 7the other artists being out of the question1 of course71 ,shunsho's greatness will be at once clear4 ,it may have been his own thought to modify the women's faces from the artless roundness of the earlier artists to the rather emphatic oblong1 from simplicity to refinement1 although ,i acknowledge it was ,harunobu's genius to make the apparent want of effort in women's round faces flow into the sad rhythm of longing and passion1 a symbol of the white1 weary love2 in ,harunobu we have a singular case of the distinction between simplesse and simplicit4 ,it was the old ,japanese art to portray delicacy only in the women's hands and arms2 but certainly it was the distinguished art of ,shunsho1 with many other contemporary ,ukiyoye artists1 to make the necks1 especially the napes1 the points of almost tantalising grace2 what a charm of abandon in those shoulders6 ,and what a beautiful elusiveness of the slightly inclined faces of the women6 ,i am always glad to see ,shunsho's famous picture1 8,seven ,beauties in a ,bamboo ,forest10 owned by the ,tokyo ,school of ,art1 in which the romantic group of chignons leisurely promenade1 one reading a love-letter1 another carrying a shamisen instrument1 through the shade of a bamboo forest4 ,not only in this picture1 but in many other arrangements of women and sentiment1 ,shunsho reminds me of the secret of ,cho ,densu of the fifteenth century in his elaborate ,rakan pictures1 particularly in the point that the figures1 while keeping their own individual aloofness1 perfectly well fuse themselves in the alembic of the picture into a composition most impressive4 ,and you will soon find that when the sense of monotony once subsides1 your imagination grows to see their spiritual variety4 ,sidenote3 8,,beauties ,,in ,a ,,bamboo ,,forest ,sidenote3 ,,the ,,withdrawal ,,from ,,society ,it is rather difficult to see a best specimen of the originals of ,harunobu or even of ,utamaro4 ,i think there is some reason1 however1 to say in the case of ,utamaro that he did not leave many worthy pictures in original1 because he made the blocks1 fortunately or unfortunately1 a castle to rise and fall with2 while ,i see the fact on the one side that1 while he was not accepted in the polite society of his time1 he gained as a consequence much strength through his restriction of artistic purpose4 ,there was nothing more ridiculous for the ,ukiyoye artists of those days than to intrude their work of the so-called 8,floating ,world0 into the aristocratic tokonoma1 the sacred alcove of honour for the art of a ,tosa or a ,kano1 and to attempt to call themselves ,yamato ,yeshi1 whatever that means4 ,what wisdom is there to become neutral1 like ,yeishi or in some degree ,koryusai1 who never created any distinct success either as ,ukiyoye artist or as so-called polite painter4 ,i can easily read the undermeaning how they were even insulted1 by the cultured class1 when they tried to satisfy their own resentment by such an assumption of ,yamato ,yeshi 78the ,yamato artist10 ,yamato being the classic name of ,japan72 ,i see more humiliation in it than pride4 ,the contempt displayed toward them1 however1 was not so serious till the appearance of ,moronobu1 who created his own art out of their sudden descent2 his realism accentuated itself in the portrayal of courtesans and street vagrants of old ,yedo1 for the popular amusement1 at the huge cost of being criticised as immoral4 ,the artists before his day1 even those to-day roughly termed the ,ukiyoye artists1 were the self-same followers4 ,to begin with ,matabei1 after the ,kano1 ,tosa1 and ,sumiyoshi schools successively1 their work was strengthened or weakened according to the situation by the irresistibility of plebeianism2 it is clear that the final goal for their work was1 of course1 the tokonoma of the rich man and the nobles4 ,and it seems that they must have found quite an easy access into that scented das1 if ,i judge from the pictures of the 8,floating ,world0 7what an arbitrary name that67 that remain to-day4 ,they had1 in truth1 no necessity to advertise themselves as ,yamato ,yeshi1 like some artists of the later age who were uneducated and therefore audacious2 and in their great vanity wished to separate themselves from their fellow-workers2 while their work has a certain softness--though it be not nobility--at least not discordant with the grey undertone of the ,japanese room1 doubtless they lack that strength distilled and crystallised into passionate lucidity which we see in the best colour-prints4 ,when ,i say that ,moronobu was the founder of ,ukiyoye art1 ,i mean more to call attention to the fact that the ,japanese block print was well started in its development from his day1 into which process the artists put all sorts of spontaneity1 at once cursing creed and tradition4 ,as for the ,ukiyoye artists1 ,i dare say their weakness in culture and imagination often turned to force2 they gained artistic confidence in their own power from their complete withdrawal from polite society4 ,such was the case with ,utamaro and ,hiroshige4 ,i wonder what use there was to leave poor work in the original like that of ,toyokuni and ,yeizan1 whose works often serve only to betray their petty ambition4 ,sidenote3 ,,heredity ,,superstition ,i have seen enough of the originals of this interesting ,ukiyoye art1 beginning with ,matabei and ,katsushige2 ,naganobu ,kano1 the former's contemporary1 is much admired in the series of twelve pictures1 8,merry-making under the ,flowers10 with the illogical simplicity natural to the first half of the seventeenth century4 ,the fact that the name 8,floating ,world0 did not mean much in those days can be seen in the work of ,rippo ,nonoguchi or ,gukei ,sumiyoshi1 whose classical respect weakened the pictorial impression4 ,mr4 ,takamine1 who is recognised as the keenest collector of ,ukiyoye art in ,japan1 has quite an extensive collection of the works of ,ando ,kwaigetsudo 7#afhh-agae71 ,anchi ,choyodo1 ,dohan ,kwaigetsudo 7early eighteenth century71 ,doshu ,kwaigetsudo1 ,doshin ,kwaigetsudo1 ,nobuyuki ,kameido1 ,rifu ,tosendo1 ,katsunobu ,baiyuken1 and ,yeishun ,baioken1 all of them contemporaries of ,doshu4 ,although their merit is never so high1 even when not questionable1 we can imagine that their work must have been quite popular1 even in high quarters2 among them ,dohan might be the cleverest1 but as a ,japanese critic says1 his colour-harmony is marred by ostentatious imprudence4 ,i have seen the best representation of ,sukenobu ,nishikawa in 8,woman ,hunting ,fireflies10 soft and delicate4 ,the other artists ,i came to notice and even admire are ,choshun ,miyakawa1 ,masanobu ,okumura1 ,shigemasa ,kitawo1 and other names4 ,i think that the time should come when the original ,ukiyoye art1 too1 should be properly priced in the ,west2 we are still sticking to our hereditary superstition that no picture is good if we cannot hang it in the tokonoma1 where we burn incense and place the flowers arranged to invoke the greyness of the air4 ,but ,i wonder why we cannot put an ,utamaro lady here on the ,japanese tokonoma4 ,x ,,western ,,art ,,in ,,japan ,the ,japanese works of ,western art are sometimes beautiful2 but ,i can say positively that ,i have had no experience of being carried away by them as by good old ,japanese art4 ,there is always something of effort and even pretence which are decidedly modern productions4 ,i will say that it is at the best a borrowed art1 not a thing inseparable from us4 ,i ask myself why those artists of the ,western school must be loyal to a pedantry of foreign origin as if they had the responsibility for its existence4 ,it would be a blessing if we could free ourselves in some measure1 through the virtue of ,western art1 from the world of stagnation in feeling and thought4 ,i have often declared that it was the saviour of ,oriental art1 as the force of difference in element is important for rejuvenation4 ,but what use is it to get another pedantry from the ,west in the place of the old one8 ,i have thought more than once that our importation of foreign art is a flat failure4 ,it may be that we must wait some one hundred years at least before we can make it perfectly ,japanised1 just as we spent many years before thoroughly digesting ,chinese art2 but we have not a few pessimists who can prove that it is not altogether the same case4 ,although ,i have said that the foreign pedantry greatly troubles the ,japanese work of ,western art1 ,i do not mean that it will create the same effect as upon ,western artists4 ,i am told the following story3 ,sidenote3 ,,the ,,taiheiyo ,,gakwai ,,club ,a year or two ago a certain ,italian1 who had doubtless a habit of buying pictures 7with little of real taste in art1 as is usually the case with a picture-buyer71 went to see the art exhibition of the ,taiheiyo ,gakwai ,club held at ,uyeno ,park1 and bought many pictures on the spot1 as he thought they were clever work of the ,japanese school4 ,alas1 the artists meant them to be oil paintings of the ,western type6 ,the ,italian's stupidity is inexcusable2 but did they indeed appear to him so different from his work at home8 ,the saddest part is that they are so alien to our ,japanese feeling in general2 consequently they have little sympathy with the masses4 ,it is far away yet for their work to become an art of general possession2 it can be said it is not good art when it cannot at once enter into the heart4 ,it is not right at all to condemn only the ,western art in ,japan1 as any other thing of foreign origin is equally in the stage of mere trial4 ,i often wonder about the real meaning of the modern civilisation of ,japan4 ,imitation is imitation1 not the real thing at all4 ,there are many drawbacks1 as ,i look upon the material side1 to the ,western art becoming popular2 for instance1 our ,japanese house--frail1 wooden1 with the light which rushes in from all sides--never gives it an appropriate place to look its best4 ,and the heaviness of its general atmosphere does not harmonise with the simplicity that pervades the ,japanese household2 it always appears out of place1 like a chair before the tokonoma1 a holy dais4 ,besides1 the artists cannot afford to sell their pictures cheap1 not because they are good work1 but because there are only a few orders for them4 ,i believe we must undertake the responsibility of making good artists2 there is no wonder that there is only poor work since our understanding of ,western art is little1 and we hardly try to cultivate the ,western taste4 ,if we have no great art of the ,western school1 as is a fact1 one half the whole blame is on our shoulders4 ,sidenote3 ,,perception ,,of ,,realism ,here my mind dwells in more or less voluntary manner upon the contrast with the ,japanese art1 while ,i walk through the gallery of ,western art of the ,taiheiyo ,gakwai ,club of this year in ,uyeno ,park4 ,there are exhibited more than two hundred1 or perhaps three hundred pieces--quite an advance in numbers over any exhibition held before2 but ,i am not ready to say how they stand on their merit4 ,i admit1 at the outset1 that the artists of the ,western school have learned well how to make an arrangement no artist of the pure ,japanese school ever dreamed to attain2 and ,i will say that it is sometimes even subtle4 ,but ,i have heard so much of the artistic purpose1 which could be best expressed through the ,western art4 ,are they not1 on the other hand1 too hasty and too direct to describe them8 ,some of their work most nakedly confesses their artistic inferiority to their own thought4 ,what a poor and even vulgar handling of oil6 ,i have no hesitation to say that there is something mistaken in their perception of realism4 7,quite a number of artists in this exhibition make mistakes in this respect47 ,indeed there is no word like realism 7perhaps better to say naturalism7 which1 in ,japan's present literature1 has done such real harm2 it was the ,russian or ,french literature that taught us the meaning of vulgarity1 and again the artists1 some artists at least1 received a lesson from these writers4 ,it is never good to see pictures overstrained4 ,go to the true ,japanese art to learn refinement4 ,while ,i admit the art of some artist which has the detail of beauty1 ,i must tell him that reality1 even when true1 is not the whole thing2 he should learn the art of escaping from it4 ,that art is1 in my opinion1 the greatest of all arts2 without it1 art will never bring us the eternal and the mysterious4 ,if you could see some work of ,nakagawa or ,ishii exhibited here1 you would see my point1 because they are somehow wrong for becoming good work1 while they impress with line and colour4 ,i spoke before of effort and pretence2 such an example you will find in ,hiroshi ,yoshida's canvases1 big or small1 most of them being nature studies4 7,by the way1 this ,yoshida is the artist who exhibited two great canvases1 called 8,unknown10 or 8,world of ,cloud10 painted doubtless from ,fuji mountain1 overlooking the clouds at one's feet1 and 8,keiryu10 or 8,the ,valley10 at the ,government exhibition with some success some years ago47 ,i am ready to admit that the artist has well brought out his purpose1 but the true reality is not only the outside expression4 ,his pictures are executed carefully2 but what a forced art6 ,this is the age when all ,japanese artists1 those of the ,japanese school not excepted1 are greatly cursed by objectivity4 ,some one has said that the ,japanese dress1 speaking of ,japanese woman as a picture1 does serve to make the distance greater4 ,i thought in my reflection on art that so it is with the ,japanese art4 ,and again how near is ,western art1 at least the ,japanese work of the ,western school6 ,such a nearness to our feeling and mind1 ,i think1 is hardly the best quality of any art4 ,i have ceased for some time to expect anything great or astonishing from ,wada or ,okada or even ,kuroda2 we most eagerly look forward to the sudden appearance of some genius at once to frighten and hypnotise and charm us and make the ,western art more intimate with our minds4 ,sidenote3 ,,the ,,spiritual ,,insularity ,i amused myself thinking that it was ,oscar ,wilde who said that ,nature imitates art2 is not the nature of ,japan imitating the poor work of the ,western method8 ,art is1 indeed1 a most serious thing4 ,it is the time now when we must jealously guard our spiritual insularity1 and carefully sift the good and the bad1 and protect ourselves from the ,western influence which has affected us too much in spite of ourselves4 ,speaking of the ,western art in ,japan1 ,i think ,i have spoken quite unconsciously of the general pain1 not only in art1 but in many other things1 from which we wish we could escape4 ,after ,i have said all from my uncompromising thought1 my mind1 which is conscious to some extent of a responsibility for ,japan's present condition in general1 has suddenly toned down to thinking of the short history of ,western art in ,japan1 that is less than fifty years4 ,what could we do in such a short time8 ,it may even be said that we did a miracle in art as in any other thing2 ,i can count1 in fact1 many valuable lessons 7suggestions too7 from the ,western art that we transplanted here originally from mere curiosity4 ,whether good or bad1 it is firmly rooted in ,japan's soil2 we have only to wait for the advent of a master's hand for the real creation of great beauty4 ,it seems to me that at least the ground has been prepared4 ,charles ,wirgman1 the special correspondent sent to the ,far ,east from the ,illustrated ,london ,news1 might be called the father of ,western art in ,japan2 he stayed at ,yokohama till he died in #ahia in his fifty-seventh year4 ,he was the first foreign teacher from whom many ,japanese learned the ,western method of art2 ,yoshiichi ,takahashi was one of his students4 ,before ,takahashi1 ,togai ,kawakami was known for his foreign art in the early eighties2 but it is not clear where he learned it4 ,yoshimatsu ,goseda was also1 besides ,takahashi1 a well-known student of ,wirgman1 and ,shinkuro ,kunizawa was the first artist who went to ,london in #ahge for art study1 but he died soon after his return home in #ahgg before he became a prominent figure in the art world4 ,when the ,government engaged ,antonio ,fentanesi1 an ,italian artist of the ,idealistic school1 in #ahgf1 as an instructor1 the ,western school of art had begun to establish itself even officially4 ,this ,italian artist is still to-day respected as a master4 ,he was much regretted when he left ,japan in #ahgh4 ,ferretti and ,san ,giovanni1 who were engaged after ,fentanesi1 did not make as great an impression as their predecessor4 ,however1 the time was unfortunate for art in general1 as the country was thrown into disturbance by the civil war called the ,saigo ,rebellion4 ,the popularity which the ,western art seemed to have attained had a great set-back when the pictures were excluded from the ,national ,exhibition in #ahij4 ,but in the reaction the artists of the ,western school gained more vigour and determination2 ,shotaro ,koyama1 ,chu ,asai1 ,kiyowo ,kawamura1 and others were well-known names in those days4 ,kiyoteru ,kuroda and ,keiichiro ,kume1 the beloved students of ,raphael ,collin1 returned home when the ,china-,japan war was over2 they brought back quite a different art from that with which we had been acquainted hitherto4 ,and they led vigorously the artistic battle2 the present popularity at least in appearance is owing to their persistence and industry4 ,the ,government again began to show a great interest in ,western art2 it sent ,chu ,asai and ,yeisaku ,wada to ,paris to study foreign art4 ,not only these1 many others sailed abroad privately or officially to no small advantage2 you will find many ,japanese students of art nowadays wherever you go in ,europe or ,america4 ,sidenote3 ,,the ,,government',s ,,interest ,we were colour-blind artistically before the importation of ,western art1 except these who had an interest in the so-called colour-print2 but the colour-print was less valued among the intellectual class1 as even to-day4 ,our artistic eye1 which was only able to see everything flat1 at once opened through the foreign art to the mysteries of perspective1 and though they may not be the real essence of art1 they were at least a new thing for us4 ,there are many other lessons we received from it2 it seems to me that the best and greatest value is its own existence as a protest against the ,japanese art4 ,if the ,japanese art of the old school has made any advance1 as it has done1 it should be thankful to the ,western school2 and at the same time the artists of foreign method must pay due respect to the former for its creation of the 8,western ,art ,japonised40 ,it may be far away yet1 but such an art1 if a combination of the ,east and ,west1 is bound to come4 ,,appendix ,i ,,the ,,memorial ,,exhibition ,,of ,,the ,,late ,,hara ,the memorial exhibition of ,busho ,hara1 a ,japanese artist of the ,western school1 held recently in ,tokyo to raise a fund for his surviving family as one of its objects 7,hara passed away in ,october1 #aiac1 in his forty-seventh year71 had many significances1 one of which1 certainly the strongest1 was in contradiction of the general understanding that ,western paintings will never sell in ,japan2 even a trifling sketch in which the artist only jotted down his momentary memory fetched the most unusual price4 ,hara is a remarkable example of one who created his own world 7by that ,i mean at least the buyers1 though not real appreciators7 among his friends through his personality1 which strengthened his work2 paradoxically we shall say he was an artist well known and utterly unknown2 and when ,i say he was an utterly unknown artist1 ,i have my thought that he never even once exhibited his work to the public1 and his often defiant spirit and high aim made him scorn and laugh over people's ignorance on art4 ,how he hated the ,japanese art world where real merit is no passport at all4 ,but ,hara's friends are pleased to know from this exhibition the fact that even the public he ever so despised are not so unresponsive to his art1 whose secret he learned in ,london4 ,hara was1 sad to say1 also an artist whose ,western art-work1 like that of some other ,japanese artists to whom quite an excellent credit was given in their ,european days1 much declined or1 better to say1 missed somehow the artistic thrill since he left ,england in #aijf4 ,why was that8 ,what made him so8 ,was it from the fact that there is no gallery of ,western art old or new in ,japan where your work will only be belittled after you have received a good lesson there8 or is it that our ,japanese general public never have a high standard in the matter of art1 especially of ,western art8 ,i think there are many reasons to say that the passive1 even oppressive air of ,japan1 generally speaking1 may have a perfectly disintegrating effect on an artist trained in the ,west2 it would not be wholly wrong to declare that the real ,western art founded on emotion and life cannot be executed in ,japan4 ,hara made quite many portraits by commission since that #aijf1 some of which were brought out in this exhibition4 ,as they are work more or less forced1 we must go to his other works for his best1 which he executed with mighty enthusiasm and faith under ,england's artistic blessing4 ,he writes down in his diary1 the reading of which was my special privilege1 on ,january #bnd of #aije1 the following words3 8,at last ,port ,arthur has fallen4 ,when the war shall be done that will be the time for our battle of art against ,europe to begin4 ,oh1 what a great responsibility for ,japanese artists60 ,hara made a student's obeisance toward ,watts among the modern masters1 whose influence will be most distinctly seen in one of his pictures in this exhibition called 8,the ,young ,sorrow0 7the owner of this picture is ,mr4 ,takashi ,matsuda1 one of a few great art collectors in ,japan71 in which a young sitting nude woman shows only her beautiful back1 her face being covered by her hands4 ,what a sad1 visionary1 pale clarification in colour and tone6 ,hara writes down when his mind was saturated with ,watts at ,tate's or somewhere else3 8,what an indescribable sense of beauty6 ,art is indeed my only world and life4 ,again look at the pictures4 ,how tender1 how soft1 and how warm in tone and atmosphere6 ,and how deep is the shadow of the pictures6 ,and that deep shadow is never dirty40 ,again he writes down on his visit to ,tate's on a certain day3 8,it was wrong that ,i attempted to bring out all the colours from the beginning at once1 and even tried to finish the work up by mending4 ,there is no wonder my colours were dead things4 ,we must have the living beauty and tone of colours2 by that ,i do never mean showy4 ,i must learn how to get the deep colour by light paint40 ,while he was saturated with ,watts1 he on the other hand was copying ,rembrandt at the ,national ,gallery4 ,hara's copy of 8,the ,jewish ,merchant0 is now owned by the ,imperial ,household in ,tokyo4 ,this copy and a few other copies of ,rembrandt were in the exhibition4 ,and ,hara was a great admirer of ,turner4 ,markino confesses in his book or books that it was ,hara who first opened his spiritual eyes to ,turner4 ,at this memorial exhibition ,turner is represented by ,hara's copy of ,venice4 ,there was in the exhibition 8,the ,old ,seamstress10 which ,i was pleased to say was one of ,hara's best pictures4 ,whenever ,i see ,hara's pictures of any old woman1 not only this 8,old ,seamstress10 ,i think at once that what you might call his soul sympathy immediately responded to the old woman1 since ,hara's heart and soul were world-wearied and most tender4 ,markino has somewhere in the book the following passages3 8,first few weeks ,i used to take him round the streets1 and whenever we passed some picture shops he stopped to look through the shop window1 and would not move on4 ,i told him those nameless artists' work was not half so good as his own4 ,but he always said3 #8,oh1 please don't say so4 ,perhaps my drawings are surer than those1 and my compositions are better too4 ,but the ,european artists know how to handle oils so skilfully4 ,i learn great lessons from them4'0 ,indeed when he returned home he had fully mastered the technique of handling oils from ,england1 where he stayed some four years4 ,it is really a pity that ,hara passed away without having fully expressed his own art in his masterly technique1 which he learned with such sacrifice and patience4 ,his death occurred suddenly at the time when he was about to break away from his former self and to create his own new art ten times stronger1 fresher1 and more beautiful4 ,i wish to call the readers' attention to ,yoshio ,markino's ,my ,recollections and ,reflections1 which contains the most sympathetic article on ,busho ,hara4 ,,appendix ,,ii ,,the ,,nervous ,,debility ,,of ,,present ,,japanese ,,art ,when ,i say that ,i received almost no impression from the annual ,government ,exhibition of ,japanese ,art in the last five or six years1 ,i have a sort of same feeling with the tired month of ,may when the season1 in fact1 having no strength left from the last glory of bloom 7what a glorious old ,japanese art671 still vainly attempts to look ambitious4 ,although it may sound unsympathetic1 ,i must declare that the present ,japanese art1 speaking of it as a whole1 with no reference to separate works or individual artists1 suffers from nervous debility4 ,now1 is it not the exact condition of the ,japanese life at present8 ,here it is the art following after the life of modern ,japan1 vain1 shallow1 imitative1 and thoughtless1 which makes us pessimistic2 the best possible course such an art can follow in the time of its nervous debility might be that of imitation4 99 99 99 99 99 ,when the present ,japanese art tells something1 ,i thank ,god1 it is from its sad failure2 indeed1 the present ,japanese art is a lost art1 since it explains nothing1 alas1 unlike the old art of idealistic exaltation1 but the general condition of life4 ,it is cast down from its high pedestal4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i do not know exactly what simplicity means1 when the word is used in connection with our old art2 however1 it is true we see a peculiar unity in it1 which was cherished under the influence of ,india and ,china1 and always helped to a classification and analysis of the means through which the artists worked4 ,and the poverty of subjects was a strength for them2 they valued workmanship1 or the right use of material rather than the material itself2 instead of style and design1 the intellect and atmosphere4 ,they thought the means to be the only path to ,heaven4 ,but it was before the ,western art had invaded ,japan2 that art told them of the end of art1 and laughed at the indecision of sthetic judgment and uncertainty of realism of ,japanese art4 ,it said3 8,it is true that you have some scent1 but it is already faded2 you have refinement1 but it is not quite true to nature and too far away40 ,indeed1 it is almost sad one sees the artists troubled by the ,western influence which they accepted1 in spite of themselves2 ,i can see in the exhibitions that many of them have long ago lost their faith by spiritual calamity1 and it is seldom to see them able to readjust their own minds under such a mingled tempest of ,oriental and ,occidental4 ,is it not1 after all1 merely a waste of energy8 ,and how true it is with all the other phenomena of the present life1 their ,oriental retreat and ,occidental rush4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the present ,japanese art has sadly strayed from subjectivity1 the only one citadel where the old ,japanese art rose and fell2 ,i wonder if it is not paying a too tremendous price only to gain a little objectivity of the ,west4 ,printed by ,hazell1 ,watson ,viney1 ,ld41 ,london and ,aylesbury1 ,england4