Japanese Ukiyo-e Art
Ukiyo-e art meant ‘pictures of the floating world’. It was a way of seeing life as ever-changing, with bittersweet fleeting moments. Nothing was out of bounds – theatres, brothels, tea houses, labourers, travellers, artists, prostitutes, lovers. And always feeling that life was ephemeral and impossible to grasp. Ukiyo-e Style Ukiyo-e developed as Edo (the old…
That Mandarin Look
Mandarin ducks are perching ducks. You often see them resting on a low branch near water. And at the right time of year they congregate on the water. With their feathers like sails, they look like miniature armadas floating on the waves. We have been watching birds of all kinds for years. Occasionally one bird…
Japan and Ukiyo-e
My father introduced me to Japanese art of Ukiyo-e when I was a kid. He fought in the Second World War, and when the war ended he came home. Money was tight and he signed up to Z Reserve for which he got eight shillings a week for being the first to go if there…