The Art of Spies, Women & the Fighting Spirit in Japan

Nov 7th, 2008 | By Shane Sakata | Category: Events, Museums

Spies & women have been know for their subtle, and not so subtle, fighting spirit throughout Japan’s long history and the three subjects are featured prominently in art exhibits around Japan this November.

“Women Artists in Osaka: 20th Century Art from Japanese-style Bijinga Paintings to the Postwar Avant-Garde”

If you were the daughter in upper class family in Japan in the early 1900′s there is a good chance that you would have attended painting classes as it was the fashionable thing to do at the time. Many women in Japan did so but few exceeded as artists and those that did were often overlooked by the art establishment in Japan. Female artists in Osaka in particular suffered this fate and are the subject of an exhibition at the Osaka City Museum of Modern Art that runs until December 7th. Read more about this exhibit and the history of women artists in Japan at the Japan Times.

“An End is a Beginning”

Tomoko Yoneda is a Japanese photographer currently based in London who believes that an image can evoke memories and and times beyond the image itself. An exhibition at the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo is the first to present a comprehensive overview of her art and will feature 60 pieces. The highlight of the exhibition is a group of photographs that tell the tale of two spies working in Japan for Russia, Yotoku Miyagi and Richard Sorge. The exhibition titled “An End is a Beginning” depicts the intrigue and meetings between the two in haunting images that will be on display until November 30th. Read a review of “An End is a Beginning” at the Japan Times.

TENMYOUYA Hisashi “Fighting Spirit”

Act soon if you want to see this solo exhibition by Hisashi Tenmyouya at the Mizuma Art Gallery in Tokyo. Utilizing traditional Japanese art forms, Tennyouya has created a series of eight works that satirizes the state of contemporary society – the largest being an impressive 3 meters long. Also on display are 400 illustrations used in Kenzo Kitakata ‘s novel “Bokyo no Michi (Path of Nostalgia) where the artist captures the subtle moves and emotions of the characters in Sumi ink drawings.

Image Credit: Wikimedia, Sumie