Visit to Bristol Museum and Art Gallery
9 SeptemberMasters of Japanese Prints: Nature and Seasons – The Japansese Garden Society (Yoko Kawaguchi) in conjunction with Bristol Museum (Kate Newnham, curator of the collection) gave a lecture on the prints. Yoko Kawaguchi talked about, among other things, the plants associated with various festivals and the fact that the calendar change from lunar to Gregorian can make things a little confusing, for example New Year is now celebrated on 1st January, however, a plant, Adonis amurensis, particularly associated with the festival, flowers later at the end of January or beginning of February when New Year was traditionally celebrated.
In the photos below there is a print of a woman and child holding a carp streamer. In the adjacent photo are modern day streamers I saw in Japan in 2017. The streamers are flown outside houses to celebrate Children’s Day – the carp is a symbol of strength and success.
Woodblock Prints were affordable art for the masses. Kate Newnham explained that there were many meanings and allusions in the prints linked to poetry, literature and religion. https://exhibitions.bristolmuseums.org.uk/japanese-prints/nature-and-seasons/
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