The Ship That Flew

gurafiku:Japanese Art: Meadow of Dreams. Takehisa Yumeji. 1919

Katsukawa Shunshô (Japanese, 1726–1792), The Second Nakamura Sukegoro as a Samurai Carrying a Suzu, 1769 or 1770

Yoshitoshi, 97. The moon and the abandoned old woman (Obasute no tsuki), from 100 Aspects of the Moon, late 1800s

A scene from the Noh play Obasuteyama, “The mountain where the old woman was left to die”. According to Japanese folklore, peasant families in certain regions abandoned elderly family members that had become a nuisance, and left them in the wilderness to die from starvation or exposure. Obasuteyama is also used as a symbol of self-sacrifice by the elders. Yoshitoshi depicts a young man carrying an old woman up a mountain. Their path crosses a large pine tree, usually a symbol for long and healthy life. (via)

Yoshitoshi, Lunacy - unrolling letters (Tsuki no monogurui - fumihiroge), from 100 Aspects of the Moon, late 1800s

Ochiyo was a young maidservant in the household of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. One day she received news that her lover had died, and went mad with grief. She wandered Kyoto, rolling and unrolling his letters. Here she stands barefooted on Gojo Bridge, staring vacantly past the letters that are spiraling towards the moon. (via)

Yoshitoshi, The Yugao chapter from “The Tale of Genji” (Genji yugao maki), detail, from 100 Aspects of the Moon, late 1800s

The ghost of Yugao, one of Prince Genji’s conquests, floats above a trailing vine bearing the moonflowers after which she is named. Yugao died at the age of 19 during a secretive romantic night with Genji, supposedly cursed by the ghost of a jealous rival. (via)

Yoshitoshi, Moon of pure snow at Asano River (Asanogawa seisetsu no tsuki), from 100 aspects of the moon, late 1800s

Chikako plunges into the icy Asano River with her hands clasped in prayer, hoping her suicide will persuade government officials to release her father, Zeniya Gohei (1773-1855), from prison. Her sacrifice fails to impress the authorities, and her father eventually dies in prison. (via)

Tateishi Harumi, Hunters, 1939, woodblock print

Isoda Koryusai (Japanese, active 1765-ca. 1785), Untitled [Cat near fishbowl]

Ito Shinsui, Beauty From the Showa Era - Early Spring, 1931

Zeshin (1807-1891), Cat in a farmhouse window with kitchen utensils being washed in a stream, c. 1880