Japanese Artist Tenmyouya Hisashi is Taking Traditions into the Future
A vortex appears on the wood: the intersection of past and present react with a boom. Now, we are in the future.
Here, now, samurais battle robots, they play football, and the Japanese Spirit has tinted the sky gold.
A New Japaneseย Spirit
Nihonga is what the most famous type of Japanese art is called. Nihonga was used during the Meiji period to separate Japanese art from Western-style oil painting. In fact, while Japanese art of the period could be described by its subjects (women, men, landscapes, birds), the main difference was in fact mostly that of contrast with Western traditional painting.
In 2001, Hisashi Tenmyouya invented the term โNeo-Nihongaโ to describe his workโs synchronism of Nihonga and modern globalisation. This is evident in works such as his RS-78โ2 Kabuki-mono (2005), in which he depicted a giant robot dressed in samurai garb and surrounded by a dragon while he aimed an automatic weapon. Kabuki-mono pertains to samurai who did not have a teacher and were recognised for their unusual attire and extravagant equipment. The robot, which is instantly recognisable to a worldwide pop culture audience, is also organically Japanese, as seen by a tattoo of Katsushika Hokusaiโs famed The Great Wave on its shoulders. Tenmyouyaโs postmodern approach aims to honour the essence of Japanese art by actively positioning it as an important aspect of contemporary global culture.
The fifteen-piece โJapanese Spiritโ series, which began with the first machine depicted in the eponymous 1997 work, achieved the first ever stage of accomplishment in 2004. It was resurrected eleven years later, in 2015, with a sixteenth work. The โJapanese Spiritโ series is on outsidersโ perceptions of โJapanโ and the misunderstanding caused by stereotypes. This series was developed to amplify that image of Japan, with the expectation that the works will be seen by outsiders. These are machines of fantasies, things that are powered by human labour. The series served as the foundation for the artistโs first solo exhibition in 2000.
Japanese Spirits seems to be an accurate term for us to use when aiming to find a term that could encompass all of the artistโs body of work.
Japan, Japanism, and stereotypes are recurrent themes.
The way of theย Samurai
War in the garden of delights. Machines. Dragons and soccer balls. This is the way of the new-aged samurai.
If you ever wondered where to find inspiration for a great samurai tattoo, well, look no further than in Tenmyouya Hisashiโs oeuvre.
The painter created the art notion of BASARA, which focuses on works of art from Japanese art history that were deemed showy, ostentatious, and eccentric. According to Tenmyouya, this depicts a samurai attitude ingrained in Japanese streets, and BASARA opposes the Western concept of elevated / low art, but also otaku culture and wabi-sabi.
Interestingly, the swimmer samurai hides the truth under the cap. And I canโt help but wonder if they are hiding the infamous Samurai haircut. You know, the shaved head.
Why did Samurais shave their head, you ask? Iโd be happy to answer. Due to high body temperatures, fighting in heavy armour on a hot and humid day might tire any soldier. As a remedy to this dilemma, soldiers began shaving the tops of their heads in order to stay cool, but leaving hair at the back of their heads to prevent the helmet from sliding off easily.
Now, back to the art.
โMy manifesto, Basara is based on the subculture of the โstreet samurai cultureโ that is excessively decorative and imbued with a rebellious spirit that defies traditional values. Basara stands for anti-authority and anti-aristocratic culture.โโโโHisashi Tenmyouya
Sure, the elements are all there: katanas, hairstyles, and โdonโt fuck with meโ attitudes. But thereโs more. Basara, in particular, focuses on contemporary urban culture as well as samurai mentality at the conclusion of the Warring States Era or the end of the Edo period, which has long been deemed low culture. Through his works, he attempts to oppose the authoritarian art establishment.
That is briefly how Japanese artist Tenmyouya Hisashi is taking Japanese painting traditions into the future. From our present streets.
Doesnโt it make you want to forget about Kawaii stuff, and come take a walk on Samurai Street? Iโm there already, mentally.
Ticket for Tokyo, next?