Curatorial Statement
With this exhibit, I really wanted to highlight Ukiyo-e art because it’s a style that a lot of people know about in passing, but not necessarily in depth. There are many Ukiyo-e prints that are recognizable, but, as with many different artistic styles, there are few people that really understand it on a more concrete level. Ukiyo-e is a fascinating style of art that emerged during, and because of, an authoritarian government. This relatively calm period of time in Japan, with an economy that was starting to thrive and with no wars to worry about, allowed for the middle class to thrive and explore interests outside of work and home.
This background is important because it informs everything that Ukiyo-e is and stands for. Firstly, artists of this period were restricted in the kind of art they were allowed to depict, with laws against even mentioning people in government, and outlawing all depiction or discussion of current events. Secondly, though life in the “floating world” was supposed to be seen as joyous, sometimes hedonistic, exploring both simple pleasures – like nature and landscapes – and more intense indulgences, like the courtesans and Kabuki theater of the pleasure districts.
My vision for this exhibit was to focus on the prints inspired by legends and folklore during the Edo period and what this said about the time period, the artists, and the consumers. I arranged the exhibit sections to focus on the different origins of Ukiyo-e subjects. ‘Ghosts and Gods’ discussed the importance of gods in Buddhist and Shinto religions, which in turn became important subjects for Ukiyo-e artists. It also touched on how popular media could make it into art as well, with the print “Takiyasha the Witch and the Skeleton Spectre” by Kuniyoshi Utagawa, which was actually a scene from a famous Japanese novel, The Story of Utö Yasutaka.
In the section on Kabuki Theater, I discussed how Ukiyo-e prints focused on specific actors most of the time, as they were often seen as celebrities to those who went to see the plays. The other depiction of Kabuki theater in prints, however, was often the climax of the story, which usually involved a reveal and/or a dance sequence. The print “Ichikawa Monnosuki II as Shimokobe Shoji Yukihira and Segawa Yujiro I as Matsukaze, Sister of Togashi no Saemon” was likely a scene of a dance sequence, in which a woman reveals herself to be a demon.
The last main section focuses on Japanese warriors, who were common subjects for all kinds of entertainment, like Kabuki plays, novels, puppet shows, and of course, Ukiyo-e art. Much of the samurai that were shown in the prints were defending themselves (and Japan) against demons or other ill-intended creatures. These prints were often the result of Kabuki plays or novels, just like the prints mentioned above.
Other smaller sub-sections throughout the exhibit also discuss the importance of the Edo period in the construction and emergence of this art style, the use of demons and demon slayers in Ukiyo-e art, and the series “One Hundred Ghost Tales” by Katsushika Hokusai, from which some of the most terrifying ghostly prints come. “The Phantom of Kohada Koheiji,” for example, shows a hideous phantasmal creature, half skeleton and half rotting skin, as he peers at his cheating lover. These prints are infamous for their grotesque or depressing nature, with tales often featuring the ghosts of people who have wronged them getting revenge on their murderers
I really wanted this exhibit to delight and enthrall the audience with the macabre and fascinating subject of its objects. These dark prints and subjects are fascinating to me, and I wanted to place them within the context of a fundamental period in Japanese history that lends understanding to why these prints were made, what they depict, and what the creation of this art meant for the Edo period. This was a time period of growing economic wealth for a newly unified Japan, and also a time where not just the elite and the aristocracy, but also the middle and some of the lower class, could afford to pursue interests, hobbies, and entertainment. At the same time, it was an era of artistic suppression, authoritarian government, and heavy censorship for all Japanese citizens, leading to art that focused on aspects of nature, ancient Japanese legends, and characters of the pleasure districts.
— Zadie Henthorn, author and curator