Kiyochika | Umewaka Shrine
小林清亲 Kobayashi Kiyochika (1847–1915)
梅若神社
Umewaka Shrine
1877
木版画 | 横绘间判 | 25cm × 34.3 cm
Woodblock-print | Aiban-yoko-e | 25cm × 34.3 cm
颜色鲜艳；有中间折痕
Good color; centrefold
$1,800
梅若丸的传说，自室町时代起便广为人知。这位自小命途多舛，十二岁便夭折的悲情少年最终被埋葬在今东京都墨田区堤通梅若公园内，后迁址重建至毗邻的木母寺中。那古柳旁的一座梅若冢，至今仍为百姓们所怀古凭吊。
由于明治初年的一纸神佛分离令以及废佛毁释运动，木母寺被废寺改制为梅若神社。乌云沉沉，大雨如注，古木肃立。梅若神社前的历历景象，被细密的雨丝切割出刺绣般的质感。荒草萋萋的梅若古冢，抱腿躲雨的人力车夫，夹伞迟行的和服女子。在清亲极富特色的光影绘中，总是蕴藏着他对现代化社会的感慨与思索，明治初期的时代变革浪潮，也正如画中弥散的水雾般来势汹涌。
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Kobayashi Kiyochika (1847–1915)
Perhaps no Japanese woodblock print artist bridged the styles of the Edo and Meiji eras as well as Kobayashi Kiyochika. While some of his notable designs, especially his bijin or “beautiful women” prints, harkened back to the classic days of Ukiyoe, his later work documented the rapid modernization and Westernization of Japan. Indeed, he experimented — at times more successfully than others — with depicting light and shade in the manner of Western art.
Apparently self-taught, Kiychika’s first known prints date from the 1870s and are rampent with signs of modernization — red brick buildings and trains proliferate. Then he took a step back, creating “100 Famous Views of Musashi,” a modern homage to Hiroshige and the beauty of then-vanishing traditional Japan. After this he mysteriously disappeared from the scene before emerging to focus on dramatic war scenes and more views of fast-evolving Tokyo. Later, he worked as a newspaper illustrator. He died in 1915, having travelled through time.