Learn More: Tohaku Hasegawa, His Life and Works
Second printing, first edition published in May 2010. With cover, no obi. Both the cover and the text are in very good condition. Price: 1980 yen (tax included).This book explores the secrets and charm of the late-blooming Tohaku, whose works include the masterpieces of Japanese painting, such as Pine Forest Screen and Maple Trees.● Unlike his rival Kano Eitoku, Tohaku's fresh poetic sensibility and refreshing sense of color created masterpieces that stood out in the world of ink painting and the often-empty grandeur of Momoyama screen paintings.● Tohaku's special emotional expression of nature and his depiction of affection for the first time in animal paintings brought about a new era in painting.The following is a reprint from Amazon customer reviews:From page 30, there is an interesting explanation of the national treasure Pine Forest Screen. After introducing the conventional theory that this work was a sketch and that the fusuma paintings were changed to a screen, the review states, In the midst of the mighty pressure of producing the Shoinji screen paintings and the sorrow of losing his son (Kyu-zo), Tohaku painted this screen as a self-inquiry, so to speak. I thought this view was brilliant.Pine Forest Screen has no color and no sound. The eeriness of the pine forest rising like a heat haze in the stillness. It is a beauty of the sublime, and one can feel the atmosphere of wabi-sabi. The overwhelming presence can be felt throughout the work, and I believe it is a work that surpasses Eitoku, as Tohaku pursued him as a lifelong rival.Tohaku continued to live through the turbulent times because his feelings of sorrow and prayer were consistent throughout his life, from his works as a painter of Buddhist images in the Nanao era as Shinshun to the huge Nirvana Painting of Honpo-ji Temple. I am also drawn to the Portrait of Sen no Rikyu in the Omote Senke Fushin-an. Tohaku and Rikyu had a close relationship, and although it was painted after his death, the realistic depiction gave a sense of dignity and intensity.From page 48, the national treasures Pine and Hollyhock and Maple Trees in the Chishaku-in Temple collection, and Kyu-zo's Cherry Blossoms embody the splendor and luxury of Momoyama culture. I viewed them at the Chishaku-in Temple Treasure Hall and also confronted them in the museum, and I was speechless at their magnificence and brilliance.The Bamboo Grove and Monkeys in the Shokoku-ji Temple collection is so cute. It is a work that has a gentleness that overturns the image of ink painting. The Willow Bridge and Waterwheel in the Kosetsu Museum of Art collection is like pop art, and it is a work with an advanced meaning, like a precursor to the Rinpa school. (Omitted) I have other items for sale, please take a look if you like.