Your browser does not support JavaScript, or it is disabled．Please check the site policy for more information National Report A young surgeon in the second year of her career performed laparoscopic surgery on a colorectal cancer patient at Yokosuka Kyosai Hospital in Kanagawa Prefecture one day last summer about three hours to finish the operation under the guidance of a supervisory surgeon “May I cut this here?” she asked the supervisor “There could be a blood vessel near the fatty tissue,” the adviser said Kitamoto said she performs about three operations a week Young surgeons who are looking for opportunities to perform operations are naturally drawn to this hospital in Yokosuka in the prefecture “Declining no emergency patients” is the stated goal of Yokosuka Kyosai Hospital where 7,500 surgical operations are conducted annually Many of these are in the realm of gastroenterological surgery a hole in the intestine and a stomachache from a blow the clinical department in charge of operations on the stomach and the intestines is facing an alarming shortage of surgeons like Kitamoto The Japanese Society of Gastroenterological Surgery (JSGS) has estimated its membership count will halve in the coming two decades which means that patients may have to wait longer to undergo operations and emergency patients may no longer be easily accepted by hospitals Kitamoto said she chose to be a surgeon partly because she likes the way that removal of a lesion is visibly evident and partly also because she liked attending an operation when she was undergoing practical training She said she feels happy when she sees how patients she has performed surgery on go on to eat properly and leave the hospital under their own power She said she spends a lot of time studying even outside her working hours such as when she watches videos of surgeries on her way home and before going to bed Yokosuka Kyosai Hospital reorganized its operations about 10 years ago so the hospital now has only two surgeons on duty on weekends--Saturdays and Sundays--and anything that may happen is left up to the pair to deal with Kitamoto said she has to go to work on weekends only once a month She said she has opportunities to refresh herself But she quoted one classmate from her university years as telling her Many surgeries take nearly 10 hours to finish Surgeons also have to attend to many emergency operations There is also the entrenched image that surgeons cannot take a day off on weekends Dermatology and anesthesiology remain popular clinical departments among aspiring doctors in which it is relatively easy to start an independent practice At least one classmate has gone into aesthetic medicine “It is true that you have a lot of work to do if you are in gastroenterological surgery even though this specialty is attractive precisely because it covers so many diseases,” said Kaoru Nagahori who is a gastroenterological surgeon himself a first-year surgeon at the Yokosuka hospital also said he has to attend to so many emergency surgeries that he often has to postpone other duties that were in his plans that he is getting a sense of fulfillment from his job that is more than enough to make up for the hectic pace “At stake in this job are my own skills,” said the would-be cancer surgeon “And it is so evident that I am curing illnesses and wounds with my own hands.” Gastroenterological surgeons not only carry out operations on stomach intestine and other cancers but also perform emergency surgeries on patients with appendicitis or with a hole in the intestines The general term “surgery” is often used to refer to gastroenterological surgery The shortage of gastroenterological surgeons is mainly because they are busy A government-led initiative for “work style reform” for medical practitioners led to the introduction on overtime hours worked by hospital doctors which the medical society released in January that only less than 20 percent of the surgeons who responded said that they were working fewer hours than before the work-style reform was in place Some 10 percent of the respondents said they continued to work at least 100 hours overtime a month That exceeds the 80-hours-a-month labor ministry standard for recognizing deaths as work-related The survey showed there were seldom any improvements in the working conditions Some 74 percent of the respondents said their workload had not been reduced there are increasingly fewer gastroenterological surgeons even though the overall number of medical practitioners is growing Plastic and aesthetic surgeons are increasing in number That makes gastroenterological surgery about the only “loser” among different branches of surgery the number of its members aged 65 or younger will drop 26 percent by 2033 and by 50 percent by 2043 A sense of alarm was first raised by a JSGS survey taken in 2023 Only 14 percent of the 2,932 JSGS members who responded to it said that they would encourage their children to become gastroenterological surgeons “I felt as if I were being hit in the head when I looked at these results,” Naoki Hiki Hiki pointed out that doctors are shunning gastroenterological surgery because they are feeling that surgeons in that specialty are not properly appreciated for being so busy and carrying so heavy a responsibility The JSGS released a rare statement last year calling for understanding and support of the public for improvements in the working conditions of gastroenterological surgeons which it said are essential for maintaining the current setup of medical consultation and treatment given the growing number of female gastroenterological surgeons to change workplace environments to be more friendly to all workers Hospitals will also have to devise measures to make the job more fulfilling for young surgeons A shortage of gastroenterological surgeons could result in significantly longer waiting time for cancer operations Hiroshima University is introducing a new monthly allowance of 100,000 yen ($671) for young surgeons The health ministry is also calling attention to the fact that medical practitioners are distributed unevenly among clinical departments toward the goal of improving the situation (This article was written by Kazuya Goto and Kazuhiro Fujitani.) Nine surgeons to quit hospital over ‘power harassment’ Surgeons work by flashlight as Ukraine power grid battered Disposable heat packs a cheap way to clean up surgical tool Here’s why thousands of junior doctors in South Korea walked off the job Information on the latest cherry blossom conditions Please right click to use your browser’s translation function.) A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II In-house News and Messages No reproduction or republication without written permission The Suntory Museum of Art in Tokyo is currently staging an exhibition of works by the artist Kawanabe Kyosai (1831-1889) This idiosyncratic artist was active during an era of dramatic development at the end of the Edo Period (1603-1868) and the first part of the Meiji Period (1868-1912) His paintings clearly reflect the impact of the tumultuous times in which Kyosai lived as Japan quickly transitioned itself from a feudal society to a modern nation-state Kawanabe won renown for his giga (comic) pictures satiric illustrations and yokai (ghosts and goblins) paintings and many fascinating examples of these various genres are on display the viewer can readily see in his painting Winter Crow on a Withered Branch (Koboku kanazu) his roots as an artist trained in the traditional Kano School style This painting became the talk of Japan at the time it won the grand prize for the painting category at an exposition in Japan in 1881 and the owner of the Eitaro confectionery store offered to buy it for an outlandishly lofty price you can understand a lot about Kyosai’s enormous talent and also understand a lot about the Japanese spirit photographs can by no means do justice to the attention to detail and coloring in Kyosai’s paintings or the humanlike expressions he gives to animals in his giga Since they offer a window into one aspect of uniquely Japanese culture I encourage lingering attention to each and every painting so that you can discover this for yourself There are also several of Kyosai’s yokai paintings in the show What makes these apparitions different from ghosts and phantoms in other countries is that in one sense they are very “human ghouls.” Looking at them is a delightful way to understand a fixation on earthly profit and the employment of curses to wreak vengeance on someone who has wronged you that even today are identifiable in the religious outlook and sense of values of the Japanese people I asked Fumi Ikeda, curator of the exhibition, what artists are worth studying if Kyosai has piqued your interest. Among the artists she recommended were Katsushika Hokusai, Kano Tanyu, and Utagawa Kuniyoshi I would also like to view works by these artists to enjoy learning about Japan from a different angle The “Kawanabe Kyosai: Nothing Escaped His Brush” exhibition continues at the Suntory Museum until March 31 You must be logged in to post a comment ' + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.webview_notification_text + ' " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_title + " " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_text + " A look at the Meiji-Era artist and his English architect student By the Mitsubishi Ichigokan building was designed by English architect Josiah Conder in the 1890s Conder is generally acknowledged to be the “Father of modern Japanese architecture,” and is credited with designing many important buildings in Meiji-Era Japan as well as teaching the first wave of modern Japanese architects the architect of Tokyo Station’s famous Marunouchi Building The reason that Conder was such a pivotal figure was not just because of his technical skills as an architect—he worked under the Gothic revivalist architect William Burges in England—but because he also had a deep affinity for the Japanese people and their culture he even wrote the first book in English on ikebana This positive attitude to his host country made him an ideal figure to assist in the modernization of its architecture The exhibition presently held at the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum focuses on one of the most fascinating aspects of Conder’s relationship with Japan namely his association with the famous Meiji-Period artist Kawanabe Kyōsai who agreed to teach the Englishman traditional Japanese painting The exhibit contains biographical materials on both men—photographs architectural plans by Conder (of the actual building the exhibition is being held within!) But it also includes a good selection of Conder’s own Japanese artworks He painted these under his Japanese artist name of “Kyoei,” a somewhat tongue-in-cheek name that means “the English Kyōsai.” like his silk painting Swimming Carp (undated) and his folding screen Ling Zhao and Shide (undated) that Conder was a quick learner and attained considerable proficiency in Oriental art but it’s more in the nature of an exotic appetizer The bulk of the exhibition centers on the work of Kyōsai an extremely active and prolific painter in the decades before his death in 1889 Kyōsai was a master of several distinct genres from classical Kanō school paintings on Chinese themes to more “schlock horror” subject matter like his woodblock print of a Hell Courtesan (1874) which has a delightful background crowded with satirical skeletons engaged in various activities There’s even a small section of his erotic shunga works These often have an endearing comical or macabre twist which speaks of an old man’s sympathy for his fellow creatures Most of these works are ink and in very light colors on silk with the fur of the animals evoked with particularly beautiful and soft brush strokes Several of these works are also accompanied by sketches “Preparatory drawings for the Englishmen.” This suggests the pictures were painted at the behest of foreign buyers they were purchased by a rich American collector and are now part of the Metropolitan Museum of New York’s collection this is a rich and fascinating exhibition that has several interesting stories to tell Until Sep 6. Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum. http://mimt.jp/kyosai From purple sweet potatoes to wild horse sightings here’s how to make the most of Okinawa’s tropical escape Explore the best local brands shaping Tokyo’s fashion scene From vintage clothing to Hawaiian-themed goods here’s what’s worth checking out before it’s gone From buying and registering a bike to key rules of the road Collagen staples for beauty and health in Japan Our handpicked list of the best events going on this month and the untold tales of Japan’s queer community Everything you need to know before and during a natural disaster Stay up to date with Tokyo news and events Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon We help you navigate a myriad of possibilities Sign up for our newsletter for the best of the city By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions. Tokyo they often conjure up images of sweeping calligraphy and colourful woodblock prints of hedonic lifestyles represented by ukiyo-e there are many more diverse styles of art in Japan As Meiji Restoration swept through the country in the late 19th century Japanese art went through a resurgence as well The new era not only influenced the politicisation and modernisation of traditional Japanese art but also brought about international exchange For a limited time, the Suntory Museum of Art is exhibiting the ground-breaking works of Kawanabe Kyosai a leading figure of traditional Japanese painting at the dawn of modern Japan Here are three reasons you should go check it this illuminating show The end of the Edo era and the modernisation efforts of the new Meiji government not only brought a sudden end to feudal institutions but also fueled the rapid introduction of Western customs Kyosai expressed his complex feelings toward modernisation through sarcastic paintings poking fun at the new Meiji initiatives’ incompatibility with traditional Japanese lifestyles He was imprisoned for his flippant portrayals of the political elites what lies behind Kyosai’s sarcasm is not outright opposition to the Meiji government but a longing for the traditional culture of Edo era Visitors should not miss his playful depictions of everyday life in feudal Japan and more serious portraits of deities and nature both rooted in his decades of training under the renowned Kano School of Japanese traditional painting that was patronised by the Edo shoguns Kyosai’s art was not only popular with the Japanese but also found an eager foreign audience The most famous of his foreign followers was Josiah Conder a British architect who became Kyosai’s pupil and later introduced Kyosai to the West Conder was active in Japan from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century and during this period he laid the foundation for Japanese architecture Keep your eyes peeled for the eclectic collection of Kyosai’s works from across the world carefully preserved by and shipped in from major art facilities and collectors outside Japan such as the British Museum and the Israel Goldman Collection in London.  The global cultural network established by Kyosai through his correspondence with the likes of Conder helped make his works well appreciated globally ©Keizo KiokuSince the exhibition paints a nostalgic look at old Japan, it’s perhaps fitting to complete your visit with a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. The museum’s tea room Genchoan exudes heritage charm as it was inherited from the museum’s founding in 1961 traditional tea ceremonies will be held here on selected days (check website for details) for 50 visitors per day (There are no reservations; tickets go on sale at 10am at the third floor reception desk on the same day.) The tea ceremony is a familiar event for the artistic community in the Edo era. Artists of this era cultivated their own artistic inspirations through the appreciation of fine green tea as well as the exquisite tea bowls and beautifully made snacks that accompanied the tea You are encouraged to channel your own inner artist by participating in this important ritual of traditional Japan and find your moment of peace in the heart of modern Tokyo ‘Kawanabe Kyosai: Nothing Escaped His Brush’ runs from Wednesday February 6 until Sunday March 31 at the Suntory Museum of Art. © Keizo KiokuFounded in 1961, the Suntory Museum of Art strives to present the best of Japanese art with special exhibitions throughout the year focusing on painting by bringing in non-Japanese art to the mix the museum seeks to create connections between the East and the West Housed within the shopping and office complex Tokyo Midtown in Roppongi the museum is the work of famed Japanese starchitect Kengo Kuma where its modernist Japanese design seeks to blend traditional and modern elements This concept is well-reflected in the museum’s edgy porcelain-white louvre facade which sets off a beautiful contrast with the interior’s use of wood and Japanese paper to capture the inviting warmth of a traditional Japanese home The museum’s stunning ten-metre-high stairwell is also inspired by tradition as it brings old-fashioned lattice window design into its attached light control system The flooring is equally as interesting: it’s partially constructed from recycled whiskey casks as a nod to Suntory also being one of the world’s most renowned makers of premium Japanese whiskies the architectural details are as fascinating as the art within its walls Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon! facebooktwitterpinterestinstagramAbout us ★★★☆☆We have all heard a lot about Hokusai here in Britain But I bet you barely know anything about Kawanabe Kyosai And yet this late 19th-century artist is not only seen as Hokusai’s closest successor but he is also hailed as the progenitor of the manga comic strip As the Royal Academy plays host to the Israel Goldman collection this is the first opportunity in almost 30 years to experience Kyosai’s work in the UK a child prodigy who revelled in the nickname the “demon of painting” is best known for his images of bizarre impish hoards given that he is rumoured to have downed at least three FAD Magazine FAD Magazine covers contemporary art – News Exhibitions and Interviews reported on from London I must admit that before I visited the Kawanabe Kyosai exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts and expected to see something in the vein of the revered Japanese artist Hokusai Kyosai is considered to be a close successor of Hokusai the exhibition felt more like looking at the work of an illustrator and satirist than a fine artist Kawanabe Kyosai (1831-1889) was among Japan’s most important master painters and during his lifetime gained a reputation for his independent spirit and witty art The legacy of his style endures to this day in artforms of manga and tattoo art Kyosai was overlooked for some time in favour of his artistic predecessors Hokusai and Hiroshige until his art was rediscovered and became celebrated for creating a bridge between popular Japanese culture and traditional Japanese art The Royal Academy is presenting a curated selection of Kyosai’s art from the collection of art dealer Israel Goldman in Kyosai’s first UK exhibition in almost 3 decades Kyosai studied art under the ukiyo-e artist Kuniyoshi at the Tokugawa governments appointed painting school and went on to fuse academic training in traditional Japanese art with imagery inspired by satirical and comic-book images The paintings in the exhibition are often political and use animal metaphors for some of the more primal instincts of humans with the ‘proles’ of 19th Century Japan represented as frogs Fashionable Picture of the Great Frog Battle (1864) is a metaphor for a battle between a clan allied to the Tokugawa fighting the rulers of Choshu domain a region of Japan opposed to the Tokugawa government Frog School (early 1870s) depicts a frog teacher giving a class to 2 frogs sitting on a wooden log In 1872 Japan established a national educational system and opened the first elementary school in Tokyo with teaching following Western methods including wall charts Skeleton Shamisen Player in Top-Hat with Dancing Monster (1871-78) shows a Top-Hat wearing skeleton playing a Shamisen to a small ghoulish character The Top Hat in the image refers to the arrival in Japan of Westerners and their unusual fashions while the Skeleton appears to be a visual way of reminding us of our own mortality Many of the images refer to the arrival in the mid-1800s of westerners in Japan and some are tongue in cheek and downright cheeky with humorous results which reveal Kyosai to be sort of a Japanese version of the 18th Century British printmaker cartoonist and pictorial satirist William Hogarth Some of the most interesting images are of calligraphy and painting parties such as Calligraphy and Painting Party (Shogakai) known as a ‘Shogakai’ (a commercially organised party at which painters and calligraphers produced spontaneous creations had ended up with Kyosai being taken to prison Kyosai became known for his outlandish behaviour as his talent as an artist There was a cultural exchange between 19th century Japan and Europe with artists such as Whistler and Van Gogh visibly influenced by Japanese woodblock printing and art and Japanese artists such as Kyosai influenced by European contemporary art Lee Sharrock is a global creative PR consultant Culturalee is a celebration of the rich global tapestry of culture Culturalee highlights some of the most exciting talent and hotbeds of culture around the world with interviews Lee studied at Norwich University of the Arts University College London (UCL) and la Universita di Bologna before embarking on a career in the art world and advertising industry She started her career at Sotheby's Auctioneers and worked at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) Timothy Taylor Gallery and Saatchi & Saatchi before launching Lee Sharrock PR as a bespoke cultural PR consultancy.www.leesharrock.co.uk Vincent van Gogh has had an enduring influence on Anselm Kiefer Hon RA over the artist’s nearly 60-year career In the face of the kinds of lofty expectations that accompany a survey at the RA the Irish-born artist puts humour before sobriety Join the FAD newsletter and get the latest news and articles straight to your inbox the artist’s quirky works wittily satirise the human carnival of foreigners Japan opened itself to in the mid-19th century their contemporary Kawanabe Kyōsai was looking west His paintings on scrolls and woodblock prints are full of witty portraits of Europeans and a not always happy marriage of Japanese and western styles The Japan into which Kyōsai was born had kept its borders closed for centuries His lifetime saw the first visit by an American fleet the end of the Tokugawa shogunate that had restricted foreign contact the legalisation of Christianity and the coming of railways and the telegraph He’s constantly making satirical swipes at these changes In one picture Jesus is portrayed on the cross More demons attend a strict western-style school in a satire on educational reforms Japanese people mingle with European travellers in a boozy cosmopolitan gathering that’s like Hogarth on sake Apparently Kyōsai was extremely fond of the sake There’s a whole bunch of paintings here that he did with dozens of friends at art festivals Kyōsai contrasts peoples of the world: a European couple Kyōsai’s universal attribute of western males who are all watched curiously by a Japanese couple He’s registering the human carnival to which Japan has opened itself In a woodblock print from 1863 called Foreigners and Samurai outsiders directly confront the traditional Japanese elite as howling and grimacing Europeans point angrily at cross-legged samurai Simpler Photograph: Ken Adlard/Kawanabe KyōsaiAs the catalogue explains Japan was under pressure at the time to compensate Britain for the killing of a merchant European battleships menaced Yokohama to demand the fine Kyōsai is appealing to popular opinion that was nationalist and pro-samurai Satirical art is difficult to exhibit because you need to know its context: Gillray’s scathing comments on Georgian politics often need so much explication the humour dies among texts This exhibition spurns long explanatory labels for a highly aesthetic display in three long rooms in protectively lowered lighting But the detailed political commentary you can find in the catalogue is in fact necessary to understand it all bolder images such as a painting of Shōki the demon-queller sword arm flexed: or a series of arrestingly real depictions of squat crows perching on branches These crows are uneasily modern in their raw His huge Night Procession of One Hundred Demons painted across two screens of six panels each hilarious comedy depicting a legend that if pots pans and other household items are left for a century lampshades still stuck in their freakish anatomies Yet there’s a sense of loss and disappointment While Japanese art was helping European painters escape their obsession with mundane reality Kyōsai’s fantastic imagination is blunted by touches of European pedantry His attempts to imitate English caricature are fun yet you can see the originality and power of the tradition he works in starting to ebb away Japan was never conquered by Europe but its art seems to surrender here to the tyranny of the top hat That makes Kyōsai an intriguing figure from history but not an artist who uplifts us like a great wave Kyōsai: The Israel Goldman Collection is at the Royal Academy, London, from 19 March to 19 June The Shintomiza Kabuki Theater Curtain was painted by Kawanabe Kyosai in response to a request from Kanagaki Robun a Japanese author active in the 19th century.  The giant painted curtain is four meters high and 17 meters long and depicts Japanese mythical creatures that Kawanabe based on leading Kabuki actors of the Meiji period such as ONOE Kikugoro V and ICHIKAWA Danjuro IX It shows numerous creatures coming out of a box one after the other and appearing to approach the audience.  It is said that Kawanabe painted the piece in four hours while drinking sake Kanagaki presented the curtain to the Shintomiza theater in Tokyo one of the leading theaters of the Meiji period It is known for Kawanabe’s unique style and is a rare example of a theater curtain that has been preserved High-definition digital data totalling 9.4 billion pixels was obtained using Toppan’s proprietary techniques Due to the difficulty in photographing such a large work of art a special set was constructed in a studio and high-definition digital cameras were used to shoot the curtain in 419 parts The data obtained was then used to produce an animation and content for tablets and other devices The animation gives life to the world depicted by Kawanabe by showing the mythical creatures in motion as well as a reconstruction of the location where the curtain was originally used.  The content for tablets allows users to zoom in on the details of Kawanabe’s work and compare it with photographs and woodblock prints of the actors on which the characters were based The content can also be displayed at full scale on large displays.  Focus features two in-depth reviews each month of fine art architecture and design exhibitions and events at art museums galleries and alternative spaces around Japan The contributors are non-Japanese residents of Japan In Front of the Paris Opera from The Strange Tale of the Castaways: A Western Kabuki (1879 Gas Museum collection; on view during the first half of the Kobe exhibition) Kawanabe Kyosai Memorial Museum collection; on view during the first half of the Kobe exhibition) Kawanabe Kyosai Memorial Museum collection; on view during the second half of the Kobe exhibition) deposited in the Museum of Kyoto; on view during the first half of the Kobe exhibition) Stadtmuseum Hornmoldhaus Bietigheim-Bissingen [Germany] collection; on view throughout the Kobe exhibition) All works by Kawanabe Kyosai; all images provided by the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art Today's print edition Home Delivery The time seems to be ripe to bring Japanese women artists out of the shadow of famous fathers The first was Katsushika Hokusai's daughter Oi whose life in the 19th century has been dramatized in novels through an exhibition devoted to another parent-child pair in Japanese art the daughter of genius painter Kawanabe Kyosai (1831-1889) The two don't share equal billing and papa clearly steals this show "Kyosai and Kyosui: The Soul of the Artist as Pioneered by Father and Daughter," at the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum is a welcome opportunity to learn about another Japanese female artist from an earlier time.googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1499653692894-0'); }); thanks to contact with foreign visitors to Japan including British architect Josiah Conder and the French industrialist Emile Etienne Guimet There have been three major retrospectives of his work in the last two decades including most recently in 2015 at the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum in Tokyo In a time of both misinformation and too much information quality journalism is more crucial than ever.By subscribing Your subscription plan doesn't allow commenting. To learn more see our FAQ Sponsored contents planned and edited by JT Media Enterprise Division. His style was the result of both a long apprenticeship in orthodox Kano painting, which served the ruling elite, and an early childhood stint in the studio of Utagawa Kuniyoshi, who produced popular prints and comic pictures. The resulting works combine fine technical ability with vitality and wit. Kyōsai’s art is both out of time and responsive to its time, calling out to us today – human, animal – like those noisy crows. Newsletter Preferences This site requires the use of Javascript to provide the best possible experience Please change your browser settings to allow Javascript content to run When we speak of Japanese art reflections on Western artistry Hiroshige or Utagawa Kuniyoshi as absolute inspirations for Western artists and the natural settings of daily village life in Japan intrigued the curious eyes of Claude Monet Who would ever imagine that a fearless picture of haunting skeletons and demonic figures surrounding a fiery red-robed woman (Hell Courtesan no.9 of the Kyôsai Rakuga series 19th century Japan was an era quite reserved for local Japanese to accept an artist’s wild eccentricities and ultra-exuberance radically diverted towards the unreal and the unimaginary One such artist was Kyosai Kawanabe (1831-1889) one British architect who so admired his free passion that he spent his adult years learning Japanese painting under his wings was Josiah Conder (1852-1920) The special bond between these two artists produced an infinitude of masterful creations from sketches scrolls and other media that have been wonderfully assembled by Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum in Tokyo in the exhibition Kyosai Master Painter and His Student Josiah Conder running in two phases throughout September 6th we understand how Kyosai (whose original name in written Japanese meant “crazy”) began to articulate his drawing skills at age 7 under the famous print artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi then proceeded to train in the studio of Kano Tohaku from age 10 He gradually shied away from the Kano painting tradition and explored his own independent style and marked a somewhat undisciplined nature he was mischievous and sometimes overtly adventurous that he would bring home crushed human heads from the river to study and play with while witnessing a horrendous fire when he was 14 years old Kyosai concentrated on drawing the raging flames and birds in the air that he overlooked his own home burning to ashes he offended a lady that he clandestinely followed only to draw the beautiful obi belt around her waist Many of Kyosai’s sketches depicting political satire were highly reputable and were said to bear significant influence on contemporary Japanese manga The political humor and cynicism in his art coincided with a carefree lifestyle of painting under intoxication in many painting parties (Calligraphy and Painting Party 1881) which inevitably caused him several arrests because of such a rebellious spirit that Kyosai was extremely underrated for his remarkable talent during his era The exhibition covers Kyosai’s diverse works encompassing motifs from birds When Josiah Conder arrived in Japan in 1877 as a foreign advisor to the Japanese Government he taught architecture at the Imperial College of Engineering and had since been widely known for his Westernization of Japanese architecture the Iwasaki residence and villa (1896 and 1889 Conder always maintained an intimate relationship with Japanese art even before coming to Japan and so it was not surprising for him to establish contact with Kyosai especially during the highlight of the Second National Industrial Exhibition in Ueno Park in 1881 he began his studies of Japanese painting with Kyosai and the two artists molded an intricate exchange of art and life experiences Conder constantly admired Kyosai’s peculiar ability to draw from memory and his delicate painting technique on silk Conder’s impressive illustration of a female and old man in Ling Zhiao and Shide Folding Screen and numerous artworks of birds fish and nature consequently gave Conder the pen name “Kyo-ei” and was fondly referred to as the Western Kyosai after going through several periods of changes in his life Kyosai also eventually changed the Japanese character of his name from “mad” to “dawn” The delicate collaboration between Kyosai and Conder can be considered utterly incomparable to that of any other Japanese and Western artist of the same era Learning from each other’s cultures and using this knowledge to complement each other’s styles opened doors to divulge each other’s quest for artistic freedom and this was made clearly evident in their superb masterpieces but not enough for him to be labeled as the greatest revolutionary artist of Japan crossing the historical periods from Edo to the Meiji era With special gratitude to Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum some of which are included in the exhibition Anthea Gerrie 2 min readIT was stored away in the owner’s bedsit for 40 years after he had bought it for just £55 painted scroll that Israel Goldman picked up in the early Eighties was the start of what is now the world’s greatest collection of work by Kawanabe Kyosai a celebrated 19th-century Japanese artist whose work is credited with inspiring the modern “manga” comic style American collector Mr Goldman has amassed more than 1,000 of the artist’s works some of which are now on show at a new exhibition at the Royal Academy in Piccadilly The total value of Mr Goldman’s collection is unknown a single work by Kyosai was sold at Christie’s for just under $1million He had originally hoped to sell it for a quick profit He told the JC: “I loved it so much I knew I could never sell it But if you were to tell me then I would own more than 1,000 pieces by this artist I would never have believed it.” Kyosai’s humorous observations on society were irreverent enough to land him in jail He fell out of fashion after his death in 1889 but is immensely popular once more perhaps thanks to the rise of Japanese comic culture “Those who call Kyosai the father of manga and anime are right and he’s been a huge influence on tattoo artists,” said Goldman frogs and demons as being particularly popular in inking parlours Now a resident of Hampstead in North London His life changed after his parents moved the family to London on a sabbatical when he was 11 He said: “We spent every weekend in museums and I spent my pocket money on Japanese prints from Jack Sassoon’s gallery round the corner from where we were staying.” He settled in London for good after graduating with a history of art degree from Harvard Art History Culture By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions. Kawanabe Kyosai (1831–1889) was the most exciting and popular Japanese painter of the late 19th century A child prodigy and draughtsman of the highest ability The exhibition will focus largely on the art of sekiga produced at ‘calligraphy and painting parties’ (shogakai) which were often fuelled by prodigious amounts of saké many of these works reveal a comical twist which plays on conventions or reflects the artist’s take on society highly detailed studio paintings will reveal the wide subject range Kyosai referenced as well as his revolutionary style which challenged the rigid artistic conventions of the day The historical context of his work will be explored and cultural changes taking place across Japan which he captured in his art The exhibition will include around 80 works many of which have never been exhibited or published and these will all be drawn from the unparalleled collection of Israel Goldman This will be the first monographic exhibition of Kyosai’s work in the UK since 1993 Kyosai was initially a pupil of the ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861) before receiving academic training at the celebrated Kano school He had a keen engagement with the world around him and an inexhaustible curiosity; he did not hesitate to incorporate new elements into his traditional studies More recently he has been an important source for modern manga As one of the most famous artists of his day written records regarding Kyosai are also abundant There are contemporary accounts of his interactions with the first generation of Western artists writers and diplomats to visit Japan after the country opened its ports to the West in 1854 will highlight Kyosai’s representative works which demonstrate the variety of genres and styles in which he painted which include finely finished examples in full colour reveal Kyosai’s firm foundation as a trained academic painter and provide a distinct contrast to the spontaneous paintings Thanks to his extensive mastery of the traditional practices these works are painted with considerable freedom and invention A highlight here will be one of the most important works in the exhibition The second section Laughing at Modernity will introduce Kyosai within the historical setting of mid to late 19th century Japan Prints and paintings depict the introduction of Western culture to Japan contemporary topics are treated with humour with human figures or ‘humanised’ animals often created in order to overcome strict political censorship will focus on spontaneous paintings and collaborative works Collaboration often occurred at gatherings and it was a vital part of art-making in 19th century Japan Some of the spontaneously painted compositions are ‘drunken paintings’ which reveal the essence of Ky?sai’s virtuosity as a painter with their wilder and freer brush strokes Kyosai also painted comical shunga (sexually explicit images) related works will be exhibited in the genre of ‘paintings within paintings,’ one of Ky?sai’s recurring themes The exhibition is organised by the Royal Academy of Arts Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures and Visiting Researcher in the Asia Department at the British Museum Mark Westall is the Founder and Editor of FAD magazine - When Kawanabe Kyosai (1831-89) was a child and training as an artist at the Surugadai branch of the Kano School of painting his teacher nicknamed him "demon painter," because of his impressive talent Kyosai had trained under the ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi Kyosai pursued various artistic styles and techniques throughout his life.googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1499653692894-0'); }); The art dealer Israel Goldman was particularly intrigued by Kyosai's skills and sense of humor and has been collecting the artist's works for almost 35 years his Kyosai collection is considered as one of the best in the world This exhibition showcases some of Kyosai's best-known works as well as around 60 newly acquired works of the Israel Goldman Collection of London The Bunkamura Museum of Art; 2-24-1 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. Shibuya Stn. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. (Fri., Sat. till 9 p.m.). ¥1,400. 03-5777-8600; www.smart-museum-bunkamura.jp/kyosai/ Sponsored contents planned and edited by JT Media Enterprise Division Tokyo is honoring architect Josiah Conder (1852-1920) with an exhibition that focuses on his relationship with the popular ukiyo-e painter Kyosai Kawanabe (1831-1889).googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1499653692894-0'); }); which led him to become an apprentice of Kyosai studying the master's style and later publishing the book "Paintings & Studies by Kawanabe Kyosai." A total of 120 works are on display — a selection of both Kyosai's masterpieces and Conder's works — including "Kyosai Sensei at Nikko 5," a depiction of the master working on a painting Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum, Tokyo; 2-6-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. Nijubashimae Stn. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. (Fri. till 8 p.m.). ¥1,300. Closed Mon. 03-5777-8600; www.mimt.jp galleries and museums around Japan that non-Japanese readers and first-time visitors may find of particular interest just a subjective viewpoint acquired over many years' residence in Japan Indicative of his renewed popularity is the fact that two museums in Kyoto held concurrent shows devoted to Kyosai this past April The Kyoto National Museum offered a massive retrospective particularly of his paintings in the relatively orthodox Kano style while across town the Kyoto International Manga Museum focused on his ribald Kyosai's talent was apparent from an early age; at seven he became a pupil of the great ukiyo-e artist Kuniyoshi but barely two years later switched to an apprenticeship in the Kano school His fondness for grotesqueries also reared its head early on; while still a schoolboy he was drawing sketches of corpses Growing up in a period of social and political turmoil as the Shogunate gave way to the Meiji Restoration Kyosai found ample fodder for his satirical impulses and became known for his impromptu sketches of political figures and events often tossed off while downing prodigious amounts of sake barely two years into the Meiji "Enlightenment," he was imprisoned and flogged by the authorities for his irreverent output After this sobering experience Kyosai tended to restrict his parodies to more general human foibles which he depicted in the loose caricature style of the ukiyo-e tradition; at the same time he produced exquisite paintings of Buddhist deities on commission in the Kano style and his output nothing short of astonishing In one legendary episode he covered a 17-meter length of stage curtain with caricatures of famous Kabuki actors for the Shintomi Theatre in four hours -- while drunk He was still in his prime when he died of stomach cancer at age 58 he had been discovered by several Western visitors to Japan notably the British architect Josiah Conder who studied painting with Kyosai and wrote a book about him Much of his satire was aimed at the inevitable contradictions between Shogun-era mores and the sudden Meiji obsession with modernization and Western-style enlightenment like a painting of the Buddhist deity Acala reading a Ministry of Education tract promoting Western customs are obvious precursors of the works of postwar satirists like Masami Teraoka Kyosai also had a love of the supernatural particularly Japan's indigenous yokai -- part ghost part demon -- often depicted in the process of enthusiastically tormenting mortal humans Kyosai's recent revival in Japan can be credited in part to the tireless efforts of his great-granddaughter Kawanabe Kusumi who in 1977 converted a home in the suburbs north of Tokyo into the small but tastefully appointed Kawanabe Kyosai Memorial Museum With only three rooms in which to display its collection of some 3,000 works by Kyosai the museum rotates its exhibits every month or so a visitor will get to enjoy a cross-section of the unparalleled oeuvre of this one-of-a-kind genius Carey Dunne is a Brooklyn-based writer covering art and design. Follow her on Twitter 04-07-2014DESIGN The artists of 19th-century Japan loved painting their cats almost as much as today’s cat owners love Instagramming theirs A new exhibit celebrates this pre-Internet feline art BY Carey Dunne “Shoto Museum of Art will be full of cats!” says an exuberant release for the exhibit Buddhism arrived in Japan in the 500s, and cats came along with it to protect sacred scriptures from mice, according to a statement from the Shoto Museum. Cats featured prominently in classical Japanese literature, like The Pillow Book and The Tale of Genji (both from the 11th century) or doing any of the two or three other things cats do the Internet Cats of 21st-Century America will be honored in a major museum exhibition Cats Cats Cats is on view at the Shoto Museum of Art until May 18th [h/t Spoon and Tamago] The final deadline for Fast Company’s Brands That Matter Awards is Friday, May 30, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today. Carey Dunne is a Brooklyn-based writer covering art and design. Follow her on Twitter. More Fast Company & Inc © 2025 Mansueto Ventures Fastcompany.com adheres to NewsGuard’s nine standards of credibility and transparency. Learn More we can feel greater gratitude for being able to run together we hope everyone will keep on running forward we have decided to intertwine different traditional Japanese patterns We have combined kikko (tortoiseshell) with asanoha (plant leaves) and seigaiha (blue ocean wave) with shippo (seven treasures) Each pattern signifies a different element and message we hoped to express the unity of positive emotions This medal design is used not only at the Tokyo Marathon 2021 but within related events including "Virtual Tokyo Marathon 2021" and "Tokyo Marathon 2021 Family Run" Tokyo Marathon Family Run 2021 Finisher Medal ©Tokyo Marathon Foundation All Rights Reserved This milestone exhibition at the Tokyo Station Gallery commemorates the 150th anniversary of the opening of Japan’s railway system in 1872. You’ll find 150 or so exhibits focussing on the history of railway in Japan, including nishiki-e woodblock prints, oil paintings, nihonga and photos. The works are displayed in chronological order to highlight the evolution in Japan’s rail network as well as the corresponding transition in train-inspired art. Highlights include the ‘Gokuraku-yuki no Kisha’ (‘The Steam Train Towards Paradise’, 1872, on display until Nov 6) from Kyosai Kawanabe’s ‘Jigoku Gokuraku Meguri-zu’, a painting series illustrating the pilgrimage of hell and paradise. Don’t miss the ‘Yokohama Kaigan Tetsudo Jokisha-zu’ (around 1874) by Hiroshige Utagawa III as well. This ukiyo-e woodblock print shows a steam train on the Yokohama Coastal Railway.  The Tokyo Station Gallery is open from 10am to 6pm, until 8pm on Fridays. Ticket prices have yet to be announced. Collaborating with the NPO Yofukupost Network Meeting the Tokyo Marathon Foundation has been initiating a Clothing Reuse Project since 2018.Thanks to everyone involved we continued to receive many clothing donations within the past year through the clothing drop box set up at our running facility The last day to make donations through the JOGPORT Ariake is March 30 (Tue.) Thanks in advance to everyone who participated in supporting the sustainable project The donated clothing is delivered to secondhand markets throughout the world to be reused.We are still counting how much we have collected great thanks to everyone who has contributed The entry for the "Tokyo Marathon Friendship Run 2023[7 a.m The Tokyo Marathon Friendship Run was first held in 2012 as a fun run event to foster relationships between Japanese runners and international runners visiting Japan This year's event will be held with a virtual run and an in-person finish line event Since the Tokyo Marathon 2023 will be welcoming international runners for the first time in four years we expect that many international runners can join this event and experience Japan's hospitality and culture For more details, click here To apply for the Tokyo Marathon Friendship Run 2023, click here with John Travolta's exuberant pelvis nodding "Yes and among this 300-piece tribute to mortality there is a sort of international championship of skeleton-weight dancing for there's no music in these splayed corpses The soldiers are as evocative of a jig as a chalk outline is of a break-dancer Tellingly absent in Dix's scene is the animating figure of Death If war's monstrosities make collateral damage of God Photograph: The Richard Harris Collection/Wellcome ImagesTraditionally the allegorical agenda of the danse macabre is to remind the vainglorious that all of life's roads And yet dancing is a complex image through which to illustrate death's egalitarianism since few places have traditionally shown less sympathy to democracy than the European ballroom Courtly dances have always been animated by the violence of hierarchy Silk fans open and close like barber knives and even the slang of the dance is serrated: when nobles aren't cutting each other with their glances they're carving happy couples apart by cutting in It's therefore apposite that later versions of the danse macabre exchanged the graveyard for the aristocrat's party in order to emphasise the immoral decadence of the privileged classes As an uninvited challenger to this opulence Death hits the dancefloor bearing the largest and heftiest of the metaphorical blades which is also part of the Wellcome exhibition Death is the sauciest allegory on the block manifesting as a skeleton among the fresh corpses of partygoers wearing something between a monk's hooded habit and a negligee Jauntily playing the fiddle with a thigh bone one severely well-turned ankle thrust forward Death takes over from the band of musicians who are depicted fleeing in horror the music's tempo seems to catalyse the infection and at one of them an X-ray image becomes a party-piece eliciting one man's grave denial "at the sight of this rosary of bones labelled as being a picture of himself" Arguably this heightened awareness of what lies beneath prompts another of Proust's characters to compare an elderly guest to "a skeleton in an open dress" Proust diffuses the heavy-handed allegorising of Poe and Rethel by working with the same ideas at the level of metaphor His most chilling partygoer is a doctor by the name of Professor E described as wandering around the gathering alone But Proust also understood aristocratic vanity and how the complex rituals of French social life were designed to suppress the possibility of death just as Prince Prospero believes his palace gates will keep out the plague In one of Proust's darkest and funniest party scenes the dying Charles Swann tries to broach the subject of his impending demise with his hosts Swann accepts their wilful evasion of his announcement knowing "that for other people their own social obligations took precedence over the death of a friend" While his wife disappears to change her shoes the Duke talks helplessly to Swann in morbid colloquialisms displaying a Freudian compulsion that would make Basil Fawlty cringe He tells poor Swann how his wife is "tired out already occurs when a terminally ill character tells his friend and carer: "Oh Mrs Dalloway always giving parties to cover the silence." The Christmas party in James Joyce's "The Dead" is another attempt at the suppression of existential silence and is perhaps the most concerted modernist interpretation of the danse macabre The floors of the house creak and thump with waltzes and quadrilles Gabriel Conroy's wife Gretta stands on the stairs transfixed by a song that reminds her of a dead love from her youth After Gretta tells Gabriel about this memory Gabriel becomes conscious of the decay he has felt all along In his nervous speech at the party he describes his old aunt as being "gifted with perennial youth" once cuckolded by his wife's reminiscences he thinks how this same aunt "would soon be a shade … He had caught that haggard look upon her face for a moment when she was singing." who often used professional dancers as his subjects naked physique contrasts with her sobering prop but the meaning of the image is made ambiguous by the careful balance of its symbolism: does the dwarfed skull's empty gaze wither the nude's fecundity or do life's largeness and vigour ultimately overwhelm the smallness of death a novel that is clearly alert to the decay woven into youthful romance men wearing black are likened to carrion crows; the women are wrapped in dresses from Naples sent to them "in long black cases like coffins" of actors playing Romeo and Juliet (them again) who are unaware of where the script will lead them the prince watches them blithely sailing over the dance floor sensing both their tenderness and self-interest and how these complexities of love are in the end trumped by the unspoken fear of death "by the mutual clasp of those bodies destined to die" Here Don Fabrizio is sick with the nostalgia portrayed in Alexander Pope's "Epistle to a Lady" which dramatises lost beauty as a sort of hag's jig: "Still round and round the Ghosts of Beauty glide / And haunt the places where their Honour dy'd." There is ironic power in coupling the vivacity of dance with the tomb's stillness. At their best, the artistic progeny of the danse macabre occupy that affecting region between archetype and cliché, allowing the artist access to themes of hubris, decadence, ephemerality and sorrow. Dance being a temporal medium gives it a natural kinship with the idea of mortality Miss Daly's waltz "made lovely time" but The waltz's three-quarter pulse produces a temporal circularity that attempts to defy life's linear diminishing A groovy kind of memento mori: John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever (1977) Photograph: Allstar/Cinetext/PARAMOUNTDance's temporal evasions and manipulations serve only to make the ineluctability of time more apparent and it's arguably this curious inversion that has attracted the artistic imagination It is harder to sense the frantic denial beating within free-style dancing's sheer exhilaration rhythmic Tony in Saturday Night Fever feels the acceleration of all this exhilaration "Dancing can't last for ever," Tony says "It's a short-lived kind of thing … I'm getting older Robert Indiana’s sculpture lands near Leeds, Kyōsai comes to London and David Hockney’s tech trials continue – all in your weekly dispatch Damien Hirst’s works in formaldehyde, including a shark and a decapitated cow, are on show Russian oligarchs are still able to exploit UK art market legal loopholes and launder money through NFTs A feud over an ‘antisemitic’ Wailing Wall painting closed an Israel museum Netflix’s The Andy Warhol Diaries is an illuminating, sometimes thrilling, six-part biopic told in the artist’s own words Surrealism has bounced back a century after its birth with international events and exhibitions The National Portrait Gallery has five new self-portraits of women who helped shape British culture A new show on postwar British art featuring works by Frank Auerbach, Gillian Ayres and Frank Bowling has never felt more relevant Turner paintings not seen in UK for 100 years are to go on show at National Gallery Tate Britain’s exhibition Life Between Islands gives the creative history of Black families its place at Tate Britain Ukrainians are racing to save their cultural heritage, as many believe the destruction of cultural assets is part of Kremlin strategy To follow us on Twitter: @GdnArtandDesign If you don’t already receive our regular roundup of art and design news via email, please sign up here If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@theguardian.com a heroic photo-portrait of the Asia Express on the South Manchurian Railway 2022 at 12:00 pm PT.css-79elbk{position:relative;}Last month's SOAR butterfly event in the South Coast Botanical Gardens was a beautiful sight CA — Palos Verdes resident Larry Kyousai snapped some shots of the butterflies at last month's SOAR butterfly event in the South Coast Botanical Gardens "It was a wonderful experience which I look forward to attending next year," Kyousai said Thank you for sharing your photos and commentary with us Want to share your photos with the Patch community Palos Verdes Patch is looking for submissions to feature in our photo of the week column every Friday If you have an awesome photo of breathtaking scenery or something unusual you happen to catch with your camera We're looking for high-resolution images that reflect the beauty and fun that is Palos Verdes Email it to Rachel.Barnes@patch.com with the subject line "Photo Of The Week," and tell us where you took the picture as well as a little bit about it and I give Patch permission to publish it," in the email Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. 本サービスをお楽しみいただくには、JavaScript を有効にする必要があります。 JO1がJA共済の「秋の全国交通安全運動」(9月21日〜30日)に合わせて行われる、秋の交通安全キャンペーンのアンバサダーに就任いたしました。 小・中学生たちが描いた交通安全ポスターをもとにメンバーが交通安全標語を考案、さらに交通安全オリジナルダンスにも挑戦いたします。 WEBムービー「標語つくろう」篇、「ダンスおどろう」篇の2本をYouTubeで公開するとともに、10月11日(火)からは TV-CM「JA共済×JO1『秋の交通安全キャンペーン』30秒」篇の放映も開始いたします。 https://social.ja-kyosai.or.jp/campaign/ There is an ethereal tranquility that descends upon the labyrinthine alleys of Yanaka during Tokyo's humid summer afternoons The scent of incense wafts from cemeteries dotting the neighborhood as glass wind chimes ring in the occasional breeze offering a brief respite from the scorching heat Shadows of pedestrians stretch across weathered walls enclosing dozens of old Buddhist temples inhabiting this traditional district in Taito Ward.googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1499653692894-0'); }); It's in the premises of one of these temples A legendary Meiji Era (1868-1912) rakugo storyteller famed for his tales of ghosts and apparitions among many stories that have since become rakugo classics a rare collection of hanging scrolls depicting Japanese ghosts known as yūrei This new exhibition at the Royal Academy celebrates the work of Japanese artist Kawanabe Kyōsai Taking inspiration from folklore and contemporary political events Kyōsai often used animals to convey political sentiments expressive eyes are a striking constant throughout his work and are indicative of his often irreverent The first room in this exhibition explores depictions of crows Night Procession of One Hundred Demons – in which cartoon-style demons (a mix of animal human and etherial) parade in the dark and panic at the sight of the sun – is displayed along a black wall This room introduces Kyōsai’s folklore and use of animals We learn about how the crow was his signature bird and he identified the creature as “spreading” his art a haunting drawing of the artist’s late wife We are shown the sketch for this work alongside the finished result where a lantern’s light is used to fade part of the woman the attention shifts to more political work Information cards on the wall explain how Kyōsai used animals (primarily frogs) to avoid censorship whilst depicting battles – both real and allegorical – for the shift towards modernity and “Western tradition” In Skeleton Shamisen Player in Top Hat with Dancing Monster a skeleton wears traditional Western dress (complete with a top hat) and plays music for a demon but his samurai sword is still visible: his truth is still clear The third and final room reveals more about the artist himself We learn about the 19th century Japanese tradition of artists painting in front of an audience and collaborating on the same picture whilst drinking sake and this exhibition houses several of his more explicit works which reimagines the traditional doll as a vagina monster three comic shunga pieces of various sexual positions which is an orgy scene apparently poking fun at seemingly pious Buddhist monks This exhibition is short enough to leave viewers wanting more but long enough to really learn something about this artist and the ideas he was portraying through his work The display is balanced and gives a well-rounded view of Kyōsai’s talents and subject matter but also learn about the conflicts and anxieties he was sharing about a world that was in upheaval and the struggle between tradition and modernity interesting exhibition that offers a great introduction to Kyōsai’s world and the artist himself Kyōsai: The Israel Goldman Collection is at the Royal Academy of Arts from 19th March until 19th June 2022. For further information visit the exhibition’s website here "Bakemono" is a Japanese term to describe imaginary monsters which in Japan have a long history in religion and culture and the love of monsters continues today with entertainment such as "Yokai Watch," a TV series of ghouls and goblins that is becoming increasingly popular with kids.googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1499653692894-0'); }); This exhibition explores not just Japan's bakemono masks and more offer some insight into bizarre creatures across the world Highlights include a number of original copies of bakemono ukiyo-e prints by Kyosai Kawanabe and Yoshifuji Utagawa who created the images with a juvenile audience in mind Aomori Museum of Art; 185 Chikano, Yasuta, Aomori. Shin-Aomori Stn. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. ¥1,100. Closed Aug. 24. 017-783-3000; www.aomori-museum.jp/en These are lists of insurance companies in the world as measured by total non-banking assets and by net premiums written The list is based on the 2022 report of the 25 largest insurance companies in the world by 2020 assets from AM Best They are categorized by rank; company; county total assets and net premiums written (US$ Billion) 3 Prudential Financial United States 940.7 9 Legal & General United Kingdom 774.8 14 American International Group United States 586.5 18 Credit Agricole Assurances France 536.8 20 Life Insurance Corporation India 520.5 23 Zurich Insurance Group Switzerland 439.3 25 New York Life Insurance Company United States 414.3 8 Benefits of Auto Insurance for Car Owners The list is based on the 2022 report of the 25 largest insurance companies in the world by 2020 net premiums written from AM Best Rank Company Country Net premiums written (US$ Billion) 4 Centene Corporation United States 107.4 9 People’s Insurance Company of China China 79.2 17 China Pacific Insurance Company China 51,7 19 Health Care Service Corporation United States 44.9 25 Progressive Corporation United States 40.6 and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive