to keep it separate from the complaining post...

[wendyzski]

Last weekend ashtalet, pensnuggles and I went to see the Japanese Screens exhibit at the Art Institute. It should surprise no one that my favorite screens were those from the 16th century and/or the ones showing women in Heian kimono. I think my favorite was the one showing scenes from The Tale of Genji (basically the world's first novel). There was also a shorter one showing famous poets (male and female) under bits from their poems that had some beautiful kimono in them. They even had a screen showing "Southern Barbarians" - which is hilarious because you get to see what Japanese people thought the Portuguese looked like - truly enormous trousers for one thing! We were talking about some of the images on one screen and another visitor actually asked me if I had been to Japan! (I said "no but it might be nice because there 'd be tall!"). Yet another tribute to my ability to collect and remember otherwise utterly useless information.

In the Ukiyo-e gallery the showcase this month was on images of Murasaki and Komachi (famous Japanese female writers/poets). There were several images of Murasaki in the same pose which I though was interesting because I think it showed differences in the ideal of beauty over time - she was much more "moon-faced" in the earlier paintings. And I'd forgotten what a total bitch Komachi was! She's the court beauty who told a soldier who loved her that she'd sleep with him if he spent 100 nights waiting outside her pavillion. Of course, just before he got to 100 he died of exposure, and she ended up old and ugly and eventually became a nun. This is a terrible fate if your primary purpose in life is, as I said while talking about The Tale of Genji over in the screens exhibit, to sit around being pretty and rich all day.

This weekend should have a visit to the Aquarium (to see the newly redone Oceanarium) and we were pondering the Ginza Festival on the way home but it's sposed to be in the 90s so who knows if I'll wimp out.

Comments

[ashtalet.livejournal.com]

Having you along wasn't quite as good as having creepingcrud for Bodyworlds was, but let's just say I didn't need to get an audio tour. :-)

[stealthbunny.livejournal.com]

(I said "no but it might be nice because there 'd be tall!").

Not anymore, I'm afraid. Because of the Western influence on diet, the generations are growing taller. Like in... my height. A friend of mine used to say the same thing, but when he went over in the early 90s, the 'teens and 20-somethings were a half a foot taller than him, and he's 5'6"ish.

[dragonsblog.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, Lady Murasaki was my favorite bit from my Japanese Civilization class in college. My dad recently got back from Japan, I asked what it felt like to be the tallest person around (He's 6'4"). His response was something like "This country wasn't sized for people like me." I'm totally jealous you got to see the exhibit, it sounds really cool. I love the Japanese art aesthetic.

[wendyzski.livejournal.com]

She is almost always depicted sitting at a writing desk on a balcony, gazing at the moon with her writing materials in front of her. They had 2 different prints and a painting of the same scene and it was really interesting to compare them.

I love the look of Heian kimono - that's when the ladies wore twenty layers of lightweight silk kimono (or fewer with fake undersleeves and collars) and a lot of attention was paid to how the colors harmonized. I have no idea how you could actually DO anything other than sit around and be pretty (How on earth did they pee?)

My interest in japanese culture is pretty specific - I'm very interested in the culture of geisha and the courtesans and entertainers they came from. I have a small but detailed collection of books on them, and in addition to being interested in their clothing and arts I also find the women themselves fascinating - how they practically have their own society of women