The Clark Center for Japanese Art and Culture

Spring 2005

Drawn from Literature: Narrative Traditions in Japanese Art
Curated by Cordula Treimer, Curatorial Intern 2004-2005

March 29-July 30, 2005
Closed July 26-29

As we welcome the beginning of spring, color and wildlife return to the Lee Center gallery with this year's intern exhibition. Starting with the example of the screen of irises attributed to Sakai Hoitsu, visitors are invited to ask "what is the story that lies hidden behind this or many other themes in Japanese art?" We urge you to explore some of these meanings in this exhibition. On display will be narrative illustrations from the 17th to the 20th century as well as modern books retelling these stories.

Hagoromo, by Kamisaka Sekka
(1866-1942), hanging scroll, ink and colors on silk.
Click here for larger image.

Some themes in Japanese literature were included in the very earliest historical accounts. Since then, they have been retold and reorganized by every generation to be meaningful in everyday life during various periods. The story of the bird maiden, for example, goes back to the 8th century collection of provincial topographies, Fudoki. A group of birds changes into maidens to bathe in a lake. A man steals the feather robe (hagoromo) of the youngest, forcing her to marry him. After many years, she retrieves her gown and returns to the skies, leaving her husband and their children behind. The hanging scroll by Kamisaka Sekka depicts her as the (male) actor in the Noh play “Hagoromo.” In this play the thief is touched by her pleas and returns her gown in exchange for seeing her famously beautiful dance. The folktale “The Crane Wife” gives a different twist to the theme. The crane-maiden marries the man out of gratitude for saving her life from a hunter. The exhibition will include paintings and modern printed children's books relating to this tale.

The classical literature of Japan has been composed and transmitted through the written word. But even if the original script is still available today, the understanding of the works has changed and is reflected in the pictures associated with them. The Tale of Genji, known as the world's first romance and written by a court lady in the early 11th century, was so popular by the 17th century that the chapters could be rearranged on a screen without losing their narrative significance. The way scenes are distributed and divided by golden clouds in one of the highlighted works of the exhibition is visually very effective and invites a closer look. To facilitate the understanding of the featured art and literature, the exhibition introduces some of the major protagonists of these stories: there are the poor man and the warrior, the beauty and the ghost, the thunder god and the demon. Some of their stories continue to be reprinted and retold even today and supplementary modern book versions will be available for browsing through in the gallery.

The Lee Center offers each of its curatorial interns the opportunity to curate one exhibition during the course of the 12-month internship. The current intern, Cordula Treimer, reveals her interest in narrative illustration and the historical reception of traditional literary and folk themes through her selections for this exhibition. In particular, her choice to highlight the story of the "Crane Wife" reflects her close study of the subject as the topic of her master's thesis research.

Gallery hours: Tuesday through Saturday 1-5 pm.
Admission: $5 for adults, $3 for students with valid ID. Children 12 and under free.

Weekly docent tours are held Saturdays at 1pm and guided group tours can be arranged by calling the Center in advance at 559.582.4915.

This exhibition receives promotional support from Valley Public Television.

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