Sugawara no Michizane (The Poet Sugawara no Michizane), Kobayashi Kiyochika

Archive Label 2003 (version 1):
If one were to choose a single artist to represent the Meiji era, it would probably have to be Kiyochika. (Henry D. Smith)

Kiyochika’s adult life spanned the Meiji period (1868-1912) and his work - diverse in style and subject matter - reflected the contradictions and conflicts of that period of intense political, social and cultural change. Self-taught at a time when artistic lineage was of paramount importance, Kiyochika produced some of the finest traditional woodcuts of the period.

This woodcut is one of a series of historical scenes created in response to public nostalgia for stories of the past and, in an age of mass produced illustrations, for the superb craftsmanship of the finest traditional woodcuts or nishiki-e. The print depicts the 9th century scholar and statesman Sugawara no Michizane (845-903), exiled by the political machinations of the powerful Fujiwara family.

After Michizane’s lonely death at Tsukushi on the island of Kyushu, a series of disasters struck the capital. Believing that they were caused by Michizane’s angry spirit, the emperor posthumously raised the former statesman’s political rank and built a shrine to appease his spirit. Michizane quickly became the patron saint of scholars and even today students flock to his Kitano Shrine before important examinations.

The exquisite rendering of the print serves to remove the subject to an idealized past and remind the viewer of Michizane’s stature as a Shinto deity. Note the almost perfect registration of the many blocks necessary to produce this multi-colored print, the skillful use of shading and the subtle embossing of Michizane’s inner robes.

Archive Label 2003 (version 2):
If one were to choose a single artist to represent the Meiji era, it would probably have to be Kiyochika. (Henry D. Smith)

Japan’s Meiji Period (1868-1912) has only recently come into its own as a dynamic era of art production in the West. Because of the obvious European influences at work in techniques, materials, and subject matter, Western critics have traditionally depicted this period as one of artistic decline.

Recently, the Spencer Museum of Art has felt the lack of high-quality Meiji prints in its own extensive collection of Japanese color woodcuts. It was therefore truly exciting to find a fine example of the work of a major Meiji artist at Print Fair in New York last fall. In Sugawara no Michizane, Kiyochika has combined traditional technical brilliance with Western perspective and shading.

The print depicts the 9th-century scholar and statesman Sugawara no Michizane (845-903), who was exiled by the political machinations of the powerful Fujiwara family. Note the almost perfect registration of the many blocks necessary to produce this multi-colored print, the skillful use of shading, and the subtle embossing of Michizane’s inner robes.
Mary Dusenbury, Cori Sherman

Archive Label date unknown:
Kiyochika was a self-taught artist who came from a family of samurai retainers to the Tokugawa Shogun. Interested in Western as well as traditional Japanese art, Kiyochika experimented with realism, Western-style oil painting, and even designing political cartoons. This color woodcut, however, is done in a traditional manner in response to a public demand for nostalgic views of Japan's romantic past during an intense period of industrialization and cultural change.

Sugawara no Michizane (845-903) was a distinguished scholar and poet and a faithful counselor to the Emperor Uda (ruled 887-897). After the emperor's death, powerful members of the rival Fujiwara family forced the new, young Emperor Daigo (ruled 897-930) to exile the trusted advisor to the southernmost island of Kyūshū, where he died a lonely death. Shortly after Michizane's death, a series of natural disasters struck the country. Fearing that the vengeful spirit of the wronged scholar-poet was causing the destruction, the emperor promoted Michizane posthumously and raised a shrine in his honor. This beautifully executed print combines Western chiaroscuro shading and lighting (for atmospheric effect) with traditional Japanese flat areas of unmodulated color. The detail of the poet's costume with subtle, embossed texture and layers of pattern fully engages the eye.