The Japan Society Review 58
Book, Stage, Film, Arts and Events Review

Issue 58 Volume 10 Number 4 (August 2015)

Contents
1)

Obtaining Images: Art Production and Display in Edo
Japan by Timon Screech

2)

Vessels of Influence: China and the Birth of Porcelain inMedieval and Early Modern Japan
by Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere

3)

Throne of Blood directed by Akira Kurosawa

4)

Interview with Yuriri Naka

Reviewers
Hugh Cortazzi and Mike Sullivan(Image: Imari Kakiemon porcelain bowl, Imari, Japan, circa 1640.
Photo: World Imaging, taken at the Sevres Museum)Obtaining Images:
Art Production
and Display in Edo
Japan
by Timon Screech
Redaktion Books (2012)
ISBN: 978 186189 8142
Review by
Hugh Cortazzi
Professor
Timon
Screech is Professor in
the History of Art at the
School of Oriental andAfrican Studies (SOAS), University of London, and is aJapanese art expert who has made a particular studyof the art of Tokugawa Japan.
Obtaining Images is a scholarly study of painting
in the Edo or Tokugawa period. During the twoand a half centuries between the beginning of theseventeenth century and the re-opening of Japan to
the West shortly after the middle of the nineteenth
century Japanese artists produced paintings which areamong the finest anywhere in the world. Screech’sbook not only analyses the factors which influenced
Japanese artists but also provides a historical surveyof the large number of different styles and schools ofJapanese painting. It is full of fascinating insights andwill be invaluable to all who want to know more about
and understand Japanese art at its apogee.
In his introduction Screech reminds his readersthat paintings were not only important for their visual
impact. They also reflected the status of their owners
and of the painters themselves. Screech accordingly
devotes the first part of his book to a discussion of ‘themechanisms of artistic production and display.’His first chapter is entitled ‘Legends of the Artists’in which, among other legends, he exposes the mythof the ‘Superlative Painter.’ Chapter Two entitled‘Auspicious Images’ reviews the traditional themes sooften found in Japanese paintings such as dragons,
kara-shishi (唐獅子, Chinese lions), kirin (麒麟, horse
dragon) and the hōō (鳳凰, phoenix). Leopards andtigers were not found in Japan but were depicted for
instance in a famous screen by Sanraku Kano (狩野 山楽), where Screech explains that the two animals wereregarded as ‘he and she tigers.’
He explains various conceits used by Japanesepainters such as those reflected in figures 1 and 2:
2

The next chapter on buying and selling begins
by describing the six standard painting formats –hand scrolls, albums, hanging scrolls (kakemono, 掛物) which included diptyches and triptychs, screens
which might be single leaf or folding, sliding screens(fusuma, 襖) and fans (sensu and uchiwa, 扇). Screech
goes on to give some fascinating insights into social
mores in Tokugawa Japan. He points out that statuscarried with it obligations when it came to buying andgiving away pictures. Some painters e.g. of the Kano
school received official salaries and were regarded
as the elite. Their ‘ateliers would not entertain
commissions from commoners’ (page 82). ‘Especially

Figure 1. Mōkari (culling reeds) is a pun on
the word mōkaru (儲かる, make money)in this early 19th century painting by Ippō
Mori (森一鳳)
Issue 58 Volume 10 Number 4 (August 2015)

found today in Kyoto temples such as the Chionin (知恩院) and Nishi Honganji (西本願寺0 in Kyoto.
In part two Screech provides an informative
survey of the different schools of painting in the Edo
period. He starts with an account of the Kano school.
He notes that Tan’yū Kano (狩野 探幽) who arrived in
Edo in 1622 was given formal military rank and ‘they
ran their ateliers with the punctiliousness of all othershogunal officers’ (page 138). The Kano school was‘part of the government.’ They had their own secrettext book setting out ‘their ideologies and values, its
categories of subject matter, its historical lore and its
protocols and pedigrees’ (page 139).
The Kano school did not change with the times.
They were forbidden to adapt.

Figure 2. Pines (shō [松] is the on reading of matsu(pine) and carp (ri [鯉] is the on reading of koi (carp).
The two combined would read shōri (松鯉) which
written with different characters means ‘victory’ (勝利). Painting by Ōkyo Maruyama (円山 応挙).

prickly were the gentlemen amateurs like Taiga andBuson’ who saw themselves as samurai. As such they
could not demean themselves to become involved incommercial transactions.
Screech in the final chapter of part 1 entitled ‘The
Power of the Image’ deals with religious art, which in
the Edo period meant Buddhist paintings and images.
This enables him to discuss such significant Edo era
sculptors as Enku. He notes that a great deal of secular
painting was preserved in temples which tended to bebetter preserved than secular buildings, Some of thefinest Kano school screen paintings are indeed to be

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Screech deals next with portraiture where theJapanese approach differed greatly from the European.
There was ‘no thirst for portraits of people to whom
one was not in some way connected’ (page 167). In
Tokugawa Japan visitors to the shogun did not lookat him but kept their eyes down to the floor. Portraits
tended to be commissioned when an individual
was approaching death. They generally showed thesitter ‘looking to the left, that is, their right. The most
honoured position was facing south, looking towards
the sun and important people routinely sat that way.
Since a portrait should be treated like the person,
respect demanded it be hung on a north wall.’ It wasrare for a portrait to show the sitter other than in aformal posture. Bunchō Tani’s (谷 文晁) posthumous
3

portrait below of Kenkadō Kimura (木村蒹葭堂) whichshows him smiling and in the act of talking is an
exception to the general practise.
The next chapter is entitled perhaps rather oddly‘Japanese Painting’. It deals firstly with the Tosa school
which was associated with the court and ‘concentrated
on Heian poems and tales, and the birds and flowersthat appear in them.’ Kōetsu, Sōtsu, Kōrin Ogata(尾形光琳) and Hōitsu, often considered membersof a separate Rimpa school are covered in separate
subsections of this chapter.
Chapter Eight is entitled ‘Painting within theHeart’. This covers the literati painters and explains
what is meant by nanga (南画, southern paintings).
This style had no geographical connotations, butrather denoted the way in which the painter depicted
his subjects. Landscapes and even flowers and trees
were not depictions of real scenes but were imaginary
from ‘within the breast.’ Within this chapter Screech
also covers the Ōkyo Maruyama (円山 応挙) and Shijōschools and Jakuchū Itō (伊藤 若冲).

Kōkan Shiba: Birds in a Winter Landscapelate 18th century

Chapter nine is entitled ‘Floating World (ukiyo)’.
Screech explains that in the Yoshiwara (red light
district) and the theatre, which were central to the‘floating world,’ the rigid class distinctions of Edo
Japan became blurred and the classes mixed. This4

chapter covers aspects of ukiyo-e, but is not intended
as a history of the art of the Japanese print which
impressed western observers and artists so much in
the nineteenth century. Even so it seems a little odd
that such an outstanding artist as Sharaku (Tōshūsai)(東洲斎 写楽) is not mentioned.
The final chapter is devoted to a discussion ofartistic contacts with the West where perhaps the mostwell known Japanese artist who reflected western
influences was Kōkan Shiba (司馬 江漢). His picture ofbirds in a winter landscape with a western city in the
background is shown on the back cover of this volume.
Western influences also had an impact on ukiyo-e
as can be seen in this charming print by Harunobu
Suzuki (鈴木 春信) showing a girl looking surprised tosee the shadow cast by her umbrella:

In such a lavishly produced book I was surprisedthat no Japanese characters were included. In the pastwhen type had to be set by hand it was understandable
that Japanese characters were eschewed, but there isno difficulty these days in introducing characters intobooks in English. I would have particularly welcomed
the printing of the names of Japanese artists inJapanese characters. They could also have been usedbeneficially for students with some knowledge of theJapanese language when Japanese poems are quoted.
Screech excuses the fact that his book does notcover calligraphy, but it would in my view have added
to the value of this work if it had included even abrief chapter on the great calligraphers of Edo Japan.

Issue 58 Volume 10 Number 4 (August 2015)

Calligraphy was such an important feature of Japanese
ink painting.
Screech refers briefly to such popular pictures as
Otsu-e, but his book is primarily about ‘high art’ andhe has not been able to devote space to picture books
which became so popular in Edo Japan.
The book does not claim to be a history of Edo
art but only of images produced in the Edo period,
but the frontiers of art especially in Japan merge soeasily that imagery becomes important not merely forlacquer ware, briefly mentioned in the context of Kōrin
Ogata (page 223), but also for the hugely importantfield of Japanese ceramics.
This book is already a lengthy one and it would bewrong to make too much of what it does not cover andindeed does not claim to cover. Every serious studentof Japanese art will want to read and to possess a copyof this important and informative book, if only in order
to be able to consult it as necessary.§

Vessels of Influence: China and the
Birth of Porcelain in Medieval and
Early Modern Japan
by Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere
Bristol Classical Press (2012)
One Peace Books (2015)
ISBN: 9780715634639
Review by Hugh Cortazzi
Professor Rousmaniere, research director at the
Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts
and Cultures (SISJAC) in Norwich, has specialized
in the study of Japanese ceramics. She has recently
completed a new and comprehensive catalogue ofJapanese porcelain in the British Museum which islikely to be published early in 2013. This will not only
describe the Museum’s Japanese porcelain, but also
provide an overview of Japanese porcelain and its
history. Nicole Rousmaniere gave the Toshiba lecturesin London and Norwich on Japanese porcelain in
November 2012. These were copiously illustrated
with some rare and fascinating slides. I hope that indue course these lectures and the illustrations whichaccompanied them will be published.
Vessels of Influence is a scholarly study basedon Professor Rousmaniere’s experiences in Japanworking with Japanese scholars of ceramics and on acareful study of the relevant literature in Japanese andLatest reviews: www.japansociety.org.uk/resources/reviews/

English. It is informative and will be a valuable source
for all who are interested in Japanese ceramics.
The terminology used in describing Japaneseceramics is often confusing. Professor Rousmaniere
explains that the English classification system of
dividing ceramics into three types – earthenware,stoneware and porcelain – does not translate easily
into comparable terms in Japanese. ‘Stoneware is used
to refer to a ceramic that has a semi-vitrified body(non-porous) and is fired at the high temperature ofat least 1200 degrees centigrade.’ Japanese refer tothese wares as tōki or sekki. ‘Porcelain is a fully vitrified
ware with a whitish body that is transparent after firingwhen thinly potted’ at temperatures of between 1250
and 1400 degrees centigrade. In Japanese these wares
are termed jiki, but confusingly Japanese often use theterm tōjiki (陶磁器) when speaking of vitrified wares.
Nicole Rousmaniere describes the way in which
Chinese wares came, largely through the tea ceremony,
to hold such an important place in Japanese eyes andthus inspired the development of a Japanese porcelainindustry. She notes that Japanese made pots many
thousands of years ago and that Japan had plentiful
supplies of clay suitable for the making of ceramics
including porcelain. Yet porcelain making in Japan
really only began some four hundred years ago.
She also reviews the various arguments about
the extent to which the development of Japanese
porcelain can be attributed to the import of Koreanpotters into Japan following the Japanese invasionof Korea in the late sixteenth century in what havebeen called the ‘pottery wars.’ She concludes thatwhile Korean potters played a significant part in thedevelopment there were other important factors.
With the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate
the country was largely at peace and with improved
prosperity and better communications there was anincreased demand for luxury goods including porcelain
from China (China ware as we in the west still often
call porcelain). Trade with China, which had continued
for centuries although with interruptions, expanded.
A major Japanese export was silver and Chinese
ceramics were a significant Japanese import. But as
the Ming Empire began to collapse Chinese ceramic
production declined and exports were interrupted.
This created an important incentive for Japanese
production of porcelain. Initially Japanese porcelain
wares followed closely Chinese designs and for someyears often carried Chinese reign marks. As Professor
Rousmaniere points out ‘early Japanese porcelain was
initially import substitution’ but by the latter part of5

the seventeenth century it had developed Japanesecharacteristics and a life of its own.
Japanese porcelain seems to have originatedin the Saga area of Kyushu and to have derived fromwares produced in Karatsu. It was first fired in the
Arita area of Saga in the 1610s and became known as
Hizen domain porcelain (Hizen jiki, 肥前磁器), but suchwares are termed imari (伊万里) by the Tokyo National
Museum and arita (有田) by the Idemitsu Museum.
Kakiemon (柿右衛門) is regarded as a sub-group.
Other domains tried to emulate Saga, but ‘theimmensely costly and natural-resource-depleting
industry proved difficult to sustain’ and it was not
until well into the eighteenth century that porcelain
producing kilns developed in other parts of Japan.
Kutani ware (九谷焼), which came to be producedin the Kaga fief around Kanazawa, was produced
initially in the Hizen area of Kyushu.
Arita was part of the Nabeshima fief, whichattempted in the first part of the seventeenth century
to establish a monopoly of porcelain productionin thirteen kilns. These were enclosed by two
guardhouses and encircled by three mountains. They
benefitted from access to supplies of suitable clay inthe neighbourhood. The Nabeshima daimyo, who had
obligations to the Tokugawa, found that porcelain
wares produced in their domain were welcomepresents which helped to cement their relations with
their feudal overlords. Porcelain produced for presents
and other uses by the Nabeshima family form a distinct
type of imari.

Throne of Blood
directed by Akira
Kurosawa
1957, 110 minutes
Shown as part of theFilm4 Summer Screen
2013 at Somerset House
on a rare 35mm version ofthis classic movie.
Review by Mike Sullivan

Throne of Blood, a 1957
classic by Akira Kurosawa,
was shot on and around Mt Fuji, some scenes including
the castle courtyard was shot in a Tokyo studio while
the scenes in Washizu’s mansion were shot in the Izu
peninsula. For Washizu’s famous death scene actual
6

Porcelain was an important Japanese export
through the Dutch factory at Deshima in Nagasaki bay
during the Tokugawa era and remained a significant
element in Japanese exports after the ‘re-opening’of Japan to the West in the middle of the nineteenth
century. The differences between Japanese porcelain
made for the home market and wares produced forexport led to some acrimonious arguments between
western experts.
The title Vessels of Influence is justified by
the importance given to Chinese ceramics in thedevelopment of Japanese ceramic aesthetics, but it
does not fully convey the wider purport of this book.
I hope that this interesting and valuable study
will be followed not only by illustrated texts of her
three lectures and her account of Japanese ceramics
inspired by the British museum collection of some
3,500 pieces, but will also lead to another copiously
illustrated volume depicting the different types ofJapanese porcelain thus helping western collectors toappreciate the differences between ko-imari and (古伊万里) ko-kutani (古九谷), recognize typical kakiemon
designs and styles, and appreciate the wares produced
for use by the Nabeshima daimyo. It would also be
helpful in such a book to reproduce examples of thecopies which were made in Europe in the eighteenth
century of Japanese porcelain. I recall in this context
the fine ‘Porcelain for Palaces’ exhibition at the British
Museum in the late 1980s in which for instance anoriginal early piece of Kakiemon was shown alongsidea piece made in the short-lived Chelsea factory.§archers fired real arrows around him, this is in stark
contrast to the fake special effects that we are used toseeing in movies today.
Throne of Blood is an interpretation of
Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the story is focused around
Washizu who is a general for the lord of spider web
castle. After hearing a prophecy that he would become
master of a mansion, and later lord of spider web
castle, a series of events are set off, this would result in
the prophecies becoming true, but through blood anddeath. The movie brings together forest spirits, traitors,
deceit and war into a powerful conclusion.
Washizu and his best friend Miki are commanders
for the lord of spider web castle, Tsuzuki. During a rebellion against Tsuzuki they successfully turn the tideof war and bring victory for Tsuzuki who then summons them to the castle. As they pass through spider
Issue 58 Volume 10 Number 4 (August 2015)web forest they lose their way and encounter a forest
spirit. Taking the form of an old lady the spirit foretellsthat Washizu will become master of a mansion andeventually lord of spider web castle, while Miki will become commander of Fort One but that his son will one
day become lord of the castle.
As per the prophecies both men move up in rank,
however amidst the peace of living in their new mansion Washizu is manipulated by his wife Asaji who fills
his head with fear that Miki will tell lord Tsuzuki of theprophecy and they will die. By chance Tsuzuki visits
them while on a hunting trip, as he is being guarded
by a different lord’s guards Asaji persuades Washizu
that this is the perfect moment to kill their lord, blame
it on someone else and take control of spider web castle. The previous master of the mansion had committed suicide and as Tsuzuki is staying in their bedroom
at this point in the story they are staying in the room
where the previous lord had died. The blood stains
couldn’t be washed off and as they speak the blood in
the background adds to the tension of the moment.
Asaji drugs the guards with a drink and then pushes ona reluctant Washizu to murder his lord. Upon returning
to his room, bloody spear in hand, he slumps to theground in shock. His wife quickly takes the spear andInterview with Yuriri Naka
by Mike Sullivan
The film All That Remains,featuring the true story of Dr
Takashi Nagai, survivor of theNagasaki nuclear bombing, wasoriginally scheduled for releasein August 2014. After a two-year
delay, the film will be released inspring 2016 and we would like to take this chance topublish this interview conducted with one of its stars
back in June 2014.
When did you first know you wanted to become an actress?
For as long as I remember, I’d always wanted to
become an actress. Maybe I was inspired by sometheatre productions that my mother used to take meto when I was little. Also I was in a local choir where
we did lots of musicals, and I was always given a pretty
good role, which I enjoyed very much.

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places it in the hands of an unconscious guard before
screaming murder.
The framed lord Noriyasu along with Tsuzuki’s
son Kunimaru raise up an army to fight Washizu whothey both suspect of murdering Tsuzuki, however, they
are unsuccessful and when they retreat to spider web
castle, which at this point is under the control of Miki,they are turned away and have to flee for their lives.
Miki opens the gates to Washizu under the pretencethat he is bringing the murdered lord’s body home,
however in actual fact both know who killed Tsuzuki
and who will now be lord of spider web castle.
As events, as well as his own traitorous actions,bear down on Washizu he starts to become unstable,
the continued manipulation by his wife starts an internal struggle within him as she gradually turns him
against his best friend Miki. He begins to be haunted byghosts and gradually turns against all of his supporters
until his castle becomes deserted apart from his own
troops. When a new rebellion begins it becomes clearthat he is very much alone.
It is a very well woven story which is punctuatedby a stunning performance by Toshiro Mifune (三船敏郎), who plays Washizu, part of the brilliance of thismovie is its timelessness as it continues to appeal toaudiences across the world.§

How do you prepare for an audition?
I learn my lines until I don’t have to think about it. I
imagine the character’s life and create some episodes
that may be relevant to the scenes that I am working
on. Sometimes I think of someone I know that I feel issimilar to the character. After I have worked throughthis process, I try not to think too much about it andhope that the character comes across naturally in myperformance.
What was the first theatre show or film that you ever did?
It was a sight specific performance for Future Cinema
and I played a Japanese schoolgirl from Kill Bill. My
friend who also did the show recently found a photofrom the production and put it up on Facebook. I was
actually quite impressed by how great and perfect welooked!
Do you prefer acting on the stage or in films?
At the moment, I am probably more interested in films,
though I will always have a big love for stage as my
fascination for acting began with the stage. Also my7

training in drama school was mainly in theatre, so I feel
more at home on stage.
What is your most memorable experience so far of arole you have had?
This would probably be the small role (Japanese
Announcer) I had in Speed Racer (2008) because it was
one of the very first acting jobs that I had, and it wasalso a big budget Hollywood film. Sharing a make-up
trailer with film stars was surreal, and the amount ofpeople working on the set was overwhelming. I justremember thinking, ‘This is definitely something that I
would like to come back and do again and again andhopefully each time with a bigger role’.
This spring your next movie, All That Remains a story
about Dr Takashi Nagai a scientific pioneer and asurvivor of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, will be
released. Can you tell us more about your role andabout the movie?
The film is about Dr Takashi Nagai who devoted his life
to helping others often at his own sacrifice. He played
a huge role in rebuilding Nagasaki after the atomic
bomb attack. My role, Tatsue, is a cousin of Dr Nagai’swife. She is a little beauty and a bit coquettish but later
gets severely affected by the bomb both physicallyand emotionally.
Please tell us about your role in the movie 47 Ronin, andhow it felt to be part of a big production featuring somany Japanese actors/actresses as well as Keanu Reeves.
My role, Iku, was a widow and a leader of the survivorsof the village that was attacked by Kira’s army. It was
great to see so many fellow Japanese actors working
on such a big scale production. It was very encouraging
and fun at the same time. I was also touched by thefact that people had a great respect for Japan and its
culture. Even Keanu Reeves was learning Japanese!
What do you think is the biggest challenge to being a
Japanese actress in the UK?
I think getting cast as an interesting and strong
character rather than just filling a stereotype. Even
though it’s apparently getting better, there are still far
fewer opportunities for East Asian actors in comparison
to other ethnic minorities. I hope there will be more
opportunities in the future for everyone regardless of
their race and cultural background.

Your short movie last year, Konnichiwa Brick Lane, wasreally fascinating as it brought together Japan and the
UK with its cast, crew, story and location. Do you think
we can expect more productions like this in the future?
I hope so. The film was great because it represents
London now, how multi-cultural London is and how
people interact with each other in their own uniqueways. People’s feelings are universal especially for loveand friendship, which is why I think the film can reachanyone’s heart.
Have you acted in anything in Japan? What do you
think are the differences between being an actress inJapan and in the UK?
I haven’t worked as an actress in Japan professionally(yet!) so I can’t really say much on this. However, I
do feel that actors are much more appreciated andrespected in UK even if you are not a movie star. People
recognise that actors are needed in society, which isprobably thanks to Shakespeare!
After All That Remains what can we expect to see youin next?
The audio drama, Pathfinder Legends – Rise of the
Runelords: The Skinsaw Murders, in which I play
Ameiko, is due out in May from Big Finish. (http://
www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/rise-of-the-runelordsthe-skinsaw-murders-966)
What are your favourite things about Japan, and yourfavourite things about the UK?
I love Japanese food. Not just traditional food but
also modern food. Every time I go back to Japan, I
am busy eating as much Japanese food as possible!
Though recently there are more Japanese restaurants
in London that serve more than just sushi, which I
am very excited about. I especially appreciate ramen
restaurants as ramen is one of my favourite foods andhard to cook at home.
I like UK’s love for traditions and old things, people
are good at blending old with new to make somethingunique. I love looking at super modern glass buildings
right next to a huge stone classically ornate building
next to a Tudor building with a wonky roof. Pubs arealso great. They are a perfect example of tradition thatstill works in modern life. They make socialising so easy
and very casual. You don’t need to book a table, just go
in, grab a seat and get your drink. It’s just brilliant!§