Whisper from TOTORO

When Higashiyama entered Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music (department of Japanese painting) in 1926, there was Tanaka Isson as his classmate. After a few month, Tanaka quit the university though.
Tanaka Isson (田中一村) is also a painter of Japanese painting. After he quit the univ, he couldn't join the mainstream of Japanese art world. While he was alive, he couldn't get wealth and fame unlike Higashiyama Kaii.

When he was 50 years old, he traveled to Amami island. He was enchanted by exotic atmosphere of the southern island and decided to live in. There he worked as a craftworker of silken fabric. He worked 5 years with saving money and after 3 years of it he painted the tropical landscapes and plants of the island. He repeated the cycle till he died in 69 years old. However he couldn't paint so many. Remember, the material of Japanese painting is very expensive. He died of heart attack in 1977 in lonely and poverty.

In 1984, NHK broadcasted a program about him and his pictures. It got a great response and Tanaka immediately became famous. Now he is one of the most popular Japanese painting artists. I visited a exhibition of his art some years ago. The museum was so crowded of visters.

I didn't have much interest in Japanese painting. It is sometimes academc or stereotyped and bored. However, when I watched the NHK program in 1984, I was stunned to see the picture titled "adan"

upper: part of "Amami no mori"(Amami forest)

middle: "adan" Adan is a kind of tropical fruit

lower: Tanaka Isson

I visited a Buddhist temple near by.
My neighbour died and the memorial service was held there.
Basically, we don't even go to the temples except for funerals or memorial services.


At the temple, I saw a new gravestone. The person of this gravestone seems to have died in 19 years old.
People offer many things at the grave. These toys evoke us the person died too young.




small carp streamer, dwarf
transparent imitation of Mickey mouse...







Totoro
Totoro is a kind of ghost. It isn't so strange Totoro is here.










Chip (Beauty and Beast)







These are old gravestones. About 200 years ago.

The cherry blossom season of this year has gone. Cherry-blossom viewing is one of the biggest event for Japanese. Everyone must go to see it.

upper: from "Byousoku 5 cm" by Shinkai Makoto.

middle and lower: cherry blossom around my place.

Cherry blossom usually doesn't seem pink but just white, though it is often painted as pink like the upper picture.
This kind of cherry tree is called Someiyoshino.
Most of cherry trees in Japan are the clone from one original of Someiyoshino produced by crossing in 19th century.
So Someiyoshino can't be grown with its seed.　All of Someiyoshino are grown from cuttings.

The movie "Australia" was released in this February in Japan. We hear it is the highest-grossing film in Australia. I didn't watched it because the nearest theater of me didn't play it.
I'll watch it on DVD when it's released.
This movie got a lot of bad reputation on internet in Japan.
For example, there can be seen a lot of reviews in Yahoo movie review site. Many say this is a vicious anti-Japanese movie.
The below is one of the typical opinion.
------------------------------
Too terrible.
I can't recommend it to youth from a educational standpoint.
I once lived in Australia and it's one of my favorite country. But this movie isn't acceptable. I'm not a super patriot but can't ignore some fabricated historical facts.
Of course, movies are usually fiction though but needed a minimal level of historical authenticity. I couldn't find any sincerity about it in this movie.
In the real history of Australia, White slaughtered Aborigines and forced exodus them to desert. Those were malicious abusing human rights with few equals in history. This movie completely ignores it but depicts Japanese military as symbol of evil.
In the history, Japanese navy attacked Austrian air base and ships but didn't make landing. So they didn't battle on the land and never could slaughter Aborigines.
That slaughter scene is not only different from historical fact but also a cruel hoax......(skip)....
-------------------------------
Of course, there are many reviews that give highly rating. Some professional movie critic says like this---"I don't think the producers have malicious intent. Maybe they are just ignorant. Their treating about Aborigines shows it......."

Anyway Japanese military often appears as baddie in foreign movies just like Nazis. Many of Japanese get bored and unpleasant to see such stereotyped plot. On the other hand, "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters from Iwo Jima" showed another viewpoint and had strong persuasive power. In these movies, Japanese soldiers aren't devils or robots but humans just like US soldiers.

pic below: screen shots from "Australia"

Miyazaki depicted one more giant airplane in his recent manga "Kaze tachinu--風立ちぬ--A wind rises"
"Kaze tachinu" depicts the life of Horikoshi Jiro who worked as a airplane designer mainly in 1930s to 1940s. He is famous as the designer of carrier-based fighter Mitsubishi A6M Zero.
At the biginning of this manga, Miyazaki gives 3 pages to Italian airplane designer Caproni despite the manga has only 5 pages in its first issue. Caproni had fame from WW1 to WW2.
Caproni often designed unique planes. Caproni Ca-60 was one of them. Ca-60 was a huge flying boat which has 9 wings and 8 engines. It flied only 90m in its test flight and crushed. The plane sank in the lake Maggiore and the 2 pilots died.

upper:Ca-60 from "Kaze tachinu"
middle:Ca-60
below:Mitsubishi A6M Zero painted by Takani Yoshiyuki(高荷義之)


First half of "Kaze tachinu" was published on a model magazine "Model Graphics" of April issue 2009.
The latter half will be on the May issue.