Tenmyouya Hisashi Essay

Since the Meiji era to our Modern era, Nihonga was changed and Tenmyouya Hisashi created Neo-Nihonga to break out of this rut that Japanese painters have been stuck in and now wants to shake everything up for this new age. Wanting Neo-Hihonga to break free of that structure that Hihonga was given over 120 years ago and create something new and fresh. Tenmyouya Hisashi went as far as to create a whole new style called “BASARA” “which is extravagant as well as extraordinary which embodies a Samurai aesthetic like "Basara" in Nanboku dynasty era and "Kabuki-mono" in the end of Sengoku era. [1]” .One of the people that influenced Hisashi was Taro Okamoto who was born in 1911 but unfortunately he passed away in 1996, Okamoto was a son of a cartoonist. Okamoto had worked as a painter moving on to ceramicist then dabbling at sculpture and then turned to designer and writer in his latter career. Going to art school in 1928 getting a formal Japanese art lessons, then however moving to Europe with his parents where he was surrounded by western art styles that seemed alien to him at the time, but later deciding to learn these style to improve his own. He painted for many years but in 1940’s WWII started which he decided to enter this war after leaving Europe, he returned home to find that many of his paintings and other works were buried in a raid. Okamoto during his later years was a writer and critic this leading to him help create The Night Society which was to explore literature along with avant-garde art styles. Hisashi really like Okamoto’s vision of two versions of Japanese art he said that there are 2 forms, Yayoi-like in which it’s a delicate and graceful pieces of art, while Jomon-like is excessive but yet innovated pieces of work. With Tenmyouya wanting to break free from the current conventional Japanese art style he enjoyed the thought and practice of the Jomon-like style. Due to its excessive nature but also embracing the innovation that it brings, this was the background for BASARA origins. BASRARA also was influenced by street artiest from the end of the Edo period also …show more content…
Edo Era was a strong military run government, highest members of society were the samurai, the knights of Japan, and also leader of the country was named the Shogun. Being a strong lover of the Bushido Code, Hisashi really enjoyed many subjects the Edo Era had to show including the art styles of the street vendors, being this is a time before the western craze hit Japan it was all creative while also being innovating. This is the style that he craved and desired so he created BASARA. The street vendors had no requirement to follow or people to please, also had all the training that they needed and not having to learn a whole new style to pleases all the customers. As soon as the Meiji Era artist were stuck Hisashi saw this as a curse. Artist no longer could make anything that they wanted but instead having to follow the strict rules that western style brought with them. With Edo Era being the last breath of freedom for artiest to make whatever they felt like, the market just stagnated with copies of the same image or feel just done