| Title: |
Calendar for January 1968 (Japanese Holidays & Festivals: Oshogatsu, Seijin No Hi, & Tondo Matsuri) |
| Artist: |
Serizawa, Keisuke (Shizuoka, Japan, 1895 - 1984) |
| Date: |
1967-1968 |
| Medium: |
Original Hand-Stenciled Dye Print |
| Publisher: |
Keisuke Serizawa Workshop, Shizuoka, Japan |
| Note: |
Keisuke Serizawa: A world famous designer, painter, illustrator, dyer and book and print maker, Keisuke Serizawa attracted international attention as early as 1925 for his distinctive Kataezome (Katazome) style, combining Japanese dyeing techniques with those of Okinawan bingata. This he applied with equal success to kimono and fabric patterns, wall hangings, paintings, fans and original prints. Above all, Serizawa became a leading artist of ‘Mingei’ -- which in Japanese generally means folk art. Calendar for January 1968 (Japanese Holidays & Festivals: Oshogatsu, Seijin No Hi, & Tondo Matsuri) is of course a fine example of Serizawa’s Mingei. |
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Shortly after the end of World War II, Keisuke Serizawa instituted his own workshop and teaching studio in his native city of Shizuoka. His reputation continued to spread and he received the highest award for any artist in 1956 when he was designated a “Living National Treasure” by the Emperor of Japan. After Serizawa’s death in 1984 the Tohoku Fukushi University in Sendai, Tohoku District, constructed a museum comprised solely of Serizawa’s art. The Serizawa Keisuke Art & Craft Museum now contains over 200 examples of this artist’s fabric patterns and wall hangings and about one thousand examples of his paper dyeing workshop productions such as original prints, fans and calendars. |
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The art of Keisuke Serizawa has been exhibited world wide. In the United States his art has been exhibited thus far in two major one man exhibitions. The first took place in 1979 at the Mingei International Museum in San Diego and was entitled, “Keisuke Serizawa: A Living National Treasure of Japan”. In 1998, the Riverside Municipal Museum, Riverside, California, launched a major retrospective of his art entitled, “The Art of Keisuke Serizawa”. |
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An important production of Serizawa’s workshop was the annual calendars which he created from the late 1950’s to the early 1980’s. Each of these calendars contained thirteen original prints, one for each month and a frontis-piece design. "January 1968" was the first printed as a dye print design for the 1968 calendar and clearly represents a beautiful and original example of the folk art of Keisuke Serizawa. |
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Japanese Holidays & Festivals in January (New Year’s Day ‘Oshogatsu,’ The Coming of Age Ceremony ‘ Seijin No Hi’, & The Fire Festival ‘Tondo Matsuri’): In Japan, there are many holidays and festivals (matsuri) or events that take place during the year, especially since almost every shrine has its annual local festival to celebrate their deity. One of the most important elements in Japanese festivals are the processions or the parade of floats (yata) carrying and displaying their local shrine through the town. Some of these rituals are modest, others are massive bringing together millions of people. Japanese festivals are often accompanied by traditional local music and dance, and with participants wearing some of the most beautiful traditional garments representing various time periods. Some events are loud and boisterous with fantastic fireworks while others are quiet and meditative. One of the most important things to keep in mind is the ability of the Japanese people to maintain their traditional beliefs. The Japanese government has officially declared fifteen national holidays. The new law holds that if any of those holidays fall on a Sunday, the following Monday is also taken off. The following includes just a few festivals that are held in the month of January. |
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Oshogatsu: Oshogatsu: New Year’s Day (oshogatsu) also known as (ganjitsu), January 1st is the most important national holiday in Japan lasting several days and everything is closed until the 3rd of January. The arrival of the New Year is announced by ringing the bells in Buddhist temples 108 times. Not surprisingly, one of the busiest places in Japan on this day is the Shinto Shrine, a place where people go to buy their new Dharma dolls, and pray for health and prosperity for the coming year. However, many people spend oshogatsu in the comfort of their homes with their families. Oshogatsu is an event typically lasting three days, sometimes more. It is a time for Japanese people to treat themselves to culinary delights especially prepared for the New Year’s holiday. Starting on New Year’s Eve with the traditional long fine good luck noodles called (toshikoshi soba). It is usually followed by many other traditional dishes such as o-zone (a soup containing rice cakes, & sometimes vegetables and other ingredients, also considered a national dish of the New Year festival). A few other unique dishes prepared for this feast include marinated herring roe, boiled konbu (seaweed), fish cakes kurikinton (mashed sweet potato with chestnut), ebi (shrimp) and other delicacies specifically prepared for this culinary ritual, all of which are meant to bring good luck, health and or fortune in the new year. The traditional colors in Japan for oshogatsu are red and white, decorations include the kadomatsu, an ornament made from pine, bamboo, sometimes with a freshly cut plum branch. It is placed at the front door of shops and homes, much like we do with our Christmas wreath. However, the kadomatsu is meant to ward off evil, bless the home and provide good luck. Pine symbolizes longevity, the bamboo signifies honesty and sincerity, and the plum branch symbolizes new life or new beginning. Keisuke Serizawa has included an illustration of the kadomatsu ornament in the upper portion of this original hand stenciled dye print. |
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Seijin No Hi: The Coming of Age Ceremony sometimes called Adult Day ‘Seijin No Hi’ is an annual tradition that has been celebrated in Japan for centuries but did not become a legal public holiday until 1948. It is the first holiday after the New Year’s Day and is now held on the second Monday of January. It commemorates the coming of age, a ceremony in honor of all young people who have just or will turn twenty and become of legal age that year. On this day, the young adults dress up, however, many young men prefer to wear suits now, others still dress in traditional kimono, especially the girls. They often visit a shrine, or attend a municipal ceremony and later the young adults get together and enjoy their new found freedom. |
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Tondo Matsuri: Around the second weekend of January, many communities hold a fire festival called tondo matsuri. It is part of Koshogatsu which means (small New Year). Today, the rituals are held in the grounds of shrines and in public spaces, such as Sorasaya-jinja Shrine, Tosho-gu Shrine, Futaba-no-sato shrine, schools and wide riverbanks. They create a spectacular bonfire and ritually burn and bless all the New Year’s decorative offerings and ornaments such as the kadomatsu (wreaths), children’s calligraphy papers, arrows, and an assortment of decorations that people purchased or made the previous year with the expectation of receiving good fortune and or warding off evil. It is believed that the smoke brings good fortune in the coming year, however, they say the highlight of the festival is the roasting of rice cakes (bake mocha) and drinking warm sake. It is important to note that daruma or dharma dolls are (not) often burnt during the Tondo ceremony. There is a special ceremony that takes place once a year, just after New Year’s Day, in the early part of February where some temples hold a traditional Daruma burning ceremony called a (Daruma Kuyo). This is where people can take their old Daruma dolls and replace them with new ones. It is the recommended way to dispose of your lucky talismans if you wish to keep your good fortune. Daruma dolls are a form of good luck charm or talismans, often purchased for personal use or as gifts for special occasions, such as births, weddings, birthdays new years and a variety of other reasons. |
| Size: |
14 X 11 1/8 (Sizes in inches are approximate, height preceding width of plate-mark or image.) |
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Matted with 100% Archival Materials |
| Buy Now |
Price: $195.00 US |
| Condition: |
Printed upon hand-made mulberry (rice) paper and with full margins as published by the Keisuke Serizawa workshop in 1967-1968. A finely printed, full color impression and in excellent condition throughout. "Calendar for January 1968 (Japanese Holidays & Festivals: Oshogatsu, Seijin No Hi, & Tondo Matsuri) is a fine, original example of the famous Mingei art of Keisuke Serizawa. |
| Subject: |
Keisuke Serizawa, "Calendar for January 1968 (Japanese Holidays & Festivals: Oshogatsu, Seijin No Hi, & Tondo Matsuri)", New Year’s Day (Oshogatsu), The Coming of Age Ceremony (Seijin No Hi), & The Fire Festival (Tondo Matsuri), original hand-stenciled dye print, Mingei, Japanese folk art, Riverside Municipal Museum, Riverside, California, Shizuoka, Serizawa Keisuke Art & Craft Museum, annual calendars. |
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