Higashiyama Kaii: the nature and the four seasons
Higashiyama Kaii (東山魁夷)(1908–1999) is one of most popular modern Japanese artist. According to the Japanese writer, Yasushi Inoue, his paintings are full of universality, breath and depth. Thanks to his paintings he is famous not only in Japan but also overseas; for example, some of his exhibitions were organized in Japan, in China, France and in the west part of Germany.
He is part of the painters who used the Nihon-ga style (日本画, Nihonga, Japanese style painting) during the Shōwa period (昭和時代, Shōwa jidai)(1926–1989).
This style is very particular, slow and archaic. It consists in mixing rock pigments with a solution of animal glue which was heated on a low flame. This method coats of color the grains before they are put on the paper or on the silk. Sometimes the colors are mixed with a pure white obtained from the seashell of clams or oysters after the natural corrosion process. The color gradation depends on the grains sizes. When the artists paint, they use a huge number of brushes of various sizes, thicknesses and lengths. This method helps the painter to paint not too fast and to meditate in front of his work.
Higashiyama with his paintings does not impose his personality, but he tries to analyze and express himself in order to allow his paintings to contain a meaning and an existence. According to his view each painting is the prayer of his heart and after physical and moral suffering they become a habit and at the same time a lifeline; in fact, in one of his essay he states that his paintings are personal and they are based on simple prayers.
Nature
One of the most frequent subjects of his paintings is nature with all its elements. Since he was a child he had a strong bond with nature.
Every summer, early in the morning, his mother used to wake him up in order to climb the Rokkō Mountain (六甲山, Rokkōsan), in Kōbe (神戸). Even if he was only a child, during all his life he has always remembered that his body and his mind were more purified after this experience. He has never forgotten that image and when he went there again after fifty years, he noticed that the view was exactly the same even though that place had been transformed into a little park. After this event, his life was full of several encounters with nature which led him to paint wonderful landscapes and to become a successful painter.
The Four Seasons (春夏秋冬, Shunkashūtō)
When Higashiyama paints his landscapes, he shows nature covered with the colors of the four seasons, immersed in the climate; a communicative and dynamic nature like every day’s life.
During some pilgrimage to Kyōto (京都) in order to represent the various beauties of Japan he decided to paint a work for each seasons. These paintings look like pictures showing how nature reflects the changes of the seasons in a delicate and elegant way.
Autumn (秋, Aki)
In the painting called “Colored leaves”, he represents nature in the autumn season. The main subject of this work is a couple of maple trees (紅葉, momiji) whose leaves are red like copper. They are surrounded by other trees with golden leaves and between them, in the middle, there is the forest with its purple color. All around colors go from yellow to orange or from rust to brown.
The artist uses here a bright and well outlined brushwork which renders the scene harmonic and peaceful. The bright colors change the image of fall from a sad and melancholy season to a moment full of joy. Furthermore, this balance of colors is the same you can see on the kimono (着物) decoration used during a Nō (能) play.
Winter (冬, Fuyu)
In his work called “Rock garden of snow”, Higashiyama shows a garden under the snow. It is winter and the painter depicts on this painting the exact moment when the snow is covering a rock.
The white color is used for the snow and the brown color is used for the rocks and the temple. The brushwork is very delicate and helps to feel the whiteness and the softness of the snow. Moreover, the soft shade of white enshrouds the soul and conveys a sense of quietness and peace.
Spring (春, Haru)
“Flowers Luminous at Night” is one of the most famous and important paintings of Higashiyama Kaii where he painted a cherry tree (桜, sakura), one of the most important symbols in Japan.
In one of his essays he wrote that this painting was a “coincidental encounter”.
That night, while going to Kyōto station (京都駅, Kyōto eki) , he was inspired by the moonlight and the cherry tree he saw earlier that day and he decided to stop at Murayama Park (村山公園, Murayama Koen) where he noticed that in that moment the moon was exactly on top the cherry tree. It was a perfect scene to paint as it seemed like the moon was looking at the cherry tree and the cherry tree was looking back. In that moment he felt as if the light of the lanterns and the emotions of people disappeared leaving the universe to the moon and the cherry tree. This was a lucky day for Higashiyama because the cherry blossom season is not very long and there is a full moon only for one night.
In this work the cherry tree rises up with all its majesty under the moonlight. The colors of the flowers and the moon are very delicate and brilliant. Behind the tree in the background there is a forest which presents a dark color.
Even if the cherry blossom should gladden the heart, here it helps the observer to think that in our life nothing is eternal and the beauty of cherry flowers is just a pure illusion of nature.
Summer (夏, Natsu)
In the painting called “Midsummer” there is a wonderful landscape that Higashiyama painted during a summer day. This image is very evocative and it represents the forest reflected on the lake.
The brushwork used here is very large and at the same time it is very delicate and accurate. The vegetation is the main subject of this work and it shows all the green color gradations. He really loved the green color and he used it often in other paintings.
This work communicates the serenity that Higashiyama was feeling in that moment and it instills peace into the observer. In this landscape summer is the season when nature and people proclaim the joy of a new life.
A walk into the nature
Nature is the main subject of these paintings because in the Japanese culture nature is related to Shintō (神道, the way of the kami) which is a way of thinking that revolves around the kami (神, “gods” or “spirits”), supernatural entities believed to inhabit all things, for example rocks, lakes, trees, and other natural elements that are often present in many of his landscapes. Every subject of these works is full of meanings and symbols which can be caught also from a non Japanese observer.
Walking through the different seasons, even if every landscape may be seen in different ways, it is thanks to the feelings that Higashiyama could express through his paintings that it is possible to admire their real beauty and the delicate balance which exists between nature and human life.
References
Kaii Higashiyama, Watashi no fūkei, Kyūryūdō, Tōkyō, 1999.
“Japan Quarterly” n. 30 vol. 2, Asahi Shinbun, Tōkyō,1983.
