For almost four hundred years (794-1185), while Europe was mired in the dark ages, Japan enjoyed a cultural explosion. During this era, learning from China reached its peak, while Japan also developed its own distinctive forms of art, literature, and architecture. The society was extremely non-egalitarian, but for the lucky tiny minority this must have seemed a most civilised time.
The era remains a popular one as a subject for art - most notably in scenes from Murasaki Shikibu's Tale of Genji, written in around 1000 AD, and said to be the world's first novel. Note the fashion indicators of the time: the high eyebrows, the (very) long hair, and the sumptuous kimonos...
|
With a huge full moon as backdrop, Kaguyahime ("Princess of the shining night") has a pensive look. The story of which she is heroine, the "Bamboo cutter's tale", dates back a thousand years, to the great cultural flowering that was the Heian period. In the story, she was found as a tiny baby inside a bamboo trunk.
As we see, a beauty of that time wore her eyebrows high, and her hair exceedingly long. She also spared no expense on her kimono.
Good articles at Wikipedia:
The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter -
Heian period
The painter Ozuma Kaname was born in 1939, in Niigata. He studied traditional Japanese art, and his pictures are generally based on traditional themes.
Ozuma is his family name: he signs paintings with the single character of his given name only.
 In stock
An Appleone puzzle: 1000 pieces; 75 x 50 cm (30" x 20")
Code: A10339 (1000-339 on box)
Retail price ¥3600 (approx. US$37.89 €29.03 £24.49)
Shipping from ¥1200 (N. America, Europe, Australasia: approx. US$12.63 €9.68 £8.16)
Buy this puzzle
Add to basket
All about ordering (please read first)
|
© Kagaya
Kaguyahime ("Princess of the shining night") gazes into the moonlit night. The story of which she is heroine, the "Bamboo cutter's tale", dates back a thousand years, to the great cultural flowering that was the Heian period. In the story, she was found as a tiny baby inside a bamboo trunk.
In Kagaya's version extra colour is provided by a scattering of brilliant red maple leaves, and the almost dazzling light of the moon puts the figure in near-silhouette.
Good articles at Wikipedia:
The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter -
Heian period
Born in Saitama (just north of Tokyo) in 1968, Kagaya spent his childhood in wonderment of the stars in the sky, and never stopped painting them. He has had a successful career as an illustrator for astronomical books and magazines, and many of his works have been turned into jigsaw puzzles, among other products. Since 1996, he has worked exclusively in the digital medium, using a Macintosh. Perhaps that is why he does not appear to sign his pictures.
He goes by his family name; his given name appears to be Yutaka, but in English you will also find him called Joh Kagaya (Jô is the Chinese reading of his name).
 This is a glow-in-the-dark puzzle.
In stock
A Yanoman puzzle: 1000 pieces; 50 x 75 cm (20" x 30")
Code: Y101156 (10-1156 on box)
Retail price ¥3900 (approx. US$41.05 €31.45 £26.53)
Shipping from ¥1000 (N. America, Europe, Australasia: approx. US$10.53 €8.06 £6.80)
Buy this puzzle
Add to basket
All about ordering (please read first)
|
© Epoch
A head-on view of one of the most famous temples in Kyoto: the reflection makes for an interesting puzzle. The building, which appears in the design on a 10-yen coin in this view, is the Amida Hall, more familiarly known as the Phoenix Hall, after the birds perched on top of the central roof.
Mark Schumacher has an interesting page on the phoenix, including closeups of the birds on roof of this temple.
This puzzle has smaller pieces than the standard size. In stock
An Epoch puzzle: 1518 pieces; 102 x 34 cm (40" x 13")
Code: E18025 (18-025 on box)
Retail price ¥3000 (approx. US$31.58 €24.19 £20.41)
Shipping from ¥1100 (N. America, Europe, Australasia: approx. US$11.58 €8.87 £7.48)
Buy this puzzle
Add to basket
All about ordering (please read first)
|
|
A head-on view of one of the most famous temples in Kyoto: the reflection makes for an interesting puzzle. The building, which appears in the design on a 10-yen coin in this view, is the Amida Hall, or more familiarly the Phoenix Hall, after the birds perched on top of the central roof.
Mark Schumacher has an interesting page on the phoenix, including closeups of the birds on roof of this temple.
In stock
An Epoch puzzle: 1000 pieces; 75 x 50 cm (30" x 20")
Code: E10535 (10-535 on box)
Retail price ¥2500 (approx. US$26.32 €20.16 £17.01)
Shipping from ¥1200 (N. America, Europe, Australasia: approx. US$12.63 €9.68 £8.16)
Buy this puzzle
Add to basket
All about ordering (please read first)
|
