Snow, Wave, Pine: Traditional Patterns in Japanese Design - Hardcover

Niwa, Motoji

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 4770026897 ISBN 13: 9784770026897

Publisher: Kodansha USA, 2001

Synopsis

An important, but often overlooked, part of the world of Japanese arts and crafts is the array of beautiful, stylized motifs that have traditionally been used to decorate a huge range of objects. Snow, Wave, Pine takes a close look at some of the most classic of those patterns, enabling the reader to recognize and appreciate these motifs wherever they appear, and providing inspiration to anyone interested in design or arts and crafts.

The first half of the book introduces seventy-five important patterns, as depicted on a variety of objects. Seeing the "lotus blossom" or "flowing water" patterns, for instance, on antiques including brocaded kabuki robes, lacquerware trays, and metal sword guards throws into relief the patterns themselves, rather than the objects, making possible a new level of understanding and enjoyment. The informative text describes how each pattern arose, and the significance it had in terms of art, religion, and even politics. The reader has a sense of being empowered to look at any Japanese art, craft or design form with a new and educated eye.

The second half of the book shows a rich and dynamic selection of more than one thousand family crests. Crests are very stylized motifs whose variety and artistry are remarkable. With a minimum of lines, they are able to express the essence of such forms as a pair of facing crows with wings outstretched; the rounded back of a monkey viewed from behind as it sits hunched over, alone; or the elegant single counter-clockwise whorl. Despite being hundreds of years old, they are extremely modern in their sensibility.

Lavishly illustrated with over 450 color plates, and with text and photos alike by experts in the traditional Japanese arts, Snow, Wave, Pine is a treasurehouse of information for anyone interested in design forms or in Japanese culture.

About this title

About the Author

SADAO HIBI is one of Japan's best-known photographers. He has published some thirty books in Japanese in the field of traditional arts over the last two and a half decades. Among his English publications are The Colors of Japan, Infinite Spaces: The Art and Wisdom of the Japanese Garden, Japanese Detail: Architecture, Japanese Detail: Cuisine, and Japanese Detail: Fashion.

MOTOJI NIWA has spent a lifetime researching family names, place names, and family crests. He has written more than eighty titles in Japanese, among them Family Names, Family Lines, Shrine Crests, Temple Crests, On Graves, and The Origin and Beauty of Family Crests.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

PREFACE

Traditional Japanese patterns are an important part of the fabric of life in Japan.

Patterns continue to thrive amid modernization and westernization. Nowadays they are used to decorate not only such traditional items as kimono, but also all manner of Western-style clothing or tableware. Essentially there are very few everyday, familiar objects that are not sometimes patterned with these traditional designs. Even today, they remain an indispensable part of life.

Throughout history, each period has produced new patterns. During the Jomon period (10,000-200 B.C.), for example, dynamic streak marks and spirals began to decorate pots and jars. The aristocracy of the Heian period (A.D. 794-1185), on the other hand, enjoyed elegant, refined patterns, often depicting natural scenery. The increasing democratization of patterns in the Edo period (A.D. 1603-1868) can be seen from the fact that kabuki--a new form of dramatic entertainment that had great mass appeal--brought new patterns developed and popularized on the stage.

Though we know little at this point about individual makers of patterns, one thing is certain: that all existing patterns are the product of long experience and development. Thus they serve as a record of the cultural and aesthetic history of Japan.

This book is designed to show something of the rich variety of traditional Japanese patterns that can be seen on a wide array of objects. I hope that this book will bring to the attention of readers around the world the remarkable stylization and artistry of these patterns.

Sadao Hibi

Edition details

• Publisher: Kodansha USA
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 4770026897
• ISBN 13: 9784770026897
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 196