Showing posts with label Japanese culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Japanese culture. Show all posts

Thursday, December 24, 2009

The Samurai

In Our Time this morning, as ever hosted by Melvyn Bragg, explored the history and 'myth' of the samurai throughout Japanese history. This is a 45 minute radio show in a discussion format with analysis from experts in this field: Gregory Irvine author of The Japanese Sword, Nicola Liscutin of the Japan Research Centre (SOAS), Angus Lockyer lecturer at SOAS.

This was a good, broad history of the samurai from early settlement and warring tribes in Japan through to the Second World War with some emphasis on the samurai's chief weapon, the sword. The talk also covered the symbolism of the sword within the Japanese culture as well as its effectiveness as a fighting weapon and how it adapted with the changing methods of warfare.



Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Kuniyoshi exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts

Kuniyoshi
From the Arthur R. Miller Collection
21 March—7 June 2009

The Royal Academy of Arts presents an exhibition on one of the greatest Japanese print artists, Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861). Featuring over 150 works, the exhibition presents Kuniyoshi as a master of imaginative design. It reveals the graphic power and beauty of his prints across an unprecedented range of subjects highlighting his ingenious use of the triptych format.

http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibitions/kuniyoshi/