Young Printmaker Award

I am interested in works based on literature and work on the theme of “interpretation” to read and understand the things described. Since I was a child, I have loved to express myself by breaking down novels and historical events and express them in my own way, paying homage. Based on this experience, I create abstract paintings that incorporate elements of literary works. The subject of “YATSUHASHI” is a scene from the ninth section of Ise Monogatari, “Azuma Kudari”. Ise Monogatari is a classical Japanese literary work, mainly composed of waka poems, that was established in the first half of the 10th century, although there are various theories. In particular, “Azuma Kudari” has been depicted by many people as the subject of paintings, most notably in Korin Ogata’s “Kakitsubata Byobu”. The story of “Azuma Kudari” is that the main character “a man” thinks himself useless and sets o_ on a journey to the East. Seeing Kakitsubata (water iris) blooming at a place called Yatsuhashi, he composes a waka poem in memory of his wife whom he le_ behind in his hometown, Kyoto, and remembers the place. Creating the waka poems on the scene of this story, Kakitsubata is usually used as a motif, but I thought the bridge, which is the origin of the name of the area, Yatsuhashi, would be an important motif to express a mental state of the “man” with no place to go in creating this work. In an attempt to see what e_ect could be achieved by adding three-dimensionality to the _atness of the prints, and with my respect towards Korin Ogata’s “Kakitsubata Byobu” consisting of six panels, the copperplate prints cut into six long and thin panels are attached to form a single picture. I hope you will enjoy this work from various angles. I’d like to use the prize money received from the YPA Award to purchase a copperplate press.