These wonderful woodblock prints are the work of Murakami Gyojin whose subjects
are taken from the rural areas of Japan; fishermen, children, carpenters and
the like are treated with genuine dignity and honesty.

Unfortunately, I have only these three examples of Murakami's work but they
are among my favorites and one can sense the happiness and almost
share in the joy of the faces that leap out from the prints.

The first print, titled, "Treasure from the Sea" is of a fisherman, happily
bringing in his catch of "fugu" (blowfish). The second of Murakami's
prints, I think of as "Matsuri", (festival) for it appears to be that of a
grandfather ("ojiisan") carrying the "apple of his eye" to the village
festival. In the last print, Murakami gives us "The Young Fishermen."

I obtained these prints by Kawano Kaoru in a small woodblock shop just off the Ginza in
Tokyo years ago when my daughter, Mary was four years old and my son Nickolas
was nearing his first birthday. They are both grown now but in these prints,
I see them as they were then in that hot, humid, happy Tokyo summer.

Mary and Nickolas

Nickolas and Mary (Update)

These last two prints are by Saito Kiyoshi and they feature the apprentice geisha,
the "maiko." Maiko and geisha may still be seen in the Pontocho area of Kyoto
or sometimes strolling near the banks of the Kamo River at dusk. It is a treat
to see the young maiko as they scurry by quickly, kimono sleeves rustling
as they move along, leaving behind only the faint echo of the "click, click,
click" made by their "okobo" (tall wooden clogs worn only by maiko).

Today, maiko are dwindling in number as are the geisha they aspire to be.
It requires far less training in musicianship, dance, voice training,
story telling and social graces to become a hostess in a Ginza
nightclub and I imagine that the pay is better as well!

Soon they will be gone, the maiko and the geisha, but here they are,
frozen in time, by the art of Saito Kiyoshi. The print on the left was
the first woodblock print I ever obtained and it started me on
my collection - it is of course one of my favorites.

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