Japanese Prints

The women in Kiyonaga’s prints are often described as seeming fuller and more mature than those of his predecessor Harunobu, whose prints often depict women who seem younger and thinner. Though a difference of personal styles accounts for this primarily, it also comes in part from Kiyonaga’s use of larger sheets of paper (oban, rather than chuban or hosoban). Also, a great proportion of Kiyonaga’s work is in diptych or triptych form, making the work seem larger and more impressive overall.

In the field of bijinga, only the works of Suzuki Harunobu and a handful of others are generally regarded comparable with those of Kiyonaga. Kiyonaga produced a great many bijinga prints in the 1780s, and this is generally regarded as his high point; this is particularly true because he nearly stopped doing art entirely in the early 1790s.

Just as Kiyonaga can be said to have replaced the earlier Harunobu as the most popular bijinga artist of his time, so Kiyonaga can be said to have been replaced by Utamaro, whose women are even more full and mature than those of the former.

Kiyonaga’s Kabuki prints, depicting scenes on stage and the like, show a great attention to detail, and seek to depict real Kabuki scenes, rather than idealized versions. There is something very plain about much of his depictions, showing that those depicted are in fact actors and not the true idealized characters they represent; however, he did not make the leap to portraying the individual features and personalities of the actors as some other artists (including the Katsukawa school) did. Some scholars label his style as an important intermediary step leading to the bombastic, yet realistic, style of Sharaku.

Isaku is a nine-year-old boy living in a remote fishing village on the coast of Japan. To survive, his people distill salt to sell to neighboring villages. But this industry serves a more sinister purpose as well: the fires of the salt caldrons lure passing ships onto rocky shoals. When a ship runs aground, the villagers slaughter the crew and loot its cargo for rice, wine, and other goods. One day a ship founders onto the rocks - but Isaku learns that its cargo is far deadlier than ever could be imagined. Shipwrecks is a stunningly powerful Gothic tale of the mysteries and horrors of fate.

“The ship’s captain was an honest man; it was unthinkable that he would have made off in the ship in order to steal the cargo. Either it had been blown far out to sea, where it sank, or it had been smashed to pieces on the coast.
If the ship had been wrecked along the coast, it should be possible to retrieve part of the cargo. Because they assumed that their search should be limited to the western coastline, this was where the shipping agency had dispatched their men.
The timing of this ship’s disappearance more or less matched the appearance of O~fune~sama, but since the vessel that rode up on the reef in front of the village had a capacity of around three hundred bales, it was clear that these men were searching for a different ship. Of course, even if the ships were different, the fact that these men were looking for a missing ship put the village in terrible jeopardy.
Isaku and the others looked anxious as they jostled their way into the dirt floor area and stared at the village chief’s face.
The chief moved back to the fireplace and talked quietly with the more senior members of the community. There was still evidence in the village of all sorts of things brought to them by O~fune~sama. While the ship’s timber had been carried away into the forest, the rice and other commodities from the cargo had been distributed among the families. If these men had someone guide them to the village and took a look inside the houses, they would find things that people of their station in life would not normally have, and would become suspicious. No doubt they would judge that the villagers had indeed plundered cargo from a wrecked ship.
The bailiffs would come to arrest the villagers and subject them to harsh interrogation. In the course of such questioning, the village’s age-old practice of luring O~fune-sama would be revealed. If this came to pass, the village chief and many others, including women and children, would be doomed to a ghastly end. The village would cease to exist. The fact that the men from the shipping agency had come as far as the next village, and had gone out of their way to question those selling salt, was sure proof that their village was one of the areas where they presumed the ship might have run aground.
All of the men in council with the village chief had turned a shade of gray; some were using both hands to stop their knees from shaking violently. Isaku himself suddenly started to tremble.
The slightly built village chief uttered something to the elder, who nodded, got to his feet, and walked over to the assembled villagers.
“Listen carefully. We’re going to hide every last thing up in the mountains. Everything O-fune~sama bestowed upon us. You’ll build huts up there to store the things in, but first of all we must get everything into the forest. The huts’ll be built afterward,” said the old man in a hollow voice.
The villagers bowed, stood up, and scurried to their houses.
Isaku watched his mother wearily get to her feet, and he followed behind her as she shuffled along, supporting herself on her stick. When he thought of his mother’s gashed shoulders and feet, and how she had doggedly carried all those bales of rice, he felt miserable about his own lack of strength.
When his mother stepped inside their house, she stooped over one of the bales of rice stacked on the dirt floor and lifted it onto her shoulder. The heavy weight was obviously a struggle for her as she staggered out the back door.

Salmon and avocado sushi rolls are favorite amongst sushi fans. You can also make them with smoked salmon, if preferred. Toast the shiny side of the nori by passing over an open flame - the nori will become crisp and develop flavor. Lay one sheet of nori on a bamboo mat or clean tea towel, shiny side down. Place a handful of rice on sheet and pat out until rice covers all but a 5cm wide strip at the top edge of each nori sheet. Dip your finger into thinned wasabi paste, and about 4cm from the bottom and nearest edge of the rice, rub a line of wasabi from left to right in a thin strip of flavor. Lay salmon strips, 2-3 thick, along the wasabi line. Spread a little mashed avocado on top of the salmon.

Starting with the edge nearest you, roll up as tightly as possible using the sushi mat or tea towel to help roll tightly. When you get to the border at the top edge, wet the nori and then roll up. Chill, joined side down, for at least 30 minutes, or up to 24 hours. Serve each roll sliced crosswise into 6 pieces and accompany with a dipping sauce. Makes 36 pieces. Garnish with pickled ginger.

Sushi Dipping Sauce: mix 0.25 cup good quality soy sauce, preferably Japanese, with 2 tsp wasabi paste.

Sushi is such an easy thing to make, provided you have the right ingredients. Sushi rice can be prepared well ahead of time, as can the rolls themselves.

Wash rice then stand in cold water for 30 minutes. Drain thoroughly. Heat together the vinegar, sugar and salt in a small pot, stirring until dissolved. Put to one side. Place rice in a medium size pot with a tight fitting lid, cover with 1 cup water and place on a high heat. As soon as rice comes to the boil, reduce the heat to low¬est setting, cover pot and cook for 12 minutes. Remove from heat and stand 15 minutes without uncovering. Mix through vinegar seasoning with a fork. Turn out onto a large, flat, clean tray to cool. Use a fan to quicken the cooling. The rice is now ready to use. It can be refrigerated for up to 48 hours, covered in plastic wrap to prevent drying. To stop it sticking to your hands when you are assembling sushi, wet your hands with cold water, then clap to remove any excess water before picking up rice. Makes 2 cups cooked rice, enough for 6 filled sushi rolls or about 36 small sushi rice balls.

To make things even easier, here is the video:

VideoJug: How To Make Sushi Rice

This fragment of 19th century woodblock print depicts brewing of soy sauce at Noda factory, located East of Edo. The Japanese soy sauce was exported to Europe as early as the 17th century.