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Koei-Fuji
Last fall, I received an invitation to participate in the “Fuji Praise Exhibition.
It would be presumptuous for someone like me to paint Mt. Fuji, and “Fuji Praise” is too banal and embarrassing. I thought so, but then I suddenly thought that it might be a good opportunity to try out the printmaking method that I’ve been teasing for the past five years.
It’s been five years since I started working seriously on woodblock printing as my life’s work. I’m amazed at how slow my progress is. But even at this slow pace, I’ve somehow managed to carve and print woodblock prints.
Well, at this point, I’ve managed to write some sentences. However, I still can’t write sentences that are unique to me. A good writer has his own style. I’m trying to at least have something resembling a style, but it’s not going well.
I really like the texture and texture that woodblock prints create.
There are various types of printmaking, such as copperplate prints, lithographs, and silkscreen prints. While each has its own merits, I stick to woodblock prints. This is because the warmth that wood creates is absolutely necessary for my expression. I have also been thinking about how to somehow bring out the natural rhythm hidden deep within the woodblock and use it in my expression.
Until now, I have been working to incorporate the traditional methods of woodblock printmaking into my own expression. At the same time, I have been trying to create original works by repeatedly trial and error using local washi paper (Nakatomi washi paper, which is not suitable for multi-color woodblock prints). With the cooperation of Nakatomi Washi no Sato and Yamaju Paper, I had them specially make “six-layer paper” by layering six thin sheets of washi paper. Instead of dosa-hiki for the surface treatment, I used konnyaku glue. Furthermore, in order to make the most of the six-layer paper, I have been making ingenious efforts in carving the woodblocks, inventing intaglio paints, and inventing printing methods. I have printed about 30 36-block prints (approximately 1 x 2 m) so far, and I am finally getting close to the image I am looking for.
The work I am exhibiting this time, “Koei-Fuji” is like a ray of light born out of this struggle.
I draw out the natural power hidden within the woodblock and match it with my intention to express it. I dream of a world in which I, my subject, and the laws of nature are one and the same. I feel that I have found a clue to this.
The theme is quite simple. A few years ago, on the winter solstice, I climbed Mt. Kurodake in the Misaka mountain range. With the sunlight at its back, Fuji was reflected in the lake. The real Fuji was just an object, but the reflection of Fuji in the lake had a blend of illusion and reality, and I felt a sense of reality in that. Later, I went out to sketch and came up with a plan. This is “Koei-Fuji”.
The above text was addressed to a friend who came to the exhibition when I exhibited my work in “Praise of Fuji.”
(Exhibited at the 59th CWAJ Contemporary Print Exhibition in 2014)