Full Description
Kawanabe Kyōsai (pen name Kawanabe Tôiku) is a globally celebrated 19th century Japanese artist with an astonishing repertoire of styles and artistic themes. His woodcut print picture book on falconry, Ehon Taka Kagami (The Mirror of Hawking), first published in 1863, remains relatively unknown among his modern admirers. Nonetheless, the Mirror of Hawking is an invaluable record of an ancient art. Kyōsai was commissioned by a retired daimyo (feudal lord) to create studies depicting traditional Japanese falconry, which later formed the illustrated plates of the Mirror of Hawking. He added explanatory script to caption most plates, as well as stories, poems, and songs chronicling falconry and celebrating nature. This edition provides the first proper translation of the Ehon Taka Kagami, revealing the meaning of the words accompanying each plate to non-Japanese readers. In addition to fully reprinting the original images and texts, this edition includes contextual essays and reference images that provide important background information about Kyōsai, the history of Japanese falconry, and the origins of this unique publication.
About the Author
Kawanabe Kyōsai (1831–1889) is a globally celebrated artist and among the most talented painters of 19th Century Japan. Initially trained in the Kano School’s centuries-old traditions, Kyōsai’s life straddled an era of societal upheaval. He witnessed the fall of the feudal class, the immerging influence of Western powers, the rise of the Meiji government, and the beginnings of industrialised Japan. Responding to this change, Kyōsai turned toward irreverent, comical, and political subject matter. Called the “demon of painting” by his mentor, Kyōsai gained prominence for his virtuosity across traditional and avant-garde styles. His eclectic portfolio is an invaluable perspective of a society grappling with unprecedented change. Karl-Heinz is a German master falconer and a renowned expert of falconry literature and history. For over 40 years, he amassed the largest and most significant private collection of falconry books and manuscripts known in the world – now residing at The Archives of Falconry. In collaboration with his academic colleagues, Karl-Heinz was instrumental in the publication of two monumental works on falconry history. He co-edited the four volume Raptor and Human: Falconry and Bird Symbolism throughout the Millennia on a Global Scale (2018), and the two volume Raptor on the Fist: Falconry, Its Imagery and Similar Motifs throughout the Millennia on a Global Scale (2020). Keiya Nakajima is a falconer and Executive Director of The Japan Falconiformes Center, and served the International Association for Falconry and Conservation of Birds of Prey as Vice President for Asia. Keiya has dedicated his life to the conservation of wild birds of prey in Japan and has spearheaded the use of traditional falconry knowledge in conservation work including raptor rehabilitation. Alain Briot is a French medical doctor, and expert in Japanese art and language. Alain holds a diploma in Japanese language from the National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations. He is a member of the Japanese Society for the History of Medicine, and is an avid Japanese art collector and an independent researcher. In 2019, he was awarded a certificate of commendation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan for contribution Japanese studies in France. Member of the Board of the Association Franco-Japonaise, he has published over 50 articles on Japanese art, including the Ehon taka kagami. Sadamura Koto PhD. Dr. Sadamura is the Curator of the Israel Goldman Collection, London, and a Visiting Researcher in the Department of Asia, the British Museum since 2016. She received her PhD from the Department of Comparative Literature and Culture, University of Tokyo in 2020. Koto specialises in the study of the Japanese painter Kawanabe Kyōsai (1831–1889) on whom she has published extensively, including Kyōsai: The Israel Goldman Collection (Royal Academy of Arts,2022), Kyōsai’s Animal Circus (Royal Academy of Arts, 2022), Kyōsai Shunga: From the Israel Goldman Collection (co-authored by Ishigami Aki, Kyoto: Seigensha, 2017) and many exhibits. John Goodell is Executive Director and Chief Curator of The Archives of Falconry in Boise, Idaho.
