The Backyard Shack

Cypress Trees This painting by Kanō Eitoku is a common example of paintings on fusuma or what one would describe as "paper doors" and hence a good example to learn about the same. In the west, one would imagine the most appealing paintings to be that of religious or mythological importance. However, this isn't usually the case in Japanese art. Unlike the west, Japanese art is predominantly influenced by Chinese art forms where paintings are characterized by ideal ink landscapes, painted in brush, where varying values are accomplished by varying the density of ink. Ink wash painting is usually done on xuan paper (Chinese) or washi (Japanese paper) both of which are highly absorbent and   unsized . Ink wash painting: Shōrin-zu byōbu  松林図 屏 )  by  Hasegawa Tōhaku (1539–1610). A Little Backstory Kano Masanobu the founder of the   Kanō school  of painting. Kano Masanobu specialized in Zen paintings as well as elaborate paintings of...

Death over dishonour. Hirakiri (or Seppuku) ,the act of committing suicide is a ceremonial event where a dishonoured samurai incapable to complete his task or failed to do so chooses to commit suicide by disembowelment. The Samurai kneeling takes out a tanto (a short sword) to cut his abdomen. This is said to restore the honour of a samurai. Such is the extent to which Japanese culture places great importance to honour of a person. One goes too unimaginable extend to protect the honour of their name and their family. Such cultural values are common to South-Asian countries. Benedict suggest that this might be because relationships in Japan are duty-based and   one's value is dependent on the how others perceive unlike the west the where morals are guilt driven where truth, justice and individual rights are the vital components of consciousness. But, this is not about the Samurais, their fearless acts and their honour. This is about how the Japanese corporate world wa...

In the age of urbanisation, we see a rapid transformations in our lifestyles . If we look at this transition on the timeline of human existence on earth, the change has been too abrupt for our surroundings to adapt to. In this generation fuelled by technology, development has been led by the advances in science. To the greater extent , it has been positive but a lack of holistic thinking has led to us to some adverse mistakes, which we as human have committed. A profit oriented   economic development has unleashed environmental disasters that haunts mankind now. It is astonishing to see that even after so many advances in sciences, our inclination towards a harmonious lifestyle with nature seems very little against the knowledge of our ancestors. Species have an intrinsic instinct to   modify their environment to best suit to their   requirements. There is nothing bad about this because such modification   usually blend harmoniously into the natural s...