#Kanagawa Museum of Modern Literature

[justplaggin]

new illustration by harukawa – bsd × kanagawa museum of modern literature collaboration

[rainbowsalt0412]

Osamu Dazai And The Dark Era - Afterword

Good evening. Asagiri here.

I ordered the late Sakunosuke Oda's favorite Osaka-style curry online and tried it. It was extremely spicy, but good. But also extremely spicy. My hand was basically glued to my water glass. The moment I finished, I started planning when I would eat it next. It was that kind of curry. I apologize to anyone reading this in the middle of the night.

Anyway, this is the second Bungo Stray Dogs novel: Osamu Dazai andthe Dark Era. While Osamu Dazai's Entrance Exam took place two years before the comics, this novel takes place four years earlier and is about Dazai's life as a Mafia executive. The title inspiration came from the artist Pablo Picasso's first works (as a young man) known as the Blue Period. The author Osamu Dazai was rather wild in his younger years, but the Dazai in Bungo Stray Dogshad his own dark days as a youth, too.

Now, if I may digress.

The substance of this novel came to life because of a certain photograph. Authors Osamu Dazai, Sakunosuke Oda, and Ango Sakaguchi were part of a school of writers known as the Buraiha, or libertines. They would gather at a bar in Ginza, drink, and talk about the literary world, novels, their family, and everything in between.

There's actually a photo of them talking and having a good time that you can find at the Kanagawa Museum of Modern Literature (taken by the photographer Tadahiko Hayashi). Osamu Dazai is trying to act all cool with his legs on the stool, Sakunosuke Oda is facing the camera and smiling, and Ango Sakaguchi has a hand on his glass while listening to Dazai's story. They're so relaxed that it's hard to believe they're in front of a camera (especially when you consider that cameras back then were huge and the flashbulbs had to be changed with every shot). You can really tell they got along. Not only are these three authors pillars of the literary world, but they seemed to be really close as well. I guess you could even call them 'Friends.' Such wonderful, sympathetic relationships aren't easy to come by, and you can't simply take them back if you lose them. That's something even normal people like us can understand.

Then, only nine days after the picture was taken, Sakunosuke Oda passed away from a lung hemorrhage due to tuberculosis.

Osamu Dazai wrote 'Oda! You did well' in his eulogy for the funeral. Not too long after that, he and Ango Sakaguchi also departed from this world, and now all that's left is this picture of them. The starting point of this story came from what will never again return, something forever sealed within a strip of film.

As you know, the characters in BungoStrayDogsdon't share everything in common with their real-life counterparts. There are a number of discrepancies in the series's setting that contradict historical fact (for example, it was actually Osamu Dazai who looked up to Ryuunosuke Akutagawa). I have no qualms with readers treating these as entities independent from the actual history.

However, my belief is that the faint glimmers these individuals left behind for future generations (such as the lines written in their stories, or that something within the aforementioned photo) are the very nature of a great author. So to stretch the point a bit, I feel as though this series wouldn't be able to live up to its name—Bungo—without these glimmers.

Enough serious talk. I just wanted to express my gratitude to everyone for their support and love for the series. Thanks to you all, we are planning on a third novel. I'm going to be extremely busy releasing four comics and three novels within a year, but I really hope you look forward to the continuation of the Bungo Stray Dogsuniverse.

Last but not least, I would like to thank my amazing partner Sango Harukawa for yet again drawing such beautiful illustrations and cool characters. I'd also like to thank the editors, advertisers, agencies, bookstores, and you, the reader! Thank you all so much.

Let us meet again in the next volume.

KAFKA ASAGIRI

***

[pinkgirl94]

BSD X Kanagawa Museum of Modern Literature - New Youth Magazine’s 101st Anniversary Exhibition

BSD Official revealed Harukawa’s collaboration illustration features Ranpo, Mushitaro, Q & Yokomizo.

A special exhibition is held in the museum about a magazine called “New Youth”; celebrating its 101st anniversary.

[oakesa-blog]

Realism and Impressionism

During the nineteenth century, considerable changes came about in many sectors. The Industrial Revolution helped shape the modern world, beginning first in Europe and then impacting lives around the globe. Factories came to fruition in mostly urban areas, causing cities to grow and new social classes to form and drift apart. Literature depicted a “new social consciousness,” and science looked into the origins of the human species as a whole. The written word became more widespread through newspapers and magazines, and the telegraph and telephone resulted in a much faster spread of information and news. Even travel saw improvements with inventions like the first passenger railroad in 1825. With these changes, a similar shift in art took place: Guilds lost their purpose, art critics became a “thing,” and both galleries and museums arose.

In France, two noted Realist painters were Jean-Francois Millet and Rosa Bonheur. Both put great emphasis on the detail and contrast of their paintings, whether it was the contrast of social classes or the contrast of humans versus nature. Gustave Courbet believed that artists were only able to correctly portray events that they’ve personally experienced, and avoided the influence of Romanticism in his paintings. Honore Daumier is, according to the text, “called both a Romantic and a Realist,” and focused heavily on social injustice and the differences between the classes. Many of his works involved satirizing notable figures.

Photography, “drawing with light,” struggled to take hold in the nineteenth century, and there was an ongoing dispute about whether or not it could even be considered art at all. I very much enjoyed reading about da Vinci’s camera obscura, the astronomer Johannes Kepler’s portable version, and the many improvements to the methodology that quickly followed. Photography is ultimately my favorite form of art, because as wonderous and magical and inventive as paintings, sculpture, and other such works of art can be, nothing can depict the absolute wonder and awe that is our own world better than a photograph. I loved reading about and viewing some of Nadar’s work, especially his portrait of Sarah Bernhardt; her facial expression is somehow captivating to me, and I adore the way the material around her falls in such a grandiose cascade. Mathew Brady is a notable mention, with his many photographs of Lincoln, including one that I think almost anyone would recognize: “Cooper Union.”

American realist painting was obviously similar to its French counterpart. There was notable attention to every level of detail, making virtually everything as realistic as possible, and the use of stark contrast to highlight meaning and symbolism. Some French artists, such as Manet, began transitioning to an Impressionist style in the late 1800s. Architecture was slow to welcome the new materials that were iron and steel, and the first-ever Expo took place in 1851. Bridges were designed and built that deviated from the truss method to aid in better transportation. The Eiffel Tower and the first “skyscraper” was also built.

Impressionism began in Paris in the 1860s, and unlike realism, did not typically correlate with political situations or events and instead focused on “genre subjects.” It was also more focused on true lighting, be it natural or artificial, and studied how the world impacted light: Weather, location, time of day, and so on. Many Impressionist artists also studied color and utilized it diversely in their work, and many pieces weren’t as intricately detailed as Realism art.

I feel that the most notable artist mentioned in this chapter is, of course, Monet. His use of light and color are absolutely fascinating, inspiring, and surprisingly technical. I have always found his works to be very soothing and relaxing to look at, like studying a calm sea under clear skies. His compositions feature a stunning level of contrast on all fronts, and they are like looking at an everyday scene while somehow seeing a fairytale.

Japanese woodblock prints were mentioned in this chapter, and I have to say that I was so pleased to see “The Great Wave at Kanagawa” in the text, as it is one of my personal favorite pieces from the Far East.

[walkingbikingjapan]

It has been a while since I wrote last.  During this time, the weather has been quite nice and it was sometimes like summer.  There were several national holidays and this is a good season for hiking and walking.

At the end of April, I visited Kamakura, the old capital of Japan where the government was established in the late 12th century.  Kamakura is about two-hour train ride from Tokyo and there are many old temples and shrines as well as hking courses so this is a good place for a day trip.

1. Kamakura Museum of Literature

Kamakura has both modern and ancient architecture.  This time, we started from the modern building of Kamakura Museum of Literature.  You will change a train from Kamakura Station of Tokaido Line to Enoden and get off at Yuigahama Station.  The modern-looking architecture was built in 1936 as a house of the prominent family Maeda which was later used by the Minister of Denmark, the former Prime Minister Eisaku Sato, etc.  The roses were in full bloom.

  Roses in Kamakura Museum of Modern Literature

the Entrance of Kamakura Museum of Modern Literature

Roses in Kamakura Museum of Modern Literature

Kamakura Museum of Modern Literature

Address: 1-5-3 Hase, Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture

Opening Hours: 9am – 5pm (4:30pm between October and February) closed on Mondays, between 29 Dec. – 3 Jan.  The museum will be closed once a month (other than Sundays) in May, Jun, October and November.

Admission: ¥400 for adults, ¥200 for elementary and middle school children

Access: Seven-minute walk from Yuigahama Station of Enoden.

URL: the official website is Japanese only.  You can have a look at Wikipedia.

Though the exhibition of the museum is in Japanese, it is worth visiting the architecture itself as it is a representative prewar western architecture of Kamakura.  Also, the rose garden is beautiful.  It is well explained in this website.

2. Kotoku-in Temple and Big Buddha of Kamakura

From here, you can easily walk to the Big Buddha in Kotoku-in Temple.  It is really huge – about 11.4 meter.  The origin of the temple is not clear and it is said that the Buddha was originally sit inside the hall.  You can walk inside the Buddha though there is a long queue.

Address: 4-2-28 Hase, Kamakura City, Kanagawa

Opening Hours: 8am – 5:30pm (from Oct. to Mar. 5pm)

Admission: Adults and high school children ¥200, elementary school children ¥150

Access: seven-minute walk from Hase Station of Enoden (Enoshima Electric Railway)

URL: http://www.kotoku-in.jp/en/

    Walking in the Old Capital Kamakura. #japantravel #kamakura #temple #buddha #museum #roses It has been a while since I wrote last.  During this time, the weather has been quite nice and it was sometimes like summer.  

[artjapan]

101st Anniversary Exhibition - Shinseinen Magazine

101st Anniversary Exhibition - Shinseinen Magazine at Kanagawa Museum of Modern Literature Media: Graphics - Drawing (2021-03-20 - 2021-05-16)

Commemorating the 101st year since its first publication, this exhibition traces the history of the “legendary magazine” ‘Shinseinen’ through over 600 documents.

from TAB Events - Most Popular https://www.tokyoartbeat.com/event/2021/04B8

101st Anniversary Exhibition - Shinseinen Magazine at Kanagawa Museum of Modern Literature Media: Graphics - Drawing (2021-03-20 - 2021-05-16)

Commemorating the 101st year since its first publication, this exhibition traces the history of the “legendary magazine” ‘Shinseinen’ through over 600 documents.

https://www.tokyoartbeat.com//media/event/2021/04B8-80 via Art Japan