Japanese mitate art worth a closer look
The people of Japan have long loved the art of mitate, or likening something to another thing that is completely different.
Among various mitate works, those called Hirata Isshiki Kazari (A set of decorations in Hirata) from the Hirata district in Izumo, Shimane Prefecture, are arguably the most interesting.
Isshiki Kazari works are meant to re-create characters from mythologies and fairy tales, as well as well-known scenes from kabuki plays, using ceramics, Buddhism articles and other daily items. People compete with each other to create the most distinct ideas and techniques.
Such objects are said to have been dedicated to the Hirata Tenmangu shrine by local community groups for the shrine’s summer festival for around 220 years.
For instance, a work titled Kanjincho (The subscription list) meticulously depicts the strength of the legendary Musashibo Benkei, a warrior monk who used ceramics.
Another work titled Ebi (Shrimp), which was displayed at an exhibition called Kazari: The Impulse to Decorate in Japan at the Suntory Museum of Art in Tokyo in 2008, is made entirely of bicycle parts, such as chains and handle covers, in unbelievably minute detail.
There are only two rules when creating Isshiki Kazari works.
The first is that the entire work has to be decorated with a single material, be it steel or ceramics.
Second, the materials have to be used as they are, meaning that making holes, painting colours or changing any shape is not allowed.
In other words, when the works are disassembled after the summer festival, all the materials used for the artworks should look like they did before they were used.
Hideo Kano, 72, an Isshiki Kazari master, gives technical instructions for producing the works.
“You have to carefully put together individual articles into a work with a firm framework using wire to bind them,” Kano said. “We also aim to create works that create a feeling of motion.”
Look at exhibits at two facilities in Hirata, Honmachi Tenjikan (Hon-machi exhibition hall) and Josetsukan (Permanent exhibition hall), and you will understand what Kano means.
Many works stand without support — neither suspended from the ceiling nor held up by poles. It is also exciting to see objects that look as if they could spring to life at any moment.
The permanent exhibition hall also stores a large number of ceramic works.
“Such artwork is growing larger year-by-year, making it impossible to produce them with ceramics and Buddhist-related articles in ordinary households,” Kano said. “So we’re storing such items at the town facility.”
Restaurant operators and other townspeople willingly donate various items. No wonder, Isshiki Kazari works in Hirata are splendid in terms of both quality and quantity, thanks to support from local residents.
Apart from the Isshiki style, as is seen in Hirata, there are many other forms of mitate works, including papier-mâché dolls, comprehensively called Tsukurimono, or shaped articles, according to a book titled Hare no Katachi — Tsukurimono no Rekishi to Minzoku (Shape of rituals and festivals — the history and folklore of Tsukurimono).
The art of Tsukurimono is believed to have spread from Osaka, the first place where the art boomed, to other parts in the country, using distribution and other economic networks.