Gods and Goblins: Japanese Folk Paintings from Otsu

Abstract

"Gods and Goblins: Japanese Folk Paintings from Otsu" by Meher McArthur is reviewed.

McARTHUR, MEHER. Gods and Goblins: Japanese Folk Paintings from Otsu. Pasadena: Pacific Asia Museum, 2000. 96 pages. Color illustrations, bibliography, exhibition checklist, appendices. Paper US$28.00; ISBN 1877921-16-5. (Distributed by University of Washington Press, Seattle)

The cover illustrations for this book may lead the reader to expect to find strange things in the book. The front shows the figure of a Buddhist priest but with horns (one of them even broken), bulging huge eyes, and a large mouth lined with rows of fierce teeth. On the back cover there is a picture of Daikoku, the god of good fortune, standing on a ladder leaning against Fukurokujin's head, which Daikoku is shaving. These pictures lead right away into the book's topic, gods and goblins, and suggest at the same time that these beings are not seen as fearful or awe inspiring but rather as similar to "human beings."

Gods and Goblins is the unusual catalogue to an exhibition of so-called Otsu-e that was held at the Pacific Asia Museum of Pasadena from May to November, 1999. Otsu, a city on the shores of Lake Biwa, was the last station on the old Tokaido before one reached Kyoto. Otsu-e are folk paintings produced in this city with a seemingly light hand and in great numbers for the travelers and pilgrims passing through to take home as a religious picture or a pleasant souvenir. They represent a very local tradition with a long history of more than four hundred years.

This catalogue is "unusual" because it is much more than a simple list of the items exhibited accompanied with a brief explanation and preceded by a general introduction. It is a well-written account of the history of these paintings that considers their social environment, relates changes in their style to changes in taste and thought of the time, and which shows that the tradition is still very much alive today. In this manner the author successfully demonstrates the surprising consistency of the motifs used and of the style of Otsu-e. All together there may be more than one hundred motifs, but there is a certain core of a smaller number that reflects the prevailing taste of the buyers and also of the respective time. There are, therefore, noticeable variations, and yet the style preserves a certain basic character that make Otsu-e readily recognizable once one has seen a number of them. The consistency in style of these paintings prompts the author to raise some interesting questions concerning the meaning of such terms as "tradition" and "folk painting." She challenges the opinion of Yanagi Soetsu who insisted that in order for paintings to qualify as "folk paintings" the anonymity of the artist is essential. She suggests with good reasons that despite the fact that Otsu-e artists are known and might even sign their works, as is the case with some painters who are presently active, Otsu-e do qualify as folk paintings because they appeal to mass taste, are produced in large numbers, and conform to a distinctive pattern. She further suggests that it is impossible to declare the end of a tradition, as Yanagi has done for the Otsu-e, if the people themselves continue it with the conviction that they are following such a tradition even when they experiment by introducing new features in order to make their works more attuned to the changing tastes of the public.

While she discusses the various features of the Otsu-e, the author quite naturally weaves into her text many aspects of Japanese culture and, therefore, helps the reader to appreciate these paintings within their cultural environment. In particular, I feel, there is one aspect found throughout this book, although it is not explicitly discussed: the playfulness and humor of Japanese folk religion. This is not to say that Japanese gods and goblins are taken lightly and are always considered to be playfully close to humans, but it seems to me that in representations such as the Otsu-e it becomes clear that these beings at times can seem very human without creating the impression that this would be an insult to their dignity. It is one way to bring the supernatural into everyday life in a manageable manner.

The text and the wonderful illustrations in this book make it a good introduction to Japanese folk religion. At the same time, its very useful appendices make it also a good research tool for those wishing to pursue the topic further. The author offers not only an extensive bibliography organized according to period and language but also adds a list of the main characters that appear in Otsu-e with a short description of each and a list of the mainstream artists' works that feature themes of Otsu-e. Of all the appendices, the one with translations of the texts that appear on Otsu-e might eventually turn out to be the most appreciated because these texts offer a most useful gateway to the feelings of the common people. Those familiar with Japanese may sometimes feel that the translation falls short of rendering the nuances of the Japanese text, but this does not significantly detract from the charm, and certainly not from the usefulness and value of this fine publication.

Peter KNECHT