Narahashi Asako

EDO POP

The Graphic Impact of Japanese Prints

Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), Under the Wave off Kanagawa

     There are no doubts that Japanese old style, which is "the moralizing overtones of earlier imagery", was changed to "a fresh and seductive sensibility of popular culture" by Ukiyo-e, known as "pictures of the floating world" (Edo pop). This new Edo culture is clearly attractive but are there no ways to get out from it in Japan? Japanese artists who living in today and now have tried to evade traditional Edo style art for age. But they are still strongly impacted even though they don't mind it.

Narahashi Asako (b. 1959) Kawaguchiko, 2003, from the series half awake and half asleep in the water.

Narahashi Asako said, "I appreciate classical Japanese art just for my general interest in art, but I do not particularly think of incorporating any characteristics from it into my work." (qtd. in "Edo pop" pg. 20).

     She is a Japanese photograher who lives in Tokyo, Japan. Comparing her work and Ukiyo-e makes her a litte bit uncomfortable. She thinks that ukiyo-e illustrates waves as "clearly defined forms" but she tried to show waves in a way that she felt. She said, "I let the wave carry me in the ocean holding the camera just above water. I only select images from camera captures and distance myself emotionally from the subject... for me, water is a symbol of something uncontrollable." (qtd. in "Edo pop" pg. 20). 

For in my case, I can easily find many difference between Narahashi Asako's "Kawaguchiko" and Ukiyo-e's "Under the Wave off Kanagawa".