This lavishly illustrated book brings to light the diverse
work and the growing influence of this early 20th‐century Japanese
artist and designer. Kamisaka Sekka 1866–1942, little known until
recent years, is being reappreciated and influencing a new
generation of artists and designers in Japan and beyond. Through
over 200 illustrations discover the work of Kamisaka Sekka as well
as early Rinpa masters and contemporary artist such as Yamaguchi
Ai, Yamamoto Taró, Sydney‐ased fashion designer Akira Isogawa and
Kyoto-based textile artists Kenzo and Hiromu Takao. Sekka was
awakened to an ancient and truly Japanese aesthetic through his
travels in Europe where he saw the art nouveau style as well as the
influence of Japonisme on European art. The aesthetic he revived is
the art of Rinpa which was practised in Japan in late 16th and
early 17th centuries when Kyoto was the country’s capital and
cultural centre. Sekka sought to revive the courtly beauty of old
Kyoto through his transmission of the Rinpa style into the modern
industrial and consumer age, forging a unique visual language.
Drawing on subjects such as birds, flowers and classical narrative
scrolls, he created sumptuous, refined works not only in painting
but also textiles, lacquerware, ceramics, furnishings, architecture
and garden design. Blurring the boundary between art and craft,
Sekka aimed to imbue all objects in our daily lives with an
aesthetic quality.