3/19 懐かしの心の友Sさんからの突然のEmail message 「今横浜にいるので、いる間にお茶しよう」と。そして今日3/21、ロンドンで20 年ぐらい前South Kensington のホテルを訪ねて来てもらって以来の感動の再会だった。体が動かないのは残念だけど、おかげで尋ねてきてくれる人も多くなりうれしい限りだ。良き友情は年を経ても変わらないことを知り、本当にうれしかった。Mさんの”Ake‥ファン次々とお見えになり,今までと違う生活で楽しいでしょう!”のことばが有難い。 ★ 「上海の旧友」   ★★ 11/20 Norwayからの便り

Hi Ak・・ How are you? Long time since I contacted you but I am visiting Yokohama at the moment. Would you like to have a coffee and chat together? Hope to see you.

NEW YIS

 目が回る忙しさで話をした。中国本土の人と、香港人、台湾人の3国についてのそれぞれの感慨、意識。韓国人と日本人の(敵対する微妙な)関係について英国人として思うこと。コリアンの”恨”の思想など。韓国では鳥はsing ではなくweepだそうだ。でも、時間が足りなかった!私たちのリハビリのこと、歩行杖の名称と形状(w)、彼の世界旅行のこと、Covidで兄を亡くされたこと、「後退」に関する英語では”regress”は trend で、”set back”がtemporal moveのことなので、set back が良いらしい。なんと賢くなったことか!私の英語は”go backward”or “becomes worse” だった。それからEngland人は野球には関心なし、Clicketが20%ほどとか。それから菜の花の英語名はナントrapeだと。

 「上流階級の金持ちさんなので、来るには及ばぬと言ったのですが、おもしろいから行く、見知らぬところを一人で尋ねるのがチャレンジだからと。」「おもしろいってなんですか😁」「日本の小さい家とか?」「早めに着いて、(3/21)11:00に来ました♪」「(WBC)野球はそっちのけで面白い話をしました。」「ダンディーなお客様で、春のアフターヌーンティーパーティーですね☕」✨「〇さんも素敵なマダムに写っています✨」

It was lovely to see you again! And thank you for your lovely gift. It is a very nice memory!

Our History

2019 :Cyboze   2017:Ashumorian   2012: Phone call   (2005: extablish Oxford Office)   2004:University issue

University of Cambridge MA, Economics 1975 – 1978 (age68?)

香港人の民族意識にとっての「日本」  銭 俊華

香港住民の大部分は華人であり、華人として1は伝統的な中国文化を身につけているだけではなく、近現代の中国史に対し、民族意識も持っている。日本に関する戦争記憶が喚起されるたびに、香港で日本に対して反発が起きることは珍しくない。(中略)

1980 年代や 1990 年代に生まれた香港人は、それ以前の人々と異なる。香港の最も好況な時期に育ち、香港大衆文化を享受し受け継ぎ、香港との経済格差がまだ大きい中国大陸に対する帰属感が相対的に小さかった。さらに 2010 年以降、中国大陸人観光客の大量流入が、香港人の日常生活に影響を与え続けて、「中港矛盾(中国大陸人と香港人の矛盾)」がしばしば発生している。さらに、基本法第 23 条の立法の試み、「国民教育」科目、「普教中」(広東語の代わりに、普通話(中国語標準語)で中国語文(日本の国語科目にあたる)を教える)政策の導入、「ニセ普通選挙」(親中派主体で構成された指名委員会の過半数の推薦がなければ、立候補できない)の決定により、香港人、特に若い世代は中国政府からの圧迫、あるいは「中国化」の進行を感じている。このような動きに反発し、香港人自らのアイデンティティを強化し、本土」という理念を唱える動きが生まれている。なかには、「中国人」ではないと自らを定義する「脱中国化」の傾向もある。「脱中国化」する傾向がある人々や本土派は、よく親日の立場から中国を批判し、あるいは香港を主体として香港戦や「重光記念日」を強調する。つまり、日本に関わる戦争記憶は、従来と同じく香港人の民族意識を喚起するメカニズムであると同時に、逆に香港人が民族意識から離脱するメカニズムにもなってきた。本論文を土台として、さらに本土勢力や民間がいかに「日本」に関する戦争記憶を再構築し、各々の政治主張を支えるかを将来の研究の視野に入れたい同時に、香港政府は香港が中国に返還されてから、香港を主体とする歴史観とイギリスに関する記憶を除き、中国政府に合わせ、中国を主体とする歴史観を、日本に関わる戦争記憶に導入し、「中華人民共和国民族意識」を香港人に伝えている。
日本に関わる戦争記憶は、まるで「中国化」に抵抗する人々と香港政府の「記憶の戦場」になり、それぞれの立場からのアイデンティティを確立する武器になっている。

韓国大統領を務めた金大中は、著書『金大中哲學與對話集——建設和平與民主』のなかで、以下のように述べている[5]韓国の文化は「恨」の文化です。私たちの民族は憂患と苦難の民族であり、「恨」は挫折を味わった民族の希望、「恨」は挫折を味わった民族の夢を実現するための準備なのだと思います。確かに私たちは、歴史のなかで「恨」とともに生きてきたことは事実です。…しかし、常に自分自身を慰め、励まし、その結果、未来に向かって生きていくことができた。私たちの民族は、畑の雑草のように、踏みつけられ、そして蘇る。 …韓国人は2000年間、文化的アイデンティティを捨てなかった。…韓国人は、大きな苦難に耐え、あらゆる方法で忍耐してきた。

(english translated by Google) Kim Dae-jung, who served as the President of South Korea, said in his book, “Kim Dae-jung Cheolgak Confederation: Construction Peace and Democracy“[5].

Korean culture is a culture of ‘grudge‘. Our nation is a nation of sorrows and hardships, and ‘grudge’ is the hope of a nation that has suffered setbacks, and ‘grudge’ is the preparation for realizing the dreams of a nation that has suffered setbacks. It is true that we have lived with “grudges” throughout history. …But I always comforted and encouraged myself, and as a result, I was able to live towards the future. Our people, like weeds in a field, will be trampled and reborn. …For 2,000 years, Koreans have not given up their cultural identity. … Koreans have endured great hardships and persevered in every possible way.

また来年からも日本に来る、来れるかもしれないとの嬉しい便り。何とラッキーな私。これを励みに頑張ろう!!

email Nov.19

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何かはじまるといいなぁ!!(3/18)


In Oxford we have a wonderful museum called the Ashmolean which has a very fine Japanese collection. I was greatly privileged to attend a private viewing of this with numerous Japanese friends (mostly from *** University) around 12 years ago.
I would love to help stimulate cooperation between the Y*** M*** of Art and the Ashmolean and wanted to see if this is potentially of interest for you.
I will be meeting the head of the Japan collection in the coming few weeks and will have a clearer idea of their interest at that stage, however I understand among other things they are arranging a special Japan exhibition here to coincide with the Tokyo Olympics.
That may provide an opportunity to work together. I believe also they are considering putting that exhibition on tour and again there may be something of mutual interest in jointly arranging such touring exhibitions.
I am also aware that the Ashmolean had limited display space at the museum here (paradoxically it was reduced following a major expansion and refurbishment of the museum). I am not sure whether that is a solvable matter or not but I will learn more when I meet the museum soon.
It would be for me a matter of great pride if I can help to facilitate a relationship between you and the Ashmolean and if it is of interest to you I really hope to work with you on this.

Ashmolean Main Page 

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Hiroshige’s Japan: Views of Mount Fuji

15 November 2016 to 26 March 2017

Gallery 29 | Admission Free

Mount Fuji, an active volcano and Japan’s highest mountain, has long been praised by poets and depicted by artists for its beautiful shape and sacred status. In the mid-1800s, the great landscape print designer Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858) produced numerous views of Mount Fuji in different seasons and weather conditions. These were probably inspired by his contemporary Hokusai, whose ground-breaking series ‘Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji’ was hugely successful in the 1830s.

A special exhibition in the Ashmolean’s Eastern Art Prints and Paintings Gallery (Gallery 29) shows a selection of Hiroshige’s views of Mount Fuji, drawn from the Ashmolean’s own collection. The exhibition includes views of Mount Fuji from several different Hiroshige series, some devoted entirely to Fuji and others in which Fuji appears in views of Edo, or seen from the Tōkaidō Road, Japan’s major highway. It is the second in a series of displays highlighting the Ashmolean’s collection of Hiroshige landscape prints.

Inume Pass in Kai Province (Kai Inume tōge甲斐犬目峠) Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji Date: 1858 Colour woodblock print Presented by Mrs Allan and Mr and Mrs H. N. Spalding, EAX.4389 © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford Travellers walk along the edge of Inume Pass on a chilly autumn day. A flock of geese flies in front of Mount Fuji, adding to the melancholy autumnal atmosphere. Hiroshige is known to have travelled to this area in the spring of 1841. In his diary he described its awe-inspiring beauty. Hiroshige absorbed a wide range of artistic influences, evident in this work: the fluffy clouds in the ravine and the shading on Mount Fuji are probably influenced by Western copper-plate prints, but the dots on the craggy rocks are more reminiscent of Chinese ink painting.

Inume Pass in Kai Province (Kai Inume tōge 甲斐犬目峠)
Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji
Date: 1858
Colour woodblock print
Presented by Mrs Allan and Mr and Mrs H. N. Spalding, EAX.4389
© Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Travellers walk along the edge of Inume Pass on a chilly autumn day. A flock of geese flies in front of Mount Fuji, adding to the melancholy autumnal atmosphere. Hiroshige is known to have travelled to this area in the spring of 1841 and in his diary he described its awe-inspiring beauty. Hiroshige absorbed a wide range of artistic influences, evident in this work: the fluffy clouds in the ravine and the shading on Mount Fuji are probably influenced by Western copper-plate prints, but the dots on the craggy rocks are more reminiscent of Chinese ink painting.

 

By Hiroshige’s time, the Japanese print industry was booming and ukiyo-e woodblock prints depicting the lively popular culture of the urban pleasure districts could be purchased for the price of a large bowl of noodles. However, the landscape print was a new genre, pioneered by Hiroshige’s contemporary Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849). Hiroshige’s own breakthrough came with the publication of his series ‘Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō’, which appeared between 1832 and 1834 and depicted scenes at the fifty-three post stations along Japan’s major highway. In his work Hiroshige captured quite brilliantly the effects of season, weather and time of day. He took full advantage of recent technical developments in his work, in particular the introduction of a new Western pigment known as Berlin or Prussian blue, which became commercially viable in Japan from the mid-1820s. The brilliantly coloured Prussian blue gave artists much greater freedom of expression in the depiction of sky and water. The new blue was particularly effective when it was applied using a method of sophisticated colour gradation known as bokashi, in which printers wiped and diluted the amount of pigment applied to the woodblock. The success of Hiroshige’s designs depended largely on the skilful use of bokashi colour gradation to enhance the mood of rainfall, mist or snow.

The ‘Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō’ was so successful that Hiroshige continued to produce series of landscape prints of well-known locations for the rest of his life. His final series of prints was the ‘Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji’ (Fuji Sanjū-rokkei 富士三十六景), produced for the publisher Kichizō (Kōeidō) from around 1858 to 1859. It was made in conjunction with Hiroshige’s pupil, Hiroshige II, and indeed was probably finished by him after Hiroshige’s death in 1858.

The subject of Mount Fuji, shown in different seasons and weather conditions from a variety of different places and distances, had already been made popular by Katsushika Hokusai in his famous series of 1830–1833, the ‘Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji’ (Fugaku sanjū-rokkei) and later in his book One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku hyakkei). Hokusai himself was probably influenced by an earlier illustrated book entitled One Hundred Fujis (Hyaku Fuji), written by Kawamura Minsetsu in 1767. The notion of a set of 36 was a traditional format, referring back to the group of 36 revered poets selected in the early twelfth century as models of Japanese poetic ability.

Hiroshige had himself already produced a version of the 36 views of Fuji in small horizontal format at the end of 1852, and Mount Fuji also featured in many of his views of Edo and views along the Tōkaidō. However, this final series devoted entirely to the sacred mountain was designed in vertical format. This allowed him to show off the bold compositional skills he had developed in the 1850s, in particular his fondness for balancing foreground elements with landscape backgrounds.

The Sagami River (Sagamigawaさがみ川) Series: Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji Date: 1858 Colour woodblock print Presented by Mrs Allan and Mr and Mrs H. N. Spalding, 1952 EAX.4384 © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford This print is unusual within this series for its focus on human activities, as two men punt log-rafts along the river. Hiroshige has layered multiple visual planes in this composition, starting with the egret and reeds at the front, and ending with Fuji at the back. This device creates a sense of depth in the composition without resorting to Western linear perspective. The column of smoke from the fire divides the print vertically and the unexpected colours evoke a bright spring morning. This print was famously included in the background of van Gogh’s 1887 oil portrait of Père Tanguy.

The Sagami River (Sagamigawa さがみ川)
Series: Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji
Date: 1858
Colour woodblock print
Presented by Mrs Allan and Mr and Mrs H. N. Spalding, 1952 EAX.4384
© Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
This print is unusual within this particular series for its focus on human activities, as two men punt log-rafts along the river. Hiroshige has layered multiple visual planes in this composition, starting with the egret and reeds at the front, and ending with Fuji at the back. This device creates a sense of depth in the composition without resorting to Western linear perspective. The column of smoke from the fire divides the print vertically and the unexpected colours evoke a bright spring morning. This print was famously included in the background of van Gogh’s 1887 oil portrait of Père Tanguy.

 

Mount Fuji, an active volcano that last erupted in 1707, is the highest mountain in Japan at 3776m. It has long been praised by poets and depicted by artists for its beautiful shape and sacred status. In June 2013, it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage cultural site in recognition of the way in which it has ‘inspired artists and poets and been the object of pilgrimage for centuries’. Fuji is located just 70 miles from Hiroshige’s hometown of Edo (modern-day Tokyo) and on a clear day can be seen from many points in the city. It was also visible from many parts of the Tōkaidō Road that linked Edo with the ancient capital of Kyoto.

Mountains have traditionally been considered sacred in Japan, thought of as homes to spirits and gods, and by the seventh century Mount Fuji was being worshipped by wandering ascetic monks who climbed the mountain as a form of worship. By the early 1600s a Fuji cult, known as Fuji Shinkō, had developed in Edo. The Fuji Shinkō, which combined elements of Buddhist and Shinto belief, believed that Fuji protected Edo and the prosperity of the whole country, and established organizations of Fuji worshippers to provide rituals, prayers and pilgrimage practices for their members. These Fujikō groups, as they were called, were also responsible for the construction of a number of artificial Fuji-shaped hills in parks throughout Edo. These ‘mini-Fujis’ allowed citizens unable to travel to the actual mountain the chance to make substitute pilgrimages, or simply to enjoy them as a kind of theme park. There were ten of these replicas in Edo in Hiroshige’s day and he depicted them in several of his prints. Many purchasers of printed views of Fuji may have belonged to branches of these Fuji associations, which had around 70,000 members in Edo in Hiroshige’s day. One branch was led by a leading publisher of the early nineteenth century, Nishimuraya Yohachi (Eijudō), who produced several of Hiroshige’s print series (although not this one).

 

The Sea at Satta in Suruga Province (Suruga Satta kaijō駿河薩多海上) Series: Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji Date: 1858 Colour woodblock print Presented by Mrs Allan and Mr and Mrs H. N. Spalding, EAX.4387 © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford Here Mount Fuji is framed by a giant curling wave in the foreground. The design recalls Hokusai’s famous depiction of Fuji, known as ‘The Great Wave’. Hiroshige’s version is calmer and more detached. The water has been printed with great sophistication, with three different shades of blue contrasting with the white wave crests, which in turn harmonize with the white peak of Mount Fuji in the background. The marks of the baren printing tool are clearly visible on the slopes of the mountain.

The Sea at Satta in Suruga Province (Suruga Satta kaijō 駿河薩多海上)
Series: Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji
Date: 1858
Colour woodblock print
Presented by Mrs Allan and Mr and Mrs H. N. Spalding, EAX.4387
© Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Here Mount Fuji is framed by a giant curling wave in the foreground. The design recalls Hokusai’s famous depiction of Fuji, commonly known as ‘The Great Wave’. Hiroshige’s version is calmer and more detached. The water has been printed with great sophistication, with three different shades of blue contrasting with the white wave crests, which in turn harmonize with the white peak of Mount Fuji in the background. The marks of the baren printing tool are clearly visible on the slopes of the mountain.

 

 

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Clare Pollard
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