5 Things: Artist Names and Lineages

Episode 5 of 5 Things You Might Not Know About Japanese Bamboo Art with TAI Modern is here! We'll be back each week on Friday here and on our IGTV.
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This week, Jaquelin Loyd talks about artist names and lineages. Japanese artists often use artist names. Some are made up names by artists themselves. Some are given by their masters with whom they study the art form. Some artist names are even given by Buddhist priests. Out of 38 living bamboo artists we represent, twenty use artist names.

The artist names given by their masters are recognition of artistic lineages. Having such names also recognizes the artistic talents guaranteed by his/her students. In this instance, a master gives a part of his own artist name to tailor make each artist's name for the students.

For example:
Baba Shodo gave artist names to two of his most important students. Yako Hodo was given this artist name which consists of the second character of the master's name.

Fujitsuka Shosei was also given an artist name which carries the first character of the master.

Hayakawa Shokosai V, a former Living National Treasure of Japan, had his first artist name, or his training name, Shoha, when he began training under his own father, Shokosai IV. The name Shoha consists of two Kanji characters. The character Sho in both names are the same character and indicates a new student belongs to the great Hayakawa Shokosai lineage.

Shokosai V told us that the relationship between he and his father from that point on totally changed. Shokosai IV became his master - no longer his father. The first assignment given Shkosai V was to peel off the skin from a cut section of bamboo a few feet long. Shoha did this every day for two years. It gives essential ability to feel the minute differences of seemingly look-a-like bamboo by handling of so many different stalks of bamboo over a period of time. It also gives necessary training as to how to use a knife of which generations of Shokosais are well-known. At the same time, it tells a master the determination of a student; his will to become an artist.

The next training was a series of lectures about how each generation became successful as artists and what that meant to carry the artist name Shokosai. In other words, was the artistic philosophy of Hayakawa Shokosai lineage.

The technical training went this way:
A sample basket was given by a master with no instruction what-so-ever. The student had to think and learn how to make a sample basket by himself, using the sample. There is no right way or wrong way. Shoha's own method was to undo a basket little by little and analyze how the basket was constructed. Because the process of constructing the sample basket, was, in his method was the reverse order. It took a much thinking (thought) to learn how to make the sample basket.

When Shoha completed an assigned basket, he presented it to his master. Shokosai IV took a look at it and burned the basket. Again no explanation was given. Shoha had to think what was wrong with it. He made another improved version and presented it to his master and kept repeating the practice until Shokosai IV gave him another sample basket. This meant Shoha had mastered the first basket and ready to go on to the next step.

The Hayakawa family has three signature styles of baskets which were originated by the lineage founder Shokosai I; the Kofukuji Temple style, the abacus bead style, and the armor plaited style. All the techniques necessary to make any basket, according to the family, are used in these three styles of baskets. The graduation exam was to make these family signatures at the right level of quality. It took Shoha well over ten years to pass the final exam. Shokosai IV burned every single basket Shoha made during his long training period. It is Shokosai's belief that if a student has any baskets he has made during the training, he may he may be tempted to sell them. If a student sells his baskets, he believes he is good enough to stop improving himself to the maximum potential he has.

After completing the basic training which took well over ten years, Shoha, began creating his own art baskets. In a few years, he was ready to show his works to the public for the first time. Kon Toko (1898-1977), the Tendai sect Buddhist priest and a well-known novelist, gave Shoha a new artist name Shoko (roughly means "further into a bamboo grove") for him to start his artist career. The show was sold out. The body of work Shoko created was very different from what his father created. In 1977 Shoko finally succeeded the family artist name and became Shokosai V. In 2003 he celebrated his fifty years of his artistic career. The following year, Japanese government named Shokosai V a Living National Treasure in bamboo art. So, we guess the Hayakawa way of training works to make a great artist!

Видео 5 Things: Artist Names and Lineages канала TAI Modern