GODS AND GOBLINS: Japanese Folk Paintings from Otsu
By MEHER McARTHUR
Pasadena: Pacific Asia Museum, 1999. 96 pages, $28 (paperback)

Lorrie Bunker

Gods and Goblins: Japanese Folk Paintings from Otsu is a ninety-six-page book remarkable for outer simplicity and inner detail. It was written by Meher McArthur as the catalogue for a May-November 1999 exhibition at the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena, California. Curator McArthur based that exhibition largely on her museum's own collection, but also included pertinent works from additional museums and collections in the United States, Great Britain, and Japan.
Otsu-e (literally, Otsu pictures) is a little-known genre produced mostly by unknown artists. Yet these unsigned paintings have survived for more than four centuries, and their imagery has crept into Japanese theater, dance, song, literature, and the poetry and painting of such mainstream figures as Basho and Hokusai.
Originating from the early sixteenth century in a small town on the shore of Lake Biwa, Otsu-e images were scattered throughout Japan by travelers who eagerly bought them at this fifty-third station on the Tokaido highway, which marked the final leg of the journey between Edo (now Tokyo) and Kyoto. The first of these souvenir paintings featured only Buddhist gods and motifs. One hundred years later, the images focused on colorful characters of both memory and imagination, as well as aspects of contemporary life. How did this tradition begin? Why did it change? What's happening now?

The first paintings were meant to capture the interest and money of pilgrims at marketplaces adjoining major temples in the Kyoto area. When the Tokugawa government repeatedly changed those locations for political advantage, the painters decamped to nearby Otsu. Their work became increasingly important as visible evidence of Buddhist allegiance at the critical time when Portuguese Jesuits were winning Christian converts at an alarming rate. Poor people could not afford the exquisite images produced by temple workshops, but Otsu-e met their needs. To achieve speedy production and low prices, the artists invented such inspired devices as woodblock-printed faces, brass filings to simulate expensive gold lacquer, and halos mechanically created by compass.
By the eighteenth century there was less Buddhist emphasis. Numerous themes were represented by five broad categories: contemporary characters; historical figures; lucky gods of several religions; goblins and other supernaturals; animals, birds, and plants. Some images were as easily recognized by that buying public as figures from Aesop or Hans Christian Andersen would later be in other forms to peoples half a world away. Among the Ten Types portrayed with much energy and verve were Wisteria Maiden, Spear Bearer, Cat and Mouse, Daikoku and Fukurokuju Wrestling, Catfish and Gourd, and Praying Goblin.
Otsu-e also began to include calligraphic texts. Often satirical, these may reflect the influence of Shingaku (studies of the heart), a new philosophical movement that tried to give the lowest classes of the rigid social hierarchy (namely, artisans and merchants) a greater feeling of self-worth. Social harmony, frugality and honesty were admired; arrogance, greed, and destructive behavior such as drinking, lying, and womanizing were not. Otsu-e texts reflect this viewpoint, as well as presenting subtle but pointed political commentary.
The author's straightforward style throughout the book makes the rather complicated history of Otsu-e easy for a wide range of readers to appreciate. She includes many romanized Japanese words in the running text, but saves detailed comment on Japanese culture, history, and art for three special appendix groupings which follow the footnotes section. These are very scholarly, but presented in an admirably lucid form.
For a full appreciation of Otsu-e, color is surprisingly important and this book delivers. Since the art is so gestural and the color generally not brilliant, only direct comparison shows the real value of having all the work shown in color. Years ago in Seattle, I bought a black-and-white notepaper of the Otsu-e Hawk. Comparing my black-and-white image with the colored one in the book is startling: even the subtle earthtones used in the painting strongly modify the linear blacks, bringing energy to the image and transforming the hawk from an interesting bird to a real raptor.
Otsu-e are still produced by fourth-generation artists who now sign their work. The author proposes that this art form will live well into the future, but invites her readers to decide if the early vigor, style, and movement are maintained today. Gods and Goblins: Japanese Folk Paintings from Otsu is a very engaging book, a pleasing addition to any library, both for direct enjoyment and for future reference.

Lorrie Bunker is a San Francisco-based freelance writer and photographer who was Public Relations Director at the Asian Art Museum, The Avery Brundage Collection, from 1970 to 1985.