Written by Evan McMurtry From now until March 4th the Toronto branch of the Japan Foundation and the Stuart Jackson Gallery are hosting an unassuming, yet thought-provoking, aesthetically appealing, and well-choreographed exhibition called Legendary Loyalty: The 47 Ronin in Japanese Prints. Before we begin, I would like to thank Toshi Aoyagi, Program Officer at the Japan Foundation for guiding us on a thoroughly enlightening and entertaining tour of the exhibition. The Japan Foundation provides grants to artists, as well as language training and libraries at various locations across the globe. This exhibition features depictions of the forty-seven Ronin, an early eighteenth-century group of leaderless samurai who conducted a vendetta on behalf of their master Asano Naganori after an incident in which he was ordered to commit seppuku, a form of ritual suicide. In the process it highlights Japanese cultural politics since that time, not to mention Japanese artistic virtuosity. From the point of view of a museum professional, moreover, it could be said that whenever another culture portrays itself, rather than through the Western gaze as the Other, that can be vastly more nuanced and rewarding. There is much we can learn about Japanese culture from this exhibition, even though any code of honour portrayed here is dead in Japanese culture. As Aoyagi pointed out during our interview, Oboshi - leader of the faction in the incident - is held up in Japanese culture as exemplary: “If there’s one thing the Japanese are good at, it is they’re good in a group.” Aoyagi added that Oboshi is the ideal Japanese leader, having a physical presence, being not too skinny, as well as being patient with good planning skills and foresight. “Here comes the company boss,” Aoyagi quipped. The exhibition makes clear the enduring popularity of traditional stories in Japan. For instance, a cabinet showed eleven ukiyo-e prints made nearly fifty years later after censorship on the subject matter had ceased, and yet another showed mid-nineteenth century prints based on them. Another wall was lined with posters of a recent Japanese theatrical production of the events, which took three months to present since it consists of eleven shortened plays. Overall, it is the sheer entertainment value of the stories, which he likened to a Japanese Game of Thrones. As Aoyagi remarked later during our tour, “fiction grows in the imaginary world.” Ō Kinai and Wakajima Yasuemon (Hazama Kihei Mitsunobu and Okajima Yasoemon Tsuneki) Artist: KUNISADA (1786-1865) Signed: Ouju Kunisada ga (drawn by special order by Kunisada) Series: Kanadehon Chūshingura Youchi Ninzū no Uchi (Participants in the Night Attack in The Treasury of Loyal Retainers) c late 1820s-30 "I also like the aspect from design, the painters are making so many different variations from a single story line. This theme-and-variation structure is one of the special characters of Japanese creativity," stated Aoyogi in an online email exchange. Finally, another reason why we recommend Legendary Loyalty is for the use of technology. Unlike some iPad installations in which visitors are expected to click through endless screens, the curator at Legendary Loyalty thoughtfully installed them to give access to material not on display. For instance, one book that featured the semi-fictional life stories of the characters. Overall, the exhibition offers visitors a feast for the eyes that will be memorable. The exhibition is on view at the Japan Foundation, 2 Bloor Street East, Suite 300 until March 4, 2017. Click here for more information and exhibition times. All images courtesy of Japan Foundation.
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