Japanese Medley

Oil on canvas.

36x60"

Location: Japan’s Sagano Bamboo Forest on the outskirts of Kyoto
The painting is a montage of elements of Japanese culture:
- Central female figure is an Oiran. These well-dressed women were high-ranking glamorous courtesans in Japanese society. The tradition started in Edo period (1600-1868). At the time Oiran was seen as an entertainer and a superstar. The fashionable Oiran was usurped in the 18th and 19th centuries by Geisha.
- The Japanese zen garden or “dry landscape” garden, creates a miniature stylized landscape through carefully composed arrangements of rocks, water features, pruned trees and bushes, and uses gravel or sand that is raked to represent ripples in water.
- Koi fish symbolize good luck, abundance and perseverance.
- The shimenawa is a special rope tied around or across an object or space to denote its sanctity or purity. This bamboo forest surrounds one soft sounds, light, peace: a spiritual experience.
- Thunder Gate Lamp, Kaminarimon Gate, entrance to Sensoji Temple, Asakusa, Taito City, Tokyo. An intricate dragon-shaped wooden carving adorns the base of the gateway’s red lantern. This dragon lived in water and was revered as a god that could save Asakusa from fire with its power over water.