JAPAN
and the nogaku,—and in 1830 Kambayashi Rakkiken, a cha-no-yu celebrity, who resided in Uji, attracted attention by chiselling representations of girls engaged in the processes of tea-manufacture. These Uji-ningyo, as they are called, often stand on a very high plane of artistic feeling and technical skill.
The latest development of figure-sculpture in Japan prior to the Meiji era was the Asakusa-ningyo, so called from the name of the place (Asakusa in Yedo) where the sculptor, Fukushima Kagan, lived, and where his works were usually exhibited. The Asakusa-ningyo was generally a life-size figure, representing some historical or mythical character. Draped in appropriate garments, these ningyo were grouped so as to form traditional scenes, and admission to the gallery where they stood could be obtained on payment of a small fee. This was the Madame Toussaud's of Japan. Generally the ningyo were modelled in clay,[1] but whatever the material, they were little better than large puppets, raised above doll level by the clever modelling of their faces and hands. Such a branch of technical sculpture would scarcely deserve notice save for its association with Matsumoto Kisaburo (1830–1869), who is frequently spoken of by Western connoisseurs as the greatest wood-carver of modern Japan. Certainly he was the most realistic, for he carved human figures with as much accuracy as though they were destined for purposes of surgical demonstration. Considering that this man had neither education nor anatomical instruction, and that he never enjoyed an opportunity of studying from a model in a studio, his achievements were remarkable. He and the craftsmen of
- ↑ See Appendix, note 28.
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