Gallery 29 | Admission Free

2016 is the Year of the Monkey according to the traditional Chinese lunar calendar. While the lunar calendar and its twelve zodiac animals are distinct to East Asia, images of monkeys feature in the mythology, folklore, art and literature of many cultures around the globe.

This exhibition, drawn from the Ashmolean’s collections of Asian art, celebrates the Year of the Monkey by showing images of monkeys from across Asia. It includes depictions of monkeys in their natural environment and highlights two of the mythical monkey figures best known outside Asia: the Monkey King of Chinese literature and the Hindu monkey warrior Hanuman.

Monkeys in the wild

There are many different species of ape and monkey native to the forests and mountains of Asia, ranging from baboons in the Arabian Peninsula to orangutans in the rainforests of Borneo, long-armed gibbons in China and India, and many varieties of macaque across the whole region. They are widely celebrated in poetry and literature and represented in art.

Ohara Koson (1877–1945), Monkey on a willow branch
Japan, colour woodblock print, 1900, EA1989.177
This print shows a Japanese macaque, a species of monkey that is native to Japan. Ohara Koson was a prolific printmaker, best known for his depictions of birds and flowers. Especially in his early work, Koson’s prints had a very painterly feel. When this print was made around 1900, Japanese prints were made by division of labour; Koson was the print designer who worked with blockcutters and printers under the direction of a publisher.
© Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

Monkey King

The Monkey King is the main character in the famous Chinese novel, Journey to the West. First published in the 1500s and attributed to the author Wu Cheng’en, the tale also became enormously popular in Japan. It relates how the Monkey King, after being cast out of heaven, redeems himself by helping the Tang dynasty monk Xuanzang on his pilgrimage to India in search of sacred Buddhist texts. The Monkey King is accompanied by his companions, Pigsy and Sandy and the Dragon Prince, who transforms himself into a white horse for Xuanzang to ride on.

From a set of nine papercuts showing scenes from Journey to the West
China, cut paper, 1980s
The papercut is a distinctive Chinese visual art form, in which artists cut detailed designs in paper using scissors or engraving knives. This set of papercuts depicts characters from the Chinese novel Journey to the West, attributed to Wu Cheng’en (1505–1580). In this tale the Tang Buddhist monk Xuanzang (602–664) and his four disciples, Monkey King, Pigsy, Sandy and the Dragon Prince (disguised as a white horse), head westward in search of scriptures. The Monkey King, also called Sun Wukong, possesses superhuman powers and can travel great distances through the air riding on the clouds.
Presented by John Gittings, ea2008.42.d
© Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839 – 1892), The monkey Son Gokū with the rabbit in the moon (Songokū gyokuto), From the series ‘One Hundred Aspects of the Moon (Tsuki hyaku sugata)’
Japan, colour woodblock print, 1889
Here the Monkey King is dramatically framed against an enormous moon. In the background is the ‘Jade Rabbit’, which the Japanese see in the moon’s markings, instead of a ‘man in the moon’. As there is no myth that involves these two characters together, it seems to be Yoshitoshi’s idea to bring them together. This series of 100 prints was one of Yoshitoshi’s final works. The subjects, linked only by the presence of the moon in each print, are drawn from various sources in Japanese and Chinese history and literature, Kabuki and Nō theatre.
Presented in memory of Derick Grigs, EA1971.170
© Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

Hanuman

One of the most popular Hindu gods is Hanuman the Monkey, in some tales described as a manifestation of Shiva. Revered for his bravery, strength, loyalty and dedication to justice, Hanuman’s heroic exploits are told in the great Hindu epic Ramayana, in which he is depicted as a warrior fighting for King Rama against the evil demon king Ravana. He is also mentioned in several other texts. Some scholars believe that Hanuman mythology might be the origin of the Chinese Monkey King story.

Hanuman sets fire to Lanka with his tail, Ravi Varma Press, Bombay and Lonavla, India
Chromolithograph, Early 1900s
The heroic Hanuman went to spy out Ravana’s fortress of Lanka, secretly visiting Rama’s wife Sita in captivity. He was then caught and Ravana’s son wrapped his tail in an oiled cloth and set it alight. But Hanuman escaped and set the city ablaze as he flew off. The Ravi Varma Press greatly popularised the work of the painter Raja Ravi Varma (1848–1906), who interpreted Hindu mythological scenes in a Europeanised academic style. The eye-catching mass-produced prints deriving from his paintings became widespread in 20th century India, adorning households, shops and tea-houses. Gift of the Church Missionary Society, EA1966.52.113
© Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

The Chinese lunar calendar

China and other East and Southeast Asian countries have traditionally used a lunar calendar. This calendar is composed of a repeating twelve-year cycle, with each year corresponding to one of twelve zodiac animals (rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig). Each zodiac animal is believed to represent particular characteristics and people born in a certain year are believed to take on these characteristics. People born in the Year of the Monkey are thought to be lively, intelligent, sociable and at times self-centred.

Monkey King Opera mask, From a set of ten papercuts depicting Beijing opera masks
1980s, dye on cut xuan paper
This papercut shows the Monkey King in the facial make-up of the Beijing opera. The Monkey King is a very popular character in Beijing opera – a type of traditional theatre integrating music, performance, literature and face-painting which rose to prominence in the late 1700s is portrayed as an intelligent, righteous, brave and faithful figure, inaugurating the auspicious tidings of the year of the monkey.
Presented by John Gittings, EA2008.53.j
© Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

Fish has been a staple ingredient of the Japanese diet for hundreds of years. A myriad of different species of fish are harvested from the surrounding sea in fishing boats, while the rivers and lakes provide freshwater produce for the table. Fishing has long been celebrated in paintings, woodblock prints and also by the netsuke makers who, particularly in the late nineteenth century, followed a fashion for depicting not warriors and aristocrats, but those considered lower down the social scale;  men and women who contributed to Japan’s industries.

‘Cormorant Fishing at night’, woodblock print, Utagawa Kunihisa II, 1844, EAX.4688 © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

‘Fishing for sweetfish on the Tama River in the autumn moonlight’, woodblock print, Utagawa Hiroshige I (1844-1848), EAX.4750 © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

Netsuke, Kyokusai, wood, late C 19th, height 5.3cm tall, EA1996.20 © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

This late 19^th century wood netsuke was carved in Tokyo by Kyokusai, who was famous for his intricate work and realistic facial expressions. This tiny fisherman, prepares his net to sally forth and fill the empty basket at his feet.

Figure of an Ainu fisherman, Numata Ichiga (Tokyo School), bronze, around 1900, height 48cm, EA2008.8 © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

The fisherman, wearing a coat decorated with traditional Ainu patterns, comes from Hokkaido, the northernmost island of the Japanese archipelago.

Japan has one extraordinary method of gathering fish from the ocean’s floor, which has been practiced for over two millennia. Ama is the name given women who have perfected the technique of plunging down to the bottom of the sea without the use of any diving equipment.  Clad only in a loincloth, they are able to hold their breath far longer than most, which enables them to collect abalone and octopus amongst other fish and bring them back in their hands.

‘Ama clutching an abalone shell’, woodblock print, Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1849-1853), EAX.5292 © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

‘Pictures of Products and Industries of Japan – Ama fishing for carp’, woodblock printed book, Utagawa Hiroshige III, 1877, EA1964.224 © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

This jolly fisherman, carved in ivory around 1820, carries a huge abalone shell on his back, maybe one he acquired from an ama. The meat inside the shell is a delicacy, eaten either raw, as sashimi and sushi, or cooked. The shell is prized as decoration on lacquer objects, such as this lacquer box decorated with a hydrangea made for the export market around 1900.

Lacquer box, c. 1900, 15.3 x 12.0 x 5.8 cm, EA1956.3337 © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

Netsuke carvers loved to add a touch of humour to their subjects. This ama is getting more than she bargained for from an amorous octopus!

Netsuke, ivory, mid-1800s, 2.0 x 3.3 cm, EA1963.163 © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

However, the octopus was not always friendly; the one depicted here is putting this poor fisherman in serious trouble.

Netsuke, wood, mid-1800s, 3.1 x 3.4 x 2.1 cm, EA1956.3221 © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

Finally, an octopus captured and ready for sale.

Joyce Seaman, Research Assistant, Japanese Art.

Gallery 29, until 5 June 2016

‘Tokyo Station’, Onchi Kōshirō (1891–1955), 1945
Presented by Christopher Dyment, EA2015.28 © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

The spring 2016 exhibition in the Ashmolean’s Eastern Art Prints and Paintings gallery highlights a set of fifteen Japanese woodblock prints published in December 1945, just after the end of World War II. During the war, Tokyo suffered serious bomb damage and the series shows nostalgic views of famous places in Tokyo as they appeared before the wartime air raids. Half of the prints had already been published in the late 1920s, after the Great Kanto Earthquake devastated Tokyo in 1923, and were reworked for this series; the views depicted are therefore doubly nostalgic.

The prints were published with both Japanese and English titles in order to appeal not just to Japanese audiences but also to the Allied Occupation forces stationed in Japan at the time. It is thought that the title ‘Scenes of Last Tokyo’ may in fact have been a mistake for ‘Scenes of Lost Tokyo’. It is worth noting that the artists’ statement accompanying the portfolio, which contains a heartfelt expression of loss at the destruction of Tokyo and of nostalgia for Japan’s imperial past, appears only in Japanese.

The nine artists who collaborated on this portfolio all belonged to the Sōsaku Hanga (Creative Print) movement. This art movement emerged in the early 1900s, emphasizing the importance of individual artistic expression. Creative Print artists insisted on designing, cutting and printing their own work, unlike traditional Japanese ukiyo-e print designers, who worked with skilled block cutters and printers under the direction of commercial publishers. The main catalyst for the modernization of Japanese prints came from the West. Japanese artists were by now very well informed about international art movements, with many artists travelling abroad and numerous art magazines introducing works by Western printmakers such as William Nicholson, Félix Valloton and Edvard Munch. As a result, not all Creative Prints were particularly technically accomplished; far more important to their makers was the act of creating an original work of art.

EA2015.27 ‘Night of Shinjuku’, Maekawa Senpan (1888–1960), 1945
Presented by Christopher Dyment, EA2015.27 © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

‘Scenes of Last Tokyo’ was presented to the Ashmolean Museum in 2015 by Christopher Dyment, a long-time collector of Sōsaku Hanga Creative Prints.  The prints are complemented in the exhibition by a display of four artists’ books, selected from a set of nine volumes published between 1941 and 1943 to commemorate ten years of publishing by the art publishers Aoi Shobō. Entitled ‘Collection of Nine ‘Window of Writing’ Print Albums (Shosō hanga-chō jūren-shū), this set contains works by many of the leading Sōsaku Hanga artists of the day, including five of the artists who contributed to the ‘Scenes of Last Tokyo’ series. Each book contains ten works, accompanied the artist’s own text.

Clare Pollard, Curator of Japanese Art

Click HERE to purchase prints on demand from the Ashmolean shop.