Ghosts of Japanese summer
Art from Toshio Saeki’s Collection
The frightening drawings on Toshio Saeki’s (佐伯 俊男) website are actually very traditional for Japanese this time of year. The best of the grotesque tradition of painting is Ekin (1812-1876) and every year there’s a special matsuri/festival that displays by candlelight his paintings of horror such as this eagle snatching a baby in Kochi prefecture near my rice ranch. Great fun–See the official festival website: [絵金まつ] www.i-kochi.or.jp/Ekin .
Japanese people have an ancient of swapping ghost stories in the dogs-days of summer. They say that a bone-chilling ghost story is the best way to beat the summer heat.
Yep, right now it’s time for Japan’s version of Halloween, the “O-Bon” season, when ancestral spirits return for their annual visit—-which is darn close to traditional Halloween when the dead revisited the mortal world. Except in Japanese O-Bon, there are lanterns to guide the dead home rather than Jack-o-lanterns to scare away ghosts.
Japanese government’s cultural website, Japan Echo says that telling ghost stories:
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August 3rd, 2007 at 9:31 am
Check it out Taro! USATODAY.com’s mega-babe reporter, Angela Gunn, of Tech_Space is all “shimoneta” (damp-down-there) about your O-bon story. See her report: Gives you chills.
KOOL! However, I am jealous you always get all the geek hotties like Angela, meh
Shot at 2007-08-02
August 3rd, 2007 at 11:03 am
Yikes. Not that I am complaining but I wonder why she was reading this website?
Angela, wow!!!
August 14th, 2009 at 2:32 am
I particularly liked the first illustration…very cool…