Thursday, April 28, 2016

Larger Woodblock Prints

 Lucky Cat (Maneki Neko)
woodblock print
This Japanese folk image beckons good fortune and good company into the home.  What looks to a westerner as “bye-bye” is the gesture for “come here” in Japan.

Guardian Fox Messenger

woodblock print

The fox is the guardian/messenger for Inari, the deity of rice who is honored at shrines throughout Japan. The fox is a trickster figure, able to change into any shape.


 Manjusri

woodblock print

Manjusri is the deity of wisdom in the Buddhist pantheon.  I pictured him as a boy riding a Korean tiger.  


Japanese Tiger

woodblock print

This tiger is a guardian figure, one of a pair (the other is Chinese!)


Kuan Yin
woodblock print
Kuan Yin is the Chinese name for the deity of mercy and compassion in the Buddhist pantheon who “hears the cries of the world.”  (Chenrezig in Tibet, Kannon in Japan)