When I heard about the themes covered in Mana Fukui’s piano album—sounds from Japonism, Art Nouveau, and nostalgia of the future—I immediately thought of Shinichi Kaneko, an artist who takes inspiration from the arms and legs depicted in ukiyo-e shunga (erotic woodblock prints) and sublimates it into his own work as a metaphor for the “interconnectedness” of all things.

When I heard about the themes covered in Mana Fukui’s piano album—sounds from Japonism, Art Nouveau, and nostalgia of the future—I immediately thought of Shinichi Kaneko, an artist who takes inspiration from the arms and legs depicted in ukiyo-e shunga (erotic woodblock prints) and sublimates it into his own work as a metaphor for the “interconnectedness” of all things.

The artwork I chose this time is Shinichi Kaneko’s “Iro to Hana: Shiki (Color and Flowers: Four Seasons).” The inspiration for these pieces came from a famous ukiyo-e shunga (erotic woodblock print): “Shiki Gakan (Handscroll of the Four Seasons),” painted by Tsukioka Settei in the Edo period. Settei’s artwork superimposes flowers and sexuality onto the print, serving as a metaphor for life’s transient nature. In contrast, Kaneko’s pieces were painted with the modern-day woman in mind. With Kaneko’s production of beautiful colors indicative of modern techniques, as well as his artwork’s dynamic structure, the supple limbs become one with the flowers (and thus the woman herself), fully depicting the modern woman’s delicate nature, as well as her toughness. Furthermore, compared to the original color tone of the paintings, the light of the computer shines through the digital copy of his paintings to make them look more vivid, which is something very interesting to note.

It is also important to note that Mana Fukui is a female pianist. She has an avant-garde style, using her bare feet on the piano pedals and creating a unique sense of space in her sounds. There were several limbs that appeared on screen, in the same manner as all the composers who created these pieces, and in the same manner as numerous famous performers in the past. And this collection serves as an homage to the performers of the future. This artistic ideology, inherited by the past, present, and future, is sublimated onto Fukui’s work. She exquisitely expresses her musicality through her performances, all the way to the tips of her fingers and toes, and so I am increasingly hopeful that her message will transcend time and reach the people of the future.

Meanwhile, from a visual arts perspective, it would fill me with great joy if this serves to be a trigger for Shinichi Kaneko’s paintings, so that they may convey a message to those who have yet to see his work across the ocean.

In this three-part piano collection, designer Koichi Fujimoto’s dynamic numbers are also placed on top of Kaneko’s artwork, adding a visual pop element to this classic work. I would like to comment that his use of exquisite color saturations allows the work to preserve its sense of elegance.

I will digress one last time while speaking on this three-part collection. Kaneko’s works from the same series have “shiki (four seasons)” included in the title. From this, you may have noticed that, just like Tsukioka Settei, the series has four entries, of which only summer, fall, and winter have been used. I hope that you will have the chance one day to see the last part of his series once the Japonism collection is released.

Nao Masaki (Creative Director)