Amami Ochina Island climate was like Hawaii. The weather was mild, and the sea was turquoise.
The biggest attraction on this island was a museum of a watercolorist who was not famous in his lifetime, but the public/critics have come around. His professional name is Tanaka Isson. An artist being famous in his/her lifetime is very rare. It's difficult to achieve any kind of recognition in any in the creative arts. Actors take classes and audition endlessly for twenty years with no result. Writers who are never published. Painters and sculptors can't find buyers, much less a name for themselves in the art world. Isson was an artist on the edge of recognition his entire lifetime.
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| Isson, the man with the noble mind |
He was born in 1908 and died in 1977. He won a watercolor award at the age of 7, so he showed talent very early. He briefly attended a prestigious art school, but had to drop out because of financial considerations. He never stopped painting in the Nihonga style as opposed to the Yoga style. The Nihonga style can be loosely translated as the Japanese style using ink and mineral pigments on silk or paper. The Yoga style is the Western style using oil paints.
During his life Isson, lived away from the main art scene in Japan. He worked odd jobs to stay alive while painting on the side. In 1958 he moved to Amani Oshima (the island pictured above) and used the plants and wildlife as his inspiration. He was very prolific during the 1960's and 1970's. It wasn't until after his death that he was compared to Paul Gauguin during an art program on Japanese TV that interest sparked in the art world. He was only displayed outside of Japan in 2018.
The museum established on Amami is stupendous. However, you will have to take my word for it because they wouldn't let me take pictures. [This is an example of short sidedness. This museum is getting 'cruise excursion attendance', and lack of pictures will insure they are forgotten by their visitors.] I resorted to buying postcards and greeting cards to show you some of his work.
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| These are a pair of closet doors |
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| There are changing seasons here |
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| Native birds of Amami |
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| Nihonga style of painting by Isson |
The Isson museum is located in the Amani Park which includes an observation tower, a forest walk, and other attractions. I loved the observation tower especially since it was a relatively clear day.
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| direction away from the ocean |
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| toward the ocean |
Inside the education building, there was an interesting model of the Amami Islands on a global scale. These are outsized. We are at the tip of the topmost island.
This model should make more sense after seeing all the islands laid out. This is just a portion of this model - all the signs are in Japanese - which makes it hard to figure out which island is which. I do like the topography representation, and the little signs of 'attractions'.
We caught the bus back to town. The downtown area didn't look promising for shopping which Drake hates anyway. One of my cruise friends found a second hand thrift store and bought all kinds of souvenirs - small pieces of pottery mainly. She was kind enough to give me two, and I turned around and gave one away to another Australian friend, telling her I was only the intermediary.
I'll end with more photos via a link (that really works!) and Drake in front of the Volendam - our ship.
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