New art from Daniel Mitsui. Inculturation Alert!

Daniel Mitusi occasionally sends me new pieces of art which he has created. This time he sent me his new Wedding at Cana.  For his site click HERE

You may recall that his little daughter has spent quite a bit of time in the hospital.  You know what that means.  Thus… visit his site!  Great gifts.

This new Wedding at Cana…. it’s Japanese! You will note the samurai factor and the very cool wine jars.  Note the Christian imagery on the screens.

I shot pics through the plastic covering, so forgive the little reflection.

20140814-150340-54220702.jpg

20140814-150342-54222425.jpg

I am hoping Our Lord-sama changed the sake into grape wine.

And do I detect, in the jars, elements of Hokusai’s Wave off of Kanagawa?  That would be a nice tribute.

20140814-150341-54221577.jpg

At his site, he includes a description of the work, which includes some patristic notes.  I’ll give you a tease…

The Church Fathers saw in the six jars a symbol of the six days of creation, and the designs on the jars (which are shaped like sake vessels) represent these: the creation of light, the firmament, the land and plants, the heavenly bodies, the birds and fish, and the beasts.

St. Augustine also saw in them a symbol of the six ages of the world, and his commentary I depicted on the green screen behind Christ and Mary:

[…]

To order this very cool work go HERE

He also has a spiffy Japanese warrior St. Michael the Archangel beating up the dragon.  HERE  And do NOT miss his Great Battle of Heaven with the Four Archangels as samurai warriors putting the smack down on Ol’ Scratch.  HERE

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
This entry was posted in Patristiblogging, The Campus Telephone Pole and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

18 Comments

  1. Gregg the Obscure says:

    A hearty second to your recommendation of Mr. Mitsui’s work. I’ve bought a few of his prints. Some have been gifts and “Ecce quam bonum” is over my desk. The quality of the prints is better than the online images can convey.

    For a few months last year there was a mural on a Japanese restuarant across the street from the Denver cathedral that had images styled after Mr. Mitsui’s. The restaurant and the mural have since gone the way of all things.

  2. benedetta says:

    Very beautiful!

  3. ghp95134 says:

    That’s definitely a tribute to the Wave off Kanagawa on the right-rear byobu [folding screen]. Note on the left-rear byobu the creation of Adam, creating Eve from Adam’s rib, and the temptation of the serpent. Other Biblical stories on the other screen.

    This is just too-cool-for-school!

    –Guy

  4. Susan M says:

    His pictures are fabulous! He needs to sell boxes of Christmas cards!!

  5. ghp95134 says:

    P.S.
    Ga-ri-re-a no Kana ni kekkon arite,
    [There was a weddng at Cana in/of Galilee,]

  6. Supertradmum says:

    Oh my goodness, I absolutely love these. Thanks so much. Truly moving.

  7. MouseTemplar says:

    Exquisite as ever!

    Who is the “white figure” I wonder?

  8. otsowalo says:

    The “white figure” is the bride.

  9. Random Friar says:

    Beyond my allowance, but a beautiful work!

  10. Mike says:

    A Cana print will soon accompany that of the Samurai Archangels which now graces my office. Thank you for passing along this happy news, Father.

  11. traditionalorganist says:

    I just ordered! This is the one I’ve been looking for!

  12. traditionalorganist says:

    I should point out, tomorrow is my anniversary and this is the perfect opportunity to buy ourselves a gift…and such a fitting gift for an anniversary.

  13. Suburbanbanshee says:

    Buddhist Japanese brides wear white, the death color, because they’re basically dying as a daughter of their own family and coming to life as a wife in their new family. (“O daughter, incline your ear; forget your own people and your father’s house.”)

    [Btw, Shinto brides wear spectacular, colorful wedding kimonos. Most Japanese are kinda syncretic, so brides often wear the white first, the wedding kimono second, and then change to a Western-style evening gown as a “reception dress,” although sometimes they wear Western white wedding dresses for pictures. (And if you think US wedding culture is over the top, watch the funny Japanese anime series Wedding Peach to learn how much money you could spend there. Shudder.)]

  14. RomeontheRange says:

    How utterly beautiful. Thank you, Father Z., for making Mr. Mitsui’s work known to us.

  15. Ultramontane says:

    I’ve been looking for some Christian imagery with which to decorate my apartment. As you can imagine, such things are in fairly short supply in Japan. This fits the bill perfectly. Now to save up the money and buy a few…..

  16. Dr. Eric says:

    I enjoy the Japanese style images more so than the others. Although, they’re ALL beautiful!

  17. Chon says:

    When I was in Okinawa they said the traditional Japanese wedding kimono is black. So, I’m confused. Maybe they meant the Okinawan traditional color is black. Okinawa has not always been part of Japan.

    Yes, this is very nice art. However, I am of the tradition that likes to see our religion depicted as it is, a historical religion. I have never seen a Jew with Asian eyes.

  18. Pingback: Christian Genocide - BigPulpit.com

Comments are closed.