50 Watts (formerly "A Journey Round My Skull") has posted a splendid assortment of 1970s and 1980s Japanese sci-fi art from old illustration books and catalogs. [More]
Pater Sato magazine cover
Hitoshi Ikematsu book jacket illustration, 1984
Noriyoshi Ohrai
Black Space -- Shuji Tanase, 1982
Atsushi Yoshioka
The Kaibutsu Ehon ("Illustrated Book of Monsters") is an 1881 book featuring woodblock prints of yōkai, or creatures from Japanese folklore. Illustrated by painter Nabeta Gyokuei, the book is modeled after the influential works of Toriyama Sekien, an 18th-century scholar and ukiyo-e artist known for his attempt to catalog the many species of yōkai in Japan. Here are 25 monsters from the book.
Mikoshi-nyūdō -- Monk-like creature that grows taller the more you look at it
Nue -- Chimera-like bringer of misfortune that can fly and morph into a dark cloud
Futsukeshibaba (a.k.a. Hikeshibaba) -- Mysterious old woman in white who extinguishes lanterns
Kasha -- Cat-like demon that descends from the sky to feed on corpses before cremation
Noderabō -- Strange creature standing near a temple bell
Waraime (a.k.a. Kerakera-onna) -- Giant cackling woman
Daibutsu-kaibutsu -- Mysterious pile of crumbling skulls
Argentina-based artist Juan Molinet has created a series of fictional Japanese ads featuring retro-style characters.
Osaka's Marshmellow Kid
Nagoya Sweet Salami Co.
Sumitomo Calamari Ice Cream
Cheesus by Hokama Good Cheese Co.
Kyoto Seafood Processing Co.
Satoyama Whistle Co.
Hokaido Industrial Sushi Food Co.
[Link]
Some 36,000 runners took part in the 2011 Tokyo Marathon yesterday, including a number of people in costume. Here are a few photos. [Via: Fuzz and Fur, jimgris, Jet Daisuke, Long, hashiee]
Tentacled one [Photo by: Fuzz and Fur]
Usavich and Darth Vader [Photo by: jimgris]
Doraemon [Photo by: urasimaru]
Kappa [Photo by: jimgris]
Jesus [Photo by: jimgris]
Kinnikuman [Photo by: Jet Daisuke]
Frog [Photo by: Fuzz and Fur]
In the early 1970s, the Kewpie Corporation (maker of Kewpie brand mayonnaise) produced a deck of promotional playing cards featuring various pachimon kaiju (imitation monsters modeled after creatures from popular movies and TV shows).
1 -- Kyuradorosu (vampire monster)/ Height: 5 meters/ Weight: 800 kilograms/ From Chiba
2 -- Kashuasu (pollution monster)/ Height: 10 meters/ Weight: 3,000 tons/ From Osaka
3 -- Gohoho (ice monster)/ 18m/ 10,000 tons/ From the South Pole, moved to Tokyo
4 -- Altamegaro (space monster)/ 35m/ Weight unknown/ From Alta W, planet 5
5 -- Deredoron (pesticide monster)/ 20m/ 10,000 tons/ From Tohoku
6 -- Tapikurosaurus (ancient monster)/ 35m/ 9,000 tons/ From Kyushu
7 -- Elekipurosu (electric humanoid)/ 25m/ 15,000 tons/ From Kurobe Dam
8 -- Meji (space wolf)/ 16m/ 5 tons/ From Meteoroid R
9 -- Eru (space monster)/ 32m/ 18,000 tons/ From the planet Pegasus
10 -- Puradon (space monster)/ 32m/ 5,000 tons/ From Galaxy W, planet 8
J -- Mambaa (monster fish)/ 20m/ 15,000 tons/ From the Arctic depths
Q -- Oapiaa (proto-Saharan)/ 6m/ 1 ton/ From the Sahara Desert
K -- Alien Achiira (space monster)/ 15m/ 9 tons/ From the planet Achiira, moved to Japan Alps
1 -- Methanoron (pollution monster)/ 28m/ 30,000 tons/ From Tokyo-Kawasaki-Yokohama area
In the 1920s and 1930s, Japan embraced new forms of graphic design as waves of social change swept across the nation. This collection of 50 posters, magazine covers and advertisements offer a glimpse at some of the prevailing tendencies in a society transformed by the growth of modern industry and technology, the popularity of Western art and culture, and the emergence of leftist political thought.
"Buy Domestic!" poster, 1930 [+]
Cover of "Nippon" magazine issue #1, Oct 1934 [+]
"Fuji Weekly" cover, Oct 1930 [+]
Poster for Japan's first national census, 1920 [+] // "Health for body and country" poster, c. 1930 [+]
Grand Nagoya Festival poster by Kenkichi Sugimoto, 1933 [+]
Kyoto Grand Exposition to Commemorate the Showa Imperial Coronation, 1928 [+]
Poster design by Shujiro Shimomura, 1928 [+]
"NAPF" (Nippona Artista Proleta Federacio) magazine cover, Feb 1931 [+]
Video director Sou Otsuki has released a new version of his video for the song "Luv(sic) pt.2" by Nujabes with Shing02, featuring a variety of people running ludicrously in slow motion. The new version was shot in Cambodia and stars a few courageous amputees and exploding landmines.
+ Video
Here is the original version shot in Japan (and a link to the lyrics).
+ Video
A dreamlike mix of retro Japanese-style visuals, Victorian imagery and consumer culture iconography is found in the oil paintings of California-based artist Alex Gross.
Koshimaki-Osen, 2003
The Sugar Sickness, 2001
Ice Cream Cone (Despair), 2007
Mammon, 2010
Lanvin (Paris), 2010
