Shrines

Sumi-e, suiboku-ga and photographs of a journey around Shintō shrines – the oldest, the greatest and the newest, all beautiful and mysterious, and their enshrined spirits - a sun goddess, a mountain, a fox, the mythical founder and heroes of national modernisation - talking to Shintō priests, ultra-rightist activists, atom bomb survivors, strangers on the train and old friends, to observe as the country commemorates 150 years from its opening to the west and enters a new era as the new Emperor ascends the throne.

Irene Sanderson first arrived in Japan in 1972 and set up a studio in Tokyō. One evening that hot summer she was invited to a class for the study of Japanese ink painting. In the windowless basement the master and her assistant, both in immaculate kimono, loaded brushes with sumi and set about creating images of the Four Friends. This artform based on the action of ink meeting paper has the intimacy of drawing, revealing origins and intentions, and its immediacy and candour captivated Irene. From then on she began a lifetime involvement with the methods and techniques of sumi-e and suibokuga, incorporating them into her own distinctive style for this portrayal of Japan at the beginnings of the Reiwa era.

I Sanderson_Blossom I_Sumi and watercolour on Moon Palace paper h 80cms x w 122cms — Blossom I
(h80cm x w122cm)

Irene Sanderson, Cherry blossom and fireworks — Cherry blossom and fireworks

Irene Sanderson, Blossom III — Blossom III
Sumi Japanese ink and watercolour on Moon Palace paper (h80cm x w122cm)

Yushima Seido Tokyo
Japanese ink and watercolour on Moon Palace paper

Irene Sanderson, Hikan Inari Jinja Asakusa Tokyo II — Hikan Inari Jinja Asakusa Tokyo II
Sumi and watercolour on Moon Palace paper (h122cm x w80cm)

Tatesuna I Japan Sand cones at Kamigamo Shrine Kyoto
Sumi ink and watercolour on Moon Palace Japanese paper

Ise Naiku I Japan
Sumi ink and watercolour on Moon Palace Japanese paper

18 Irene Sanderson, Ancient Hinoki Camphor tree Atsuta Jingû — Ancient Hinoki Camphor tree Atsuta Jingû
Sumi Japanese ink on Japanese Moon Palace paper (h95cm x w65cm)

Irene Sanderson, Ise Jingū Naiku III Japan — Ise Jingū Naiku III Japan
Sumi Japanese ink and watercolour on Japanese Moon Palace paper (h92cm x w61cm)

Ise Jingū Sacred Rice Storehouse I
Sumi Japanese ink and watercolour on Xuan paper (h62cm x w 85cm)

Ise Jingū Sacred Rice Storehouse II
Sumi Japanese ink and watercolour on Japanese Moon Palace paper (h62cm x w 85cm)

Shimenawa Izumo Taisha
Sumi Japanese and watercolour on Moon Palace paper (h77cm x w105cm)

Miko
Sumi Japanese ink and watercolour on Moon Palace paper (h64cm x w 54cm)

Shrines has received funding from the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation and is an endorsed event for the Japan-UK Season of Culture 2019-2020.