My creative project for JPN 101: a contemporary magazine symbolizing what I believe defines Heian culture.
The main image is from this tumblr page (might be a link to the image itself, I don’t remember). It is supposedly Kaguyahime from “The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter”, and since I did not draw it, I don’t take credit for the actual art. I just did the compiling. Oh, and that sakura clipart at the top is from here, and the fake UPC at the bottom is from here, tysm google!images. Fonts are century gothic, century schoolbook, and goudy old style. Compiled with Adobe Photoshop CS4.
Other notes:
- Lady Kagerou is the author of the Gossamer Journal, written across the span of about 1020-1040. The first book describes the miserable first leg of her journey through marriage with Kaneie, a Fujiwara, whose favors often floated around from woman to woman. Kagerou (not her actual name; also referred to as Michitsuna’s Mother, because…well, she is) knew full well about this, which is why she was so damn depressed. Seriously, she had poetry battles with her husband. It was like old school rap battling or something. With poetry. HUFFY poetry.
- Okay, I didn’t really put in 320 poems about love. But it seemed to fit the whole magazine stereotype. And in Kokinshuu, there was a whole book of poetry about love. There were seriously around 1,111 poems in that book for real. There were at least a hundred on love. I’m sure.
- The “hot or not” section is supposed to reflect the material culture that was so definitive of the Heian period. Kimono patterns reflected the occasions at court; the “floral messages” are a reference to the sprigs of certain plants that were sent along with poems to make use of the season as well as the tone of the poem (Kagerou sent a poem with a dying flower to Kaneie about their love, which was also dying GET IT?!), and the solemn songs…that was me and my weird humor. When people were lonely in the old days, they’d play music all by their lonesome selves, because it was the only way to express their IMMENSE SADNESS.
- At first it was just supposed to be bonus excepts of “The Tale of Genji”, but since I said the “magazine” was developed by “Shin” Sei Shonagon, I felt I had to add the “Pillow Book” as well.
- Shin Sei Shonagon was used because this is supposed to look like a “contemporary” magazine (the “shin” or “new”), and Sei Shonagon seriously seemed like someone who would make such a shallow magazine depicting what’s cool and what isn’t. She was just that kind of chick, you know?
