My earliest connection with Japan is that my works were selected for "Chinese Modern Ink Painting Exhibition ", which was held in Ota Memorial Museum of Art at Tokyo in 1990, it was the first exhibition that Li Xianting curated by himself. After that, although there are many comes and goes with friends in Japan‘s art circles, I had never been to japan at that time. As to the start of a deeper understanding about Japan, it should be regarding to the fact that I love Japanese cuisine, I am a fan of Japanese cuisine with a 10 years history. There are two reasons, one is that my hometown is Tianjin, where people eat seafood since small, so I don 't refuse to fresh seafood; and moreover, the food material of Japanese cuisine is exquisite, the plate modeling is well designed, the utensils are very classy, all these are quite artistic, the fishy smell and coldness of the material is covered up by the factors in Japanese aesthetic such as coolness, elegance, delicacy, refreshingness and softness, so every time eating feed are mixed pleasure for eyes and mouth.
In fact, the first time I ate Japanese cuisine was not in China, but in New York. A lot of Japanese restaurants in New York gather in the downtown area like Manhattan, which are generally located in the semi-underground buildings with not very large spaces, but extremely exquisite, most of them need to book, the taste is very classic. Only until three years ago, accompanied by my friend Li Guang, I had a chance to enter Japan, very fortunately the first stop was Kyoto, besides the museums and temples, I was mostly attracted by the izakayas in Kyoto. The first stage of our journey we stayed in the old town, the izakayas were like forests, surrounded by ancient buildings, the most authentic Japanese style were profoundly experienced by us in the small alleys. In front of the antique beauties of the old town of Kyoto, it reminded me of China’s ancient capital Dongjing - Bianliang, having a feeling of the reappearance of Along the River during the Qingming Festival. Later we stayed in The Ritz Carlton Hotel, the atmosphere was quite different there, where you can sense how the Japanese people protected their traditional culture and accepted the western cultures. The Ritz Carlton is located by Kamogawa River passing through the central of the city, from the hotel window you can see some stone piers in the middle of the river, and people can jump across the river by the piers. In such a developed modern country as Japan, the protection of traditional ethnic customs is very classic, you can often see people wearing traditional Japanese clothing walking in the highly prosperous city streets. In Kyoto, it all seems to be very natural, there is no surreal feelings, the office workers wearing suits and ties, and the servers wearing traditional kimonos, can blend the past and presence perfectly together.
It was late autumn the first time I went to Kyoto, the red leaves were very beautiful. Later, I went to a number of museums and art exhibitions, which changed my view about Japanese culture. Japanese people’s study and inheritance of foreign culture is quite meticulous. However，they have an additional point - the excellent ability to adapt and re-process, which makes them very confident and wise to choose the foreign cultures they want in the mean time of searching for the national self. This is precisely what Chinese artists need to introspect and take as example when confronting the collision between Chinese art and Western art during the specific period when international and contemporary western culture is very powerful. The Japanese nation don’t reject blindly, after identifying with certain aspects of Western cultural they study hard, and the purpose is to incarnate their own talents and advantages.
The second time I went to Japan, we began to travel to South Japan, when arriving at Fukuoka, I could clearly feel the difference between here and Kyoto, Osaka. The outline was rougher, the customs here were more simple, and the relationship between man and nature was much closer here. One side of the road was the fishing boats bristling with the masts, the other side was neat rice fields, marine civilization and mainland civilization has a double impact on Fukuoka people. Fukuoka has great seafood, roast oysters is a highlight, people love to flock to the beach to build shacks, where they can drink liquor and roast all kinds of seafood. The scenes of people enjoying life is very attractive to me, people should never forget the joy that seasons and solar terms bring about. Japanese people are pleasant to experience the scenery and food that season changes bring to them. Cherry blossoms in spring, leaves fall in autumn, snow covers mountain ridges in winter, Japanese always embrace the gift that nature brings to them. In Fukuoka, people live a life letting nature takes its own course, the pace is not as fast as in Tokyo, Japan 's local moral values in such as a non-central area like Fukuoka, are also more well reserved. The men of Fukuoka have very resolute appearance, speak little but their hearts are very warm, like the personality of Japanese movie star Ken Takakura. Kyushu is famous for its beauties, here the girls have a refreshing look, very juicy.
I’m a painter who relies on inspirations and creativities produced by intuition. In any trip, a fresh atmosphere will touch me greatly, also make changes on the appearance of my paintings. Each time I went to a strange country, there would be a whole new experience, and the understanding about the overall appearance of this country. With the most familiar life, we often lose this sensitivity, only left with numbness and dullness, it’s the so-called that a bystander is always clear-minded. In Japan and China you can feel the difference, but there is still a cordial feeling, unlike going to Europe, there is a strong sense of distance and a sense of alienation. From the perspective of cultural heritage, Japan is the country that is influenced most by China, it retains a better tradition than us. From all aspects regarding architecture, calligraphy and other basic necessities of life, Japan still retains many influences from ancient China. Watching them writing Kana and Katakana, I saw more freely flowing style of writing in it, instead of the contents in the text, this form was very essential to me. The Japanese understanding of freehand brushwork, is different from our modern understanding, Japanese emphasizes the implication of ink and pen more, let go the control of rules, search the inner harmony of soul and nature, generally speaking it is to express the state of mind with ink and pen.
I still remember, on the way from Fukuoka to Kumamoto, I passed a small town, there was no wind, flowers and grass were absolute still, I couldn’t see any bird flying, the so-called absolute calm feeling in Japanese people’s eyes, was suddenly found by me. There were surreal elements which were also to be found in real life, would doubt about the realness of the sight in front your eyes? I have a wish, which is to live in Japan for a while, to a certain stage, the understanding about life of an artist, there is a process from strange to familiar, then it can be injected into soul. In 90s, I had a relatively idle period, I often looked at a tree in a daze, and stared the fishes swimming, and now, this state is lost too much. Many life details you need to savor every bite, the experience a nourishing for the artist. Because unrest and peace both are not in simple form, instead it‘s the inner accumulation of the artist, which requires serious practice.
After a long journey in Japan, I had a very strong feeling. After a certain stage of creation, artist wants to search for the extraction and exquisiteness in life and art, integrates with past experience and starts again. China gives me a lot of nutrition - profound tradition, the language practice of ink, rich and diverse social reality, true-to-life stories and faces. But the current situation of Chinese painting, is lack of a little excelsior attitude towards the art and the quality. Through traveling creation in Japan, I feel the Japanese nation’s spirit - strict in their own demands, doom to death and beyond, this plain willfulness is what I wanted. Since being to Japan, I can reintegrate my past feelings, from across the sea I could review our nation and social life, whether it is adapting foreign things to Chinese needs, or use the past to satirize the presence, in another angle and a longer distance, it turns out to be easier to find what belongs to our own roles in their culture. China has vast territory and abundant resources, beautiful rivers and mountains, the material and spirit is in a vigorous rising period, we have every reason to pour the perception in our heritage, showing the world our art and civilization with great self-confidence.
Li Jin
Late autumn of 2016 at Shimacho, Itoshima
