Miyako Festivals Of Kyoto, Japan – Illustrations From A 1920s Album of Silk Paintings

These illustrations of Miyako Festivals are from an album of silk paintings created in the 1920s showing all different festivals held in Kyoto, Japan. Miyako (‘capital’) is an archaic name for Kyoto, which was the capital of Japan from 794 AD to 1868 AD.

The pictures playson patterns of shadows, the light and the darkness that typify much Japanese art.

 

This work follows the beauty of ukiyo-e, which means “the floating world”, that dreamy, not-quite-there world of Japanese prints where everything looks fleeting and as if it’s about to fade away. Add that style to the unusual goings on in Japanese traditions – all that culture and costume – and you’ve got a thing of beauty and interest.