Donald Richie : Brushwork ethereal as the London mists

Review of Yoshio Markino : A Japanese Artist in Edwardian London, revised edition, by Sammy I. Tsunematsu, preface by Ross S. Kilpatrick. London: The Soseki Museum, 2008, 208 pp. ¥1,850 (paper), at The Japan Times (11.05.2008) :

This brush then produced a whole series of watercolor sketches that eventually attracted the attention of the more art-loving inhabitants. Oscar Wilde had just said that the American painter James Whistler had invented London fog — meaning that he was the first to delineate it — and the public had decided that what had been a nuisance was actually an advantage. In Markino was found an artist whose deliquescent drawings perfectly depicted the newfound attractions of London fog.

Later he divulged how he contrived his effects. "I can achieve a very soft color by mixing in oils the strongest primary color with its opponent color . . . I made many other discoveries and was able to achieve some sense of light while trying to draw a silken veil."

These effects found the painter his public. They saw their familiar sights through a new and refreshingly alien eye. Markino went on to paint Oxford and discovered Japanese metaphors — he found the old pavements "cracked like turtle backs" and discovered Oriental color in Occidental England. And when H.G. Wells bought one of his canvases the celebrated author told a friend: "I want to carry London to my Paris flat and this picture is the concentrated essence of London."

This Japanese eye was particularly turned to London's fair sex: "The cherry blossom would be too shy before their complexions. These golden hairs are fairer than chrysanthemum flowers, and the contrast of the dark hair with milk-white complexions is more beautiful than the pear blossom on a moonlight night."

The infatuated artist even changed his name to accommodate his new public. "Markino" is an Anglicization of his Japanese family name. He added the "r" to prevent the English from calling him "Maykino."

Here are some of his paintings and excerpts (ja).

And Sammy I. Tsunematsu's weblog (ja). Mr. Tsunematsu wrote that the book was to be published at the end of January. But I couldn't find it at Amazon.co.jp. How can I get it ?