People of Yamato (Japan) Picture Album, Second Series 1804

Yamaguchi Soken created this page from People of Yamato (Japan) Picture Album, Second Series with ink on paper. Soken lived during the Edo period, a time of relative peace and isolation in Japan. This album reflects a growing interest in depicting the lives of ordinary people alongside traditional, idealized images of the elite. We see two figures by the shore, perhaps fishermen or travelers, their faces etched with what seems to be worry. They gesture towards a wispy, obscured apparition above them. Soken’s decision to focus on the emotional and spiritual lives of everyday individuals challenges the traditional representations of the time and offers an alternative narrative, making space for stories beyond those of the powerful. The work invites us to contemplate our relationship with both the seen and unseen.