Akari

In Japan, there are numerous traditional crafts using ancient designs and techniques.

We have developed lighting devices that transform these traditional designs and crafts into lampshades and fuse them with the latest electronics technology to create fantastic and healing spaces. We propose a peaceful and rich lifestyle for residential spaces through the production of light.

Mojie is a kind of Ukiyoe. People in Edo period learned Japanese pleasantly by finding words which were hidden in Ukiyoe. Therefore Mojie is considered a method to realize both reading and writing words with enjoyment. In fact, people in the Edo period were skilled in reading and writing. There are many moral words in Japan for example “Mottainai” and “Arigatai”. Modern Ukiyoe will pass them to the future by Mojie.

Ukiyoe is a genre of art that flourished in Japan from the 17th to the 19th century. Ukiyoe artists produced woodblock prints featuring beautiful women, Kabuki actors and Sumo wrestlers, scenes from history and folklore, travel scenes, landscapes, flora and fauna, eroticism, and other subjects. Woodblock prints are produced by Ukiyoe artists, engravers who have the skill to carve wood, printers who have the skill to print, and publishers, who are the publishers of the prints. Ukiyoe artists, on the other hand, created their works by themselves. Their works were named Nikuhitsuga.

About "Mojie"

In the Edo period, Japanese people played by looking for and drawing characters in "Mojie" pictures. Katsushika Hokusai was a famous Ukiyoe artist, and his pictures were called "Mojie".

Children learning language at terakoya, as well as adults in the Edo period, learned to read and write words through Mojie, so they were better at reading and writing words than those in other countries.

Gosai Manya, a modern Ukiyoe artist, revived Moegie, which was learned at terakoya during the Edo period. Furthermore, Gosai added the coloring “Moegi-iro"  to his work in order to give people a deeper understanding of Japan.

About the artist

Graduated from Sophia Junior College and was raised with Edo spiritual education from childhood.

1988 Published Manga Tale of Genji (published by Heibonsha).

1990- First solo exhibition, exhibited worldwide (as Ukiyoe artist)

1997 Produced and published the novel "Torikaebaya Monogatari" with the playwright and novelist Juro Kara.

2006 "To Life and Future. Contemporary Ukiyoe Messages Exhibition" at the Japan Club, New York.

2007 Held an exhibition of new Ukiyoe prints "Irodorie" at the Public Information Center of the Embassy of Japan in Washington D.C., co-sponsored by the Embassy of Japan in the U.S.

2008 Changed her name from Mihashi Mari to Yorozuya Issai Produced Ukiyo-Mojie and established "Ukiyo-Mojie Council".

2014 Establishes the Council for Contemporary Ukiyoe Culture, a non-profit organization.