Edutainment > Kaiju Manga (2) - Dragon Bowling Fire

Godzilla in Spring, 2006
copyright Tom Kristensen

Tom Kristensen, born 1962, is a young artist from Australia who works in the tradition of Japanese woodblock printmaking. On this page, he writes about his latest series "Kaiju Manga".

Here is the original text written by Tom Kristensen. Text and images are copyright protected and may not be used or distributed for other than private use without the prior consignment of the author/artist.

Godzilla in Spring - No. 2

Cherry blossom is the symbol of spring, and of the transience of life. In contrast, Mount Fuji is a symbol of revered permanence.

Cherry is also the symbol of prettiness, whereas Godzilla is ugliness incarnate.

Branches of blossom taken from a cherry tree are common in Ukiyo-e prints. Often there is a sprig in a vase, or a branch glimpsed through a window. In Edo times the streets of the red-light Yoshiwara district were decorated each spring with cherry branches. In the prints of Harunobu many young men can be seen tearing at flowering branches. The act of breaking the branch is to cull youth and take possession before opportunity passes. Passing the branch to another is an act of seduction. In this print the cruciform power pole, symbol of masculine modernity, has replaced the cherry tree.

Tom Kristensen
April 2006

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The artist was first discovered by Eric van den Ing, co-author of a classic ukiyo-e book "Beauty and Violence" and owner of Saru Gallery. After Eric van den Ing had placed Tom's woodblock prints on his online gallery, a few days later a collector had bought the whole set. Mr. van den Ing seems to have a "magic hand" for new artists. He was the first to introduce Paul Binnie in 2000 to a larger online community of friends of Japanese prints.

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