A barbarian artist’s life-changing journey to master nihonga, the traditional art of Japan
By Allan West
Setting & details: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Authenticity of Japanese characters & dialogue: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Translation quality: N/A
Entertainment value: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
My recommendation: This account of what it’s like to master one of the oldest forms of painting in the world and carve out a place in the notoriously clubby world of traditional Japanese arts is a surprisingly interesting and moving insight into Japanese life.
Allan West wasn’t always an internationally acclaimed master of nihonga—the art of painting with powdered gemstones on gold and silver leaf—but this delightfully candid memoir is filled with stories of how he carved out a place for himself in that most traditional of Japanese arts.
From getting kicked out of the pigment store he spent years trying to find, to the proprietor knocking on his door forty years later, this memoir isn’t just about mastering the techniques of painting in an exceedingly non-Western way. It’s about how opening oneself up to Japanese culture comes full circle, and delivers insights into the workings of one’s own heart.
Allan is a master storyteller, and it’s clear that it’s not just his triumphs he’s thought deeply about, but the missteps and pitfalls that ambushed him along the way. Like all foreigners who wash up on Japanese shores and stay, it’s the failures that most often lead to greater understanding, and his gentle and humorous way of talking about the lessons he learned from things that blocked his path ring true no matter who you are or where you live.
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Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Japan, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had
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