In fact, there are too many limiting definitions of what the Japanese influence was upon impressionism.  Usually reduced to strong color, perspectival flatness, asymmetry, void spaces, japonaiserie elements as fans and kimonos, zen influences, and a few other stereotyped conceptions.   This 'reductionism' is apparent in too many scholarly works in the west, along the lines: 'Japanese art, indeed the whole culture of the island kingdom, has its roots in China' (Dufwa, 1981) thus denying everything that came before and after that does not have its origins in China, from Jomon pottery and folding fans, to chonmage and harakiri, to omatsuri festivals and sushi, and so on and so forth.    

Furthermore, the Japanese influence upon impressionist painters is often treated as equivalent to the influence of ukiyo-e, but Japanese bunjiga, especially their color sumi ink paintings, were also introduced to Europe, both in terms of originals and illustrated book and journals in the latter 19th century.  Indeed these color sumi-ink paintings are so reminiscent in spirit and technique to that of impressionist paintings, yet ignored in discussions of impressionism.   Perhaps because they are just too close in spirit and technique to it------for if we placed an oil paint brush and oil paints in the hands of a Japanese sumi ink painter, and a sumi-ink brush and color sumi ink in the hands of an impressionist oil painter, and told them to do what usually do, how much of a difference would there really be in the resulting works? 

It appears, with greater scrutiny, that the actual Japanese influence is much more deep than is usually suspected; and even if we limited our discussion to ukiyoe, even there the artistic ideas are far richer than is usually believed.　For instance if we look at  国芳 [仁田四郎忠常冨士の人穴に入るの図], done between 1843-1847, we find that he approaches impressionist brushwork with a woodblock print, truly an amazing piece ahead of its time.  Often we find comments by researchers in the field making statements as to what is 'un-Japanese', e.g. as 'reflections in the water' which one author claims "in itself, an un-Japanese element"-----which of course is completely mistaken, as Hokusai and Hiroshige  made prints emphasizing day time and even night time reflections, sometimes to an exagerated degree more than seen in western painting----conspicuous is Hokusai' giant reflection of Mt. Fuji（甲州三坂水面）or Hiroshige's moon light reflecting on water (両国之宵月)-----and these done before Monet's pronounced reflections, and since we are speaking of possible influences, regardless of whether Japanese water reflections might be influenced by western painting, Monet's reflections could still be an influence of these kinds of prints too.

歌川国芳の門人歌川芳艶（　　　　　）のこの大作、「瓢軍談五十四場」（ひょうぐんだんごじゅうよば）は、豊臣秀吉の出世をテーマにした５４枚の場面からなる作品です。織田信長が手柄を立てた豊臣秀吉に瓢箪を馬標として使用する許可を与えたことが、この版画シリーズの名前の由来である。この「瓢軍談五十四場」の絵は全て紫の縁で囲まれ、独特の様式があり、当館では、ある種のフランスのセザンヌの絵との高い類似性をテーマとした展示もある。またスエーデンのラーソンの絵本の挿絵にも、影響を及ぼしたのではないかと思われる展が多い。

阿弥陀の白毫から発する光が届く

マーベルのコミックの話の内容は、芳艶の版画に描かれたこととは無関係であるのだが、簡単に説明すると、コミックの表紙に描かれた奇妙な宇宙人の様な頭をした足の細長い人物は、突然変異で「スーパー進化」を遂げた「未来人」になり、マンハッタンのタイムズスクエアで暴れ出して主人公たちの４人のスーパーヒーローを圧倒している場面が描かれている。