Miasa Sister City (1980). Miasa (now Miasa-Omachi) is Mendocino’s Sister City. Serigraph by William Zacha. WZ198002*
Winter’s Offering, Miasa
Winter’s Offering, Miasa (1981). Serigraph by William Zacha. WZ198105*
In 2006 the village of Miasa and the village of Yasaka merged with the near by city of Omachi, also in Kitaazumi District, Nagano Prefecture.
For over 2000 years the mountain village of Miasa had been famous for its hemp. Although hemp had been a mainstay of Japanese economy and culture since prehistoric times, in 1947 the US military government passed a law which made it a crime to cultivate hemp without a license, and all agricultural hemp production ended in 1965. Today Miasa Mura (“beautiful hemp village”) is famous for its 300 year old Hemp House (a national heritage site), and its hemp museum (Asa no Yakata), both donated to the town by former village head Mr. Nakamura. Source: Japanhemp.org
Miasa Hemp MuseumMiasa Hemp HouseConstruction detail of the Miasa Hemp HouseMiasa Hemp House rafters
Tsuwano (1985). Japanese drums (taikos). Serigraph by William Zacha. WZ198506*
Beautiful Tsuwano in Shimane Prefecture is home to Taikodani Inari Jinja shrine with its “1000 vermilion torii.” In 1773 Tsuwano’s lord Kamei Norisada built Taikodani Inari to enshrine a share of the spirit worshipped at the Fushimi Inari in Kyoto, to bring good fortune to him and his people.
Some of the 1000 vermilion torii at the Taikodani Inari shrine in Tsuwano
Shiranuka
Shiranuka (1982). Serigraph by William Zacha. WZ198250 Shiranuka is a small town in Hokkaido Prefecture. Its name is from the indigenous Ainu language, approximately translated as “place where the tide washes over the rocky shore.”
Iwakuni Kintaibashi
Iwakuni Kintaibashi (1980). Designed and first built in 1673, the Kintai Bridge in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, became an official National Treasure of Japan in 1922. Serigraph by William Zacha. WZ198001Kintaibashi at Iwakuni (1880s)Iwakuni Kintaibashi today
Suzuki-en-Hagi
Suzuki-en-Hagi (1985). In Japan, sacred wells like this allow pilgrims to wash their hands, as part of the purification process before entering a shrine. Serigraph by William Zacha. WZ198504 The ancient city of Hagi is one of the few places where a Shinto shrine and a Buddhist temple have coexisted peacefully for centuries. At the summit of Mount Shizuki on the grounds of Hagi Castle which was built by the Mōri clan in 1608.
Hagi
Hagi (1985). Serigraph by William Zacha. WZ198508* For over 250 years Hagi was the political center of Chōshū Domain in Nagato Province.
Nara
Nara (1980). Traditional Japanese mushiko mado window. Serigraph by William Zacha. WZ198004*Street view through mushiko mado windows, Japan.Mushiko mado windows, Nara.Sekiji Tachibanacho, Anan, Tokushima, Japan. Watercolor by Bill Zacha (1980s).
Floating World
Floating World (1985). Fragile beauty created for the title page of Tokaido Journey, the boxed set, referencing the floating world of Japan’s Edo Period, a celebration of sophisticated ephemeral pleasures, a flowering of theatre, art, music. Serigraph by William Zacha. WZ198556Tokaido Journey boxed set, open to title page, and a list of the 55 stations of William Zacha’s Tokaido Road journey. Limited edition (1985). Tokaido Journey Boxed Set
More travels in Asia
Asian Landscape
Asian Landscape (1964). Ink wash drawing by William Zacha. WZ196410
Yangtse
Yangtse (1982). The Yangtse River, the longest river in Asia, and third longest in the world, has been at the heart of Chinese history and culture for millennia. Serigraph by William Zacha. WZ198201
Inquiries
To learn about the availability of individual William Zacha serigraphs and paintings, please contact Mendocino Art Center Gallery Director Leslie Campbell by email, or phone her at 707-477-9595.
