The song of Isaiahイザヤの詩 

Isaiah's Song

Watanabe Sadao made this series about The Song of Isaiah in the 1950s, presumably before 1957. As in all his early works the prints were made with black ink on washi. The series gives us some insight into the way Watanabe read and visualized the poetic Song of Isaiah. By the way, it is not just the text of Isaiah 35, 6-10, but also a Japanese hymn/chant that closely follows the text of the verses and ends with a doxology. The series testifies of a close reading of these verses, and the designs show a very personal reflection on these texts. Without the hiragana it would be difficult to recognize the designs as reflections on Isaiah’s song, so that’s probably why Watanabe added the verses. The series is concluded with a benediction, as in the hymn/chant, in a set of two prints. That concluding benediction is a strong indication that the hymn/chant was Watanabe's main inspiration for this series.

Standlee lantern slide collection

Most images in this series that are shown on this page are from the lantern slide collection of Earle and Mary Walker Standlee (Austin Seminary Archives in Austin, Texas, USA). Earle (1895-1988) and Mary Standlee (1906-1985) were in Japan from 1953 to 1957. During the three years in Japan Mary Walker Standlee, with a Japanese collaborator, wrote The Great Pulse (Rutland, VT, Tuttle, 1959), a short monograph on the history of medicine, midwifery and obstetrics in Japan. She also had contact with Watanabe Sadao in that period.

A Talent for God

Mary Standlee wrote an article about Watanabes art: A Talent For God. Presbyterian Survey 47, no. 9 (September 1957): 22-25. An image of the Isaiah print “The thirsty land springs of water” illustrated the article.

She wrote: “Watanabe-san asserts stoutly that his work is not symbolic, that it is purely his spiritual reaction to favorite Biblical themes, and that it defies analysis.” About the Isaiah prints she wrote: “The harmony of man with nature is shown by indirection, and gruesome visual stimuli are avoided, such as desolate swamps or arid deserts. Further, the balance of figures is, especially in the Isaiah series, often more important to the artist than the subject. He uses birds, flowers, and trees to tell the story rather than to supplement it. In the Isaiah series the familiar bamboo, of mystical significance as well as practical value in the folk life of Japan, is used freely.”

The prints and their texts

The size of the sheets is approx. 16 x 13 inches or 40 x 32 cms. The size of the printed area is approx. 32 x 11 inches or 32 x 27 cms. 

The verses of Isaiah 35, 6-10, on the prints are in hiragana.  The hiragana is written in the historical kana orthography (旧仮名遣), the official way of writing before 1946. The hiragana below the images is 'as read' on the prints.

The full text of the verses of Isaiah 35 and the text of the hymn are at the end of this page. The Japanese text is taken from the Japanese Living Bible and the English text from the New King James version.

Acknowledgements

For reading the hiragana on the prints and her support:  Watanabe Junko 渡辺 順子, Tokyo.

For the images: Austin Seminary Archives, Stitt Library, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Austin, Texas, USA