Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s Netherlandish Proverbs and Similar Proverbs in Traditional Japanese Art*
Yoko Mori
phi* paper will discuss howproverbs from PieterBruegel the Elder's Netherlandish r°verbsof 1559(fig. 1) are surprisingly related to Japanese proverbs intraditional art’especiallyinthe Edo Period (1600-1867).1 Even though in mostcasesthephrasing of Dutch and Japanese proverbs differs, there are a few proverbs whichbear almost the Satlle Phrasingin both languages.
Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 'Netherlandish Proverbs' (1559); Staatliche Museen zu Berlin - Stiftung Preufiischer Kulturbesitz, Gemcildegalerie (Berlin)
after pSt a"’ *s wort^ mentioning how proverbbooksbecame popular beforeand thro Fegel's time. In NorthernEurope from the end of the fifteenth century and Private s'xteent^ century, proverbs played an important role in both publicand spee 5 hves, and they were used for pronouncing sentences at court, in giving Scrib eS„'n Parliamentary sessionsand sermons in churches. AsWalter S.Gibson de- r^etits’ Proverbs’ as generally acknowledged repositories of wisdom and as oma-
rhetorical persuasion, have long been quoted much as modem preachers
°teWure"(2010:6).
Originalveröffentlichung in: Grandl, Christian (Hrsg.): Bis dat, qui cito dat : Gegengabe in paremiology, folklore, language, and literature; honoring Wolfgang Mieder on his seventieth birthday, Frankfurt am Main 2015, S. 259-275
Theearliest printed proverb publication istheDutch-Latin book, Proverbia ^orr>^ munia, constituting a collectionof 803 vernacular proverbs (Jente, 1947).This bo appeared in Deventer from1480 asa textbookfor children learning at the Latinsen there. Erasmus studiedthere too.Erasmus'Adagiorum Collectanea wasfirstpublis in 1500 in Paris with 818 proverbs. After several versions,it finally collected 4.- proverbs in the year of Erasmus'death, 1536.2 Many intellectuals allover Europe * stimulated by Erasmus' enlarged publications and they translated Erasmus' Adag?s compiled vernacular proverbs into their own languages in Antwerp, KefflP Mechelen, Paris, Rouen, Londonand othercities. .s
On the other hand from the first half of the sixteenthcentury, visualized prove especially appeared in paintings, engravings and sculptures, and they became v popular in parallel with the written worldof proverbs mentioned above. Thisis'v.7 refer tothe sixteenth century as the "Golden Age of Proverbs." The pictorial tradi ofproverbs continued until the second half of the seventeenth century intheL Countries. Therefore, Bruegel's Netherlandish Proverbs can be valued as the pointof the Golden Age forthe pictorial world, injuxtaposition toErasmus's
for thewrittenworld. , <e
Bruegel depicts in his NetherlandishProverbs nearly 100 proverbs ina s,n|0_ composition. Although the majority of peoplein thispainting are peasants, als° a eluded are people of all classes and occupations inhistime, such as ayoungpr’nce'a rich landlord, twomonks, a knight, soldiers, a craftsman, old and young housewive, fool, and even a criminal onthepilloiy and two devils. In otherwords, thispainting lustrates the universal world of human behavior; that is, the deception,folly, tal y, abuse andweakness foundin any human society (Mori,1992). An anonymous ing dated from the secondhalfof the sixteenth century mayexplain Bruegel's mte° with thefollowing inscription: "Lookhere howthe world is entirely wrong /1 <e the proverbsfrom which one learns / How thingsare goinginthe world / With Pe^eI1 from all classes" ('Siet hier de weireltganschverkeert / lekmeyne spreucken ^aeJ,<>.25 leert./ Hoe't inde weirelt ommegaet / Bij'tvolckvanalderhandestaet')(Mori,2
fig-5)-3 ,^al-
Proverbs are carved in misericords(sculptures in choirstalls)inFlemishan loon cities such as Hoogstraten, Diest, Aarschot, Walcours and also in Dutch such as Amsterdam, Kempen and Bolsward. Among 54 misericords 1D |,y Katherinakerk in Hoogstraten near Antwerp, 9 are identified as those painte Bruegel. As Bruegel'smaster, Pieter Coeckvan Aalst, designed the stained g jS, thischurch, Bruegel mighthave visited there and beenimpressed bythe prover
ericords. _ _ ptue
The most importantprevious proverbimage prior to Bruegel's painting is 7' Cloak ('De Blauw Huyck') designed, engraved and etched by FransHogenbergar^|Ue 1558 (fig.2). The inscription written above reads: "This is generallycalledthe Cloak, but would be more appropriate to be called theworld's follies"
HVICKE IS DIT MEEST GHENAEMT MAER DES WEERELTS ABVIS^
BETER BETAEMPT'). roVefb
Among the43 proverbsinThe Blue Cloak, 32are common to Bruegel's P a|, painting. It can be assumed that Bruegel wasinspired byHogenberg'scompoS1
Bruegel's Netherlandish Proverbs and Similar Proverbs in Old Japanese Art 261 though Bruegel depicted about 100 proverbs in his painting. In fact, people named Pfoverb printsor paintings "Blue Cloak," as proved by Christoph Plantin'sbusiness
’'ary dated 1558 when he sold 3 printsof "DeBlauwe Huyck" to the bookseller, Mar- tln II in Paris (Deien, 1969 [ 1924-1935]:156).
Frans Hogenberg, 'The Blue Cloak' (ca. 1558); Bibliotheque royale de Belgique (Brussels)
Pr0(l terHogenberg's proverb print was published, many "Blue Cloak"prints were and°Ced such as those by Johannes van Doetecum, Theodor Galle, Johannes Galle ci^al anonyrnousengravers priorto an early seventeenth centuiyprint by Fran- 1^39 Van H°eye- The latter carries69proverb images with Dutchproverbs (Lebeer, the o"1940). Themoststriking proverb painting was executed by SebastiaanVrancx in Pr^ seventeenth century, containing 202 proverbs among which Bruegel's 53 WOri. s ^e found. Vrancx's work has been characterized as a truly encyclopedic
°of the time (Grauls, 1960).
thee- Uringthe EdoPeriod inJapan (1600-1867), especially from the secondhalf of
% ®“teenth century, the intellectual middle class bore an increasinginterest in prov- . ections as well as theirvisualizations. At the same time thepublication culture ihent *nto v°gue and proverb collections caused editors to illustrate them for amuse-
for decorative tools to all kind of genreslikeGengaen ('Illustrated Proverb 6,5tu ] 1808 (fig. 3) by Kuwagata Keisai.4 Inaddition, the Edo Period produced the Poeius ?n®-I,'cture scroll by Ko Ryuko (f 1858) (fig. 4), accompanied by theChinese itig]jk y Okuni Takamasa. In Japan there is no equivalent monumentalproverb paint- eBruegel'sNetherlandishProverbs’, however, this rare picture scroll with48 al
phabeticalproverbs canbe compared to Bruegel's work in thatitexpresses both artist's concept as well as hisintellectual patron's interest in proverbs.
Fig. 3: Kuwagata Keisai, 'Gengaen' (1808; detail); Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku (Tokyo)
Fig. 4: Ko Ryuko, 'Alphabetical Proverbs' (before 1858; detail); Meiji Daigaku (Tokyo)
We may note as well the great vogue of alphabetical proverbplayingcards sue Fifty Proverbs Playing Cardsby UtagawaKuniyoshi of the mid Edo Period an ( merous publications of 48 Iroha ('alphabetical') proverb cards. Thelatter sets c^c3.
of image andtext cardswhich were made also for children's games, both fore^aje tional purposes as well as forentertainment. The first Japanese playing cards aroundthe end of the sixteenth century may havebeen inspired by those broug
Portuguese merchants into Japan. .
In addition to these examples,it is remarkable thatnumerous proverbialyist>
tions were produced on all kinds of items suchas stone gardens likeRyoanji° 0.
carvingsin the frieze of Shinto temples, tsubaof swords, clothes, theback of 011 helmets, tea ceremonyvessels, signboards, interior decorations over sliding ^°°rS'6Sti- so forth. Tokita Masamizu, proverb scholar and collectorof visualized provroverfo35 mates300-400 genres.5 Japanese folk seem to haveconsidered visualizedpro value-added decorations ofpopular wisdom.
Bruegel's Netherlandish Proverbs and Similar Proverbs in Old Japanese Art 263 J-F- van Overmeer Fisscher served as the first secretary ofthe Dutch Trading use in Nagasaki in 1820 and described how the Japanese enjoyed theproverbcard a]SQes ns a form of domestic entertainment (1833:202). Indeed, the EdoPeriod can ji 0 named as the Golden Age of proverbial representations in Japanese art.
SwPens^a Ikku explained the proverbculture inhisbook inshort: "Proverbs serve as a tio 6t rne^*c*ne awakesleepy people. [...] Adding short comic poems andillustra
te s toPopular proverbsIcould give some pleasure to women and children looking at (1986 [1828]:n.p.).
c ue following ten Flemishproverb images from Bruegel's painting can also be Paredtosimilar Japanese visualizedproverbs.
ku« rueSefs proverb,She can bind the devil on the pillow ('Zij zou deduivelop het h0 e*1 linden')(fig. 5) ironically demonstrates how a Flemish housewifedominates at ne and overwhelms her husband, showing she is stronger than a devil who is
^“Uded by her violence.
y equivalent Japanese image is A Married Couple of Fleas by Utagawa Uam |Utlle ® l^e 'ate Per*°d (fig- 6). Yoshiume depicts a caricaturized couple, hve 6 l^e ^*8uodta^ w‘^e ^er smaH weak husband as the real difference be- abo n a b'® female and a small male flea. The text saysinshort:A woman complains thatUt. irresponsible behavior of her husband going outalwaysall the daylongso Withp *saffa'd hemight meet by chancedebt collectors on the street. In comparison c0 ruegel'couple,here Japanese onlookersfirst laughed atsuchanunusual married
P e>andthen sympathized with anobedienthusband (Tokita, 2005:32-33 & 253).
Bruegel, "She can bind the devil on the pillow" (detail, fig. 1)
Fig. 6: Utagawa Yoshiume, 'A Married Couple of Fleas' (late Edo Period;
detail); Meiji Daigaku (Tokyo)
l^r ..*yegers A pillar biter ('De pilaarbijter') (fig. 7) depicts a man biting a church pil- Wjth plsrePresents hypocritical or fanatical prayers althougha pillarhas nothing to do uristian beliefs. Themisericord in Hoogstraten more ironically shows a fanatic
monk biting a pillar. In front of him a female head, probably a nun, is anxiously PeeP ing so that the monkpretends tobe pious in spite of hisdeep interest in her.
The similar Japanese proverb by Toba School is,Faith makesoneworship eV the sardine's head (fig. 8) whichis known in English as, Believe welland have ' Like the monk inthe misericordmentioned above, aJapanese Buddhistpriestpw with his rosary to a sardine. For humor, his body is composed oftheletters of proverb written in reed-likeletters. The sardine remains even at present as oneof most inexpensive fish in Japan,yetthis fishwasused as fertilizerintheEdo Perl However, according to a superstition its headwasbelievedto contain a magic power-
Fig. 7: Bruegel, "A pillar biter"
(detail, fig. 1)
Fig. 8:
Bruegel's grotesque-looking man with double mouths appears from a small oP ing of thewall representing a proverb. He speaks from the double mouth('Hij sPrj.g uit twee monden') (fig.9). The proverb mayberelated to the passagein Timothy ’ of the NewTestament: "Likewise mustthe deaconsbegrave, not double tongue ’ ,,5 given toomuch wine, not greedy of filthylucre." Anna Bijns (1493-1575), BfU vS;
contemporary poet, quotes this proverb in her poetic refrain of 1524 as fo
"Everyoneis nowinclined to trap the other. Hespeaks by two mouths andit,s
clear" (Marijnissen, 1988:136). [t
Theimageofthe Japanese proverb of1868 is surprisingly close to Brueg was illustrated by Utagawa Utashige (Hiroshige III), and it reads. He speaks . .j, tongues (fig. 10), namely, he is aliar and an unfaithfulperson. Utashige comie® a lustrates the proverb witha sitting man showing two longtongues. He looks f merchant because while rubbinghis hands together he wants to boast of mere to his clients with his cunningtonguein spite of its inferiorquality.
Bruegel's Netherlandish Proverbs and Similar Proverbs in Old Japanese Art 265
double mouth" (detail, fig. 1)
Fig. 10: Utagawa Utashige (Hiroshige III),
"He speaks by two tongues" (1868;
detail): Meiji Daigaku (Tokyo)
b|a rue8e*'s She hangs the blue cloak over her husband ('Zij hangt haar man de Ure We om') (fig- 11) is placedinthe center of theforeground, and itis a keyfig- Of. Bruegel'sNetherlandishProverbs. For "The Blue Cloak" was thecommontitle senPr°Verb prints and paintings ingeneral as mentioned earlier. Thebehavior of the
*he k S anc* young w'^ehangingablue cloak over herold husbandpalpably indicates dOu, etrayal ofhis wife.Infact her husband needs a cane to helphim walksothatthey tlessly representan unequalcouple. The literary backgroundsof the colorblue centSevera' examples ofthe proverbial phrase,to hangabluecloak from thesixteenth
Ury have beendiscussedearlierinmy previous work (2004).
[f! similarJapanese proverb reads. She covers her husband's face with mud, andit afterS 3 W'Pe br’n§s disgraceupon her husband.The coloredwoodblockprint (fig.12) c r.KaWanabe Kyosai's (1831-1889) depicts this proverb ina much more rough and been'Ca’ Waytbantbeoriginal one,andthe colors anddesign of the wife'skimono have tifed C®an8ed too.6 After the husband and his wife havebeentogether,hebecomesso that k fellsasleep on top of thewaste box.Yet his young wife isnot pleased so tim S^e secretly invitesher boyfriendin and hands him her love letter.At the same
% ■’ S^e Pa*nts mud on her husband's faceto cover his sight. In addition to the prov- ftaint186116^ tb’s scene’anotherhumoroussentence wasadded, namely, "As I will
y°U weH’ stand still!" Thus the duped husband is more caricaturized than aai soriginalwork.
ruegel's One fills the well after the calfhasdrowned('Als'tkalf verdronken is, tyef,p tnen de put') (fig. 13) depicts one of themost characteristic expressions inhis pre ?rtandish Proverbs.A careless peasant covers an empty well with dirt after his his °Uscalf hasdrowned. Heissituated almost in the center of the foreground,and
rePentant face withhiswhite shirt impressestheviewer with how upsetthispeas- after having lost hisimportant property.
Fig. 11: Bruegel, "She hangs the blue cloak over her husband" (detail, fig. 1)
Fig. 12: After Kawanabe Kyosai, "She covers her husband's face with mud" (after 1868):
Kawanabe Kyosai Memorial Museum (Warabi, Saitama)
Donaes Idinau, a Flemish Jesuitof the seventeenthcentury made asermoniz^
poem as follows: "He fills thewell whenthe calf has drowned; thisproverb suits a thosewho become wise too late. / Usethe grace given to you by God: Listen always^
hisadvice.The screaming of the foolishbridesmaids is painful" ('Hystopt den put ay kalf is verdroncken; Dat past op alle/ diete spadewijs zijn. Stelt gratie te wercke van Godegheschoncken: Siettoe in tijdts/ naer ditaduijs mijn.Derdwase maeghden doet het ghekrijspijn') (1606:12).
Fig. 13: Bruegel, "One fills the well after the Fig. 14:
calf has drowned" (detail, fig. 1)
"Making a rope after arre^
thief (mid Edo Period): ‘ (proverb) playing card
Bruegel's Netherlandish Proverbs and Similar Proverbs in Old Japanese Art 267
(fi JaPanese corresponding proverb reads, Making a rope after arresting a thief bo? ■ 4)’ illustrationisone from a packof50proverbplayingcards, and it does n , ®1Ve any pessimistic impressionlikeBruegel'speasantdoes. A powerful and half- ed man looselyputs his right legonthe backof a thief,as he tries to make a ropeto esthim. His hairs arestanding up from rage liketheblowinghairsof Bruegel'sre-
*>ex &nt Peasant- The painter providesan opportunity for onlookers to anticipatethe foment when thecunning thief may escapefrom his strongcaptor.
intLHrue8ei's He falls from the oxonto the ass ('Hij valtvandeos op deezel') (fig. 15)
°ne 6 S’xteenth century implies that one regresses from a higher positionto alower e e: hisAdages, Erasmus quotes a similar proverb. From a horsetoan ass ('Ab s ad asinos'), and hecomments: "He turns away from honorablestudies to less fron°rable ones, froma philosopher to achorister, from a theologianto a grammarian, reJ*1.3 merchant to an inn-keeper"(1961 [1703]:274). This meaningtoday, however,
a’ns unfamiliar inBelgium.
'nft ”e Ot^er meaning of theproverb is to chatterwithout consistent content as seen 0 Fegel'scontemporary TheBlue Cloak engravings in which citizens jump from the
the ass. The latter meaning is morepopularamongBelgians.
h Xact'y ^e opposite proverb exists in Japanese, Hejumps from a cow onto a Ki/6 means tochange from an inferior to a superior thingor personas illustrated in On^L®313 Eisai's Gengaen (1994 [1808]) (fig. 16). This proverb instructs a young
£ °w to adjust his future to a better situation. In Maeda Isamu'sDictionary of Edo (2003 [1979]), an interesting quotation is cited in Rice Wine, Seiro, Five the Sanes “I the EdoPeriod: "You married far aboveyour poor family background, as
Pr°verb says, 'tochange from a cow to a horse'" (120).
ass" (detail, fig. 1)
Kuwagata Keisai, "He jumps from a cow onto a horse,"
? * 1
'Gengaen' (1808; detail); Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku (Tokyo)
Bruegel's To hold an eel by the tail('Eenaal bijde staart hebben') (fig. 17)sU®
gestsa foolishattempt withoutany chanceof success.It is worth comparing Brueg fisherman with those by the engravers, Frans Hogenberg, Anonymous,Johannes v Doetecum and Lucas Fruytiers. Theydo not represent fishermen, but rather mo well-dressed citizens who are holding eelsbythetails,but they donot appear to their eelsinthenext instance.
Jean deMeung, one of twoFrench authors of Le romande la rose of the thirtee century admonishes his friend with the proverb about how awoman's heart is c^an?", n able so thatit is almost impossible toget her heart: "He couldhold nothingmore aneel bythetail in theSeine"('llne lepourrait pas plus que s'iltenait, dans la ’ une anguillepar la queue') (Lorris &de Meung,1992:532-533). Thesame Prover ,er quoted by Dutchhumanist Johande Brunein his The New Winein the Old Le°
Bag of 1636,as follows:"The person whoholds theeelbythe tail and trustsaWO an's words will certainly complain with regret, 'Everything is just wind and I &
nothingnow'" ('Die by den steerteenpalinghhoudt, / En op eenvrouwes w°°r. t>) bouwt; / Die magh wel zegghenmet verdriet,/'t is al maerwind, ik en hebbe a1
(176). ■ nrov-
Thus alreadyfrom the fourteenth century until the seventeenth century this P
erbreferred to theloss of a lady's love. t0
A Japanese proverb, To catch a catfish with a gourd seems to be simM Bruegel's,sincean eel, a catfish anda gourd are all slippery,thus implyingan i^P a sible attempt.It is found in the famous Japanese festivefloats in Nagasakipainted picture scroll in the late Edo Period which iscalled the KunchiFestive Procession 1.
18).
Fig. 17: Bruegel, "To hold an eel by the tail" (detail, fig. 1)
Fig. 18: Watanabe Kakushu and Hirowatari Sakusaburo, "To catch a catfish with a gourd," 'Kunchi Festive Procession' (1800-1812; detail)
Bruegel's Netherlandish Proverbs and Similar Proverbs in Old Japanese Art 269 and’ ^Panesepicture scroll by TaikoJosetsurepresentsthe sameproverb(fig. 19),
*t is oneof the mostprominentmasterpieces of MedievalJapanese painting. This
;n er‘3>swellknown asa paradoxical questionfor Buddhist monks as well as laymen rnic Cn me<^*tation. As Josetsu depicts theproverb inthe background of themacrocos-
lclandscape, onlookers have tofind theanswerby means of their own metaphysical 8uts, not by means of anyreal methods.
Taiko Josetsu, "To catch a catfish with a gourd" (ca. 1410; detail); Myoshinji Temple, Taizoin (Kyoto)
sn-,Bruegel's It is easy to cutstraps out ofanother man'sleather('Hetis goed riemen e*ty fnU'1Cenan(iermans leer') (fig- 20), depictsusingother people's moneyor prop- appr Or°ne's own profit.Bruegel'stanner cuts an unusually wide belt and amazes his nan/?11106’ Symon Andriessoon in his book of 1550gives several related proverbs, eehs is tocutP‘Pes from someoneelse's reeds (Tis goetpijpensnijden in anj anciers riet').It isgood to rideon someone else's horse ('Tesgoet rijden opeens w"rs Paerdt') and. It is good to warm oneself withsomeone else's hearth ('Tes goet
^n aen eens anders heert') (2003 [1550]: 109 & 216).
, illustration by UtagawaYoshiume (1819-1879),Wrestling at the Expenses of er's Loin-Cloth (fig. 21), isvery close to Bruegel's tanner's action. He depicts t|je]QUrn° wrestlers, a powerful one and a weakone. The powerful wrestler borrows teSt •|lncl°1l1 belonging to the weakone.As a result he becomesthe winner of the con- nerefore the proverb impliesthat the poorwrestleris ashamed of hisnakedness PrOvatl^e same fime he looks at his companionenviously. The deepermeaning of the Sayg.„ *S one t0fi°rrowfundsfromhis friend in order to get abig profit. He P|e ' If1lost thespeculation, I don'tmindbecauseI started as apoor (naked) person.
*telend me funds(loincloth)" (Tokita, 2005:198-199).
I’lindrUe8el's If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch('Als de ene ISq^ ^fiere leidt, vallen ze beiden in de gracht')(fig. 1 & 25)refers to Mathew,
\vj|],’'I0 Paintedthree tiny figures of blind men in thebackground near thesea.They e safe as far as theywalk in thefield, butnot toward the cliff.However in his lat-
er painting, The Parable oftheBlind (1568) inNaples(fig. 22), Bruegelunderlines more tragic accident. After thefallof theblind leader intoa deep river, his other companions will soon encounter the same danger.
the five
Fig. 20: Bruegel, "It is easy to cut straps out of another man's leather" (detail, fig. 1)
Anna Bijns, a passionate Catholic poet published refrains in the mid-sixte^
centuryand warned against the Lutherans: "They are wolves, thoughtheyare wear a sheepskin, they are blind leaders" (1968:48).7 A sixteenth century chronicle^
Ghent, Marcus van Vaemewijckwrote inhis diary (1566-1568) about the relig1 conflictsbetween the Catholics and Protestants, and he alsodescribed the situatt0® follows:
"Look how the devil can seed his weeds under the appearance of the false holiness and h°w he confuses, binds and bewitches the eyes of the reason of our poor blind men and how tn coarse and unwieldy devil lets them clearly perceive, but the folk became so foolish tha they did not stop to follow him: The blind leads the other blind into the ditch" (1872:218)- KawanabeKyosai's The Blind Leading theBlindrepresentsfiveblind adults an J blind children (fig. 23). The scene is reminiscent of Bruegel's earlier painting^
adults are walking ina rapidstreamduring the summer.Most of them, eventhe s &
child,carry instruments to play for their daily income. Although Kyosai does pressthe immediatedangertothe family,he seems tolet thevieweranticipate fatethey mayencounter inthenextinstant.
Josiah Conder, architect and Kyosai's student, reproduces his master'sinter a image relatingthis procession ofthe blind, The ProcessionofBlind Men Lea White Hare to the Moon in his book Paintings and Studies by Kawanabe I a (1911) (fig. 24). The blind people are led by awhite hare with a mask of in high- and long-nosedgoblin, meant as an occidental by Kyosai. Conder interpre <e>
his book, "the meaningof Kyosai's lampoonapparently was, that a number ofP
Bruegel's Netherlandish Proverbs and Similar Proverbs in Old Japanese Art 271 fessed offoreign books which they could not read,were being blindly conducted su 6r *ore'8n leadership to a place of illusion"(1911:123). Kyosai disliked Japanese
^Perficial intellectuals caught up in the fashion for Westernculture without any true c Pledge ofits value. At the sametime, he probablysatirizes inthe white harethe b bubbleof speculationinthe new varieties of hares from theWest which were ljDe».dUrlng the early Meiji Era (1872-1874).This phenomenon was similar to the Tu-
"lania in 1637inthe Low Countries (Shiroyama, 2011).
(Naples)
Kawanabe Kyosai, 'The Blind Leading the Blind' (1881)
Fig. 24: Kawanabe Kydsai, 'The Procession of Blind Men Led by a White Hare to the Moon (1881); present location unknown
Bruegel's Everything, no matter how finely spun, will come finally to the sl* CNiemand ooit zo klein ietsspon,of het kwam wel aan de zon')(fig.25)isplaced a highlyvisible position,namely, at the topright because with thisproverb he wanted summarizethe most importantmessage. A more direct proverb is foundin aFret] . proverb collected in Gabriel Meurier's Thresor de sentences dorees (1578), , t reads: No sincan behidden so well, that itwill notfinally be revealed (TSTulpeche n si cele, qu'enla finne soit revele') (142). .e
Giuseppe Maria Mitelli, a seventeenth century Bolognese artist illustrates proverb withthesame meaninginhis book,Iproverbi figurati (1678). The titlerea
"Notice that God watches you," and theinscription follows: "In a most deserted remote place,/while you plot toinjure a person who issleeping,/ NotonlyyoUf tions,butyourthoughtstoo are watchedby God" (1996[ 1678]: 11-12) (fig. 26).
This is similar to the verse in Proverbs 15:3: "The eyes oftheLord areineV place, beholdingthe evil and the good!" Mitelli illustrates theeyein the heaven^^
watching the attack of a robber against an innocent passengerto warn theviewer no perfect crimeor hidden evilis allowed in a worldunderthe control ofGod. .
The same proverb in Japanese, Heaven's net is coarse, but catches everft'' means heaven's vengeance is slow but sure. Keisai Eisen's Heaven'sNet(1844)( 27) surprisingly corresponds toMitelli's image.The thief threatens the innocent senger, saying, "Give memoney quietly!"The passenger cries, "Help!"The event curs infront of a Jizo, a guardiandeity. Yethe says,"AsIam astone statue,I c e helphim. I feel soiTyfor him" (Mantei, 2005 [1844]: 188-189). However, thes statue warns the thief that the heavens personified bythe sun, moon and win watchinghis evil deedson earth.
Bruegel's Netherlandish Proverbs and Similar Proverbs in Old Japanese Art 273
26: Guiseppe Maria Mitelli, "Notice that God watches you," 'Iproverbi figurati' (1678)
Fig- 27: Keisai Eisen, 'Heaven's Net' (1844)
Phil h’s Proverb originates fromthewriting,Seventy Three Chaptersby the Chinese EI1(]gSoP^er’ Laotse (604-531),founder of Taoism (Abe & Yamamoto & Ichikawa &
cond’ 1966:119-121). Laotseadvises thatone should not be offensive in eitherone's courUctor actions and shouldnot emulate others, who do so. He suggests having the WjSea®e to stay humbleeventhoughonehas distinguished oneself in all fields. Other- c°ar °nCma^ destr°y both oneself and others. As the proverb says. Heaven's net is of^6, ^ut catches everything.It is interesting to compare the philosophical meaning pr eProverb byLaotse with the modifiedone inthe EdoPeriod. In fact theJapanized
rb became more admonishing andunderstandable to citizens.
ar*1 Conc'us*on’theproverb publicationsin Northern Europein thesixteenthcentu- prove much richer than those inthe EdoPeriod. However, genres ofthe visualized Pajnter^s *n Northern Europe are ratherlimited tomisericords,tapestries, graphicarts, theSeln®s’ Painted wooden plates and otherforms. Yet, it is very characteristic that Phil0 examPies from the LowCountries, based uponethical messages from classical tf^t SoPhyand literature,are moremoralistic and didactic than those in Japan.In con- tpe ’.JaPanese proverb images are foundinhundreds ofgenres.It is alsonoteworthy to pCct °n that the Japanese pictorial world is less moralistic, because the viewers ex- ''she entertainment, humorand laughter fromproverb images. Both artistsand pub- Catu fS to avoidthetragic connotation oftheimages even ifthere were somecari- read • Matures. Overmeer Fisscher explained this Japanese mentality to Western
*n ^’s hook.The followingquotationis from the chapter.Pastime and Enter- 'y^rr-enl- "Japanese eagerly use every occasion to please theirhearts and keepoffall dutvn ? andaffliction. [...] Theremissofenjoyment is nearly considered neglect of
y 0833:197).
Notes
This paper was written based on my presentation at the Royal Academy of Archaeology e.
gium on November 17, 2012.1 greatly appreciate the Academy providing such a precious °PP , tunity. I received valuable scholarly assistance from Hans Nieuwdorp, the former director of 1*
seum Mayer van den Bergh, Dr. Joost Vander Auwera, Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belg1 and Christianne Muusers, culinary historian in translating the Old Dutch texts and from Pr°*e Hiromu Ozawa, Edo-Museum in interpreting the Japanese proverbial images. I am also grate to Karen McGee, Assistant Professor of Nihon University College of Art, for her astute sugg tions about English usage.
1 This paper continues a discussion from the author's previous work (see 2003 & 2008).
2 About the further versions of his Adagiorum collectanea, see Phillips (1964).
3 The illustration was reproduced in Lebeer (1939-1940:174). . 4 All Japanese names in this paper are provided in traditional Japanese sequence: Family nan
followed by given name.
5 The author owes these insights to Tokita Masamizu's rich collection of Japanese erbs, his publications including Zusetsu Kotowaza Jiten (Dictionary of Japanese erbs) (2008) and his informative suggestions.
6 See Kyosai's original woodblock of this proverb (Mori, 2003:194 fig. 3).
7 The author cites another passage of Bijns' criticism against the Lutherans (see 2003:203).
visualized pr0 Illustrated Pr°
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