Gero-Jii is a big, bumpy frog who lives on the tiny plot of land behind our apartment. He doesn’t do much, rarely even moves, and I’ve never heard him make a sound. But he still makes my wife scream every once in awhile. In Japan, an animal that comes with the season is often considered a visitor. Gero-Jii hops along, hauling the Tsu-yu (rainy season) along behind him. Sort of like the red-breasted robin in the eastern US, but with more warts and humidity.
Umi-Bozu are Japanese O-bake, ghost or monsters that haunt the seas. They are the bane of finshermen, boat-sinkers and drowners of sailors. Bozu, incidentally, is the character for “monk”; and the creature is so-named for it’s large, round head. Seeing as the Umibozu tower over ships and crew, Gero-Jii must be a particularly large specimen. It’s no surprise that frogs pop up in fairy tales and ghost stories so often. There’s something vaguely eerie about them, with their metamorphosis from tadpole and their living between two worlds. Or maybe it’s their zen-like calm as they sit in the middle of a dark street, mulling over whether they should cross.
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September 5, 2007 at 11:11 am
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August 29, 2007 at 10:24 am
Marta
Wonderful textures and design - not to mention the interesting story to go with it.
August 29, 2007 at 11:32 am
mau
hey, i love your work. this piece and previous.
congrats, very nice.
hugs
mau
August 29, 2007 at 2:57 pm
Digital Scott
A really beautiful image! Great composition.
August 29, 2007 at 6:19 pm
Elin
so incredibly cool!
August 30, 2007 at 2:17 am
Taro news.3yen.com
Damn. It’s a shame I don’t have any money to buy this work from you since my surfing nickname in Japan is “UMI-BOZU”. For some reason Japanese folks equate my clean head and eerie sea-blue eyes with this Yokai (spectre) , hee, hee.
See my post and link:
http://news.3yen.com/2007-08-30/umi-bozu-japanese-sea-monster/
August 30, 2007 at 3:18 am
patrick
Thanks for the comments! Taro, dude, just the thought of you surfing…puts a grin on my face. Personally, I always thought of you as more of a mischievous spetre, not a destructivve, ship-sinking, bone-snapping one! Anyway, tell Masami. Christmas is coming!
August 30, 2007 at 5:32 am
Taro news.3yen.com
Oh yeah, I get lots of hairy eyeballs from gawking Japanese when I’m surf kayaking and belly-boarding. Sadly now I can’t go near the water till my leg heals. As far a Christmas Yokai surprises, YIKES!
September 1, 2007 at 1:12 pm
Maarit
There’s a great sense of depth in this piece. The black looks good, I often forget how much I love it as a colour, I don’t use it very often in my own work (in large surfaces), I don’t know why. I guess I just forget that as an option (if that makes any sense…).
I like reading about the background of your work, too, Japanese culture is fascinating!
September 2, 2007 at 11:01 am
South Ocean
Great work Patrick! Love the contents of your work. By the way, your ninja banner is simply fantastic!
Thanks for your comments in my blog, yeap I am back again
September 10, 2007 at 5:48 am
Salba
Beautiful work! I love the composition and the design.
Awesome work as always!