Statue of Kusunoki Masashige — Attraction in Tokyo

My story of sketching 楠木正成像

When Hai san show me this statue and suggest we go sketch it, im deeply impressed by the form, pose, vibe and the facial expression of this sculpture.

Recently I want to push the limits of my sketching and sketching experience, and would like to try something new. I believe this could be a good opportunity.

I've bought a bunch of art supplies to get ready for this and my future drawing. I'm very excited about this one and I researched a bit about the history and backgound of him.

WHY IT TURN OUT LIKE THIS

Before I start the drawing, I was thinking abut the war he experienced. I imagine I'm a soldier who is about to fight him and show what I see in this drawing.

In order to convey the "war" feeling, I start with black and white acrylics and made abstract marks on the spread. The texture of the acrylic paint is perfect to represent the uncertainty and chaotic environment during the war, which thousands of things are happening around you but you really don't have time to look at everything. Things are blurry and you can only sense the blood and sweats during the war.

3 MOMENTS IN THIS SKETCH

At this time I've already planned the composition of this drawing. I want to draw a few angles of him, each showing the awesomeness of the form and details on this statue. I will show that when he is coming far and getting close and finally I can clearly see his face while I fight him. This reminds me of drawing "small, medium and big" exercise which Kumi san show us in the Ginza's sketch meetup.

WHY SKIP THE FACE IN THE MIDDLE

I have a deep connection with this general and his war by imagining fighting with him and looking at this statue. There are a few parts that are particularly interest to me. His mysterious face, the muscles of the front legs of the horse, the gesture of his hand and the reins which tightly control the horse.

You can't see the eyes of this statue in any angle. And this gives a sense of mysterious power and strength and becomes a steely determination and unwavering focus of this statue.

So under strong sunlight when the general approach you, you cannot see his face. And I should reflect this feeling in the sketch. Instead I included a close up of his face on the right which is the moment when a soldier died by hiis sword and hes looking at your dead body and finally you can see his face. (gosh its like a screenshot from a movie scene..)

And this is it. I used mixed media on this sketch, including acrylics, charcoal pencil, compressed charcoal, soft pastel, hard pastel and ink wash.

I hope you can read my whole story about this sketch and enjoying this piece. Thank you.

Japanese translation from AI:

楠木正成像を描く物語

Hai...

Kusunoki Masashige (楠木 正成, 1294 – July 4, 1336) was a 14th-century samurai who fought for Emperor Go-Daigo in the Genkō War, the attempt to take rulership of Japan away from the Kamakura shogunate and is remembered as the ideal of samurai loyalty. His origin has not been validated and it was merely six years between the start of his military campaign in 1331 and his demise in 1336. He received the highest decoration from the Meiji government of Japan in 1880."Legend has it that Emperor Go-Daigo had a dream in which he was sheltering under a camphor tree ("kusunoki"), and that this dream led him to the surname of the warrior who would support him."1Kusunoki "was a well-to-do member of the rural gentry" in the Kawachi Province. He claimed descent from Tachibana Moroe, "a great nobleman of the eighth century." Kusunoki was a "scholar and a devout Buddhist".[3]:53Much of his early education took place at Kanshin-ji Temple in Kawachinagano, southern Osaka. Later in his life, he would arrange for considerable renovations...

Kusunoki Masashige (1294 – 1336) was a 14th-century samurai who fought for Emperor Go-Daigo in the Genkō War. The Genko War was an attempt to wrest rulership of Japan away from the Kamakura shogunate.

Emperor Go-Daigo Tenno (A.D. 1334) was driven into exile by the Ashikaga House, which then set up a rival on the throne. Go-Daigo stood for the divine right of the Emperor, and his virtues and fortitude won him many devoted adherents, among them Kusunoki Masashige.

Masashige, defeated by his enemies, preferred suicide to a surrender to rebels against the Imperial House. This statue -erected in 1901 - was meant as a sign to all Japan that the authority of the Imperial House had a divine right right of authority.

Masashige received the highest decoration from the Meiji government of Japan in 1880 (the statue was commissioned in 1891), He was a patron saint of sorts to World War II kamikaze, who saw themselves as his spiritual heirs in sacrificing their lives for...