An all-star of the Edo period art world graces a new canvas.
The defining detail of Converse’s All Stars series of sneakers is that the shoes are made with canvas. Of course, linguistically, “canvas” can refer not only to sturdy woven fabric, but also a space in which an artist can create, and both of those meanings apply to Converse Japan’s newest model.
These hi-top kicks are called the All Star IJ HI, and while scholars of classical Japanese painting may be saying “Ah, of course!” as they look at the IJ part of the name, we’ll take a moment to delve into the letters’ significance. Actually, the IJ here is a set of initials, referring to Ito Jakuchu, one of the most celebrated artists of the mid-Edo period.
▼ Ito Jakuchu
Born in 1712, Ito started out life as a grocer who took over his father’s business in Kyoto’s Nishiki Market (the same market that’s now become a major tourist attraction). But what Ito really wanted to do was paint, and what he really wanted to paint was birds…and the birds he really, really wanted to paint were chickens and roosters.
Though they weren’t his only subject matter, Ito found fowl such fine muses that he painted multiple pieces with gunkeizu, or “painting of chickens/roosters” in their title. For the All Star IJ HI, Converse Japan has chosen to adorn the shoes’ canvas with imagery from Ito’s Saboten Gunkeizu, which Ito painted on the sliding doors of Osaka’s Saifukuji Temple in 1789.
▼ Incidentally, while Converse was founded in the U.S. and has been a subsidiary of Nike since 2003, Converse Japan is a separate company, and part of Japan’s Itochu trading company conglomerate.
Having lived his entire life in the Edo period, when Japan was closed off to the rest of the world by decree of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Ito himself would have had little, if any, opportunity to see footwear beyond traditional geta and zori sandals. Nevertheless, his painting makes for a very stylish sneaker motif, mixing bold and colorful imagery without crossing the line into being garish.
The All Star JB HI is priced at 14,300 yen (US$90) and availably exclusively through Japanese shore store ABC Mart, with orders placeable through the chain’s online store here.
Source: ABC Mart via Japaaan
Top image: ABC Mart
Insert images: ABC Mart, Wikipedia/Gryffindor, Wikipedia/Fraxinus2
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