日本の美術史における美男子
日本の美術史における美男子の定義は時代により変化するが、たおやかな稚児等が主役の中世から、江戸中期以降には「死」や「血」のにおい、鋭さが加わった。容姿は色白で柳腰、すっきりした顎、つり上がった眉と目で、闘いの気配もある。また戦前・戦中派までの武士道や衆道等、同性愛の色濃さも忘れてはならない。
大正には高畠華宵（1888～1966）の描く「死に向かう」美少年たちが人気を博したが、中性的な面立ちの彼らが傷つき、仲間と寄り添う姿は、男女ともに自己愛（ナルシシスム）と自己投影、嗜虐のエロスの眼差しを集めたようだ。Nuiはこれらの美意識を、日本の古典的な耽美と頽廃の美学と定義する。
同性に限らず、女性たちが鈴木春信（1725～1770）の浮世絵に見られるような男女の区別がしにくい若衆に惹かれたのは、自分と似て自分にはない非現実的な存在だからという。男性も同じく、自己投影と女性の生理的な生々しさがないことを理由に男色を美化した。
男も女も人間であり、性の境界線や拘りは薄かったと思われる。これらは互いに対立し依存し合いながら万物を形成しているという「陰陽論」に通底すると考える。
モチーフとしての俳優・京本政樹と「対」になる村上弘明
Nuiは日本で古来より愛された美男子を現代に表現するべく、ミューズとして時代劇俳優の京本政樹（1959～）を選んだ。
「美男画」の要素には、美しい容姿以外にも精神性や生き方を求められる。時代が移ろうと、美男の在り方も封建主義的な美学に民主主義的な美学も加わったが、令和を生きる京本政樹は、そのどちらも体現できる稀有な存在だ。美貌はもちろん、素顔は自由で束縛をよしとせず、我を貫く「かぶき者」的性質は青年期の勝ち気な目許に顕れている。時代劇で徹底的に鍛えられた抑圧の美（封建主義的）と、それを打ち破ろうとする相反する力（民主主義的）が同居し、加えて、早逝した父の存在や、撮影で負った脚の怪我さえも彼の精神性に引力を与えている。
しかも還暦を超えてもなお、「前髪」姿が似合う永遠の少年性を保持している。かつての日本には少年の定義と価値が明確に存在した。少年期と決別する「元服」があり、色を売る男児の蔭間は盛りが過ぎると蔑まれた。
多くの美男画には少年・青年期の美を保存する欲求や目的があったのだとすれば、京本は三次元に生きながらにして、それを体現している理想的な存在であり、現代の美男画に描かれるに相応しいのではないか。
さらにこのミューズに、殺し屋を描いたテレビ時代劇『必殺仕事人V（1985）』で対照的な男性らしい村上弘明（1956～）が並ぶことで「対」となる。悲劇性を愛し、元来中性的な男性に愛着を持ちながら、明治以降に西洋美術が流入してマスキュランな肉体美にも目覚めた日本人女性にとって、この陰陽的なコンビネーションはひとつの理想型だったのではないか。ふたりは当時の「必殺ブーム」を牽引してアイドル的存在になり、現代でいう「BL」への目覚めに繋がった視聴者も少なくない。
日本の美男子の再定義
Nuiはこのふたり、および彼らからインスパイアされたモチーフを用いて日本の美男子の概念を表現し、耽美・頽廃・陰陽をテーマに、願望と夢、現実と観念の統合と具現化を試みる。
これまでファンアートの領域では、同「必殺シリーズ」をはじめ数多くの時代劇がモチーフとして扱われてきたが、デフォルメされた漫画的表現、あるいは模写（写実）によるものだった。ここに新たに、日本の美意識を表現してきた線画と、洋楽カルチャーからインスパイアされる鮮やかな色を組み合わせることで、見る者の古めかしさへの抵抗を薄め、これらの美を現代に継承、あるいは蘇生する試みを追求する。
これは西洋画に浮世絵を取り入れたアルフォンス・ミュシャ（1860～1938）や、日本画にラファエル前派を取り入れた華宵が行った技法に追随する。
さらに国内で多様性に埋もれて形骸化されつつある美意識を海外に輸出することで、文化継承を図る。
そしてモチーフの人物は和装に拘らず洋装を取り入れ、舞台も日本に限らないことで、技法のみならず文化の融合をし、若年層や外国人にも、日本の耽美的な美の浸透を狙う。
Nui
令和3年11月22日
Statement (ENG)
Beautiful Boys in Japanese Art History
The definition of a beautiful man in Japanese art history changes from period to period, from the Middle Ages, when the leading role was played by graceful young boys, to the mid-Edo period, when the scent of death and blood and sharpness were added. Their appearance is pale and willowy, with a clean chin, raised eyebrows and eyes, and a hint of fighting. In addition, we must not forget the homosexuality of the Bushido and Shudo before and during the war.
In the Taisho period (1912-1926), beautiful boys who were “on their way to death” as depicted by Kasho Takabatake (1888-1966) were very popular, and their neutral faces, wounded and cuddling with their friends, attracted the attention of both men and women for narcissism, self-projection and eroticism. Nui defines these aesthetics as classical Japanese aesthetics of aesthetics of indulgence and decadence.
Nui defines these aesthetics as classical Japanese aesthetics of aesthetics of indulgence and decadence. Not only men, but also women were attracted to young men who were hard to distinguish between men and women, as seen in the ukiyoe paintings of Harunobu Suzuki (1725-1770), because they were unrealistic, similar to themselves but not to them. Men, likewise, glorified male sexuality because of self-projection and the absence of the physiological rawness of women.
Both men and women are human beings, and the boundaries and constraints of gender were thought to be thin. I believe that this is in line with the “yin-yang theory,” which states that all things are formed through mutual conflict and dependence.
The actor Masaki Kyomoto as a motif and Hiroaki Murakami as a “counterpart
Nui chose Masaki Kyomoto (1959-), a period actor, as his muse in order to express the beauty of men, which has been loved in Japan since ancient times.
In addition to a beautiful appearance, the elements of a “Binanga” require spirituality and a way of life. As the times have changed, feudalism and democracy have been added to the aesthetics of beautiful men, and Masaki Kyomoto, who lives in the present day, is a rare individual who can embody both. In addition to his good looks, his true face is free and unrestricted, and his self-willed “Kabuki-mono” nature is evident in his winsome eyes as a young man. The beauty of oppression (feudalism) and the contradictory power to break through it (democracy), both thoroughly trained in period dramas, coexist, and even the presence of his father who passed away early and the leg injury he sustained during filming give his mentality a gravitational pull.
Moreover, even though he has passed the age of 60, he still retains an eternal boyishness that suits his “bangs” appearance. In the past in Japan, there was a clear definition and value of a boy. There was the “Genpuku” the separation from boyhood, and the older male prostitutes were despised.
If many pictures of beautiful men had the desire and purpose of preserving the beauty of boys and adolescents, then Kyomoto is the ideal embodiment of this desire while living in three dimensions, and is worthy of being depicted in modern pictures of beautiful men.
Furthermore, this muse is “paired” with Hiroaki Murakami (1956-), who seems to be a contrasting man in the TV period drama “Hissatsu Shigotonin V (1985),” which depicts an assassin. This yin-yang combination may have been an ideal type for Japanese women who loved tragedy and were originally attached to neutral men, but who were also awakened to masculine physical beauty by the influx of Western art after the Meiji era. The two became idols, leading the “special killing boom” of the time, and many viewers were awakened to the modern term “BL”.
Inheriting or Reviving the Japanese Beautiful Boy
Nui uses these two men and motifs inspired by them to express the Japanese concept of the beautiful boys, attempting to integrate and materialize desires and dreams, reality and ideology under the themes of aesthetics, decadence, and yin-yang.
In the realm of fan art, many historical dramas, including the “Hissatsu” series, have been used as motifs, but they have been deformed manga-style expressions or imitations (photorealistic). By combining line drawings, which have expressed the Japanese sense of beauty, with vivid colors inspired by Western music culture, the artist seeks to diminish the viewer’s resistance to antiquity and attempt to inherit or revive these beauties in the modern age.
This follows the techniques of Alphonse Mucha (1860-1938), who introduced ukiyoe into Western painting, and of Kasho Takabatake, who introduced the Pre-Raphaelite school into Japanese painting.
In addition, the artist aims to pass on the culture by exporting to foreign countries the aesthetic sense that has been lost in the diversity of Japanese culture.
By adopting Western clothing for the motifs and not limiting the stage to Japan, we aim to fuse not only techniques but also cultures and spread the aesthetic beauty of Japan to the younger generation and foreigners.