12 zodiac animals in 12 seconds, Kitamura edition

The Year of the Dragon has just ended, and the Year of the Snake has just begun.

To mark the occasion, I have made a very quick video guide to the next 12 years of zodiac animals.

The sculptures shown in this video are by Seibo Kitamura (1884-1987), a native of Nagasaki whose most famous work is the Peace statue in that city. It’s one of the few artworks I’ve ever seen that personifies peace in male form, rather than as a goddess. The blog “Nagasaki Perspectives” has photos, plus critical comments.

Meanwhile, to see my “12 zodiac animals in 12 seconds” from a year ago, go here.

Asian zodiac animals

Two days from now, the Year of the Rabbit (2011) will end in Japan, and the Year of the Dragon (2012) will begin. To mark this occasion, I made this silly little video introducing all twelve zodiac animals in the order of their upcoming appearances.