Transcript From The Shoguns to the Present DELVON TURNER & CHRISTINA AVERY

DELVON TURNER & CHRISTINA AVERY
Figure 21-4
From The Shoguns to the Present
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
From The Shoguns to the Present
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
Figure 21-4
Western Perspective in Prints:
Another subject, landscapes, often
incorporated Western perspective
techniques. One of the most famous
designers in this genre was KATSUSHIKA
HOKUSAI (1760–1849). In The Great
Wave Off Kanagawa, the huge foreground
wave dwarfs distant Mount Fuji. Hokusai
places the wave's more traditionally flat
and powerfully graphic forms against the
low horizon, typical of Western perspective
painting.
FEUDAL JAPAN
From The Shoguns to the Present
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
FEUDAL JAPAN
From The Shoguns to the Present
FEUDAL JAPAN
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
Figure 21-4Period (1334–1573)
Muromachi
Shoguns, Samurai, and Buddism
In 1336, the Ashikaga clan formed Japan's second shogunate, and ruled from the
Muromachi district of Kyoto. Under the Ashikaga shoguns, local lords had power
over local affairs, and Ultimately strived for control of the country.
Zen Buddhism grew alongside other sects, especially Pure Land Buddhism.
Because Zen emphasized rigorous discipline and personal responsibility, it held a
special attraction for samurai (warriors). Aristocrats and merchants also supported
Zen temples, which were centers for the study of Chinese art, literature, and
learning.
From The Shoguns to the Present
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
Image goe here
Delete this text before placing the
image here.
27-1 Dry cascade and pools, upper garden, Saihoji, Kyoto,
modified in Muromachi period, fourteenth century
Zen Spirituality and Rock
Gardens:
The Saihoji temple gardens
exemplify the continuities
flow and and
transitions that marked
religious art in the Muromachi
period. After this Pure Land
temple was transformed into
a Zen institution, the gardens
continued to evoke the beauty
of Amida's Pure Land while
serving the Zen faith's more
meditative needs.
The gardens echo the complementary roles of the two Buddhist sects in the Muromachi
period. The iridescently
green
mosses
of Saihoji's
lower
gardens,
which
seem
to belong
colorful, green
mosses
of Saihoji's
lower
gardens,
which
seem
to belong
to to
another world, contrast with early examples of dry landscape gardening on the hillsides. In
eastern Asia, gazing at dramatic natural scenery was considered beneficial to the human
spirit. Arranging stones to suggest landscapes, as seen in Chinese paintings, encouraged
aesthetic and spiritual engagement with the scene, which could be fully visualized only in the
mind.
From The
Shoguns
to Art
the Present
Fifteenth
Century
Italian
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
Splashed-InkPainting:
Painting:
Splashed-Ink
Stylesand
andsubjects
subjectsofofink
inkpainting
paintinginin
Styles
theMuromachi
Muromachiperiod
periodusually
usually
the
followedChinese
Chineseprecedents
precedents
followed
closely.Most
Mostofofthe
theink
inkpainting
painting
closely.
masterswere
wereatatleast
leastostensibly
ostensibly
masters
Zenmonks.
monks.TOYO
TOYOSESSHU
SESSHU(1420–
(1420–
Zen
1506)was
wasone
oneofofthe
thefew
fewartists
artists
1506)
whotraveled
traveledtotoChina,
China,and
andlearned
learned
who
muchfrom
fromMing
Mingpainters.
painters.InInhis
his
much
splashed-inkpictures,
pictures,spontaneity
spontaneityisis
splashed-ink
balancedwith
witha athorough
thorough
balanced
knowledgeofofthe
thepainting
paintingtradition.
tradition.
knowledge
FEUDAL JAPAN
27-2
TOYO
SESSHU,
splashed-ink
27-2
TOYO
SESSHU,
splashed-ink
landscape, Muromachi
landscape,
Muromachi
period,
period, 1495. Hanging scroll, ink on 1495.
paper, Hanging
4' 10 1/4" X 1' 7/8".
scroll,
ink
on
paper,
4'
10
1/4"
X
1'
7/8".
Tokyo
Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo.
National Museum, Tokyo.
From
The Shoguns
15th
Century
Italian Artto the Present
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
FEUDAL JAPAN
27-3
Attributed
to to
TOSA
MITSUNOBU,
Tale
of of
Genji
("Yugao,"
27-3
Attributed
TOSA
MITSUNOBU,
Tale
Genji
("Yugao,"
scene
4),
Muromachi
period,
early
sixteenth
century.
Album,
inkink
scene 4), Muromachi period, early sixteenth century. Album,
andand
color
on
paper,
approx.
9
1/2"
X
7".
Arthur
M.
Sackler
color on paper, approx. 9 1/2" X 7". Arthur M. Sackler
Museum,
Harvard
University,
Cambridge
Museum,
Harvard
University,
Cambridge
Similar
TOSA
MITSUNOBU,
Similarto to
TOSA
MITSUNOBU,
The Tosa School:
The
Tosa
School
and the more influential Kano School emerged during the fifteenth and
The
Tosa
School:
sixteenth
centuries.
TOSA
(1434–1525),
director
of the
Painting
Bureau and
The Tosa
School and
theMITSUNOBU
more influential
Kano School
emerged
during
the fifteenth
and
chief
painter
at
the
imperial
court,
also
worked
for
great
temples
allied
to
the
court
and
theand
sixteenth centuries. TOSA MITSUNOBU (1434–1525), director of the Painting Bureau
Ashikaga
shoguns.
His
Tale ofcourt,
Genji also
illustrations
more narrative
elements
in the
chief painter
at the
imperial
worked incorporate
for great temples
allied to the
court and
elegant
arrangements,
without
theGenji
intimate
moods of
earlier versions.
Ashikaga
shoguns. His
Tale of
illustrations
incorporate
more narrative elements in
elegant arrangements, without the intimate moods of earlier versions.
From
The Shoguns
15th
Century
Italian Artto the Present
THE
THEART
ARTOF
OFLATER
LATERJAPAN
JAPAN
Early
EarlyRenaissance
Renaissance
Figure
Figure21-13
21-13
The
ofofthe
Kano
School:
TheRise
RiseRise
the
Kano
School:
The
of
the
Kano
As
an
independent
painter
inSchool:
As an
independent
painter
inthe
the
As
an
independent
painter
in the
tumultuous
early
sixteenth
century,
tumultuous
early
sixteenth
century,
disorderly early sixteenth
century, KANO
KANO
KANOMOTONOBU
MOTONOBU(1476–1559)
(1476–1559)
MOTONOBU
formed an
formed
an
workshop
formed
anefficient
efficient(1476–1559)
workshopand
and
adapted
his
totoits
efficient
workshop
and
adapted
his
adapted
hisown
ownbroad
broadrepertoire
repertoire
its own
needs.
Motonobu's
Zen
Patriarch
broad
repertoire
to its
needs. Motonobu's
needs.
Motonobu's
Zen
Patriarch
Xiangyen
Zhixian
Sweeping
Zen Patriarch
Zhixian
Xiangyen
Zhixian Xiangyen
Sweepingwith
withaa Sweeping
Broom
depicts
the
monk
Broom
depicts
thedepicts
monkexperiencing
experiencing
with
a Broom
the monk
the
moment
of
enlightenment.
The
the experiencing
moment of enlightenment.
Thework
work
the
moment
of
incorporates
features
of
Chinese
incorporates
features
ofwork
Chinese
enlightenment.
The
incorporates
academic
modes
of
ink
painting.
academic modes of ink painting.
features of Chinese
academic
modes of
Motonobu's
Motonobu'spicture
picturewas
wasone
oneofofaaset
setofof
inkdoors
painting.
picture
sliding
for
Such
sliding
doors
foraMotonobu's
aZen
Zentemple.
temple.
Suchwas one
architectural
decoration
formed
of a set of
sliding doors
for aaZen temple.
architectural
decoration
formed
growing
component
ofofthe
ofof a
Such
architectural
decoration
formed
growing
component
therepertoires
repertoires
the
and
theKano
KanoSchool
School
andlater
later
rivals.
growing
component
ofrivals.
the
repertoires of
the Kano School and later rivals.
FEUDAL JAPAN
27-4 KANO MOTONOBU, Zen Patriarch Xiangyen
27-4
MOTONOBU,
Zen
Patriarch
Zhixian
Zhixian
Sweeping
with a Broom,
Muromachi
period,
ca.
27-4KANO
KANO
MOTONOBU,
Zen
PatriarchXiangyen
Xiangyen
Zhixia
Sweeping
with
a
Broom,
Muromachi
period,
ca.
1513.
Hanging
1513.
Hanging
ink Muromachi
and color onperiod,
paper, ca.
5' 71513.
3/8" X
Sweeping
with scroll,
a Broom,
Hangin
scroll,
ink
and
color
on
paper,
5'
7
3/8"
X
2'
10
3/4".
2' 10scroll,
3/4". Tokyo
ink andNational
color onMuseum,
paper, 5' Tokyo.
7 3/8" X 2' 10 3/4".Tokyo
Toky
National
NationalMuseum,
Museum,Tokyo.
Tokyo
From
The Shoguns
15th
Century
Italian Artto the Present
THE
THEART
ARTOF
OFLATER
LATERJAPAN
JAPAN
FEUDAL JAPAN
27-4 KANO MOTONOBU, Zen Patriarch Xiangyen Zhixian
27-4
KANO MOTONOBU, Zen Patriarch Xiangyen Zhixia
Momoyama Period
(1573–1615)
Sweeping
Sweepingwith
witha aBroom,
Broom,Muromachi
Muromachiperiod,
period,ca.ca.1513.
1513.Hanging
Hangin
Figure
Early
Renaissance
Figure21-13
21-13
Early
Renaissance
The Role of the Tea Ceremony:
The favorite exercise of refinement in the
Momoyama period was the tea ceremony, which
The
Rise
the
School:
The
Riseofof
theKano
Kano
School:
eventually
carried
political
ideological
As
an
independent
painter
inand
the
As
an
independent
painter
in
the
implications. Thesixteenth
ceremony also acquired special
tumultuous
tumultuousearly
early sixteenthcentury,
century,
social
significance
as
it
gained
acceptance as a
KANO
MOTONOBU
(1476–1559)
KANO MOTONOBU (1476–1559)
formed
an
workshop
and
major expression
aesthetic
and even spiritual
formed
anefficient
efficientof
workshop
and
adapted
his
sophistication.
adapted
hisown
ownbroad
broadrepertoire
repertoiretotoits
its
needs.
Motonobu's
Zen
Patriarch
A New Motonobu's
Refined Rusticity:
needs.
Zen Patriarch
Xiangyen
Zhixian
Sweeping
aa aesthetic of
Xiangyen
withnew
In the lateZhixian
fifteenthSweeping
century, with
the
Broom
depicts
the
monk
experiencing
Broom
depicts
the
monk
experiencing
refined
rusticity,
or
wabi,
included
appreciation of
the
moment
of
enlightenment.
The
work
the
moment
of
enlightenment.
The
rustic Korean
and Japanese
wares,work
as well as
incorporates
features
of
Chinese
incorporates
features
of
Chinese
the design of very
simple
tea rooms and
academic
academicmodes
modesofofink
inkpainting.
painting.
teahouses.picture
Zen
concepts
also
Motonobu's
was
ofofaplayed
Motonobu's
picture
wasone
one
aset
setofofan
sliding
doors
for
Zen
temple.
important
role
inaathis
aesthetic.
sliding
doors
for
Zen
temple.Such
Such
architectural
decoration
formed
a
The Shino water
jar named
Kogan
architectural
decoration
formed
a shows the
growing
component
of
the
repertoires
ofof
wabi aesthetic's
influence
the tea ceremony.
growing
component
of the in
repertoires
the
Kano
School
and
rivals.
the
Kano
School
andlater
later
rivals.
The
coarse
stoneware
body,
simple form, and
casual decoration offer the same aesthetic and
interpretive challenges and opportunities as the
dry landscape gardens of Zen temples.
scroll,
scroll,ink
inkand
andcolor
colorononpaper,
paper,5'5'7 73/8"
3/8"XX2'2'10103/4".
3/4".Tokyo
Toky
National
NationalMuseum,
Museum,Tokyo.
Tokyo
27-5 Tea-ceremony water jar, or Kogan (ancient
stream bank), Momoyama period, late sixteenth
century. Shino ware with underglaze design, 7" high.
Hatakeyama Memorial Museum, Tokyo.
From
The Shoguns
15th
Century
Italian Artto the Present
THE
THEART
ARTOF
OFLATER
LATERJAPAN
JAPAN
Early
EarlyRenaissance
Renaissance
Figure
Figure21-13
21-13
Tea Rooms as Ceremonial Spaces:
The
Rise
ofofthe
The
Rise
theKano
KanoSchool:
School:of the new wabi
The
ultimate
representation
As
an
independent
painter
As aesthetic
an independent
painterininthe
the
in the Momoyama
period was the Taian
tumultuous
early
sixteenth
century,
tumultuous
early
sixteenth
century,
teahouse,
designed
under
the direction of the
KANO
MOTONOBU
(1476–1559)
KANO
MOTONOBU
(1476–1559)
most renowned
tea master,
SEN NO RIKYU
formed
formedan
anefficient
efficientworkshop
workshopand
and
(1522–1591).
The
interior
displays
adapted
his
repertoire
totoits
adapted
hisown
ownbroad
broad
repertoire
itstwo standard
needs.
Motonobu's
Zen
features
of Japanese
residential architecture that
needs.
Motonobu's
ZenPatriarch
Patriarch
Xiangyen
Zhixian
Sweeping
with
developed
in the
late Muromachi
Xiangyen
Zhixian
Sweeping
withaa period-very
Broom
depicts
the
thick,
rigid straw
matsexperiencing
(tatami) and an alcove
Broom
depicts
themonk
monk
experiencing
the
moment
of
enlightenment.
The
work
the(tokonoma),
moment of enlightenment.
The
work or
a place to hang
painting
incorporates
features
of
Chinese
incorporates
features
of Chinese
calligraphy
and
to
display
other prized objects.
academic
modes
of
ink
painting.
academic
modes
of ink painting.
The room's
dimness
andof
tiny
sizeofproduce a
Motonobu's
picture
was
one
aaset
Motonobu's
picture
was
one
of
set
of
cavelike
feel
and
force
intimacy
among
the tea
sliding
doors
for
a
Zen
temple.
Such
sliding doors for a Zen temple. Such
host and decoration
guests.
Theformed
small entrance
emphasizes
architectural
aa
architectural
decoration
formed
growing
component
ofofinto
the
ofofspace. Rikyu
a guest's
passage
arepertoires
ceremonial
growing
component
therepertoires
the
School
and
was
tea
adviser
tolater
two rivals.
ofrivals.
Japan's great reunifiers.
theKano
Kano
School
and
later
In contrast, the second Momoyama warlord held
grand tea ceremonies in lavish surroundings.
Such were the extremes of
FEUDAL JAPAN
27-6
SEN NOMOTONOBU,
RIKYU, Taian teahouse
(interior Zhixian
27-4
27-4KANO
KANO MOTONOBU,Zen
ZenPatriarch
PatriarchXiangyen
Xiangyen Zhixia
view),
Momoyama
period,
ca.
1582,
Myokian
Sweeping
with
a
Broom,
Muromachi
period,
ca.
Sweeping with a Broom, Muromachi period, ca.1513.
1513.Hanging
Hangin
Temple,
Kyoto,
Japan.
scroll,
ink
and
color
on
paper,
5'
7
3/8"
X
2'
10
3/4".
scroll, ink and color on paper, 5' 7 3/8" X 2' 10 3/4".Tokyo
Toky
National
NationalMuseum,
Museum,Tokyo.
Tokyo
From The Shoguns to the Present
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
Figure 21-4
FEUDAL JAPAN
27-7 KANO EITOKU, Chinese Lions, Momoyama
period, late sixteenth century. Six-panel screen, color,
ink, and gold-leaf on paper, 7' 4" X 14'10". Imperial
Household Agency, Tokyo.
Momoyama Painting In the Momoyama period, a succession of three great warloads imposed peace on a
country civil war had ravaged since the late fifteenth century.
Chinese Lions on a Japanese Screen:
The warlords erected huge castles with palatial residences, and asked the Kano painters
and their rivals to decorate them. Gold screens had been known since Muromachi times,
but Momoyama painters made them even bolder, reducing in number and often greatly
enlarging the motifs against flat fields of gold leaf.
Motonobu's grandson, KANO EITOKU (1543–1590), was the dominant painter of such
murals and screens. Because of the enormous scope of Eitoku's decoration projects, he
often worked in the monumental style represented by Chinese Lions. The lions, defined by
broad contour lines, stride forw
From The Shoguns to the Present
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
Figure 21-4
FEUDAL JAPAN
27-8 HASEGAWA TOHAKU, Pine Forest, Momoyama
period, late sixteenth century. One of pair of six-panel
screens, ink on paper, 5' 1 3/8" X 11' 4". Tokyo
National Museum, Tokyo.
A Forest in the Mist:
HASEGAWA TOHAKU (1539–1610), a protegé of Rikyu, sometimes worked in
the loose ink-monochrome manner of the thirteenth-century Chinese Chan monk
Muqi. In Pine Forest, the trees emerge from and recede into a heavy mist. In Zen
terms, the picture suggests the illusory nature of mundane reality while evoking a
meditative mood.
From
The Shoguns
15th
Century
Italian Artto the Present
THE
THEART
ARTOF
OFLATER
LATERJAPAN
JAPAN
Early
Renaissance
Early
Renaissance
Edo Period (1615–1868)
FEUDAL JAPAN
27-4 KANO MOTONOBU, Zen Patriarch Xiangyen Zhixian
27-4 KANO MOTONOBU, Zen Patriarch Xiangyen Zhixia
Edo Period (1615–1868)
Sweeping with a Broom, Muromachi period, ca. 1513. Hanging
Figure
Figure21-13
21-13
In 1615, Tokugawa Ieyasu established a new
shogunate, centered in Edo. The new regime
The
Rise
The
Riseof
ofthe
theKano
KanoSchool:
School:
instituted
many
policies
designed
to limit Japan's
As
an
independent
painter
ininthe
As
an
independent
painter
the
pace of social and
cultural change. The
tumultuous
tumultuousearly
earlysixteenth
sixteenthcentury,
century,
expansion
of
urban
centers,
the spread of
KANO
MOTONOBU
(1476–1559)
KANO MOTONOBU (1476–1559)
formed
an
efficient
workshop
literacy,
and
a growing
thirst and
for
knowledge and
formed
an
efficient
workshop
and
adapted
his
own
repertoire
totoits
diversion,
however,
made
for a very
lively
adapted
his
ownbroad
broad
repertoire
its
needs.
Motonobu's
Zen
Patriarch
popularMotonobu's
culture.
needs.
Zen Patriarch
Xiangyen
Zhixian
Sweeping
Xiangyen
withaa
A PrincelyZhixian
Villa atSweeping
Kyoto: with
Broom
depicts
the
experiencing
Broom
depicts
themonk
monk
experiencing
The
imperial
court
continued
to
influence
taste
the
moment
of
enlightenment.
The
work
the
moment
of
enlightenment.
The
work
and culture.features
The harmonious
integration of
incorporates
ofofChinese
incorporates
features
Chinese
building and garden
in the Katsura Imperial Villa
academic
academicmodes
modesofofink
inkpainting.
painting.
became
one
of
the
great
ideals
Japanese
Motonobu's
picture
was
one
ofofaaof
set
ofof
Motonobu's picture was one
set
sliding
doors
for
Such
residential
architecture,
and has
also inspired
sliding
doors
foraaZen
Zentemple.
temple.
Such
architectural
decoration
formed
aa of its design
architects worldwide.
While
many
architectural
decoration
formed
growing
the
ofofthe
featurescomponent
derive fromofof
earlier
teahouses,
growing
component
therepertoires
repertoires
the
Kano
and
later
the
KanoSchool
School
and
laterrivals.
rivals.
Katsura
Villa
also
incorporates
elements of
courtly gracefulness. The architecture's appeal
relies on subtleties of proportion, color, and
texture.
Sweeping with a Broom, Muromachi period, ca. 1513. Hangin
scroll,
scroll,ink
inkand
andcolor
colorononpaper,
paper,5'5'7 73/8"
3/8"XX2'2'10103/4".
3/4".Tokyo
Toky
National
NationalMuseum,
Museum,Tokyo.
Tokyo
27-9 Eastern facade of Katsura
Imperial Villa, Kyoto, Edo period,
1620–1663.
From The Shoguns to the Present
FEUDAL JAPAN
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
Figure 21-4
The Rinpa School Emerges:
The Edo period painters produced a dazzling variety of styles. Although the Kano School
enjoyed official governmental sponsorship, individualist painters and other schools also
emerged and flourished.
The earliest major alternative school in the Edo period, Rinpa aesthetics and principles
attracted a variety of individuals. The term Rinpa is derived from the name of its ostensible
founder, Ogata Korin. However, two closely linked artists, HONAMI KOETSU (1558-1637)
and Tawaraya Sotatsu (1576–1643), laid its foundations a few generations earlier.
Combining Ancient Traditions:
Koetsu, heir to a family of sword experts in Kyoto, was a greatly admired calligrapher, and
made tea ceramics. He and Sotatsu, proprietor of a fan-painting shop, together drew on
ancient traditions of painting and craft decoration to collapse boundaries between the two
arts. Most Rinpa works also display knowledge of court literary and material traditions.
Koetsu's Boat Bridge writing box exhibits motifs drawn from classical poetry. The lid
presents a subtle, gold-on-gold scene of small boats supporting a temporary bridge. The
poem describes the experience of crossing such a bridge as evoking reflection on life's
insecurities. The box shows the dramatic contrasts marking Rinpa aesthetics.
From The Shoguns to the Present
FEUDAL JAPAN
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
Figure 21-4
27-10 HONAMI KOETSU, Boat Bridge, writing box, Edo period, early
seventeenth century. Lacquered wood with sprinkled gold and inlay, 9 1/2"
X 9" X 4 5/8". Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo.
From The Shoguns to the Present
FEUDAL JAPAN
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
Figure 21-4
Plum Blossoms and Tarashikomi:
The son of a textile merchant, OGATA
KORIN (1658–1716) took the principles
Koetsu and Sotatsu developed into the
eighteenth century. In Red and White
Plum Blossoms, Korin offers a dramatic
contrast of forms and visual textures. The
mottling of the trees comes from a
signature Rinpa technique called
tarashikomi. The contrasting pattern in the
stream has the precision and elegant
stylization of a textile design produced by
applying pigment through a paper stencil.
27-11 OGATA KORIN, Red and White Plum Blossoms,
Edo period, ca. 1710–1716. One of pair of twofold
screens (see @SFC: FIG. Intro-13), ink, color, and
gold-and-silver leaf on paper, each screen 5' 1 5/8" X
5' 7 7/8". Museum of Art, Atami.
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Figure 21-4
The Literati Style:
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Japan's increasingly urban, educated
population spurred a cultural and social restlessness among commoners and samurai
of lesser rank. People eagerly sought new ideas and images, directing their attention
primarily to China, but also to the West.
Several Japanese painters and their followers embraced elements of the Chinese
literati style. Illustrations in printed books and actual paintings of lesser quality brought
limited knowledge of the literati style into Japan. However, the newly seen Chinese
models supported emerging ideals of self-expression in painting by offering an
alternative to the Kano School's standardized repertoire.
One of the outstanding early representatives of Japanese literati painting was YOSA
BUSON (1716–1783). He incorporated basic elements of Chinese and Japanese
literati style by rounding the landscape forms, rendering their texture in fine fibrous
brush strokes, and including dense foliage patterns. Although Buson imitated the
vocabulary of brush strokes associated with the Chinese literati, his touch was bolder
and more abstract, and the palette of pale colors was his own.
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Figure 21-4
BUSON, Cuckoo Flying over New Verdure, Edo period, late eighteenth
century. Hanging scroll, ink and color on silk, 5' 1/2" X 2' 7 1/4". Riccar Art
Museum, Tokyo.
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Figure 21-4
New Ideas from the West:
While the Japanese literati catered to
people with an intellectual bent, the school
of MARUYAMA OKYO (1733–1795)
achieved a wide following among people
attracted to naturalism and sheer painterly
skill. Okyo looked to a variety of East
Asian styles and also to the West.
Western approaches to naturalistic
depiction had become fairly widely known
in Japan by this time.
Okyo's Peacocks and Peonies is an
outstanding example of his synthesis of
naturalism with elements of Kano painting
and a type of Chinese painting one might
call "decorative naturalism." The
combination of rich detail, brilliant colors,
and naturalistic modeling appealed to
urban sensibilities.
27-13 MARUYAMA OKYO, Peacocks and Peonies,
Edo period, 1776. Hanging scroll, color on silk, 4' 3
1/3" X 2' 2 7/8". Imperial Household Collection, Tokyo.
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Figure 21-4
27-13 MARUYAMA OKYO, Peacocks and Peonies,
Edo period, 1776. Hanging scroll, color on silk, 4' 3
1/3" X 2' 2 7/8". Imperial Household Collection, Tokyo.
Edo's Floating World:
The urban population's restlessness also found an outlet in the popular theaters and
pleasure houses of Edo's Yoshiwara brothel district, where prosperous townspeople, as
well as many samurai, sought entertainment. Many who participated in the urban culture
were also highly educated in literature, music, and the other arts. The best-known
products of this sophisticated counterculture are the paintings and (especially) prints
whose main subjects come from the ukiyo-e (floating world)—the Yoshiwara brothels
and the popular theater.
Views of an Ukiyo-e Parlor:
One of the most admired and emulated eighteenth-century designers, SUZUKI
HARUNOBU (ca. 1725–1770), played a key role in developing some of the earliest
brocade prints, pictures printed in many colors. Harunobu applied techniques from his
limited-edition commissions to his more commercial prints, and also issued some of the
private designs for popular consumption. A sophisticated example is Evening Bell of the
Clock, one of Harunobu's parlor-series prints that draw playfully on an ancient Chinese
landscape theme, Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers. Instead of the traditional
temple bell, however, Harunobu depicted a modern clock. This humorous juxtaposition
of past and present also displays the cultural sophistication of the floating world's
inhabitants. The flatness and rich color recall the traditions of court painting.
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Figure 21-4
27-14 SUZUKI HARUNOBU, Evening Bell of the Clock, from Eight Views
of the Parlor series, Edo period, ca. 1765. Woodblock print, 11 1/4" X 8
1/2". Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago.
From The Shoguns to the Present
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
Figure 21-4
Western Perspective in Prints:
Another subject, landscapes, often
incorporated Western perspective
techniques. One of the most famous
designers in this genre was KATSUSHIKA
HOKUSAI (1760–1849). In The Great
Wave Off Kanagawa, the huge foreground
wave dwarfs distant Mount Fuji. Hokusai
places the wave's more traditionally flat
and powerfully graphic forms against the
low horizon, typical of Western perspective
painting.
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27-15 KATSUSHIKA HOKUSAI, The Great Wave Off
Kanagawa, from Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji series, Edo
period, ca. 1826–1833. Woodblock print, 9 7/8" X 1' 2 3/4"
wide. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
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THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
The Figure
Meiji21-4
and Taisho Periods (1868-1926)
The Tokugawa shogunate toppled, in part, because of its inability to handle
increasing pressure from Western nations for a more open Japan. Sovereignty
was restored to the imperial throne, but real power rested with the emperor's
cabinet. Japanese leaders emphasized catching up with the West in military
capacity, science, and technology. They also promoted Western cultural
elements as signs of Japan's status as a "civilized" nation, similar to the
emulation of China in the Nara period. The government imported Western
architects and artists, who also taught Japanese students.
Western Oil Painting:
Oil painting became a major genre in the late nineteenth century. Oiran by
TAKAHASHI YUICHI (1828–1894), created for a client nostalgic for vanishing
elements of Japanese culture, highlights the cultural foment of the early Meiji
period. Takahashi portrayed the courtesan's features in the analytical manner of
Western portraits, while the more abstract garments reflect traditional
portraiture.
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MODERN JAPAN
27-16 TAKAHASHI YUICHI, Oiran (grand courtesan), Meiji period, 1872.
Oil on canvas, 2' 6 1/2" X 1' 9 5/8". Tokyo National University of Fine Arts
Figure 21-4 and Music, Tokyo.
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Figure 21-4
Resistance to Westernization:
Enthusiasm for Westernization led to resistance and concern over a loss of distinctive
Japanese identity. The American professor Ernest Fenollosa (1853–1908), a former
student named Okakura Kakuzo (1862–1913), and others founded a university dedicated
to Japanese arts. They encouraged incorporating some Western techniques in basically
Japanese-style paintings. The resulting style was called nihonga (Japanese painting), as
opposed to yoga (Western painting).
Kutsugen, by YOKOYAMA TAIKAN (1868–1958), provides a good example of nihonga. It
combines a low horizon line and subtle shading effects taken from Western painting with
East Asian elements in its composition, brushwork techniques, and use of traditional
media. The subject, a Chinese poet who falls out of the emperor's favor, may have
resonated with Taikan and his associates. The poet suggests the spirit of the early
nihonga painters, who resisted powerful forces of change.
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Figure 21-4
27-17 YOKOYAMA TAIKAN, Kutsugen, Meiji period, 1898. Hanging scroll,
color on silk, 4' 4" X 9' 6". Itsukushima Shrine, Hiroshima Prefecture.
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Figure 21-4
The Showa and Heisei Periods (1926–Present)
Developments during the twentieth century brought Japan increasing prominence on the
world stage. During the occupation period after World War II, the United States imposed
new democratic institutions on Japan, with the emperor serving as a ceremonial head of
state. Japan also has taken a positive and productive place in the international art world.
As in its earlier relationship to the art and culture of China and Korea, it has internalized
Western lessons and transformed them into a part of its own vital culture.
A Home for the Olympics:
Japanese architects have made major contributions to both modern and postmodern
developments. One of the most daringly experimental is KENZO TANGE (b. 1913). For the
1964 Olympic stadiums, he employed a cable suspension system to shape steel and
concrete into remarkably graceful structures. His attention to both the sculptural qualities of
raw concrete form and the fluidity of space carries on the legacy of the late style of Le
Corbusier.
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Figure 21-4
27-18 KENZO TANGE, national indoor Olympic stadiums, Tokyo, Showa period, 1963–1964