Japanese Art After 1392

By Christina Andrzejewski, Ashley Kosa,Xurong Liu

Muromachi Period (1392- 1573)

Momoyama Period (1573–1615)

Edo Period (1615-1868)

The Meji and Modern Period (1868-present)

Japanese Periods

The Ashikaga family established a new military regime in Kyoto

Daimyo strongly influenced political events and cultural trends

Rivalry caused tension, creating instability and leading to the Onin War (1467-77)

War ended in a stalemate and with Hosowaka gaining control of the government

Country plummeted into a century of warfare and social chaos

Sengoku, the Age of the Country at War, lasted from the last quarter of the fifteenth to the end of the sixteenth century

Overall, economically and artistically innovative

Contact with China transformed Japanese thought and aesthetics

Muromachi Period

Period impacted by Zen Buddhism It became the dominant cultural force in

JapanInk monochrome painting became

extremely popularThe intensity of the masters created a

subtle and more refined approach to painting.

Chinese style landscapes were the most important theme.

Shubun (c. 1418-63) was Japans first great monk-artist who mastered ink landscapes.

Muromachi Period

• The foreground reveals rocky land that overlaps with spiky pine trees, a weathered rock, a poet seated, and a fence made of brushwood holding back a small garden of trees and bamboo.

• The gray ink suggests distant fisherman

• The top and bottom half echo off of each other.

• In the middle is empty space, which is supposed to represent water.

Landscape

By the sixteenth century, temples staffed monks who specialized in art rather than religious or ritual teaching

Sesshu devoted himself to paintingWas inspired by Chinese scenery and

Zen monasteriesPeaceful art was no longer possible

and the violent energy of the time impacted landscape painting

This new spit was especially evident in his Winter Landscape

Sesshu (1420-1506)

Uses a forceful styleShort, jagged brushstrokes create the rocky hills

A cliff coming from the mist seems to break the piece into two

Flat overlapping planes break the piece into clear facets

The white of the paper in the bottom left is supposed to indicate snow, while the sky uses tones of gray.

Winter Landscape

One of the most famous Zen masters in Japanese history

Now, Zen monks acted as government advisers, teachers, and leaders of merchant missions to China.

Ikkyu mocked this “fake Zen” and displayed the intensity of Zen through his calligraphy

Ikkyu (1394-1481)

Comparison

Calligraphy Couplet c. mid-15th century

Andy Warhol, Marilyn Diptych c. 1962

Both were not attached by a hinge and meant to be hung next to one another

Both made for a purpose The couplet “Abjure, evil, practice only the

good,” was written out on single line scrolls. The calligraphy is meant to be read starting with

the right scroll and then the left Each stroke is separate and distinct The diptych 50 images is exactly the same and

repeated The 25 images on the left hand side of the piece

are all in black and white, providing a stark contrast to the bright colors of the other side.

Comparision

Zen monks saw their gardens as objects of constant vigilance and work

This philosophy influenced Japanese art

Karesansui are dry landscape gardens

The main elements of karesansui are rocks and sand, with the sea symbolized by sand raked in patterns that suggest rippling water.

The dry garden in the Zen temple of Ryoan-ji is one of the most renowned Zen creations n Japan

The Zen Dry Garden

Rock Garden, Ryoan-ji, Kyoto

Dates back to the mid-seventeenth century

The stones are set in asymmetrical groups of two, three, and five

The “borrowed scenery” is beyond the perimeter wall, and is made up of maple, pine, and cherry trees

Is celebrated for its severity and emptiness

The austere beauty of the naked gravel allows people to meditate.

Ryoan-ji

The Ashikaga’s power began to decline

The daimyos began to fight for control over Japan

Unity was gradually resorted by three warlords

The first as Oda Nobunaga (1534-82)He invaded Kyoto in 1568, ending the Ashikaga’s authority.

Was a patron of the arts and was assassinated on a military campaign

Momoyama Period (1573–1615)

Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-98) succeeded him

Was an overly ambitious military commander

Believed he could conquer both Korea and China

Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616) emerged and established the shogunate in 1603.

Was one of the most creative eras in Japanese history.

Momoyama Period

Europeans made an impact on JapanPortuguese explorers arrived in 1543and

allowed to extend trade beyond the ports of Kyushu

European muskets and cannons changed Japanese warfare and architecture

Monumental castles were built in the late sixteenth century

Himeji Castle is one of the most beautiful surviving castles today

The castle had steep walls, stone ramparts, narrow fortified gates, and narrow ladders

Meant to confuse invaders and make them feel as though lost in a maze with little sense of direction or progress

Provided artists opportunities to work on a grand scale

Architecture

Himeji Castle

Fusuma, paper-covered sliding doors, large murals, and folding screens with gold-leaf backgrounds were features of the period

After the civil wars, temples commissioned large-scale paintings for rebuilding projects

The Kano school trained artists in the ink-painting tradition with new skills in decorative subjects and styles

Kano Masanobu (1434–1530) is credited with establishing the Kano school

Masanobu's son Kano Motonobu (1476–1559) widened the school's appeal and devised the style studied above

Motonobu's grandson, Kano Eitoku (1543–1590), introduced a new strength and dynamism to his large compositions that appealed to the warlords and suited the grand interiors of their castles.

Kano Sanraku (1559–1635), one of Eitoku's adopted sons, added a greater sense of elegance and decorativeness to Eitoku's style, capturing current interest in sophistication and sumptuousness.

Kano School of Decorative Painting

Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons

Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons

c. early seventeenth centuryPair of six-fold screens; color on gold-leafed

paper Twelve panels of folding screens depict the

progression of the seasons The right side depicts springtime, with

wildflowers and blossoming trees In the left-hand screen, a clump of summer

lilies announces the transition from summer to fall and winter.

Pink and white rose mallow indicate late summer and early autumn

The final scene depicts snow-covered pine, framing a pair of cranes, which symbolize long life

Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons

The quiet, restrained, and the natural world was expressed through tea ceremonies

Zen monks used tea as a mild stimulant to aid meditation, and as a form of medicine

Sen no Rikyu (1522-91) is the most famous tea master in Japanese history.

He established the aesthetic of modesty, refinement, and rusticity

The tearoom allowed people to get a way from the chaotic and violent world outside.

Tea Ceremony

Edo Period (1615-1868)

• 1615 marks the rise of a new Shogun from the Tokugawa family.

• The capital is moved from Kyoto to Edo.• Culture flourishes

• Reading and writing become widespread among all classes.

• Increased patronage of the arts• New hierarchy; samurai officials, farmers, artisans,

and merchants. • Neo-Confucianism gains importance because of

emphasis on loyalty to the state. • Peaceful, though the government was rigid and

oftentimes repressive.• By the mid 1630s Japan is isolated

• Except for Nagasaki’s Dutch and Chinese trading communities.

Edo Period

• 1657 The Great Meireki Fire burns down most of Edo. • 100,000 people are killed.• Rebuilt the city in a more intelligent manner, with

special attention to the market district boosting the economy.

• Revival of Edo brings cultural growth and a distinctive character.

• 1853 Isolationism of Japan ends, influx of trade.• Ends in 1868 with the Meiji Restoration

Tea Ceremony in the Edo Period

• All utensils for tea ceremony were praised for their aesthetic qualities.

• Judged by how well bowls fit into hands, and the shape and texture appeared, and the previous user.

• If a tea master named a bowl, it was especially treasured.

• Mount Fuji Tea Bowl (early 17th century)

• Hon’ami Koetsu • Rough texture gives the

sense of earth and fire used to create pottery.

• Because of Neo-Confucianism, there is a decline in Zen painting.

• Revived by Hakuin Ekaku• Painted common objects that

farmers and merchants could understand.

• Merchants preferred golden screens and other decorative art.

• Bodhidharma Meditating (18th century)

• Intensity and concentration are shown in the bold brushwork.

• Shows Daruma, a buddhist monk said to bring Zen to China

Zen Painting in the Edo Period

Maruyama-Shijo School Painting• Emerged because of the demand for golden screens• Formed in Kyoto by Maruyama Okyo.

• Studied Western paintings in his youth• Innovative because volume was created

• Used value and perspective• Portrayed, instead of Chinese themes, common sights of

Japan. • Nagasawa Rosetsu – student of Okyo, known for odd juxtapositions, and unusual compositions.

• Bull and Puppy (18th century)

• Juxtaposes large bull with a small white puppy

Nanga School

Incorporated Chinese literati style, Japanese aesthetics, and individual techniques.

Geese Aslant in the High Wind (1817)

Uragami Gyokudo Shows sweeping movement of

winds in tree branches, moving the geese to flight

The island echoes this movement

Tawaraya Sotatsu

• 1st great painter of the Rimpa School - known for their strong expressive force.

• Matsushima Screens (17th century)• Depict the islands of Matsushima • Asymmetrical

• Islands echo the movement of the waves• Clouds continue to the left screen becoming land for the

trees• Almost abstract in the pattern of waves, trees and islands

Kabuki Theater

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67-bgSFJiKc

Ukiyo-e• Also called “portraits of a floating world.”• Buddhist term used to describe the fleeting

pleasures of life, originally had a negative context. • Now sought to live life to the fullest giving it a

positive connotation.• Landscapes diverged from idyllic Chinese landscapes to

real scenes of Japan. • Actors and courtesans became widely

admired because of this, portrayed in paintings.

• Woodblock printing became available for the common people.

• So popular those woodblocks were used until they were worn out and re-cut multiple times.

Suzuki Harunobu

First artist to design nishiki-e (brocade prints)

Famous for depictions of feminine beauty

Shows chonin class(rising merchant class)

Created idealized figures So popular the nishiki-e style

became widespread

Heron and the Crow (1769)

Katsushika Hokusai

The Great Wave from the series; Thirty Six Views of Mount Fuji (1831)

• Innovative in that Mt. Fuji is not the focal point • Depicts fishermen among the waves, showing daily life• Strong graphic composition and use of color

• Cresting waves echo appearance of Mt. Fuji

Hiroshige

Kinryusan Temple at Asakusa: From the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (1856)• Utagawa Hiroshige (Ichiyūsai

Hiroshige/Andō Hiroshige)• Considered one of two great

ukiyo-e landscape artist (the other being Katsushika Hokusai.)

• Evocative color combinations• Framing• Linear perspective

Ukiyo-e and the Western World

• Drawn to flat planes of color and asymmetrical compositions

• Influences post-impressionists such as Van Gogh, and Paul Gaugin, as well as influential artists of the Art Nouveau movement, such as Alphonse Mucha.

• Especially popular in France, where the term Japonisme originates (Japonism)

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1892)Suzuki Harunobu (1768)

Dawn of the Meiji Period With Tokugawa Clan

overthrown, imperial restoration occurred

Emperor Mutsuhito ascends to the throne in 1868, Meiji Restoration Meiji - “enlightened rule”

Court moved from Kyoto to Edo, renamed Tokyo, meaning “Eastern Capital”

Leaders promised move towards more democratic participation in government (Five Charter Oath)

Japan rapidly adopted the influences of the west in politics, philosophy and art experts were brought in to teach specialized subjects

students sponsored by government to study abroad

Meiji Art

Modernization and industrialization heavily influenced Japanese art

Confusion caused by influences and belief that Japan was losing its identity led to opposition of western style

Two distinct schools: Western Traditional

Western Meiji Art (Yōga) Artists who were important to the expansion of

Western Meiji style include Kawakami Togai, Takahashi Yuichi and Koyama Shotaro

Western Art became a major school of art in Japan

Characteristics: Oil paintings on canvas Dramatic lighting Subject matter adorned in western attire Using the third dimension Conveying perspective

▪ using vanishing points and linear perspective▪ varying the textural gradient of distant objects

Western Meiji Art (Cont.)

“Landscape” by Koyama Shotaro, 1878• Oil on Canvas• Expanse of nature and air• Defined brush strokes

“Morning Giclee” by Antonio Fontanesi, 1861• Oil on Canvas• Nature and landscape

dominates• Small strokes to simulate

reflected light• Peaceful, Not Dramatized

Traditional Meiji Art (Nihonga) Draws mainly from traditional Japanese painting

techniques

An attempt at preserving identity during the influx of western influences

Despite returning to traditional Japanese characteristics, Nihonga artists adopted Western techniques in perspective and shading

The main supporters and advocates of Nihonga art were Ernest Fenollosa and Okakura Kakuzo

Well known artists of the style includes Yokoyama Taikan

Traditional Meiji Art (cont.)

by Tokoyama Taikan, Meiji artist• Ink and color on paper• Vibrant colors and highly

decorative• Presence of nature• Use of shading and

sharpness

by Kano Chikanobu, Edo artist• Ink and color on paper• Vivid colors and

defined outlines• References to nature

Modern Japan

1912 – The Meiji Period ends with the death of Emperor Mutsuhito

1912 – Start of Taisho Era and “Taisho Democracy” Movement

1926 – Start of Showa Period with reign of Emperor Hirohito

1945 – Occupation by western powers

1989 – Start of Heisei, Japan’s current era, with ascension of Akihito

Anime and Manga Manga refers to Japanese comics or cartoons

Emerged as a popular art form after World War II As a result of inspiration from Western comics, films and

cartoons As a result of natural evolution of Japanese aesthetic

traditions with strong influences from ukiyo-e traditions

Anime refers to Japanese animation First appeared in early 20th century, influenced by U.S.

successes such as Disney’s Snow White

Both anime and manga became major exports for Japan in the 1980s and 1990s Significant impact on Western Culture and made many

interested in the culture of Japan

Well Known Anime

Well Known Anime (Cont.)

Modern Japanese Painting The most recent

forms of Japanese art are all mixtures of Western and traditional Japanese style

A prominent artist is Takashi Murakami utilize manga and anime

art forms for inspiration for painting and sculpture.

Style is known as “superflat” because it features flat planes and forms of color

“Gleefully Smiling Flowers”

Modern Japanese Ceramics Ceramics is one of the

most appreciated forms of modern Japanese art Needed for tea

ceremony and flower arranging

Well known contemporary ceramicists include Miyashita Zenji Works utilize non

traditional shapes but references traditional ceramics by evoking nature

“Wind”

Modern Japanese Sculpture An innovative sculptor in

contemporary Japanese art is Chuichu Fujii

At first inspired by plastic, steel and glass, Fujii decided to begin sculpting with wood during his thirties

Fujii allowed wood to express its own uniqueness while taking on a new form Fujii inserts hooks into a

log and runs wires between them

Wires are tightened over a period of months until the wood is pulled into a desirable shape

The piece must be cut so that it stands

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