JAPANESE ARTbefore 1392

By: Danny Orozco

11-1. Kosho. Kuya Preaching. Kamakura period, before 1207. Painted wood, height 46 ½ “. Rokuhara Mitsu-ji, Kyoto

• Monk, Kuya preaching Pure Land Buddhism

•Artist Kosho carved 6 Buddahs, one for every syllable in the pure land chant; Namu Amida Bustu

•Pure Land Buddhism had a promise of simple salvation, popular in all classes

JOMON PERIOD

• The Jomon period (12000-300 BCE) is named for the patterns on much of the pottery produced during this time, which were made by pressing cord onto damp clay.

11-2. Vessel, from the Asahi mound, Toyama Prefecture. Jomon period, 2000BCE. Low fired ceramic, height 14 ¾ “. Collection of Tokyo University.

• Jomon ceramics may have begun in imitation of reed baskets

•Burn marks on the sides suggest they must have been planted firmly into soft earth or sand, then used for cooking.

• Jomon pottery was made by women, as was the practice in most early societies.

11-3. Dogu, from Kurokoma, Yamanashi Prefecture. Jomon period, 2000BC. Low fired earthenware, height 10”. Tokyo National Museum.

• During middle and late Jomon period also used clay to fasion small humanoid figures.

•They tend to have large faces, small arms and hands, and compact bodies.

• The slit eyes and mouth have a haunting quality, as does the gesture of one hand touching the chest.

•The raised area behind the face may indicate a Jomon hairstyle.

YAYOI AND KOFUN PERIODS

• During the the Y ayoi and Kofun eras, Jpan transformed into an agricultural nation, with rice cultivation becoming widespread.

• Immigrants from Korea brought a a more complex form of society and government.

• More distinct social classes were formed along with a more centralized government.

11-4. Haniwa, from Kyoto. Kofun period, 6th century ce. Earthware, height 27”. Collection of the Tokyo National Museum.

• There have been theories as to the function of haniwa. The figures seem to have served as some kind of link between the world of the dead, over which they were placed, and the world of the living, from which they could be viewed.

• This figure has been identified as a seated female shaman, wearing a robe, belt, and necklace and carrying a mirror at her waist

11-5. Inner Shrine, Ise, Mie Prefecture. Yayoi period, early 1st century CE; last rebuilt 1993.

•The shrine at Ise is dedicated to the sun goddess, the legendary progenitor of Japan’s imperial family.

•Following ritual, this shrine has been rebuilt every twenty years, now for close to 2000 years, in the exact style by expert carpenters.

ASUKA PERIOD

• Out of this single century, new forms of philosophy, medicine, music, foods, clothing, agriculture, city planning, and arts and architecture were introduced into Japan from Korea and China.

11-6. Main compound, Horyu-ji, Nara Prefecture. Asuka period, 7th century CE.

• Buddhist temple founded in 607 CE by prince Shotoku, and is now the oldest wooden temple in the world.

•Very simple compound, main compound consists of an courtyard surrounded by covered corridors one of which contains a gateway.

•Compound is made up by two buildings, the kondo and the five story pagoda which serves as a reliquary and is never entered.

• The compound itself is asymmetrical but the pagoda is perfectly symmetrical.

11-7. Hungry Tigress Jataka, panel of the Tamamushi Shrine, Horyu-ji. Asuka period, c. 650 CE. Lacquer on wood, height of shrine 7’7 ½”. Horyu-ji Treasure House.

• Image from the jakata tales, which are a collection of stories from the buddha’s past lives.

• Image depicts the buddha sacrificing himself to feed starving tigress and her cubs.

•At first the cubs are to weak to break through his flesh so he jumps off the cliff

•The graceful form of the buddha appears three times, harmonized by the curves of the rocky cliff and tall springs of bamboo.

• The elegantly slender renditions of the figure and somewhat abstract treatment of the cliff, trees, and bamboo represent an international buddhist style shared during the same time by China, Korea and Japan.

11-8. Tori Busshi. Shaka Triad, in thekondo, Horyu-ji. Asuka period, c. 623 CE. Gilt Bronze, height of seated figure 34 ½”.

•An example of the international style just as in figure 11-7.

• The artist, Tori Busshi had family ties to China, which is reflected by the big influence of Chinese art of the Northern Wei dynasty in this piece.

•The frontal pose, the outsized face and hands, and the linear treatment of the drapery all suggest that Busshi was well aware of earlier continental models.

•The shrine is a prime example of the importance of buddhism during the establishment of an imperial system

NARA PERIOD

• Establishing a permanent capitol in Nara, the Japanese were able to enter a new era of growth and consolidation.

• During this period magnificent Buddhist temples and monasteries that dwarfed those built previously.

11-9. Amida Buddah, fresco in the kondo, Horyu-ji. Nara period, c. 700 ce. Ink and colors, 10’3’’X 8’6’’.

•Thought to represent Amida, the Buddah of the western Paradise

•Delineated in thin, even brushstrokes known as iron-wire lines

•Amidas body is rounded, his face is fully fleshed and serene

•His hands form the dharmachaka (“revealing the buddhist la”) mudra.

ESOTERIC BUDDHIST ART

• Old temples their past influence due to the removal of the capitol to Kyoto

• Esoteric sects of buddhis, named Tendai and Shingon grow to dominate japanese religious life

• Historical buddha was no longer important, instead, is replaced by a more universal one, Dainichi.

11-10. Womb World mandala, To-ji, Kyoto Heian period , late 9th century ce. Hanging scroll, colors on silk, 6’ x 5’ 3/2’’

• Image of Dainchi, accompanied by buddhas and bodhisattvas as well as guardian deities.

•Esoteric buddhism is hierarchical, and its deities have complex relationships to one another

•Learning all the different gods and their interrelationships was assisted greatly by works of art

•mandalas ( cosmic diagrams of the universe that portray the deities in schematic order.)

•Deities in this mandala, branch out in diagram matical order, each with a specific symbol of power.

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PURE LAND BUDDHIST ART

• During later half of Heian period, rising military power threatens court life.

• Peolple start to look for a different form of buddhism that had a more direct pathway to salvation.

• Pure Land buddhism promises salvation by faith alone

• Spread by monks to all people of different classes and remains preferred form of of buddhism

11-11 Byodo in, Uji, Kyoto Prefecture.Heian period,c. 1053 ce.

• One of the most beautiful Pure Land buddhist temples.

• Originally built as a secular palace created to suggest the palace of Amida in the Western Paradise.

•After owners death, it was converted into a temple.

•Often called Phoenix Hall not only for the pair of phoenix images on the roof but also for the pure shape of the building.

•The thin columns give the structure a light weight look, almost as if it could fly off at any moment.

11-12. Jocho. Amida Buddha, Byodo-in. Heian period, c. 1053 ce. Gold leaf and laquer on wood , height 9’8’’.

• carved by master sculptor Jocho

•Said to exemplify the serenity and compassion of the Buddha who welcomes the souls of all believers to his paradise

• When reflected in the water of the pond before it , the Amida image seems to shimmer in its private mountain retreat.

• Entire sculpture was not carved out of one single block of wood, but was instead carved out of several blocks using the joined wood method

• This method allowed construction of larger but lighter statues, while reaffirming the Japanese love of wood.

POETRY AND CALLIGRAPHY

• Over the course of four centuries the chinese influence on Japan began to diminish.

• Japanese began to wrire in the new kana script of their native language.

• With simple flowing symbols interspaced with more complex chinese characters, the new writing style created an asymmetrical calligraphy unlike that of China.

11-13. Album leaf from the Ishiyama-gire. Heian period, early 12th century ce. Ink with gold and silver on decorated and collaged paper, 52 x 17’’. Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.

• Albums consist of tanka witten elegantly on high-quality papers decorated with painting, block printing, scattered gold and silver, and sometimes paper collage.

•This page is of two tanka by courtier Ki-no Tsurayuki

•Both poems express sadness

•The spiky, flowing calligraphy and the patterns of papers, the rich use of gold, and the suggestions of natural imagery match the elegance of the poetry, epitomizing courtly Japanese taste.

SECULAR PAINTING

11-14. Scene from The Tale of Genji. Heian period, 12 century ce. Handscroll, ink and colors on paper, 8 x 18’’. Tokugawa Art Museum, Nagoya.

KAMAKURA PERIOD

11-16. Detail Attack on the Sanjo Palace. Kamakura period, late 13th century ce. Handscroll, ink and colors on paper, 16 x 275’’. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

11-18. Descent of the Amida Trinity, raigo . Triptych . Kamakura period, late 13th century ce . Ink colors with cut gold on silk; each scroll 54 x 19’’. The Art Institute of Chicago.