Figure 21-4

1
DELVON TURNER CHRISTINA AVERY
Figure 21-4
From The Shoguns to the Present
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
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From The Shoguns to the Present
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
Figure 21-4
Western Perspective in PrintsAnother subject,
landscapes, often incorporated Western
perspective techniques. One of the most famous
designers in this genre was KATSUSHIKA HOKUSAI
(17601849). 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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From The Shoguns to the Present
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
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From The Shoguns to the Present
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
Muromachi Period (13341573)
Figure 21-4
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.
5
From The Shoguns to the Present
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
27-1 Dry cascade and pools, upper garden,
Saihoji, Kyoto, modified in Muromachi period,
fourteenth century
27-1 Dry cascade and pools, upper garden,
Saihoji, Kyoto, modified in Muromachi period,
fourteenth century
Zen Spirituality and Rock GardensThe Saihoji
temple gardens exemplify the continuities 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.
Zen Spirituality and Rock GardensThe Saihoji
temple gardens exemplify the flow 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.
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the image here.
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the image here.
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 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.
The gardens echo the complementary roles of the
two Buddhist sects in the Muromachi period. The
colorful, green mosses of Saihoji's lower
gardens, which seem to belong 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.
6
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From The Shoguns to the Present
Fifteenth Century Italian Art
27-2 TOYO SESSHU, splashed-ink landscape,
Muromachi period, 1495. Hanging scroll, ink on
paper, 4' 10 1/4" X 1' 7/8". Tokyo National
Museum, Tokyo.
27-2 TOYO SESSHU, splashed-ink landscape,
Muromachi period, 1495. Hanging scroll, ink on
paper, 4' 10 1/4" X 1' 7/8". Tokyo National
Museum, Tokyo.
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
Splashed-Ink PaintingStyles and subjects of ink
painting in the Muromachi period usually followed
Chinese precedents closely. Most of the ink
painting masters were at least ostensibly Zen
monks. TOYO SESSHU (14201506) was one of the few
artists who traveled to China, and learned much
from Ming painters. In his splashed-ink pictures,
spontaneity is balanced with a thorough knowledge
of the painting tradition.
Splashed-Ink PaintingStyles and subjects of ink
painting in the Muromachi period usually followed
Chinese precedents closely. Most of the ink
painting masters were at least ostensibly Zen
monks. TOYO SESSHU (14201506) was one of the few
artists who traveled to China, and learned much
from Ming painters. In his splashed-ink pictures,
spontaneity is balanced with a thorough knowledge
of the painting tradition.
7
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From The Shoguns to the Present
15th Century Italian Art
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
27-3 Attributed to TOSA MITSUNOBU, Tale of Genji
("Yugao," scene 4), Muromachi period, early
sixteenth century. Album, ink and color on paper,
approx. 9 1/2" X 7". Arthur M. Sackler Museum,
Harvard University, Cambridge
27-3 Attributed to TOSA MITSUNOBU, Tale of Genji
("Yugao," scene 4), Muromachi period, early
sixteenth century. Album, ink and color on paper,
approx. 9 1/2" X 7". Arthur M. Sackler Museum,
Harvard University, Cambridge
Similar to TOSA MITSUNOBU,
Similar to TOSA MITSUNOBU,
The Tosa SchoolThe Tosa School and the more
influential Kano School emerged during the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. TOSA MITSUNOBU
(14341525), director of the Painting Bureau and
chief painter at the imperial court, also worked
for great temples allied to the court and the
Ashikaga shoguns. His Tale of Genji illustrations
incorporate more narrative elements in elegant
arrangements, without the intimate moods of
earlier versions.
The Tosa SchoolThe Tosa School and the more
influential Kano School emerged during the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. TOSA MITSUNOBU
(14341525), director of the Painting Bureau and
chief painter at the imperial court, also worked
for great temples allied to the court and the
Ashikaga shoguns. His Tale of Genji illustrations
incorporate more narrative elements in elegant
arrangements, without the intimate moods of
earlier versions.
8
FEUDAL JAPAN
From The Shoguns to the Present
15th Century Italian Art
27-4 KANO MOTONOBU, Zen Patriarch Xiangyen
Zhixian Sweeping with a Broom, Muromachi period,
ca. 1513. Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper,
5' 7 3/8" X 2' 10 3/4". Tokyo National Museum,
Tokyo.
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
27-4 KANO MOTONOBU, Zen Patriarch Xiangyen
Zhixian Sweeping with a Broom, Muromachi period,
ca. 1513. Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper,
5' 7 3/8" X 2' 10 3/4". Tokyo National Museum,
Tokyo.
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
27-4 KANO MOTONOBU, Zen Patriarch Xiangyen
Zhixian Sweeping with a Broom, Muromachi period,
ca. 1513. Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper,
5' 7 3/8" X 2' 10 3/4". Tokyo National Museum,
Tokyo.
Early Renaissance
Early Renaissance
Figure 21-13
Figure 21-13
The Rise of the Kano SchoolAs an independent
painter in the tumultuous early sixteenth
century, KANO MOTONOBU (14761559) formed an
efficient workshop and adapted his own broad
repertoire to its needs. Motonobu's Zen Patriarch
Xiangyen Zhixian Sweeping with a Broom depicts
the monk experiencing the moment of
enlightenment. The work incorporates features of
Chinese academic modes of ink painting.
Motonobu's picture was one of a set of sliding
doors for a Zen temple. Such architectural
decoration formed a growing component of the
repertoires of the Kano School and later rivals.

The Rise of the Kano SchoolAs an independent
painter in the disorderly early sixteenth
century, KANO MOTONOBU (14761559) formed an
efficient workshop and adapted his own broad
repertoire to its needs. Motonobu's Zen Patriarch
Xiangyen Zhixian Sweeping with a Broom depicts
the monk experiencing the moment of
enlightenment. The work incorporates features of
Chinese academic modes of ink painting.
Motonobu's picture was one of a set of sliding
doors for a Zen temple. Such architectural
decoration formed a growing component of the
repertoires of the Kano School and later rivals.
The Rise of the Kano SchoolAs an independent
painter in the tumultuous early sixteenth
century, KANO MOTONOBU (14761559) formed an
efficient workshop and adapted his own broad
repertoire to its needs. Motonobu's Zen Patriarch
Xiangyen Zhixian Sweeping with a Broom depicts
the monk experiencing the moment of
enlightenment. The work incorporates features of
Chinese academic modes of ink painting.
Motonobu's picture was one of a set of sliding
doors for a Zen temple. Such architectural
decoration formed a growing component of the
repertoires of the Kano School and later rivals.

9
FEUDAL JAPAN
From The Shoguns to the Present
15th Century Italian Art
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
27-4 KANO MOTONOBU, Zen Patriarch Xiangyen
Zhixian Sweeping with a Broom, Muromachi period,
ca. 1513. Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper,
5' 7 3/8" X 2' 10 3/4". Tokyo National Museum,
Tokyo.
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
Momoyama Period (15731615)
27-4 KANO MOTONOBU, Zen Patriarch Xiangyen
Zhixian Sweeping with a Broom, Muromachi period,
ca. 1513. Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper,
5' 7 3/8" X 2' 10 3/4". Tokyo National Museum,
Tokyo.
Early Renaissance
Early Renaissance
Figure 21-13
Figure 21-13
The Role of the Tea CeremonyThe favorite
exercise of refinement in the Momoyama period was
the tea ceremony, which eventually carried
political and ideological implications. The
ceremony also acquired special social
significance as it gained acceptance as a major
expression of aesthetic and even spiritual
sophistication. A New Refined RusticityIn the
late fifteenth century, the new aesthetic of
refined rusticity, or wabi, included appreciation
of rustic Korean and Japanese wares, as well as
the design of very simple tea rooms and
teahouses. Zen concepts also played an important
role in this aesthetic. The Shino water jar
named Kogan shows the wabi aesthetic's influence
in the tea ceremony. 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.
The Rise of the Kano SchoolAs an independent
painter in the tumultuous early sixteenth
century, KANO MOTONOBU (14761559) formed an
efficient workshop and adapted his own broad
repertoire to its needs. Motonobu's Zen Patriarch
Xiangyen Zhixian Sweeping with a Broom depicts
the monk experiencing the moment of
enlightenment. The work incorporates features of
Chinese academic modes of ink painting.
Motonobu's picture was one of a set of sliding
doors for a Zen temple. Such architectural
decoration formed a growing component of the
repertoires of the Kano School and later rivals.

The Rise of the Kano SchoolAs an independent
painter in the tumultuous early sixteenth
century, KANO MOTONOBU (14761559) formed an
efficient workshop and adapted his own broad
repertoire to its needs. Motonobu's Zen Patriarch
Xiangyen Zhixian Sweeping with a Broom depicts
the monk experiencing the moment of
enlightenment. The work incorporates features of
Chinese academic modes of ink painting.
Motonobu's picture was one of a set of sliding
doors for a Zen temple. Such architectural
decoration formed a growing component of the
repertoires of the Kano School and later rivals.

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.
10
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From The Shoguns to the Present
15th Century Italian Art
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
27-6 SEN NO RIKYU, Taian teahouse (interior
view), Momoyama period, ca. 1582, Myokian Temple,
Kyoto, Japan.
27-4 KANO MOTONOBU, Zen Patriarch Xiangyen
Zhixian Sweeping with a Broom, Muromachi period,
ca. 1513. Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper,
5' 7 3/8" X 2' 10 3/4". Tokyo National Museum,
Tokyo.
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
27-4 KANO MOTONOBU, Zen Patriarch Xiangyen
Zhixian Sweeping with a Broom, Muromachi period,
ca. 1513. Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper,
5' 7 3/8" X 2' 10 3/4". Tokyo National Museum,
Tokyo.
Early Renaissance
Early Renaissance
Figure 21-13
Figure 21-13
Tea Rooms as Ceremonial SpacesThe ultimate
representation of the new wabi aesthetic in the
Momoyama period was the Taian teahouse, designed
under the direction of the most renowned tea
master, SEN NO RIKYU (15221591). The interior
displays two standard features of Japanese
residential architecture that developed in the
late Muromachi period-very thick, rigid straw
mats (tatami) and an alcove (tokonoma), a place
to hang painting or calligraphy and to display
other prized objects. The room's dimness and tiny
size produce a cavelike feel and force intimacy
among the tea host and guests. The small entrance
emphasizes a guest's passage into a ceremonial
space. Rikyu was tea adviser to two of Japan's
great reunifiers. In contrast, the second
Momoyama warlord held grand tea ceremonies in
lavish surroundings. Such were the extremes of
The Rise of the Kano SchoolAs an independent
painter in the tumultuous early sixteenth
century, KANO MOTONOBU (14761559) formed an
efficient workshop and adapted his own broad
repertoire to its needs. Motonobu's Zen Patriarch
Xiangyen Zhixian Sweeping with a Broom depicts
the monk experiencing the moment of
enlightenment. The work incorporates features of
Chinese academic modes of ink painting.
Motonobu's picture was one of a set of sliding
doors for a Zen temple. Such architectural
decoration formed a growing component of the
repertoires of the Kano School and later rivals.

The Rise of the Kano SchoolAs an independent
painter in the tumultuous early sixteenth
century, KANO MOTONOBU (14761559) formed an
efficient workshop and adapted his own broad
repertoire to its needs. Motonobu's Zen Patriarch
Xiangyen Zhixian Sweeping with a Broom depicts
the monk experiencing the moment of
enlightenment. The work incorporates features of
Chinese academic modes of ink painting.
Motonobu's picture was one of a set of sliding
doors for a Zen temple. Such architectural
decoration formed a growing component of the
repertoires of the Kano School and later rivals.

11
FEUDAL JAPAN
From The Shoguns to the Present
THE ART OF LATER 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.
Figure 21-4
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
ScreenThe 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 (15431590), 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
12
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From The Shoguns to the Present
THE ART OF LATER 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.
Figure 21-4
A Forest in the MistHASEGAWA TOHAKU
(15391610), 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.
13
FEUDAL JAPAN
From The Shoguns to the Present
15th Century Italian Art
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
27-4 KANO MOTONOBU, Zen Patriarch Xiangyen
Zhixian Sweeping with a Broom, Muromachi period,
ca. 1513. Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper,
5' 7 3/8" X 2' 10 3/4". Tokyo National Museum,
Tokyo.
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
Edo Period (16151868)
27-4 KANO MOTONOBU, Zen Patriarch Xiangyen
Zhixian Sweeping with a Broom, Muromachi period,
ca. 1513. Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper,
5' 7 3/8" X 2' 10 3/4". Tokyo National Museum,
Tokyo.
Early Renaissance
Early Renaissance
Figure 21-13
Figure 21-13
Edo Period (16151868) In 1615, Tokugawa Ieyasu
established a new shogunate, centered in Edo. The
new regime instituted many policies designed to
limit Japan's pace of social and cultural change.
The expansion of urban centers, the spread of
literacy, and a growing thirst for knowledge and
diversion, however, made for a very lively
popular culture. A Princely Villa at KyotoThe
imperial court continued to influence taste and
culture. The harmonious integration of building
and garden in the Katsura Imperial Villa became
one of the great ideals of Japanese residential
architecture, and has also inspired architects
worldwide. While many of its design features
derive from earlier teahouses, the Katsura Villa
also incorporates elements of courtly
gracefulness. The architecture's appeal relies on
subtleties of proportion, color, and texture.
The Rise of the Kano SchoolAs an independent
painter in the tumultuous early sixteenth
century, KANO MOTONOBU (14761559) formed an
efficient workshop and adapted his own broad
repertoire to its needs. Motonobu's Zen Patriarch
Xiangyen Zhixian Sweeping with a Broom depicts
the monk experiencing the moment of
enlightenment. The work incorporates features of
Chinese academic modes of ink painting.
Motonobu's picture was one of a set of sliding
doors for a Zen temple. Such architectural
decoration formed a growing component of the
repertoires of the Kano School and later rivals.

The Rise of the Kano SchoolAs an independent
painter in the tumultuous early sixteenth
century, KANO MOTONOBU (14761559) formed an
efficient workshop and adapted his own broad
repertoire to its needs. Motonobu's Zen Patriarch
Xiangyen Zhixian Sweeping with a Broom depicts
the monk experiencing the moment of
enlightenment. The work incorporates features of
Chinese academic modes of ink painting.
Motonobu's picture was one of a set of sliding
doors for a Zen temple. Such architectural
decoration formed a growing component of the
repertoires of the Kano School and later rivals.

27-9 Eastern facade of Katsura Imperial Villa,
Kyoto, Edo period, 16201663.
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From The Shoguns to the Present
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
(15761643), laid its foundations a few
generations earlier. Combining Ancient
TraditionsKoetsu, 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.
15
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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.
16
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From The Shoguns to the Present
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
Figure 21-4
Plum Blossoms and TarashikomiThe son of a
textile merchant, OGATA KORIN (16581716) 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. 17101716. One of pair of twofold
screens (see _at_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.
17
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THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
Figure 21-4
The Literati StyleIn 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 (17161783). 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.
18
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THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
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.
19
FEUDAL JAPAN
From The Shoguns to the Present
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
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.
Figure 21-4
New Ideas from the WestWhile the Japanese
literati catered to people with an intellectual
bent, the school of MARUYAMA OKYO (17331795)
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.
20
FEUDAL JAPAN
From The Shoguns to the Present
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
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.
Figure 21-4
Edo's Floating WorldThe 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 ParlorOne of the most admired and
emulated eighteenth-century designers, SUZUKI
HARUNOBU (ca. 17251770), 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.
21
FEUDAL JAPAN
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THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
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.
22
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THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
27-15 KATSUSHIKA HOKUSAI, The Great Wave Off
Kanagawa, from Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji
series, Edo period, ca. 18261833. Woodblock
print, 9 7/8" X 1' 2 3/4" wide. Museum of Fine
Arts, Boston.
Figure 21-4
Western Perspective in PrintsAnother subject,
landscapes, often incorporated Western
perspective techniques. One of the most famous
designers in this genre was KATSUSHIKA HOKUSAI
(17601849). 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.
23
MODERN JAPAN
From The Shoguns to the Present
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
The Meiji and Taisho Periods (1868-1926)
Figure 21-4
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
(18281894), 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.
24
MODERN JAPAN
From The Shoguns to the Present
THE ART OF LATER 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
and Music, Tokyo.
Figure 21-4
25
FEUDAL JAPAN
From The Shoguns to the Present
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
Figure 21-4
Resistance to WesternizationEnthusiasm for
Westernization led to resistance and concern over
a loss of distinctive Japanese identity. The
American professor Ernest Fenollosa (18531908),
a former student named Okakura Kakuzo
(18621913), 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 (18681958), 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.
26
MODERN JAPAN
From The Shoguns to the Present
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
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.
27
FEUDAL JAPAN
From The Shoguns to the Present
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
Figure 21-4
The Showa and Heisei Periods (1926Present)
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 OlympicsJapanese
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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FEUDAL JAPAN
From The Shoguns to the Present
THE ART OF LATER JAPAN
Figure 21-4
27-18 KENZO TANGE, national indoor Olympic
stadiums, Tokyo, Showa period, 19631964