Japanese Art Before 1392

Japanese Art Before 1392 Frolicking Animals Toba Sojo Heian period 12th century, handscroll

Islands of Japan • Four main islands: • Hokkaido • Honshu • Shikoku • Kyushu • Islands are built to protect from large-scale invasions • Never been successfully invaded by an outsider • 5000BCE: emergence of agriculture • 1000 BCE: cultivation of rice

Art • One of the best preserved artistic traditions in the world • Never truly influenced by other European countries • Most of the art is dominated by Shinto & Zen Buddhist ideas • Most of the art was created for the royal courts, and religious purposes • Potters made full use of clay , favored asymmetrical shapes

Historic Periods in Japanese Art • Jomon Period – 11,000-400 bce • Yayoi Period– 400bce – 300 ce • Kofun Period – 300-552 ce • Asuka Period – 552 –645ce • Nara Period– 645- 794ce • Heian Period – 749-1185ce • Kamakura Period – 1185-1392ce

Shinto • Considered to be indigenous religion of Japan • Used to establish connection between ancient times and present days • First recorded in the 8th century • The word itself means Ways of the Gods, adopted from written Chinese • It is defined in English as spirits or essences • kami - thought to inhibit splendid objects in the ordinary world such as trees, rocks and waterfalls • Associated with abstract “natural” forces in the world • Kami and people live in the same world

Jomon Period • Consisted of hunters and gatherers • Agriculture included stone tools and weapons. • Some communities • Big on pottery production “Flame ware” Vessel Middle Jomon phase Earthware Made out of clay, artists enjoyed bending and twisting, incising and creating designs

Dogu • Dogu were created around 2500-1500 bce • Shaped from clay • Exaggerated expressions – spirit-beings • Twisted poses • Most likely used for religious purposes

Yayoi and Kofun Periods • Widespread of rice cultivation • Permanent settlements • Immigration from Korea & China • Use of bronze and sometimes iron for weapons and ceremonies • Start of imperial system, due to Korean influence • Stoneware technology enhancing ceramic development • Chamber tombs were built following Korean examples • Kofun-era were known as mortuary practices • Tombs – keyhole shaped, that is surrounded by moats and is topped of by artificial hills. On top was placed Haniwas

Haniwas • Emperor Nintoku’s mausoleum 5th century ce • Still remain untouched because no major excavations are allowed • Simple and bold • No symmetry • Believed to serve as a link between living and dead • First simple cylinders that held ceremonial offerings • By 5th century came to be objects such as houses and boats • Later on living creatures: cows, birds, deer, and dogs • Built in Aesthetic taste, tombs were unglazed so that they revealed clay bodies, unlike Chinese Tombs

Shinto: The Ise Inner Shrine • Built in a forest in Mie Prefecture • Early 1rst century • Rebuilt every 20 years • It has wooden piles that raise the building of the ground • For the main walls, unpainted cypress wood • Thatched roof that is being held in place by the logs

Ise Shrine More Details • On the coast of southwest of Tokyo • Dedicated to the sun Goddess Amaterasu-o-mi-kami • It is rebuilt alternately on two of the adjoining sites by carpenters who were being trained since childhood • Last rebuilt in 1993 • It is built for kami • After they are escorted into the freshly built shrine, the old one is dismantled • Only imperial family and a few priests are allowed inside • The shrine stores three sacred symbols: a sword, a mirror and a jewel

The 3 Sites • Kodenchi: the empty site of the previous shrine strewn with large white pebbles. • Oi-ya: a small wooden shed or hut that remains on the empty site, and retains its sacredness for the next twenty years • Shin-no-mihashira: a sacred central post within the oi-ya, about seven feet high, around and over which the new shrine will be erected

Asuka Period • Advances : philosophy, music, arts, medicine, agricultural methods, foods, city planning Three of the most important were: • Formation of a centralized government structure • Introduction of Buddhism, which was soon adapted as a state religion • Adoption and modification of a system of writing

Horyu-ji Pagoda of the West, Golden Hall to East 7th century

Horyu-ji details • Most significant surviving temple • Founded by Prince Shotoku around 574-622 ce • Rebuilt after the fire in 670 • Oldest wooden temple in the world • Monument dedicated to the early Buddhist faith of Japan • Kondo – golden hall used for worships and ceremonies • Pagoda –five stories high, serves as reliquary and not be entered • Simple layout of the compound is asymmetrical • Large Kondo is balanced out by the pagoda • Other monasteries lie outside and include outer gate, lecture hall, repository, a belfry and dormitories for monks

Tamamushi • Tamamushi shrine from Horyu-ji • Panels with jataka tales (former lives of Buddha) • A continuous narrative

Tamamushi Shrine Painting on a Lacquered wood Lacquer: a type of hard, glossy surface varnish made from the sap of the Asian sumac or from shellac, a resinous secretion from the lacquer insect May be combined with other materials for more stylish effect

Shaka Triad • Created by Tori Busshi • Named for Shakyamuni (historical Buddah) • Frontal pose • Outsized face and hands • Linear treatment of the drapery • Bronze casting of the figure shows advanced technical skills • The art inside the Kondo shows just how much influnce the Buddhist art had on Japanese culture

Buddhist Symbols • Lotus flower: spiritual purity, wholeness of creation, cosmic harmony (lotus throne • of Buddha represents nirvana) • Chakra: the wheel that stands for the various states of existence (the • wheel of life) and the Buddhist doctrine • Lotus Throne: represents Nirvana\ • Mandala: diagrams of comic realms • Marks of Buddah: Ushnisha (a bulge on top of the head), Urna (a tuft of hair between eyebrows), thousand-spoked chakras on the soles of the fete and elongated earlobes

Nara Period • An age of great belief • Nara: first permanent capital • 200,000 people in Nara • Effective centralized government • Building of temples and monasteries; peaceful coexistence of Shinto and Buddhism (one seeks purification, the other enlightenment) • Shinto became more formal then during Kofun period • Sutras: sacred Buddhist texts, copying as a form of worship (familiarity with the Chinese system of writing) • First histories written • first poetry collections compiled

Poetry • First collection of Japanese poetry • Manyoshu: includes Buddhist verse majority poems are secular Love songs in the five line tanka • Most of the other art forms were sacred and preserved in Horyu-ji until the fire of 1949 • The murals represented the Golden Age of Buddhist painting, an era that embraces the Nara period in Japan

Amid Buddha Amid Buddha 710 ce Ink and colors Severly damaged after the fire

Heian Period • Absorption and transformation of the influences from China and Korea • Peaceful conditions that contributed to the self reliance • Severed ties with China during the 9th century • Supported by aristocratic families • Efficient method writing the Japanesse language developed • Rise of literature, first novel, “The Tale of Genji” • Two major religious sects • Esoteric Buddhism and Pure Land Buddhism

Esoteric Buddhism • Womb World Mandala Kyoto, second half of the 9th century • Heian period. • Hanging scroll • Colors on silk. • Mandala that shows depictions of Gods • Dainichi at the center, surrounded by buddhas in all four directions • Ulimate reality beyond the visible world

Esoteric Buddhism • Tendai and Shington • Influenced by polytheistic religions like Hinduism • Daunting number of dieties, each with a magical power • Historical Buddha no longer important • Dainichi – Great Sun – believed to preside over the universe • Mandals used in art to portray the interrelationships of the Gods • Sense of spiritual force and strength • Educated to aristocracy not common people

Pure Land Buddhist Art • Western Paradise attained through mantras • Could be reached through faith • Spread by traveling monks • Their chant “Hail to Amida Buddha” appealed to all levels of classes • Most popular Buddhism in Japan

Pure Land Buddhist Art Byodo-in (Phoenix Hall) , Uji, Kyoto prefecture, 1053 (palace converted into a temple)

Phoenix Hall • Used as to spread Buddhist teachings • Airiness, lightness, raised of ground • Open no walled wings • Two gilt bronze birds on roof are in phoenix shape • Phoenix is a symbol of protection of the Buddha • Roof looks like phoenix in flight • All the art forms are combined: architecture, landscape, sculpture, painting, crafts, religion, water is the key element in the design • Chinese influence in the tile roofs and the stone base

Jocho (Amida Buddah Jocho, Amida Buddha, Byodo-in Heian period, 1053 CE carved from several blocks of wood in the joined-wood method Creating larger and lighter images

Tale of Genji Women's Hand • Prominentstyle called Women’s hand • Calligraphy written by women, size • and style • Used in the Tale of Genji • Paintings have subtle emotional impact • Portray court figures in architectural settings • Natural elements show the mood of the paintings • Blossooming cherry – happiness • Weeds – loneliness • Correspondence between human and nature is one of the biggest features in poetry and art

Tale of Genji - Monogatari Emaki Genji Monogatari Emaki (The Tale of Genji Handscroll) Heian period, 12th century “woman’s hand” - delicate lines, strong muted colors, asymetrical compositions

Men's Hand Style • Strong ink play and lively brushwork • Objects outside the court • Frolicking animals is one of the best examples • Satirizing the life of many different levels • Attributed to Tona Sojo, the abbot of a Buddhist temple • Represent Japanese humor *frog boasting of his powers as he throws a rabbit

Kamakura Period • Samurai (clans of warriors) grow increasingly strong, a section at court • The Minamoto and the Taira: Minamoto Yorimoto defeats his rivals, assumes military and political power as shogun (general-inchief) • Pure Land Buddhism remains strong • Zen Buddhism emerges

Section of night attack on the sanjo palace Burning of the Sanjo Palace, Kamakura Period, late 13th c.

night attack on the sanjo palace • Painted 100 years after the actual event • Conveys senses from eyewitness even though the artist had to imagine how it really looked like • Brisk and lively line work • Traces of more refined brushwork • Use of color • Bird’s eye viewpoint • Savage depiction of warfare • Flames engulfing the palace, horses charging, beheaded of enemies. • Conveys violence and power

Pure Land Buddhism Art Rising • Rising militarism due to neglected responsibilities to the governing the county during Heian Period. • Unsettled times seemed to confirm the coming of Mappo- dark age of spiritual degeneration • People turned to Pure Land Buddhism for salvation • Spread to China through Korea • Kuya encouraged the chant

Kosho • Kosho, Kuya Preaching the Pure Land chant Namu Amida Buddha • Kamakura period, before 1207 • New naturalism; use of crystal eyes; physical representation of the chant • Traveling cloths, the small gong, staff that has deer horns on top, symbol of slaying a deer whose death converted him • Sweet and intense expression represents a radiant sense of faith

Overview • Japanese art shows the interplay between native traditions and transmitted culture • Jomon culture produced mostly ceramics, giving them a distinctive pottering style • Yayoi and Kofun period had technological development, casting of bronze and iron, also produced ceramics • Asuka and Nara period had a cultural transmission from China through Korea which brought in new writing system, Buddhist religion. Also a new tile-roof architecture • Heian period developed court painting, expansion of Buddhism, Pure Land Buddhism • Kamakura period was ruled by military shoguns and samurai. New form of Buddhism from China called Zen, through which self discipline was found.

Japanese Art Before 1392