Chapter 34: Japan, 1336 to 1980

Preview: Japanese history from 1336 to the 1980s is divided up into periods that exhibit distinctive artistic styles and cultural developments. Zen Buddhism arises in the Muromachi Period (1336-1573), and Zen temples and gardens were built to facilitate meditation. Some painters employ the haboku (splashed-ink) style, but the Kano School that emerges in this period became the dominant style in Japan. The Momoyama Period (1573-1615) was brief but important artistically. Warlords actively commissioned artworks including Kano Eitoku’s Chinese Lions, a painted folding screen. Also during this period, the Japanese tea ceremony became an established social ritual, and the first teahouses were built. In the Edo Period (1615-1868) the Katsura Imperial Villa set the standard for later domestic architecture, and the Rinpa School of painting, characterized by vivid colors and use of gold, represents an alternative from the dominant Kano School. Woodblock prints of the “floating world” are popular in the Edo period. The Meiji and Showa Periods (1868-1989) encompass the modern era of Japanese history, and Western styles increasingly influence Japan’s artistic productions. Kenzo Tange is the leading Japanese architect of the 20th century, and Gutai emerges as an important form of Performance Art.

Key Figures & Cultural Terms: Zen, Sen No Rikyu, haiku

Key Art & Architectural Terms: splashed-ink (haboku) style, Kano School, Rinpa School, fusuma, tatami, tokonoma, kogan, wabi, sabi, Shino, woodblock prints, nishiki-e, nihonga, yoga style, mingei, Gutai

Lecture Notes:

Introductory Notes:

JAPAN, 1336 TO 1980

Muromachi Period:Dates:

  • Dry cascade and pools, upper garden, Saihoji temple, Kyoto, Japan, modified in Muromachi period, 14th century
  • Description:
  • Function & significance:
  • Karesansui garden, Ryoanji, Kyoto, ca. 1488
  • Description, architectural and natural features:
  • Function & significance:
  • Sesshu Toyo, splashed-ink (haboku) landscape, detail of the lower part of a hanging scroll, Muromachi period, 1495
  • Medium, scale:
  • Description, subject & stylistic features:
  • Significance:
  • Kano Motonobu, Zen Patriarch Xiangyen Zhixian Sweeping with a Broom, from Daitokuji, Kyoto, Japan, Muromachi period, ca. 1513
  • Medium, scale:
  • Description, subject & stylistic features:
  • Significance:

Momoyama Period:Dates:

  • White Heron Castle, Himeji, begun 1581
  • Description:
  • Significance:
  • Kano Eitoku, Chinese Lions, Momoyama period, late 16th century
  • Medium, scale:
  • Description, subject & stylistic features:
  • Significance:
  • Hasegawa Tohaku, Pine Forest, Momoyama period, late 16th century
  • Medium, scale:
  • Description, subject & stylistic features:
  • Significance:
  • Sen No Rikyu, view into the Taian teahouse, Myokian temple, Kyoto, Japan, Momoyama period, ca. 1582
  • Description & architectural features:
  • Function & significance:
  • Kogan (tea-ceremony water jar), Momoyama period, late 16th century
  • Medium, scale:
  • Description, subject & stylistic features:
  • Function & significance:

Edo Period:Dates:

  • Katsura Imperial Villa, Kyoto, Japan, Edo period, 1620-1663
  • Description:
  • Stylistic features:
  • Function & significance:
  • Sotatsu, Waves at Matsushima, ca. 1630
  • Medium, scale:
  • Description, subject & stylistic features:
  • Significance:
  • Honami Koetsu, Boat Bridge, writing box, Edo period, early 17th century
  • Materials, scale:
  • Description & stylistic features:
  • Function & significance:
  • Yosa Buson, Cuckoo Flying over New Verdure, Edo period, late 18th century
  • Medium, scale:
  • Description, subject & stylistic features:
  • Significance:
  • Suzuki Harunobu, Evening Bell at the Clock, from Eight Views of the Parlor, Edo period, ca. 1765
  • Medium, scale:
  • Description, subject & stylistic features:
  • Significance:
  • Kitagawa Utamaro, Ohisa of the Takashima Tea Shop, 1792-1793
  • Medium, scale:
  • Description, subject & stylistic features:
  • Significance:
  • Ando Hiroshige, Plum Estate, Kameido, from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, Edo period, 1875
  • Medium, scale:
  • Description, subject & stylistic features:
  • Significance:
  • Katsushika Hokusai, The Great Wave off Kanagawa, from Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, Edo period, ca. 1826-1833
  • Medium, scale:
  • Description, subject & stylistic features:
  • Significance:

Meiji and Showa:Dates:

  • Takahashi Yuichi, Oiran (Grand Courtesan), Meiji period, 1872
  • Medium, scale:
  • Description, subject & stylistic features:
  • Significance:
  • Kano Hogai, Bodhisattva Kannon
  • Medium, scale:
  • Description, subject & stylistic features:
  • Significance:
  • Hamada Shoji, large bowl, Showa period, 1962
  • Medium, scale:
  • Description & stylistic features:
  • Function & significance:
  • Kazuo Shiraga, Making a Work with His Own Body, Showa period, 1955
  • Description:
  • Significance:
  • Kenzo Tange, national indoor Olympic stadiums, Tokyo, Japan, Showa period, 1961-1964
  • Description, architectural and stylistic features:
  • Function & significance:

Concluding notes:

Exercises for Study:

1. Define the following terms and give an example for each:

haboku style

Kano School

Rinpa School

“Floating World”

2. What is Zen Buddhism? Describe how Zen principles are featured in Zen gardens.

3. Compare and contrast the following pairs of artworks, using the points of comparison as a guide.

A. Sesshu Toyo, hanging scroll landscape (Fig. 34-3); Kano Motonobu, Zen Patriarch Xiangyen Zhixian Sweeping with a Broom (Fig. 34-4)

  • Periods:
  • Medium:
  • Styles:

B. Kogan, Momoyama period (Fig. 34-8); Hamada Shoji, large bowl (Fig. 34-16)

  • Period of production:
  • Medium, materials, & scale:
  • Stylistic features:
  • Function of objects:

C. Takahashi Yuichi, Oiran (Fig. 34-14); Kano Hogai, Bodhisattva Kannon (Fig. 34-15)

  • Medium:
  • Subjects:
  • Relation to earlier Japanese painting styles: