Frolicking AnimalsToba SojoHeian period 12th century, handscroll

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

Jomon Period – 11,000-400 bceYayoi Period– 400bce – 300 ceKofun Period – 300-552 ceAsuka Period – 552 –645ceNara Period– 645- 794ceHeian Period – 749-1185ceKamakura Period – 1185-1392ce

Considered to be indigenous religion of JapanUsed to establish connection between ancient times and present daysFirst recorded in the 8th centuryThe word itself means Ways of the Gods, adopted from written ChineseIt is defined in English as spirits or essenceskami - thought to inhibit splendid objects in the ordinary world such as trees, rocks and waterfallsAssociated with abstract “natural” forces in the worldKami and people live in the same world

Shinto

Consisted of hunters and gatherersAgriculture included stone tools and

weapons.Some communitiesBig on pottery production

“Flame ware” VesselMiddle Jomon phase

EarthwareMade out of clay, artists

enjoyed bending and twisting, incising and

creating designs

Dogu were created around 2500-1500 bceShaped from clayExaggerated expressions – spirit-beingsTwisted posesMost likely used for religious purposes

Widespread of rice cultivationPermanent settlementsImmigration from Korea & ChinaUse of bronze and sometimes iron for weapons and

ceremoniesStart of imperial system, due to Korean influenceStoneware technology enhancing ceramic

developmentChamber tombs were built following Korean examplesKofun-era were known as mortuary practicesTombs – keyhole shaped, that is surrounded by moats

and is topped of by artificial hills. On top was placed 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

Built in a forest in Mie PrefectureEarly 1rst centuryRebuilt every 20 yearsIt has wooden piles that raise the building of the groundFor the main walls, unpainted cypress woodThatched roof that is being held in place by the logs

Shinto: The Ise Inner Shrine

On the coast of southwest of TokyoDedicated to the sun Goddess Amaterasu-o-mi-kamiIt is rebuilt alternately on two of the adjoining sites

by carpenters who were being trained since childhood

Last rebuilt in 1993It is built for kami After they are escorted into the freshly built shrine,

the old one is dismantledOnly imperial family and a few priests are allowed

insideThe shrine stores three sacred symbols: a sword, a

mirror and a jewel

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

Advances :philosophy, music, arts, medicine,

agricultural methods, foods, city planningThree of the most important were: Formation of a centralized government

structure Introduction of Buddhism, which was soon

adapted as a state religionAdoption and modification of a system of

writing

Pagoda of the West, Golden Hall to East7th century

Most significant surviving templeFounded by Prince Shotoku around 574-622 ceRebuilt after the fire in 670Oldest wooden temple in the worldMonument dedicated to the early Buddhist faith of

JapanKondo – golden hall used for worships and ceremoniesPagoda –five stories high, serves as reliquary and not

be enteredSimple layout of the compound is asymmetricalLarge Kondo is balanced out by the pagodaOther monasteries lie outside and include outer gate,

lecture hall, repository, a belfry and dormitories for monks

Tamamushi shrine from Horyu-ji

Panels with jataka tales (former lives of Buddha)

A continuous narrative

Painting on a Lacquered wood Lacquer: a type of hard, glossy surfacevarnish made from the sap of the Asian sumac or from shellac, a resinoussecretion from the lacquer insectMay be combined with other materials for more stylish effect

•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

•Lotus flower: spiritual purity, wholeness of creation, cosmic harmony (lotus throneof Buddha represents nirvana)•Chakra: the wheel that stands for the various states of existence (thewheel of life) and the Buddhist doctrine •Lotus Throne: represents Nirvana\•Mandala: diagrams of comic realmsMarks 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

An age of great beliefNara: first permanent capital 200,000 people in NaraEffective 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

First collection of Japanese poetryManyoshu:

includes Buddhist versemajority 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 Buddha710 ceInk and colorsSeverly damaged after the fire

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 centurySupported by aristocratic familiesEfficient method writing the Japanesse

language developedRise of literature, first novel, “The Tale of

Genji”Two major religious sectsEsoteric Buddhism and Pure Land 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

Tendai and ShingtonInfluenced by polytheistic religions like

HinduismDaunting number of dieties, each with a

magical powerHistorical Buddha no longer importantDainichi – Great Sun – believed to preside over

the universeMandals used in art to portray the

interrelationships of the Gods Sense of spiritual force and strengthEducated to aristocracy not common people

Western Paradise attained through mantras

Could be reached through faithSpread by traveling monksTheir chant “Hail to Amida Buddha”

appealed to all levels of classesMost popular Buddhism in Japan

Byodo-in (Phoenix Hall) , Uji, Kyoto prefecture, 1053 (palaceconverted into a temple)

Used as to spread Buddhist teachingsAiriness, lightness, raised of groundOpen no walled wingsTwo gilt bronze birds on roof are in phoenix

shapePhoenix is a symbol of protection of the BuddhaRoof looks like phoenix in flightAll 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 Buddha,Byodo-in Heian period, 1053 CE

carved from several blocks of wood in the joined-wood methodCreating larger and lighter images

•Prominent style 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

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

Strong ink play and lively brushworkObjects outside the courtFrolicking animals is one of the best examplesSatirizing the life of many different levelsAttributed to Tona Sojo, the abbot of a

Buddhist templeRepresent Japanese humor*frog boasting of his powers as he throws a

rabbit

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 strongZen Buddhism emerges

Burning of the Sanjo Palace, Kamakura Period, late 13th c.

Painted 100 years after the actual eventConveys senses from eyewitness even though the

artist had to imagine how it really looked likeBrisk and lively line workTraces of more refined brushworkUse of colorBird’s eye viewpointSavage depiction of warfareFlames engulfing the palace, horses charging,

beheaded of enemies. Conveys violence and power

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 KoreaKuya encouraged the chant

Kosho, Kuya Preaching the Pure Land chant Namu Amida BuddhaKamakura 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

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.