Japanese Art History Midterm #2 Review

• Tai-an Tea Room, Myōki-an, Kyoto, 16th century

  • Sen no Rokyu’s tea room in a hut

    • The most distinguished tea-master of the wealthy Sakai merchant class

      • Promoted spiritual ideas of ‘harmony, represect, purity, and tranquility’

    • Noted for having taken the eat ceremony to its farthest extreme 

• Asymmetric and irregular forms

  • Rough textured earth walls, unpolished exposed beams

• Small in size

• The tea house as a personal art forms, catering to the intense Japanese need for the preservation of the private self as distinct from the public space

• Shoin-style architecture

• Teahouse 

• The small space forces intimacy and participation

• The tea ceremony is very slow and silent

  • big emphasis on slowness and silence during the whole process

    • You still have to show your appreciation despite not speaking since everything was made specially and carefully for you

• wabicha 侘茶—first formulated by Murata Shukō 村田珠光 (or Jukō, 1423-1502)

  • “Tea based on wabi” 

  • Sen no Rikyu achieved the ultimate wachiba settings by adopting as his preferred teahouse a stark hut of only two mats in size, which could at most accommodate two or three people in one gathering

  • There was a compatibility between formal tea, using such utensils, and the “grass” style of informal tea without them 

  • Rikyu found wabi in the vernal grasses amid the snow from late winter to early spring

Shoin-style archtiecture

• Chigaidana: asymmetrical overhanging shelves

• Fusuma: traditional sliding doors

• Shoji: the newer, lighter sliding doors

  • Consisted of lattice like wooden frameworks with translucent rice paper pasted on one side

• Tatami: standardized rush matting used to cover floors entirely 

• Tokonoma: an alcove

• Longquan-ware (celadon) water joa, Song dynasty, China, ca. 1200

Tenmoku (Jian ware) tea bowl, Song dynasty, China, ca. 1200

Korean tea bowl, 15th-century Joseon Korea

Black Raku tea bowl named “Katsujishi” by Chojiro, Momoyama period (16th century)

• Weathered over time, wabi aesthetic in the imperfections

• Oguro was made during a period of war, thus more dark and simple

  • More evocative because it makes the viewer more imaginative

  • More austere ->closer to samurai values of the tea ceremony

Shino-ware (志野焼) tea bowl known as “Kogan” (“Ancient Shore”)

• in the wabi-sabi spirit

• Cracked and weathered, rustic

• Spring grass in the snow?

  • Nature aspect

Shigaraki-ware (信楽焼) water jar, 15th century

• `Rustic flare -> tied to Shinto with the nature aspect

Iga-ware (伊賀焼) water jar known as “Yabure-Bukuro” (“Torn Pouch”)

Himeji (White Heron) Castle, first built in 1346, rebuilt by Hideyoshi in 1581

• The purpose of castles is defense, fortification, and also for living quarters and an office for administration purposes

• Surrounded by a moat to pose as an obstacle for enemies (first layer of defense)

• First gate (second layer of defense)

• Second gate

  • Irregularity in the placement of gates to make enemies lost (should they find their way in)

• Third, fourth, fifth gates

• The tower (main structure)

  • Timber structure surrounded by stone

  • Limited natural light for the sake of fortification

Ōhiroma (Great Audience Hall) of Ninomaru Palace, Noji Castle, Decorated with Kanō Tanyū’s painting of Pines, 17th Century, Kano School

• First built by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1602 with two main structures

• Ninomaru Palace with Ohiroma (Great Audience Hall) in the center

  • Shoin-style architecture on a larger scale compared to tea houses

  • Separate rooms designated for specific groups of people -> elevation is used to determine hierarchy/rank

    • Ex: samurai/bodyguards/attendants, general public, close friends/allies, the shogun

  • A sense of vulnerability and gentleness

    • Sliding doors

  • Ohiroma (great Audience Hall) of Ninomaru Palace, Nijo Castle, with Kano Tanyu’s paintings of Pines

    • The gold background helped to reflect the little natural light and candlelight in the dark rooms

      • The gold was also considered expensive and tied to power

Eitoku, Cypress, Kano School, eight-panel byōbu (folded screen), Momoyama period, ca. 1580

• Twisting, gnarled cypress trees set against a background of rocks, azure water, and gold-leaf clouds

  • Very bold

• Old pine and evergreen trees shows hardship since they’re able to survive so many winters

  • Shows power and vigor and endurance

• A big pine tree was always used as the main subject of panels (so big that parts have to be cut off)

  • Cut-off composition continues from Tale of Genji paintings

• Gold clouds

• The choice of the specific tree (Japanese cypress) is tied to the Japanese identity

• Byobu was mainly used during the Heian period

  • It means portable

• Eitoku’s is much bolder, with less attention to detail (compared to Tohaku’s Maple tree and Flowers) 

  • More bold and masculine

• More defined

• No signature

• Bold in color

• Lots of details

• more decorative

• Strong sense of a pattern

• Echoes of the shape of the branches in the background

Eitoku, Kano School, Four Season Landscape, 16 fusuma (sliding-door) panels, Momoyama period, 1566

• Kano school style is rooted in Chinese landscape paintings

• It was this that the personal style of Eitoku emerged against the more conservative one of Shoei, most notably in his monumental forms of the pine tree

  • The form of the sturdy pine trunks dominates the composition, bringing the foreground elements closer to the picture plane and the viewer

    • At the same time facilitating the rapid horizontal, sequential movement of the panels from right to left

    • He always emphasized the picture plane and made no effort to draw the viewer’s attention into the background

      • He was preoccupied with the rendition of a single motif dominating a composition

• Kano school style: singular, dominant motif that occupies the focus and extends beyond each panel

• Reminiscent of Yamato-e with the small subtleties and the sensitivity to nature and the changing of the seasons

  • Very evocative

• Very sketchy (brushstrokes are very obvious)

Eitoku, Kano School, Four Season Landscape: Spring, 16 fusuma (sliding-door) panels, Momoyama period, 1566

• Very sketchy and calligraphic (the hand/brushwork of the artist is very clear)

• Not a gold background, but yellowish 

Eitoku, Kano School, Four Season Landscape: Autumn, 16 fusuma (sliding-door) panels, Momoyama period, 1566

• Very chinese

• Very poetic

Eitoku, Kano School, Four Season Landscape: Winter, 16 fusuma (sliding-door) panels, Momoyama period, 1566

Tohaku, Maple Tree and Flowers, four fusuma panels, color and gold leaf on paper, Momoyama period, 1592

• Kano school style/composition

  • He trained in the Kano style

• Made right after Eitoku’s death

  • Importance and prominence of Eitoku

• Tohaku’s is much more dynamic and detailed (compared to Eitoku;s Cypress)

  • Also has a stronger diagonal in the angularity of the tree

  • Much more subtle -> attention to details

    • Particularly the details in the leaves and flowers of the tree

    • Very sweet, more feminine

  • More reflective of the taste of the urban townspeople

Tohaku, Pine Trees in Mist , Right screen; pair of 6-panel screens, ink on paper, late 16th century

• Completely opposite of the Kano school style

• Far more simple

  • Ink monochrome

    • Only black and white

    • Reminiscent of Zen paintings and Sesshu’s work 

      • Asymmetry, simplicity, unadorned loftiness, spontaneity, spiritual depth, unworldliness, inner serenity

• Sense of eeriness and mystique

  • Lot’s of space, very atmospheric

  • Subtle and faint lines for the mountains in the background

• Lack of a center -> no dominant motif

• There is still a motif of the pine tree but executed differently

  • repetition through variation

• A sense of rhythm, lot’s of vertical and diagonal lines

  • A diagonal leads the viewer’s eyes to the mountain

• A superb synthesis of chinese media and techniques with japanese expression

• Nearly 85% of the painting surface is left blank and yet the entire screen is suffused with a sense of the mists and stillness of an autumn dawn

• He shows the trees tall and gaunt, using a straw brush on thin, coarse paper, varying the intensity of his ink from faint to dark in swift, sure strokes

• His cluster of pine trees strikingly enhance, in the best Zen-like tradition, the emptiness of the remainder of the screens’ surface

• This painting is the culmination of his attempt to unite the Chinese and Japanese artistic styles

  • The grove of pine trees, which had long been a favorite subject of traditional yamato-e paintings, has here been executed in the new Chinese style of ink painting

  • The deception even permits the flickering of the morning light in the mist to be perceived, and most importantly, the sense of progress in time from dawn to the early morning, suggested by the movement of mist through the pine trees

    • This insertion of the time element in a painting is clearly the expression of the concept of mujo which symbolizes the ever-changing nature of worldly phenomena, and is the essence of Japanese art

Kōetsu, Raku tea bowl named “Fujisan” (Mt. Fuji), early 17th century, Rinpa School

• The opaque white glaze over the upper half, leaving the darker glaze for the bottom creates an effect by firing of gently falling snow

• The vigor and grandeur of Mount Fuji are suggested

• The impression is of monumentality

• Keotsu echoed the simplicity and purity of Rikyu’s time, following the forthright form produced by Chijiro

• Shows the rise in the tea ceremony

• Rinpa school style

• Compared to Black Raku tea bowl named “Oguro” by Chojiro, 16th century

  • Fujisan is more of a literary reference

    • White is used to represent snow (snow-capped mountain top)

    • A bit more of a sense of flavor

    • Shows the more urban tastes of merchants/consumers

  • a sense of rustic beauty

• Kōetsu, Inkstone box "Boat Bridge,” Momoyama-early Edo, early 17th century, Rinpa School

  • Contains inkstone, ink, and brush

  • Clearly inspired by Heian lacquers

  • Although the box is nearly square, the decoration is entirely asymmetrical

    • Balance is restored by the inscription of a waka poem, applied in high relief silver over the whole scene

  • Rinpa school objects all had names

  • Merchants emphasized good taste since they were of the lowest class

    • They wanted to show their money

      • Everything expensive: lacquer, gold, silver, etc

    • Also wanted to show their education

      • Reference to poetry

SŌTATSU, Waves at Matsushima (Pine Island) pair of 6-panel screens, ink, color, gold and silver on paper, Rinpa School, early 17th century

• Decorative style of the Rinpa school

• Makes reference to Ise Shrine

• Blue and green are reminiscent of the Heian period and yamato-e

• The pattern of the lines in the waves is reminiscent of the Asuka period and its decorative patterns

• Sotatsu and Toshichiro, Painted Fans Mounted on a Screen, pair of 8-panel screens, ink, colors, and gold on paper, early 17th century, Rinpa School

  • Decorative style of the Rinpa school

  • The fans show images that were popular during the Heian period

    • The clothing of figures, yamato-e landscape

    • Fans with rich references -> like tale of genji or a war from the past

    • Creates something very narrative in the storytelling of the fan images

Kōetsu and Sōtatsu, Flowers (silver pigment) and Grasses (gold pigment) of the Four Seasons, section of a handscroll in the tarashikomi (dripped in) technique, Rinpa School, early 17th century

• Rinpa style: repetition of the same motif: flowers

• Sensitivity to nature/preference for the four seasons leftover from the Heian period

• Gold and silver pigments for color

• Koetsu’s calligraphy is heavy and dark, but there are also thin lines

  • Lots of movement, doesn’t follow a specific structure 

    • Tries to fit in with the composition

    • Ex: diagonal instead of vertical

• Kōetsu (calligraphy) and Sōtatsu (painting) Deer Scroll, sections of a handscroll, ink and color on paper, 1615, Rinpa School

  • Rinpa style

  • Repetition of the same motif: deer

  • A cut-off figure

  • Heian style calligraphy: cursive, quick and rushed brushwork, the characters blend and flow together

    • Mix of thick and thin, dark and light lines

    • Very elegant

• Korin, Irises at Yatsubashi (Eight Bridges), pair of 6-panel screens, ca. 1710

  • Best known painting, in a purely design-like and decorative manner

  • Inspired by an episode from The Tales of Ise

    • Made no attempt to reproduce the narrative itself, but simply placed irises in “disembodied” fashion against a stark gold-leaf background

  • The flowers seem almost to dance before the viewer’s eyes due to the stark contrast of blue and green against the golden screen

  • The screens seem flashy and light

    • Traces of black ink outlines are visible here and there

    • The flower petals have slight shading

    • The white base color is apparent

      • All of these elements create a sprightly and showy effect

    • The gold is shiny and bright

    • The irises are more realistic, their shape suggesting a variety known as iris laevigata

    • The bridge is quite stylized

  • Painted in 1711 to 1715, after Korin returned to Kyoto following a disappointing move to Edo (Tokyo) in search of new patrons

    • Reflects when the daimyo in Edo had a more conspicuous celebration of classic themes

  • The later one is a bit more shiny and bright

    • The gold is heavier

    • Also has a black outline

      • Two-step process -> more time consuming, thus more labor needed, thus likely more expensive

    • Appealed to the taste of the merchants

    • The bridge and irises come from the story of the Tale of Ise

      • A literary/narrative reference

        • A way for the merchants/patrons to display their education along with their wealth

      • Also a reference to the Heian period through this literary reference

• Korin, Irises, pair of 6-panel screens, ca. 1701 

  • Repetitions of a single motif: blue irises, green leaves

  • Motion is created in the asymmetrical grouping and the repetition of the motif out-of-phase

  • His daring and unrelenting use of gold, blue, and green, where Korin displays his supreme self-confidence

  • By removing all external props, “framework” or “borders,” both men plunge the viewer into the scene, and create a sense of dramatic immediacy and personal involvement

  • The screens seem formal and still

    • The pigments are built up

      • In places where the leaves overlap, the individual blades are indicated by the layering of pigment, without the use of outlines

    • The gold luster is subdued and slightly brown in tone

    • The irises are fuller and larger, their shape resembling the species known as iris ensata

  • Painted around 1701-1702, when Korin received the honorary title “bridge of the law, or dharma”

    • Reflects the popularity of gorgeous gold screens in Kyoto among both court nobility and wealthy townsfolk 

  • the earlier one’s pigment was applied through layering

    • tarashikomi (dripped in) technique: the method of dropping ink or color pigment on to still-wet areas of the painting surface

Pair of 6-panel namban byōbu by an anonymous Kanō painter color and gold leaf on paper, 17th century

• One showing the departure of the Portuguese carrack (great ship) from Goa or Macao and the other its arrival at Nagasaki

• More tied to the imperial court

• Depicts both Western and Japanese figures

• All figures have a ¾ view, looking at the painting of Jesus, except for two figures

  • One figure is looking directly at the viewer to engage the viewer

  • Another figure is fully turning their back away from the viewer and facing the Jesus painting

  • Makes the use of space more interesting

  • Creates a communication between the viewer and the painting

• Jesus looks like Confucius

• Nanban (or Namban) 南蛮—literally “Southern Barbarians”

  • The foreign and exotic culture of the Portuguese traders and Jesuit missionaries 

Much of namban art was either iconographic or religious, but some depicted European cities, landscapes, and nonclerical people

Shiba Kōkan, A meeting of Japan, China, and the West Late 18th century

• Separation between China and the West + China by a decorative vase

  • The Dutch and the Japanese figures are placed sitting close together

    • An alignment of Japanese with the Dutch 

    • Japan is moving further away from China’s influence and closer to the Netherlands’ influence

      • China is depicted as something old and ancient

      • The Dutch depicted as new and modern

• Dutch figure: western-style chair

  • holding a medical book (?) with a picture of a skeleton

• Chinese figure:

  • has a leopard print chair, Chinese-style furniture

  • has a wooden object in the shape of a fungus

  • a Chinese-style handscroll

• Japanese figure in the middle

  • represented by the geometric Japanese style of furniture

  • Holding a folded fan

  • A snake wrapped around his wrist

    • Tied to Shinto and Japanese sensitivity to nature

  • Old-fashioned vase and maple leaves

• None of the figures are looking at the viewer

• Kano School style

Kōkan, The Barrel-maker, ca. 1789, hanging scroll, oil on silk (yoga)

• “-ga” associated with foreignness/non-native things

  • Based on/inspired by an imported print

• More alignment of the Japanese with the Dutch

  • Done using western-style of painting and technique (oil)

    • The figures are also in western clothing

• The tree framing the painting adds a touch of Japanese style

Anonymous, Bird’s-eye View of the Port of Nagasaki with the fan-shaped Deshima in the foreground, c. 1854-64, Oban woodblock print

• Dejima (or Deshima) 出島 in Nagasaki Harbor, built in 1634 (through 1854)

• An artificial island was created for the Dutch at the Port of Nagasaki called Deshima

  • The Dutch were the only Westerners allowed, so the Japanese could learn from them

  • The island allowed the Japanese to still closely control the Dutch

Maruyama OKYO, Sketchbook of Insects: Cicadas and Bees, ca. 1750

• An observation of life

• The same subjects in different perspectives

• Western training

Maruyama ŌKYO, Pine Trees in Snow in the tsuketate technique, pair of 6-panel byōbu, Edo period, ca. 1780 

• Compared to Eitoku’s Cypress, ca. 1580

  • Okyo’s Pine Trees

    • Less bold in color

    • Same singular motif of a tree

    • The tree is cut off due to its size, just like Eitoku’s

    • Has a signature at the bottom

    • Both have stretched out branches

    • More simple

    • There’s a certain kind of air circulating

    • A modern feeling through the simplicity

    • Same subject of a pine tree

• Also an observation from life

  • Molding and shadows to create texture and volume in the tree trunk

Through the use of the tsuketate technique

Taiga, First Visit to Red Cliff (illustrating a poem by Chinese poet Su Dongpo in 1082), one of the pair of six-panel byōbu, Edo period, 1749

• A historical location where a famous battle took place (a literary reference)

• Archaic style of calligraphy for the title 

• Like a typical Chinese-style painting

  • It’s still Japanese in the 6-panel byobu format

  • nanga

Taiga, True View of Mt. Asama, inscribed with a Chinese-style poem ink and color on paper, Edo period, 1760

• True view means it will show something realistic, as if you’re seeing it through your eyes

  • Japanese site paired with a Chinese poem

  • nanga

Taiga, True View of Kojima Bay, hanging scroll, ink and color on paper, Edo period, ca. 1760

• Mi-style (a prominent chinese style) dots technique for the trees 

  • Japanese site/subject in a Chinese style

  • nanga

Kikaku, Melon Skin, haiga, ink on paper, Edo period

• He depicts the most tawdry of objects, a section of melon rind floating down a stream

• Just like the subject itself, this is a painting that viewers could easily pass by, in search of something more rare, grand, and colorful

  • Yet, this unglamorous subject, simply rendered with freely flowing calligraphy, allows Kikaku to express his fresh poetic vision of ordinary life

• The painting helps to illuminate the scene, as Kikaku shows that someone had cut the melon in sections in order to eat its fruit

  • Now these sliced sections of skin gradually spread out and bob on the water

• Haiga is the illustration that accompanies haiku (5-7-5 syllable pattern)

  • Haiku is indigenous to japan, thus so is haiga

• The calligraphy is incorporated into the image, it's not separated from the image

  •  Indicates a stronger relationship between the two

• A mundane object that invites the viewer to think more deeply about this mundane object that people may typically overlook

• Haiga was not created to be sold, thus it is not a commercial artwork (Southern school)

  • Unlike Rinpa and other professional artworks that were very commercial and meant to be sold (Northern School)

  • It’s more of a personal expression of the artist’s emotion, much more personal and intimate, much more evocative

    • Likely is rooted in Zen/teahouses 

• An irrational connection between melon skin and spider legs floating on the water

  • A Zen principle

Buson, Rocks Fan, haiga, Edo period

• He often painted rocks, sometimes allowing them to float freely over the surface of the painting with no anchor to the reality of ground and gravity 

  • Despite the simplicity of the rocks, they carried with them multiple allusions to Chinese and Japanese poets of the past

Buson Recluse’s Cottage in a Bamboo Grove, 1770s Pair of 6-panel screen paintings

Buson-Taiga Collaboration Illustrating Li Yu’s (Chinese, 1611-1680) Poems of Ten Pleasures and Ten Conveniences: Taiga’s Ten Conveniences: The Convenience of Fishing 1771

• Sketchier brushstroke

• More zoomed in, a bit up close

Buson-Taiga Collaboration Illustrating Li Yu’s (Chinese, 1611-1680) Poems of Ten Pleasures and Ten Conveniences: Buson’s Ten Pleasures: The Pleasure of Summer, 1771

• More zoomed out

Buson-Taiga Collaboration Illustrating Li Yu’s (Chinese, 1611-1680) Poems of Ten Pleasures and Ten Conveniences: Taiga’s Ten Conveniences: The Convenience of Reciting Poems, 1771

Buson-Taiga Collaboration Illustrating Li Yu’s (Chinese, 1611-1680) Poems of Ten Pleasures and Ten Conveniences: Buson’s Ten Pleasures: The Pleasure of Autumn, 1771

Gyokuran, Orchid, ink on paper, late Edo period

• three broad brushstrokes to create the leaves

  • With two going in the same direction and one going in the opposite direction

• Orchids as a subject

  • Symbolic of the integrity of your high character, regardless of social status/class

    • Shows the purity of your mind

  • Orchids were largely painted by women 

Gyokuran, Plum Blossoms ink on paper, Late Edo period

• Depicts an old tree trunk with new leaves and blossoms

  • Refers to someone who is old (old tree trunk) but still has vitality (blossoms)

Gyokuran, Landscape, ink and color on paper, Late Edo period

• Landscapes were considered the most ambitious kind of painting

  • In order to be considered a successful/respected artist, you need to paint a landscape

Chō KŌRAN, Landscape in the Mi Style, ca. 1830

• Under Chikuto’s influence Koran also began to explore the literati landscape tradition, as can be seen in this painting

  • Like the works associated with Mi Fu, a chinese master of the Sung dynasty, Koran’s painting features mountains composed of overlapping layers of repeated horizontal dots

• This work is not dated, but on the basis of style and signature it must be a work of her early career

• After placing a foreground bank and a grove of trees at the bottom, she arranged the layers of mountains along a vertical axis, occasionally interspersing plateaus and areas of mist-shrouded houses and trees

  • By using a range of ink tones from light gray to black, she created a feeling of moist atmosphere and lush foliage

• The repetition of similarly shaped mountain forms and brushstrokes establishes a sense of unity and stability

  • At the same time, the layering of short horizontal strokes creates a shimmering surface pattern 

• Mi Fu style:  (a prominent chinese style) dots technique for the landscape

  • Used in this case for the trees and mountains

Cho Koran, Plum Villa Landscape for Kido Takayoshi, ca. 1875

• Its focus on the elegant beauty of blossoming plum trees dotting the hillsides

• By this time her husband had already passed away

• Her new patron and friend: Kido Takayoshi

  • He’s wealthy art collector

• A very ambitious painting

Kōran, Plum Blossoms, 1876

• This painting in monochrome ink emphasizes the toughness of the old tree with its battered trunk and branches

  • Both the painting and poem communicate the idea that blossoms last only a moment, but the tree endures

• more tied and connected to the poem

Utamaro, Three Beauties of the Present Day: Tomimoto Toyohina, Naniwaya Kita, Takashima Hisa, 1793, ōkubi-e 

• Kind of similar to the Heian “line for the eye and hook for the nose” 

  • The women look identical 

  • The three women’s names are identified by their individual flower crests

  • “oriental beauty”

Utamaro, Woman of the Coquettish type, from the series "Ten physiognomic types of women" c.1791 

• Shows a close-up view of a woman just out of the bath; although her hair is meticulously piled up, her kimono is carelessly worn and the sash is loosely tied

  • The background has been rubbed with mica to produce a silvery grey, which highlights the warmth and softness of the fleshtones

• His typical beauties are long and willowy and have about them a languid and sensual air (as seen in this painting)

• A lot of the appeal of these prints is their sensual nature

Hokusai, View of Fuji from the Rice Fields in Owari Province (#9), 36 Views of Mt. Fuji, 1830-33

Artists encouraged to travel to these locations in order to depict them 

• Very local which makes people love it

Hokusai, Ushibori in Hitachi Province (#20), aizuri-e, 36 of Views of Mt.Fuji, 1830-33

• Aizuri-e: monochromatic blue prints

  • aizuri-e and Prussian blue

    • Prussian blue was a European synthetic pigment

      • Proved suitable for woodblock printing, and it extended the palette of blue hues that had been limited to the organic pigments of indigo and dayflower blue

        • More vivid and didn’t fade, also viewed as exotic, thus more appealing to the public

• Contains Prussian blue

  • A European synthetic pigment, not organic

  • The more blue you have in your print, the more appealing it was

Hokusai, South Wind in Clear Weather (Red Fuji) (#2), 36 of Views of Mt.Fuji, 1830-33

• Known for the strong, reddish-brown iron oxide coloration of typical impressions

• The southern wind and thin trails of snow are phenomena of late summer

  • Bands of white clouds drift across a striking blue sky

  • Its impressions where the sky is lighter, it appears to recede behind the mountain, thus creating a greater illusion of volume in the mountain itself

• Hokusai helped make Mt. Fuji become apart of the Japanese national identity, not just the Edo identity

• So bold, so monumental, and never seen before

Hokusai, Under the Wave off Kanagawa (#1), aizuri-e, 36 Views of Mt. Fuji, 1830-33

• His most famous artwork

• Reveals a variety of block carving and printing techniques 

  • Undulating lines of varied thickness delineate the top of each of a series of waves, while irregular, slightly interrupted patterns of curving lines form the stylized, claw-like crests of the breaking waves

  • Mt Fuji, with a heavy cap of snow, is silhouetted by a dark grey sky

• It's about to engulf three boats of terrified fishermen

  • An image about Japan facing an uncertain and unstable future during their period of isolation 

    • There was a big fear of invasion by sea

  • Creates an element of dread and uncertainty

    • Particularly with the claw-like details of the wave

• A hybrid of Japanese and Western art

• Commercial appeal

• Historical context of the uncertainty of Japan’s future

  • Looming threat of invasion from the sea by foreigners

Hiroshige, Snow at Kambara (#15), from 53 Stations of the Tokaido, 1833-35

• A focus on the people and local customs along the East Coast Highway

• Travelers in an evening snow 

• Strong diagonals

• Asymmetrical 

• Travelers going in different directions

  •  More realistic

Hiroshige, Rain Shower at Shōno (#45), from 53 Stations of the Tokaido, 1833-35

• Must be in the summer

• echoes/repetition in the background of trees

  • Repetition of the same motif shows that it has decorative value

• Strong diagonals

  • Diagonals of rain  

    • Diagonals of trees going in the opposite direction 

• Travelers going in opposite directions

Hiroshige, Rain Shower over Ohashi Bridge and Atake (#30), from 100 Views of Edo, 1848-58

• Travelers going in opposite directions

• Prussian blue at the top and bottom of the print

• Diagonals

Hiroshige, The Plum Garden in Kameido (#58), from 100 Views of Edo, 1848-58

• Strong diagonal

• Interesting perspective from the tree

Kuroda, Morning Toilette, 1893, yoga

• caused a minor furor by publicly exhibiting a painting of a nude for the first time in Japan

• Illusion of the mirror: an image within an image

• A very French taste

• Scandalous for depicting a fully nude woman

Kuroda, Study for Talk on Ancient Romance (Composition II), oil on canvas, 1897, yoga

• Where he attempted “grand scale painting”

• It is clear in his mind, that kosoga must involve historical narrative as its subject, and he planned  for groups of people posing in a landscape

  • The subject matter for such a painting should express eternal values of love, peace, or courage, and in this context, the depicted human figures in the painting are best portrayed in the nude, since clothing invariably reflects a particular historical and cultural background

    • There was strong public opposition to paintings of nude figures

      • The Meiji government in 1873 prohibited nudity in public 

• A westernized style on a Japanese ideal of narrative storytelling

• Compre: David, The Oath of Haratii, 1784 (L)

  • Both show a female figure crouching down 

  • Both depict a story/narration

  • Both are historical paintings 

  • L is a tragic story

• When people come back from studying in Paris, they attempt to make a historical painting

  • Historical paintings are held in the highest regard/respect in Europe

Kuroda, Lakeside, oil on canvas, 1897, yoga

• Shows a woman resting by a lake after bathing

• An ingenious treatment of late 19th century French composition with the aura of Japan’s unique courtesan-prints

• Something new, yet still Japanese

  • The color palette is very muted, and the brushstrokes are quite visible

    • Very Impressionist

  • The woman is Japanese and in Japanese garb

    • She’s not high class, but still comes across as very confident

      • Very modern 

    • Nature background

      • Inspired by yamato-e 

Kuroda, Triptych of Wisdom (right), Impression (center), Sentiment (left), 1899 Oil on canvas, yoga

• The key words of Japanese culture

• Wisdom 

  • The only figure facing the viewer

  • The gesture is balanced and rational

    • Symmetrical

  • The hair is tied up

    • Quite Roman, refers to modesty

  • The woman is more mature 

• Both Impression and Sentiment figures are in a ¾ position, turned facing towards the middle

  • Sentiment 

    • Has long hair worn down, usually associated with emotions

      • Similar to how the Princess Nyosa in Tale of Genji wears her hair down 

      • A very emotional response

    • Similar in posing to Greek sculptures

    • One hand is in her hair 

• The three nude female figures is similar to the Three Graces in a 1st century fresco at Pompeii

  • Thus, the triptych is quite western

• The hairstyles are different

Hogai, Landscape in Snow, hanging scroll, ink and color on paper, Meiji, 1867

• A Kano school traditional landscape painting

• Made before he met Fenellosa

• Similar to Sesshu’s Landscape of four seasons: Winter

Hogai, Eagles in a Ravine, hanging scroll, ink and color on paper, ca. 1885-86, Nihonga

• Considered the first Nihonga painting 

  • A Japanese/traditional subject

  • Western techniques

• The white, flat, stripe is a waterfall

  • Kinda abstract

• Very naturalistic

• The detail of the eagle’s feathers almost creates a pattern that echoes the Rinpa school

• A mix of so many elements (Chinese, Japanese, Western, Modern, Traditional styles)

• There’s a small diagonal of the top of the trees that ties the eagle on the left to the eagles on the right

Hishida, Fallen Leaves (Ochiba), pair of 6-panel screens, mineral pigments on paper, 1909-10, Nihonga

• Combines Western realism with the poetry of space: trees seem to recede into an all-pervading mist, losing definition

• Western linear perspective: there’s a clear foreground and background

• Criticized for experimenting by not using line drawing 

• A clear and tangible light source 

  • More western/modern

• to some degree are related to the Kano school

• repeat the same motif: trees

  • From Rinpa school

• Very detailed

• more of an observation of the trees/is more scientific and realistic

Bakusen, Abalone Divers (Ama), 1913 color on silk, pair of six-panel folding screens

• Nihonga

• The subject of half nude women is inspired by Western art

• Japanese format of 6-panel screens

• Depicts indigenous women fishing in the old fashioned way 

  • Differs from the modern mass farming techniques that was popular at this time 

  • The divers didn’t wear any clothes/protection whereas modern divers wore diving gear

• Rinpa style of large/flat surfaces of color 

  • Usually primary colors: blue, red, yellow

• The subject itself derives from ukiyo-e eortic imagery while the social significance of labor is stressed by the figures’ activities

  • The figures on the right screen are shown at work, while the women on the left screen enjoy rest

• Reminiscent of printing techniques are the glistening background covered with mica powder, the forceful colorism of the women’s brownish-yellow skin, the deep blue in their loincloths and in the sea, and the accents of green in the plants on the right screen

Bakusen, Obara Maidens (Oharame), 1927, color on silk/framed, Nihonga

• An endeavor to challenge Western masterpieces

• The frivolous encounter of naked women with fashionably dressed gentlemen is transfigured into innocuous folklore

• The mixing of males and females is consciously avoided

• Leisure seems to redeem the hardship of work

• The approach is something like folk art

• Focus on indigenous women 

Watanabe, Ise Shrine, set of photos, 1953

• These new photographs established an unprecedented level of intimacy and in doing so undermined the religious aura that had always shielded the shrines

  • At the same time, they enabled Tange and others to elevate the shrine buildings to a new position as the prototype for all of Japan’s later architectural achievements 

• The photographs of Ise chosen for the book were among the more “objective” images in the series

  • Intended to serve a “documentary function”

  • In each photo the camera angle was level with the ground and the camera was placed far enough away from its subject so that the photographs would depict entire buildings rather than fragments

  • The photos appear to function as tools for conveying information about the architecture rather than as an expressive medium for the photographer

• In addition to the comparatively “straight” images, as well as extensive plans and elevations, were also comparatively “abstract” images

  • Even with few clouds to be seen, several of the photos were highly charged with emotion

  • The majority of the images were gathered together as a coherent portfolio

  • This portfolio has a narrative structure, designed to evoke the experience of visiting the shrines

    • Usually a visit to Ise involves sharing the experience with many others, yet not a single person appears in these photos

    • Noone is allowed to intrude on the viewer’s reverie

• Contributed to the rebuilding of a Japanese identity after WWII

• Yoshio made the Ise Shrine modern by changing the view of the shrine by using different kinds of camera angles to showoff certain details 

  • Totally different view of Ise Shrine -> modern 

• A statement for modernity and modernization

• The eye looking at the Ise Shrine is what changed, not the shrine itself

  • A sort of distorted angle to change something so primitive to something modern

• Modern art is free from any reference 

• Modernism transformed Ise from an imperial object into an aesthetic object embodying moderity

Watanabe, Ochanomizu Station, photo, 1933

• His first published architectural photograph

• Shot from a disorientingly low camera angle

• Made use of dramatic contrasts of light and dark that tend to transform the architecture into relatively abstract geometric forms

• The actual train station looks so ordinary

• A move away from the pictorial image to a new and modern angle

  • The new camera angel makes it into something modern and dramatic using light and shadow

Ise: Prototype of Japanese Architecture Kenzō Tange and Noboru Kawazoe. Photos. by Yoshio Watanabe. Layout and book design by Yusaku Kamekura (MIT 1965)

• Promoted the architecture at Ise even more aggressively by claiming a unique position for Ise as prototype for all later Japanese architecture

  • A highly selective interpretation of the shrine architecture especially well suited to the needs of the modernists communities in Japan and abroad

  • Emphasized the ancient origins of the shrines

  • “Nature” is the vehicle that allows Tange to travel into the remote past

  • Placed emphasis on architectural proportions and the harmony between Japanese architecture and “nature” and in doing so reproduced conventional modernist rhetoric about pre modern Japanese architecture

• Tange believed that Ise, as the starting point for all later Japanese architecture, embodied the fusion of the Jomon and Yayoi styles

  • Argued that both modes of religious practice were still preserved at Ise

  • The presence of both Jomon and Yayoi cultures contributed to the depth and complexity to the Ise complex

• Tang's impulse toward wild mystification in combination with his urge for seemingly more concrete historical argument

• With the text, readers could imagine that through Ise they had

Tange, Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere Memorial Hall Competition design, 1942

• The ideal of Ise to proclaim Japan’s position as a world power poised to dominate Asia during WWII (assuming Japan won the war)

  • Making Ise extremely public vs small and intimate

  • To legitimize the imperial institution

  • Close tie between Japan’s imperial ambition during the war and Ise

  • “The ghost of Japanese imperialism”

  • Lot’s of open space

Tange Kenzo, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, 1955

• Lot’s of open space covered in white pebbles, similar to Ise and even a Zen garden

• The shape of the structure echoes an ancient grain/storehouse style

  • Based on a haniwa 

• Monumental in size and also in its Japaneseness

  • Very simple, straightforward, clear, very Japanese

Tange United Nations University Headquarters and Trust Building, Tokyo, 1985-95

• Very moden: steel frame construction, plate glass, electricity, elevator, reinforced concrete, tall

• Also very Japanese/tied to Ise: gabled roof/slanted roof/strong diagonals, the industrial grid lines in the windows echoes the fence of Ise, very symmetrical and proportional with clean lines