art of the edo period

Himeji Castle

Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture

Momoyama Period (1568-1615)

Construction of castle is based on defense, the route indoors intended to be difficult to get into. There is a stone base at this castle, allowing water to flow through, keeping it strong and stable. The outdoor construction is very much inspired by Chinese architecture (curved/portruding roof) Mention Shachi-Gawara

Shachi-gawara/Shachihoko

Fish and tiger combined, representative of the power of nature (protective omen)

Inside of the Himeji Castle

Kano Eitoku

Momoyama Period

Pine Tree and Crane (from Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons)

Layered paper for more durability, but still a fragile piece. Style is inherently protective of the art work as it is in an indoor space and is divided. Has sliding doors, evident by holes in the doors(fusuma), inspired by Chinese ink paintings, 

Kano Eitoku

Pine Tree and Crane (detail)

Kano Eitoku

Pine Tree and Crane (parts)

Kano Eitoku

Momoyama Period

Cypress Tress

(4) Byobu (folding screens)

Faint indicators of being a former sliding door. Adding splotches of pigment (tarashikomi), dropping color on wet pigment to create a watercolor-like effect. This technique is used to create moss on the piece.

Unknown

The River Bridge at Uji

Pair of 6-fold screens/byobu

Supposed to be a scene in the Tale of Genji - a widely known bridge in Japan. Emphasizes importance in seasonal changes. Compositional movement from right to left, rather than left to right.

Hasegawa Tohaku

Momoyama Period

Monkey Reaching for the Moon (Fusuma)

Faint image of a moon in the painting, likely intentionally painted very lightly. Monkey reaching moon refers to parable where monkey's try to reach for/save the moon that is reflecting in a source of water. Represents the buddhist idea that nothing should be clinged onto.

Hasegawa Tohaku

Momoyama Period (16th C.)

Pine Trees

Byobu. Trees are obscured by the fog/mist, represents cold and moist weather. Lacks a gold foil background, in which many Momoyama period paintings had. The swaying of the trees presented imitates the Noh dannce (classical Japanese dance/drama), popular during the Momoyama period. 

Kaiho Yusho

Momoyama Period

Fishnets Drying in the Sun (Byobu)

Heightened fishnets to resemble a net out of water, setting to dry… From right to left of the panels represent spring to winter. This piece is depicting the changing of seasons through the process of fishnets drying.

Kano Naizen

Nanban (southern barbarian) Byobu

Edo Period (1615-1868), 17th C. 

Nanban are portrayed from left to right due to how westerners are conditioned to read. Namban original meaning - Barbarians from the southern countries. This piece (right hand) represents a port town in Japan, lefthand represents the arrival of a sailing ship at a harbor in Japan… Many Jesuit and Franciscan missionaries are among those who’ve arrived. A christian church is shown as a Japanese traditional temple. 

Unknown

World Map View

Early 17th C (Nanban art)

Pair of 8 fold screens

Left screen - World Map View

Netherlandish map in Japan, their adaptation in a world map screen. Very western/european, painterly style of art. Very different from what we’ve seen in screens prior

Unknown

Twenty-Eight Cities of the World (cont. World Map View

Early 17th C (Nanban art)

Pair of 8 fold screens

Right screen - Twenty eight cities of the world

Netherlandish map in Japan, their adaptation in a world map screen. Very western/european, painterly style of art. Very different from what we’ve seen in screens prior

Unknown

Portrait of St. Francis Xavier.

Early 17th C.

First Catholic missionary in Japan. No further details of the existence of this piece remain. Francis Xavier struggled to convert the Japanese to Christianity due to his lack of japanese language and misunderstanding of buddhism. His mission ended in 1614 when Tokugawa government outlawed Christianity. Satis est, Domine, satis est - It is enough, O Lord, it is enough.

Unknown

Nanban Art

Ceramic Baptismal Bowl

17th C.

Couldn’t find much info about this piece, baptismal bowls used for holding water for baptism ceremony. Crab is representative of the miracle of St. Francis the Crab; after a severe storm where Xavier through his cross into the sea, found a crab crawling towards him with the missing cross. Seen as a blessing and divine intervention, power of faith.

Fumi-e

17th C. (period of persecution in Japan)

“foot-treading images”, “stepping-on pictures”

Unknown (Niccolo School)

After 1583, (Period of persecution in Japan) 16th-17th

Madonna of the Snows

Virgin Mary and Child

Western compositions on Japanese Surface (scroll). Beauty mark represents Japanese beauty standards at this time. Created by Jesuit missionaries in Japan, acculturation of Japanese and European traditions during this time.

Kakure Kirishitan - term for member of the Catholic Church in Japan who went in hiding about it.

Unknown

17th C. - 19th C.

Maria Kannon

Figure created by Kakure Kirishitan, Virgin Mary disguised as the Buddhist deity Kannon. She was created in order to keep practicing Christianity in quiet. 

Anon. Kano Artist

Early 17th C. Kano School

Rakuchu-rakugai zu

Representative of the inside and outside of the capital city (Kyoto).

Very good example of Japanese cultures at the time such as garments, customs, modes of transportations, leisure activities. Left screen (Nijo Castle, the Cities western half), the right screen (Eastern half, where the summer Gion festival dominate the street activity).

Kano Takanobu (painter) and Konoe Nobutada (calligrapher)

c. 1600-1614 Kano School

The Thirty Six Poets with their Poems

 representing the thirty-six poets (masters of court poetry), familiar Japanese imagery in early screen art. These artists were chosen by the japanese poet Fujiwara no Kinto, as iconic poets from different times, conceptualized in art in order to “immortalize” them.

Familial ties and societal hierarchy

Kano Naganobu

Early 17th C. Kano School

Merrymaking under the Cherry Blossoms

Left screen, aristocrats shown watching a performance of the wind flowing dance. The figures are large in correlation to the painting, showing that the artist was most interested in painting the figures. Old fashioned mode of expression as it focuses on painting techniques instead of the colors and gold (popular in screen paintings.)

Kano Sansetsu

c. 1645 Kano School

The Old Plum

Blossoms represents the atmosphere of a cold spring morning, birth and renewal. Set of doors once part of Tensho’in, subtemple in Myoshinji Zen Temple in Kyoto.

Kano Tan’yu

17th C. Kano school

Tigers and Bamboo

Doors in Nanzen-ji temple. Part of a set of sliding doors showing life of tigers, mostly them playing. Placed in a buddhist temple, tigers are symbolic of strength, courage, and protection.

Tosa Mitsunori

1583-1638 (Tosa School)

Illustrations of Genji Monogatari (Uji Chapters)

Explorations of Heian-era aristocratic life, that of the protagonist Hikaru Genji. The story represents the idea of mono no aware, which is the fleeting nature of life. It is symbolic of the importance of the sensitivity/awareness of the beauty and sadness of all things. Illustrations represent scenes of relationships, ceremonies, etc… 

Tosa Mitsuoki

1650 (17th C.) Tosa School

Flowering Cherry and Autumn Maples with Poem Slips

Aristocrats recollecting classical poetry while viewing spring and autumn foliage. These screens are symbolic of the mortality of beauty by representing the views after aristocrats leave the viewing. Slips of poetry - tanzaku - in the blossoms, showing that humans were once there. 

Unknown artist in the style of Tosa Mitsuoki

Late 17th C.

Court Lady (5th C. Princess Soto’ori) Watching a Spider

Hanging scroll

Alludes to the Heian Period belief that a woman could predict the approaches of her lover in the dancing motions of a spider, which is why she is excited to see it coming down from the ceiling. Princess Soto’ori - legendary beauty and poet. One of her poems describes her expecting her lover’s arrival as well as her spider making a nest.