The art of Japan has a rich variety of styles and means of expression, including pottery , sculpture , varnishes , watercolors and calligraphy on silk and paper, woodcut and engravings of ukiyo-e , kiri-e , kirigami , origami , as well as the youngest direction - manga - modern Japanese comics, and many other types of works of art. Its history spans a huge period - from the first people who inhabited Japan in about 10 millennium BC , to the present day.
Over the long periods of its history, Japan has been isolated from the influence of the outside world, and after any innovation or idea that accidentally entered it from the outside, a new period of minimal contact with other cultures followed. The development of Japanese painting was facilitated by the establishment of contacts with the continent. It was from there at the beginning of the 7th century that the technologies for the manufacture of paints, paper and ink were borrowed. Japanese painting in this period of time was very simple, and consisted of paintings made in red, green and yellow paint on a black background. With the further spread of Buddhism in the country, the profession of an artist became more in demand, and the quality and quantity of works of art actually increased [1] .
Over time, the Japanese have developed the ability to absorb, imitate and finally assimilate similar elements of a new culture, thus enriching their own aesthetic tastes. The first examples of high art began to be created in Japan in the 7th and 8th centuries, simultaneously with the spread of Buddhism . In the 9th century, when the Japanese began to distance themselves from Chinese trends and develop their own forms of expression, secular arts began to be valued more than ever - along with religious arts, they flourished until the end of the 15th century. Following the Onin War (1467–1477), a period of political, social, and economic turmoil began in Japan, lasting about a hundred years. In the state that arose under the leadership of the Tokugawa Shogunate , organized religion began to play a much smaller role in everyday life and the secular arts became the main types of arts that were able to survive in that era.
Painting is the most popular means of expression that exists in Japan, which is used by both amateurs and professionals. Until today, the Japanese preferred to use a brush rather than writing instruments for writing , and their mastery of brush techniques developed into an extreme sensitivity to the values and aesthetics of painting. With the growing interest in popular culture during the Edo period , imprints on wooden blocks became an important form of art - their technique was improved and honed to produce color prints. During this period, a drop in the sympathy of the Japanese for such a means of expression as sculpture is noted - it begins to be associated with religion and its use decreases along with a decrease in the role of Buddhism.
Japanese ceramics is considered one of the best in the world, and its samples include the oldest artifacts of Japanese culture. The architectural preferences of the Japanese are expressed in the use of natural materials and a clear relationship between the internal and external spaces.
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Japanese Art History
The Art of Jomon
The first settlers who settled in Japan were the Jomon people (c. 11000-300 BC), who got their name from the rope ornament that adorned the vessels they made. They were nomadic hunter-gatherers who later began to practice organized farming and were able to build cities with a population of hundreds, if not thousands. Their houses were primitive buildings made of wood and straw, most often located in earthen pits to preserve heat. They made ornate ceramic vessels , dogu clay figurines, and crystal jewelry.
Yayoi Art
The next wave of settlers was the Yayoi people, named after the Tokyo area, where the remains of their settlements were discovered. These people, who arrived in Japan around 350 BC, brought with them the secrets of rice cultivation in flood fields, the production of copper weapons and bronze bells ( dotaku ), as well as ceramics made on a rotating wheel and fired in coal stoves.
The Art of Kofun
The third period of the reckoning of prehistoric Japan - the Kofun period (c. 250–552 AD) is a transformation of the Yayoi culture caused by either internal development or external influence. The period was named in connection with the large number of megalithic kofun mounds created at that time. During this period, various groups of people united in political alliances, eventually forming a nation. Typical artifacts are represented by bronze mirrors, symbols of political unions and clay sculptures of a khaniv erected near the mounds.
The Art of Asuk and Nara
During the periods of Asuka and Nara , named so because of the placement of state bodies of that time in the Asuka Valley (in 552–710) and in the city of Nara (in 710–784), the first significant introduction of continental Asian culture to Japan was necessary.
The spread of Buddhism provoked the first contacts between China, Korea and Japan.
The Japanese discerned in Chinese culture certain aspects that they could adopt and incorporate into their own: a system of transmitting sounds and ideas through writing; historiography ; complex theories of statehood, such as effective bureaucracy ; as well as, what is most important from the point of view of art, are new technologies, construction methods, more advanced bronze processing techniques and new techniques and means for fine art.
Nevertheless, the main reason for the intensification of contacts between Japan and the Asian continent during the 7th and 8th centuries was the spread of Buddhism. There is no consensus among researchers about some significant dates and the correctness of the names of the periods between the year 552 - the official date of the emergence of Buddhism in Japan, and the year 784 - the date of the transfer of the capital from Nara. The most commonly accepted frameworks include the Suiko period (552–645), the Hakuho period (645–710), and the Tenpo period (710–784).
The earliest known Japanese Buddha statues date back to the 6th and 7th centuries. [2] They were created under the influence of Greek-Buddhist art of the 1st-3rd centuries, which also left their mark on the representations of Chinese and Korean sculptors. It is characterized by realistic forms with a smooth texture of clothing. Having penetrated the Korean peninsula from the state of North Wei , religious images of the Buddha further penetrated into Japan.
The oldest Buddhist buildings in Japan have survived to this day. This also includes the oldest wooden building in the Far East - the Horyu-ji Temple southwest of Nara. Originally built as the personal temple of Crown Prince Sotoku , it consists of 41 independent buildings.
Heian Art
Due to the growing influence and well-being of Buddhism in Nara, the priest Kukai (best known by the posthumous title of Kobo Daisi, 774-835) went to China to study singing , a form of Buddhism belonging to the Vajrayana movement that he began to preach in Japan in 806 year. At the heart of this teaching are mandalas - diagrams of the spiritual universe, which began to influence the design of temples. Japanese Buddhist architecture also adopted the stupa - originally an Indian temple element , which later took the form of a Chinese pagoda.
The temples, erected under the influence of this new teaching, are located in the mountains, far from the metropolitan government and the laity. The uneven topography of these places encouraged Japanese architects to rethink the problems in the construction of temples, as a result of which they began to pay more attention to traditional Japanese methods of designing and constructing buildings. Cypress roofs replaced ceramic tiles; instead of the earthen floor, wooden planks began to be used. Spaces reserved for the laity began to be attached to the main places of worship.
The Art of Kamakura
In 1180, a war broke out between the two most influential clans - Tyra and Minamoto . Five years later, the Minamoto clan won, after which the actual location of the government was moved to the seaside village of Kamakura , where it remained until 1333. The transition of all power from the aristocracy to the class of warriors influenced the art of that time. The audience of this art now consisted of people who devoted themselves to military craft, priests trying to make Buddhism more accessible to illiterate peasants, as well as a conservative nobility and some priests who regret the weakening power of the imperial court. Thus, the art of the Kamakura period is characterized by realism and the revival of the classical style. During the Kamakura period, Kyoto and Nara retained the status of centers of high culture and arts.
The Art of Muromachi
During the Muromachi period (1338-1573), Japanese culture underwent profound changes. The Ashikaga clan took control of the shogunate and returned his whereabouts to Kyoto (Muromachi District). The return of the government to the capital put an end to the popularization of Kamakura, giving the culture a more aristocratic and elitist spirit.
Among the most significant artists of the Muromachi period, monks-painters Shubun and Sesshu are distinguished. Shubun, a monk of the Kyoto shokoku-ji temple, created a picture of Reading in a Bamboo Grove (1446) - a realistic landscape, enchanting with the depth of its space. Sesshu, unlike most artists of the period, had the opportunity to undergo training in painting directly in China. The landscape of the four seasons (Sansuy Tekan, c. 1486) is one of his most famous creations, which is a continuous image of one landscape during different seasons.
The Art of Azuti-Momoyama
The most famous painting school of the Momoyama period is the Kano school . Kano Aitoku had a significant influence on her, creating monumental landscapes on sliding interior doors. Aitoku Screen “ Chinese Lions ” is an example of a bold, vibrant style that was preferred by samurai.
Edo Art
Japanese Contemporary Art
Contemporary art in Japan has many forms and expressions, like most contemporary world art as a whole. Starting from anime, video games and architecture, to sculpture and painting of all imaginable forms.
Many artists continue the traditions of ancient masters, creating paintings on paper and silk with the help of paints. Some of them capture familiar objects, resorting to traditional methods, while others try new things, finding unusual motifs and styles within the framework of familiar visual means. There are those who completely reject the traditional Japanese styles, preferring oil painting or other forms of Western art.
Notes
- ↑ ART OF JAPAN . Media Encyclopedia Fine Arts .
- ↑ Korea, 500-1000 A.D. Chronology of the history of art (English) . Metropolitan Museum . Date of appeal May 31, 2018.
Literature
- Paris Web Museum (WebMuseum Paris)
- Japan - public domain material from the digital version of the Library of Congress
- "The Diffusion of Classical Art in Antiquity" by John Boardman ( Princeton University Press , 1994) ISBN 0-691-03680-2
- Kaempfer, HM and WOG Sickinghe The Fascinating World of the Japanese Artist. A Collection of Essays on Japanese Art by Members of the Society for Japanese Arts and Crafts , The Hague, Society for Japanese Arts and Crafts , 1971. ISBN 0-87093-156-3
- "Alexander the Great: East-West Cultural contacts from Greece to Japan" (NHK and Tokyo National Museum, 2003)
- "De l'Indus à l'Oxus, Archéologie de l'Asie Centrale", Osmund Bopearachchi , Christine Sachs, ISBN 2-9516679-2-2
- "The Crossroads of Asia, Transformation in image and symbols", 1992, ISBN 0-9518399-1-8