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ARTISTS

Japanese Painting

Thorough understanding of Japanese painting requires a knowledge of Chinese art, just as a sound appreciation of Western art demands familiarity with the classical tradition. Little is known of painting in Japan before the 6th century A.D., when in 552 Buddhism came to Japan via Korea and China. In the preceding five centuries there was a certain amount of painting, although none has been preserved. Since the Japanese had long admired Chinese culture, they heartily welcomed the art which was inspired by Buddhism. The year 552 has been called the landmark in Japanese history, for it opened the period when the Japanese renounced their indigenous art for the art of China and began an age of unrelieved borrowing.

Under strong Chinese influence, the subject matter and style. of Japanese painting are naturally much like the matter and style of the Chinese, but often the Japanese nature reveals itself. Lighter, less philosophical, more active and martial, it delights in historical battle scenes. The Japanese showed a great interest in man and his activities. Japanese taste leaned toward the use of a brighter palette, with lavish gold and silver embellishment. Although the Japanese treatment is lighter and perhaps more superficial, the artists' ability to portray action surpasses the skill of the Chinese artists in that regard. Some of the later paintings are humorous, and all show keen delight in the beauty of nature, as well as amusement at the foibles of humanity. The popular print artists of the 18th and 19th centuries devoted themselves to the portrayal of everyday scenes and developed the Ukiyoye school ("pictures of this fleeting world"), which had first developed in the 17th century and greatly influenced Western artists of the 19th century.

Like that of the Chinese, Japanese painting is executed in water color, using ink (sumi) or colors and gold or silver on silk and paper. A certain number of murals were painted in the early periods, but by no means so many as in China. The hanging scroll (kakemono) and hand scroll (makimono) are popular forms. One kakemono is usually hung for careful inspection and appreciation in the decorative' alcove (tokonoma) which is the focus of attention in the principal room of every Japanese home. In tea houses such a painting is most carefully chosen, before each tea ceremony, to be hung in the alcove for the enjoyment of the guests. The Japanese produced paintings (gaku) that were stretched on a frame and hung as we hang our pictures, although they were never glazed. Screens, which were used in all households, also were decorated. The folding screens (biyobu) were most popular, but single panels supported by feet (tsuitate) were also used. The beauty of home interiors was enhanced by paintings on the sliding panels (fusuma) which formed the rooms.

Asuka (Suiko) Period

The first recognized period of Japanese art is known as the Asuka or Suiko period (c.570-650), so called because the court was situated at Asuka, not far from Nara. During this time Buddhist fervor was tremendous and the religion very influential. Many artists and craftsmen from Korea and China were imported to help erect and embellish the numerous temples put up by the devout Japanese. Since most of the temples were built of wood, they have long since vanished. But one notable exception remains, the Golden Hall (Kondo) of the Horyuji monastery at Narathe oldest wooden building in the world. Although most of the temples were decorated with painting or contained painted as well as sculptured images of deities, very few of the paintings remain, but those in the Horyuji at Nara have escaped, and it is there that we find the earliest examples of Japanese painting-on the famous late 6th century Tamamushi portable Buddhist shrine, which shows on its panels highly decorative lacquer paintings executed in lead colors mixed in oil-the pigments used at that time. The paintings have a strong Indian flavor, as do those of T'ang China. Although we know there were guilds of painters at this time, little else remains of their work except illustrated Buddhist scriptures (sutras).

Hakuho Period

In the following Hakuho period (650-710) Japanese art came under the direct influence of the T'ang Chinese artists, for there were close relations between the courts of the two countries. Nara was chosen to be the site of the new capital, and the choice gave an almost unbelievable stimulus to architectural construction. Indeed, by the time of the Empress Jito the number of temples and outbuildings was over 500. Probably most of them were decorated with paintings, but the only important relics remaining from this period are the mural paintings showing scenes of the Buddhist paradise. These were executed about 710 and are in the Golden Hall of the Horyuji. Unfortunately, they were almost lost in a destructive fire which occurred in 1949. However, they have been many times reproduced photographically, and although their original color has been lost for all time, they remain one of the most important artistic monuments of the period. They are now preserved in a new hall especially constructed for their display. In them can still be seen the strong Indian influence which characterized any Buddhist art.

Nara (Tempyo) Period

The final Nara period is known as Tempyo (710-800), the official name of the era covering most of these years. It was the golden age of Buddhist art in Japan. Although the Japanese still followed Chinese tradition, they had come out of their period of slavish copying and for the first time a truly Japanese flavor can be sensed in their art. A realistic trend developed in sculpture and painting. Buddhism was still the state religion, and temples in unprecedented number were filled with religious sculpture and paintings. Much sculpture remains from this period, for it was executed in enduring materials-bronze, clay, wood, and lacquer. But the paintings, also because of their medium, are very rare. The finest are preserved in the amazing storehouse known as the Shosoin in Nara. This treasury contains the personal belongings of the Emperor Shomu , which in 756 were dedicated by his widow to the Buddha of the Great Eastern Temple (Todaiji), and there they remain to this day. The painting in manuscripts, on screens, and on other articles of common use preserved there, show the art of this period to have been elegant and surpassingly fine. The most important example of painting is a sixfold screen decorated with beautifully drawn figures of elegant ladies standing under wonderfully decorative trees. Here we may see the full-blown style of T'ang Chinese painting.

Early Heian Period

In the late 8th century the Japanese capital was moved to Heian, the present city of Kyoto, and the new period took its name from this city. In the early years (Konin 794-897) of the Heian period (c.800-1170) two esoteric Buddhist sects were introduced by the Japanese priests Saicho (Dengyo Daishi) and Kukai (Kobo Daishi). The former founded the Tendai sect and the latter the Shingon sect. Many paintings picturing the deities worshiped by these sects were produced. The newly popular gods, unlike those worshiped in Nara, were grim and forbidding, and their representations were circumscribed by rigidly prescribed formula, for their expressions and gestures, as well as clothing and emblems, were believed to symbolize ultimate truths. Most of the paintings of the hierarchies and deities were arranged in geometrical forms (mandara).

However, one of the reasons the emperor moved his capital from Nara to Kyoto was to avoid the overpowering influence of the Buddhist priesthood, and in the Heian period the life of the court was quite free from any dominating religious control. As a result the subjects and the type of painting changed considerably. The greatest artists who worked at this time were Kawanari of Kudara and Koseno Kanaoka. These men, according to tradition, for none of their work has survived, began to paint secular as well as religious subjects to decorate the palaces and mansions of the court, and it was under their influence that a truly Japanese style of painting began to develop.

Fujiwara (Fugiwara) Period

This national tradition was named Yamato-e (literally "Japanese picture"). It came to flower in the following Fujiwara (Fugiwara) period (c.980-c.1170). The court life of the times was elegant and luxurious, and a cult of aristocratic aesthetes developed whose standards gave form to this classical style of truly Japanese painting. Yamato-e was devoted to secular subjects painted with exquisite grace and coloring. Most of the paintings were in the form of hand scrolls (makimono) which unrolled to tell the romantic episodes in the lives of the nobles and culture heroes. A particularly popular subject was the Tale of Genji, a famous romantic novel written in the Heian period. These illustrative paintings were often accompanied by beautifully written texts. Even a Western observer cannot but admire the sophisticated artists who used with so much facility the brilliant colors interspersed with gold to achieve a marvelously decorative effect. If in some cases the court figures appear almost doll-like, it is only because the prototypes were most artificial. It is in paintings of great battle scenes, or of catastrophies such as fires, that the artists' ability can be seen. In such subjects the painter's great power of depicting action is almost overwhelming.

At this time a number of schools of painters sprang from the influence of the masters who were working in Kyoto. One school of court artists was known as Kose. To it many artists of noble family belonged, and followed closely the T'ang tradition. Several members of the Fujiwara clan were painters, and one is credited with the founding of the peculiar Japanese style known as Tosa. At the same time many famous priests were painting. One, the monk Enshin, is said to have used pictures to popularize his teachings. One painting attributed to him, which shows the Amida Buddha and his Bodhisattva coming from heaven to welcome a believer to Paradise, is preserved in the Koya monastery. Religious art reflected the secular painting in its attitude and emphasized the tender and graceful aspects of its subjects.

Perhaps the finest painter of the early national school was the Buddhist priest Kakuyu, better known as Toba Sojo (Bishop of Toba) (1053-1114). Although he painted many Buddhist themes he is most famous for the marvelous series of three scrolls of humorous drawings which he is said to have painted. In them he satirized famous people of the times in the form of various animals. Frogs, rabbits, monkeys, mules, and other beasts perform normal human acts in a not unseemly manner and without failing to emphasize the ludicrous aspects of each act. No color is used, and the line is used sparingly but with almost unbelievable accuracy. These drawings compare favorably with any later Western sketches of great masters. They also were the first in a long series of caricatures which came to be known as Toba-ye. Toba Sojo also was a good colorist, as is shown by a makimono illustrating popular legendary miracles. Here we see for the first time the vigorous and very realistic treatment of masses of people, each member shown as an individual. Takayoshi, the outstanding court artist, painted the elegant life with brilliant colors and gold in a formal, stylized manner. With these artists the Tosa school reached its full development as the extension of the Yamato tradition.

Kamakura Period

Toward the end of the 12th century Japan was torn by a civil war between the hostile factions of Minamoto and Taira. When the Minamoto family finally won, the feudal Kamakura period was established.

The development of Japanese art reached its culmination in the Kamakura period (c.1170-1350), founded by the military shogun Minamoto Yoritomo in Kamakura, about 12 miles south of the present Yokohama. The Heian tradition extended into the period but was influenced by the militaristic aspect of the court. Yamato-e painters now turned from elegant court subjects to the depiction of military action and historical incidents. The three most noteworthy artists were Mitsunaga, Nobuzane, and Keinin. Their paintings are concerned with court life, battle scenes, lives of saints, and everyday occurrences, all treated with humor, great accuracy, and a spirit of life and movement.

Early in the period the Chinese styles of painting landscapes in the Sung and Yuan periods were introduced in Japan, and again China began to exert an influence over the Japanese artists, who developed a style known as Kara-e, inspired by Zen Buddhism. Although the Tosa school dominated the Kamakura period, religious painting continued and portraiture became popular. Toward the end of the period the Tosa school began to decline and the renewed interest in Chinese art began to spread.

Muromachi Period

After the destruction of Kamakura the Ashikaga shoguns returned the seat of government to Kyoto and the Muromachi period (1350-1570) opened. It took its name from a .section of the city. During the Ashikaga period there was a great revival of Chinese influence exercised through the Zen sect of Buddhism, which had so stimulated the artists and philosophers of the Sung dynasty. Japanese artists began to paint in the same manner as the Sung masters. A school of ink painting that derived its name from suiboku (water ink) now took root. Its artists sought, by painting a landscape or a spray of blossoms, to create a feeling which would bring to the spectator the realization of spiritual truths. The priests of the Zen sect, Mincho (1352-1431) and Josetsu (active in 1400), popularized this Chinese style, and Shubun (active 1st half of 15th century), a pupil of Josetsu, was outstanding. Although many pictures have been attributed to him, few can be ascribed with certainty. He was official painter of the shogun and is generally considered the patriarch of the school of painters which includes Jasoku (c.1452-1484), Noami (1397-1476), Geiami (1431-1485), and Soami (1460?-1530). The last three artists-father, son, and grandson -were famous aesthetes.

Foremost among Shubun's followers was Sesshu (c.1419-1506), who ranks as the greatest artist of the period. As a Zen priest he traveled to China to study and returned to Japan to interpret Chinese painting in his own vigorous manner. His work is unique in its strong, angular brush strokes and grand power of conception. He founded a school of painters, notable among them being Sesson, Shingetsu, Unkei, Soan, and others, but he remains supreme master.

New life was given to the Tosa school in the late Muromachi period by Kano Masanobu (c.1453-c.1540) and his son Motonobu, who applied to its traditional subjects the Suiboku principles. This new style was called Kano, and was to become the "official school" of art sponsored by the shoguns.

Momoyama Period

In the latter half of the 16th century the Ashikaga shogunate was overthrown by the warlord Oda Nobunaga. His famous successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, re-established peace and unified the country. This period, known as Momoyama (1570-c.1630), named for Hideyoshi's palace, was a prosperous, vigorous, expansive one in which contemporary art truly reflected the conditions of the country. Color and gold returned to the paintings which decorated the new castles and palaces of the warlords. Kano Eitoku (Yeitoku; 1543-1590) and his followers produced many screens bearing vigorous designs, rich in color, often against gold grounds. Interest in nature was centered on its decorative quality, and the wall and screen paintings of this school are perhaps some of the noblest in Japanese art. This was the Japanese period equivalent to the rococo and baroque in the West.

Tokugawa (Edo) Period

After a period of civil wars the Tokugawa family came to power in 1603 and founded a dynasty which was to last until 1867. Their capital city was Edo (the present Tokyo), and it is for this city that the Tokugawa period of art is named. During most of this time Japan followed a policy of national seclusion. Only Nagasaki was open to tradewith the Dutch and Chinese. A reaction against the Europeans, and particularly the Jesuits, had gained momentum, and again Japan withdrew from contact with the outside world and returned to the feudal system. The art of the Kano school continued, headed by Kano Tanyu (1602-1674), who successfully blended Chinese and Japanese styles of painting. His descendants were official court painters until 1868.

Honnami Koetsu (1557?-1637) heads a group of brilliant decorative painters who drew upon native inspiration from the Heian Period. This Sotatsu-Korin school, named after its two outstanding members, Tawaraya Sotatsu (1576-1643) and Ogata Korin (1653-1716) who rose to fame in the Genroku era (1688-1703), the most prosperous and artistically productive phase of the Edo, was based on the Tosa tradition, but adapted to the large scale of murals. The screens produced by these men were masterpieces of design in the true Japanese manner, showing color lavished against gold.

Maruyama Okyo (1733-1795) founded the Maruyama school and specialized in realistic landscapes which were still primarily decorative. He rebelled against the Kano Academy and all traditions and even attempted to use Western perspective.
The other development was the new genre school of the 19th century. Known as the school of Ukiyo-e (pictures of the fleeting world), it allowed the Japanese interest in people and their activities, particularly those of the theatrical world, to have full rein.

Hishikawa Moronobu (1688-1703), a distinguished painter, was the first great master to contribute to the development of this school devoted to the scenes of everyday life. The tradition was later adapted to the wood block technique and became a truly popular art. Outstanding in this group were Miyagawa Choshun (1683-1753), Okumura Masanobu, Harunobu, Utamaro, Sharku, Hokusai, and Hiroshige.

After the 17th century, European influence became more intense, and during the 18th and early 19th centuries many artists painted in the European manner. An academy headed by an Italian, Fontanesi, was established in 1876. Fortunately, an American, Ernest F. Fenollosa, saw what was happening to a fine native tradition and while teaching in Tokyo persuaded the Japanese to return to their own style of painting. Gyokusho, Gaho, and Kano Hogai were outstanding leaders of the trend.