1. JAPANESE ART

2. Shogunates
• 1185: Appointment of first Shogun (Kamakura)
• Shoguns - military governors who maintained
order in the country for the emperor
• Shogunate - affected politics and economics:
• Daimyo – local lords under the Shogun who
led Samurai warrior groups
• Kamakura Shogunate- lasted for more than a
hundred years;

3. MINAMOTO NO
YORITOMO,
the first shogun

4. Muromachi Period
1336-1573

5. Muromachi Period Context
• starts with the Ashikaga Takauji’s shogunate
which succeeded the Kamakura shogunate
• Muromachi- district in Kyoto which was the
center of the Takauji shogunate’s power
• Extensive influence of Zen Buddhist tradition
especially among Samurai, because it gave high
value to self-discipline and responsibility
• Zen was also popular among Samurai and
other aristocrats because it required an
attitude which resonated with their idea of
being ‘elite’

6. ASHIKAGA
TAKAUJI

7. ASHIKAGA
TAKAUJI
with body armor
riding a horse

8. Zen Buddhism
• also known as chan in China were it
originated
• Zen means meditation, and it is the mean
for achieving enlightenment
• sudden shocks or sudden unforeseen
experiences could also lead to
enlightenment
• training under a master was necessary to
reach enlightenment

9. Kano Motonobu
ZEN PATRIARCH XIANGYEN SWEEPING WITH A BROOM. ca.1513

10. Kano Style/School
• 17th century academic style attributed to
Kano Motonobu
• paintings rendered with very precise strokes
• technique is achieved by holding the brush
straight against the paper to form a right
angle

11. Zen Patriarch. . .
• one of six sliding door paintings in
Daitokuji temple by Motonobu depicting
Zen patriarchs
• later reproduced as a hanging scroll
• a scene depicting a ‘sudden shock’; the
sudden crashing sound of the roof tile
falling brings the patriarch to
enlightenment

12. Sesshu Toyo
HABOKU LANDSCAPE
(detail of the lower part of a hanging scroll)
1495

13. Haboku (splashed-ink) style
• technique with Chinese origins
• the artist first pauses to meditate and
visualize the image before rendering it
using quick, wide, drippy brush strokes
• the image produced is sometimes hard to
identify, approaching abstraction

14. Sesshu’s Haboku Landscape
• image of mountains, trees, and houses
• image of two figures in a boat
• the banner and pole of a nearby wine shop is
represented by two quick strokes

15. moss garden at SAIHOJI TEMPLE GARDEN, Kyoto. The pond is shaped
like the Chinese character for ‘heart’ or ‘mind’.

17. KOMYOJI Karesansui, Kamakura

18. Karesansui
(dry-landscape gardening)
• rock gardens used for meditation
• popularized in Zen temples during the
Muromachi period
• stacked rocks may symbolize mountains or
other land masses; raked sand may
symbolize bodies of water

19. Momoyama Period
1573-1615

20. Momoyama Period Context
• characterized by internal conflict due to ambitious
daimyos desiring to be shogun
• 3 successful warlords:
- ODA NOBUNAGA | defeated Ashikaga shogunate;
killed by his general, Hideyoshi;
- TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI | ruled until he died of
natural causes;
- TOKUGAWA IEYASU | killed all his rivals and
ensured the rule of his clan for two-hundred years.
• Momoyama or Peach Blossom Hill refers to the
scenery in one of Hideyoshi’s palaces

21. Byobu (folding screens)
• popularized especially in the lavish palaces
of the warlords
• Painted on gold leaf or on paper

22. Kano Eitoku. CHINES LIONS. Late 16th century. 7’x15’

23. Chinese Lions
• Painted by Kano Eitoku, the most
commissioned painter of interiors;
Motonobu’s grandson
• lions from Chinese mythology
• The muscular lions symbolizes the power of
the warlord, being brave and powerful
creatures

24. Hasegawa Tohaku. PINE FOREST. late 16th century

25. Pine Forest
• Zen style similar to work by Sesshu Toyo
• Painted with black ink using more irregular
and expressive brushstrokes
• Shows the meditative quality of nature or
natural scenes

26. Edo Period
1615-1868

27. Edo Period Context
• Edo clan brought social and cultural change
in Japan
• Christianity was banned and all foreigners
except the Dutch were banned
• Wealthy merchants gained more power
than some warrior leaders, so the rulers
tried to use their influence
• Literacy spread, and lively popular culture

28. Ukiyo-e
(pictures of the floating world)
• Prints done through woodblock made from
hardwood such as cherry
• Reflected the sensual pleasure and new forms
of entertainment, such as brothels popularized
during the Tokugawa era; there are also prints
about beautiful women, domestic settings and
landscapes;
• Woodblock allowed mass reproduction of the
artwork in quantities that everyone could
afford

29. • Painters usually designed the paintings which
were sold to publishers who made the prints
• Edo prints usually have figures outlined in
black
• prints with high grade fiber such as mulberry
were the best choice for resisting the rubbing
action from the blocks
• Earlier prints were mostly dyed using natural
dye, until synthetic dyes were acquired from
Europe

30. Suzuki Haranobu
EVENING BELL AT THE CLOCK
ca.1765

31. Evening Bell at the Clock
• Done by Suzuki Haronobu who was
instrumental in developing high quality
multi-colored prints called nishiki-e;
• Two young Japanese women sitting in a
veranda
• One dries herself, while the other faces a
chiming clock

32. Katsushika Hokusai. THE GREAT WAVE OF KANAGAWA. ca.1826-1833

33. The Great Wave of Kanagawa
• By Katsushika Hokusai
• Incorporates Western perspective
• From Thirty Six Views of Mt. Fuji Series
• the huge wave towers over Mt. Fuji
• Men in boats seem to be in danger

34. 1st Unit Exam/Critical Paper
• Minimum of 1,500 words (excluding
References
• Typewritten
• Size 12, Times New Roman
• Double Spaced
• With at least 3 references, with proper
Citations (Turabian
footnote/parenthetical, APA, MLA)

35. CHOOSE ONE
OF THE FF SET OF QUESTIONS:

36. #1
1) Discuss the differences in the aesthetics
behind the Classical and Hellenistic art of
the Ancient Greeks? Compare and
contrast in terms of importance given to
rationality vs. human emotion. In your
own opinion discuss what you think
human beings should give more importance
to. Should they give more importance
rationality, or to feelings and emotions?

37. #2
2) Describe the similarities and differences
between the Roman Empire and Japanese
Shogunate in terms of their assimilation of
foreign influence in their culture and
structure of governance? Analyze and
explain how warfare and militarism affects
the culture of a society and is reflected in
their art. In your own opinion, which of
the two was more influential in molding the
culture of its people?

38. #3
• Discuss the nature and stylistic changes of
depiction of the human form in the various
topics (from Pre-
historic, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Renaissa
nce, up to Japanese art) that were discussed
in class. Discuss how the socio-historical
contexts influenced the different
depictions. In your own opinion, explain
which of the following styles was most
successful in showing the ‘essence’ of being
human?

39. GRADING
Background Knowledge 30%
Analysis 40%
Opinion 30%
100%