Introduction to Japanese Art

1. Japanese Art

3. • Agriculture life, Climate influence on Art
• Buddhism influenced on Art
• Similar characteristic/ Influence of Chinese Art
• Some unique characteristics in Japanese Architecture
• Wood important
• Nature influenced - Landscape paintings
• Calligraphy
• Printmaking
• Fertility rituals related sculpture
• Dogu
• Funeary rituals related sculptures
• Haniwa
• Evolution of material culture reflect on Art
• Metal, ceremic objects

5. Jomon Houses
• The earliest forms of Japanese architecture date from the Jomon
period. Human groups progressively evolved from hunting and
gathering to a more sedimentary culture with early forms of
agriculture and intensive fishing. With those early settlements, came
the first constructions.
• The main type of construction was the pit house. It consisted of
structures built out of wood. Timber was used as inner posts to
support the roof, which was made with several layers of straw or
other dry vegetation. The walls were built similarly. Some houses
were circular, while others were elongated and they were often partly
dug into the ground, to keep the interior warmer. Some constructions
had floors paved with stones.

8. Reconstruction of a Jomon House
• The houses were mainly
used as dwellings, but also
for cooking and storing
small quantities of goods.
Placing fireplaces inside
the houses brought several
benefits; fire helped to
keep insects away and also
provided heat for the
occupants. There were
usually openings on the
upper part of the roof for
the smoke to come out.

9. • Several houses were often build close to each other, in a semi-circular
array. That created a common outdoor space that was probably used for
ceremonies and for producing different craft objects. In some
communities, it was also used for burials.
• Villages served for housing, burring the dead, producing crafts and for
performing rituals. However, some member of the community usually went
outside on a daily basis to collect food and gather clay, wood and other
materials.
• Some settlements had raised structures, similar to the pit houses but with
a square layout and no openings on the roof. They were used as
warehouses for larger amounts of food. Elevating the structure helped to
keep wild animals and some insects away.

10. • Some villages also had
watchtowers. These
were tall structures
built with timber
frames. They featured
one or more raised
platforms, which were
used to guard the
village and the
surroundings either
from wild animals or
from potential
enemies.

12. • Most buildings of this period
were made out of wood,
usually painted in red, black
and golden colors. The roofs
were commonly covered
with blue-tinted tiles and the
ends of the roof that project
from the walls, known as
eaves, were usually elevated
on the corners.
• Most buildings of this time
have suffered earthquakes,
fires, and other severe
damage so there are not
many examples still standing.

13. The New Capital, Heian-Kyo
• Heian-Kyo was inspired by the
Chinese capital of the time,
Chang'an. Unfortunately,
there are almost no remains
of the ancient city.
• It was planned following a
grid layout with a wide main
avenue at the center, ending
in the royal palace.
• Most buildings for the public
administration were built
along the main avenue and
were wood structures, with a
row of columns on the front.
Usually, the wood was
painted red, and the roofs
were covered with green tiles
and had raised ends.
• The buildings of the royal
palace were built similarly.
• The private homes were
smaller, often without tiles on
the roof and usually built
entirely out of wood.

14. The Heijo Palace, part of the Heian-Kyo Royal Palace

16. Buddhist Temples
The Phoenix Hall • As a result, the structures became
more modest. The layout of the
aristocratic houses was adapted for
the temples.
• They had fewer Chinese influences
and some native elements were
incorporated, like wood planks
flooring and the hidden roof, formed
by an outer stepped decorative roof
and a second structure underneath,
serving as ceiling and hidding the
drainage fixtures.
• The Phoenix Hall is a well-known
example of a Heian Buddhist temple.
• It has they layout of an aristocratic,
adapted for being a temple. The
buildings is a wooden structure
consisting of a center hall with two
large symmetrical wings, supposedly
resembling a bird with open wings,
thus the name.

19. • The Heian period was a time of strong social separations. The nobility
enjoyed times of peace and a quiet life, promoting the development
of different arts. However, they lived separated from the common
people, often ignoring the problems outside the capital.
• It was a time of peace. The royal court and a small aristocracy
controlled the wealth, but a mismanaged government caused the
country to become poorer, and military landlords eventually started
to control the provinces.
• It was also a time of growth for Buddhism and religious art flourished.
Also, Chinese influences gradually diminished, awakening the
appreciation for local products and starting a native Japanese style.

22. Model of the Todai-ji Temple
• The government ordered
the construction of seven
Buddhist temples in the
city of Nara. These
religious buildings
consisted of the main hall,
a sanctuary hall, where
the temple treasures were
displayed, a Zen room for
meditation, and a pagoda.
• This layout was also
common in Chinese
Buddhist temples. One of
the temples, the Todai-ji is
considered of particular
importance for its large
bronze Buddha statue.

24. Buddhism
• Following the introduction of the Buddhist religion into
Japan from China and Korea around the 6th century, almost
all Japanese sculpture was connected to Buddhism.
• Temples featured massive statues of the Buddha. These
included the bronze Buddha of Kamakura placed outside
near a temple called Kotoku-in,
• Some of the earliest Japanese paintings represented scenes
from the life of figures associated with Buddhism.
The Buddha of Kamakura

25. Many religious paintings were created during
this period. The motifs were usually images of
Buddha and circular representations of the
universe, known as mandalas.
They were painted on the walls of temples, on
paper and also on fabrics like silk. Paintings
were used for religious ceremonies and for
decorating the temples.
The royal court also promoted the creation of
paintings for themselves. The decoration of
screens and sliding doors was common.
Handscrolls were also created. Paintings had
bright and vivid colors and depicted natural
motifs, like seasonal changes and the mountain
around the royal city.
Many paintings also illustrated the literature of
the time.

26. Horyuji Temple, Japanese Pagoda (700 AD)

28. Paintings
• Reoccurring themes in Japanese art include many subjects related to
nature like birds, flowers and animals.
• Landscapes have long been popular, sometimes with an emphasis on
changing seasons.
• often shown in an aerial perspective where sky, mountains, rivers and
structures were pictured in vertical compositions.
• These paintings, sometimes done in simple black ink washes and
other times in watercolor, were at the same time delicate and
spontaneous, with curving brushstrokes of varying thickness.
• Some paintings were done on silk scrolls that could be rolled when
they weren't being viewed.

29. • Landscape of the Four Seasons, Winter (15th
century) by Sesshū Tōyō

30. Pine tree and flowering plants (1593) by Hasegawa Tōh

31. Yamato-e landscape painting done on six
screens
• Yamato-e paintings were more formal and less spontaneous than earlier works, sometimes with
bright, bold colors and highly stylized figures. They featured flattened forms with an emphasis on line.
Subjects tended to be figures and landscapes of Japanese personalities, folklore and places.

32. • Painting in Japan came from China and grew
out of calligraphy, or writing done in ink with
brushes, with an emphasis on the beautiful
appearance of the words. Eventually artists
began creating images with brushstrokes.

34. Wood block paintings
The Great Wave off
Kanagawa (1829) from 36 Views of
Mount Fuji by Katsushika Hokusai.

35. Sculptures
• decorative, earthenware vessels, which are made of a coarse reddish-
brown clay
• figural sculptures called dogu, often shaped like women with
exaggerated features. These dogu figures were possibly used for
prayers connected to fertility.
• clay sculptures called haniwa, often shaped like horses or warriors
and placed outside ancient Japanese tombs. Haniwa sculptures,
made of unglazed earthenware, were hollow. Sometimes they had
incised geometric decorations or were colored with natural pigments.
• In addition to ceramics, sculpture in Japan tended to be made of
bronze or wood.

36. • stylistically, Jomon ceramics are very
unique.
• the entire Jomon culture is named for
this process; Jomon means ''straw rope
pattern''. That pattern was often just the
beginning, however.
• Jomon ceramics, particularly of the
Middle Jomon period (roughly 2,600-
1,500 BCE), became more and more
extravagant.
• Wild and ornate designs were molded
into vases and other ceramic objects,
creating what is called a flame-style or
pattern.
• Many of these are so decorative that the
actual function of the vessel is obscured.
• For this reason, archeologists believe
many of these were strictly ceremonial
and not intended for daily use.

38. Jomon dogu figures
• Later Jomon ceramicists also started
producing humanoid figurines with goggle-
shaped eyes called dogu figures. The exact
purpose of these intricate clay sculptures
remains unknown, but they are one of the
most intriguing elements of Jomon culture.

39. Jomon Clay Figures and Other Arts
• Clay Figures
• Some examples of clay figures have been found in different
archaeological sites. They were small pieces made out of clay and
were probably used for ceremonial purposes. The clay figures
consisted of masks, female and male figurines. They are also known
by their Japanese name dogu, meaning clay figure.
• The early Jomon pieces were small and almost flat while the late
figures were tridimensional and had more elaborate details. Their
evolution shows increasing artistic skills and a growing importance of
rituals.

41. Yayoi art
• The next wave of immigrants was
the Yayoi people, named for the
district in Tokyo where remnants of
their settlements first were found.
• These people, arriving in Japan
about 300 BC, brought their
knowledge of wetland rice
cultivation, the manufacture of
copper weapons and bronze bells
(dōtaku), and wheel-thrown, kiln-
fired ceramics.