ART OF

THE

WORLD

THE ART OF

JAPAN

THE ART OF THE WORLD

THE ART OF JAPAN
by P.C.Swann
with 63 Illustrations in color
and 63 black-and-white illustrations

P.C.Swann, Keeper

of

the Depart-

ment of Eastern Art at the Ashmolean

Museum, Oxford editor of the maga;

zine Oriental Art; Professorial Fellow

of St. Edmund Hall, Oxford; and au-

thor of several well-known books on

Oriental art, has spent a lifetime
studying the art of the Far East. He

speaks Japanese fluently, and

is

inti-

mately familiar with life in Japan.

Geography, climate, and geology are
powerful factors that mold the character and hence the art of a people.
This is especially true of the Japanese.
The sea and the coast have always
played a large part in their
their art.

The

lives

and

landscape, especially on

the east coast,

is

charm. The land

often of unsurpassed
is

heavily watered by

rivers, streams, lakes,

and

waterfalls

add to its beauty, a beauty of

which the Japanese are very much
that

aware. Though building stone is scarce,

wood and bamboo are plentiful and
these materials have dictated the architecture and much of the art of Japan,

notably

its

fine early sculpture.

P.C.Swann has divided his text into

nine chapters, beginning with the preBuddhist era, during which the widespread Jomon culture flourished for a
very long time, perhaps from as early
as the fifth millennium B.C. almost to
the Christian Era. The last chapter
closes with the opening of the country

United States in 1868, which

forced the Japanese to abandon their
to the

isolationist policy

and allow

foreigners

Immediately thereafter, the Japanese reversed their previous behavior, and began to accept
everything Western without discrimination. As a natural reaction after a
little more than a decade, Japan turned once more to the preservation of
her past. Many museums were foundinto the country.

ed to protect the nation's treasures,

and

it

is

number
in this

to these that

of the

we owe a large

masterpieces illustrated

book.

GREYSTONE PRESS
NEW YORK

THE ART OF JAPAN

from the Jomon

to the

PETER

C.

Tokugawa Period

SWANN

>tKl
\%t^
H^

.-fff

-^^Tifci-.,

GREYSTONE PRESS NEW YORK

Title-page: 'Rain at Shono* : from 'The Fifty-three Stations

of the Tokaido*. Wood-block print by Ando (Ichiryusai) Hiroshige ( 1797-1S58),

1833-1840. Private
Cfpp. 216, 218.

E V

F:

c.

EDITION

collection.

1966

HOLLE VERLAG G.M.B.H.. BADEN-BADEN, GERMANY

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER: 66-22128
MANUFACTURtD

IN THi:

UNITED STAT IS Or AMLRKA

CONTENTS

Map

List of plates (5). List of figures (7).

L
IL

(10).

THE PRE-BUDDHIST PERIOD

THE ASUKA PERIOD

(to the

THE NARA PERIOD

IV.

THE EARLY HEIAN PERIOD (794-876:

VI.

VII.

VIII.
IX.

11

(538-645)

III.

V.

6th century A.D.)

29

(710-784)

53

K5nin 810-823, Jogan 859-876)

THE LATE HEIAN OR FUJIWARA PERIOD

THE KAMAKURA PERIOD

THE MOMOYAMA PERIOD

THE TOKUGAWA PERIOD

96

(895-1185)

(1185-1392)

THE ASHIKAGA OR MUROMACHI PERIOD

(1568-1615)
(1615-1868)

APPENDICES
Chronological table (226): Bibliography (229): Index (233).

78

108

(1338-1573)

....

147

172

192

21
7

LIST OF PLATES

2 3 41

6
7

8
9
10
1
1

13

14
15
16
1

18
19

20
21

22

23
24
25
26

'Rain at Shono': print by Hiroshige

Figurine. Late Jomon
Figurine.

Mid-Jomon

20

Haniwa figure of woman playing zither

Haniwa figures of dancers
- Shaka Triad. Horyu-ji, Nara
- Kudara Kannon. Horyu-ji, Nara
- Miroicu (Maitreya). Koryu-ji, Kyoto
- Panel of Tamamushi shrine. Horyu-ji, Nara
- Gakko Bosatsu. Yakushi-ji, Nara
- Nikko Bosatsu. Todai-ji, Nara
- Portrait of the Priest Ganjin. Late Nara
- Section of E-Ingakyo
- Kichijo-ten. Yakushi-ji, Nara
- Wall-painting of a Bodhisattva. Horyu-ji, Nara
- Yakushi Nyorai. Gango-ji, Nara
- Nyoirin Kannon. Kanshin-ji, Osaka
- Red Fudo. My56-in, Mt. Koya
- Amida byjocho. Byodo-in, Uji near Kyoto
- Kichijo-ten. Joruri-ji, Kyoto
- Amida Raigo. Daien-in, Mt. Koya
- Fugen Bodhisattva
- Kinkan Shitsugen. Choho-ji, Kyoto
- Muchaku by Unkei. K5fuku-ji, Nara
- Kongo Rikishi. Kofuku-ji, Nara
- Uesugi Shigefusa. Meigetsii-in, Kamakura
- Minamoto-no-Yoritomo. Jingo-ji, Kyoto
- Kobo Daishi as a boy

21

22

59

40
41

42
43
44
45
46
65
64
65
66

27
28 - Shigisan-engi-emaki: detail
29 - Heiji-monogatari-emaki: detail

30 - Jigoku Soshi: detail

31 - 'Hermitage by a Mountain Brook', attributed to Mincho. Konchi-in, Kyoto
32 - 'Kanzan' by Kao
33 - 'Catfish and Gourd' byjosetsu. Taiz6-in, Kyoto
34 - 'Studio of the Three Worthies' by Shubun
35 - 'Winter Landscape' by Sesshu
36 - 'View of Ama-no-Hashidate' by Sesshu
37 - Haboku ('Splashed Ink') Landscape by Sesshu
38 - 'Storm on the Coast' by Sesson
39 - 'Landscape' by So-ami. Daitoku-ji, Kyoto
40 - 'Stork on a Branch' by Motonobu. Reiun-in, Kyoto
41 - 'Yuima' by Bunsei. Yamato Bunka-kan, Nara
42 - 'Hinoki' (Pine-trees): screen attributed to Eitoku
43 - 'Pine-trees in the Mist' by Tohaku
44 - 'Flowers' by Tohaku
45 - Short-sleeved robe

46

19

Namban-byobu

('Southern Barbarian' screen)

67
68
69
70
87
88
89

90
.

91

98
93
94
111

112

113
114
115
116
117
118

135
136
137
138

139
140
141

142

159
160

51 52 -

47
48
49
50

Karatsu jar
Raku tea-bowl

162

by Sotatsu
'Red and White Plum-trees': screen by Korin
Door with landscape by Buson
'The Convenience of Fishing' by Ike-no-Taiga
53- 'Pine-trees in the Snow': screen by Okyo
54 - 'Autumn Landscape': album- leaf by Gyokudo
55 - 'Lovers Seated on a Balcony': print by Harunobu
56 - 'Three Beauties of the Kansei Era' print by Utamaro
- 'The Actor Kikuno-j6 III': print by Sharaku
57
58 - 'Eight Views of the Hsiao an Hsiang Rivers' by Naonobu
59 - 'Mount Fuji Seen from Kanagawa' print by Hokusai
60 - Sword-guards and netsuke
61 - Old Kutani dish; Kakiemon bowl; jar by Ninsei; Nabeshima vase
62 - Water-container. Atelier of Kenzan
'Sekiya' ('The Barrier Hut'): screen

163
164
165
166

183
184
186
187
188

189
190
207
208

209
210

3
2
7
1

LIST OF FIGURES

4
5

6
7

8
9
I o
II
1
1

14
15
16
1

18
19

20
21

22

23
24
25
26
27
28

29
30
3

32

Clay vessel. Mid-Jomon

Clay figurine. Late Jomon
Clay vessel. Late Jomon
Bronze bell. Late Yayoi
Hunting scene: rubbing from bronze bell
Earthenware stemmed cup. Yayoi
Tomb of Emperor Nintoku plan
Stemmed bowl: Sue grey ware
Gilt bronze helmet
Vessel with bird Sue- type grey ware. Late Yayoi

14
14
15
16
17

17

18
18
23
24

Korean vessel: grey ware. Silla

Haniwa model of a boat
Haniwa model of a building
//am;a figure of a warrior in armour
Haniwa figure of a man in armour
Haniwa figure of a horse
Horyu-ji Monastery, Nara

24
26
27
27

30

Large Triad from Yiin-kang. Northern Wei

Seated Buddha from Yiin-kang. Northern Wei

31

Miroku (Maitreya).

33
34
35
36
49

32

Silla

from Horyu-ji, Nara

Apsara from Yiin-kang. Northern Wei
Gigaku mask
Gilt bronze

banner

Tamamushi

shrine, Horyii-ji,

(detail)

Nara

Side of engraved stone sarcophagus

Design on base of the Great Buddha, Todai-ji,

51

Nara

54
55

Nara
East Pagoda of Yakushi-ji, Nara
Clay figure of a girl, Horyii-ji, Nara
Clay Bodhisattva from Tun-huang
Portrait of a woman, from Shoso-in, Nara
Lady of the court: tomb figurine. T'ang
Shos6-in,

Bodhisattva riding on a cloud, from Shos6-in, Nara

Heavenly musicians, from Kaidan-in
34
Bronze reliquary in form of stiipa
35
Wall-painting from Bezeklik
36
'Mandala of Two Worlds', from Jingo-ji, Kyoto
37
38 - Phoenix Hall of Byodo-in, Uji near Kyoto
39 - Bronze keman from Chiison-ji
40 - Gong (kei) from Zenrin-ji, Kyoto
41 - Cranes and plants: design on mirror
42 - Hall for Sacred Ashes of Engaku-ji, Kamakura
43 - Main Hall of Saimyo-ji, Kyoto
44 - Clay figure of Lohan, Mai-chi-shan
45 - Clay figure of guardian, Mai-chi-shan
46 - 'Animal Scrolls' from Kozan-ji, Kyoto

33

12

13

57

59
61
71

72

74
76

80
83
86

98
100
102
105
119
122
24
127
130
1

47 - 'Mongol Invasion': detail of scroll

48-53 - Specimens of Old Stone Ware
54- Basket of flowers {keko) from Jinsho-ji, Shiga
55 - Kinkaku-ji, Kyoto
56 - Shirasagi Castle, Himeji
57-9 - Family crests of Nobunaga, Hideyoshi and leyasu
60 - 'Lovers' print by Moronobu
1 - 'Woman Looking over her Shoulder': print by Anchi
62 - 'Random Sketches' by Hokusai
63 - Hexagonal dish by Kenzan

132
144
I45

149
175
181

202

205
217

223

MAP
Japan

10

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The

colour plates on the following pages were kindly supplied by:

Messrs. Benrido, Ky5to

Photo Schmolz, Cologne

43j113) ii7j i37i 1391 160, 208

166

JAPAN

I.

THE PRE-BUDDHIST PERIOD

(TO THE 6th century A.D.)

Geography, climate and geology are powerful factors in moulding

Geographical setting

and hence the art, of a people. The string of islands,

large and small, which forms the Japanese archipelago stretches in
a long broken arc from a point near the coast of Siberia in the
the character,

north to Taiwan in the south. Other smaller chains of islands

Japan with Korea and the mainland further north. These

routes from north to south and from east to west have never afforded
easy means of communication but they have always been accessible
link

to the

The

determined traveller or the desperate immigrant.

isolation of Japan, like that of Great Britain, has played a large

part in shaping her people's outlook over the centuries. Insular to a

degree, the Japanese

unlike

explorers of the high seas.

the British

The urge

were

to colonize

not basically

came

late in their

history.

The

main Japanese islands are Hokkaido (the North Sea

district), Honshu (the Main Island), Shikoku (the Four Provinces)
and Kyushu (the Nine Provinces) Altogether there are no less than
five hundred important islands; as a result the country has a relatively long coastline (extending over 17,000 miles) and the sea is
never far away. Sea and shore have always played a major part in
Japanese life and art. In places, especially on the east coast, the
four

landscape
is

is

of unsurpassed beauty.

the Inland Sea,

green islands of

Through

all

The

whose calm waters are studded with a myriad

shapes and

sizes.

the island chain, from north to south, runs a chain of

volcanic mountains with high peaks

There are
islands.

heart of this romantic coast

still

about

fifty

The mountain

worn smooth by

active volcanoes scattered throughout the

passes are comparatively

cations are not difficult.

the elements.

Dense

foliage covers

low and communi-

much

of the more

high-lying areas and only about one-sixth of the land can be used
for cultivation. This led

Sansom

to cpII

Japan

*a

country that hides

II

Fig.

- Clay

vessel.

Mid-Jomon. Height

6 1 cm. National Aduseum, Tokyo.

poverty behind a smiling

face'.

Thus

the Japanese are accustomed

to living in close quarters, a condition

the minutiae of
again,

is

human

steeply

on

which demands attention

to

and a concern for detail which,

The valleys are often narrow and flat with

relations

reflected in art.

hills rising

Cf. p. i6.

either side, giving the landscape a clear-cut

sharply defined appearance, with

flat

influenced landscape painting at

times.

all

areas of colour, that

The land

is

has

well watered

and streams, lakes and waterfalls, which add to its beauty

a beauty of which the Japanese are very aware. The cHmate
throughout the island chain varies greatly, but in the main economic
areas of Honshu and further south short, hot and humid summers are

by

rivers

followed by long, cold but clear winters.

are spring and autumn,

Japanese greatly admire

life is

not easy, for

it

when

The most

flowers

and

trees

but

12

which the

deck the land in beauty. Economically

takes hard

work

to

produce the

constitutes the staple crop. Frugality has always

teristic virtue

beautiful periods

been a charac-

of the Japanese people. Stone for building

wood and bamboo

rice that

is

scarce

are plentiful; these materials have dictated

the architecture

and much of the

art of Japan, notably

its

fine early

sculpture.

The

origins of the Japanese people themselves are very obscure.

Origins

Like Great Britain, Japan forms the furthest extension of a great

land mass with access from north, south and west, so that migrant

Japan could go no further and were forced to

number of different ethnic elements can be

peoples on reaching

merge

there.

seen in what

came

to

is

now, of course, a well-consolidated population.

Japan quite

Eastern time scale.

Man

early but civilization relatively late in the Far

The

earliest arrivals

were a Caucasian people

some ethnologists, the remnants

known as the Ainu
still survive in Hokkaido,
of this people
where they were driven by more advanced and warlike peoples
from North-east Asia. According

to

Fig. 2 - Clay figurine. Late Jomon. Height

ly.icm. T.Nakazawa Collection. Cf.p.

17.

pressing

and

up from the

to a lesser

south.

A Manchu-Korean

type, a

Mongol type

degree a Malay type from the Pacific Islands are the

make-up of modern Japanese man.

The Malay element was brought to Japan by the important southwest monsoon from India and the Pacific Ocean and by the warm
Kuroshio current which flows northward to Kyushu. All these eththree basic elements in the ethnic

nological streams have contributed to the artistic outlook of the

Japanese.
Shinto

The

earliest

reUgion of the Japanese people has come to be

as Shinto, or 'the
it

from the

the

first

known

Way of the Gods'. One must, of course, distinguish

nationalistic, militaristic

Shintoism which was popular in

half of this century, but even today the older beliefs rep-

resent a deep strain in Japanese thought. In

its

original

form

it

was a primitive animism in which the whole of nature was seen as

thronged with spirits and sentient beings. The beauty and fertility
of the country
friendly

make

these kami, or supernatural spirits,

and gentle they are bestowers of favours, of food and

;

FiG. 3 - Clay vessel. Late Jomon. Height

4.2.5 cm. T. Tani Collection. Cf. p. 16.

Fig. 4 - Bronze

bell.

Late Tayoi. Height 11 0.5 cm.

tropolitan

14

on the whole

Museum, New Tork.Cf.

Me-

p. 23.

chil-

dren, wealth and longevity, safety

and

and happiness. The old religion was a mixture of ancestor worship and nature
worship moral teaching had little part in it. The main ceremony is
one of purification which is intended to remove all taint of evil.
Purity and simplicity are exalted, images are of no significance.
The deepest elements of this behef are still powerful factors and
form the basis of some of the most popular new religions.
The earliest culture of which we have any record is known as the
so called from its
Jomon, 'Cord Pattern' or 'Cord Impression'
pottery, which is decorated with rich and fantastic cord impressions
apphed to the outside of vessels. The Jomon culture was widespread
(some 75,000 sites have been recorded) and existed for a very long
survival, health

Jomon

culture

period, perhaps from as early as the fifth (some say the third)

Fig. 5 - Rubbing of one of twelve panels on a bronze bell showing hunting scene. H. Hashi
Collection. Cf. p. 23.

15

Fig. 6 - Earthenware stemmed cup.

Height 15.5 cm., diameter

41.6 cm. National Museum, Tokyo.
Tayoi.

Cf.p.24.

millennium

B.C.

almost to the Christian era. Towards the end of

these centuries the rate of

change began

speed up and the

to

way of hfe began to reach what was originally

a nomadic people. The great Bronze Age culture of China which
flourished from c. 1500 B.C. onwards seems to have made no impact
elements of a settled

on early Japan.
Jomon pottery
FIGS. I, 3

The

characteristic

Jomon

rather than on a wheel.

pottery

The

is

clay

heavy and

is

built

up by hand

unrefined, containing

many

and the wares were low-fired. By later ceramic standards

and even by those of the Stone Age it is somewhat clumsy, but is
distinguished by the variety and fantasy displayed in shape and
decoration. It has a sculptural quality, an explosive and restless
impurities,

virility

which, strangely enough, has survived in the Japanese taste

for ceramics.

Whereas the Chinese have always

and technical

perfection, the Japanese

the rough organic feel of the clay

and

striven for elegance

have often been happy in

in shapes not

dependent on

and regularity produced by the wheel. The designs

are imaginative, highly organized and original. Their barbaric
the smoothness

splendour
FIG.

is

Sometimes

never overdone or out of balance.

(as in

Figure

i,

a mid-Jomon period pot), the shape

heavy and the decoration a

tour

de force of archaic skill,

is

with the

whole surface occupied by irregular but bold patterns. These combine to form a powerful vessel whose inspiration

from naive. Figure

16

3,

a late

Jomon

piece,

is

is

primitive but far

by contrast a slender.

Fig. 7 - Plan of tomb of Emperor Nintoku {died

A.D.400).

graceful

made

and

delicate pot,

is

The

simple and even elegant in

Japanese Stone Age man.

pottery, the Japanese

Jomon

Of all

vessel

design of whorls on
its

marked rhythms.

comparison of the two shows the enormous range of

sensibility in

c,

25.

which might be modelled on a

in another material such as leather.

bands of striations

Cfp.

artistic

the world's Neolithic

has the greatest variety and breathes

the strongest air of mystery.

Towards the end of the long Stone Age

period, but possibly as

Jomon

people produced a type

early as the tenth century B.C., the

of small clay figurine.

They

are unusually varied in type,

heavy and as surcharged with detail

as the pottery.

some being

The exaggerated

PLATES pp.

19,

20

FIG. 2

Fig. 8 - Stemmed bowl with comb marking. Sue grey

ware.

Cf p.

25.

Fig.

9 -Gilt bronze helrmt. Height 12.7 cm, diameter

22.2 cm. National Museum, Tokyo.
Cf.p. 25,

sexual attributes in

many of them suggest that they may

belong to
ferahty cult worship. Others are
very Uthe, with features
which
suggest animal forms. The
meaning of these figurines remains
obscure. It has been suggested
that they were substitutes
intended to
accept the various ills to which
mankind is heir. Certainly they have
an imagmative power unrivalled
in any other culture at a
similar
stage
man's development. They are
most vivid expressions of a
spint-fraught world in which some
of the forces have sinister undertones The work of a highly
developed people with strong
reUgious
beliefs, they belong to
a world of shamanism and
witchcraft

which

man

in

by placating a myriad unseen

anthropomorphic or zoomorphic shape.
survives

forces visuaUzed

By

the early third century b.c.

another people of Mongoloid blood
from South China or Indochina
reached Japan in considerable

numbers by way of Korea. They

and during the foUowing six

first

occupied northern Kyushu

centuries expanded into most

of the
main island of Honshu, merging
with or driving out the earlier

mhabitants.

The

civilization

they brought from the

mainland

we do not yet know its exact origin)

had been influenced
by China and was much more
advanced than that of the Jomon
These
(although

Yayoi people

lokyo
rice

(so called

from the

first

site,

discovered in

had an economy based increasingly

on
being the main crop. They
brought with them
Itself)

agriculture

a knowledge not
only of bronze but also of iron,
which from that time onwards was
to be used extensively.
Japan missed a long Bronze Age and this
metal, introduced at a time
when in China it was being replaced by

S-'c/a^^".'"'^^''''*"'''""""''''*-'''*'''''^'"

18

"""* "f S'^'-iyoM.Taira. Late

Plate

- Figurine. Latejomon. Height 2g.8 cm. National Museum^ Tokyo. Cf.p.

17.

19

Plate

20

2 - Figurine.

Mid-Jomon. Height 25.7

cm. T. Yamasaki Collection. Cf. pp. 17.

Pr.ATF 3 - Ifaniwa fi^urr of

woman

playing zither (koto). 6th cent. a.o. CJ.

p.

2'].

21

Plate 4 - Haniwa
Tokyo. Cf. p. 28.

22

figures of dancers. 5th-6th cents. Height of larger figure 34.

cm Naiional Museum,

Fig.

1 1

^th-6th

- Korean
cents.

grey ware vessel with

National

was employed mainly

iron,

lid. Silla

Museum of Korea.

for

State ^

Cf. p. 25.

ornaments

and artistic objects, such as mirrors, based

on Chinese models. Chinese artistic influences through Korea were very strong,
especially

after

the establishment

of a

Chinese colony in North Korea in 108

but the Japanese did experiment with

B.C.,

their

own bronze

The most

designs.

no-

table are the large bronze bells {dotaku),

which are

entirely

Jap-

anese in shape and decoration.

These

bells are

of all

sizes,

fig.

Dotaku

the tallest being about four feet in height.

Starting as very rough products, they reached a high degree of

sophistication. Later

examples are most graceful in outhne, with a

wide flange that seems almost

cast

to bisect the

body of the

on them vary from the simple and geometric

stick designs of

human

activities

bell.

to lively

Designs

match-

such as hunting or cooking. Their

use seems fairly soon to have been restricted to ritual purposes.

flaring skirt-hke silhouette

fig. 5

The

produced by the wide sweeping flange

them a rare elegance, and their beauty is further enhanced by

the bright green patina which many of them have acquired through

gives

burial.

The pottery of the Yayoi culture is quite different from that of the
Jomon people, though at some sites there appears to have been
considerable overlapping. From Korea came knowledge of how to
use the wheel, which gave the pottery regular ceramic shapes

took

away much of the

and the large pots used

fantasy of the Jomon.

for coffins

The technique

is

Yayoi pottery

and
finer

must have required great technical

23

Fig.

- Haniwa model of a

boat

from

Saitobaru tomb, Miyazaki. Length 88.g cm.

National Museum, Tokyo.

FIG.

ability.

Figure 6

is

Cf p.

27.

a typical Yayoi pot of yellowish red clay, wheel-

turned and of elegant stem-cup shape, a shape typical of Far

Eastern ceramics.
effect is

influence

surface has been

of a well-advanced

craft.

smoothed and the general

Often the pots have vigorous

painted decorations, frequently of stylized flowers.

The

colour of

and the material much

finer

than that

the clay

Korean

The

is

generally reddish

in the

Jomon.

From

the third to the sixth centuries contacts with the mainland,

notably with Korea, became much stronger and more intensive than
before.

On

occasions large colonies must have emigrated to Japan,

where the knowledge they brought with them was greatly welcomed.
During these three centuries a highly organized

class

system

emerged, and guilds of free craftsmen played a considerable part.This

Fig. 13 - Haniwa model of a building

from Saitobaru tomb, Miyazaki. Height
52.7 cm. National Museum, Tokyo. Cf.
p. 27.

24

period was

of tombs

known

as the

Old

Tomb

period from the large

number

more than ten thousand located throughout the

lands. Figure 7 gives the plan of the largest

and most

these tombs, that of Emperor Nintoku (died

c,

Old Tomb period

is-

interesting of

FIG. 7

Occupying
an area of about 80 acres, it rises from the flat plain near Osaka and
has remained inviolate over the centuries. This is one notable
example of the Japanese respect for their royal family which has
resulted in the preservation of so

much

a.d. 400).

valuable

artistic material.

These tombs, often of vast dimensions and surrounded by moats,

have yielded bronze, stone, iron and

glass objects of the highest

quality that this period could produce.

the most beautiful pieces of

gilt

bronze helmet

reproduce here one of

armour excavated from a tomb.

It is

lightly

on the central band.

Tomb period another type of pottery was introduced

During the Old

tombs;

for use in the

it

clay, thinly potted

upper

and highly

classes. Different

on varied and

Sue grey ware

became widespread throughout Japan by

the sixth century. Technically advanced, of fine non-porous grey

for the

FIG.

of thin overlapping plates skilfully riveted

and bottom bands. Mythical animals are

to the top central

incised

made

We

fired,

it

FIGS. 8, 10

was obviously a ware made

kinds of combing patterns are used

interesting shapes. Figure 10, a late example,

is

FIG. 10

most elegant stem bowl with a cover decorated with a strong perky
bird.

The body and

obvious parallel

is

lid

show

traces of an ash glaze (see below).

The

with similar types in Korea, and Korean potters

FIG.

I I

numbers to teach the Japanese

this new type of ware. Comparison between the two makes the
origin of this ware clear beyond all doubt. On some vessels the
shoulders carry animals, somewhat clumsily modelled and by no
means as expressive as the haniwa figures. The most significant introduction was that of a rough ash glaze, probably accidental at
must have emigrated

first

but later

The most

in considerable

skilfully used.

striking products of the time, however, are the haniwa

literally, 'clay circles'

round the tombs

figures range

human

Haniwa

which were implanted into the ground

to retain the earth.

These red clay models and

from simple well-made pots

to

complex models and

figures; they provide fascinating evidence of civilization in

PLATES pp.

2 1, 22

as

Fig.
in

4 - Haniwa

of warrior
Height
cm. National Museum^ Tokyo

armour.

1 3J. I

Cf.p. 27.

26

6th

figure

cent.

A.D.

-4

Fig. 15

-Haniwa figure of man

in

Height 63.5 cm.

Negishi Collection. Cf. Below.
armour. 6th

Fig. 16 -

cent. a.d.

Haniwa

figure of a horse.

6th cent. Height 83.8 cm. National

Museum, Tokyo.

Japan just
ture.

Cf. Below.

prior to the introduction of

Figure

13 shows the

Buddhism and Chinese

most involved structure depicted

these models, possibly intended to house the soul of the dead.

models show that houses

cul-

for the first time

had boarded

dependent roofs. Twin-storey buildings seem

to

sides

in

fig. 13

The

and

in-

have been common.

Living conditions had obviously become far more conffortable.

Models of ships and animals, particularly horses, are frequently found,

figs.

12,16

By far the most striking figures are those of the men and women who
lived during these three centuries. These models, which date from
the beginning of the

made

fifth

century a.d. onwards,

may have been

quite hurriedly on the death of an important personage; the

modelling

is

rough but most expressive. Warriors in iron and

and ladies of the court in decorated

skirts all reveal a civilization by no means as primitive as was once
thought. The plate on page 21 shows a woman of the court with a
leather armour, huntsmen,

figs. 14, 15

plate

p. 21

complicated head-dress, playing a musical instrument, probably a

27

kind of zither.

The

holes for eyes

and mouth were

nical consideration to prevent these large

models from cracking in

the kiln, but this adds greatly to their effect.

PLATE

p.

I'j.

possibly a tech-

The

modelling, with

its

economy of means and insistence on essentials, is fresh and spontaneous. The plate on page 2 2 represents a group of two dancers

who seem to be singing as they dance.

The guilds produced craft works of high

quality. Contacts with the

mainland must have been very frequent, although the influence of

Chinese culture

is

for the aristocracy,

not yet overwhelming. Living standards, at least

were high. The

sinister

atmosphere of the Jomon

has yielded to an optimistic cheerful world in which the gods seem

beneficent

28

and man

is

in control of his destiny.

II.

THE ASUKA PERIOD

(538-645)

During the early centuries of Japanese history

that the death of an
this

it

was considered

emperor defiled the area in which he lived and for

reason the court

moved

its

location

many

times. In a relatively

unsophisticated society this was comparatively easy, but as the

country grew richer and more highly organized such moves of the
capital

became

increasingly difficult

the sixth century the capital

small village

in the

Nara

was

at

and

At the beginning of
a place called Asuka
now a

plain. It

costly.

was here that Japan's

first

great cultural revolution took place.

We

have already seen that contact with the mainland by way of

Korea was always possible, and that it increased considerably between the third and the sixth century a.d. At that time whole
colonies of Korean workmen came to Japan, where their superior
skills were welcomed by the leaders of the country, who were
conscious of the need to modernize. In an atmosphere of political

manoeuvre such imported

script, for instance, was a

skills

vital

introduced at a very early date

The Chinese
poHtico-cultural weapon and was
in Japanese history. The Chinese
represented power.

language not only enabled the Japanese to become

also

literate

Chinese influence

but

provided the key to an understanding of the whole world of

Chinese achievement which the Japanese desired to emulate.

In the centuries immediately following the
in A.D. 226

China

itself

fall

of the

Han

dynasty

was spUt into a number of warring

states.

In the turmoil non-Chinese nomadic peoples from the north in-

vaded the country and occupied large areas of the Chinese home-

Only in the south, where the terrain was unsuited to cavalry

warfare and the nomads found the climate unhealthy, were the
land.

retreating Chinese able to preserve remnants of their independence

and inviolability. To the casual observer it might have seemed that the
great days of China's past were gone for ever.

fragments.
assailable,

The empire was

in

The old political and religious systems, once so unnow seemed quite inadequate. I'he highly organized

administrative machinery built

up during the Han dynasty had

29

Fig. 17 - Horyu'ji Monastery, founded in A.D. Soy. Cf.p. 34.

and the economy of the country was stricken. Into what

most intelligent Chinese must have regarded as poUtical, economic
and moral chaos, akin to our 'Dark Ages', came one redeeming
collapsed

force
Buddhism

the Buddhist rehgion.

This profound and moving faith originated in India in the sixth

century

b.c.

and had slowly been making

way

its

across the in-

hospitable areas of Central Asia to the Far East. There dissatisfac-

nomad

tion with traditional behefs following the

vided

fertile

ground

for

its

propagation.

It

conquests pro-

spread Uke

fire

among

population that clutched at any prospect of an alleviation of their

intolerable conditions.

Many

factors

political,

contributed

economic

as well as religious

the faith.

The nomadic people who estabUshed

emotional and

to the rapid success of

their

kingdoms

in

North China distrusted the native Confucianism and adopted

Buddhism

as their official religion.

religious paraphernalia, the

The

visual appeal of Buddhist

Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and

disciples,

the paradises with their occupants appealed to the simple

much

as the subtle philosophy attracted the scholar.

The

man

as

idea that

they could retreat to the comparative safety of a monastery in the

last resort

was congenial

mind, while tax

to

many

persons of a reflective turn of

relief for the clergy attracted others

with

less exal-

ted motives.

Under Buddhist

inspiration

from the fourth century onwards

some of the world's greatest

In the great cave-temples of Tun-huang, Yiin-kang

countless Chinese artists produced

Cave-temples

30

reUgious

art.

and Lung-men are peerless monuments inspired by religious zeal

and artistic skill. The Koreans in turn, through their contact with
nomadic peoples in the north of their land, soon learned of the new
religion and some may have adopted it as early as the late fourth
century. The Japanese, who had long had active contact with the
Korean mainland through the state of Paekche (Japanese: Kudara),
and for a time even had a physical foothold in the south of the
peninsula, learned of it from the Koreans. In this context it must
be remembered that Korean scholars went to Japan as early as
A.D. 400.

The

Buddhism into Japan is

usually given as a.d. 552, when the ruler of the Korean kingdom
of Paekche sent a bronze image of the Buddha and scriptures to the
official

date of the introduction of

Japanese court. This

we

like to

is

Buddhism introduced
into Japan

only one of the convenient dates on which

hang our notions of

historical processes that in reality

continued over a lengthy period of time.

Sansom

sees the actual

adoption of Buddhism as the outcome of a

Fig. 18 - Large Triad in stone. Tiin-kang cave-temples, North China. Northern

A.D.

Wei,

4go-54o. Cf.p. 37.

31

Fig. 19 - Buddha seated in niche, in store,

Tiin-kang cave-temples, North China. Northern Wei, A.D.

political struggle

emperor and the

4go-^^o. Cf. p. 37.

between the conservative forces surrounding the

tactions pressing for reform.

The former were

supporters of the old gods and faiths while the reformers saw in the

and organization far more advanced

own. Naturally enough they attributed the Koreans'

Korean system a
than their

civilization

superiority to Chinese influence. Politically the Chinese system of

centraUzed administration appealed to the pro-Buddhist faction,

which saw in
Similarly

it

it

could

a means of controlling unruly local chieftains.

make

tax-collecting

more

effective,

important to a central regime that was attempting the

and

this

was

difficult task

of organizing a rapidly expanding nation.

Spread of Buddhism

Under

the regency of Prince Shotoku (born 574, died 622),

ruled on behalf of his aunt, the Empress Suiko,

estabhshed almost as a state religion.

teristic

Buddhism was

The Japanese with

charac-

thoroughness soon began to by-pass Korea and venture to

the heart of the Buddhist

went

who

to the Sui court

movement

in

China

itself.

Missions

first

(the relatively short-lived but impressive

dynasty, 589-618, which preceded the long and splendid T'ang,

32

618-907).

Many

embassies travelled to the T'ang court

itself after

the establishment of that dynasty in 618. Such official missions

were, of course, important, but they were perhaps not so vital as

many

and craftsmen paid

to China. Awe-struck by the spectacle of China in its full power,
they brought back glowing reports of the brilliance of the T'ang
court, its efficient centraUzed government of an obedient empire
and the wealth which flowed as a consequence. Thus the introduction of Buddhism went hand in hand with the movement towards
centraUzation of the Japanese government. However, unfortunately
the

private

for subsequent

visits

which

Japanese

autonomy of the

scholars, priests

history, the reformers failed to

curb the

local chieftains.

The new religion spread rapidly. In Japan the opponents of the faith
were not so firmly entrenched

were in China. In

as,

this respect it is

for

example, the Confucians

important to remember that.

Fig. 20 - Miroku [Maitreya). Korean, from Silla Slate. Early yth

Museum.

cent.

Duksoo Palace

Cf. p. 44.

33

unlike China,

Japan

suffered

no

great persecutions of the faith. This

was

to

be of the greatest

signif-

many fine early Japanworks of art made under the

icance, for
ese

direct influence of China

have sur-

China

itself they

vived, whereas in

have disappeared in wars and persecutions. It is a moving experience

to

be able to see great works of art

in highly delicate materials pre-

served so perfectly for more than

a thousand years.

Not only the court but

also

many

great Japanese noble families acted

as patrons of the

imposing
with

its

new

H6ryu-ji

beliefs.

The

monastery,

pagoda, lecture hall and

surrounding cloisters, was founded

GoyandbyA.D. 692
there were no less than 545 monasteries and shrines. The conversion
of the Japanese was complete and
as early asA.D.

sincere and, as in the

whole of the

Far East, Buddhism performed a

tremendous service in releasing
men's spiritual and

artistic

imagi-

nation.

The Japanese,

in taking over Chi-

nese Buddhism, also tried to adopt

the Chinese system of state organization, but they

Fig.

21

sometimes failed

- Part of a

gilt-bronze

Horyu-ji Monastery, Nara.

457-5

34

(:^'

Of' P' 47-

banner.

Overall length

Fig. 22 - Apsara or flying angel from the front of a niche at Yun-kang. Northern Wei,
A.D.

490-540. Cfp. 48.

to appreciate the

fundamentals on which the Chinese had built the

more advanced nation they were trying to emulate. It is

only recently that we in the West have appreciated how impossible

infinitely

it is

for

one nation

to

adopt

in toto

Magnificent though the Japanese

their lack of understanding led

which were

to

the political system of another.

efforts

them

and achievements were,

into certain serious errors

have a lasting influence on their

later history.

The

two most far-reaching of these were the position of the monarchy

and the foundations on which the civil service was built.

First, over the centuries China had developed the concept that a
bad ruler through his misdeeds surrendered his right to rule, his
'Mandate of Heaven', and that the people had the moral right to
replace him. This acted as a constant check upon and warning
against abuse. The Japanese considered their emperor as a god
descended from gods and therefore inviolable. At most periods in

Japanese concept of
government

35

Fig. 23 - Gigaku mask. Wood with metal crown.

28.5 X 20. g cm. National Museum, Tokyo.

Cf.p.50.

more than a figure-head while ruthless

men behind him exercised real power. They could not easily be
called to account. The result was that, although the imperial Une
often survived, the blood-letting, when it did come, was more

Japanese history he was

Lttle

widespread. Secondly, the Chinese, from the

Han

wards, had developed a system of election to the

examination and in the T'ang centuries

dynasty on-

civil service

by

was highly organized

and most efficient. Thus, in theory at least, any man through diligence could reach the highest position in the land. However, the
Japanese nobility

made

higher

ranks. This

who

controlled the destinies of the

civil service

was a

this

fatal

new

nation

appointments hereditary in their

own

mistake which completely negated the

Chinese concept. Japanese public

life

was thus neither broadly

based nor stable.

SCULPTURE
Shaka Triad

In the atmosphere of admiration for China and Korean-Chinese

Buddhism

it is

not surprising that the earliest art should have been

dependent on mainland examples. This

36

is

immediately

visible in

one of the

earliest groups, the

monastery, Nara. (Shaka

The
on

statue

its

was made by the

Shakyamuni, the
cire-perdue

historical

who had

Shotoku,

have come

to

in fulfilment of a

Buddha.)

vow made by

it

39

the wife of Prince

is

said

in a.d. 522 as a saddle-maker

with bronze horse-trappings must have familiar-

and

his experience

ized

him with

The

type of austere and archaic trinity originated in China during

the problems of working metal.

and sixth centuries in the great cave-temples at such sites

as Yun-kang and Lung-men. The pose is stiff and purely frontal, as
if it was designed to be seen from the front and high up in a niche
on a wall, as they were in the Chinese originals. The main figure of
Shaka has the right hand raised in the position intended to dispel
fear, while the left is in the position of giving. The figure is an almost
perfect pyramid rising from a base of schematized folds which fall
the

p.

in the third,

died two years before. Tori's grandfather

Japan from Korea

plate

method; a pious inscription

back records that a certain Shiba Tori made

month of A.D. 623

to

is

bronze Shaka Triad in the Horyu-ji

fifth

like a frozen

cascade over the pedestal to the heavy but sensitive

face with

'archaic' smile.

its

The neck

clumsy only when considered in

frame setting off the plain
shaped halo coming

is

isolation.

a cylinder which looks

Behind,

lines of the central figure,

to a delicate point at the top, a

like

is

an ornate

a large flame-

shape inherited

from the stone niche in which the top curved towards the

With

its

flames and

little

possesses a particular

figs. 18, 19

front.

seated figures of Buddhas of the Past, this

beauty of design and craftsmanship.

A number

of historians see in this a softness and delicacy which they suggest

a characteristic of Japanese art.

The two

is

attendants are almost

and represent Bodhisattvas, the popular divinities of

Mahayana (the Greater Vehicle) Buddhism. These are beings who,
through their series of good lives, were entitled to enter nirvana, the
final release from this world of suffering, but who, from compassion
for struggling humanity, elected to stay on earth and help others
to achieve the goal. They stand on lotuses which are themselves

identical

heavy with Buddhist symbolism. Zimmer summarizes a vast corpus

of theory on the importance of the lotus

when he

says:

*The

lotus

symbol, as the pedestal of Brahma, acquired in the course of time

37

the

meaning of a support

for all deities representing the highest

'^

transcendental essence

Despite the very obvious derivation of this group from mainland

traditions,

Japanese historians claim that one can indeed see in the

elegance and workmanship, in the refinement and sense of pattern,

The

qualities

which came

casting

of a remarkable standard and the detail has a clarity rarely

is

to

be characteristic of Japanese

found even in China. The expression on the faces

is

art.

of deep

spirit-

and even in the folds of the robe the sculptor took care to
provide just enough variation to avoid deadness. The comparison
between the unadorned figure of the Buddha in the centre and the
richly ornate attendant figures is most effectively contrived. The
manner in which all three are arranged over a small pedestal gives
the impression of aerial flight and etherealness.
An even more unusual figure is the Kudara Kannon, also in the
Horyu-ji (Kudara is the Japanese name for the state of Paekche in
Korea). It is of wood and in a few places bears traces of lacquer and
pigments. Nothing comparable has survived on the mainland either
in Korea or in China proper. The style of this very elongated, mysteuality,

Kudara Kannon

PLATE

P.

40

rious divinity

with

its

is

as different as possible

from the bronze Shaka Triad

northern Chinese stone connotations.

drapery from front to back is most unusual.

for scholars to

assume that

It

The

direction of the

has become customary

this statue reflects influences

south of China where, following the

nomad

from the

invasions in the north,

the Chinese state of Liang kept Chinese traditions alive. However,

we have very

little

Buddhist statuary from the south in

this

period

and none at all in wood. What has survived would appear to look
more to northern styles than to the Kudara Kannon style. The
peculiar elongation recalls many Wei dynasty tomb figurines. It is
assumed that the figure was either brought from Korea or made in
Japan by a Korean immigrant. If one can draw any parallels, one
can say that the treatment of the drapery in broad flat bands is
reminiscent of marble sculpture of the Chinese Sui period (a.d.

38

H. R. Zimmer, The Art of Indian Asia (New York 1955), pp. 158-230.

Plate 5 - Shaka Triad.

Gilt bronze. Horyu-ji Monastery, Nara. Height of seated figure 86.4 cm. Gf.p.37.

39

Plate 6 - Kudara Kannon. Wood. HoryQ-ji Monastery, Nara.

40

Height 209.7 cm. Cf. p. 38.

Plate

- Miroku (Maitreya). Wood. K6ryu-ji Temple, Kyoto. Height 124.J cm.

Cf. p. 4y.

41

Plate 8 - Detail of panel on the Tamamushi

64.8 X j^.6 cm. Cf. pp. JO. iji.

42

i^f).

shrine.

Lacquer on wood. Horyu-ji Temple, Nara.

The Gakko Bosatsu ('Moonlight Bodhisallva). One

Buddha fBuddha of Heahng) in the Yakushi-ji Temple, Nara.
Plate 9

of the attendants

ol

the

main Yakushi

C. a.d. 720. CJ. p. 60.

43

Plate o - Lar^e clay figure of the Nikko Bosatsu ('Sunlight Bodhisattva') Late Nara. T6dai-ji Temple,
i

NaiTdi.

44

Height iyg.2 cm. Cf.p. 62.

Plate

i i

- Portrait of the

Priest Ganjin.

Hollow dry lacquer. Late Nara. Height 80.1

cm,

Cf.pp. 72, 123.

45

Plate 12 - Section of the E-Ingakyo ('Illustrated Sutra of Causes and Effects in the Past and Present')
showing the daughters of the King of Evil attacking the Buddha. Ink and colour on paper. 8th cent.
Height 26. y cm. Cf.p. 7j

46

589-618)5 the short period which united China and led to the long

T'ang dynasty.
Despite
this

its

seeming naivete of inspiration and simplicity of design

Bodhisattva of Compassion

air of mystic devotion gives

a most sophisticated statue.

An

a kind of transcendental calm and

it

remoteness that distinguishes

is

completely from the other major

it

works of the period that have survived.

The earUest examples of Buddhist sculpture in this period show as

much diversity as they do fervour and intensity. Outstanding for its
pure elegance and grace

'Buddha of the Future', now

and made from a

life-sized

Miroku

the

is

(Sanskrit: Maitreya)

in the Koryu-ji, Kyoto. It

or

than

is less

Miroku

plate

p. 41

single piece of broad-grained red pine

wood, unlike other early wood sculptures which are of camphor

wood. Although once probably covered with lacquer, the wood

now

bare and with

its

exposed grain contributes to the elegant flow

of the carving, especially in the sweep

for this highly evocative

work

is

round the cheeks. The model

and benevolent aspect

reflect

shown by the
Korea. The Hssom grace

plainly Korean, as

bronze statue in the National Collection in

ligious

is

an unsophisticated adoration, a

atmosphere as yet uncoloured by the darker tones of

Buddhist thought.

It is

is

sculpted far

more

in the

FIG.

20

re-

later

round than the Tori

bronze and in a sense represents with a new confidence the divine

brought

down

to earth.

turned inwards towards

As with most early images, the gaze

its

own

gentle spiritual world but

it

is

has a

unique modesty and shyness.

None of these

statues,

made

at a

time

when Japan was

enthralled

by the example of her great neighbours, gives an opportunity to

judge the real artistic characteristics of the Japanese. They only

show how much a nation can do, given faith and determination.
Such outward lasting qualities persist throughout Japanese history
and account for the basic ambivalence in the nation's culture.
The Tori Triad and Kudara Kannon are only two of the many
treasures of early Japanese art in the Horyu-ji.

examples of Buddhist metalwork

Figure 2 1

The whole banner

is

over

is

One

of the earliest

the gilt-bronze banner in

and filled
surrounded by an ara-

fifteen feet in length

with a fine flowing design of cut-out figures

FiG. 21

47

besque border.
surface
FIG. 22

apsaras,

is

On

one side only the figures are

incised.

The whole

covered with Buddhist figures, in particular with floating

who

heavenly beings

play musical instruments or

make

Buddhas in the various paradises. The origin of these

figures is, of course, again China and pre-T'ang. One finds countless
similar figures on the ceilings and round the niches of the caveofferings to the

temples. BeUef in the existence of such beautiful occupants of heaven

was an inducement

The

Buddhist hereafter.

one of the Jdtaka

origins of this belief

tales,

Buddha. In one of

man

for the simple to believe in the bliss of the

may

well go back to

or stories from the previous lives of the

example,

these, for

it is

told

how

the

Buddha

particularly fond of the pleasures of the flesh

by

showing him a vision of paradise in which the denizens were

far

converted a

more

beautiful than those to

free flowing design within a

whom

he was attached on earth. The

formal border

silhouette technique goes right

back

to

is

most

Chinese

effective

Han

and the

dynasty times.

movement, of life, was by now one of the prime requirements of painting and the Japanese have here most effectively

The

sense of

translated

Buddha

it

into metal. If the central deities, in particular the

figures,

were of necessity calm and unadorned, physically

and love
of movement in these attendant figures, who swarm around in
adoration much as the living worshippers of the time must have
beyond the wit of man, craftsmen could

done.

The skill in expression of drapery is conveyed in every medium

with consummate ease

MASKS

exercise their skill

a quality which

The Japanese throughout

finest portraiture in the

Far Fast.

grotesque aspects of the

human

shared by the Chinese.

have always shown a particular

their art

interest in facial characteristics.

is

This has produced some of the

It

has also led to an interest in the

face.

The masks

for

which the

Japanese are famous were used in stage performances or in religious

dances and ceremonies.

somewhat

set types,

slowly. This

is

due

The major Buddhist

figures tend to fall into

which do indeed change, but only somewhat

to the belief that for religious efficacy the

Buddha

Fig. 24 - Tamamushi shrine. Horyu-ji Temple^ Nora. Cf. p. 50

48

ill
v^

Ill

SB

[
:::jj

'*T-"f^

v,;^^

49

figures should correspond to certain fixed

characteristics.

canons of size and physical

Only thus would they embody

the reUgious magic

of their originals. In the masks the fantasy of the carvers was given

The dances

which such masks were used were performed at large temples and shrines in formal rituals in imitation
of those of the more culturally advanced nations on the continent.
free rein.

FIG.

23

for

The impressive music for which the Gigaku mask in Figure 23 was
made probably originated in China and has survived in Korea and
Japan.

It is possible that similar

masks were used there but none

have survived nor are they represented in other

;

arts of the

main-

land. This

had

of masks

a characteristic inherited from the Pacific peoples rather

is

led

some

historians to suggest that the Japanese love

than from mainland Asia, and that in

this respect the

Japanese

reveal traces of their southern blood.

which often come

Certainly, in such masks,

Japanese show a sense of humour which

is

close to caricature, the

The Chinese
but humour seldom ap-

un-Chinese.

humorous people in their daily life

pears in their art. With the Japanese the reverse is true. Again the
Japanese frequently push their interests to an extreme, as if, having
learned something, they are determined to explore it more deeply
are a

than their teachers.

PAINTING IN

LACQUER

To

the Asuka period also belong the earliest examples of Japanese

painting to have survived. These are the paintings in lacquer on the

Tamamushi
PLATE

P. 42

or *Beetle-wing' shrine which

treasury of the Horyu-ji.

is

also preserved in the

The name comes from

the beetles' wings

which were placed beneath the open metalwork of frames and

FIG.

24

borders and which reflected with a dull purple gleam any light that

upon them. The most famous of these panels again illustrates a

Jdtaka story. This tells how one day the Buddha in a former life was
walking in the country. He happened to come upon a starving
tigress with her young and, out of compassion for all living creatures,
fell

gave

his life to feed

The

various parts of this

them.

plunge downwards into the

drama
lair

shown
superimposed on the same back-

and

same picture as three scenes

ground
a technique often used

in the

50

the Buddha's disrobing, his

his final sacrifice are all

in early Buddhist art both in

China and Japan. This technique

the walls of the cave-temple

China.

The

site

flat

tainly they

Cf.

found in Jdtaka paintings on

of Tun-huang in the far west of

interesting landscape conventions seen here

long history which goes back to

while the

is

Han and

even pre-Han times,

spatula-type rocks derive from Indian models.^ Cer-

appear in China in pre-T'ang times; the most famous

M. Sullivan, TTie Birth of Landscape Painting in China(London

Fig. 25 - Side of an engraved stone sarcophagus,

Kansas

have a

c.

1962), pp. 129-31.

A.D. 525. Nelson

Gallery of Art,

City, Cf. p. 52.

51

FIG.

25

example
in the

of course, the well-known late sixth-century sarcophagus

is,

Kansas City Museum. There a similar type of rock occurs but

the foliage

is

of a more complicated and developed

Tamamushi bamboos
and

rocks

style.

The

are very naturalistic but the schematized

naturalistic foliage in

no way

conflict.

The

figures play

drama with calm and determined assurance. The slender

of the Buddha in his simple white dress acts as a perfect foil

out their
figure

to the richly

adorned

figures of Bodhisattvas painted

on other

panels.

We

on the

see here the easternmost extension of Chinese theories

which Japanese craftsmen must have become

visits to China. As early as the fifth century the

art of painting with

familiar

on

their

most famous of the early

need

for

an

artist to give his

a sense of movement.

while

still

theorists,

Hsieh Ho, had emphasized the

work the

'life

breath'

The Japanese achieved

and thereby

this

create

with great effect

giving the whole vision the delicacy and soft intimacy

which characterize

approach to

their

passing that Far Eastern painting

art. It is interesting to

is

note in

almost invariably in ink or

water-colour. Oil painting does not exist for the most usual type of
;

which could be rolled up and stored away conveniently, oils

would have been quite useless. However, in lacquer the Japanese
scroll,

(and also the Koreans) came near to Western techniques. Even

judged by Western standards of

markable achievements

The

oil

painting, these panels are re-

for their time.

Asuka period was produced not by mystics but in

that atmosphere of admiration and wonder which is the essence of
true religion and great religious art. Faced with what they considart of the

ered a higher ideal, the Japanese exerted

all their

energies to

its

attainment with the single-mindedness for which they have become

famous. Totally committed, they accepted whatever

came

to

them

without question. Never again was their Buddhist art to be so

unaffected and uncomplicated.

With deeper insight came difficulties

which brought out the inherent

52

characteristics of their art.

III.

The Japanese

THE NARA PERIOD

(710-784)

China experienced for the first time the

wealthy, farsight of the grand capital city of a mighty empire
flung and highly organized. Ch'ang-an, the Chinese capital under
visitors to

the T'ang dynasty (618-907), seethed with cosmopolitan

life.

Ch'ang-an

Great

and painters enlivened its atmosphere. Religious tolerance

and intellectual curiosity were its hallmarks, at least in the eighth
century. Foreigners of many colours and creeds thronged its streets,
providing a touch of the exotic. Grand palaces, fine temples and a
vast complex of administrative buildings provided an imposing
centre for the city, while the lesser dwelHngs of ordinary citizens,
their noisy shops and markets, restaurants and entertainment
quarters crowded around them as far as the eye could see. Nothing
poets

remotely comparable existed in Japan.

The grandeur

of Ch'ang-an

inspired the Japanese with a desire to emulate the Chinese example.

They

sent embassies

which sometimes numbered

hundred men, who were bent on learning

vels in the shortest

all

as

many

as five

they could of its mar-

time possible.

Yet while Ch'ang-an alone contained about two million

citizens,

must be remembered that the entire population of Japan at the

time was only about six million and that the resources of the islands

it

were only a fraction of those of China. However, with a high sense

of urgency and the utmost seriousness the Japanese

set

about cre-

ating a miniature China.

The

principal result was Nara, a Chinese-style city. It measured

J\fara

2%

by 3 miles in area (about one-quarter the size of Ch'ang-an)

and was laid out in a.d. 710 on the regular grid pattern typical of
Chinese

cities.

Even today, when the

tide of government has passed

more than a thousand years, enough remains of its old

temples and parks, preserved with the care for which the Japanese
are well known, to recall vividly the atmosphere of a T'ang dynasty
city. It was here, in these grand architectural surroundings, that
it

by

for

53

- Design on

Fig. 26

one of the lotus-leaves forming the base of the Great Buddha, Todai-ji

Temple, Nara. Late Nara period.

Japan

settled

lation of the

Cf p.

58,.

down for the first time

new Chinese culture

ligion, philosophy, administration

stand

and

how the effort that

crafts offices

this

to the serious study

and

its

and

assimi-

language, literature, re-

art. It is difficult to

under-

required did not ruin them. In the arts

were established under the Household Department

or the Treasury to supervise the production of paintings, bronzecastings, lacquer ware,

to

pieces
Buddhism

54

textiles etc.,

both for current use and

encourage and train craftsmen. So well did they learn their

lesson that

Development of

woven

it is

made

in

often difficult even for experts to distinguish between

China and those made a few years

later in

Japan.

With the study of Buddhism came a deeper insight into the philosophy, ethics and metaphysics of the Indian faith which had
swept through China. With this deeper knowledge came also the
sectarianism which study inevitably seems to breed. Of the new
early sects the Hosso and Ritsu were the most important. Abuses

also crept in. Tax-free lands given to the proliferating monasteries

Japan was neither rich nor large

enough to support this luxury. As the priesthood gained in wealth
and influence so also it began to interfere actively in politics. The
most infamous example of this was the priest Doky5, a Japanese
Rasputin, who became the lover of an empress and about a.d. 770
launched a scheme, which was nearly successful, to have himself
made emperor. The economic advantages to be gained by entering
a monastery attracted a number of men who were debarred by
curtailed the central revenue;

birth from high civil office but were otherwise unsuited to religious

They saw

and speedy means of achieving

wealth and power. They constituted a parasitic element which
life.

vitiated

many

the church as a safe

a well-intentioned scheme.

The extensive literature of China acted as a model for the Japanese.

The first history ofJapan, the Kojiki or ^Record of Ancient Matters',
was completed in 712. Confucianism also came to Japan at this time,
although

it

was

to

have

far less influence

Confucianism

on Japanese Ufe than

Buddhism. The two Confucian concepts which the Japanese could

Fig. 27

- The Shoso-in

at

Nara. Cf. p. 58

11

55

and ancestor worship. Both had

affinities with Japanese thought of the period. Although the dry
moralizing of Confucian practice might appeal to the Sinicizing

readily appreciate were

filial

piety

meant little
by Buddhism.

scholar or to the ruling class in Japan,

man, whose imagination was

The ambitions of

fired

it

to the

common

the Japanese to establish a nation organized on

met with only limited success. The central

government organs seem to have been fairly effective but the local
government system which effectively held China together did not
develop in Japan, where there were no other towns of any size to
Chinese

lines inevitably

act as local centres.

An

organized mercantile system, which might

have acted as a unifying agent, was equally lacking in Japan

at

this time.
Social life

Although noble and

Great Buddha

The

and forced labour were probably

the most hated of all the exactions imposed upon the farming
community. In addition the farmers were impoverished by the
demands made on them to help build the new capital. Two alternatives faced them. Either they could become semi-slaves working on
the lands of the temples or large landowners or, driven by hunger
or oppression, they could turn to robbery. Throughout the period
armed bands roaming the relatively undeveloped countryside were
a constant danger. Langdon Warner gives a vivid picture of life
during the Nara period in his book. The Enduring Art of Japan}
Both the megalomania among the rulers of Nara and the religious
fervour among the people of the period are typified by the decision
to cast a huge bronze figure 53 feet high in the Todai-ji Temple
were

SCULPTURE

priest enjoyed relatively easy lives, the people

at

less fortunate.

corvee

Nara. This 'Great Eastern Temple' had become the head-

quarters of the

Kegon

sect,

which reached Japan

in 736. Its teaching

centred on the worship of the Vairocana (Japanese: Roshana)

Buddha, the Universal Buddha of

whom

including Shakyamuni, the historical

56

Harvard, 1952.

all

Buddha

the other Buddhas,

himself,

were only

The temple

manifestations.

came a

be-

religious centre of great

power and was

certainly the most

important one during the period;

its

influence reached out to

its

sub-

ordinate temples in the provinces.

smallpox epidemic of 735 in-

Emperor Shomu to set up

this great monument and in 749,
after a number of failures, the figure was finally completed. About
spired

one million pounds of metal were

used in casting
ulously, as if

it;

almost mirac-

by divine interven-

mine was found in a

remote province which yielded 500
lbs. of gold, and enabled the casters
tion, a gold

to gild the statue.

was an occasion
rejoicing.

The

ed to house

feet

high

building construct-

was 284
wide and 152

this colossus

structure

down

for nation-wide

166 feet

feet long,

This discovery

wooden

the largest

ever built.

burned

It

in the twelfth century

the present

building,

and

although

only two-thirds the size of the original, is

still

the largest

wooden

building under a single roof in the

world.

The

original statue has un-

fortunately also been

fire
sily

damaged by

and subsequently most clumrepaired. Thus, apart from its

great size,

it

is

undistinguished.

Only a few of the original lotus

petals which decorate the base

II

Mf

Fig. 28 - East Pagoda of the Yakushi-ji

Temple, Nara. 8th cent. Cf. p. 59.

57

FIG.

26

remain some of these have incised figures whose grace and

;

artist-

ry match that of the inspired originals.

The emperor dedicated the statue in 752 with an eye-touching ceremony of great solemnity and splendour, intended to impart life to
the figure. The enthusiasm for the new faith, of which this was the
most outstanding illustration, shows that Buddhism had by now
become in effect a national religion. The Shinto beliefs of the ancients seemed for a while to be in eclipse, or, to be more accurate,
assimilated into the new religion. Nevertheless, the Japanese were
always careful to pay lip-service and some genuine respect to the

come Shinto

old gods. In the centuries to

themselves most

The

beliefs

were

to

show

resilient.

Buddha shows how

building of the hall and the Great

effective

up a corpus of artisans skilled in all

This vitality, which seems to work best under

the Japanese were in building

the arts

and

crafts.

emotional stimulus,

Refugees from Korea

fall

characteristic of the race at all periods.

is

still

flocked to Japan, especially after the

of the Korean kingdoms of Paekche and Koguryo

and Kokuri)

man who

the grandfather of the

casting of the Great

Buddha was one of these

supervised the

refugees. But within

two generations the Japanese were masters of the basic

might take inspiration from China but they were
imposing their
Shoso'in
FIG.

27

own

artistic personality

Yet another example of court support

crafts.

fully

They

capable of

on what they chose.

for

Buddhism

is

provided by

the Shoso-in. In a.d. 756 the empress gave the entire household

equipment of her recently deceased husband

FIG. 31

Kudara

(i.e.

in Nara. This

huge

collection,

huge log cabin

set

Temple

comprising nearly 10,000 objects,

ranging from weapons and furniture to

installed in a

to the Todai-ji

up on

textiles

stilts.

and

pottery,

was

This, the oldest 'mu-

seum' in the world, remained untouched through the centuries,

preserved only by respect for the imperial household and by the
seals

on

its

in

autumn

of

its

great doors. Until recently

for the traditional airing,

treasures has been

on show

it

was opened once a year

but more recently a selection

in the National

Museum, Nara,

while the remainder are constantly being cared for and catalogued.

Although most of the objects

58

it

contains are of Chinese manufacture

and of a quality suitable for royal use, a number of them are made
by Japanese in emulation of Chinese prototypes. Among them are
some examples of pottery and some painted screens (see page 71 ).

The first part of the Nara period, i.e. from 645 to 712, is sometimes
known as the Hakuho period from the most important sub-period
within

(a.d.

it

Hakuho period

672-86). Artistically speaking, the period was a

continuation and intensification of the Asuka period with the more

and the refinements which improved

techniques brought. The sculptors were still under the influence of
early spiritual exaltation, and tended to humanize their figures.
unified direction of

T'ang

However, they were not

art

as yet able to

impose their own character-

had inherited. Much

the erection of rehgious buildings, and some
500 had been built by the end of the cenistics

on the Buddhist

art they

effort

went into

tury; of these the most outstanding ex-

ample

to

have survived

the pagoda of

is

the Yakushi-ji, dating to 7 1 8, with its graceful

proportions and complicated bracketing

system. Chinese influences from as early as

the Sui period (589-618,

i.e.

just before the

T'ang) begin to appear in bronze statues

such as the Sho
ji

Kannon

in the

Kakurin-

Temple.

Japanese

contacts

China

with

proper

brought the country into close touch with

a cosmopolitan world in which China in
its

turn was strongly under the influence

of the west. In

many ways

T'ang dynasty was the

least

art

under the

purely Chinese

period in the whole of her history. Influence

Fig. 29 - Clay figure of a girl. East side of the group

on the ground floor of the Five-storeyed Pagoda of the
Horyu-ji Temple, Nara. A.D. yii.

Cf

p. 61.

59

came from north-west

India,

i.e.

Gandhara

the

Indian styles had merged with those of the

the attractive sensual art of the

itself
[c,

made

375-490)

Asia, at oases like

Roman

area,

where pure

Empire. In India

Gupta period

at

its

height

a strong appeal to the T'ang Chinese. In Central

Khotan, Karashar, Kucha and Kashgar,

step-

ping-stones on the journey of the faith from India to China, artists

were developing

styles in

which Iranian influences

also

played their

Thus the art of China which the Japanese so admired and

adopted was itself the mature synthesis of a number of different
artistic streams brought by different routes, some directly, some less
directly, and then re-interpreted by the Chinese. For the first time
part.

Gakko Bosatsu

PLATE

P.

43

following powerful Chinese influences, begins to have

Japanese

art,

a unified

style.

The Chinese T'ang dynasty

traditions of monumentality, dignity

and warm living qualities are represented at their finest in the

Gakko Bosatsu ('Moonlight Bodhisattva'). This is one figure of a
trinity and one of the companion figures to the main seated Buddha
in the Yakushi-ji, the Temple of the Buddha of Healing in Nara.

Made

of

gilt

now

bronze (the gilding has

gone) in about 720,

it

has been called the finest T'ang statue to have survived. Comparable
figures in

China have long

or destroyed in wars
casting

The

is

since

been melted down

and persecutions of the

faith.

for their

metal

The technique of

unsurpassed.

more than life-size, is completely relaxed,

with the hips seductively bent. The whole body sways in the Indian
/n7>Afl^a or 'thrice-bent' pose. The majesty of T'ang and the Indian
figure,

which

is

appreciation of physical attributes are here perfectly combined.

Thin

floating drapery reveals a

without any of the reticence

body of warm living flesh, expressed

which generally accompanies the

Chinese interpretation of the unclothed

human

characteristics

human figure. Yet

although

dominate the period, behind them

lies

powerful spirituality rooted in the conviction of the unity of the

worlds of God and man. Every gesture
their obvious bodily

60

highly disciplined; despite

charms they remain very much gods, the em-

bodiment in human form of deep

By the time T'ang

is

art

spiritual forces.

was introduced into Japan, the Chinese had

behind them nearly a thousand years of experience in the modelling

of clay figures for the tomb.

Many

are Uttle masterpieces of careful

observation which rise above the mass-production methods used in

their manufacture.
their

During the T'ang dynasty the Chinese added

to

mastery of naturaUstic representation a great sense of move-

ment and a

curiosity about the anatomical variety they

saw around

them. The Japanese themselves produced some such small clay

figures,

which have a more personal, individual

cast of feature

FIG.

29

than

the mass-produced Chinese examples. In the ground floor of the

Pagoda of the Horyu-ji is a small square dais of clay,

centre an interpretation of Mount Sumeru (the cosmic moun-

Five-storeyed
in

its

tain of Indian thought) with cave-

Hke hollows on

all

four sides.

Each

cave has a group of statuettes ar-

ranged in tableau form. The temple records state that the whole

model was placed there

One

in

711.

side has a nirvana scene in

which Shakyamuni, the

Buddha,

is

historical

surrounded by heav-

enly beings, the

Ten Great

pies, the Eight

Guardian Monks,

Disci

nuns, worshippers, birds and animals, etc.

l-^\

even a doctor who

seems to be watching the dying

Buddha's pulse. Like the larger

statues they are of

rough

clay,

covered with fine clay and then a

coating of kaoHn, which was originally painted.

The sense

of drama

matched only by some of the

Tun-huang groups. Here in min-

is

iature are

the

cave-temples

of

Fig. 30 - Clay figure of a Bodhisattva from

Tun-huang. 8th cent. Fogg Art Museum^

Cambridge, Mass.

Cf p.

62,

61

China, but the personalization of the figures is an essentially Japanese

feature.

Such

were originally of small scale but from about the fourth

figures

century onwards the Chinese started to produce clay figures in

fjG.

30

life-size.

Such

sites as

Tun-huang in

the far west, where good natural

stone for carving did not exist, forced the Buddhist worshipper to

produce large statues in

clay. It

is

probable that they also produced

them for the temples but their fragility generally led to their destruction and as a result the Japanese examples are the finest to have
survived. That they remain in all their crispness of manufacture,
though most of the paint has dropped off, is almost incredible. They
are made on a rough core or framework of wood. This is in turn
covered with coarse clay mixed with straw, followed by a finer
layer of clay and mica dust. The whole figure was then painted and
embellished with gold
Nikko Bosatsu

PLATE

P.

44

leaf.

The so-called Nikko Bosatsu

'Sunlight Bodhisattva' ) in the Todai-ji at

Nara is one of the most outstanding of these early clay figures. It is incorrectly named, for in fact it is intended to represent a Ten or
Deva, a heavenly being as opposed
hell.

This

is

to

an earthly being or one from

one of a number of Hindu

deities

which were incorpo-

rated into the Buddhist pantheon at a very early date and which
the natives of the Far East took over without understanding their

Nara period art. Both

monumental and spiritual, they present a picture of Buddhism as
a straightforward uncomplicated vision in which the faith is basically a benevolent, sympathetic expression of the human spirit. At
the same time it reflects, in restrained tones, the wealth and elegance
demanded by an opulent Chinese taste. This is shown in an interest
in complicated adornments, haloes, jewellery, flowing robes and
elegant hair-styles. However, the artists resisted any temptation
origin.

they
Tempyo period

The

Such

figures reveal the essence of

may have
late

felt to

Nara period

indulge in iconographical

is

sometimes called the

tours deforce,

Tempyo

period from

most important years (729-48) many critics consider its sculptural work the finest which Japan has produced^ The period is

its

marked by tremendous zeal and prolific output in all kinds of

material and techniques. Its quaUties are great solemnity, sincerity

62

Plate 13 - Kichij6-ten ('Goddess of Good Fortune'). Ink and colour on hemp. 8th
Temple, Nara. Cf. pp. 7^, gj.

cent. Yakushi-ji

63

<Zi

m
'^f

'M
':%

^<^Plate 14 - Wall-painting of a Bodhisattva from the

Nara,

64

now

destroyed. Cf. pp. yj^TJ-

walls of the

Kondo (Main

Hall) of the Horyu-ji,

Plate 15 - Yakushi Nyc3rai

Height 144.8 cm. Cf.p. 8s.

(Buddha of Healing). Wooden

figure in the Gangc3-ji

temple, Nara.

65

Plate

6 - Nyoirin

Kannon

All Desires'). Painted

('The Goddess of Compassion with the Gem and Wheel which Satisfy
statue in the Kanshin-ji Temple, Osaka. Height log cm. Cf.p. 84,

wooden

Aka ('Red') Fudo. Colour on

J65.2 X 95.9 cm. Cf.p. 95,

Plate

66

17 -

silk.

My66-in,

Mount Koya, Wakayama

Prefecture.

6?

Plate

68

i8 -

Amida by Jocho. Gilded wood.

Byodo-in, Uji near Kyoto. Height 284.7 cm. Cf.p. 102.

Plate

19 - Kichijo-ten. Painted wood. J6ruri-ji

Temple, Kyoto. Height go. 2 cm. Cf.p. 10 j.

69

Plate 20

- Aniida

ymous. Late
Cf.p. 104.

70

Buddha Amida descending to the world. Colour on silk. AnonDaien-in, Mount Koya, VVakayama Prefecture. Overall size 210. g x 419-4 cm.

Raigo

th cent.

(detail).

I'lie

and conviction. In the many noble works of the period the Japanese
show their fine feeUng for surface and texture and their skill in
interpreting the gentle rhythms of drapery. Latefr this gentleness
sometimes led them into sweet sentimentality, but these inherent
tendencies are here balanced by the nobility of the fundamental
concept.

The very human

quality of the statues

sensitive attention to facial characteristics

and

is

ensured by the

to hands,

drapery

and hair. The gentle expression is thrown into clear relief by the
heavy shoulders and chest. No sexual characteristics are suggested.
But the intimacy, the sense of
unique in the Far East

human

divinity, the portraiture

is

to the artistic genius of Japan.

This attention to attributes of personality, which distinguishes so

much

early Japanese art, reveals a society in

which the individual

was important. Japan has always admiredthepower of the individual, and in a small, fairly intimate society such as that of early

Japan the accretion of power and influence

relatively early.

abounds in

The

stories

in a few

history of the conversion ofJapan to

hands was

Buddhism

of the achievements of intrepid seekers after the

new sects and

China. The self-sacri-

truth, of the exploits of Chinese missionaries bringing

of Japanese converts seeking instruction in

ficing lives of the early

Buddhist teachers contain passages as in-

spiring as those in the history of early Christianity.

Fig. 31 - Portrait of a woman. Detail for a
and slight colour on paper. Early

screen in ink

8th

cent. Sh6s6-in,

Cfp.58.

Nara. 125.8 x 66.1 cm.

\0^

<<^'V

(\

Fortunately the Japanese have

left

portraits of

some of

these

men

warm human documents which reveal the emotional, personal,

and
Ganjin

PLATE

P.

45

at times

even sentimental side of the Japanese character.

of the earliest and most moving of these early portraits

the

monk

Ganjin, a Chinese missionary

at the invitation of the

lost his eyesight

the Toshodai-ji, where this tribute to

who

artist

Dry

lacquer

and the
is

statue

Japan

in 753

him

but lived to found

housed. Ganjin died

is

was made a few years

six

after his

death by an

have been Ganjin's own pupil.

said to

The technique used

is

to

a statue of

Emperor Shomu. In the course of

attempts to reach the islands he

in 763,

who came

is

One

for this figure

is

known

as

dry lacquer. Lacquer

the sap of a tree which Eastern people have always valued highly

and used

for decorative purposes

as cups, bowls

and

sometimes used

it

mainly

ladles, boxes, trays

for

and

making

utensils

furniture. Sculptors

as a thick top coating over a rougher

core in which they

made

hemp impregnated
wooden frame and

such

wooden

the final modelling. Sometimes they used

with lacquer, which was formed over a light

the whole rough form then covered with

more

which the surface modelHng was carried out.

The process originated in China and some T'ang dynasty examples
layers of lacquer in

have survived, but in relatively poor condition. The technique,

though
light

difficult,

and

has advantages in that figures

made

of lacquer are

easily transportable, especially in procession,

and

also in

that they are impervious to the destructive activity of insects. But

such statues cannot of course survive rough treatment and they

tend to crack in extremely dry climates.

When

the Japanese ex-

plored fully the possibilities of wood-carving, in which their true

genius lay, they abandoned lacquer as a material for sculpture.

The Ganjin
sensitive

portrait shows the full possibilities of dry lacquer for

modelling and

soft effects.

The lacquer smoothes out

the

sharpness between drapery and body and creates an impression of

smooth

lines

and

texture.

to the delicate features

Fig. 32

Cf

p. 75'

sculptor has skilfully

drawn

with their poignant expression

- Typical example of the plump

a lady of the court.

72

The

type

of Chinese T'ang tomb

attention

the gentle

figurine, representing

but firm mouth, the sightless eyes

(this is

not just an eyeless statue)

and the inward-looking expression of a man who has achieved inner

peace. The statue breathes a radiance and serenity which raise it
to the highest level of devotional art.

A simple monastic robe covers

the prelate's thin body; his hands rest in his lap, palms turned

upward

in the mudrd of concentration, *the gesture

which indicates

the suppression of all spiritual disquiet in order to arrive fully at

complete concentration on the truth'; the mouth has the slightly

and of inner triumph. No comparable document of the religious spirit in human form exists in

drawn

quality of pain overcome

China.

To
still

turn from sculpture to painting, one finds that the art of Nara

dominated by Buddhism and

tion.

The Chinese Buddhist

its

is

PAINTING

appeal to the visual imagina-

scriptures

were inaccessible

scholars trained in continental culture,

and

these

were

to all

but

relatively

few in number. Yet at the same time the need to carry the message
to the

a simple pictorial
faith

and the evangelists developed

method whereby the most obvious aspects of the

uneducated was

felt

strongly

could be expressed in straightforward terms.

The

E-Ingakyo

or 'Illustrated Sutra of Causes and Effects in the Past and Present',

from

this period,

has survived in part. This

in four volumes, translated into Chinese

Gunabhadra.
which

It originally

comprised a

illustrate the text written

is

PLATE

p.

46

a Buddhist scripture

by an Indian

series

E-Ingakyo

priest

named

of continuous paintings

beneath them. The technique

quite unpretentious, the stage being set with a

minimum

of aids

is

a few trees and rocks to suggest the rolling countryside, a simple

structure to

show a

palace.

The story illustrated here is one of the most famous in Buddhist

It depicts

tried

lore.

Having
he went out

the last act of the Buddha's search for truth.

by various methods

to

reach the truth and failed,

and sat for one night in contemplation under

the Bodhi Tree. During this period he underwent a number of
trials, one of which was temptation by the three daughters of Mara,
the King of Evil, who appeared to him in the guise of beautiful

into the wilderness

women. This he successfully resisted and after more temptations

and attacks, as dawn broke, he achieved enlightenment and became

73

l^'iG.

33 - Bodhisattva riding on a

cloud.

Ink

JVara.

132.1

hemp.

on

Sh6s6-in,

137.2 cm. Cf.

P' 75.

the Buddha, the Enlightened One.

Such simple and unpretentious paintings are probably the products

of a temple painting office which created
colours are strong

and the lines

them

The

in quantity.

bold. The skill in telling a continuous

story anticipates the achievements of the painted hand-scrolls of the

Fujiwara and

Kamakura

periods (see below).

The

simplified land-

scape conventions are those developed in China and seen in

all

the

came from Central Asia through China.

humour and charming directness survives the

early pastoral painting that

The appeal

of

its

centuries.

Painting in the early Nara period, like sculpture, was strongly inKichijo-ten in

Yakushi-ji

PLATE

p. 63

fluenced by China's example.

The

best illustration of this

famous Kichijo-ten in the Yakushi-ji

of the Goddess of

Good Fortune

is

at

is

the

Nara. This small painting

painted in graded colouring on

hemp. The jewelled head-dress and sacred jewel

are symbols of her miraculous powers.

The

dress

is

in her left

hand

richly decorated,

green and pink colours predominating.

The

type of feminine beauty shown here

T'ang court ideal of feminine beauty

is

taken directly from the

plump and matronly with

rounded cheeks, small mouth and shaped eyebrows. The type

74

is

said to originate

from a certain famous courtesan, Yang Kuei-fei,

of Turkish origin, the mistress of

Emperor Ming Huang (713-55).

She was rather plump by Chinese standards of feminine beauty, but

modes she eshave survived which show

the court ladies were compelled to follow the

all

tabUshed.

Many

similar, rather

Chinese tomb figurines

un-Chinese forms. The matronly look

perhaps

is

fig.

32

who is supposed to provide good fortune. The

figure, with its human tones, voluptuous body and highly made-up
face, is certainly secular in outlook and illustrates how the Nara
suitable for a goddess

period was impressed by the glamour of T'ang civiUzation.

similar feeling

is

from the Sh6s6-in

round the

and

figure.

seen in the seated Bodhisattva in ink on

at

Nara, where the scarf

Though

hemp

Paintings in Shoso-in

floats in lively swirls

possibly only a rough sketch, the freedom

ease of the brushwork are typical of Japanese painting.

FIG.

33

fig.

34

The

on line is a Far Eastern characteristic; the great figure

painters of China here find a reflection among the Japanese. The
face has a warm individuahty and there is nothing hieratical or
insistence

stiff

in the pose.

The

gentle swaying of the body, alUed with the

floating scarf, gives a sense of

positional

rhythmic movement. The

powers of the Japanese

artist

full

com-

can be seen in the later

copy of a design originally painted in a.d. 755 for the doors of the
Kaidan-in. The easy movement, relaxed poses and the command
of viewpoint are as accomplished as anything produced by Chinese
artists in

the T'ang dynasty.

The few relics of Nara painting we have considered are overshadowed by the greatest example of Eastern religious painting, the
murals of the Main Hall of the Horyu-ji
the highest achievement
of Mahayana Buddhist painting and one peak of development of
Far Eastern art. Unfortunately for art history the Main Hall of the
temple, itself an architectural monument of great antiquity, was

Murals

in Horyu-ji

plate

p.

64

workman, and as a result

the paintings were scorched to little more than black and white outlines. Only some fine colour reproductions, by chance photographed
just before the fire by Japan's best art photographer, survive to
burned through a

light left

by a

careless

recall their beauty.

Much

controversy has raged regarding their date and even their

75

now widely held that

identification, but it is

they were painted about 710 and that the

Buddhas

four central panels represent four

that were particularly popular at the time:

Amida, the Buddha of the Western Par-

Buddha of Healing;

adise; Yakushi, the

Shakyamuni, the Historical Buddha, and

Miroku, the Buddha of the Future. The
traditions of wall-painting

dia; the best

known

come from

In-

early examples have

survived at Ajanta and Bagh.

The

of the faith through Central Asia

progress

left

many

wall-paintings at the oases where the pil-

grims rested, and some striking documents

have been discovered there. At Tun-huang,

where the

travellers

China, there are very

they are
quality

all

from India entered

many

paintings but

very provincial and of inferior

compared with the masterpieces

of the Horyu-ji.

It is

hardly possible that

they served as a model for the

Japanese

artist

The figures

unknown

of the Horyu-ji.

are outlined in strong red lines

and a type of shading is used for emphasis.

This is an Indian invention found in a

number of Central Asian wall-paintings.

The faces, expressions and diaphanous drapery

all

belong to a

common

Buddhist

vocabulary used throughout Asia.

ever, the

Japanese

artists

How-

have simplified

and spiritualized the compositions, leaving

Fig. 34

- Late

made for doors

76

copy of a design of Heavenly Musicians,

in the

Kaidan-in. A.D. yj^. Cf. p.

75.

out the crowded riotousness of the Indian models and the disorganization of those of Central Asia.
history

I-seng

of a certain

who

is

said to

Central

Much

is

said in Chinese art

Asian painter named

Wei-ch'ih

have used brush-strokes 'appearing

like iron

wire bent into shapes'. Nothing of his work has survived, but the

and appears here at the Far Eastern extension of a long line which starts in India and connects the whole
artistic world of Buddhism.
The detail shown in the plate on page 62 is a Bodhisattva seated on
a lotus flower, from the group depicting the Buddha of Healing.
The colours and gentle rhythms of the figure recall some of the best
a combination of vigour and spiritChinese work at Tun-huang
uality which is T'ang art at its best. The gay colours and clear detail
tradition has persisted

plate

p.

62

The sympathetic

tilt

of the

head and swaying deUcacy enchant the worshipper with

their

contribute to this vision of perfect form.

vision of bliss.

Nara

These murals are a

fitting

climax to the art of the

period.

77

IV.

THE EARLY HEIAN PERIOD

(KONIN,

Xagaoka

810-823; J

OGAN,

(794-876)

859-876)

Towards the end of the eighth century the Japanese decided to

desert the beautiful city of Nara which they had worked so hard to
create and build an entirely new capital at Nagaoka. Nobody
knows exactly why they decided to do this. Most historians think
that the court wished to escape from the growing power of the Nara
clergy, as personified by such overweening intriguers as Dokyo. If
this was indeed their wish it was soon to be frustrated, for the new
sects which grew up wherever the court established its capital very
soon began to exercise great power.

The Japanese

belief dating to pre-Buddhist times that a place

Although in early Japan

it

is

was an easy matter

also

have an old

defiled

by death.

move

a palace,

to

was a relatively simple type of building, the construction

of a whole new city in a different location was a very serious undertaking. This was particularly true in a comparatively poor country
such as Japan, where the finances were already strained. We are
since this

told that the building of the

new

city took the

labour of 300,000

workers and the revenue from a whole year's taxes.

work at Nagaoka, the project was just as

suddenly dropped again and a new site chosen at what is the
present-day Kyoto; it was named Heian-kyo, or 'The Capital of
Peace and Tranquillity'. The reason for this seemingly incomprehensible decision is Ukewise obscure. However, the building of the
Nagaoka site had been accompanied by a number of disasters,
culminating in the violent death of the emperor's brother and a
Then,

Heian-kyo

series

after ten years

of misfortunes to the imperial family.

The

spirits, it

seemed,

were against the project and could only be appeased by leaving the
area.

After further hectic labour the emperor was able to occupy his

new

palace at Kyoto in 793; work continued for another ten years on

78

main buildings of the

the

of the

rest

city.

Heian-kyo again was

fundamentally Chinese in layout, with wide main

streets

forming a

rectangular grid intersected by smaller roads. Kyoto has, of course,

altered a great deal over the centuries

accelerated in recent years, but

Though

city.

the

main

much

and the pace of change has

still

remains

gates have disappeared,

temples have survived the

fires

to recall the old

many

ancient

that have always been the

enemy

of Japanese buildings. Here and there the old waterways can

be seen flowing

Cammann

down from

called 'the

the hill-sides, an illustration of

time Japan was

this

but the

initial greatness

The second

what

harmonious blend of the aesthetic with the

functional that has always characterized Japanese

At

still

still

life

in general'.

under the cultural influence of China

of the T'ang period was already passing.

marked by increasing
unrest throughout the Chinese empire, by the breakdown of the
once magnificent administrative system and by insubordination in
high places. Nevertheless China was still the Mecca. New Buddhist
sects came to Japan which were to change completely the old vision
of the faith that had given the art of Nara its directness, simplicity
and charm. At Nara the old sects remained secure and cut off from
the new developments, leaving the field open to later arrivals. Japan
was eager for innovation even in religious matters and each importation was eagerly awaited and studied. Men anxious for the
security and economic rewards of monastic Hfe could find places
in the new monasteries. The court, for its part, hoped that the power
of the old sects could be restrained by the vigorous new establishments and therefore backed them. The most important of these
sects were the Tendai, introduced in 805 by Dengyo Daishi, 'The
Great Teacher Dengyo' as he came to be known, and the Shingon
or 'True Word' sect, founded by Kob5 Daishi in 806-7.
The Tendai sect came from China, where it had its headquarters
on Mount T'ien-t'ai. Its teaching is fundamentally eclectic, but its
core

is

half of the T'ang dynasty was

sects

Tendai

the doctrine contained in one of the most famous scriptures,

the Lotus Sutra. This in essence taught that the absolute

in all

New

phenomena and

unchanging

reality.

that all

phenomena

Study of the

is

inherent

are manifestations of an

scriptures, religious practices

and

79

Fig. 35 - Bronze reliquary

in the form

of a stupa

Cf p.

[koto).

82.

contemplation were the means to enlightenment. Through study

and correct

living a

man

inherent in everybody and everything.

its

own

Buddha Nature which is

The sect insisted on having

could attain the

right of ordination to the priesthood. This

order to free

itself

from the control of the Nara

was certainly in

clergy.

The

court

demand for the same reason: it wished to curb the

Nara clergy's power. The sect had a broad, balanced view of the
means to attain wisdom, which should come through a combination
supported

of

all

this

media of

the various

temple on

Mount

religious experience. It set

Hiei outside Kyoto, where

it

up

its

main

claimed that

it

could protect the city from any evil influences coming from the
north-east.

The mountain

veneration,

and

it

is

itself

became an

interesting to see

how

object of profound
at this time deeply-

rooted native Japanese animistic beliefs began to find a place in

Japanese forms of Buddhism. The court lent support

but in doing so created a source of trouble for

itself,

to the sect,

since later the

on Mount Hiei were to become a great scourge.

Kobo Daishi, an urbane artistic man of scholarly bent, returned
from China in 807 with the Shingon or 'True Word' sect, in which
militant clergy

Shingon

the central place was taken by Dainichi Nyorai,

Eternal

Word'

Buddha from which

refers to the

all

Supreme

other Buddhas emanate. *True

magic formulae which Shingon adherents be-

lieve represent the elements of the universe.

in late Indian Tantric

and Java, and has

the

The

sect has its origins

Buddhism, which spread

affinities

with Lamaism.

to

China, Tibet

Its followers

emphasized

the importance ofincantations, spells and magic symbols. Kobo Daishi

estabUshed his temple far from Kyoto in a dense forest high up in

Wakayama

province, which secured

it

from court intrigue on the

one hand and from rivalry with the Tendai on the other.
Koya-san, with

80

its

many

A visit to

small temples overshadowed by giant

shrouded in mist through which the sunHght penetrates in

trees,

thick shafts,

is

a very moving experience.

Kobo Daishi rapidly gained

favour at court, where Shingon beUefs had a considerable appeal.

To

the Shingon behever consciousness

reality

is

the

is

expressed in the body of Dainichi.

same

as reality

The whole

and

universe

is

an expression of the Buddha Nature. The reUgion was all-embracing

and the many spirits in the conscious world could easily be ex-

Above

pressed as different divinities.

salvation
sybaritic

all,

for the

Shingon follower

was quick and easy; these were essential quahties in a

society. Both Tendai and Shingon were tolerant and

accepted other teachings, even the native Shinto, as parts of the

more

inclusive pattern they claimed to follow.

or 'esoteric' sects

'secret'

These mikkyo

Mikkyo

sects

offered highly mysterious doctrines

which the layman who had hitherto enjoyed a simple creed could
not be expected to understand. Imposing religious paraphernaUa
likewise
ings.

abounded

in complicated Tantric-type images

and paint-

In Shingon part of the teachings are open and part secret;

pubhc worship
formulae.

much

The

often took the form of simply repeating

terrifying aspects of

larger role than hitherto

who

magic

Buddhist divinities played a

especially theMyo-o, the fearsome

and punish the evildoer. These mystic

teachings must have appealed to a deep strain in the Japanese

kings

protect the faith

The

mentality.

mysterious aspects of Shinto thought struck a

responsive chord in ancient native beliefs, which the

happy

to incorporate into their teaching.

The new

reinvigorated Buddhism, which at the end of the

have seemed

effete, secular

Sir Charles EUot,

new

sects

were

faiths certainly

Nara period must

and even corrupt.

summing up

the effect of Shingon, says that

it

numerous dangerous abuses which were growing up,

taught noble and profound ideas and gave them worthy expression
in art. On the other hand, this profundity and copious use of sym'eliminated

boHsm was
spirits

who

the reahty

its

greatest danger. Its adherents, except those rare

could fathom

and lapsed

its

deep mysteries, mistook the symbol

into polytheism

Sir Charles YXioi, Japanese

and

for

superstition.'^

Buddhism (London 1935), p. 239.

81

Strangely enough, so few original buildings of the period have

we know

survived that

made

little

about any innovations they

may have

Kyotd the styles of Nara

were continued but in the mountain fastnesses, where broad areas
of flat land are scarce, the buildings tended to become groups of
small structures
which suited the atmosphere of mystery. The
In old

to architecture.

cities like

sects liked to

house
FIG.

35

relics

encourage a

of the

stiipa-type building, originally

Buddha

intended to

bronze reliquary model

as seen in the

reproduced here.

The appeal

of Chinese culture was

travelled through
to bring

ture

back

to

China

still

dominant. Japanese monks

collecting scriptures

and

religious objects

an admiring culture-hungry Japan. Chinese

was supreme; the T'ang poets were studied

Japanese adepts even imitated

litera-

so closely that

to the last detail the settings of the

Chinese poems.

SCULPTURE

Opinions are divided on the sculpture of

new

powerful

had grown

this period.

artistic spirit reinvigorating

feeble at the

Some

see a

a Buddhist art which

end of the Nara period. Others, who delight

in the straightforward uncomplicated religious

and

artistic

formulae

of most works of the earlier period, resent the seeming grossness of

the

new

forms, although

it

must be said that indications of

trend are found in the earlier period. Certainly in

expression the old simplicity gave

way

heavy with symbolic meaning and

to

its

this

most typical

something awe-inspiring,

totally divorced

from

reality.

Sculpture was an art of the church following prescribed canons

and intended
firmly chosen
selves as

to impress.

wood

By now

as their favourite

master carvers.

From

this

the Japanese craftsmen

medium and

had

revealed them-

time onwards they were to use

little else.

Yakushi Nyorai

PLATE

p.

65

The Yakushi Nyorai in the Gango-ji, Nara is a typical example of

the new approach to Buddhist divinities. It is heavy and massive,
sympathy of earlier times. It is carved from a
piece of wood and left unpainted, possibly to reveal the sacred

totally lacking the

single

wood. The position

grimly

four-square and uncompromising, the face

set as if to belie the gesture

Weighty

82

is

inertia pervades the

of 'have no fear' in the hands.

whole concept. These features must

Fig. 36
Bezeklik,

Detail of a wall-painting from

Central Asia. After F. H. An-

drews, Wall-paintings
in Central Asia.

Cf p.

certainly have

from Ancient

Shrines

84

had a deep

reli-

gious force, for why else should the

Japanese have sacrificed the grace

and charm of earUer images ?

The craftsmanship is

outstanding,

especially in the folds of the robe

which are

in

what the Japanese

caW the hompashiki or 'wave form'.

One deep wave-Uke fold

follow-

is

ed by a shallower wave, leading to

another deep one

waves

like

rippling over the sands, as one

writer happily describes them. The

control

of the relationship

tween body and drapery

terly.

is

The whole impression

be-

masis

of

heavy grandeur relieved by the

rhythm and vitaUty of the carving.

Sherman Lee in a recent book^
calls their style 'the most awesome
style created in the

Far East, just

as the Byzantine style

may

well

be called the most awesome one

medieval

created

in

Seiroku

Noma

sees in

Europe';
it

spiri-

tualism which was needed to reinvigorate sculpture

and

'destroy

the shell of stifling reahsm'. It

is

Sherman E. hee, A History of Far Eastern

(London 1964), p. 283.

Art

83

power to awe and subdue, and breathes

of heavy mystery. These are not gods to whom one could

essentially outgoing in

an

FIG.

36

air

its

come close.
The pattern for this type of image comes from
as we know from sites in Central Asia, which
Indian

sites. It is

as if the

the mainland, as far

are in turn closer to

Japanese with typical pertinacity were

Buddhism. The Japanese have

wood heavier and more repellent than the

trying to find the source of Chinese

made

the

model

in

examples in wall-paintings which have survived.

Nyoirin Kannon

PLATE

P.

66

The Nyoirin Kannon

made between about 824

in the Kanshin-ji,

and 827, belongs to the group of secret statues which are only shown
on very rare occasions, and then only after lengthy preparation.
The care with which it has been kept hidden accounts for its remarkable state of preservation even the original paint has survived
on the flaming nimbus or mandorla. Only two of the hands have
;

recently been restored.

cakra

is

Its

figure

known

in India as

Cintamani-

intended to represent the Goddess of Compassion with the

gem and wheel which

as a

The

satisfy all desires.

Yashiro describes

its

effect

combination of 'sensuous enchantment and spiritual mystery'.

frank sensuousness

may

well be due to influences derived from

Indian painting which had been incorporated into Chinese sculpture

and were found

drapery are
features

full lips,

in countless

all characteristically

is

little

all

Chinese T'ang.

the aura of secrecy, the effect of the

thin, for in a sense the figure

highly derivative.

facial

ringed neck, languid arms and naturalistic

Leaving out of account

statue wears a

T'ang works. The thick

It lacks

Japanese wood-carving

its

is

not typical and

the characteristics which give

much

of

none of the

sensitive quality. It has

The pose is
comfortable and relaxed, with an air of worldly superiority. The
rather doll-like face is dreamy and preoccupied. The iconographic
demands of six arms are skilfully contrived within the easy pose,
powerful balefulness of the type previously discussed.

but one senses that they have slightly hampered the Japanese carver,

who

is

always sensitive to the beauty of the

he does not study

it

in the

Western anatomical

that the Japanese are not fundamentally

84

human

happy

body, even

sense.

One

if

senses

in these physical

abnormalities. Nevertheless the figure has an inner

separates

it

warmth which

from the grim forbidding world of the Yakushi Ny5rai.

belongs to the realm of painting rather than that of sculpture,

It

perhaps to iconography rather than art

Just as the sculpture of the early Heian period leaned strongly on

iconographical content, so also

heavily didactic.
krit

means

painting often tended to be

A favourite form was

*circle'.

In practice

map-like painting which

tic

its

this is
sets

PAINTING

the mandara, which in Sans-

Mandara

a complicated and diagramma-

out in geometric form the vari-

ous heavens and their countless deities. Generally 'the Great Illumi-

FIG.

37

nator Dainichi' occupies the central position. In some ways this

type of painting, which originated in China but does not seem to

have found

much

favour in the country of

Shingon and Tendai

it

at

sects better

its

than sculpture

origin, suited the

precisely because

could express more complicated and involved teachings. It aimed

overwhelming the worshipper with the

human

limitlessness of the supra-

worlds which awaited him, as well as with the seeming pro-

fundity or, at least, complexity of the beliefs held by these sects.

same time the beUever was given reason to hope that a

place could be found for him. Such an approach is natural for a
form of teaching which leans heavily on mystery. There is an
intellectual ponderousness throughout this type of painting which
Yet

is

at the

an integral part of the system. Later historians can appreciate the

meticulous draughtsmanship, the fine

colours, but the

fines,

the thin gold

works as a whole are inclined

to

and blue

be boring and not

so interesting as other forms of painting.

The most

vital of the other types of painting

introduced in

this

period express in more detail and with greater emphasis some of

the terrifying aspects of the religion
sculpture.

We

doer.

in

have in mind the paintings of the deity Fudo, one of

the Five Great Kings

Their function

which we have already seen

is

who

in turn are

to protect the

The most famous of

Shingon complex

at

Buddhist world and deter the

these

enshrined in the Myo5-in, a

emanations of Dainichi.

is

the

Aka Fudo

evil-

or *Red Fudo'

Aka Fudo

temple forming part of the main

Mount Koya. He

sits

on naturafistic rocks

holding the symbols of his power, a sword and a rope. His face

is

PLATE

p.

67

85

5 /)(^C

^\

i^

Fig. 37 - Detail of the Ryokai Mandara,

Jingo-ji, Kyoto. Cfp. 85.

86

'the

Mandala of the Two Worlds'. Gold and

silver

on purple

silk.

Plate

21 -

The

National Museum,

Bodhisattva lugcn (detail). Anonymous. Colour on

silk.

i2lhcent. 160.

73-7 cm.

Tokyo. CJ.p. 104.

87

Plate 22 - Kinkan Shitsugen ('The Buddha Rising from his Golden Coffin', detail). Colour on
Anonymous. Late iith cent. Choho-ji Temple, Kyoto. 161. i x 228. y cm. Cf. p. loj.

88

silk.

Plate 23 - Muchaku by Unkci and

his school.

Painted wood. Kofukii-ji Temple, Nara. Height

/ry 7

cw.

CJ.p. 122.

89

Plate 24 - Kongo Rikishi by Jokei. Painted wood.

162.6 cm, Cf.p.124.

90

C. a.d.

190-8. Kofuku-ji Temple, Nara. Height

Plate 25 - Uesugi Shigefusa. Wood. Anonymous. Meigetsu-in Temple, Kamakura. Height 68.6 cm.
Cf.p.

25.

mmm^m^
92

Plate 27 - Kobo Daishi

Collection,

Mikage. Cf.

as a boy, (detail).

Colour on

Anonymous.

4^.7

x j^.

(7//.

Murayama

p. 128, 130.

I*LATE 26 - Minamoto-no-Yoritomo. Colour on

Jingo-ji

silk.

Temple, Kyoto. 139.8 x

silk.

Attributed to Fujiwara

Takanobu

\\

143

1206)

11 1.8 cm. Cf. p. 126.

93

Plate 28 - Detail from one of the three Shigisan-engi-emaki painted hand-scrolls depicting the
Temple. Ink and colour on paper. Anonymous. Latter half of 12th cent.

history of the Chogosonshi-ji

Length of detail 72.4. cm, width 31.8 cm. Cf. p. 132.

94

fierce;

he has canine teeth and glares angrily out of the picture.

The two young

acolytes beneath

him

are Seitaku,

who

symbolizes

and Kinkara, who stands for the sustaining

virtue. The whole composition, which stretches Uke a bow from top
left to bottom left, is dominated by the flaming halo all are painted
in a lurid red colour which adds to the impact. There is a sensuous
feeling here which is quite new. Some authorities claim that the
free and asymmetrical composition and feeling for depth in this
painting indicate a later date than the early Heian to which it is
usually attributed. There is no reason why this should be so and the
general sense of the work fits early Heian ideals. There were no
the subjugating power,

Chinese parallels for the painting.

Heian period introduced new religious and artistic influences which were to have far-reaching effects on later periods.
It saw the beginnings of Japanese art proper
more self-conscious,

The

early

and grandiloquent. But for the full development of this

essentially Japanese quality we must consider the development of
assertive

the arts in the following period.

95

V.

THE LATE HEIAN OR FUJIWARA PERIOD

(895-1185)

Few

periods in the history of civilized

man

can hold more interest

than the three centuries covered by the late Heian period. For the
first

time since the introduction of Chinese civilization over three

hundred years
cally, socially
Breach with China

earlier

and

What brought

Japan began

to stand

on

its

own

feet politi-

culturally.

this

long honeymoon, this deep enthrall ment with

Chinese culture to an end ? The main factor was that contemporary

events in China convinced the Japanese that
for

Japan

if

it

would be dangerous

they did not sever their relations with the mainland.

serious persecution of

Buddhism

in

China in the middle of the

ninth century deeply disturbed the Japanese,

devoted to the faith and the tolerance

it

who were

sincerely

enjoined. ReHgious toler-

and they have

never experienced the kind of persecution common in China which
brought destruction to so many art treasures. At a very early date
Shinto and Buddhism learned to respect each other and live toance has always distinguished their

civilization,

gether. Moreover, the administrative system of the great Chinese

empire was rapidly disintegrating under the pressures of external

attack

and

internal revolt.

The Japanese

ruling class feared both

these enemies of settled government; the security

which

their island

had not taught them either how to deal with

such problems or how to face them with equanimity.
The political missions from Japan to China, which had been such

position afforded

a feature of earlier centuries, diminished rapidly in

the ninth century. Scholars

and

and the Japanese

aristocrats

luxury articles

art objects,

priests

still

number during

continued to travel to China,

looked eagerly to that country for

new works of
and perfume which Japan could not produce

literature, drugs, incense

herself.

But by 900
from China

and visitors
were not welcomed. Ordinary Japanese were forbidden to travel.
The Japanese now began to realize that their society and its probthe two countries were politically far apart

96

lems were different from those of China and required solutions

which only they could work

common

imperial house,

out.

For example, the overthrow of an

in China, could not be tolerated in

where the emperor was considered

Japan

divine, the direct descendant of

command

the gods.

Though

respect, a

Japanese vernacular language emerged as an accepted

the Chinese language continued to

vehicle for literature, especially for poetry

the famous Tale of Genji, by the

1008 and 1020,

is

and romances

Lady Murasaki,

Literature

of which

written between

the outstanding example. She openly criticizes

That the Japanese could

even consider such a breach with China is an indication of the new
the *Chinesy' language for

self-confident

atmosphere in

its

stiffness.

this energetic

expanding country.

This period saw two developments which were to

subsequent centuries.

The emperor

back strong and ruthless

there

came

lost authority,

men controlled

make and mar

and behind

his

the destinies of the country;

which

into being a feudal society, in

rival factions

struggled for power, performing feats of heroism but also bringing

considerable misery

The

first

upon the

nation.

great family to control the emperor

the Fujiwara, after

whom

the period

is

and the country was

Fujiwara

sometimes called. They too

claimed descent from the gods; they rose to power gradually from
the end of the eighth century by acquiring land

forming

skilful alUances.

The Fujiwara gave

and wealth and by

their daughters in

marriage or concubinage to a succession of emperors, most of whom

were
the

relatively

numerous

weak. They survived

all

intrigues against

offspring from these Uaisons further strengthened

their hold over the imperial fortunes. Political office

and

it is

them and

was hereditary,

understandable that they were not attracted to the more

by examinaand promotion by merit. They adopted the externals of Con-

egalitarian Chinese system of entry to the civil service

tion

fucianism but without the concern for the people which Confucian-

ism encouraged in

On

its

public servants.

the whole they were able

men, motivated by family pride and

a genuine interest in the welfare of the state.

Though

the literature

of the period gives the impression of luxury-loving voluptuaries,

politicians like

Fujiwara-no-Michinaga must also have been hard-

97

Fig. 38 - Elevation of the Phoenix Hall of the Byodo-in

Amida Buddha in A.D. 10^2. Cf p. 102,

at Uji, converted into

a temple of

working, serious men, constantly on their guard against rival claimants

power

to

especially

the rapidly increasing

number of

provincial lords.

The emperors were unable

to control the Fujiwara, for their ever-

growing lands and incomes were exempt from tax and without

money

the emperor could not maintain any kind of military or

police force to carry out his will.

T'ang dynasty
that

even

in

the

emperor became
scarcely

China had created such a

armed
more than a

exercised

had

national

forces

little

cultural dignitary

by the Fujiwara made able men

life;

many

had great

a balance

whose powers

and

tight control

disinclined to enter

scope.

The Fujiwara did not

own but were

albeit

able to rely

whom

actually have a

upon the support of

they were careful to maintain

an uneasy one. This was

their

weakness and was

prove their undoing. Behind the refined facade of court

lords

The

of the best entered the monasteries, where their

powerful local lords, between

waged a savage battle for power. The nobility began

the code of the samurai or 'serving man', with

bushido ('The

98

of security

deteriorated.

the other hand, the nepotism

fighting force of their

to

false sense

system did at least enable the imperial line to survive

On

unbroken.

talents

peaceful centuries of the

went beyond ordering the minutiae of ceremonial. Never-

theless, the

public

The

Way of the Knight'),

its strict

which governed

to

life

the

develop

code of honour,

their behaviour.

It

was a system every

bit as delicately

balanced and as complicated

as that of feudal Europe.

The

which the Fujiwara built up in Kyoto reached a

particular peak of sophistication and refinement from about 966
to 1027. The elegant ladies and gentlemen of the court seem to have
court

life

drifted like falling maple-leaves through a

are too fine for us to appreciate.

The

world whose

Life at court

sensibilities

adjectives that spring to

mind

are: sentimental, delicate, elegant, refined, artistic, exquisite, mel-

ancholy, fatuous.

They were

ures of seduction

and by the more

passion.
their

The

trivia

luxury-loving, obsessed by the pleassubtle longings of unrequited

of court etiquette and dress absorbed

much

mental energy. They were fascinated by literature and

which they patronized handsomely. And yet behind

all this

of

art,

runs

the stream of melancholy which repeatedly comes to the surface in

the Japanese character. Japanese civilization developed in an arti-

vacuum, in an atmosphere of womanizing and intrigue,

isolated from invigorating foreign contacts. It is the world described
for us in such clear detail by Lady Murasaki, and which Sir George
Sansom has summed up in his eloquent prose as *a mode of existence
dedicated to the acute perception of beauty and the refinement of
personal relations to such a point that ideas and feelings could be
conveyed by the merest shadow of a hint'.
The church in turn adopted the violent standards of the time and
became as mihtant as the provincial lords. The Shingon sect, for
the most part, was able to remain in its country fastnesses aloof
from the turmoil, but the Tendai, especially in the temples outside
ficial

Religion

Kyoto, raised armies of mercenaries which would descend at times

upon the

capital to enforce their claims or indulge in violent

sectarian rivalries. Serious Buddhists intensely disUked this attitude,

which

is

so

ahen

to the peaceful tenets of the faith.

found these mihtant monks dangerous

allies.

The

court, too,

But these aristocrats

comprised only a very small proportion of the population and were

who had httle sympathy with

their life of pleasure and ostentation. The Buddhist church was ripe
for a reformation. The people flocked to a new sect, the Jodo or
completely divorced from the people,

Pure Land

sect,

which offered a

single Salvationist faith based

on

99

100

worship of the

Amida Buddha

the

Buddha of

the Western

The means of salvation was simple. One had merely to

call upon the name of the Buddha with a simple formula, 'Namu
Amida Butsu', for one's sins to be forgiven and to secure entry into
Paradise.

paradise. This broadly-based religion,

emotions rather than to the intellect

The

character.
next'

was

open

appealed to the

to all,

which suited the Japanese

attraction of ^pleasure in this world, bliss in the

irresistible.

In the Fujiwara period sculpture in a sense returned to the gentler

tastes

SCULPTURE

of the Nara period. It discarded the heavy forms and for-

bidding attitudes of the early Heian

which the court found

sympathy with the

distasteful.

the product of a Buddhism

The Fujiwara

stern sanctions of

sybarites

Pure Land

sect

little

Tendai and Shingon

nor

The

attrac-

did they like the violence which their monks practised.

tions of the

had

were more in keeping both with the way

of life of the court and the aspirations of the

common

people.

Another factor was that new temples were springing up throughout

and the demand for sculpture to furnish them was

rapidly increasing. The old method of carving statues from large
logs of wood was too slow and cumbersome to meet this demand.
Thus the ateliers developed a system of manufacture a large number
of pieces were assembled to form a thin shell, which was then
finished off by the master. This method was followed in all the work
of this and subsequent periods.
It is interesting to see the emergence of great master sculptors much
as in the West. In China sculpture was a humble craft and its
greatest exponents are seldom known by name (whereas the painters have been recorded and praised for nearly two thousand years)
In Japan the sculptors became men of importance in their own
right and patrons eagerly sought their services. The position they
gained in society enabled them to impose their own taste on the
art of their time much more immediately than if they had been
the country

simple artisans carrying out the orders of a temple, following stereo-

Fig. 39 -

Keman

in bronze.

Chuson-ji Temple, Iwate Prefecture. Length 28.5 cm, width

32.8 cm. Cf.p. 106.

lOI

Fig. 40

- Kei (gong)

in gilt bronze, ^enrin-ji

Temple, Kyoto. Length ig.y cm. Cf.p. 106.

typed formulae. This independence in turn reflected on the other

arts

and

be turned

Japanese
in

an

to

art.

artist

Japanese
Amida by Jocho

which gained in esteem. No craft was too humble to

an attitude which enriched all subsequent
artistic use

crafts,

The

and

extension of this development enjoined originality

this too

influences

on subsequent

art.

The work which summarizes these new trends is the Amida by

Jocho, who established an ateUer in Shichijo Street, Kyoto, and

p.

68

died about 1057. It

FIG.

38

at Uji

PLATE

had far-reaching

near Kyoto.

originally a private

is

housed in the Phoenix Hall of the Byodo-in

The

building

itself is interesting, for it

mansion and was

temple dedicated to the

was

later (1052) turned into a

Amida Buddha.

It is inspired

by Chinese

Sung dynasty architecture on one hand and by the longings of the

Pure Land sect on the other; its intention is to reproduce on earth
as far as possible the Paradise of the Amida which awaited the
faithful in heaven. It is a light and graceful structure which seems
to float

above the waters of a small lake in a most ethereal way.

Jocho was trained in the K5fuku-ji Temple workshops at Nara.

Thus he was famihar with the simply conceived masterpieces of the
old capital and, although he worked in Ky6t5, he showed

pathy with Tendai and Shingon

102

attitudes.

little

sym-

The Jocho Amida

sits

is

made

of wood which was thinly lacquered.

It

calmly and impassively in the position of meditation, eyes

looking straight ahead, in front of a huge nimbus, with an ornate

and unadorned simphcity contrast

effectively with the complicated carving behind and above. The
atmosphere of the statue typifies the changed outlook of the faith
now friendly, welcoming and at rest. The ornate setting of the
nimbus, where small figures on lotuses represent souls newly born
into paradise, reflects the love of the ornate in court circles. As W.
Watson remarks, 'The originaUty of this formula Ues in the new use
it makes of the physical proportions for sculptural effect. The power
of the image is not confined to the facial expression, but derives
from the majestic pose of the whole body.' This figure became the
model for countless gilt wood Buddha figures in later centuries.
The relative simplicity of the concept made it easy to copy in its
more superficial aspects, but constant repetition led to increasing
a classic example of a great master's design beloss of power
coming schematized and desiccated.
canopy above.

Its

smooth

lines

The

real masterpiece of the assembled block technique

Kichijo-ten in the J6ruri-ji

and complicated piece

in

Temple

which the heavy, almost

and

in the sleeves, jewels, jacket, sash

worked

in

Japanese

wood.

call

with gold dust

It

in Kyoto. This statue

was then painted

exquisite

is

is

a rich

fussy detail

hands

in five colours in

the

is

as

Kichijo-ten in
Joruri-ji

PLATE

p.

69

PLATE

P.

63

all

what the

'rainbow shading', with a red background scattered

the whole creating the rich impression

befitting a

Goddess of Good Fortune. Such a work would have been impossible

in the single block technique'.

The

statue recalls the

plump

beauties

of T'ang as seen in the painting of the same subject from the Nara
period (see plate on p. 63), but
the delicacy
fact

it is

here very 'Japanized' to express

and elegance of late Heian

society.

The

have been made early in the next period, but

statue

it is

may

in

essentially

and keen enjoyment of

colour. Its painted shrine makes it look even more resplendent.
The new vision of Amida which Genshin brought and made popular
in the Jodo sect had a far-reaching effect on Buddhist painting. One
of the most popular types shows Amida, either alone or accompaFujiwara in outlook, in

its

lively pleasure

PAINTING

103

which suggest that he

nied, in scenes
his paradise.

Sometimes he

is

shown

is

greeting the faithful entering

as if descending

from

his

heaven

through a Japanese-style landscape. The most famous of these

Amida

in

Daien-in

Amida

Paradise paintings

the

is

Amida and

the Twenty-five Bodhi-

owned by the Daien-in, a temple of the Shingon headquarters on Mount Koya. In this large triptych the deity is sur-

sattvas

PLATE

p.

70

rounded by

all his

heavenly hosts in an impressive pageant which

seems to be floating majestically

been attributed

to

down

to earth.

Genshin himself, although

The

painting has

this is unlikely.

The

Bodhisattvas are shown playing musical instruments and dancing

in a

most seductive manner while the Buddha

with his two main attendants,

either side.

The graduated

to the scene.

and

Everything

rich in detail. This

court could

appreciate

maidens ready
in their

to offer

own world

is

is

Kannon and

sits

calm and serene,

Seishi,

below and on

colouring adds naturalism and

warmth

spontaneous and relaxed, gay, colourful

the kind of vision which the Fujiwara

a paradise peopled with delightful

them greater

of pleasure.

It

bliss

than any they knew even

was equally

attractive to the

was very different. How far removed is

this dream-like vision from the dry schematism of the early Heian
mandalas and the grim Fudo

common

people whose

The

trend towards gentle naturalism also influenced the older

sects,

Tendai and Shingon, which were forced

as attractive as the
Fugen

P.

87

new Jodo

attitudes.

Many

to provide

something

images were painted

of the Bodhisattva Fugen (Sanskrit: Samantabhadra), the compassionate deity

PLATE

lot

who

is

the central character of the popular Lotus

Here the artist shows him seated on his vehicle, a white

elephant, in a calm attitude of prayer, a basically feminine figure
with splendid jewellery and pink-toned flesh. The Fujiwara artist
has here combined the sensual and spiritual most effectively. The
atmosphere is intimate and unpretentious it makes little appeal to
the intellect and achieves a transcendental calm without any of the
Sutra,

The Buddha

awesome remoteness of early Heian work.

Perhaps the most impressive of the late Heian religious paintings
are those which show the Buddha either in nirvana, the moment
when, amidst

104

his

sorrowing disciples, his earthly

life

ended, or the

miracle in which he emerges in splendour from his golden coffin to

preach the law. This

is

plate

p.

88

a famous example and one which seems to

be Japanese in origin, for nothing comparable has survived from,

China.

The

artist

shows great

scene. All the various

skill

in handling a large

and animated

Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and holy persons,

in-

cluding his mother, crowd around in surprise to await his sermon.

His body shines with a golden light which seems to illuminate the

whole scene. The various characters are portrayed with marked

The atmosphere

drama is skilfully exploited but

not overplayed. Here in a religious work are shown some of the
characteristics of Japanese painting
the portraiture, drama and

individuality.

animation

which distinguish

of

it later.

Fig. 41 - Design of cranes and plants

on back of a bronze mirror. Diamete

24.5 cm. Cf. p.

io6i.

105

Kiri-kane

All three paintings use a characteristic Japanese system of decoration in

which gold leaf cut into very

fine threads

is

applied for

lines.

This A:m-A:aw^ technique gives many paintings of the period an unusually rich

appearance;

it

was a considerable technical as well as artistic

achievement to make such fine designs by

METALWORK

this difficult

method.

While the ceramics of the Heian period lagged far behind those of
China, the metal-workers produced much which in quality and
design began to surpass the products of China and to reflect characteristics

of native Japanese

art.

We

have excellent examples of

metalwork from the Nara period, and the Heian products continued
the tradition.

The

general sense of richness and ebullience

herited from T'ang

FIG.

39

and

China but

in Buddhist temples; the

its

in-

added a warmth

own. The keman in Figure 39 is a

what was originally a wreath of flowers used

pictorial quality that

metal substitute for

to this the Japanese

is

is

their

bow

incorporated into the design reveals

The floral background is of peony-like flowers which are in

imaginary and of Indian origin. The two figures with birds'

origin.

fact

bodies and youthful faces are intended to represent auspicious birds

which, according to Indian

beautifully.

Even

mountains and sing

lore, live in the

work the Japanese manage to

and technical gifts and to show a lively

in such a craft

synthesize their aesthetic

and enjoyment of the colourful world about them.

The kei in Figure 40 is a type of gong that hangs on a rack before a
Buddhist image and is struck from time to time by the priests
during the recitation oisutras. The lotus arabesques around a central
lotus flower, at the point where the gong is struck, and the crisp all-

interest in
FIG.

40

over design have sufficient variety to give

design

is

it

repeated on both sides; the gilding

a lively rhythm.

is

The

rare for the type. In

such designs the Japanese seem to be well up to Chinese standards

if

anything they anticipate what the Chinese were to do with red

lacquer centuries later.

The two
approach
FIG. 41

106

above are Japanese but inspired by the Chinese

design. Illustrative of the new Japanese approach is

objects
to

Here two herons, one flying

with a branch in its beak and the other standing on one foot, are
placed asymmetrically in an aquatic landscape. The plants are
the back of a metal mirror in Figure 41

bending under a strong wind so that they follow the curve of the
mirror's rim.

The tendency

to substitute for the Chinese all-over

repetitive pattern a single design in

combined with

stylized plants

sequent centuries.

It gives

which a

became

naturalistic motif

increasingly strong in sub-

the Japanese decorative sense a unique

quaUty which distinguishes pottery,

textile

and lacquer

metalwork. The ebullience with which the design

the variety of leaves

and

is

their

spills

as

much

as

over the rim,

cunning arrangement are

essentially

Japanese, and find expression in an eighteenth-century plate as

clearly as in this early mirror.

power of the Fujiwara family declined. The

female line, which had dominated many emperors, became weak
or even barren and dissensions arose even within the Fujiwara
ranks. New men relying on their own talents came to the fore and

From about 1068

the

the provincial lords gained increasing influence.

ment was approaching bankruptcy from

its

The central govern-

lavish expenditure

the dwindling tax returns could not replenish the treasury.

stage

was

set for the

assumption of power by

new and more

and

The

vigor-

ous leaders.

107

VI.

Decline of imperial

house

THE KAMAKURA PERIOD

(1185-1392)

As the power of the Fujiwara family declined, the emperor found

himself forced to depend to an increasing degree on the strength of
the various local lords throughout Japan for his ultimate authority.

This eventually placed him completely in their hands. Although

had been relatively safe as long as none of them gained

any predominant degree of power, it was only a question of time
before he would be unable to maintain the balance and one among
them would take over real power in the land. The weakness of the
emperor stimulated this tendency, for it encouraged the provincial
chieftains to disobey central directives whenever, as was so often
bound to happen, their own interests were at stake. Revolts were
frequent and much blood was shed in putting them down. The
rivalry between the various lords finally reduced itself to a battle
for power between two noble clans
the Taira and the Minamoto,
both of which were closely connected by blood with the imperial
house and whose economic interests often coincided. The transfer
of power to the landed aristocracy was the main change in poHtical
life from about a.d. 900 onwards and during the Kamakura century
the process was speeded up. The subsequent history of Japan can
be written around the ensuing struggles and the effort to achieve
hitherto he

political stability.
Samurai

Along with these inter-clan

rivalries

organization of a military caste,

This had arisen in the

first

went the perfection of the

known

generally as the samurai.

place from the need of the small farmers

in outlying areas, particularly in the east, to protect themselves

one hand from the attacks of unruly

tribes, outcasts, rebels

on

and other

and on the other from the rapacity of the central authorities.

In return for a fee, they put themselves under the protection of a
large landowner who for his part was obliged to raise an army to
meet his side of the bargain. The private armies which thus grew
up were a common feature of the local and metropolitan scene and.
lords

108

until the victory of the

The

serving

men

Minamoto, a constant source of concern.

of the lords, the samurai., swore absolute personal

loyalty to their chieftains

nomic and marital

the Knight'), has

ties.

its

and were

closely allied to

them by

Their code of honour, bushido

romantic and attractive

side,

('the

eco-

Way

of

much emphasized

in literature. It resulted in deeds ofgreat heroism, but to the Westerner the exploits of these heroes, so often

seem coloured by excessive

cide.

However,

to

doomed

to eventual disaster,

cruelty, treachery, betrayal

and

fratri-

understand the psyche of the Japanese even in

recent times, one must appreciate the complexities of the samurai

code.

Once successful,
Kamakura, some

the

Minamoto

established their headquarters at

Minamoto

hundred miles north-east of Kyoto. This was

the first time that the capital of the country had been outside the
Kyoto - Nara area. In making this change the stern warriors were
three

doubtless activated by a desire to

the enervating influence of court

may have

secretly envied

it.

men from
much though many of them

remove

life

their fighting

Yoritomo, as commander-in-chief,

forbade his vassals to enter the court. Kyoto remained a showplace,

a leisured city of temples and palaces,

made

colourful by

empty

ceremonies but for a time completely deprived of power.

significant that the imperial line survived

and continues

It

is

to exist

today.

Minamoto-no- Yoritomo, the

fully conscious

victor in the struggle for power,

of the need for change, although at

first

was

he probably

did not fully appreciate the responsibilities which his position con-

upon him. He probably thought of himself as primus inter pares.

that
He was prepared to use the emperor as a means to an and
of controlling men as violent and ruthless as himself and of protecting his own interests. He relied completely upon his vassals and was
determined, by just recognition of their services, to keep them
content and, by rigid discipline, to secure their obedience.
In this atmosphere of political and social change many good men
of humble origin who had been unable to find employment in the
privilege-ridden world of Kydto flocked to join Yoritomo in Kamakura, where their administrative talents were welcomed and their

ferred

109

manners helped

As always
it

rough military camp atmosphere.

to leaven the

in Eastern countries, the rulers of

Kamakura soon found

expedient to clothe their power in a mantle of respectability and

learning.

The Kamakura shoguns were soon

blandishments of court

life

to learn

that the

were more powerful than the imperial

armies.

The Kamakura

military were on the whole just if somewhat harsh

rulers, especially in the division

interest.

of land which was their fundamental

But what started as a military dictatorship soon took on the

Oddly enough
the Hojo family, which followed the Minamoto and took over the
real power, were descended from the Taira whom Yoritomo had
defeated. It is worth quoting Sansom on the situation in the
familiar pattern of the Japanese division of power.

Hojo

thirteenth century,
state at the

which presented

head of which stood a

'the astonishing spectacle of a

titular

emperor whose

vestigial

had been usurped by an abdicated emperor, and whose

real power was normally delegated to an hereditary mihtary dictator
but was actually wielded by an hereditary adviser of that dictator.'
Only the Japanese could make such a system work.
functions

SCULPTURE

The Kamakura proved

to

be the

last

great age ofJapanese sculpture,

reaching a brilliant peak from about 1250 to 1400. Schools and

Kydto and Nara and the demand for sculpture

was tremendous. The most famous of these ateliers were the In and
En schools in Kyoto and the Kei school in Nara, to which belonged
the best-known artists Unkei, Kaikei and Jokei
the names which
dominated the age. With the transfer of power into the hands of
power politicians, the atmosphere in the arts changed radically.
Gone was the gentle seductive charm of the late Fujiwara, with its
visions of sweetness and ideal beauty. Its place was taken by the
sturdy naturalism which distinguishes Kamakura taste. Figures of
gods and priests now became faithful reproductions of worldly beings
carved completely in the round, and clothed with drapery so convincingly represented as to invite touch. Even the eyes are crystal
ateliers

grew up

in

insets, glistening

with startling reality in the temple

rately carved jewels

The

no

effect is

and swords give added naturalism

one of directness which,

allied to the

lights.
to

Sepa-

the figures.

Japanese

gift for

Plate 29 - Detail from one of the three Heiji-monogatari-emaki painted hand-scrolls. Ink and colour
on paper. Anonymous. Mid-i3th cent. Width 41. g cm. National Museum, Tokyo. Cf. p. 130, ijj.

Ill

Plate 30 - Detail from the Jigoku Soshi or 'Hell Scroll'. Painted hand-scroll. Ink and colour on
paper. Anonymous. C. 1 180. Hara Collection, Japan. Cf. p. 14^.

112

Plate 31 - Detail from 'Hermitage by a

Mountain Brook', attributed to Mincho (Cho
Densu, 352-1431). Ink on paper. Konchi-in
Temple, Kyotc"). loo.j x ^;^.6 cm. Cf.p. i^^^j
1

113

*n

114

Plate 33 -

*Catfish and Gourd' by Josetsu (active

Height
in, Kyoto.
63.2 cm. Cf. p. 15^^.

< Plate

32 - 'Kanzan' by

Kao

c.

1405-30). Ink and

soft colours

on paper. Taizo-

(14th cent.). Ink on paper, gy.g x 34.3 cm. Nagao Museum, Kanagawa.

Cf.p.i54-

"5

ii6

Plate 35 - 'Winter Landscape' by Sesshu

(i

420-1 506). Ink and

soft colours

on paper. 4j.y x

27. gem.

National Museum, Tokyo. Cf. p. 157.

Plate 34 - 'Studio of the Three Worthies' by Shubun. Ink and

soft

colours

on paper.

141 8. Seikado

Foundation, Tokyo. Cf. p. 156.

117

Plate 36 - Ama-no-Hashidate by Sesshu (1420-1506). Ink and

slight colour

cm. National Commission for the Protection

of Cultural Properties, Tokyo. Cf. p. 158.

118

on paper

.g

X iy8.2

7
Fig. 42 - Shari-den( Hallfor Sacred Ashes) in Engaku-ji Temple, Kamakura. Cf.p. 121.

the representation of surface textures

disturbing in

its

damage

When

is

often

new approach.

question what produced this

Japanese historians credit

Nara.

faithful portraiture,

impact.

It is interesting to

sulted in

and

it

to the civil

to or destruction

of

wars of 1180, which

many

peace and order returned, the

the workshops to repair

and replace the

re-

of the masterpieces of

new

losses.

masters ordered

This brought the

craftsmen into the closest possible contact with the great masterpieces of the

and

Nara period. Certainly the new interest

in the literature

art of the past played a great part in the flowering of Japanese

New
Nara

interest in

art

Not only were arms and legs repaired and replaced but facsimiles of lost works were made. The art of Nara which circumstances
thus forced the craftsmen to study had a simplicity of approach
which appealed to the Kamakura. But whereas the Nara sculptors
had striven to represent an inner spirituality, the directness of
art.

119

Kamakura

influence, impressive

mentally on the surface. This

some of the

is

though

may

it

its

approach

is

rejection of sophistication.

Kamakura

disagree with this opinion but

funda-

is

not to deny the deep appeal which

portrait sculptures have, but the

ed, even sometimes in

often be,

art

is

sophisticat-

Some

critics

essentially outgoing,

dynamic rather than contemplative, humanly martial rather than

spiritually so.

This was partly due to the fact that the

Shinran and
Nichiren sects

the Shin sect founded by Shinran

sect

(i

new Buddhist

sects

such as

173-1262) and the Nichiren

founded by Nichiren (1222-82) addressed themselves

creasingly to the

common man and even for

the

first

in-

time to women.

demanded an uncompUcated approach so unlike that

of the Fujiwara theologians. In an age when great personaUties
strode the political stage we find the religion of the times celebrating
its own heroes.
These

It

is,

classes

on the other hand, possible

to overestimate the influence of

Nara. For Japan was emerging from

China,
Contacts with China

resumed

its

new

priests

were able

to re-establish contact

era of exchange of religious knowledge

learn that the priest Ghogen,

visited

period of isolation from

source of spiritual nourishment. At the end of the Fuji-

wara period Japanese

a

its

China no

mit the brilliant

less

art began.

We

restored the Todai-ji Temple,

than three times, which enabled him to trans-

artistic ideals

The Great Buddha

who

and

and

of the Sung dynasty (a.d. 960-1279).

of the Todai-ji was restored with the aid of

Chinese workers, and Sung architecture became the fashion

es-

Kamakura, where examples of Sung style building are

still to be found. The graceful proportions and the elegance of the
structures recall in miniature the great days of Sung China, just as
Nara brings T'ang China to life. The inspiration of Sung sculpture
was equally evident, as recent discoveries in China emphasize (see
pecially in

below)

ARCHITECTURE

Architecture during the

ject.

period

is

a most complex sub-

Soper, in the best account hitherto given,^ attributes to

A. Soper in R. T. Paine and A. Soper, The Art and

1955), p. 233.

120

Kamakura

Architecture

it

'an

ofJapan (London

almost anarchic variety'.

The restorations which

the civil wars

necessary compelled the architects to turn back to

styles

this

was

also the case in sculpture, as

exotic Chinese styles, mainly

style',

from the south of China, came in

styles.

though heavy and ornate, seems

relationship with India

and

Nara period

we shall see. In addition

mingle with native developments of earher

*Indian

made

it

to

to

so-called

have had no

too probably originated in the South

The influence of the newly popular Zen sect (of

which we shall say more in the next chapter) on the Chinese styles
was strong, for Japanese Zen priests went to China to study temples
they wished to reproduce in Japan. In the Zen temples the halls
China coast

areas.

tended to be large and bare to house the assembled clergy

their

symmetry being broken only by a lecture platform with stairs going

up to it and a large throne for the abbot. Surrounding this hall there
was generally a plain
Broadly speaking,

On

corridor.

Kamakura

sculpture shows two

main

trends.

SCULPTURE

hand the grace and elegance of Sung styles (though on

a much lower scale) was something which a population brought up
on Fujiwara taste would readily appreciate. On the other hand the
more austere tendencies of the early Kamakura warriors were more
in sympathy with Zen architectural ideals. Yoritomo, like imperial
the one

patrons before him, provided finance for such major rebuilding

Temple and priests like Ch5gen

study and work in China before returning

projects as that of the Todai-ji

were given

facihties to

to their labours in

Japan.

The Shari-den (Hall for Sacred Ashes) in the Engaku-ji Temple at

Kamakura is the only surviving building of the original Five Great
Zen Temples of Kamakura. Paradoxically, although it is a Zen
temple,

it is

in the

Characteristic

is

Chinese

style

brought over by a Chinese

the compact bracketing system which

fig.

42

priest.

fills all

the

area under the eaves. However, what might have tended to create

an over-heavy appearance was softened by making parts of the

brackets

more

slender, with graceful curves. Unfortunately the top-

heavy thatched roof

is

a later restoration replacing the original,

which had a much lower pitch more

in keeping with the general

proportions.

121

Fig. 43

FIG.

43

- Main Hall of Saimyo-ji Temple,

The Main Hall

of the Saimyo-ji

of various elements but

is

Kyoto. Cf. below.

Temple near Kyoto has a mixture

nearer to the

Kamakura

spirit

with

its

square simple plan, low elevation and porch at the front.

Zen, although popular, was not a broadly based religion. Other

Muchaku and

Seshin

in Kofuku-ji

PLATE

p.

89

new Buddhist sects catered for the common man and in doing so
demanded symbols which were easy to understand. One result was
that portrait artists came into their own.
The perfection of Japanese classicist portraiture is seen in the two
larger than life-size figures of Asanga and Vasubandhu in the
Kofuku-ji Temple at Nara. These two Indian priests, known in
Japanese as Muchaku and Seshin, are said to have lived one thousand years after the nirvana of the Buddha and to have formulated
the teachings of the Hosso sect to which the Kofuku-ji belongs. The
statues

were begun in 1208 under the supervision of Unkei and

and two

completed with the help of his

six sons

The

priests are

thick-set bodies of the

two

round with every possible attention

pupils.

carved completely in the

to naturalism.

The heavy

of the robes swing across the bodies in heavy rhythms and

natural ease in long sleeves.

The

with

upright stance and heavy features

are the essence of pugnacious faiths

The asymmetrical pose adds

the impression of restrained power. In the intense face with

122

fall

folds

its

to

deep-

set eyes,

strong lips and large nose nothing

and muscles, the good and bad

is

idealized.

features are subjected to

The bones
a new crit-

ical faculty.
It is interesting to
traits

compare

these portraits with the idealized por-

of the Nara period. There the

artist

concentrated on the

plate

p.

45

The image is already a god or

a demi-god, a saint as we would call him in Christian art. The
Kamakura priests are men among men, with their human qualities
magnified to heroic proportions. The fighting qualities of the
emotive appeal of the inner

are reflected in their austere powerful bodies

samurai
in fact

spirit.

men who would

respond to a

call to

arms

they are

as willingly as

any

warrior. Similarly, they are the kind of images to which a Wt^rrior

would respond. The

distractions of a complicated iconography

have

disappeared. Their faces reflect the struggles of the faith against

human

problems.

The

Nara
the Kamakura, which

simpUcity, the calm assumptions of

times could not be reproduced in an age like

had seen such bitterness and violence. Above all the simple ecstasy
of the Nara faith has disappeared.
Once again, although one is tempted to see in these superb portraits a purely Japanese development, one must turn to China for
the prototype. Sung period (a.d. 960-1279) sculpture shows a
similar concentration on surface textures and true-to-life physical
features,
site

on portraiture rather than

divinity. In the cave-temple

of Mai-chi-shan, only recently re-discovered, are figures of

priests

which could be the prototypes

Through

their skill with the chisel the

fig.

44

fig.

45

for the Kofuku-ji figures.

Japanese have refined the

Chinese prototypes, as was so often the case, and raised them to a

level surpassing that of the original. It

is

from such adaptations and

developments that Japanese culture has acquired

derivative
It

often quite

would be unfair

imagery entirely

its

reputation as

unjustifiably.

to attribute the violence seen in

to the

new

social climate.

The more

Kamakura

violent aspects

of Buddhist iconography are familiar from the lokapdla or Guardians

Nara times and from the terrifying Fudo of early

Heian. However, they did appeal to a violent streak in the Japanese
of the Faith in

temperament,

to that

element of extremism which has from time to

123

Fig. 44 - Lohan or priest in Cave go, MaiChina. Clay. Heavily re-

chishan, North
stored in the

time surprised those

who do

Sung period. Cf. p. 123,

not appreciate

Japan has always been sudden and

often

removed, the pendulum takes a

full

origins.

its

Change

in

accompanied by violence,
as with the introduction of Chinese or Western culture. At the
same time discipline is always strong so that, when it is temporarily
complete lack of restraint.

like the

It is

Kamakura, war-like

and rapid swing towards

easy to understand that, in a period

deities strike a

sympathetic note and

their attributes are readily understood.

Kongo

Kongo Rikishi

Thus

on

p.

90

PLATE

of Guardians of the Faith (Vajrapani).

It

was probably made by

P.

90

the

Rikishi in the plate

Jokei during the period a.d.

statue

190-8.

The

one of a long

line

plastic qualities of this

dominate knotted muscles stand out on the bare torso veins

of striking

and sinews seem

as if

is

is

to

show through the stretched

held in suspended motion.

caught in a sudden wind, or

like

skin; the

moment

The movement of the

that of a bow drawn

robe,
taut,

The only softening feature is the play

of the decoration on the robe. The closely-set crystal eyes pierce the
spectator; the wide-open mouth symbolizes the power that emanates
emphasizes the composition.

124

from the image. In the violent exaggerated action of these Kamakura 'Vajra-bearers' every plane

and movement; the eye

is

is

conceived in terms of restlessness

never allowed to

so easily destroyed in less capable hands,

The

tained.

which

tested his virtuosity. It

model

is

Yet the balance;

here perfectly main-

sculptor has risen to the challenge of complex detail

later sculptors into danger,

the

rest.

for this type

is

an exaggeration which was

but here

it is

restrained.

to lead

Once again

comes from China and Mai-chi-shan pro-

fig.

45

vides one clue.

During the Kamakura period a completely new type of sculpture

entered the artists' repertoire. It is quite different from the work of
the Buddhist schools, although to

some extent

it

was foreshadowed

by the Muchaku and Seshin of the early thirteenth century and

even by a few earlier works. Just as priests found themselves celebrated in portraits

so, in

an age when personalities counted

much, some outstanding warriors and statesmen were not averse

for

to

having their likenesses carved. The ostensible purpose of such

commemorative works was perhaps to recognize their services on

behalf of a particular temple. Such men were, after all, relatively
insecure vis-d-vis those whose power they were usurping, and what
better means could they have of asserting their position than a
portrait? The finest example of these secular statues is that of
Uesugi Shigefusa, housed in the Meigetsu-in, a small temple de-

plate

pendent on the larger Zenko-ji near Kamakura.

Uesugi Shigefusa

Little

is

known about

the

man

p. 91

himself but he seems to have played

He settled at Kamamade some years later,

a relatively small part in the history of the age.

kura in 1252 and the statue was probably

to

be housed in the temple which he patronized. The assembled

block technique

shape
body.

made it possible

almost geometrical
The whole

figure

is

in

its

to construct a figure of such strange

two triangular

legs

pyramidal, leading to

carved from a single block of wood. This gives

it

and square-cut
the round face
a characteristic

and balance. The sculptor was obviously fascinated by the

formal court robes, which were originally painted on a lacquerimpregnated cloth covering the joints. The decoration of these has
stabiUty

now

disappeared, leaving only the white undercoat.

The

gentle

125

symmetrical billows of the trousers, the

stiff flat front,

the folds drop-

ping from the shoulders and the wide sleeves have their particular
rhythmic beauty.

The

face of Shigefusa

is

in

no way an idealized

portrait. It has the

strength but none of the cold cruelty of Yoritomo, which

discuss next.

The

which

stiff dress,

is

we

shall

graceful but impersonal, sets

off the highly personalized face.

The

head adds a contemplative

Full lips reveal a very worldly

sensuality

air.

slight

and only the eyes have a strong

forward bend of the

hands arc those of the courtier rather than the warrior.

work

is

The soft
The whole

oriental cast.

very organically composed, and the light and shade create a

sense of solidity

and change. Above

within the most formal and

all,

one senses an inner relaxation

This helps to dissolve the

stiff exterior.

and makes credible what is otherwise an exaggerated

concept. In such a work two characteristics of Japanese art, the
artificiality

dramatic and the

the craftsman

lies

lyrical, are perfectly

in his depiction of pride without arrogance,

without cruelty and formality without

Minamoto-noYoritomo

From

harmonized. The genius of

the sculpture of Shigefusa

it

is

power

stiffness.

only a step to the portrait

painting of Minamoto-no- Yoritomo. This

is

one of four portraits of

and attributed
on good authority to Fujiwara Takanobu, the painter and poet
1 143-1206). Minamoto-no-Yoritomo was the main enemy of the

great politicians kept in the Jingo-ji Temple, Kyoto,

PLATE

p.

92

Taira clan. In exile in the eastern provinces he built up his forces,

winning important warrior families

strike

down

his enemies.

By

to his side until

he was ready to

the time of his death in 1199 he

founded the Kamakura regime and created a ruling

warrior caste.

subtle intriguer, he

was

class

brother Yoshitsune, of whom he was jealous.

the two brothers

is

out of a

also a decisive leader

ruthlessly disposed of all rivals, including even his popular

The

one of the sagas of Japanese

had

who

younger

struggle between
history, endlessly

sung in romance and drama.

Although sometimes brutal, on the whole he dealt

justly with his

Fig. 45 - Guardian. Clay. 6th century. Heavily restored and remodelled in Sung period.
Left of the gallery outside Cave ^, Mai-chi-shan, North China. Cf. p. 123.

126

127

retainers.

He was

suspicious, but in a period

probably justified. Above

all

action was directed towards

he was a

when

suspicion was

whose every
overall plan to win control

skilful politician

fiilfilling his

The Japanese derive some amusement by pointing

few human characteristics - a fear of his wife His

of the country.
to

one of

his

what one would expect, a man of steely purpose, unpleasant perhaps but serious and long-sighted, an able administrator
with whom nobody trifled. He was cold and often may have seemed
inhuman, but he was a man of revolutionary zeal who knew
whither he was taking the country and was supremely confident in
his ability to do so. Having achieved power, he was ready to act
with generosity and employ men who had something to contribute.
He was cautious and at all times statesmanhke. The hard and
cunning side of his nature is obvious in this uncompromising porportrait shows

trait;

one can perhaps read into

grim and humourless

military caste;

it

is

face,

it

also a streak of treachery. It

but typical of the leaders of Japan's

a face one occasionally meets in the higher

echelons of modern Japanese business

lines are stark

is

As a composition the outand the colours sombre. The ceremonial robe and
life.

cap create a solemn impression, the robe leading the spectator's

eye with almost geometric precision to the pale set face. Should this

prove

insufficient,

From beneath

interest.

real

the staff of office underlines the direction of

the robes emerges the hilt of a sword, the

symbol of his power, the

final authority in a violent ambitious

age.
Chinso portraits

The Japanese
warriors.

artists'

gifts for

portraiture were not restricted to

Many priests were celebrated in a type of portrait painting

known known as chinso, in which these patriarchs of imposing mien

are generally shown seated on thrones. This is a type of Zen-inspired
likeness

which probably originated on the mainland

in

T'ang

although few originals from that time have survived.

come down

to us

portraits led the

in painting.
Kobo Daishi

PLATE

128

P.

93

More have

from Kamakura Japan. The fondness

Japanese

Imaginary

to depict children,

likenesses of the

popular. However, the plate on

great scholar-priest

who

p.

times,

for

such

both in sculpture and

young prince Shotoku were

93 shows

Kobo

Daishi, the

introduced the Shingon sect to Japan

(see

page

dream

in

80), as a child of five or six. Tradition tells

how he had

which he saw himself seated on an eight-petalled

discussing the principles of

beautiful costume,

which

Buddhism with various

lotus

deities.

His

decorated with flowers in silver against

is

a white background, acts as a perfect foil to the child-like serious face

and the hands locked

As Paine has

in prayer.

reaUstically presented childhood

is

said,

'The charm of

united to the easily understood

symbols of the halo and the lotus throne to make a very moving and
sincere Buddhist picture

human

the appeal

a twofold one of everyday

is

emotions joined with the sentiments of hero worship.'^ The

love of children
ity are

. .

and what would now be

called the cult of personal-

two strong features of the Japanese mentahty, but

it is

rare

them thus united.

It is when we come to the scroll-painting of the Kamakura period
that Japanese art comes into its own, as most historians agree. This
is mainly due to the art form known as e-makimono or 'painted
scrolls'. These are long hand-scrolls, usually not more than about
12 to 14 inches wide and anything up to 40 feet long. They are
unrolled from right to left and viewed in sections contained in a
comfortable arm's width. Although in many respects unique to
to find

Japan, their degree of independence from Chinese examples

complete.
it

The

form

scroll

was used mainly

is,

is

SCROLLPAINTING

E-makimono

not

of course, Chinese in origin but there

for landscape

themes

illustrating long journeys

through mountainous countryside. The Chinese seem to have shown

comparatively

little

interest in genre subjects,

whereas these have

always absorbed the Japanese. So, too, the typical Japanese

colouring with

its flat

scroll

areas of colour, dominated by blue, green

and gold but used to express a peculiarly soft Japanese landscape,

stems ultimately from T'ang China. However, the use the Japanese

made

of these two basic techniques in their e-makimono produced a

The

unique art form of the greatest

interest.

scrolls thus

provide

a most faithful mirror of the

and times of the Japanese

in these

early centuries.

The

number of different
*

Paine and Soper,

life

early Japanese e-makimono painters used a

techniques.

Some

are in black and white only,

op. cit., p. 64.

129

FIG.

PLATES PP.

46

93, III

some are

in full colour,

and combinations of the two are

Sometimes, in the most ingenious

style,

also found.

the picture forms a con-

tinuous story; elsewhere the pictures are split

up by the

insertion

of textual passages which explain the various paintings.

The

skill

they

tell

and

interest of many of these scrolls lie in the

way in which

a story in unbroken sequence by the clever use of shifting

perspectives

and methods of carrying the spectator from one scene

to the next.

The

action thus seems effortlessly continuous

scrolls the painters skilfully

change the tempo

to suit the

many
mood of
in

the painting or the story portrayed. Within the general scroll form

the artists developed a remarkable freedom to include or exclude

irrelevant detail from their compositions, emphasizing those aspects

Fig.

46 - Detail of the Choju-giga

or ^Animal Scrolls\ Ink on paper. Attributed to

Toba

Sojo {10^2-1140), butprobably late 12th cent. Kozan-ji Temple, Kyoto. Height 30.^ cm.

Cf.pp. 130,

J 33.

ii^-e^

c%.

130

most pertinent

They could

to the story.

reveal the scene from

angle they wanted, often removing roofs

if

necessary to

any
show what

was going on inside a house; backgrounds could change at will and

the essentials of the action were always maintained.

No demands

of fixed perspective disturbed them and the story always moves on

with speed and continuity.

The

always

artists

and

often by means of care-

maintain a sense of illusion and drama

fully

skilfully create

placed areas of cloud or groups of trees which effect the transi-

tion in time

and

place.

As mentioned above, there

is

nothing particularly original to the

Japanese in the basic form of

type of scroll-painting.

this

Early Chinese examples illustrating Buddhist themes are found as

500 at 1 un-huang and the Japanese Tamamushi

early as

c,

shrine

another early example of continuous narrative in vertical

is

a.d.

plate

p.

42

rather than horizontal form. Their interest derives from the high

degree to which the Japanese developed them.

They

reveal the

drama and a sustained emotion that is unrivalled

in Far Eastern art. The drama may be humorous or tragic, secular
or religious, mundane or spiritual
but it is always essentially
human. In their art the Japanese are more often concerned than

Japanese

taste for

the Chinese with

the whole
in

man and

his

problems

his pettiness, his triumphs,

gamut of his emotions. The Chinese show more

interest

grand transcendental themes, such as overpowering landscapes.

Man

is

almost always subordinate; even their sages,

whom we

see

contemplating in the solitude of nature, are beings whose emotions

are distant from our understanding.

native Japanese interest

is

Thus much of Japanese art is

an intimate key which an uninstructed Westerner can immedi-

linked to
in

The

human

ately understand.

conditions and fate.

The

setting

may be

strange but the emotions are

show how the Japanese can

take a basic idea from the Chinese and re-work it into a completely
new art form. We shall see another brilliant example of this ability
universal.

Above

all,

the e-makimono

in the colour-prints of the

Tokugawa

One of the most typical

Mount Shigi, which tells

scrolls is the Shigisav-engi,

period.

or History of

the story ot various incidents in the

of the famous priest Myoren.

One

scroll tells

how he

Shigisan-engi

life

used to secure

131

0^

^^i?l
Fig. 47 - Detail from the painted hand-scroll
''The Mongol Invasion\ Ink on paper. Anony-

mous. Imperial Household Collection, Tokyo.

Cf.p.i34-

man by making his alms bowl fly to the home of

his patron, who filled it. One day the man ignored the golden bowl.
To punish him Mydren made it rise and carry off the man's storehouse, with all its rice sacks, to the priest's mountain retreat. One
alms from a rich

section often illustrated shows the consternation of his household

when they
PLATE

P.

94

see his storehouse disappearing through the air.

section illustrated in the plate

man had gone to entreat

for his own purposes and
132

on page 94

with the

priest,

is less

who

famiUar.

The

The
rich

kept the storehouse

flew the sacks of grain back to his

home.

and delight of the women of the household

when the sacks
the menfolk being away on the mountain

Here we

all

came

see the surprise

flying back.

The

consternation

felt at their

gone, as has also the sense of urgency. But

drama and
Other

humour

tension, the

and temples.

sects

duction in books makes

the emotions, the

of the genre are well illustrated.

scrolls in the Shigisan-engi series

founding of various

all

disappearance has

recount the histories of the

It is

unfortunate that repro-

impossible to convey the sense of con-

it

tinuity of the long scrolls.

The 'Animal Scrolls', a

small part of which

46, belong to another

and somewhat

is

reproduced in Figure

surprising type.

They are

Animal

FIG.

Scrolls^

46

named Toba Sojo, although he is

author. The peculiar and unexplained

attributed to a certain priest

unlikely to have been the
feature of these scrolls

Many

is

that they are sometimes quite sacrilegious.

of them are just amusing animal scenes, but the section

illustrated

shows a frog masquerading as a Buddha and a priest in

monkey worshipping him. They are in black and white

only and the draughtsmanship is splendidly accurate. Were the
the form of a

irreligious scenes the

product of a priest-painter with an acute sense

of humour mocking the attitudes of some of the

less

worthy

priests

of the time?

In a heroic age such as the

Kamakura one would

expect the

artist

with an eye for the contemporary scene to seize on some of the most
exciting

from the

moments of

Heiji Monogatari, a

politics in the Heiji

The

the period.

War

Museum

plate

most exciting

on page

tale

is

1 1 1

is

a scene

of high and ruthless

between two court nobles

scene represented here

Palace, in the

The

for

PLATE

P.

I I I

Heiji Monogatari

supremacy.

not the famous burning of the Sanjo

of Fine Arts, Boston, with

its

wonderful

and panic but a slightly quieter, though no less dramatic moment in which Nijo Tenno, the seventeen-year-old emperor, escapes from the palace dressed as a lady-in-waiting and
seeks refuge with Taira Kiyomori. This was a key episode in the
struggle of the Minamoto against the Taira which led to the foundation of the shogunate at Kamakura. Under the brilliant Kiyomori
the Taira were at first successful in the struggle but later the Minamoto gained supremacy. The object of the young emperor's escape
scenes of fire

133

was

to free himself

from the control of the former emperor, G6-

Shirakawa, who, although

officially in retirement,

was

in fact

still

exercising real power.

A moment of national heroism is shown in

To understand

of the Mongol Invasion.

early example of eye-witness

Figure 47 from Tne Story

the background to

war reporting

this,

a very

in pictorial form,

one

must recount the most outstanding event of the Kamakura period.

made
Yuan dynasty. The

In 1263 Khubilai, khan of the Mongols,

China and founded the

fighters

himself emperor of
merciless

Mongol

swept through Asia into Europe, pillaging and destroying

everybody and everything which offered any resistance. In 1268 the

Mongol emperor,

secure in China

strength of his armies,

made his first

and convinced of the irresistible

approach to Japan and suggested

that relations should be estabUshed. This

manding

was tantamount

to

com-

the Japanese to surrender under pain of dire penalties.

The Kamakura warriors, although fully conscious

of the significance

of their actions, refused to comply. This was the equivalent of a dec-

The Mongols spent a year preparing a fleet of

about 450 ships, 15,000 Mongol troops and an equal number of
Korean auxiliaries. They confidently landed on the west coast of

laration of war.

met with determination and

courage by the local chieftains and their retainers. After a day of
heavy fighting honours were even and the Mongols returned to
their fleet. However, in the night a heavy storm scattered and
the southern island where they were

destroyed their ships.

The

losses are said to

have been 13,000 men

and an unaccustomed blow to Mongol prestige.

By 1280 Khubilai had mustered another force of no less than
150,000 men for a second attempt on the stubborn Japanese. The
invasion of 128 1 led to fifty days of heavy fighting and again a storm
drove the invaders from the Japanese coast. This time they
four-fifths of their forces

for another

lost

and, although the threat of invasion lasted

twenty years, the Japanese were

left

alone, the only

people successfully to have resisted the Mongols at the height of

tneir poV'^er. In the scroll, painted

rewards for

on a

134

his services,

spirited charger.

we see

by a fighting

a lightly

man

to

claim

armed Japanese cavalryman

i
Plate 37

Haboku ('Splashed Ink') Landscape by Scsshu (1420- 1506). Ink on paper. 147.3 x
35.6 cm. National Museum, Tokyo. CJ.p. 167.

Plate 38 - 'Storm on the Coast' by Sesson (1504-f. 1589). Ink on paper.

Collection, Kyoto. Cf. p.

136

16 8-

22. g

x 30.5 cm. Nomura

'-

*'V^

Plate 39 - 'Landscape' by So-ami

n5-3 ^- 1 21. cm. Cf. p. 168.

(d.

1525). Ink

and

slight colours

on paper. Daitoku-ji, Kyoto.

f)

137

.^^t>

"SK^

'Jd-..

Plate 40 - 'Stork on a Branch' by Kano Motonobu

Reiun-in, Kyoto. ^0.6 x 11 8.1 cm. Cf. p. i6g.

138

(i

476-1 559). Ink and

soft

colour on paper.

Plate

41 -

'Yuima'by Bunsci (dated 1457). Ink on paper. Yamato Bunka-kan, Xara.

.9/.^

v 77 cm.

Cf.p. 170.

139

Plate 42 - 'Hinoki' (Pine-trees). Folding screen attributed to

gold paper. 168 x ^^6 cm. National Museum. Tokyo, Cf. p. ij6.

140

Kano

Eitoku (1543-90). Colour on

Plate 43 - 'Pine-trees in the Mist' by Hasegawa Tohaku (1539-1610). Pair of folding

on paper. Each screen i 'j6 x j^7 cm. National Museum, Tokyo. Cf.p.' lyy.

srrccns. Ink

141

Plate 44 -"Flowers" by Hasegawa T(5haku (1539-1610). Colour on paper.

142

Cf. p. 177 f.

Yet another

side of the

Japanese

artistic

character

is

revealed by a

group of scrolls depicting the various illnesses to which

and the various hells to which his soul may be consigned
of his leading a bad
there.

The

plate

life,

as well as the

and shows

Scrolls'.

is

heir

in the event

hungry ghosts which taunt

on page 112 shows a scene from the

the Jigoku Soshi or 'Hell

man

latter

it.

group,

This depicts the Hell of Mortals

the particular fate awaiting those

who

steal

from their

fellow-men. Hell paintings are found in India and China and be-

came popular

in

Japan from

the eighth century onwards. Settled

Fujiwara society, engrossed in

little

time for thoughts of

hell,

elegant

its

but the

life

trials

of pleasure, had

of inter-clan warfare

and the fall of such eminent men as the Taira caused people to
ponder on the ephemeral quality of life.
Buddhist cosmology teaches that there are Six Worlds of separate
beings the hells, that of hungry ghosts, of animals, of malevolent
spirits, of human existence and of demi-gods. These contrast with
the various worlds of the paradises
the Pure Land which was
the only escape. It is a strange mixture of terror and humour.
During the Kamakura period Japanese ceramics proper began the
long development which eventually raised them to a very accomplished and distinctive art. As one would expect, the wares of China,
which had always dazzled the Japanese as they did the rest of the
world, were the model. During the Sung period the Chinese raised
the ceramic craft to a peak of artistic perfection which has never
been surpassed. The celadon wares of Lung-ch'iian in Chekiang
province and the chien wares of Fukien, the sombre black and brown
:

glazes
ties

known

in

Japan

and exported

But these

to

as temmoku,

many

fine products

were produced

countries as far

away

in large quanti-

as the

Middle

East.

had well over a thousand years of develop-

ment behind them and the Japanese could not hope to compete
technically. What is more, the raw materials in the known sites of
Japan were much inferior to those of China.

The Japanese claim that

the Kamakura period by
Japanese pottery'
scepticism.

their

ceramic craft was established during

a certain Toshiro,

a tradition which

However, the tradition

is

known

some

as the 'father of

scholars view with

correct from the point of view

143

Figs.

144

48 to 53 - Examples of old Seto ware with brown

or yellow glazes. Cf.p. 14^.

1*10.

54 ~ Keko

or basket for flowers. Gold

Diameter 28.8 cm. Cf. p.

of time.
priest

The

and

silver

on bronze. Jinsho-ji Temple, Shiga.

i^fy

records state that Toshiro went to China as a Buddhist

and there studied the ceramic

craft before returning to

Japan

about 1227-9 to estabhsh a centre of manufacture in the Seto area.

Seto ware

About two hundred kilns dating from the Kamakura and the following Muromachi periods (i 333-1 572) have been discovered
around Seto. Here in the thirteenth century the Japanese made
their first high-fired

wares or glazed stoneware. Seto

largest pottery-producing area in

*Seto-things'

is

Japan and the word

is

still

the

seto-mono or

often used for pottery in general.

145

The 'six old kilns of Japan' were: Seto, Tokoname, Shigaraki,

Tamba, Bizen and Echizen. The last five produced the somewhat
coarse pottery which with inverted sophistication the Japanese now
appreciate very highly in their tea ceremonies; they will be dis48-53

FiGs.

cussed later. However, the Seto wares have a certain uniformity

with their strong bold shapes, yellow, brown and black glazes, and
incised or impressed designs.

was the

and variety

skill

in glazing

result of the introduction of firing in oxidizing kilns instead

of reducing
tion

The new

kilns.

Many

and occasionally a

of the pieces have a fine free-hand decora-

The

fine crackle in the glaze.

glazes some-

times tend to streak in an attractive way. However, the Japanese

could not approach the Chinese in ceramic

skill

exceptions, the interest of these early pieces

historical rather

is

and, with a few

than

artistic.

METALWORK

Generally speaking, the metalwork of the period continued Heian

styles

but with a tendency towards simpler forms and

less or-

nate decoration than hitherto. In particular great attention was paid

to swords

and armour, both

decoration.

Some

for their practical use

of the finest sword-blades ever

centuries, although unfortunately this

an

is

made

art

and

in their

date to these

which

lies

outside

the competence of most Western historians. In iron tea-kettles

and

other Buddhist implements shapes began to acquire the classical

lines
FIG.

54

metalwork

is

illustrated in Figure

craftsmanship in

its

54 and

of bamboo but this example in

piece of

this certainly recalls earlier

involved delicacy. It

tering flowers in Buddhist ceremonies.

made

One remarkable

brought over from Sung China.

is

a basket used for scat-

Such baskets were usually

gilt

bronze

metalwork. The design of open-work flowers

is

is

a masterpiece of

embellished with

and emphasized by the use of both gold and silver

plating. It recalls the delicacy of the metalwork on the Tamamushi
shrine as well as a long line of distinguished objects in the same

fine chiselling

PLATE

p.

42

open-work technique produced by Japanese craftsmen over the

centuries.

146

VII.

THE ASHIKAGA OR MUROMACHI PERIOD

(1338-1573)

The

period from 1272 to 1380 was one of very unsettled political

conditions culminating in civil war.

was the deterioration

The single-minded

The main

source of weakness

Kamakura

in the authority of the

discipline of

Decline of Kamakura

leaders.

Yoritomo had become a thing of

and the Hqjo regents who followed him were men of lesser
cahbre. The Mongol invasions had weakened the vigour of the
the past

Kamakura

rulers

the provinces

who proved unable

and the

capital.

unruly elements in

to control

They completely

lost

the initiative in

and the resolution to shape their

own destiny. The outcome of this was a movement to eliminate the
dictators and restore the power of the throne
the customary and
usually ineffective panacea for Japan in times of trouble.
Emperor Go-Daigo ascended the throne in Kyoto in 13 18
a man
of 30 determined to put an end to cloister rule and make himself
emperor in deed as well as in name. He obtained increasing support
the direction of national affairs

own real merits and

partly through the greed of provincial lords who eyed with envy the
fat landholdings which the Hojo regents had accumulated. The
Kamakura leaders could scarcely control the numerous uprisings
throughout the country and, when the emperor with obvious
throughout the country, partly through

popular support escaped from

his

exile in 1333, the stage

was

set for

a radical change.

The instrument

of this change was to be Ashikaga Takauji, one of

the most able and trusted of the

sent to capture the returned

Kamakura

generals,

Ashikaga Takauji

who had been

Emperor G5-Daigo. Instead of obeying

orders he defected to the imperial side, turned on the

stronghold in Kyoto, captured

it

and

Kamakura

re-established the emperor.

Kamakura itself fell in July 1333 and all the Kamakura outposts in
Kyushu and elsewhere in the same year. The speed with which this
happened showed the inner weakness of the Kamakura regents and
the timeliness of the change.

147

Unfortunately the newly-restored emperor, although forming a

splendid rallying point for discontented factions, for one reason or

another proved inadequate as an administrator and failed to retain

his supporters' loyalty.

He

broke the promises he had

harder times and was unable to share out

from the Hqjo downfall. Bribery

made them

was

rife,

worthy but unmannerly country warriors were not always

in outwitting the court sycophants.
fied with

obtained

fairly the spoils

for favours

and the

successful

Even the nobles became

Go-Daigo, while the clergy outmatched the

in

dissatis-

rest in their

rapacity and treated the farming population most harshly. In fact

the restoration seemed to have pleased

imminent. The emperor had

military

power

nobody and anarchy was

failed to control the

in the provinces

and

development of

in such unsettled times

it

was

many people looked back to the days of firm

Kamakura leadership when they felt that they had at least been

understandable that

showed a
growing impatience with the stupid trivia of court ceremonial which
seemed to absorb the energies of men who should have been using
fairly

governed. In such a time of

crisis

the country

them to administer and restore the country. In such circumstances

it was left to Takauji to seize power. He killed his main opponent,
the emperor's son, and when the emperor himself was goaded into
action, he defeated him and took control. By the end of 1336 he was
master of the old capital and seemingly ofJapan, while the emperor
found himself, as many times before and after, once more subordinate to a general. Takauji obviously considered himself as the logical
successor to the leaders of the feudal order.
Civil

war

However, Takauji's temporary victory by no means solved the

problems facing Japan and the influence of the throne was not
eradicated. For no less than fifty-six years a struggle was

between a puppet emperor called

line,

who was put on

Komyo

waged

from the senior imperial

Kyoto by Takauji, and Emperor

who fled and established their seat at

the throne in

Go-Daigo and his successors,

Yoshino, a mountain fastness in the south. This long period of civil
war is known as the Namboku-cho, 'the Northern and Southern
Courts'; it produced many notable men and some of the most
heroic

148

moments

in

Japanese history.

"Hit^^'^liif'^

n^^ml!i^|f'^^^^^^^^

^\\\ty

;;ivi(i,-;j---,-,:ii?flfii(i

II

Fig. 55 - Kinkaku-ji^ Kyoto. Cf. p.

The

loyalists in the

i-5o.

south proved extremely tenacious and difficult

to root out. Takauji's position

was by no means secure and he

experienced considerable opposition from some of his own supporters,

who

could see no reason for continuing any association what-

soever with an imperial line. In the constant fighting Kyot5 changed

hands several times. Takauji himself died in 1358 aged fifty-four,

having spent twenty-six years in almost constant campaigning. He

was succeeded by

his

own

son Yoshiakira, and then in 1368 by the

nine-year-old Yoshimitsu. It was not until 1383 that, after fierce

fighting, the

Kyushu strongholds of the southern court were

finally

subdued. By 1392 the Ashikaga had established their supremacy over

149

both the southern court and their

own more

recalcitrant warriors.

In an atmosphere of exhaustion a union of the two imperial lines

was

Rise of warrior class

some very shady treatment of the southern

emperor, the northern line was supreme.
During the course of the civil war the powerful and warlike barons
further increased their power, and as a result there developed a
military rather than a feudal society. The Kyoto nobility lost whatever authority they had once possessed and in the wars new men
from the provinces came to the fore bearing names which survived
effected and, after

down

to recent times.

Moreover, the absence of so many leaders of

on campaigns gave the more

able members of the farming community an opportunity to secure
more independence than they had hitherto enjoyed. As Sansom

provincial society for long periods

points out, one of the most remarkable tributes to Japanese culture

is

hundred years of almost

the fact that, during this period of about a

incessant fighting, the aristocracy

Japanese

tional

was able

interest in the arts

and

to preserve the tradiletters.

shoguns, while seeming to degrade the emperor,

assume

his

mantle as supporters of the

was an extravagant builder and an

arts.

The Ashikaga

felt it

natural to

Yoshimitsu in particular

enthusiastic supporter of the

Muromachi quarter of Kyoto has given

names by which it is often known, the Muro-

theatre. His palace in the

the period one of the

FIG.

55

machi

period'.

he built for

Kyoto and

The

graceful Kinkaku-ji or 'Golden Pavilion' which

his retirement

all

is

one of the most famous

edifices in

Japan. More of a summer palace than a temple,

poised lightly over a lake almost ethereal in

its

grace.

it is

However, the

programme were a
heavy burden on an impoverished people and both he and his
taxes he imposed for his expensive rebuilding

vassals

were forced

treasuries.

Growing

influence

of

150

^en

The long

to turn to trade
civil

with China to replenish their

war had exhausted the Ashikaga and they

had little strength left to consolidate their power. In fact they remained in control only because there was no other leader strong
enough to assume the overlordship.
Nevertheless, after the long civil war the country was ready to
accept the blessings of peace even if it did have to pay somewhat
dearly for them. Zen priests became popular and powerful in the

We

have seen how the

Japan in
strength during the Kamakura period. The Chinese for Zen is
Ch'an, a transHteration of the Sanskrit word dhydna, which can be
highest quarters.

sect entered

The Indian missionary BodhiChina in a.d. 520, himself summa-

partially translated as 'meditation'.

dharma, who brought the

sect to

rized the teaching as follows: 'A special transmission outside the

No dependence on words and

scriptures.

to the heart (or intuitive

letters.

Pointing directly

mind) of man. Seeing into one's own

nature and the attainment of Buddhahood'. For

man

the essential

awakening comes through introspection and sudden enhghtenment.

All the other trappings of rehgion were useless. In former times the

demanded

and frugaHty, which appealed to

those with early Kamakura standards. The Zen priests were the
natural leaders of learning and culture; since they were more
famiUar than anyone else with what was going on in China after the
sect

strict discipline

Ming dynasty

establishment of the

in 1368, they provided advisers

mainland improved rapidly.

in foreign affairs. Contacts with the

They were

naturally anxious to re-establish contact with their

brethren in China, and the Japanese in general were eager for the
benefits of trade,

whether by legitimate means or piracy. The Chi

Contact with

^^^nland expanded

nese were equally happy to trade with the Japanese, although they

of course affected to treat them and the embassies under which they

masqueraded

The Japanese exchanged

as traditional 'tributaries'.

swords, horses, paper, lacquer and bronze for Chinese

drugs, porcelain

However, these
often in the

and

art

works of

China.

virile

and trade was

hands of pirates who proved a scourge of the Chinese

tasteful design of many Japanese

of a

books,

kinds, particularly paintings.

relations varied greatly in intensity

coastal areas. Nevertheless, there

after in

all

silk,

One

merchant

is

no doubt that the quality and

made them

products

result of this thriving trade

class,

which was

to

highly sought

was the emergence

prove most important for

Japan's later development. Around the provincial lords there grew

up a new

class

of mercenaries: the ronin or 'wave men', samurai

without land or master

who earned

their living

by the sword.

Legends concerning the exploits of these men enriched the

Japan and provided stimulating material

for literature

and

lore of
art.

>5

In

this politically

lords, striving to

comed men of

decadent atmosphere the

arts

Local

flourished.

emulate the manners and luxury of Kyoto, wel-

and letters whether priests or not. In the Ashikaga period, under teachers like Muso, the standards of personal
life for Zen monks relaxed
priests formed a taste for luxury and
art

masked by bogus poverty. As many

critics have pointed out, although Zen adherents professed to despise

for the benefits of high living,

the written word as coming between

them and enUghtenment,

this

did not stop them from writing tomes on the subject. But the Zen

had a wide and deep influence on the arts

especially on
that of painting. Zen painters saw the speed with which an artist
with brush and ink could communicate his vision as an example
faith

of the flash of enlightenment following proper meditation.

Equally they claimed that the Buddhahood or truth could be seen

in even the

most seemingly

tree, a falling

trivial aspect

phenomena of the world about

us enriched the scope, deepened the appreciation

sensitivity of generations

of

artists.

one of its greatest contributions

The

twig of a

blossom, a grain of sand. This search for the divine

underlying every aspect of the myriad

SCULPTURE

of nature

Through

it

and sharpened the

the Far East

to the art of the world.

great period of sculpture seems to have ended with the

kura era.

It is difficult to

made

understand precisely

creative talent in this field seems to have dried

why
up

Kama-

the stream of

so quickly

and

suddenly. Perhaps the Japanese followed the Chinese in this respect,

by the Ming dynasty ( 1 368-1 644) no new contribution was being

made to this art in China itself. Ming sculpture is, generally speak-

for

Sung or heavy,
rather stolid figures in T'ang style from which all life and movement
is missing. The great age of Buddhism was rapidly waning in China
and no new impulses came to revive it. Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism had
removed the raison d^etre for statues of deities, and from this time
onwards Japanese carvers seem to have devoted themselves increas-

ing, either a degradation of the mellifluous lines of

ingly to miniature works; later this resulted in a flood of exquisite

decorative articles, such as

netsuke

buttons, in a wide range of

and of infinite ingenuity. The temples were no longer the

great patrons of the atehers as they had been in the past. The local
materials

152

leaders seem to have lost interest in the temples, while the merchants,

who were

later to take over the role of patrons, looked elsewhere for

rewards for their new wealth. These understandably took

artistic

the form of personal

leaders turned

more

and household adornments. As the

to painting, so also did the

wealthy

cultural

who

classes

copied them.

The main

interest of art in this period centres

on painting. This was

PAINTING

work imported from China,

the monochrome work of the Sung and early Ming

strongly under the influence of the

particularly

dynasties
for this

( i

oth-i 5th century)

renewed addiction

The Ashikaga shoguns set the pattern

to things Chinese, notably the eighth

shogun, Yoshimasa, whose catalogue of Chinese paintings was

written by So-ami (see below).

out of favour, although

continued to produce

The old

main

its

many

colourful Japanese style

practitioners, the

fell

Tosa school,

attractive narrative scrolls inspired

by

new monochrome
ink landscape styles took command. The ^Hermitage by a Mountain Brook' attributed to Mincho (Cho Densu) (a.d. 352-1 431) is a
typical early example of the Japanese enslavement to the new
Chinese ideals. Like many outstanding painters of the period,
Mincho combined artistic taste with religious duties. The style is a
the old manners. Generally speaking, however, the

Mincho

faithful

plate

p. 113

echo of a Sung landscape tradition, a combination of strong

brushwork and a theme which appealed equally

to

both intellectual

and romantic sentiments. An area of water with a hut perched

above

it,

mist-shrouded mountains in the background, a few rocks

this is the perfect

union of intellectual repose and romantic

surroundings which has coloured our vision of Far Eastern

The dream

is

that of the Chinese scholar-administrator, of escape

from the bonds of everyday Ufe

There, in

communion with

to the

friends, a

appeal to us in the twentieth century

Everything about the picture

is

peace of the countryside.

man

can enjoy the grandeur of nature and

is

strictly

of contemplative nature

its

and

artist's interpretation.

irresistible.

Chinese in taste but, even

Mincho had never been

his inspiration, attractive

though

The

underlying order.

as early as this, the softer misty landscape of Japan has left

on the

life.

it is, is

to

its

mark

China

itself

The

style

second-hand.

153

is

came out of China, with an emphasis

a mixture of those which

on academy work

as

developed in early Ming. As in Chinese works

many poems and writings decorate

the literary connection
characteristics,

one

the painting itself and emphasize

and connotation. In seeking out the Japanese

may

say that there

perhaps a contrived air

is

about the painting, a somewhat self-conscious approach to Chinese

technique, but

it is

difficult to

It is

it is

PLATE

p. 114

The imaginary

is

necessarily the failing of the

a characteristic of Japanese art which has produced

some of its most

Kao

As one might ex-

is

not possible to say that this

copyist, for

specific.

marked by a tendency to gloss over

favour of emphasis on the main elements.

pect, the general treatment

areas not understood in

be more

original achievements.

portrait of

Kanzan by Kao

the tendencies of the period.

Kao was

number

illustrates a

of

both a Zen priest and a

painter but, apart from this scant information,

we know very

little

Some say that his work spanned the late

Kamakura and early Muromachi periods, which makes him one of
the earliest ink painters. The subject is a Chinese Zen priest, one

of his

life

or background.

of a pair of seemingly simple-minded prelates of the T'ang dynasty

(a.d. 618-907),

known

in Japanese as

Kanzan and

Jittoku.

They

are probably quite apocryphal figures who, according to the tradition

which has grown up around them, discarded the

and presumptuous

intellectual

attitudes of the other sects. Content at having

discovered enlightenment, they

felt free to

ignore the benefits of

worldly comfort. Such pairs of portraits were a popular theme for

They
any more

ink painters through the centuries both in China and Japan.

are, of course, in their

way

as real

and

as didactic as

formal icon.

Kao's work
powerful

is

line.

distinguished by

The flat-footed

economy of brushwork and

gapes at some unseen spectacle.

its

figure

and ragged,he stands in vacuous good humour detached

from the world. Part of a tree in soft washes echoes the stance and
the approach is as unselfconscious as the brushwork itself. The
painting and its message is a tilt at convention, with the added
humour which leavens much ofJapanese art at all times. As an icon
Pot-bellied

it is

154

carefully calculated to administer the

maximum

shock to the

convert seeking religious enlightenment. Such paintings, like so

many

medium, are very close to their Chinese

prototypes were they not signed it would take a brave historian to
early works in the
;

distinguish them.

painting 'Catfish and Gourd' summarizes a

The

number of

the

Josetsu

tendencies of the early Ashikaga period. It was painted by Josetsu,

plate

whom

about

very

acknowledged

to

little is

known apart from

member

of the

Zen

Ashikaga shogunate. Above the painting

priests of the period

Western custom,
these

added

the fact that he was

He was probably
He worked for the

be the greatest teacher of the age.

a priest-painter and a

by Zen

p. 115

is

sect.

itself are thirty inscriptions

1394- 142 7. This practice, so strange to

characteristic of Far Eastern painting.

inscriptions are

by the

Sometimes

himself and give autobio-

artist

graphical information or the source of his inspiration for the painting; sometimes they are

or connoisseurs inspired
later. It

appears from one of these that the Ashikaga shogun ordered

the painting for a screen

'new

in the

ready

and

poems or lines of appreciation by friends

by it at the time when it was painted or

style'.

and that he asked

Thus we

see

to act as patrons of art

how

the

by the vogue

The elements of the composition

few rocks, a bamboo and a few

who is

entirely centered

to

came

for

Chinese
:

hills in

Sung period and again

as a Japanese rather

power

styles.

a stream with a

the background.

priest in the

'impossibility'

stimulate the student to enlightenment.

the Southern

were

reeds in the foreground, and the

on the tattered

Zen

be done

into

The

there

is

which

is

The

foreground

trying to catch a sUppery catfish in a gourd. This

resentation of a typical

it

work

rulers of Japan

are very simple

merest suggestion of foHage on misty

is

new

very soon after they

that they were enthralled

attention

for the

is

a rep-

claimed to

intimate style

is

that of

nothing to distinguish

than a Chinese painting except that no Chin-

ese painting has survived with a similar subject. Intellectually the

Japanese seem

to

have identified themselves completely with Chi-

nese culture. But, unlike the earlier period,

now

they did so feeling

themselves to be fully equal. After the centuries of isolation and

internal disorder the

come

new

artistic

developments in China must have

as a revelation, but the Japanese rose to the challenge of this

155

new
Shubun

art with

amazing speed and

Another excellent

facility.

problem of

illustration of the extremely difficult

distinguishing early Japanese landscapes in the Chinese style from

those of China
PLATE

p.

16

is

the 'Studio of the Three Worthies' in the Seikado

Foundation, Tokyo. Like a number of similar early landscapes

attributed to Shubun,

century.

He was

who was

active in the

first

been familiar with the Ashikaga shogun's

many

of which,

if

have been in the early Ming

Sung court masters

of nature which

half of the fifteenth

a pupil of Josetsu and probably the teacher of the

greatest of all ink painters, Sesshu (see below)

paintings,

it is

as

Ma

He

seems to have

collections of Chinese

the Japanese echoes are vahd, must

style as inherited

from such Southern

Yiian and Hsia Kuei.

this style presents,

and which

is

The

ideal vision

repeated

down

the

monotonous regularity, is explained by Paine

*The amalgamation of Buddhism and Confucian philosophy

centuries with almost

as

. .

most apparent in landscape paintings. Art embodying

this philoso-

phy of nature gave to every selected detail a pre-estabUshed value.

Indestructible mountain ranges weather out the everchanging seasons. Man is depicted as one who searches for, finds, and fills himself
with natural purity. Mountain, tree and man bear a definite proportion. Atmosphere is used to suggest by shifting areas of mist a sense
of distance so extensive in height and width that what first seems
a naturalistic panorama becomes a cosmic view, pulsating with the
energy of Hfe

itself.

The beauty

of nature thus intellectually con-

ceived reflects the profundity of Chinese thought about nature by

the measure of ideal forms.

The

tradition

is

as distinctive a con-

tribution to art history as the ideal proportions with

which the

Greeks represented the physique of man. '^

It is

again interesting to try to isolate the specifically Japanese

quality in such a painting. Perhaps

it is

too clear-cut;

it is

little

mannerism creeping in much as they

do in inflated Ming dynasty landscapes in the Sung style. The brushwork is impeccable. Depth and atmospheric effects are all perfectly
worked out, but an indefinable lack of reahty produces a dream-like
quality which is not so evident in Sung landscapes.
too 'pat', with elements of

156

R. T. Paine and A. Soper, The Art and Architecture ofJapan (London 1955),

p. 82.

The

greatest artist of the period

who went

Sesshu (1420- 1 506)

(1468-69) where,

it is

said,

to

was certainly a priest named

China in the mid-Ming period

Sesshu

he was so successful that he was offered

the headship of a great Chinese monastery. Chinese academic paint-

ing at this time was suffering from exhaustion and lack of inspiration,

and Sesshu with

new

to offer

his

powerful brushwork had indeed something

even to the Chinese. In the

first

place he

knew what

and therefore he had no

work. By the time that Sesshu was

the Chinese countryside really looked like

need

to

reproduce from others'

was of course thoroughly familiar with the long landscape

from similar paintings of the Sung dynasty. The Japanese

active he
scroll

were

also familiar with the scroll

scrolls

of the

Kamakura

format from the splendid painted

period, in long passages of which landscapes

and deeds of monks. Two

such scrolls completely in the Chinese manner have survived from
Sesshu: the 'Longer Landscape Scroll' which, in all, is about fiftytwo feet in length, and the 'Landscape of the Four Seasons', of
which the 'Winter Landscape' is here given as an illustration. The
reproduction of only a single section can hardly be expected to do
justice to the sustained inspiration and the variations in mood which
an artist can depict within a scroll. As has often been pointed out,
such landscape scrolls differ from Western landscape painting in
that they add the time element to the art of painting. The work is
entirely Chinese in inspiration, and it would be difficult to distinguish it from a Chinese painting were it not for its very clear-cut,
powerful brushwork and the tendency to schematization in the
background mountains. The Japanese have a hking for minute
observation of small details and for assembhng them into a large
unit. The Chinese, however, tend rather to look at nature and
synthesize. The Japanese approach in most cases is more intimate
for that reason, and consequently the grandeur of Chinese landscape
form the background

is

to stories of the lives

plate

p. 117

often reduced. In the stark scene of his 'Winter Landscape'

Sesshu seems to have tried deUberately to simplify nature with a

few jagged brush-strokes.

The

scene he paints

is

the depth of winter with

its

sharp contrasts

of black and white, a world in which the snow throws everything

into stark relief expressed in clear outlines

and

silhouettes.

This

is

a
157

world in which a bowed figure slowJy makes

skeletal

its

way towards

the snow-covered roofs of a distant village. Here Sesshu has pushed

the Chinese style to

its

limit

by thickening the ink and emphasizing

the line to a degree never attempted by the Chinese.

runs through

vitality

it,

as

it

nervous

much of the most

Chinese monochrome ink styles.

does through

Japanese of Japanese painting in

Above all, the softness of the Sung prototype has been ruthlessly cut
away and the weakness of the Ming traditionahsts injected with new
virihty amounting almost to violence. The trap into which many
Japanese painters

fell

power.

It is

for artistic

was that of mistaking technical ability

a style which is only too easy to follow but

at the risk of sacrificing the qualities

which save

it

from sentimen-

on the one hand and technical exhibitionism on the other.

However, Sesshu, unlike many of his contemporaries, was not an
artistic snob in that he would only paint Chinese landscapes, real
tality

or imaginary.

He was

a true Japanese in his appreciation of the

countryside of his native land

first

oddly enough, he was one of the

painters to realize that one could legitimately apply the lessons

of Chinese

monochrome painting

to the

land of his birth.

Sesshu's 'Ama-no-Hashidate', one of the 'Three Scenic Beauty Spots

PLATE

p. ii8

of Japan' in the plate on page ii8

is

of the favourite places in the Japanese islands, typical in

volcanic

hills,

covered with

soft vegetation,

one explored and frequented for

its

up of one
its rounded

a view from high

and

little inlets,

delicate beauty.

each

Such land-

scapes have the compressed quality of a Japanese garden in the

same way that the English countryside so often looks like a park
where nature has been artfully improved on. The three planes are
skilfully

connected by the water with

scale has

curbed the boldness of his

line

of summer covers the background in

to

its

busy

traffic.

The

small

and the steamy atmosphere

soft tones.

The

eye

is

tempted

climb the mountain path up towards the hamlet clustering in the

crown of its summit. To add interest the artist names the important
temples and shrines. Scholars have proved that he painted this,
perhaps a sketch for a
eighty.

One

feels that it

in the grandest

158

final version since lost,

when he was over

could well be only a section of a long

manner recording a journey down

scroll

the coast ofJapan.

Plate 45 - Short-sleeved robe (kosode). Decorated with design of bamboo on a white and purple
background. Daihiko Senshu Bijutsu Kenkyujo, Tokyo. Height 144.9 cm. Cf. p. 180.

159

i6o

Plate 46 - Namban-byobu ('Southern Barbarian' screen). Arrival of a Portuguese ship

and welcoming of a group of Jesuits. Anonymous. 17th cent. 154.2 X 565.2 cm. Kobayashi
Collection, Tokyo. Cf. p. lyg.

161

^n

Plate 47 - Decorated or painted Karatsu-ware jar. Early 17th

162

cent. Cf. p. 182.

Plate 48 -Typical raku-warc tea-bowl. i6th-i7th

cents. Cf.p.igi.

163

\.5;-lit^;ii^1^gS^iaic5:UA^

j\^.^\:t

Plate 49- One of a pair of screens, 'Sekiya' ('The Barrier Hut') by Tawaraya Sotatsu (active c.
1596-1623). Colour on paper. Early 17th cent, jjy x 263 cm. Seikado Foundation, Tokyo. Cf. p. ig6.

164

Plate 50

One of a pair of folding screens, 'Red and White

Colour on gold paper. Each

screen

Plum-trees' by Ogata Korin 1658

166 x iy2 cm. Atami Aiuseum, Shizuoka. Cf. p. i()8.
(

716).

165

Plate 51 - Sliding door with landscape painted in ink on paper (?) by Yosa Buson (1716-83).
Aluseum of Eastern Art, Cologne. Cf. p. igg.

166

One

cannot leave Sesshu without mention of one of the greatest ink

landscapes produced by the whole Far Eastern ink tradition: his

*Haboku' or ^Splashed Ink' Landscape in the Tokyo National

seum. Here the

p. 135

Mu-

has dispensed with the strong outlines he used

artist

more familiar landscape

in his

plate

style

a few seemingly hasty splashes

and washes of ink in various tones appear to explode like a shellburst

into a misty landscape with trees, huts and towering mountains in
the background.

No twentieth-century artist ever abstracted

the ele-

ments of landscape more completely.

The technique

is

Chinese in origin and one which had been de-

was much favoured by the Zen

painters because it enabled them to illustrate in brush and ink the
kind of process which might lead to spiritual enlightenment. There
veloping from the T'ang dynasty.

is

It

an element of magic in such apparently spontaneous creativeness

and the seeming simpHcity

and frugahty of the means made an irresistible appeal. The compo-

which appealed

way it plays off the violent foreground against

calm, almost hidden mountains. The tiny figure in the boat

sition

the

to their philosophy,

is

masterly in the

provides an important key to the scale and introduces a telling

human

element. This technique

convincingly. It

good

is

is

extremely

stayed there, but he recorded

been able

had very little

contemporaries in China

interesting to note that Sesshu

to say of the artistic talents of his

when he

achieve

difficult to

how

grateful he

at least to learn this particular technique.

was

The

to

have

result

is

both expressionistic and highly dramatic. In the direction of these

two qualities

lies

the Japanese contribution to ink painting.

nervous brush of the Japanese painter adds

which

is

Japanese
skill

It is

this explosive ingredient

rarely found in Chinese painting; but the

is

to

overdo

it

and enjoy the technique

which perhaps belongs more

perhaps unfair

to

for

to calligraphy

is

certainly

one of the

Japanese painting who both embodies many of the

of his

own

foot in

two different worlds and worked

time and anticipates those that

was beginning

danger

its

own

for the

sake

than to painting.

reproduce in a survey of this scope four works

by one master, but Sesshu

artist

The

to appreciate this

at a

artistic giants
artistic

of

elements

came later. He had a

time wnen the Japanese

ambivalence.

He was

con-

.67

scious of the innovations of the age, of the achievements of

but also of the

his

call

of his

own

He knew

heritage.

Chinese contemporaries in their

own

field

China

he could surpass

and

at the

same time

awaken his countrymen to the beauties of their own landscape. He

was never timid and a stirring boldness runs through his works,
all of which carry the stamp of individuality and confidence.
His
art is securely rooted in the traditions of China but it breathes the
spirit

of the Japanese temperament.

A small painting done in the wake of Sesshu develops

Sesson

the ink tradi-

end of the period. Sesson (1504-f. 1589) lived and

worked away from the main artistic centre of Kyoto. His powerful
tion as seen at the

'Storm on the Coast' exploits fully the powerful economy possible

PLATE

p. 136

in ink painting but

its

adds an atmosphere and movement which in

violence is rare in Chinese painting.

the fury of the elements

more than the Chinese.

fragile sails runs before the

across the scene, angry

the rocks.

The whole

from top right

boat and hut

mined

to

He seems to have appreciated

wind. Swathes of rain

waves reach out

direction of the

bottom

and

left

all

puny boat with

and light sweep

dash themselves against

to

movement

the elements

is

in a diagonal
trees,

brace themselves in different ways but

to withstand the onslaught. This

is

bamboo,
all

deter-

not an intellectual land-

scape studied from the Chinese but a personal experience dramati-

down with

and assured technique.

It is not a very far step from the work of Sesshu and Mincho to that
of the 'Three Amis', No-ami 1 397-1 47 1 ) his son Gei-ami ( 1 43 1 -95)
and his grandson So-ami (i 472-1 525), whom we mentioned as the
author of the catalogue of Ashikaga paintings. So-ami was enamoured of the landscape painters of South China. These men
painted quiet, misty landscapes in which the outlines are softened
by haze and cloud. It was a type of scenery more familiar to the
Japanese and met with a ready response. The landscape in the
plate on page 137 once formed part of some sliding doors and
cally set

consistent vision

So-ami

PLATE

p. 137

was only

remounted

later

as a

hanging

South Chinese inspiration, with wing-like

168

hills

It is

of classical

reaching out into

and with banks of mist effecting the transition from

middle distance and then to background. The eye

the central area

foreground to

scroll.

is

led effortlessly to follow the receding landscape.

and

travellers

around a settlement

emerges from the pines. In

much

extol the rustic

few peasants

life,

a temple

of the work of the 'Three Amis' the

brushwork is forced and the rhythms too consciously formulated, but

here So-ami has produced a genuinely atmospheric scene painted

with gentle

The

sensitivity.

Even the

size

has not ruined the touch.

Zen-inspired landscapes of the period constitute one of the

peaks of Japanese painting. As the period progressed the religious

inspiration tended to disappear, yielding to the ever strong Japanese

Kano school
until, as we shall

sense of decoration. This took place in the works of the

which increasingly dominated the

Tokugawa

artistic

scene

Kano

school

became the 'official school',

patronized by the court and by all who had cultural aspirations.
The founder of the school was Kano Masanobu [c. 1435- 1530), a
contemporary of Sesshu, and the fortunes of the school were firmly
established by Kan5 Motonobu (i 476-1 559). The family produced
generation after generation of able painters
some genuine members of the family and some, in good Eastern fashion, promising
see later in the

period,

it

apprentices adopted in order to keep the family

From

the

first

the

members of the Kano

name

alive.

school were not priests

and

therefore felt themselves free to dispense with the religious content.

However, the Buddhist element was often displaced by a Confucian

morahzing element which reflects the popularity of Confucian
thought following

its

to carry out large-scale decorations

The

'Stork

The Kano were called on

of rooms in the new palaces.

victory in China.

on a Branch'

in the plate

on page

13 8

is

one of forty-nine

plate

p.

138

'Landscapes with Flowers and Birds' which Motonobu did to

was painted on a
fusuma or sHding screen and has now been mounted as a hanging
decorate the Reiun-in, a temple in Kyoto.

scroll to protect

The

It

it.

painting has no great pretensions or religious overtones.

elegant bird perches on a gnarled pine-branch over water.

decorative waves beneath

him and

the mist are intended to suggest

the lonely space beyond, but in a facile

Sung landscapes.

A soft
A few

way compared with Chinese

All the elements are thoroughly familiar from

Chinese painting, not

to say cliches,

and the genuine depth of

169

feeling has disappeared.

The

painter does not approach his subject

with humility but, as a decorator should, with boldness and confidence.

aim

is

He

works from the outside rather than from the inside; the

purely decorative, demanding clarity of expression rather than

subtlety of emotion. Stylization takes the place of inner

must judge

life.

One

type of painting by completely different standards

this

from those of Chinese painting. In

its

genre

it

ranks

world's most striking and artistic forms of decoration.

among
One is

the
ex-

pected to appreciate the power of brushwork and the boldness of

conception.

The Japanese admire

the sense of daring in such works,

the expression of a powerful personality and the

way

in

which

such a painting dominates the room.

The Japanese

gift for

the Disciple of the

PLATE

p. 139

portraiture

Buddha known

was continued
as

Yuima

in the portrait of

(Sanskrit: Vimalakirti),

and Japanese painting. Yuima,

was a lay follower of the Buddha
and is often depicted in religious

a popular theme for both Chinese

according to Buddhist tradition,

who

become a

refused to

priest

argument with the Bodhisattva Monju (Manjushri). In

this instance

a priest ordered a religious painter of the Daitoku-ji, Kyoto, to

who had
century), who

paint the portrait of the saint in the image of his father,

Bunsei

been a samurai

was

also

famed

The

painter was Bunsei (mid- 15th

for his landscapes in the Chinese style; the

work

dated 1457. Many portraits of Zen priests have survived, but most
of them follow a somewhat rigid pattern in which the prelate is

is

shown seated
store

stiffly

by icons and

was a popular

on a large

chair. Since the

Zen

sect set little

religious illustrations, this type of portraiture

outlet for artistic talents. This figure of

Zen

Yuima

is

power and freedom. Its

vigorous animation is typically Japanese, and the heavy outlines of
the robes reveal the Japanese brush as unmistakably as they do
in the many imaginary portraits of Bodhidharma. Seldom has a
Japanese artist succeeded so well in blending naturalism and idealism. Its effect comes from a combination of virility, solemnity and
quite unlike the formal

simplicity in composition

portraits in

its

combined with

faultless

brushwork. The

Japanese developed the dramatic feeling in such portraits in a most

personal way.

170

The Zen

had a considerable effect on the art of tea, or the

tea ceremony as it is known. Tea was introduced by Chinese
monks^ and their Japanese colleagues found it had qualities as a
mild stimulant which isuited the life of the monk. It was said to
beliefs

TEA CEREMONY

induce harmony, reverence, purity and tranquillity, the essential

ingredients of the priestly community. Hardly a building could be

made without
its

its

tea

room

small,

tasteful

and

austere, with all

decoration and construction conducive to meditation. There

differences of rank
artistic

was

appreciation

levelled, intellectual talk

the

order.

The

tea-bowls

encouraged and
themselves

are

powerful in their simplicity, never far removed from the clay of

which they are made and often showing the marks of potters' hands.

The

other implements and accoutrements are chosen to set each

other off; a fine piece of

silk,

a humble iron pot. At

sophisticated primitiveness has an evocative

tea-masters were sensitive arbiters of taste.

At

charm and

most contrived ceremonies on earth. Certainly

appreciadon in Japan of quiet good
for a

to

moment on

taste,

worst

its

it

it is

the early

one of the

has stimulated an

encouraged

the qualities of even the most

best this

its

men

to

dwell

humble object and

ponder on the essence of beauty.

171

VIII.

Rise of warrior class

THE MOMOYAMA PERIOD

(1568-1615)

many changes in Japanese society.

During the long wars there rose to power a new class of warriors,
men of much humbler origin than those who had hitherto ruled the
The Ashikaga period

witnessed

country. Distinguished by their military prowess, they displaced the

and made themselves masters of large areas. For the

first time ability rather than heredity became the essential criterion
for high office. The new rulers built up their following by a mixture
of fair government and firm discipline enforced through harsh
punishment of those who infringed their will. The recipe was much
the same as that of the early Kamakura leaders. Their fair treatment
of the peasants won for them the support of this class of Japanese
society, which had hitherto suffered badly at the hands of all who
held sway over them. This was a new element in Japanese politics.
The new warrior class built themselves huge castles, sometimes
seven storeys high, which rose gracefully from massive curving stone
walls. It is a proof of the ingrained love of learning and the arts in
older families

FIG.

56

the East that these rough warriors, without the benefits of heredi-

tary culture, immediately strove to

make

these places centres of

welcoming poets and often employing resident artists.

Those among them who engaged in the China trade were particuculture,

larly interested in the arts

and

as a result

hitherto the only place in Japan

Nohunaga

which enjoyed a

less

than

full artistic life.

The man who inaugurated the Momoyama period was typical of

the new leaders. Oda Nobunaga (1534-82) came from a family
which had been

relatively obscure in the fifteenth century.

only twenty

when he became head

his position

was strongly disputed. But by 1559

determination

made him

of his family in

He was

55 1 and at

his

The

first

courage and

the unchallenged leader of his clan

master of Echizen province.

172

Kyoto became

and

following year he defeated his

and neighbour Imagawa, and was well placed geographically to control Ky6t5, which was situated immediately across
the waist of the country. Nobunaga strengthened his position by
marriage and warfare; in this he was well supported by two able
generals, Tokugawa leyasu and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who were
destined to carry on his work. It was not long before the enfeebled
Ashikaga Shogun Yoshiaki, hard-pressed by the insubordinate
warriors around him, called on Nobunaga for support. He responded promptly and restored Yoshiaki to power. Nobunaga first respected or pretended to respect the shogun and the emperor alike
but Yoshiaki, thinking perhaps that he was only another upstart,
proved unreUable; in 1573 Nobunaga took the logical step and
deposed him. Indeed, once a new leader with sufficient power
emerged the Ashikaga were superfluous.
Nobunaga then proceeded to crush any actual or potential challengers, and this he did with a ruthlessness that was severe even by
nearest rival

Japanese standards of the day.

fellow barons

set

about the task of bringing his

under control and put down the war-like monks in

the temple strongholds of

Osaka proved

He

to

Mount

be the most

Hiei and other places. Those at

difficult to

subdue and only acknow-

ledged defeat after a ten-year siege. Nobunaga was finally

assassi-

nated by a discontented general in 1582, leaving his lieutenant,

Hideyoshi, to complete his work.

The

latter

overwhelmed the south

Hideyoshi

of Kyushu Island by 1587 and the undisciplined north by 1590.

Further resistance seemed useless.
Hideyoshi, the 'Napoleon of Japan', died in 1598 and the
seventeen years of the

Tokugawa

Momoyama

period were taken up with

leyasu's struggle to inherit the seat of power

and organize

the country so that he and his successors could keep possession

The Momoyama

period lasted

less

last

than half a century but

it

of" it.

laid

modern Japan and paved the way for two hunyears of peace in the ensuing Tokugawa period.

the foundations of

dred and

fifty

Having achieved supreme power, Hideyoshi was faced with the

problem of occupying his armies, which had numbered as many
as a quarter of a milhon men. He chose a programme of foreign

173

adventure.

The

trade with China had

shown how much

profit there

was to be had from that country, and Hideyoshi even contemplated

an attack on the mainland. The Ming dynasty was now in decline,
and collapsed half a century later in 1 644. But his choice fell on
Korea, which he invaded in 1592 and 1597-8. The second campaign
was cut short by Hideyoshi's death in 1598 and Tokugawa leyasu
took over. The campaigns were an almost total failure.
Castle-building

The Momoyama or Teach Hill' period is named after a castle of

that name which Hideyoshi built in 1593. Another of Nobunaga's
castles situated

on the shores of beautiful Lake Biwa near Kyoto was

The largest, which Hideyoshi

The best known is the Shirasagi

destroyed in 1582 after his death.

built at Osaka, perished in 161 5.
FIG.

56

or 'White Heron' castle at Himeji, which has recently been restored

it is

also

one of the most graceful.

It

dates to the end of the sixteenth

century and was expanded in 1608-9.

rises

about 100

feet

^ large seven-storeyed

on granite walls with smaller

tower

four- or five-sto-

reyed keeps, a unique combination of the elegance and strength which

often provide the

main

ately such castles

ingredients of all

Momoyama art.

were rapidly made obsolete

Unfortun-

as military strong-

holds by the firearms introduced by the Portuguese,

who

at this

time were beginning to enter Japan as missionaries.

PAINTING

Nevertheless these castles provided the setting and set the tone for
the period.

The warlords spared no expense

their interiors with

an

art of splendid

to lighten

and brighten

buoyancy and brilhance

decorative art which has no equal. Like

many

parvenus, these

lives.

The

men

the

add to their spoils all the rewards of power

luxuries of elegant living and art to match their colourful and
were determined

to

gusto of their age

is

vivid

reflected in a restless seeking for

invention and originality such as one finds in Italy during the early
sixteenth century. But whereas the

ments of naturalism
Japanese were

to

human

figure

some extent held Western

free to

and the require-

artists in

check, the

experiment with form and colour almost

without restraint. Only a tree or some other object from nature

provide any kind of reference to reality.
Eitoku

174

Kano Eitoku

(1543-90), grandson of Motonobu, was the spokesman

of

^modern period' in Japanese

this early

art;

it

was he

whom

'

r
FIG.

56 - Shirasagi

{^

White HerorC) Castle, Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture. Cf. p. 172.

Nobunaga and Hideyoshi chose

decorate their

to

new

castles.

Eitoku contributed the sUding screens to the Juraku Palace, the

Mansion of Pleasure', a building of unrivalled magnificence constructed in Kyoto by Hideyoshi in 1587. In 1591 he gave this to his
nephew and with a reported fifty thousand men built in a mere

two months the Palace of Peace at

of Kyoto.

The

builders landscaped

Momoyama, Teach
it

of the time were ordered to decorate

of the

men

of learning and letters

Hill',

south

in a park; the greatest artists

it

and provide a

setting

worthy

whom Hideyoshi gathered around

The palace perished by earthquake and fire not long after his
death. The workmen who had created and decorated it dispersed
to spread the new decorative ideals in many other centres.
him.

Much

of Eitoku's work has been

form a complete view of

lost

and

his contribution.

it is

therefore difficult to

However, the screen

in

175

PLATE

P. 140,

the plate on page 140 shows his style fully formed.

design

this brilliant

snake-like

arm

The

pivot of

a huge gnarled tree-trunk from which one

is

reaches out to touch and hold the farthest panel.

deep blue sea with rocks and thick banks of billowing clouds,

cleverly arranged

to

throw the aged tree into sharp contrast,

complete a powerful composition which can have few parallels in

Only a few leaves are shown, not enough to

break up the bold outlines. With its bold verticals and horizontals
the art of decoration.

the composition has a simple basis.

suited to the character of the

afford
taste.

the

new

The

taste

is

frankly bombastic,

who

rulers of Japan

could not

and were not in sympathy with the refinement of Ashikaga

Such art is a declared intention to improve on nature, to gild

lily.

It

attempts to bring the elements of landscape into the

way as to overwhelm the spectator. An important element of modern Japanese design shows itself
in the manner in which the landscape deliberately flows over the
edge of the screen as if unwilling to recognize any restraint. The

interior of the house in such a bold

Far Eastern

artists'

here finds a

new formula which owes nothing

ancient appeal to the spectator's imagination

to

Chinese or Zen

sensibilities.
Miniature objects

Such screens provide in

and nature which

their grandest

lies at

the root of

form the combination of art

much

later

Japanese

art,

from

a tea-bowl to a flower arrangement, from a colour-print to a garden.

The miniature

objects

which are a constant source of delight spring

from the same combination

gold on black in the lacquer,

precious metals on base metals in a sword-guard.

artistic sense

impUed and
their

brilliant

The Japanese

turned away from the discreet and subdued, from the

evocative, as if in revolt against the Chinese masters

and

Japanese pupils. Colour and design became lavish and ex-

plicit.

made

Vivid contrasts were expected and indeed

One wonders

if

they were not influenced by the

period which had steadily become bolder and

the impact.

textiles

of the

more eye-catching

(seepage 179).

At the same time, technical changes were essential to deal with the
new scale on which the artists were working. We hear that Eitoku
used a brush

176

made of straw in order to

achieve the strength of brush-

work he sought, much

as

some modern

calligraphers do. But even

in this highly individual style the elements

were not unfamihar.

blue-and-gold style had been famiUar since the Chinese T'ang era

and was used by

Ming

late

artists for their

more

mellifluous works.

The Ming dynasty itself was a period of architectural grandiloquence

when artists were expected to match the grandiose architecture
with decorations of equal stature. But in painting

(as

opposed

to

craftwork) the Chinese never solved the problem of how to use their

deUcate implements on the grand

so

whereas the Japanese did

scale,

with tremendous energy and panache. Yashiro thinks that

*there
art'

must have been some decisive influence from Spanish Baroque

but

it is

very

difficult to

imagine that the Japanese could have

seen any Western Baroque on the grand scale.

new style were indeed

The elements

of the

already assembled in Japan and only awaited

and encouragement to be Uberated. The Japanese decorators awoke to the possibilities inherent in the scale they were asked
to exploit. The confidence of these artists is often startling and quite
the setting

The snobbism that demanded slavish

imitation of things Chinese was swept away. The recherche atmosphere
of Ashikaga faded out before the swagger of Nobunaga and his

rivalled that of their masters.

successors.

Occasionally an

artist

gifted

enough

to preserve

something of

new meaning in a modern Japanese conSuch was Hasegawa Tohaku (i 539-1610). He admired Sesshu

Chinese taste and give

text.

was
it

and even fought a court case

to establish his right to style himself

'Sesshu the Fifth'. In the plate on page 141

from pine-trees

in the

morning

mist.

The

The

soft

brown ink fading

such a scene without

loss

landscape
is

is

a screen

of the
lies

PLATE

p. 141

essentially

the true successor of

into the paper, the reliance

and atmosphere, the simplicity

the elements of drama. Tohaku's genius

tonality

Tohaku makes

soft

Japanese. In his love of his native land he

Sesshu.

Tohaku

composition have

on
all

in his ability to enlarge

of sensibility and without the composition

falling apart, leaving large areas of plain vacuity.

The Japanese,

with their concentration on technique, often push a means to the

extreme without knowing where to stop. Tohaku succeeds through

the lyrical quality of his vision.

The

subject

would not seem

to lend

'77

the grandeur

itself to

and

brilliance

which the atmosphere of the

time demanded, but Tohaku appeals to the romantic longing for

and harmony in the Japanese temperament. He had

learned from Chinese painting how to represent the nobility and

simplicity

statuesque quality of pine-trees, so important in

Far Eastern

all

and give them an atmosphere of cool, mist-shrouded elegance and strength. He had also learned from Chinese painting
how to leave out unnecessary details. Each screen is skilfully varied
the trees have an almost human presence. No gaudy colours distract
the eye; no complicated intertwinings flatter the senses. The austerity is softened, the pretentious rejected. Here once again empty
spaces have the significance which they do in the best Sung Chinese
masterpieces of landscape, with their elusive quality of unspoken
solitude. Nothing could be further from the improvement on nature
painting,

of Eitoku.

The

robustness associated with

power

absent. Tohaku's

early

to

evoke and

reflect the

art

mood

is

totally

of a cool

morning before sun and wind disperse the mists make

painting one of the most haunting of

Christianity

Momoyama

all

landscapes.

much concerned

Hitherto, the story of Japanese art has been

the Buddhist faith. Yet another of the world's great religions

at first,

Christianity. However,

Japan
was to be

to reach

short-lived. It

Jesuit missionaries

this

its

success,

with

had

though great

reached Japan through Portuguese

notably Francis Xavier in the middle of the

sixteenth century at the very

end of the Ashikaga period. The early

and the future looked promising.

When Nobunaga came to power a number of military men and simple people adopted the faith. Nobunaga met one of the early missionpossibly because he
aries and seemed well disposed towards him
disliked the Buddhists whose political ambitions had given him
such trouble. Thus during his reign of thirteen years he supported and protected the Christians. Churches were built and the
number of the faithful increased quite rapidly, a success which owed
missionaries were well received

much

to the

decadence of most of the Buddhist

number of important

lords adopted the faith

sincere in their convictions.

foreign customs, began to

178

sects of the time.

and showed themselves

The Japanese, always

curious about

wear European decorative

objects, and

European Christian motifs began to find their way into the arts,
even on the armour of the warriors.
Of course, the most far-reaching Western innovation which the
Portuguese brought with them was firearms. In a country quick to
appreciate the value of a weapon which gave such an advantage
they were soon adopted and led to the destruction of
resses of the

many

fort-

time which were defenceless against them.

The most interesting

effect left

by the Portuguese strangers on Japa-

nese art can be seen in a series of screens called

Namban or 'Southern

Barbarian' screens which show the dress and behaviour of the

The format

foreigners.

is

completely Japanese but the figures are

'Southern Barbarian^
screens

PLATE

p.

60

European and telHngly portrayed. The Japanese artists seem to

have enjoyed the opportunity for portraiture presented by the strong
features and strange dress of the missionaries. Though Western
habits often disgusted them, they enjoyed painting genre scenes of
in

Japan

of the settlements

made

Portuguese

Japan and

life

their ability to bring out the

atmosphere

work highly sought

both inside

their

in far-off Portugal, whither they

after

were taken by Portu -

guese ships.

We know

nothing of the

artists

who

painted these screens some of

;

them may have received their training in Christian seminaries.

Some of the paintings which are quite closely inspired by Western
originals, of which a few exist, probably came from Western
illustrated books. However, after only fifty years the wind of
persecution began to blow and the influence of Western Christian
art was abruptly cut short (see Chapter ix)
There is one sphere of art we have not hitherto touched on in this
book: textiles and costume. From earUest times the Japanese have
been fascinated by materials and their decoration
perhaps far
more so than the Chinese. Naturally, following the cultural domi-

TEXTILES AND

COSTUME

nance of China, Chinese

from the

styles

were

at times popular, especially

sixth to the eighth centuries, but in Japan upper-class dress

has always presented more opportunities for variety and change of

fashion than in China, where court fashion, for instance, seems to

have been

The

fairly

slow to change and very circumscribed by etiquette.

twelve-layered dress of the ladies at the Fujiwara court must

179

have been breathtaking. The Japanese explored very

of decorating

textiles

many methods

not only embroidery and brocades but

dyeing by a number of methods, painting, applied gold leaf or gold

dust on wet lacquer

and then

in combinations of various techniques

much

the techniques which give Japanese

to give variety.
Textile design

However,

is

it

not so

textiles their originality as their

approach

to design.

The Japanese

kimono is fundamentally very simple in cut and has changed

little. The effect comes from the design itself. The textile designers
often looked on a robe as a total area to be decorated rather than as
a piece of material which they then intended to make up into a robe.
especially when
The total effect was uppermost in their minds
designing robes for stage performances. It was part of Hideyoshi's
plan to encourage the arts and crafts and he brought back and
settled in the Nishijin area of Kyoto weavers who had fled in earlier
dress or

times. Nishijin has kept

its

foremost place in the silk-weaving in-

dustry ever since.

The

styles

of

Momoyama

were a blend of many elements

Ming

grandiose style incorporating rich materials or precious metals,

Muromachi

refinement, even European and Indian textiles.

The

most powerful impulse came from the Kano painted screens with

and colour and the strong lines of painting.

In fact, the designers of robes seem to have treated their textiles as
a European painter would a canvas.
As with the screens, one is immediately impressed with the sense of
daring and unconventionality in all these designs. The genius of
the Japanese lies in their ability to harmonize what would at first
appear to be impossible designs or colours. A robe divided into two
parts vertically would in the West belong to a clown. In Japan it is
a masterpiece of design, overwhelming in its resplendence, dignity
and originality. It is an art of contrasts
colour and plain, crowded
and sparse, shining and dull, light and dark, delicate and bold,
geometrical and natural forms, simple and complicated.
The robe in the plate on page 159 belonged to Tokugawa leyasu,
for it bears his mon or crest on the shoulders; he gave it to a troupe
of No actors. The colours are an unusual combination of geometritheir bold areas of gold

PLATE

180

p. 159

cal

and natural forms and the asymmetry of

the design together with the richness of the

material

itself

must have created a dazzling

of the stage.

effect in the lights

remember

One must

that everything about the action

of Japanese stage performances

is

and

strong

The actors needed powerful robes

match. The dyeing of material reached

impressive.
to

great heights.

One

particular technique re-

quires mention: the tsuji-ga-hana

method by

which the colour was tie-dyed by stitching

and the outlines added in ink. The actual
family crests were in themselves most decorative

and were used

time onwards. Even used boldly and

this

From

alone they are a most satisfying design.

the

from

to great effect

Momoyama

of the unity of
textiles,

for

period onwards the concept

all

the arts

eminent

reinforced

is

by

would devote

artists

themselves to the design of robes. Each robe

was an original creation by an

artist

and

The balance
of forms and colours is very modern to Western
not an oft-repeated craft work.

eyes.

robe such as

intended to raise

its

this

is

showpiece

wearer out of the hum-

drum world

of reality. If the screen-painter

was allowed

to gild the

lily,

how much more

would the dressmaker be encouraged

the

human

figure.

This

is

to

adorn

not the restrained

Figs. 57 to 59 - Family crests (mon) of Nobunagay

Hideyoshi and leyasu. CJ. above.

181

taste

which we associate with Japan but the opposite extreme which

one must accept in the Japanese

spirit, as

a violent outburst after

restraint.

POTTERY

With the Momoyama period Japanese ceramics begin to demand

serious consideration. They are quite unlike the accomplished,
technically perfect Chinese wares and have to be appreciated on a
different level. They are far more like the craft works of modern
potters with which we in the West are familiar. Indeed many
modern Western potters have learned much from them. Together
with the Sung Chinese wares they provide the two main sources of
Western ceramic inspiration. The popularity of the tea ceremony
created a large market for the craft potters, who quickly became
individual masters admired for their originality and for the expression of their personality in clay
life

Picasso in one period of

his

presents an obvious parallel. In their expression of personality,

they differ from the thousands of humble

unnamed Chinese

men working with amazing technical precision

crafts-

in the great factories

of China.

One

of the few results of Hideyoshi's Korean campaigns was that

Korean potters who pursued their

craft in Japan. Their influence was particularly strong in the south
of Kyushu Island, where Karatsu ware was produced for about
three hundred years from approximately 1600, and in almost as
many kilns. The products are strong and utilitarian, unlike those
intended for the tea ceremony, but on these everyday objects the
potters often painted in iron oxide designs of great freedom and
vigour, recalling the tz'u-chou ware of Sung China. Pottery in the
style of the Korean Yi dynasty (1392-19 10) began to influence the
old Seto kilns, which in the late sixteenth century for a time moved
to the nearby Mino prefecture. Here they made 'yellow Seto', Shino
and Oribe wares. The first of these had a yellow opaque glaze over
an incised decoration of brown or green. Shino products usually
have a thick white glaze over a brown decoration; a particularly at-

he brought back

Karatsu ware

PLATE

p. 162

Shino ware

as prisoners

tractive grey Shino has a white paste covered with

grey-brown glaze

with an incised decoration which reveals the white paste, after

which the whole

182

is

covered with white glaze.

The

designs in both

^U^
if'i'i:

Plate 52 - Album-leaf *The Convenience of Fishing' by Ike-no-Taiga (1723-76). Ink and

on paper, iy.8 x iy.8 cm.

Y.

Kawabata

Collection,

Kamakura. Cf.

p.

soft

i^

colours

200.

183

Plate 53 -

184

pair of screens, 'Pine-trees in the Snow' by

Maruyama Okyo

(1733-95). Ink,

colours

and gold dust on paper. Each

screen

755 x jjj cm. T. Mitsui

Collection, Tokyo. Cf. p.

201.

85

Plate 54 - Album-leaf ^Autumn Landscape' by Gyokudo

Collection, Tokyo. Cf. p.

186

200.

(i

745-1820). 28. g x 22.2 cm. H. Umezawa

Plate 55 - *Lovers Seated on a Balcony.' Wood-block print

(1725-70),

c.

in chuban format

by Suzuki Harunobu

1766-7. National Museum, Tokyo. Cf. p.^ij.

187

Plate 56 - Kansei-bijin ('Three Beauties of the Kansei Era') Wood-block print by Kitagawa Utamaro
.

( 1

753/4-1806),

188

c.

1792-3. Private

Collection.

Cf.p. 213.

Plate 57 - 'The Actor Segawa Kikunojo in as Ishizu in the play Hana-a-yame Bunroku-s6ga\ by
Toshusai Sharaku (active 1794-5). f^^ivate Collection. Cf. p. 214.

189

Plate 58

Detail

from one of a pair of

by the Kano Master Naonobu (1607-50).

190

screens, "Eight

Views of the Hsiao and Hsiang Rivers"

types have an individual freedom

which

recalls the

dashing designs

of Sung t^u-chou types.

A very individual type is the Oribe ware, called after a late sixteenth-

Oribe ware

century tea-master, Furuta Oribe. In the green Oribe type a deep

green glaze predominates, and the designs tend to be stylized landscapes worked out in geometric forms which

in with the designs

tie

Some even have Christian motifs in their decoration.

Perhaps the best known are the raku wares from a kiln which is said

on
to

fabrics.

have been founded by one of the most

illustrious figures in the

He was

guided by

the most famous of the early tea-masters, Sen-no-Rikyu.

The word

history of Japanese ceramics, Chojiro (1515-92).

raku or 'pleasure'

Hideyoshi

is

comes from a

said to

to sign the pieces,

have given

seal

with

this

character on

to Chojiro's son, Tokei. It

and variations of

The ware,

PLATE

p. 163

which
was used
it

have been used by

this seal

fourteen generations of ra^M-ware potters in the family

present day.

Raku ware

usually simple tea-bowls,

is

down

to the

low-fired

on a

small foot with a black, salmon-coloured or white glaze. Occasionally the colours are

used to form a simple decoration.

It is difficult to

explain the attraction of these bowls with their

irregular shapes

and rough

ceremony

taste.

glazes.

They

are the essence of tea-

Their shapes nestle in the hand and communicate

and personaUty of their makers. They seem to have a

of their own. The green tea in the bottom of the bowls as one

the energy
life

drinks vividly sets off the colours.

cultivated

whatever

are simple yet highly

and have the quality of being able

else

is

to

harmonize with

assembled at the ceremony: a piece of rich brocade

or an iron kettle, a whisk of

They

They

bamboo

look sturdy, yet this impression

or a piece of tatami matting.

is false.

Above

all,

these tea-

ceremony wares have a sculptural quality. Much nonsense is talked

and written about Japanese tea-ceremony wares, and there is a cult
of the antique and ugly which sometimes blinds one to the subtlety
of such pieces; but to appreciate the tea ceremony and the taste

it

stimulated one must understand raku ware.

191

IX.

Growth of

Tokugawa power

The

short

THE TOKUGAWA PERIOD

Momoyama

^^^ which followed

and

(1615-1868)

period was a prelude to the long

in

many respects

it is

Tokugawa

reasonable to consider

By the time that Tokugawa leyasu died in 161

the foundation had been laid for nearly two and a half centuries of
prosperity and peace. After the battle of Sekigahara in 1600 the
Tokugawa plans became clear. The new rulers were determined to
the two together.

increase their military strength to an absolute, unchallengeable

level.

This involved stripping the most powerful lords of their

wealth, which they did with such success that they rapidly amassed
control of a quarter of the national income. This increase in their

personal wealth was

made

easier

by the development of a national

economy stimulated by peace and controlled on a national level.

In 60 1 the Tokugawa began to mint gold and silver coins which
further filled their treasury, although later it became clear that they
did not understand the problems and dangers of modern currency
and its manipulation. The centres of trade were securely under the
control of Tokugawa officials and, despite the rapacity of some of
these appointees, the net gain in wealth was enormous. They even
1

encouraged foreign trade in the early years until they began

to see

the missionaries as a potential military threat.

An

indispensable adjunct of the

possible internal threat,

to destroy

any

whether from the throne, feudal barons,

peasants, artisans or traders.

tary Houses' of

Tokugawa plan was

By

the famous thirteen 'Rules for Mili-

61 5 they exacted unconditional obedience from

the daimyos, the 'Great Lords'. This recipe with

study of literature and the practice of military

its

emphasis on the

arts, frugality,

obedi-

ence and sacrifice has a Chinese Confucian flavour. After the battle
of Osaka in 161 5, in which the supporters of Hideyoshi's descendants

were wiped out, the process of levelling the greatest lords was speeded
up.

The

fiefs

were redistributed with

strategic ends in view.

Some

areas of the greatest importance were placed under the control of the

192

most trusted

families, the 'Inner Lords', while the other areas

who were

the 'Outer Lords',

less.

less

well trusted, were rendered

All were kept under constant surveillance; a system

oped whereby they were required

capital of

Edo

The very expense

harm-

was devel-

to attend personally in the

Tokyo) or

(the present-day

under

new

to leave hostages there.

which they were thereby involved helped

in

to

deprive them of the means of sedition. Their castles were reduced in

numbers and building was closely controlled. Communications were

improved and closely supervised. The throne lost even more power
but at the same time was supported economically. It was left for
ceremonial functions only, but was able to survive two hundred and
fifty

years of humiliation to rise again in 1868.

The

court nobles

lords.

As well

became

less significant

as a highly efficient

themselves with faithful and

ministrators,

the

efficient, if

Tokugawa surrounded

sometimes rapacious, ad-

leyasu's personal reputation stood very high.

emerges as a ruthless and cruel

man

age, the conditions

and the need

Both militarily and

politically

to

army

than the smallest feudal

make long-term

but

it

can be argued

to succeed forced

he was a good

He

leyasu

that, in his

him

strategist,

to

be

so.

prepared

plans and work with single-mindedness towards

the achievement of his ends.

He

himself lived up to the high Con-

and was frugal even to the extent of miserliness.

Building on the work of Nobunaga and Hideyoshi, he was able to
use his strength of will and sound judgement to ensure the continuation of his fine. An admirer of Yoritomo and a man of intense
personal courage, he had a cold and ruthless streak in his character
which does not endear him to history.
One of his greatest problems was the large number of unemployed
samurai now at large in a country that had settled down to peace.

fucian moral code

The

ronin or

'wave men', as they were called, estimated at as

as half a million,

Social problems

many

were often unemployable and formed a constant

source of social and political mischief. Most of

them were denied

the opportunity of using any talents they might have developed in

administration, for example, and they created centres of potential

subversion.

The peasantry

as usual

were harshly burdened but, instead of

193

fleeing to less populated areas, they

now

swelled to excess the popu-

and larger towns. Both they and the

the development of new wealth and served the

lation of the bustling capital

merchants shared in
families that

were forced

to live

under surveillance in Edo. The

merchants in particular enriched themselves and eventually emerged

as the

most powerful

which served

as

ble beneath the

Drive against
Christianity

class.

Edo expanded rapidly,

commercial

towns

as did other

centres. Class barriers

tended

to

crum-

impact of the new wealth.

At the beginning of the period the wind seemed

set fair for

a rapid

expansion of international trade, but the Tokugawa rulers soon

began

to fear the influence of foreign missionaries.

informed about the

activities

They were

well

of the missionaries in China and the

Philippines and, like the Chinese emperors of the eighteenth century,

they found the quarrels between Jesuits and Franciscans dis-

tasteful.

The

possibility of discontented feudal lords allying

selves with foreign

powers was a very obvious threat. The

Christian orders of 1611-4 were followed by

more

themanti-

drastic decrees

and 1639, particularly after a rising at Shimabara in

1637-8 which seemed to be inspired by vague Christian ideals.
Here some 37,000 simple people were driven to revolt by economic
hardship but only about one hundred escaped the Tokugawa wrath.
Christianity was then strictly prohibited and the isolation laws
tightened up. Summary execution awaited any Japanese who tried
to leave the country or to return after more than five years' absence.
From 1 64 1 onwards only a few Chinese and a handful of Dutch
were allowed to live in a very closely circumscribed settlement on
Deshima Island near Nagasaki. The Tokugawa felt that it would
be safe to let them stay there in order to pass on medical knowledge
which they thought would be harmless. The martyrdom of the
Japanese Christians furnished some of the blackest pages in religious
persecution
and this at the hands of a people until then singularly
in 1633, 1634

Isolation policy

tolerant in religious matters.

In

this

atmosphere of seclusion Japan shut

itself in

a hothouse where

was forced and inbred. The wealth and energies of a

vigorous, expanding people were spent in pleasure and rich living.
its

culture

The Japanese were denied

194

the satisfactions of intellectual experiment

which the West enjoyed from the seventeenth century onwards and
their efforts

seemed

to

be expended at feverish pace in pleasure and

The new merchant

power and wealth. Even

the economic crises and devaluations of currency seem to have left
them richer. Thus a process which started in the Ashikaga period
continued further until the merchants ended by becoming the
arbiters of taste, patrons of the most Uvely arts and the real holders
the arts.

class

grew

in

of power. Despite strenuous efforts the

Tokugawa

failed to

curb

outward show of this wealth. Edo in particular became a

their

city

where quick fortunes could be made and spent; its working men
became notorious for their gullibility and spendthrift ways. The
hordes of travellers coming to the city to indulge themselves brought

new

riches to shopkeepers

and those who served them. Edo soon

gained a reputation as a boisterous, lawless city of pleasure.

In art the tendencies of the

filled.

Momoyama

period were amply

ful-

distinctive school of decorative painting flowered in the

Edo period which owes

its

PAINTING
Sotatsu

foundation to the genius of Sotatsu. His

predecessor, the calligrapher

and

arbiter of taste Koetsu (1558-

had founded an artistic community at Takagamine in the

outskirts of Kyoto, which served as a centre of singularly modern
type where craftsmen and painters could influence one another's
works. Here S5tatsu mixed with men of talent and taste. Occasionally Koetsu did the calligraphy for paintings by Sotatsu, a combina1632),

tion of effort

We know

China and Japan.

about the Ufe of Sotatsu. He may have come from

which one

little

finds in both

a family of textile dealers or fan-makers and was active from about

owed its origins to decorative paintings of

the Tosa school which had so successfully illustrated tales from
literature and history. Sotatsu sought inspiration from the same
1596 to 1623. His

style

source but treated this only as a stepping-off point for an original

decorative treatment.

The

essence of his style

is

the bold use of

sweeping areas of colour, for which ink also served, in seemingly

simple compositions of nostalgic charm and unerringly effective

work is the epitome of one side of Japanese taste. For

this the rhythms must be carefully controlled, the vigour of execution and sensitivity of conception carefully balanced, and colour

spacing. His

195

used unobtrusively to create a mood. Variations on a theme are

worked out

as in a play, often creating the effect of a tableau enacted

against a sweeping background of colour laid on with a huge brush.

PLATE

p. 164

One

of his most notable achievements

the Sekiya screen, which

is

an incident in the famous Tale of Genji by the eleventhcentury woman novelist Lady Murasaki. According to a passage in
depicts

the novel, early in his career Prince Genji encountered the

Lady

Utsusemi but their romance did not prosper. She subsequently

married a provincial governor and went to
In

this

scene the governor, after a

visit to

back via the famous Osaka frontier

returned from

live in a distant province.

Kyoto, was taking Utsusemi

who had now

Genji,

hill.

was by chance attending a

exile,

service at the

nearby Ishiyama shrine; recognizing who was in the carriage, he

said jestingly to her brother that

was not often that he showed

it

such attentiveness by travelling to the barrier to meet anybody.

When Utsusemi heard

The

this

story has the ingredient of hopeless love

The composition

the Japanese.

colours simplified
is

a time

and place and

effective

like a setting for

way

all

an unseen lady

sits,

In

to

is

if

Sotatsu has

little

and half in jest.

appreciate the situation and are a

role outside, half serious

static

this

it is

unexpected meeting.

movement and

presses

an element of power and action

bodies of carriage and prince. Very cleverly

the animal the link between the two, thereby

furnishing the one element of

In this one decorative scene

sensibility

The back-

her heart beating, afraid to look at her former-

threatening Genji;

made

the

focussed on the closed carriage where

tableau the ox alone has a sense of

between the two

life

carefully balanced.

perturbed by the implications of

forward as

to its essentials,

evoke an atmosphere. In a peculiarly

senses that the few retainers

this

which always moves

a stage play, carefully contrived to suggest

attention

love playing a gallant

little

reduced

is

and the diagonals

ground

One

she was deeply touched by old memories.

combined.

It is as

dynamism

many

the composition requires.

elements of Japanese taste and

conventionalized as

and as restrained as one aspect of its

much

social mores.

of Japanese

Most important,

the barrier at the pass symbolizes the obstacles between the two

former lovers and subtly suggests the dangers involved in passing

196

it.

One

needed, of course, a knowledge of literature to enjoy such a

picture to the

full.

To understand much

of Japanese art one must

appreciate the understatement and the subtlety of suggestion, the

restraint

The

and the formality which hedge human

decorative tendencies of the

Edo period

relations.

stimulated by Sotatsu

and are summarized in the

art of the period 1680-1730/40, generally known by the name of a
period within it as the Genroku period (i 688-1 703). These years
and

bore

his school

fruit fifty years later

saw the emergence ofa number ofnotable artists in various

fields

Genroku period

who

worked in an atmosphere of wealth adequate to support their activities

and to enable them to enjoy their visual pleasures. Moronobu and
Kiyonobu, the print artists

Kenzan were

Ninsei and

(see

below) were also working at this time.

active in ceramics,

printed textile technique reached

its

and the

brilliant jm^^w

highest peak of development.

Without doubt Ogata K5rin (1658-17 16) was the spokesman of the
age. He was born in 1658, in a family which ran a textile shop,

Korin

whence he obtained a lively acquaintance with design. His family

was wealthy and professionally well connected both with the noble
ruling class and by marriage with the Hon'ami family, to which
belonged S5tatsu and Koetsu, whom we mentioned above. They
supplied members of the Tokugawa shogunate with robes and were
merchant

class

ed daimyos.

among the ranks of the

by lending money to impoverish-

prosperous to count themselves

sufficiently

The

who

rose in society

father of Korin

and

his brother, the potter

Kenzan,

had inherited the family dress concern Karigane-ya. He was himself

a calligrapher and painter in a style which combined the Kano and
Tosa

styles.

He was

keen on the theatre and obviously more

terested in the arts than in business.

to

devote himself to a

life

society. This, together

up

difficulties, built

gave Korin ample money

of pleasure and enjoyment of the arts and

with the accumulated debts of the store,

brought him into financial

forced to take

He

in-

by about 1696 he was

designer of kimono; Kenzan, in equal

difficulties, so that

a career as

a kiln and set up as a manufacturer of ceramics,

a craft he had studied under Ninsei. Korin drew the designs for

many

fig.

63

Thus financial difficulties forced the two

embark upon an artistic career. Korin worked

of his products.

talented brothers to

'97

mostly in Kyoto but for a time (1704-9) tried his fortune in Edo.

However, he was not happy there and returned

ended

his Hfe in

to

Kyoto, where he

poverty but very active.

Without doubt the greatest influence on Korin's

artistic

develop-

ment was the work of Sotatsu, whose compositions he often reinterpreted. He had studied the various other schools
Kano, the
genre work of Itcho, and even the forerunners of the colour-print
movement. Elements of all these diverse stylistic tendencies are
found in the products of this versatile and talented artist. But most
critics regard as his masterpiece, and as representative of his mature
work, the famous pair of screens 'Red and White Plum-trees' in
the Atami Museum. In this bold combination of art and nature,

PLATE

p. 165

gnarled trees put out their spring flowers against a brilliant back-

ground of gold.

swollen stream, swirling in rhythmic curves,

splashed in a soUd area of dark colour

down

the centre of the

is

com-

manner which some Japanese feel

to be almost sinister. Much of the power of the design lies in the
relative naturalism of the trees compared with the flat, vertical and
unnaturalistic stream. The design of the trees themselves is strikingly
position

and dominates

opposed; unlike
tension

many

which gives

it

in a

decorative works, the painting has an inner

it

unusual power and intensity.

It is

pure

decoration in that, apart from the symbolism of plum-trees for

spring-time,

ment
Chinese influence

it

requires

no knowledge of literature but only abandon-

to the rich visual effect of design

Despite the dynamic

new

and

colour.

streams of purely Japanese art in the

Tokugawa period, and the efforts of the new rulers to exclude foreign
influences, Chinese artists continued to make themselves felt. The
type of Chinese painting popular at this time is known in China as
wen-jen painting. It was an art of scholars or cultivated men who
were supposed to pursue painting

as a spare-time occupation, a

means whereby they could express their most lofty spiritual aspirations. This amateur tradition of painting in China was extremely
ancient, having originated in the late T'ang dynasty in approximately the eighth and ninth centuries. The style was known in
Bun-jin painting

Japan

as bun-jin painting,

ters wen-jen.

198

In China

it

from the Japanese reading of the charac-

became involved witn what

is

known

as

^Southern painting', the style developed by

artists

who

lived in the

misty atmospheric world of South China and whose brushwork was

abbreviated.

By

and eighteenth centuries these

two main streams. The first was that of

the seventeenth

had coalesced into

the more conservative scholars who painted in a meticulous style
based on the great masters of the past, especially of the Ming
trends

dynasty.
*canvas',

Their work, often large landscapes

is

filling

the whole

highly detailed and has strong literary overtones.

The

second stream was that of a group of individuaUsts who, though

claiming an equally ancient heritage, dehberately tried to escape

from the heavy weight of tradition and produce something entirely

new

within the tradition. Both streams of painting entered Japan

and were taken up by Japanese painters with enthusiasm.

The bun-jin movement in Japan started about 1 700 and was firmly
established about half a century later. Its

first

great exponents were

Buson

Yosa Buson (1716-83) and Ike-no-Taiga (1723-76). Buson is

equally known as a poet and in fact abandoned painting to devote

Kyoto to literature. The plate on page 166, a landscape painted on a sliding door, shows strong elements of Chinese
Sung and Ming dynasty brushwork in the rocks and trees, allied
with the typical southern mood of mists and intimate communion
with nature. However, the whole workmanship is infused with the
nervous energy of the Japanese brush. As with much Japanese
painting of the time it is somewhat eclectic, taking elements from
various Chinese sources of the Ming and Ch'ing dynasties; a detailed
study would reveal many different sources, which in China might
even conflict. The whole approach is more on the surface than in a
Chinese painting, with a strong appeal to immediate visual effects
and a seeming unwillingness to proceed deeper. It thus tends to be
a little synthetic and dry, but nevertheless as a decoration in Chinese
style it is the work of a sensitive master. Taiga shows in his large and
small works more of the free impressionistic brushwork which is
associated with 'Southern painting'. The plate on page 183 is from
one of his best-known albums, 'The Ten Conveniences and the Ten
Enjoyments of Country Living', of which Taiga did the Conveniences and Buson the Enjoyments
all inspired by poems written
his last years in

pi.ate

p. 166;

199

PLATE

P.

183

by Li Li-weng, a Chinese poet of the

nience of Fishing' has

soft

Nanga

worldliness of the

and bold amusing

colours

evoke the rustic atmosphere.

The

dynasty. This 'Conve-

last

lines

which

paintings extol the carefree other-

or Southern painters and are the outcome

of a semi-serious longing for the simple pleasures of country Uving,

removed from the commitments of a sophisticated way of life.

It is second-hand in that it is the Chinese scholar's dream taken over
by a Japanese. The landscapes are more intimate than their Chinese
counterparts and the basic Japanese tendency to reduce a scene to
far

rhythmic formulae
Gyokudo

is

often visible.

The tendency towards

a freer interpretation of landscape and a

more Japanese style of brushwork

Gyokudo (i 745-1 820). Gyokudo
lord and,

when

seen at

its

best in the

started in the service of a local

and was

Kyoto.
also

He was well-known for

an accomplished musician

his calligraphy

in

Chinese scholar-administrator such as those upon

PLATE

P. 186

elled his Hfe.

page 190

is

The

small landscape from an

typical of his

work and

album

dissolved into a complicated skein of Hght lines

washes.
russet
is

The mountains

are

humpy

and

fact the ideal

whom

he mod-

in the plate

on

takes the Chinese individualist

painters of the eighteenth century one step further.

is

work of

the latter died in 1798, travelled throughout Japan,

finally settling in

poetry,

is

outlines

The landscape

and hasty colour

and seemingly random

washes suggest the foliage of autumn. His unmistakable

style

a combination of lightness and wit, of powerful rhythms expressed

By a simple

and
colour he achieves a mood and an emotion which are unforced and
make this an individual contribution to Far Eastern landscape
painting. Most significant is the proof his work gives that, whereas
in arbitrary but sensitive brushwork.

use of line

the Chinese individualist inspiration seems to have run out in the

last

quarter of the eighteenth century, the Japanese were prepared

to continue their experiments, impelled

public

demand

for originality

perhaps by the constant

which activated almost

all classes

of

society.
Western influence

Although the Tokugawa

rulers

keep Japan isolated from the

rest

were obsessed with the desire

of the world, a considerable

of information about the West did

200

filter

through

to

amount

to the starved intel-

lectual circles of Japan.

The main channel

for this

was the Dutch

settlement at Nagasaki, where a few Chinese also lived; they were

number of the innovations in the art of painting'

which were being made in the fertile cultural climate of cities like
Yangchou and Hangchou. One senses these innovations in the work
able to introduce a

of Taiga and Gyokudo.

The Japanese were

Western
scientific

to

art,

naturally highly intrigued by the naturalism of

about which they learned from engravings in Western

books and at second hand through Chinese

artists.

Truth

nature had never been a tradition of Eastern painting, in which

and the achievement of the essence of a subject were

all-important. Now elements of naturalism based on close observation of nature for a while became fashionable. The leading artist
abstraction

Maruyama Okyo (1733-95), who made the

Nagasaki to study the new mode. His most famous

of this movement- was

pilgrimage to

work, a pair of screens

still

owned by

the Mitsui family which order-

ed them, shows pine-trees in the snow. The snow

the trunks

and

foliage in such a

Okyo

way

lies

heavily on

that the impression

is

plate

pp. 184-5

created

The

of stillness and weight in the sunlit calm following the snow-fall.

outcome of careful observation of nature. His other

paintings show that he was equally a master of Kano school ink
work. In fact the more one looks at his products, the more one feels

work

is

the

that he, too,

liant gold

him

is

well in the tradition of Japanese painting.

The

bril-

background and the general dramatic treatment place

firmly in the ranks of the great decorators.

Thus

in a

way

it is

proper to see some of Okyo's work as simply another aspect of the

search for the striking in a sensation-seeking atmosphere. Countless
stories are told of the

none of

his extant

accuracy of

this painter's representations

works show what we would consider an over-

whelming degree of naturalism. However,

sufficiently novel to
ly conscious of
likely that

his interpretations

were

appeal to an intellectually starved public vague-

changes taking place in the outside world.

It

is

un-

pure truth to nature would have interested the Japanese

any more than

It

but

it

did the Chinese.

has always counted for

be patronized by the ruling

much

in the eyes of Eastern painters to

class.

Court painters in China and Japan

201

have been assured of good

society.

The Tokugawa

school

Kano

and honourable

positions in

shoguns, like most Far Eastern rulers, en-

couraged literature and the

Kano

livings

arts; in

painting they supported the

school, not only with commissions but with land, houses

and

The Kano painters ranged fron* those

who supplied the shoguns to those who painted for lesser ranks of
the nobility and so on down the scale. The provincial lords, quick to
follow their masters in Edo, provided work for many others. The
patronage on a princely

scale.

painters in this school were legion

and often

kind of monotony which comes from easy living

to follow

subjects

work shows the

and the need only

their

time-worn formulae. True, they were not

which the Tokugawa

izing scenes

which meant

rulers favoured

assisted

by the

Confucian moral-

relatively little to the governing class of

seventeenth-century Japan and nothing at

all to

the general public.

Fig. 6o - ^Lovers'* by Hishikawa Moronobu. C. 1682, Hillier Collection. Cf. p. 212.

202

In Chinese painting a

stylistic

rocks or trees rapidly

centuries.

way

innovation such as a

became an accepted form which

The Kano masters used many of

lasted for

these old brush-stroke

which give the impression of strength of brush

styles

of painting

(a quality

always admired and one that presented no great technical difficulty

to the Japanese) but often allied to shallow

ches.

The impression

themes and

artistic cli-

thus often one of insincerity and pose. It

is

Kan5 works

easy to be over-critical of most

is

we

of this type, but

should perhaps judge them by a different standard from that applied to genuine creative works.
in the scale as
level

They may not be

down

quite so low

commercial wall-paper designs but are roughly on a

with the Western chinoiserie which so captivated Europe in the

eighteenth century. Although not animated by any desire to break

new ground

or see the world about with intense or fresh eyes, they

are at least fine works of decoration which combine the breadth of

scale of the great screen-painters with

The Chinese brush

scale

becomes

painting,

No

it

is

essentially

inflated, as

often

fails to

it

Japanese

an intimate

did also in

in brushwork.

skill

tool

and when the

much Chinese Ming

court

carry the weight.

Kano school and the

we shall illustrate, that

greater gulf exists than that between the

work of the

last

great

movement

in painting

Colour-prints

of the Japanese colour-print. It entails a leap as great as that from

and complacency of nineteenth century French Academy

paintings to the revolutionary visions of van Gogh and Gauguin.
the routine

It is

obviously impossible in a book of this scope to give a

full

appreciation of the colour-print, one of Japan's greatest contributions to the world's store of art. It

that the

West came

to

was through

know Japanese

century, although a peculiar snobbism

tion

by the

intellectual classes of Japan

eminent Japanese authority can

to

Western appreciation that

it

still

had

led to

itself.
it,

form

end of the

art at the

ignore

won

this peculiar art

its

last

underestima-

recent book by an

and

it is

owing

largely

the position of dignity

it

now

enjoys.

The

reasons for the rise of the colour-print,

known

in

Japanese

Ukiyo-e, or 'Paintings of the Floating (or Fleeting) World', are

and

varied. Japanese painters as early as the

Momoyama

as

Origins

many

period

203

204

showed great interest in genre scenes, in the activities of" their fellow
men, their surroundings, pursuits and above all their dress. Even

Kamakura
human situation. The
earlier the

periods above

all

we have

scrolls,

as

textiles

of the

were

Momoyama and

irresistible in design.

most rigid

painters, trained in the

seen, delighted in the

classical

Even Kano school

manner, could not

genre scenes, although they never signed such work. In early

resist

genre paintings, for example in the painting of bath-house

were

Edo

early

little

more than

prostitutes,

one can already see both an aware-

ness of the value to painting of everyday subjects

of a sense of

wind

is

humour

and the expression

quite alien to the Chinese approach.

blowing through

who

girls

fresh

art.

Ukiyo-e was an art intended to serve a new society in Japan

'the

prosperous, creative and illegitimate elite of shopkeepers and enter-

bottom of the Japanese

tainers at the

heavily charged Chinese-style

Kano

social order'

paintings

to

meant

whom

the

These

little.

chonin or townspeople, especially in the upstart nouveau riche capital

of Edo, were very

little

interested in Confucian moralizing themes,

whereas the colourful world around them provided an endless source

of spontaneous inspiration which found reflection in a large output

Once Japan had been closed to all outside

contacts and the country became increasingly prosperous, frankly
emphasizing luxury and easy living, the people who spent their
money so freely were also determined to have paintings about them
of literature and

which

art.

reflected this

life

and

titivated

their imagination.

As the

population of the towns grew, so the lower classes began to share in

the prosperity

meet

and sought paintings

their needs a

to decorate their houses.

To

cheap method of reproduction by means of wood-

block printing was developed, which reached tremendous proportions.

The

by Hibbett

summed up
'an unreflective enjoyment of the moment
a moment

essence of the Ukiyo-e atmosphere has been

as

valued for present pleasure, but to be savoured with discrimination'.

Fio. 6i -

Woman Looking over her Shoulder\ by Kaigetsudo Anchi. C. 17 15. Art

of Chicago. Cf. p. 211.
'

Institute

205

Dashing and irreverent,

it

opened up a completely new world of

inexhaustible delight.
Chinese influence

The technique itself was not new. In the T'ang dynasty Chinese
Buddhists had made popular iconographic representations by means
of wood block-printing and in the Heian period Japanese devotees
printed in colour on fans, which were then written over with the

The Chinese in the seventeenth century made the famous

books of woodcuts known as the Mustard Seed Garden and the Ten
Bamboo Studio, as well as a number of popular erotic pictures in the
medium, and it was certainly these which gave the Japanese the
holy

sutras.

movement. However, as so often happened, the

Japanese took a Chinese invention and developed it to a degree
inspiration for their

undreamed of by the Chinese. They made

prolific art ever

produced

it

the most sophisticated,

any

for the plebeian classes in

civilization.

This was an inexpensive form of art available for a few pennies to

everyone. It mirrored the world about them, illustrated their stories
old

and new,

lionized their actors, flattered their courtesans. In

these colour-prints the changing parade of fashion passes before our

we are taken through the landscape ofJapan on journeys made

dramatic in the most artistic manner; we spy on lovers, decent and
indecent, and make fun of aristocrats caught in the most impossible
eyes;

amorous entanglements. Japan's great historical events are re-lived

with bravura, poems and plays illustrated, festivities recorded. No
art ever

brought to

life

in such detail the world of

mirrored more faithfully the

life

of pleasure, with

its

its

creators nor

undertones of

sadness, typical of Japanese thought. Its prolificacy,complexity

and

quality dazzle the student.

Although

many

this

was a mass medium,

as are involved in

case with

more

modern

it

demanded many

talents

as

advertising, but in the Japanese

lasting artistic results. First, the

missioned the prints was an impresario in his

own

man who comright,

who was

not only sensitive to fashion and the public taste but could also
greatly influence the prints he asked his artists to design.

movement now so familiar to us

have them destroyed by the craftsmen,

masters of the print

designs only to
carvers

206

who

The famous
made their
the skilled

created the blocks finally, there were the printers

;

who

Plate 59 - 'Mount Fuji Seen from Kanagawa.' From 'Thirty-six Views of Mount
Hokusai (1760- 1849). Cf. p. 215.

Fuji'

by Katsushika

207

Plate 6o - Sword-guards and netsuke. Ashmolean Museum,

61 - {Above left). Old Kutani ware shallow dish.

Kakiemon ware bowl with design of flowers and birds.

Plate

Oxford. Cf. p.

218f.

Height 8.6 cm, diameter 41.2 cm. {Above right).

Height 21.1 cm, diameter 30. y cm. M. Shiobara
Collection, Tokyo. {Below left). Large jar by Nonomura Ninsei. Height sy.y cm. Seikado Foundation,
Tokyo. {Below right). Nabeshima ware vase with flowers, fruit and animals. Height jo.6 cm. Private
Collection.

208

Cf p. 220f.

Plate 62 - Water-container. Ceramic in the form of a wooden bucket with design of waves and
marine plants on a white ground. Ateher of Kenzan. Cf. p. 221,

210

inked them with deUcate

registers

skill

and made the various blocks

Of the innumerable

with amazing accuracy.

fit

the

thousands of

remarkably few produced before 1850 can be faulted for

careless craftsmanship or feeble inspiration. The urban population
prints,

faithfully

supported their

artists

while the

demand

for originaUty

drove them to ever more striking

efforts.

The

attributed to an almost legendary

origin of the Ukiyo-e style

artist

named Matabei

teenth century; he

is

(or

is

Matahei)

said to

who Hved

Matabei

in the mid-seven-

have combined the colouring of Tosa

work with the powerful line of the Kano school and applied
the result to genre scenes. However, the man who popularized the
style was Moronobu (161 8 or 1625-95), who used wood blockschool

Moronobu

more than a

printing to illustrate books, of which he produced

hundred from 1672 onwards, and later for single-sheet prints,

Moronobu's women are short and plump, hardly distinguishable

fig.

60

one from the other. Their robes are bold and simple, and show the
interest

which one would expect from the son of an embroiderer;

the poses and composition are effective, embracing

elements of Ukiyo-e

art.

The scenes have

an unaffected enjoyment on the

all

the basic

a rustic quality and suggest

artist's

part of the simple world

about him. With Kaigetsudo the somewhat sketchy figures of Moro-

nobu become

full

the female figure

female figures of stature and power.

is

one of the most dominant

Kaigetsudd

From then on

subjects.

Kaigetsudo

is

a problem in that there are four

men who

sign themselves

by

name. Japanese historians attribute these works to Ando, the

founder of the 'school', and his three pupils, Anchi, Dohan and
this

Doshin; some Europeans, on the other hand, think they were done

by the same

man who

used different signatures. However

this

may

be, they are all so similar in style as to merit their being treated as

work of one master. And5 painted beauties of Edo from 704 to

7 16; according to some authorities, he only painted and did not
design prints. Kaigetsudo prints usually represent monumental
figures in splendid robes massively outlined and coloured by hand
in tan, buff, yellow and lilac colours. Everything about the print
the

reproduced here, signed Kaigetsudd Anchi, has monumentality,

from the

scale of the figure to the

sweep of the dress with

its

fk;. Gi

figure

2T

of a poet and fragments of poetry in cursive script.^

The rhythms

are broad, the decorations powerful and even the features

lined in a single line from hair to neck

out-

are strong. This type of

design had an influence on the female subjects which almost every

subsequent

artist

quarters in

all their finery,

famous
roles;
ters

women from

and, above

of

attempted:

all,

Edo where,

history

women

and
and

of the tea-houses and gay

at every

moment

literature;

in their lives;

male actors in female

the favourite courtesans of the pleasure quar-

in a steamy,

seekers dissipated their

gracious prostitutes the

heady atmosphere, the pleasure-

money and their energies. Here the most

world has known created a subtle, sophisti-

cated world in which they practised their trade with the help of
every possible refinement and

artifice.

Dressed in magnificent robes,

attended by personal servants, they were treated

like

queens,

pampered and spoiled for the brief moments of their ascendancy. It

is no wonder that this colourful pageant absorbed the popular artists.
As with the pin-up girls of our generation, their portraits found a
ready market even among people

who

could not afford their

company.

Of the many

print-masters

who

contributed to the

possible here to look at a few representative works

Haninobu

PLATE P

187,

movement

it is

by some of the

Suzuki Harunobu (1725-70) is credited with the invention

of nishiki-e^ 'brocade painting' which involved printing with up to

greatest.

ten different colours faultlessly accurate in their register. Before

him prints had been in black outline only and then coloured by
hand or subsequently by two-coloured prints in red and green.
and realistically Japanese in
physique. He placed them in settings which related them convincingly to the world they inhabited, sometimes with gentle charm and
Harunobu's female

figures are petite

sometimes quite dramatically or humorously.

Utamaro

PLATE

P.

188

The greatest artist of women was Kitagawa Utamaro (i 753-1 806),

who dominated the movement in the 1790s. We are told that he

Helen C. Gunsaulus, The

Institute of Chicago 1955).

212

Clarence Buckingham Collection of Japanese Prints (Art

actually resided in the Yoshiwara or pleasure quarter of Edo,

life

where

revolved around the favourite courtesans of the moment.

Its

women

are

colourful

life

provided him with endless inspiration. His

frankly idealistic

tall,

willowy, light-hearted creatures as far

removed from the real Japanese physical type as models in Vogue

are from Western women who dream vainly of attaining their
languorous shapes. They are in fact fashion plates and portraits of
low society par excellence. Around these beauties swarm the dandies
and roues who were their admirers and customers. Utamaro achieves
his effect by bold effortless lines of great strength and cleanliness.
Nothing is allowed to detract from the grand sweep of the figure.
The dresses are superb and the emphasis is placed firmly on the
feminine. Yet even he sometimes tired of the endless parade of

women to make fine prints of natural objects and

other than those of the

to portray passions

flesh.

Most connoisseurs of the Japanese print give pride of place

very enigmatic
almost nothing.

artist,

to a

whom we know

Toshusai Sharaku, about

The biographies say no more than

that he

During a few months in

Sharaku

may have

794 and 1 795

he produced a number of prints of actors which must have been so

been an actor turned

artist.

biting in their characterization that the public

would not accept

them. As a result his publishers were forced to drop him. The plate

on page 206
XhtY^\2iy

man

illustrates the actor

Hana-a-yame Bunroku-soga^Y^^odnctdin 1794.

The

technical

characteristics

is

as Ishizu in

He is, of course,

for the star-struck

same

skill

with which male actors assume female

one of the delights of the Japanese

can understand that

sense of

this

command by
first

stage.

But one

portrayal must have been too revealing

audience of his day.

humour

It is difficult

that inspires

Although these prints remained unsold

The

iii

p. 189,

playing a woman's role, as was the convention in the Kabuki

theatre.

the

Segawa Kikunojo

PLATE

not to see in

it

some of the early masks.

in Sharaku's day, they

now

far the highest prices of all the print-masters' works.

half of the nineteenth century was dominated by two great

designers,

Hokusai and Hiroshige. Katsushika Hokusai was born in

Hokusai

1760 to a family of craftsmen. At fifteen he worked for an engraver

and by the age of nineteen entered the studio of Shunsho, a designer

213

popular for

For the next seventy years he

his theatrical prints.

devoted himself with fanatic purpose to painting and print designing,

producing during

his

long

life

at least thirty

thousand drawings

hundred books. He was a restless eccentric,

changing his name some thirty times and moving house no less than
ninety-three times
on one occasion twice in a single day. In an
unhappy turbulent life, abandoned by all except his daughter, his
and

illustrations for five

dedication to art was the only steadying force.

To

the very end of his

days he remained feverishly active, begging for a few more years in

which he might perfect

PLATE

p.

207

his art.

His period of greatest maturity was between 1823 ^^^ iS45'

^^

represent this protean talent with a landscape, perhaps his most

famous, for

was

it

to this art that

After one hundred and

fifty

he made such a great contribution.

years the print

movement needed

new

impetus. Landscape, at once the oldest and most respected of

Eastern themes, provided

t4ie fresh

inspiration

it

Hokusai which made the 'cockney' of Edo enjoy

grandeur of nature

at

its

was the genius of

his visions of the

most romantic and sublime.

He was

aided

by the fact that between 1802 and 1822 many books had been produced which served to guide tourists in the new craze for travel

made
the

easier

by good roads and improved communications under

Tokugawa. The

among

fact that landscapes

the townspeople shows once again the deep-rooted love of

the Japanese for their

found

could become so popular

own

country. In the work of Hokusai they

prints of actual scenery transformed

by an imagination of

genius.

The Chinese

painter tends to be in love with the idea of Ian iscape.

Both Hokusai and Hiroshige gave the public landscape which,

though skilfully interpreted, they could recognize and associate themselves with. This

was not Chinese super-refinement but something

simply larger than

life.

Hokusai reduced the world about him

to

bold and original designs without losing touch with his subject. His
artistic

extravagance was founded on the same earthy passion which

lay at the root of the whole print

movement.

214

backdrop against

humanity

him the world was a vast

which man and his emotions are seen

flows through everything he did. For

theatrical

A warm

puny status. His humour, and there is much, is never

Towards the end of his Hfe he turned increasingly to

in their true

malicious.

classical subjects,

which he derived from a deep knowledge of the

and history of China and Japan. Our illustration shows

the warm and joyous themes which run through his appreciation of

literature

Japanese landscape. His compositions, although

striking, are rarely

forced or twisted merely for the sake of effect. His sense of line and

colour

is

impeccable. His volumes of

'Random

Sketches' are an

movement

inexhaustible mine of original designs in which every

man and

fig.

62

of

the world he inhabits becomes a source for an original

work of art. He

is

a daemonic figure of colossal invention.

Ichiryusai Hiroshige

(i

797-1858), the younger contemporary of

Hiroshige

Hokusai, came to the fore from 1826 onwards with his 'Views of the
Eastern Capital' (about 1826), the

mous Views of Kyoto'

first

'Tokaido' set (1834), 'Fa-

PLATE

P.

and the 'Eight Views of Lake Biwa'

(1835). His genius for landscape produced an endless flow of designs
inspired by the countryside. In them man acts out a more gentle
role than in Hokusai; it was easier for the man-in-the-street to
(1834)

associate himself with the emotions of Hiroshige's personae as they

emerge from the mists of morning, brave storms of rain, or plod up

snow-covered slopes. Hillier remarks that 'Our sympathies are
over not only by his

artistry,

won

but by the sense that, though essenti-

some indefinable way closer to us, in style

and sentiment, than any of his forerunners...'^
His success was phenomenal in terms of sales but unfortunately the
ally

Japanese, he

is

in

blocks were used so often that late impressions give

delicacy of line and colour of the

first

editions.

little

idea of the

He produced some

many of which are run-of-the-mill

many bold unconventional compositions

5,400 different print designs,

among them one finds

and a surprising number of masterpieces. Night

but

wind

scenes, landscape in mist or rain

scenes,

he was above

of atmosphere and poetic mood. His approach

than that of Hokusai,

his

work

less

original

J. YiiWicT J Japanese Masters of the Colour Print

is

all

scenes,

the master

more humble

and daring,

(London 1954),

snow

less

powerful

p. 25.

215

Fig. 62 - 'Random Sketches' (Manga), by Hokusai. After 181 4. Cf. p. 215.

216

in draughtsmanship, less concerned with the deeper problems of life,

and

far less involved.

ments on the

human

He

enjoyed his world, his success. His com-

scene arouse a smile which, unlike

we

that

has no more serious undertones. Michener

get from Hokusai,

Europe to a number of factors

enormous that in any early shipment of prints

attributes Hiroshige's success in

that his output

was

so

Europe some were sure to be by Hiroshige, that Western artists

like Turner had prepared the way for such interpretations of natural
to

phenomena, and

to the fact that Hiroshige's

from the

very easy

is

in the plate

on page

'Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido', the great

highway

to understand.* Certainly the travellers

1,

shown

imagery

PLATE

P.

Edo and Kyoto, are figures of human proportions with

whom we can easily sympathize.
linking

This was an art tailored to and pandering to a wide market which

was both discriminating and

the fortunes of a print

fickle.

A changed hair-style could ruin

almost overnight a school or

artist

could be

outmoded as last year's hem-line. But talented designers pressed

hard on one another's heels ready to invent, plagiarize or do anything to capture the market. They were forced always to be on their
as

mettle artistically, to seek novelty, to outdo their rivals

and

for

nearly three hundred years they succeeded.

When Japan was

West from about 1868, these

prints came to Europe as wrappings and packing material. Impressionist painters like Manet and his friends found in them a
completely

them

finally

new approach

to free themselves

positions

opened

were

full

to

to the

Influence on

West

problems of painting which helped

from traditions they hated. The new com-

of unexpected unconvenuonal views,

new

uses

and van Gogh were particularly impressed by this art from the mysterious land on the other
side of the world, so long closed to Western eyes.
It is interesting that modern Japanese artists should have returned
of line and

flat

areas of colour. Degas

to the tradition of the colour-prints

source of inspiration

the

James A. Michener, The

skill

and found

of the chisel on

Floating World

(New York

in

them a

fertile

wood once used

1954), pp. 213-26.

217

for sculpture

medium than

in this

WORKS OF The
CRAFTS-

MANSHIP

is

seems born in them. They have been more successful

any other international

in

art form.

most striking aspect of the proliferating crafts in the Edo period

the meticulous interest with which the Japanese searched every

aspect of nature for motifs. It seems that no object, animate or

inanimate, was too trivial to be turned into the theme of a minuscule

object of true art.

men

The

innate taste and high standards of the crafts-

throughout these centuries have never been approached by

any other nation. The

which

to

output.

spend their new wealth

The

constant

demand

forces operated

p.

208

known as netsuke.
The sword-guard

inro

meant

on
the huge

little else

contributed to

for the original

that craftsmen

particular fields in which these

most strongly were

accoutrements of dress as

PLATE

may have

Two

seldom repeated themselves.

Sword-guards

people had relatively

fact that

tsuba or

sword-guards and such

or medicine-boxes and the sash buttons

on page 208) is of well-forged

iron coated with black magnetic oxide. It was made by the Kinai
school, active in Echizen province from the seventeenth to nine(top left in the plate

teenth century, and possibly founded by an offshoot of the most

famous school of armourers, the Myochin, which started in the twelfth

century.

The Kinai

school was eminent in tsuba manufacture from

made
most popular groups. The

the sixteenth century onwards. This example was probably

about 1800 and belongs to one of the

pierced relief of five cranes
clean design. It

is

it

most cunningly arranged in a very

a constant source of delight to see

how

the

manu-

were able

to exploit this difficult shape,

to artistic advantage.

The guard gives the impression

facturers of these guards

often turning

is

of still being utilitarian rather than purely decorative.

The example

at the

bottom right

the early eighteenth century; like

of workmanship which makes

it

is

of the

Omori

school,

founded in

many later guards, it has a quality

akin to jewellery. Such guards were

among lords and never saw a sword-blade.

chrysanthemum, aster,
rehef of various autumn plants
begonia among others
and is richly encrusted with gold

often given as presents

It

has a

gentian,

and

silver.

This particularly fine example

who worked from 1704

218

to 1772.

is

The metal

signed by Terumasa,
is

a unique Japanese

which was then

alloy of copper with a small addition of gold

pickled to give
tsuba.

it

the lustrous raven-black hue characteristic of many

The background

punching in the

is filled

with incredibly fine and accurate

technique.

'fish-roe'

In the centre of the plate

a black lacquer

is

or medicine-box

inro

Medicine-boxes

with a design in fine gold lacquer of a courtesan, probably based on

a colour-print. She

seated with a writing-brush in her hand,

is

wearing the usual pensive look, no doubt pondering a

love-letter.

Such boxes hung on the end of the sash which went through the
belt at the waist and were held at the top by netsuke, of which three
are

shown

in the plate.

Every material,

skill

and technique was

pressed into their manufacture.

At the bottom

left is

demon mask of red

plays a large part in Japanese mythology

in

many forms. In

the centre

is

lacquer.

and

The

oni or

folklore,

demon

and appears

an ivory netsuke, a popular material,

Netsuke

with a favourite motif: a horse jumping through a cobweb. In the

top left-hand corner

is

a small round ivory manju or bun-shaped

button with a design in raised

relief of

Such adjuncts of dress were made

a warrior subduing a demon.

in their thousands

and absorbed

the talents of countless craftsmen-artists in schools spread throughout

Japan. The Japanese

these miniature works,

skill

with the chisel

which provide

their

is

amply

many

illustrated in

enthusiasts with

an endless world of minuscule masterpieces.

we must consider some of the vast

output of ceramics produced in the Edo period. Unlike those of
China, Japanese wares were produced by many different kilns,
Finally, to complete this survey

some large and some

influenced

small, in various areas ofJapan; they

by individual

Japanese ceramics are

far

artists

who worked

as

were

potters.

CERAMICS

also

Thus

more varied and complicated than those

in China. Basically the output can be divided into three types: the

wares influenced by the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century decorative style seen in paintings of the Sotatsu-Korin school, the tea-

ceremony wares and the porcelain influenced by Chinese example.

The outstanding name among decorative potters is that of Ninsei,

who was active in the mid-seventeenth century. The inspiration for
this

specimen

is

essentially Japanese,

Ninsei

plate p 209

and comes from the paintings

219

and

fine lacquer

works for which the Japanese craftsmen have

The

always been renowned.

in rich

enamel colours with a

products the decoration

is

decorations, often

on a black

liberal use of gold. In

glaze, are

many

of these

held in balance and, though the effect

is

purely ornamental, the painterly quaHty of the decoration carries

The danger with

the weight of the piece.

this

type of ware was that

the decoration could easily be overdone, as, in fact, frequently

occurred.
careful
tive

Kenzan

PLATE

p.

63

210

best examples are

models of Japanese

taste

and

workmanship. The motifs are such typical Japanese decora-

themes as cherry-blossom, wistaria, plum-blossom and pine.

The outstanding potter of the tradition was probably Kenzan 6641743), whom we have mentioned as the brother of the painter
( 1

Korin.

FIG.

The

He

ran through a fortune in his gentleman's pottery near

Kyoto and was only rescued from poverty by a patron who brought
him to Edo at the age of seventy; here he packed a tremendous
activity into his remaining years. His work is very much in the vein
of Korin, with the accent on simple themes, executed boldly and
with dashing calligraphy. Korin often painted the decoration of his
vessels. The ceramic water-container in the form ofa wooden bucket
is an early piece with waves and water plants on a white background.
It was intended for the tea ceremony, as were many of the products
of this school.

Kutani ware

PLATE

P.

209

Among

the earliest in date are the Kutani porcelains

village of that

name

seventeenth century.

in

Kaga

who

in a

prefecture in the second half of the

when Hideyoshi
of Korea he brought with him Korean

generally assumed that

It is

returned from his invasion

potters

made

settled in Japan

where they could

find material suitable

They passed on both their skills and the

of Chinese Ming and Ch'ing wares. The Old Kutani wares,

for porcelain manufacture.

designs

especially the green Kutani,

the bright dark green

is

have a vivid range of colours in which

characteristic.

The

decoration

is

often a

combination of rough geometric and bold naturalistic themes which

on the somewhat coarse and heavy body create the impression of

strength and confidence allied to a bold sense of design.
Arita ware

220

The remaining two illustrations come from a very large group of

porcelain known generically as Arita wares from the name of a site

Kyushu, where large deposits of white

porcelain clay were found which led to production in tremendous
quantities from the early seventeenth century onwards. The first of
in the southern island of

these

is

moved
to

the

Kakiemon group, founded by

to Arita in

about 1615 and

the

said to

is

first

Kakiemon who

have discovered how

produce red overglaze decoration in approximately 1640. Howprobably did not happen until the period between 1660

ever, this

and 1690. The quality of the white background and brilliant colours
is as good as anything produced in the East and even the Chinese
imported

it.

Japanese Kakiemon wares were also the inspiration of

Meissen and Chantilly Delft. The plate on page

with designs of flowers and birds in a

shows a bowl

209

style influenced

Kakiemon ware

PLATE

P.

209

by the Chinese

but typically Japanese in arrangement. The decorations and shapes

of these wares exhibit an unlimited variety.

The finest of all Arita wares are of a type known as Nabeshima from
the name of a feudal family which acted as patrons of the kiln. These
wares were mostly made at Okochi and intended for the use of the
family,

which took pains

The underglaze

blue with

to

maintain extremely high standards.

its

characteristic soft

Nabeshima ware

PLATE

p.

PLATE

P.

209

hue and the over-

glaze enamels are always painted with great delicacy on a milky

white background, which gives an overall softness to the general

appearance.
to

The narrow-waisted

vase in the plate on page

be for ceremonial offerings of wine,

of the surviving Nabeshima

typical of the quality

is

in the

is

single motif boldly over the

said

209

unusual in shape, for most

form of plates. However,

and the design that one

decorative art of these centuries

209,

notably

sees in

much

it is

of the

a tendency to splash a

whole area rather than

to

have a repeti-

tion of smaller motifs neatly contained in panels or restricted areas.

Here the

artist

pine-tree,

bamboo and

has used the traditional 'Three Friends' motif of

flowering

and purple; on the other

tortoises.

plum

in a palette of red, yellow

side of the vase are

an orange, cranes and

This vase epitomizes the quality and decorative

the Japanese potters rapidly acquired

ucts not only the
in China, the

which

their prod-

wonder of Europe but even highly sought

home

The decline and

and which made

skill

fall

after

of porcelain.
of the Tokugawa rulers were due to

FALL OF

many diverse

TOKUGAWA
221

factors.

They were

quite unable to

manage or even understand

the

complications of their expanding economy. Inflation and debased

currency constantly harried them.

The

recurring periods of bad

harvests led to widespread agrarian risings which they controlled

only with the greatest

difficulty.

The

local lords

found themselves

and quite incapable

themselves were of a very

heavily in debt, mostly to the rich merchants,

of ordering their finances.

The

rulers

different calibre

from the founders of the regime.

The

members of

intelligent

society

were very conscious of the

changes taking place in the outside world and anxious to share in

them.

Isolation policy

abandoned

The whole atmosphere

of the body politic was diseased, with

nobody knowing enough or being strong enough to cure the sickness.

The third factor was the expanding commercial and imperiallyminded nations of Europe and America. Only for a time could
Japan resist the forces knocking on her door and it was the United
States which finally forced her to abandon her isolationist policy and

Under the leadership of a number

Satsuma and Choshu, the enfeebled

allow foreigners into the country.

of powerful lords, such as

Tokugawa

empower and

generalissimos were quietly toppled and, using the

peror as a rallying point, they restored the throne to

introduced a parliamentary system of government. With

entered the

modern world and

to rid herself of

any

in a

this

Japan

remarkably short time was able

traces of incipient colonialism, westernize her

economy and armed

and take her place as a fully independent, powerful nation; less than one hundred years later she was
able to challenge the United States and the British Commonwealth.
Immediately following the opening of the country, the Japanese
tended

to

accept

forces,

everything

Western without discrimination.

had a tremendous vogue and Western-style art

schools were opened. After little more than a decade, inspired by
Western scholars like Fenollosa, Japan turned once more to the
Western

art styles

Museums were founded and surveys

to protect the nation's treasures. To the latter we owe many

preservation of her past.

initiated

of the masterpieces illustrated in this book.

Meanwhile Japanese artists were travelling to Europe and both

learning from and contributing to the Parisian world of art. The

222

Fig.

6'i

- Hexagonal dish by Kenzan, decorated

in ink

by Korin. Diameter 27 cm. K. Okura Collection^ Tokyo.

Cf.p. igy. 220

223

Japanese

skill

with the brush was a revelation to Europe, as were

the Japanese craft products that were

exhibitions.

shown

in the trade fairs

and

Japanese painters obtained inspiration from every

source they contacted.

More

recently the West, too, has learned

from Japanese calligraphy and

Our potters are as

China. Modern prints are

craft design.

deeply indebted to them as they are to

highly sought after.

Of course, Japan

is

now

fully in the

stream of international move-

and contributes to them as much as she

borrows. What is created one week in Tokyo can be seen the next
in New York. Artistically this is an exciting age, but it would take
another volume to explore all the complications and ramifications
of the myriad movements that exist in Japan, whose people have an
ments in modern

artistic

224

art

energy which seems truly inexhaustible.

APPENDICES

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE

481-221

B.C.

1000

300

KOREA

CHINA

JAPAN

Warring States
(late Chou period)

200 B.C.
JOMON PERIOD
to

'

C.

Cord-pattern' pottery, dogu

figures

200

C.

221-206
Ch'in dynasty

200 B.C.-A.D. 500

Yayoi period
Patterns wheel

100

206 B.C.-A.D. 220

108

Han dynasty

Nanff-1\
Nang-Nang

Rakuro)
A.D.

100

200

D.

B.C.

Han

colony

B.c.?-668 Koguryo
B.c.?-663 Paekche

65 first evidence of Buddhist

communities

1st cent.

220-265

1st cent. B.C.

1st cent.

313

(Lo-lang,

?-668

Silla

Three Empires
300

300-C. 700

Tumulus period
Haji and Sue ware; haniwa

265-581
Six dynasties
3rd-4th cents, spread of Buddhism
in North and South China

372 Koguryo becomes

Buddhist

Earliest extant Buddhist figure,

partly under influence of

Gandhdra

400

Earliest cultural influences

386-535

from China and Korea

Northern Wei dynasty

(incl.

384 Paekche becomes

Buddhist

424-524 Silla becomes

Buddhist

445-6 persecution of Buddhists

writing)

5th-6th cents, cave-temples of Yiin-

500

kang. Lung-nun

552 Buddhism adopted from

Paekche (official date)

c.

500 Ch'an Buddhism

reaches China

550-581

538-645

ASUKA (SUIKO) PERIOD

574-622 Crown Prince Shotoku
Art under Korean influence

600

607 Horyu-ji Temple founded

623 Shaka Triad by Tori
645 Taika reform

700

645-712

Hakuho

Northern Ch'i
Chou dynasty

Northern

Caves of Hsiang-t'ang-shan
Late 6th cent. T'ien-t^ai school

226

of early Buddhist art

581-618
Sui dynasty
618-906
T'ang dynasty
Capital: Ch'ang-an

668-935
period

Art under Sui and early T^ang

influence.

6th-7th cents, flowering period

Tamamushi

shrine

Wu

Tao-tzu, painter

Kingdoms united in
Greater Silla Empire
Capital: Kyongju

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE
KOREA

CHINA

JAPAN

A.D.

7th-9th cents,

710-784
period

classical

Nara

Buddhist art under T^ang

Buddhist art modelled

on that of T'ang
Capital: INara (Yakushi-ji
Temple, Todai-ji Temple, etc.)

influence

752

colossal

Late phase of

T Hen-lung- shan

caves

Buddha

Wall-painting in Horyu-ji Temple

c. 763 Statue of the priest Ganjin

800

794-876

Early Heian period

810-823 KoNiN period
859-876 Jogan period
Capital: Heian

= Kyoto)

Monasteries on Hiei-zan {Tendai

school) and Koyasan {Shingon
school)

843-5 persecution of
Buddhists
Ennin, Japanese monk, in

China

syncretism of

Buddhism and ShintO

900

1000

895-1185

906-960

932-1392

FujiwARA (late Heian) period

Five dynasties

Flowering of courtly culture,

largely independent of

960-1278
Sung dynasty

Koryo period
Capital: Kaesong

China and Korea

Red Fudo

Northern Sung 960

11

27

00

art;

LiAO dynasty 907-1125

1097 Ch'an (Son)
spreads to Korea

Choju Giga
Shigisan-engi-emaki

1 1

Continuation of Silla
some Sung influence

Buddhism

Genji-monogatari-emaki

Southern Sung 112 7- 12 78

"85-1392

Kamakura period
Kamakura headquarters

of

military rulers

Feudal warrior culture

Portrait of Minamoto Toritomo
1200

Zen Buddhism introduced

Monasteries at Kamakura
Further Chinese influence (Sung)

Ch^an Buddhist ink-painting

(esp. 13th c.)

269- 1 280 Mongol invasions

Neo-Confucianism
Sculpture: Unkei

1252

colossal

and

Buddha

his school

at

Kamakura
1300

2 78- 1

Tengu-soshi

Ippen-shonin-emaki

Yuan (Mongol)

1338-1573

Dynasty
Lamaism makes headway,

Ashikaga (Muromachi)
Period

esp. in

368

North China

227

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE
JAPAN

KOREA

CHINA

A.D.

Tosa school
Flowering of Z^n art
(ink-painting, tea ceremony)

Kyoto under strong Chinese

in

influence

1345 ink-painting

c.

1400

1500

368-1644

Ming Dynasty
Paintings in the

''literary

^Kanzan' by Kao
1389 Kinkaku-ji Temple

1392-1910
Yi dynasty
Confucianism; decline of

1 42 0-1506 Sesshu
Kano school

Buddhism and

539-1 6 10 Hasegawa Tohaku

568-16 1

MoMOYAMA Period
583 Portrait of Oda Nobunaga
583- 1 585 Hideyoshi builds
Osaka castle
c. 1600 Namban-byobu
1

1600

1615-1868

ToKUGAWA

(Edo) Period
Seat of rulers (shoguns)
at

Edo (= Tokyo)

1602 leyasu builds

Nijo

castle

1558?- 1 632 Koetsu

Early 17th cent. Sotatsu
1658-17 16 Korin
1 664- 743 Kenzan
1
Late phase of Z^n
painting ( Zj^n-ga)

1700

688- 1 703 Genroku era

Ukiyo-e

753/4-1 806 Vtamaro

1 794-1 795 (active) Sharaku
7601 849 Hokusai
1
1

c.

1800

228

man^s

style^ (wen-jen)

797- 1 858 Hiroshige

1 644-1 91
Ch'ing Dynasty

Buddhist art

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1958).

1903)Takahashi, Sei-Ichiro,

(Berlin

Suzuki, Susumu,

(New York

Swann, Peter C, An Introduction to the Arts

of Japan (Oxford 1958).
Swann, Peter C., Hokusai (London 1959).
Tajima, Shiichi (ed.), Korin-ha Gwashu (A Collection of Drawings by Korin and his School;

Watson, W., Sculpture ofJapan

Kunst Ostasiens

1946; reprint, 1956).

Speiser, Werner, Chinesische
lerei,

Suzuki, Tokashi, Hiroshige

vols.

Toshizawa, Chu, Taiga. (Japanese

Painting, Series i, Tokyo 1957).

Famous

INDEX

The numerals

in

italics

Bosatsu:

actors i8of.; portraits of j8p, 214

agriculture

18

Ajanta
album-painting

76
18^, 186,

Amida
Amida Raigo

68, 76, 98, 101, io2ff.

yo, 104

Ama-no-Hashidate

118, 158

ancestor worship

animals

25, 27,.

15,

mythical 25;

27,

2op;

cf.

Choju-giga

cf.

56

frog,

monkey

horse,

'Animal

iggf.

Scrolls':

^p, 47f.

cave-temples,

12, 82, i2of.; cf. castles,

pagodas, palaces, fortresses

209, 222 f.

Arita

armour, armourers 26, 27, 27, 145, 179, 208, 2i8f.

Asanga: cf. Muchaku
Ashikaga (Muromachi) period 147-71, 172, 177,
178,

history

195;

ligion
i7of.;

134!?.;

sculpture

150!!.;

painting
152;

tea

152-70;

re-

ceremony

Muromachi, Takauji

cf.

Asuka period

29;

lacquer painting 50;

goff.; sculpture gGff.

Bagh
bamboo

12,

history 29!;
masks 56, 48f.; religion
29-52, 59;

76
52, 145, 155, i^p, 168, 191, 222

cf.

nishiki-e

cf.

180, 191

bronze 18, i8f., 54, 60, 151; banner ^4; bells 14,
ly, helmet 18, 25; mirror loy 106; reliquaries
80, 82; bronzes 37, ^9, 47, 56, 59, 60; cf. kei,

keman
i6,

18

Buddha

^2, 37, 38, 46, 48, 52, 34, 56, 58, 60, 73,
76, 82, 105, 170; Buddhas of the Past 37, 50,

76; of the Future 41, 44, 47, 76; cf. Amida,

Dainichi Nyorai, Miroku, Roshana, Shaka,
Shakyamuni, Vairocana, Yakushi
Buddha of Healing: cf. Yakushi
'Buddha Rising from His Golden Coffin': cf.
Kinkan Shitsugen

Buddha of the Western

Buddhism 27, 3ofT., 54f.,
i43tt.,

152,

156,

Paradise:

cf.

Amida

58, 62, 73, 77, 79!?., ggt.

169,

170,

178,

206
24, 27
igSf.

bun-jin painting

Bunsei
bushido
Buson, Yosa

1^9, 170
98, 109

166,

iggf.

manju, netsuke
Byodo-in 68, p8, 102; cf. Phoenix Hall
buttons:

cf.

calligraphy

'Sekiya'

Cammann,

keko

cf.

'Beetle-wing':

cf.

Tamamushi

castles 172,

begonia

219

bells 14, 75;

dotaku

cf.

18,

25,

106,

1^8,

169;

cf.

crane,

8^
heron,

Shirasagi

Biwa, Lake 174;

Bizen

cf.

'Eight Views of Lake Biwa'

145

boats 168, 160-1; model of 24, 27

Bodhidharma
Bodhi Tree

'Catfish

151, 170

73
Bodhisattvas 30, 37, 52, 61, 64, y^, 75, 77, 104,
105, 170; cf. Fugen, Gakko Bosatsu, Monju,
Nikko Bosatsu

195, 197, 200, 221, 225

S.

174,

79
193;

and Gourd'

cf.

Shirasagi
11$, i55f.

Mai-chi-shan
cave-temples 3 if., 52, 48, 51, 61, 123; cf. Tunhuang, Yiin-kang
celadon
143
Central Asia
74, 76f., 8^, 84
ceramic ware 58, 107, 151, 22of.; Arita 2op, 22if.;
celadon 143; chien 143; Jomon i6f. (midJomon 12, 16; Late Jomon 14, 17); Kakiemon
2op, 222; Karatsu 162, 182; Kutani 209, 22 if.;
Nabeshima 2op, 222f.; Ninsei 196, 197, 2op,
221; Oribe 182, 191; raku 16^, igif.; Seto 1^4,
14), 144-5, 182; Shino 182; Sue grey ly, 18,

caves:

Bezeklik

234

37

'brocade painting':
brocades

^4, 47

'Barrier Hut':

birds

72

Brahma

103,

banner
basket:

ij, 72, 209, 222

buildings, models of

aster 219

Asuka

Gakko, Nikko

cf.

bowls
boxes

keko,
55, 48

temples,

figures.

Bronze Age

apsara
arabesques
architecture

and

re]er to the plate

cf.

Yayoi

25;

i6,

23f.,

2^;

potters,

kilns,

cf.

temmoku

literature

22off.;

145,

182,

106;

painting
158,

5off.,

167,

73ff.,

i68f.,

194;

robes
75, 84,

151,

and Japan: influence on Japan

3if.,

38,

102,

io6f.,

155^-.

48,

50,

52,

53ff.,

i2of.,

123,

i67f.,

i68ff.,

157^-.

759,

179^-;

101,
23,

129,

if.,

29f.,

dotaku

79f.,

drama

in-

terruption of 96f., 177; trade i5of., 172; cf.

Ch'ang-an, Ch'ing, Confucianism, Han, language, Ming, Sung, T'ang, tz'u-chou, Wei
Ch'ing painting 199; ware 221
128
chinso
chiselling

Cho Densu:

cf.

Dokoyo,

28,

i53f.,

79

151

priest

55. 78
166, 199

23
131, j8p, 211, 214; cf. oni

drugs

96

Dutch

194, 201

dyeing i8o;

cf.

tsuji-ga-hana

Echizen 145; province

Edo

i93f.,

195,

172,

219

197, 202, 203, 206, 214, 219, 220,

221
'Eight Views of Lake Biwa'

121

Kano
e-makimono

216

Eitoku,

Chogen, priest

120,

Chogosonshi-ji
Choho-ji
Chojiro
Chdju-giga

94
88
191

130, 133

chdnin

206
224

Choshu
Christianity

i78f.,

191,

chrysanthemum
chuhan

194
2

Buddha

194
62

145

Mincho

50
218

20p, 223

75,

221;

Bodhisattvas,

cf.

door, sliding

123

151,

i98f.,

i77f.,

18,

22, 2 8, 48,

deities 62, 110, 124, 143;

demon play: cf. oni

dish

143,

85

137, 170

Degas, H. G. E.

154^,

168,

8of.,

dancers, dancing

21

7if.,

59f.,

125,

143
221

192f.

Dainichi Nyorai
Daitoku-ji

202f.,

152,

143,

i77f.,

170,

53
222

metalwork

82;
131,

6if., 72, 72,

religion

sculpture 61,

JO, 104

Dengyo Daishi
Deshima I.
Deva
dhydna

215;

Daien-in

daimyos

Ch'an: cf. Zen

Ch'ang-an
Chantilly
Chekiang province
cherry-blossom
chien ware 143; cf. Fukien
China: North 30, 31, ^2, 124, 127; South
199; architecture 177; ceramic ware 16,

i56f.,

140, i74f, 176, 178

izgff.

E-Ingakyo

46, 73
81

Eliot, Sir C.

embroidery

180

En

110

school

Engaku-ji
engraving
Europe, Europeans 134, 174,

121
57, 52, 201
i78f.,

180, 182, 194,

200, 203, 212, 2i5, 218, 224f.

18']

Chuson-ji
Cintamani-cakra

pp
84

'Famous Views of Kyoto'

216

fans

cire-perdue

87

Fenollosa, E. F.

224

clay 16, 24; sculpture 13, ip,

44, 61, 61, 62,

I'ji.,

123, 124; vessels 12, 14, 16, 24;

cf.

haniwa

climate

fertility cult

216, 218

12

88, 105

firearms

coins

192
print-

'fish-roe'

Confucianism 30, 33, 55f.,

'Convenience of Fishing'
copper

cf.

crane
cups

cf.

174. 179

technique

220
220

folklore

France

97, 156, 169, i92f., 202

183, 200

220
'Cord Pattern'
15
court life 32f., 34, 74, 79. 99, 104, 109, 156, 169,
179;

18

'Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido', frontispiece

coffin

colour-prints 131, 176, 198, 203-18, 225;

masters, Ukiyo-e

203, 218, 225

Franciscans

194

French Academy

8O3

frog
fruit 209;

cf.

cherry,

plum

Fudo, Aka

67, 85, 95, 104, 123

Fugcn

Namboku-cho, nobility
10$
16, 72

Fujiwara 96-107. 108, 143.

Michinaga, Takanobu

A'7,

179;

cf.

io4f,

Hcian (Late),

235

Fukien province

143

furniture

68. 72

jusuma

169

War

Heiji

133

hell 143; Hell Scrolls 112, 143

helmet

18, 25

hemp
Gakko Bosatsu

43>

Gango-ji

65> 82

60

Ganjin
garden
Gauguin, E. H,
Gei-ami

45> 72
,

158. 176

203
168

Genji, Prince igSf.;

Tale of Genji

cf.

'Hermitage by a Mountain Brook'

heron 106; cf. Shirasagi
Hibbett, H.
Hideyoshi, Toyotomi

196

Genshin

80, 173

Himeji

216

174, ijy, cf. Shirasagi

Hinduism

219

geography

iif.

'Hinoki'
Hiroshige,

ghosts

143
)6, 50
34, 5p, 68, 102, io3, 106, 145

glass

25

temmoku
i47f.

Gogh, V. van

203, 218
gold 57,*, 144, 145, 176, 220, 221; cofl&n 88; coins
192,' dust 103, 180, 184-$; lacquer 220; leaf

paper 140, i6y,

'Golden Pavilion':
gongs:

cf.

cf.

cf.

Ando

kei

134
123, i2j

guilds

24, 28

Gunabhadra

73

Gunsaulus, H. C.

813
60

art

Gyokudo, Uragami

186, 20of.

frontispiece,

pre-Buddhist period i3f.; Asuka 29;

Nara 53; Early Heian 78; Late Heian 96; Kamakura 108; Ashikaga 147; Momoyama 172;
192

-, writing of
History of Mount Shigi:
Hojo family

Hokkaido

bb' 94> i32cf.

147!
13!
2oy, 214!, 2i6f., 217
83
110,

11,

I.

Hokusai, Katsushika

hompa

Shigisan-engi

shiki

family

197
11, 12, 18

I.

horse
27, 2y, 151, 220
H6ryu-ji 30, 34, 34, 38, 39, 40, 42, 47, 49 50, ^9,
61, 75f.; cf. Kondo, Tamamushi shrine

Hosso
hotb:

54, 122
cf.

stupa

Hsia Kuei
Hsieh Ho

156
52

humour

50, 205, 213, 214, 216

hunting scene

'Haboku Landscape'

255, 167

Hakuho

period
Hall for Sacred Ashes:
hand-scrolls:

cf.

Han

29f., 36;

dynasty

1$, 23

Hyogo

prefecture

leyasu,

Tokugawa

775

59
cf.

Shari-den

scrolls

painting 51; sculpture 48

Hana-a-yame Bunroku-soga
i8p, 214
Hangchou
200
haniwa
21, 22, 24, 2^i., 2y, 28
Harunobu, Suzuki
18^, 213
head-dress
27, 74
'Heavenly Musicians'
76
Heian period, Early 78-95; painting 85f.,; religion 79f.; sculpture 82-5; cf. Jogan, Konin;
Late 96-107; metalwork io6f.; painting 103-6;
religion 92f.; sculpture 99f.; cf. Fujiwara
,

Heian-kyo 78; cf. Kyoto

Heiji-monogatari

236

216,

history:

Honshii

Kinkaku-ji

(Ichiryusai)

218.

Hon 'ami

gilding

G6-Shirakawa, Emperor
Guardians of the Faith

Gupta

62
140

Tokugawa

Go-Daigo, Emperor
Goddess of Compassion: cf. Nyoirin
Goddess of Good Fortune: cf. Kichijo-ten

62, 180;

191,

192, 193' 221

logf.

glazes: cf.

182,

Hiei, Mt.

gentian

Gigaku

206
181,

180,

173!!.,

Hillier, J.

Genroku period

gilding

6), J4, 75
11^, 153

and

180, 181, 193

Effects

cf.

E-Ingakyo

Imagawa family
Impressionists

178
8 18

In school

110

inscriptions

155
incense
96
India 106; painting 143; religion 73, 80, 122, 151;
sculpture ^gt, 84; influence on Central Asia
76f.;

on China

Indochina
ink:

i^i, i33f.

173^-'

'Illustrated Sutra of Causes

inro

cf.

54, 59f.;

on Japan

51, 60.

18

painting
219, 220

Iran
iron

i8f., 25,

145, 171, 191,

60
219

Kashgar

196

kei

Ishiyama

i8p, 214

Ishizu

Hanabusa

keko

ivory

220

keman

Iwate prefecture

100

Kenzan
Khotan

Japanese (people)

13, 14

162, 2op

jar

Jdtaka
Java

48, 50, 51

Jesuits

i6o-i, 178, 194

80

jewdlery
Jigoku Soshi

74, 104, 110

112, 143

p2, 126

Jingo-ji

Jinsho-ji

144
154

Jittoku

Jocho
Jodo
Jogan period

68, i02f.
101,

po,

Jokei

Jomon period
Late Jomon

15

mid-Jomon

23;

ff.,

14, 16, ip; cf.

104

i02f.,

78
1241

110,
12,

20;

16,

'Cord Pattern'
6p, 103

J6ruri-ji

Josetsu

11$, 155

Juraku

i74f.

Kabuki theatre
Kaga prefecture
Kaidan-in
Kaigetsudo, Anchi
Kaigetsudo, Ando
Kaigetsudo, Dohan
Kaigetsudo, Doshin
Kaikei

172,
i44f.;

205;

108-45,

architecture

metalwork

145;

painting 129-43;
Engaku-ji

15^'

M7'

i2of.;

ceramic

religion

sculpture

120;

iiof.,

kami

Kannon 66,
Kano school
Kansei-bijin

Kanshin-ji

Kanzan
Kao
Karashar
Karatsu
Karigane-ya

scrollcf.

i4f.

84,

104;

cf.

169,

i8p, 214

kilns

i44f. , 182, 191, 197, 220,

222

kimono

180, 197

Kinai school
Kinkaku-ji
Kinkan Shitsugen

14P, 150
88, 105

219

Kinkara

95
106

kiri-kane technique

Kiyomori, Taira

Kiyonobu

Kobo Daishi

79. 8of.,

133
196
p3, 128

Koetsu

195. 197
K6fuku-ji: sculpture 8p, po, 122, 12 3, 124; workshops 102

Koguryo

58

Kojiki
Kokuri:

55

cf. Koguryo
Komyo, Emperor

148

197, 202f., 206, 212

188
66, 84

114, 154
114, i54f.

60
162, 182

197

153

64
Rikishi

Konin period
78
Korea, North 23; ceramic ware 25 23, 25, 182;
painting 52; sculpture 33, 47; contact with
,

China 50; with Japan

182; war with 134,

23' 24, 29, 3 if., 36f.. 58,

174,

221;

Paekche, Silla
Korin, Ogata
Koryu-ji
kosode
koto
Koya, Mt.
Koya-san: cf. Koya, Mt.
K5zan-ji

Koguryo,

cf.

16^, 197, 221

4^' 47

'59
21, S'jt
6y, yo, 8of., 95

130
60

Kucha
Kudara:

Kudara, Sho
180,

Segawa

po, 124f.

ware

i2iff.;

63 ,

in,

Kondo
Kongo

76

i57'

^54-

Kichijo-ten

Kikunojo

134
6p, 74, 103

221

212
212
212
110

74,

60

Khubilai Khan

'n'

222
20p, 222
59

Kamakura period

197. 210, 221, 223

Konchi-in

20^, 212

Kakurin-ji

110
'44 > 145
100, 106

214
75,

Kakiemon
Kakiemon wares

102, 106

Kei school

198

Itcho,

60
56

Kegon

cf.

Paekche

Kudara Kannon
Kutani
Kyoto 78f.,
197,

199,

38, 40, 47

20p, 22
82, 99,

200;

cf.

102,

109,

147,

152,

168,

if.

196,

'Famous Views of Kyoto',

Choho-ji, Daitoku-ji, Jingo-ji, J6ruri-ji, Juraku, Kinkaku-ji, Konchi-in, K6zan-ji, Reiunin, Taizd-in, Zenrin-ji

Kyushu

I.

11,

18,

147,

173, 222

237

lacquer 42, 4^,

176, 180, 220

5off.,

72,

54,

106,

103,

107,

151,

io9f.,

ladles

7s

Lamaism

80

'Landscape'
'Landscape of the Four Seasons'
'Landscapes with Flowers and Birds'
language, Chinese

i^y, 168

157
169
29, 54, 97

leather

Lee,

Sherman

E.

Liang
literature 82, 96, 97,

'Lovers Seated on a Balcony'

Lung-ch'iian

143

Lung-men

3I' 37

Mahayana
Mai-chi-shan
Main Hall of H6ryu-ji:
Main Hall of Saimyo-ji
Maitreya: cf. Miroku

123, 124,
cf

cf.

Manga
manju

Manjushri:

cf.

Sketches'
iS20

cf.

Monju

Mara
marble
Masanobu, Kano
masks

}6, 48f.,

Matabei, Iwasa
Matahei: cf. Matabei
matting: cf. tatami
Ma Yiian
medicine-boxes: cf. inro
Meigetsu-in
Meissen

merchants
metalwork

73
38
169
214, 220
211

145,

156
9^> 125

222
176;

cf.

bronze,

Michener, J. A.
Michinaga, Fujiwara-no

Middle East
mikkyo

182

Miroku

35, 41, 47, 76

23, 10^, 107

71, 151, 174, 178, 179, 192, 194

Mitsui family

201

models

24, 27

Momoyama

period 172-91, 192, 195; archiceramic ware i82f.; miniature

objects i76f.; painting i74ff.; religion 178: textiles i79ff., 205
mon
180, 181
monasticism
82, 99, 152, i57f., 170, 173
tecture

175;

174;

'Mongol Invasion' 1^2,

Mongoloids 18

134;

Mongols

134,

147;

Monju

170

'Moonlight Bodhisattva':
Moronobu, Hishikawa

cf.

Gakko Bosatsu
196, 202, 212

8p, 122, 125

mudrd.
72
Murasaki, Lady
97, 99, 196
Muromachi (Ashikaga) period 147-71, 180
music 50, 200; cf. koto, 'Heavenly Musicians'

Muso

152

Mustard Seed Garden

Myochin
Myo-o
Myoo-in
Myoren
mythology

211

Nabeshima
Nagaoka

copper,

81
67, 95

133

220

78
2 oof.

Namban-byobu
Namboku-cho period
Nanga school
Nara

219

20p, 222

Nagasaki

gold, silver

238

sculpture 152; style 180

prefecture

53f.. yi, 78;

I60-I,

179
148

200
period 53-77; Late Nara 44, 45,

54, 58, 62

151, 194, 195, 224

io6f.,

ce-

203;

199,

Muchaku

Ryokai

'Random

158,

122, 122

84
2l8

2/7;

156,

i68

31' 75
125, 127

Kondo

Manet, E.

176;

Motonobu, Kano
1^8, 169, 174
'Mount Fuji Seen from Kanagawa'
207, 215
mountains 156, 157, 167, 200; cf. Hiei, Koya,
Sumeru, T'ien-t'ai

mandara

cf.

mandara 85;
mandorla

153,

Mino

mirrors

i8y, 213

7/5,

architecture

ramic ware 222; painting

missionaries

202

'Lovers'

Yoritorao-no 92,
Yoshitsune-no 126

133;

Mincho (Cho Densu)

Ming dynasty 151, i73f.;

83
38
192, 201, 206, 215; cf.

151,

io8ff.,

121, i26ff., 147, 193;

27

drama, poetry, Tale of Genji

lohan
124
lokapala: cf. Guardians of the Faith
'Longer Landscape Scroll'
157
lotus: arabesque 106; flower 77, 106; leaves $4;
petals 57; symbol 37f.
79f., 104
Lotus Sutra

mandala:

Minamoto family

architecture 82, 120; painting 73ff.; religion

sculpture 56ff., 82; cf. Gango-ji, Hakuho,

54f.;

Shoso-in, Tempyo, ToYamato Bunka-kan

cf. Jomon

918

H6ryu-ji,

97^-

dai-ji, Yakushi-ji,

143
81

Neolithic
netsuke

Kofuku-ji,

Age

17;

^8, 152, 219, 220

120

Nichiren
Nijo Tenno, Emperor
Nikko Bosatsu

nimbus
Ninsei,

103;

84, 95,

133
44, 62

mandorla

cf.

Nonomura

197,797, 209,215
17, 25
37, 61, 104
180

Nintoku, Emperor
nirvana
Nishijin

2i3

nishiki-e

nobility 28, 34, 36, 56, 96ff 99, 107, 108, 133, 148,
150,

224

202f.,

i92ff.,

No

i8of.

168
No-ami
Nobunaga, Oda i72f., 174, 177, 178, 181, 193
nomads
30, 38
'Northern and Southern Courts'; cf. Namboku-

cho period
Nyoirin Kannon

66, 84

Okochi
Okyo, Maruyama

222
184-^, 201

Old Tomb period

Omori school

25
220

OJii

220

open-work design
Oribe, Furuta
Osaka 25, 173, 174,

191
192, 196; cf. Kanshin-ji

3 if., 38, 58
pagodas: of Horyu-ji 59, 61; of Yakushi-ji ^7, 59
Paine, R. T.
129, 156
126,

77,

152,

129,

155,

153,

i67f.,

Impressionnames
and
priest-painter,
ists,
of individual
painters
painting 54, 85f., 151, 153-70, 195-203, 206; Buddhist 5of., 73, io3f., io4f., 152, i69f.; genre
179, 198, 205, 212; ink 46, 65, p4, III, 112, 11^,
i69f., 170, 181, i98f., 20of., 205; cf.

114, 11^, 116, iij, 118, 130, 1)2, 735, 1)6, 757,
1)8, 1)9, 141, 153, 158, 166, 167, 177, 18),
184-^, 195, 207; landscape 51, 74, ii), 11$,
116,

iiy,

166,

i68ff.,

118,

192, 193

peony
perfume

106

96

Philippines
Phoenix Hall

194
98, 102
182

Picasso, P.

pine-tree

47, 140, 141, 221, 224

'Pine-trees in the Mist'

141, 177

'Pine-trees in the Snow'

199-200, 201

plants 705, 106, 144, 145, 176, 198, 209, 220; cf.
aster, begonia, chrysanthemum, gentian, peony, wistaria
plate

plum

107
221, 224;

cf.

'Red and White Plum-trees'

poets, poetry

53, 154, i99f., 200, 211, 212

portraiture 4^, 48, 77, 72, 114, 119, 120, 122, 123,
125, 126, 128, i54f., 170, 179

Portuguese

160-1, 174, 178, 179

potters, 25, i44f., 182, 191, 197, 220, 22if., 225; cf.
names of i?idividual potters

priest-painter

133, 155. 157

priests 4^, 55f., 71, 73, 80, 89, 96, 106, no, 120,
121, 122, 123, 124, 132, 144, 148, i5off., i55f.,
170;

priest-painter, scholar-priest

cf.

print-masters

Paekche

painters 53,

peasantry

I)), 1)7, 153, 155, i57ff..

184-$, 186, i98f., 200, 207,

129,

i76f.,

wall-paintings 51, 64, 75, 76, 8), 84; cf.

album-painting, bun-jin, colour-prints, door,
215;

punching
Pure Land

2i3ff.

cf.

Jodo

raku

'Random

220

sect:

16), 191

Sketches'

216, 277

'Record of Ancient Matters': cf. Kojiki

'Red and White Plum-trees'
16^, 198
Reiun-in
i)8, 169
religion 52; cf. ancestor worship. Buddhism,
Christianity, monasticism, priests, sects, Shinto
reliquaries

80, 82

rice

Ritsu
robes 122,

12, 18

55
124,

126,

128,

170,

759,

197, 205, 212, 214, 220; cf.

i79f.,

i8of.,

kimono, kosode

rocks
ronin

52, 155, 203

151,

Roshana

193

56

'Rules for Military Houses'

192

Ryokai

,^6

lacquer, screens, scrolls, 'Southern painting'

'Paintings of the Floating World':

cf,

Ukiyo-e

Palace of Peace

175

palaces, 53, 78, 109, 169;

Palace of Peace, Sanjo

paper

46,

71,

94,

iii,

Juraku, Kinkaku-ji,

cf.

Samantabhadra

722,

n6,

ii),

114,

11^, 116,

1)7, 1)8, 1)9, 140,

18 J, 184-)

Momoyama

period

Sanjo Palace
Sansom, Sir G. B.
sarcophagus

Satsuma

122

24
104;

samurai

112,

117, 118, i)o, 1)2, 735,

141, 151, 164, 16^, 166,

'Peach Hiir 174, 175;

cf.

Saimyo-ji
Saitobaru
cf.

Fugcn

98, io8f., 123, 151, 170, 193

133
1

3i, 99,

no, 150
5/, 52

224

'-\39

scholars

96;

scholar-painter

198;

scholjir-priest

screens 59, 7/, 140, 141, ibo-i, 164, 16^, 174,

i76ff., 179, 184-^, 196, 198, 201, 203; cf. fusuma
script 29, 212; cf. calligraphy

scripture 73,
scrolls

52,

79f., 82;

74,

cf.

III,

94,

i}2, 157, 167, 205;

cf.

112,

1^0,

i29ff.,

Chojii-giga,

i3ifE.,

e-makimono,

'

39> 74'

^21,

123;

cf.

portraiture,

tomb

fig-

Hosso, Jo do, Kegon, mikkyo,

Nichiren, Ritsu, Shin, Shingon, Tendai, Zen

sects 79ff., 133;

cf.

104

Seishi

Seitaku
Sekigahara

95
192
164, 196

'Sekiya'

Sen-no-Rikyu

191

122, 125
Seshin
Sesshu iiy, 755, 156, i57ff., 168, 169, 177
Sesson
1^6, 168
Seto 145; Seto ware 1^4, 14^, i^^i., 182

seto-mono
Shaka 37; Shaka Triad 41 f.

145

Shakyamuni
shamanism

37, 56, 61,

76
i8

Sharaku, Toshusai
Shari-den
Shichijo Street (Kyoto) school

S6j6,

750^ 133

Soper, A.
Sotatsu,

120, 156

Tawaraya

164,

i95ff.,

Shigisan-engi

p4, i3if.
11

194
120
79, 8of., 85, 99, 101, 102, 104, 128

182

120
i4f.,

Shirasagi

Sho Kannon
shoguns, shogunate

58, 81

174, 775

59
156!, 173,

110, 133, 150,153,

197, 202

Shomu, Emperor

57, 72

3^, 58f., 7/, ^4, 75

Shotoku
shrine 42, 4p, 50, 103, 131, 145, 196;

32, 37,
cf.

198,

221

'Southern Barbarian' screen: cf. Namban-byobu

'Southern painting'
i98f.
'Splashed Ink Landscape': cf. 'Haboku Landscape'

stone

12,

^2, 37;

sarcophagus 57, 52; sculpture ^i,

25;
cf.

marble
16, 17
1^8, 169

on a Branch'
'Storm on the Coast'
'Stork

1^6, 168

straw
streams
'Studio of the Three Worthies'
stupa
Sue grey ware
Sui dynasty 32; sculpture of 38f., 59
Suiko, Empress

62, 176

155, i98f.

776, 156
80, 82
77, 18, 25

32
61

Sumeru, Mt.
Sumiyoshi-Taira

18

Sung dynasty: architecture 102, 120;

ware 182; implements 145; painting

ceramic

153, 155,
157, 169, 178, 199; sculpture 123, 124, 727, 152;

styles

121

swords 110, 151; sword-blade 145; sword-guard

145

Shinto

i68f.

153,

757,

Toba

102

pi, i25f.

Tamamushi

25, 35
144, 145, 192, 220

silver

121

Shigefusa, Uesugi

Shoso-in

151, 171; silk-weaving 180

Silla

'Sunlight Bodhisattva': cf, Nikko Bosatsu

sutras 106, 211; cf. Lotus Sutra

i8p, 214

Shigaraki

Shikoku I.
Shimabara
Shin
Shingon
Shino
Shinran

silk JO, 8^, 88, p2, p^,

\pfii.

ipo, 214

Stone Age

urines

240

116,

So-ami

Lotus Sutra

Jigoku Soshi, 'Mongol Invasion'

sculpture, sculptors 13; Buddhist 31, 52, ^p, ^6ii.,
41, 4^, 44, $4, 56-71, 61, 65, 82f., lOlf.
Asuka 37ff.; Ashikaga 152; Heian, Early Saff.,
85; Heian, Late 101 ff.; Jomon i^, 14, ip, 20;
Kamakura 8p, po, pi, not., 121-6; Nara $4, 5671

Shubun
Shunsho, Katsukawa

128

128

Ishiyama,

176, 208, 2l8ff.

symbolism

376.,

Taiga, Ike-no

Taira

7,4.,

95, 122

183, 199
108, 110, 126, 133, 143

Taiwan

11

Taizo-in

ii3> 155

Takagamine
Takanobu, Fujiwara
Takauji, Ashikaga
Tale of Genji
Tamamushi shrine

195
p2, 126
i47ff.

97, igef.

42, 4p, 50, 52, 131, 145

Tamba
T'ang dynasty 33, 36, 47, 53,
metalwork 106; painting,

145
79, 98; art 59, 74f.;

77,

129,

167,

176;

poetry 82; portraiture 128, 154; sculpture 60,

61, y2, 72, 84, 103, 152; wood block-printing
206; cf. Ch'ang-an
Tantra, tantrism
tatami

Bof.

191

taxation
31, 82, 55, 98, 107, 150
tea-bowls j6^, 171, 176, 191; tea ceremony 171,
182, 191, 221; tea-kettle 145, 191; tea-master
191; tea-houses 212

temmoku

143

temples 53, 109, 121, 125, 133, 152, 173; cf. cavetemples, Choho-ji, Chuson-ji, Engaku-ji, Horyujoruri-ji, Kakurin-ji,
Jinsho-ji,
Konchi-in, Koryu-ji,
K6uku-ji,
Kozan-ji, Saimyo-ji, Todai-ji, Yakushi-ji, Zen-

ji,

Jingo-ji,

Uji
Ukiyo-e

p8, 102

2o3

United States
Unkei
Utamaro, Kitagawa

f..

211, 212

224
8p, 110, 122

188, 214f.

bowls, cups, dish, jar, ladles, plates,

pots, vessels, water-container
Utsusemi, Prince
1961.
utensils:

cf.

Kanshin-ji,

Tempyo period
Ten
Ten Bamboo Studio
'Ten Conveniences
Country Living'

and

i8of.;

Ten

107,

Vajrapani:

62
211

vase

Enjoyments

79^-. 85, 99,

54, 58,

62 f.

of

199

Tendai
Terumasa
textiles

176, i79ff.,

101,

102, 104

220
design of

197;

T6dai-ji

Tohaku, Hasegawa

44, ^4, 56f., 58, 62, 120, 121

141, i77f.

'Tokaido Highway, Fifty-three Stations of

the'

Tokei

Tokoname
Tokugawa period

painting

22off.;

manship 219f.
Tokyo: cf. Edo
tombs ij, 18, 24,

Tomb

169,

i95flf.;

works of

25; figurines 38, 72, 75;

^44^-

Toshodai-ji

72

trade 143, i72f., 218, 22if., 224;

cf.

merchants

trays
168,

174,

198, 203;

cf.

5/;

cf.

i92f.;

56
i47f.,

150, 172,

121, i33f., 147!?., i72f., 174,

182, 192,

nobility,

cf.

io8f.,

samurai

Heiji

War, Namboku-cho, Sekigahara

water-container

210, 221

221;

cf.

Watson, W.
'wave men';
weapons 58;

103
cf.

ronin

cf.

swords, firearms

weavers

180

sculpture 38;

Northern Wei sculpture

wheel
'White Heron' castle:
'Winter Landscape'

66, 84
cf.

Shirasagi
iiy, 157

221
18

'Woman Looking Over Her

wood
21

3/,

77
198

wistaria

Shoulder'

205, 212

wood block-printing i8y, 188,

42;
building 57; mask 56, 50; sculpture 4^'

12,

iff.;

41, 47, 6^, 66, 68, 69, 72, 82, 84, 90, 9/, 101,102,
124,

125

woodcuts
Xavier,

60
219, 2i9f.

tsuji-ga-hana

Tun-huang
J.

Sy, yo, 80

206

St.

F.

178

Shaka Triad, Tori Triad

tribhanga
tsuba

Turner,

province

L.

warriors 26, 27, 27, 121, 126, 128,

wars

216

pine-trees,

plum-trees

Triad

Wakayama

103,

72
156,

12, 14, 16, ly, 18, 2^, 24

witchcraft

Tori, Shiba 37, 47; Tori Triad 47

Tosa school
153, 197, 212

131,

vessels

Wei-ch'ih-Iseng
wen-jen

Old

Seshin

'Views of the Eastern Capital'

Vimalakirti: cf. 'Yuima'

145

period, Saitobaru, Sumiyoshi-Taira

Toshiro

cf.

32, 35> 37. 48

crafts-

cf.

Guardians of the Faith

191

ceramic

192-225;

173,

cf.

125
2op, 224

Wei

frontispiece, 216, 218

trees

56

Vasubandhu:

Warner,

yuzen

cf.

'Three Amis': cf. Gei-ami, No-ami, So-ami

188
'Three Beauties of Kansei Era'
'Three Friends' motif
224
Tibet
80
T'ien-t'ai, Mt.
79
tiger
50

ware

Vairocana
'Vajra-bearer'

rin-ji

181
31, 51, 61, 61, 77, 131

M. W.

tz'u-chou ware

216
182, 191

Yakushi
Yakushi Nyorai
Yakushi-ji

Yamato Bunka-kan
Yang Kuei-fei
Yangchou

43' 60, 76
65, 82. 85

43, 51 > 59. 60, 63, 74

39
75

SCO

241

Yashiro, Y.

84. 177

Yayoi ceramic ware i6,

Yayoi 14, 18
Yi ceramic ware
Yoritomo: cf. Minamoto
Yoshiaki, Ashikaga
Yoshiakira

Yoshimasa
Yoshimitsu
Yoshino
Yoshitsune:

242

cf,

Minamoto

23f.;

people

18;

Late

Yoshiwara

214

Yiian dynasty

134

'Yuima'
182

1^9, 170

Yun-kang

3. )!> 35> 37

yuzen
173
149
153
149, 150
148

196

Zen: architecture 12
i5off.,

i67f.,

169,

if.;

i55f.;

154;

170;

tea

monks and

painting

128,

ceremony

i7of.

priests,

152,

121,
i55f.,

Zenrin-ji

102

Zimmer, H. R.

37f-

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