Art and Culture
The art and culture of Japan has distinct periods. Focusing on the period while Kyoto was the capital, there are the following periods: Heian, Kamakura, Muromachi, and Edo.
Heian Period 794 – 1185
In the Heian Period, Emperor Kanmu established Heian-kyō (Kyoto) as his capital. Kanmu sponsored the monks Kūkai and Saichō who started Esoteric Buddhism. Esoteric Buddhism used visual aids to achieve enlightenment and relied heavily on mandalas: diagrams, charts or geometric patterns, including calligraphy.
Late in the Heian Period, the Pure Land Buddhist movement appeared. It stressed salvation through the compassion of Amida Buddha, Amidism. Paintings and sculptures depicted Amida welcoming the souls of the dying, raigōzu.
Early Heian sculpture made use of a single block of wood. In the Late Heian, Jōchō popularized the yosegi-zukuri technique of sculpting a single figure out of many pieces of wood.
By the 9th century, Japan began to develop its own art. By the Late Heian Period, there was a clear distinction between paintings with Chinese influence (kara-e) and those with Japanese influence (yamato-e). This is seen in folding screens, hanging scrolls, and hand scrolls. All came from China and all exhibited kara-e in the Early Heian; however, by the 12th century, yamato-e dominated.
Kamakura Period 1185 – 1333
The Kamakura Period is named after the town of Kamakura where the shogun maintained military headquarters. The Buddhism sects of Zen, Pure Land, and True Pure Land gained prominence.
The Kamakura Era is particularly known for sculpture such as at Sanjūsangen-dō. Kamakura sculptures feature characters with bulging eyes, protruding veins, and theatrical poses.
Kamakura religious painting was influenced by themes of salvation (raigūzu) and Zen inspired art that included portraiture, bird and flower paintings and landscape paintings.
It was also a time for building the great temples of Zen and the Pure Land sects. A new style of architecture appeared, the Zenshū style, in which all buildings are in a straight line.
Popular arts fostered by the aristocracy included archery, equestrianism, and swords-making as well as the ogi, or folding fan.
Muromachi Period 1333 – 1600
The Muromachi Period is named after a fashionable district in Kyoto. It was a period of great contrasts: constant warfare and great artistic and cultural development. Towards the end of the period, in the Azuchi-Momoyama Period, opulent villas and castles, the Kano school of painting, kabuki, literature, haiku poetry, wood block print art, and Chinese landscapes became prevalent.
The shogun favored Zen Buddhism especially the Rinzai sect. Zen Buddhism heavily influenced art and culture.
The Golden Age of Japanese Art and Muromachi Culture: 1378-1490
Muromachi Culture can be divided into two periods, Kitayama Culture and Higashiyama Culture, named after certain areas of Kyoto.
Kitayama Culture (Kitayama bunka, “north mountain culture”) is named for the Kitayama region of Kyoto. There the Temple of the Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku-ji) became a center of culture where noh or nō drama, renga or linked verse in poetry, and painting were developed.
Higashiyama Culture (Higashiyama bunka) originated in the eastern hills (higashiyama) of Kyoto at Ginkaku-ji (the Temple of the Silver Pavilion). Its artistic ideals and aesthetics were heavily influence by Zen Buddhism with the concept of wabi-sabi (beauty in simplicity). Higashiyama Bunka artists furthered developing chadō (tea ceremony), ikebana (flower arranging), Noh, sumi-e (ink painting), and the Zen inspired art form of rock gardens.
The most significant development in Japanese painting was the Chinese ink monochrome tradition, suiboku-ga or sumi-e. Famous art schools began during this period: the Kanō school, which adopted Chinese themes and was the longest lived (300 years), the Tosa School, which was devoted to yamato-e paintings, and the School of Sesshū.
From China and Korea came celadon, Tenryūji in Japan, a light green monochrome ware that was imported in large quantities to make ceramics. Lacquerware also became popular. Lacquerware of a subdued red and black was favored in Buddhist establishments for its worn, unaffected look.
Edo Period 1600-1868
The Edo Period was named after the city of Edo (present day Tokyo) where the Tokugawa Shogunate ruled. During the Edo Period all manner of daily life was regulated by an absolute totalitarian regime. However, perhaps as a reaction to austerity, the Edo Period saw the Genroku Era.
The Genroku Era (1688-1704), with its pleasure zones, ukiyo (“the floating world”), kabuki, and the puppet theater was the art and culture of the merchants, samurai, and townspeople. It was centered on leisure entertainment – teahouses, taverns, pleasure quarters, theaters, public baths, and tourism. Woodblock prints were of a style known as ukiyo-e, “pictures of the floating world”. See Genroku Era Art.
The Rinpa School celebrated Heian culture and the Southern School developed bunjin-ga (“literati painting”) or nanga (“painting of the Southern School”) from Chinese literati culture introduced by Ming Chinese monks.