Deal W.E. Handbook To Life In Medieval And Early Modern Japan

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INTRODUCTION

Developments in visual art and architecture paral-

leled transformations in medieval and early modern

Japanese religion, government, and society. Once

the military class attained power in the Kamakura

era and instituted a new form of government, they

sought to assert their values, political aims, and

social status. One way they accomplished this was

through patronage of art and architecture, a practice

that continued throughout the medieval and early

modern periods despite variations in warrior sensi-

bilities expressed at different times during this

nearly 700-year period.

Members of the warrior classes favored certain

themes, techniques, and styles in art and architec-

ture that distinguished their patronage from that of

established aristocrats and, in the Edo period, from

nouveau-riche merchants and artisans. Further, the

military classes grasped the power of visual art and

considered its effects as they chose their commis-

sions. For example, art created for Buddhist institu-

tions at the request of elite samurai leaders could

help restore the reputation of a particular temple,

further the career of an important priest, or simply

inspire other forms of patronage at the local level. At

the same time, regional lords could enhance the

prestige and authority of both patron and domain by

commissioning Buddhist images.

Medieval Art and

Architecture

High-ranking warrior leaders recognized the arts as

a powerful arena in which to deﬁne the central mili-

tary government, the shogunate, as a rival to the

imperial court in Kyoto in artistic and cultural dis-

cernment. Through sponsorship of the arts, the

medieval warrior elite promoted samurai tastes as

distinct from the sensibilities of aristocrats who had

directed artistic production to the end of the Heian

period. Warriors were drawn to images and art

forms that highlighted their martial lifestyle and

code of honor. Examples of such masculine art

forms—as they came to be known, in contrast with

the “womanly” elegance of Heian court romance

tales and paintings—included war epics illustrated

with battle scenes glorifying samurai conquests, por-

traits of noted shoguns and military lords, and suits

of armor distinguished by both aesthetic and tech-

nological achievement. Regionally powerful war-

riors also found that commissions such as arms and

armor, battle chronicles, and portraiture expressed

military sensibilities in keeping with their status.

Although shogunal rule rendered the emperor a ﬁg-

urehead and afforded aristocrats little input into

military government, elegant Heian cultural preoc-

cupations lingered in the medieval period alongside

military tastes. Contrasting, yet coexisting, styles

included established aristocratic tastes such as Tosa

school painting.

During the Muromachi period, the Ashikaga

shoguns enjoyed prominence even among the cul-

tural elite during their tenure in the capital, Kyoto,

in part due to their enthusiastic support for per-

forming arts such as Noh drama, linked verse

(renga), tea gatherings, and ﬂower arranging, as well

as garden arts and architecture in the Chinese style.

Beyond the political role of the Ashikaga shoguns,

their patronage helped to create a legacy that

extended beyond the medieval era. For example,

academic styles in painting such as the Kano school

and the Japanese literati school were rooted in the

monochrome ink traditions introduced by monk-

painters in the Muromachi era.

The Kamakura-period shoguns and other high-

ranking warriors were patrons of religious art and

architecture. For example, Minamoto no Yoritomo

made generous donations for rebuilding key Nara

temples such as Todaiji and Kofukuji destroyed

during the Gempei War. While Yoritomo’s gen-

erosity could be considered a simple act of Bud-

dhist piety, his financial assistance also offered

potential political rewards, as popular support fur-

thered government authority and even economic

conditions.

Other inﬂuential currents in medieval art origi-

nated outside Japan. The rate of cultural exchange

between Japan and China during the Kamakura

period declined in comparison to the deluge that

characterized earlier eras, such as the Nara period.

Still, the newly established Kamakura shogunate

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284

encouraged introduction of ideas and imagery

from abroad, especially from China. Opportunities

for cultural exchange with Song-dynasty China

(960–1279) increased due to China’s active merchant

navy and, at least during the Kamakura era, a desire

to disentangle the shogunate and its affairs from the

preoccupations of the Heian court with its aristo-

cratic sensibilities. The ﬁnal element that emerged

from a renewed relationship between China and

Japan during this period was the introduction of the

meditative Zen (Chinese: Chan) Buddhist tradition.

Zen Buddhism ﬁrst arrived in Japan from China

beginning in the late 12th century. Soon after the

Japanese monks Eisai and Dogen returned from

travels in China with Chan teachings and seeds

for growing green tea plants, the samurai elite

embraced this austere tradition. Warrior involve-

ment in Zen Buddhism quickly became visible, as

temples modeled on Chinese Zen architecture, such

as Kenchoji and Engakuji, were constructed in the

city of Kamakura. In addition, emphasizing direct,

intuitive perception of reality, Zen espoused suc-

cinct, incisive literary forms, a straightforward ethi-

cal code, and discipline, rather than scripture,

dogma, or ritual—all of which were well received by

the military and cultural elite. Compared with the

complex subtleties of Heian society, the spare Song

literary forms, serene landscape paintings, and sub-

tle monochrome ceramics probably seemed immedi-

ately accessible to the military and intelligentsia.

Zen and its cultural permutations could inspire

without daunting those who had little exposure to

Chinese poetry, Confucian classics, and other pillars

of Japanese aristocratic education. As Zen and

related cultural traditions eschewed the worldly

orthodoxy and iconic imagery of other Buddhist

schools, the boundaries between sacred and secular

were blurred. Further, medieval monastics were

active in secular circles, attending civil ceremonies,

advising about political affairs, and practicing dis-

tinctively Zen arts such as poetry and calligraphy.

These monks began to introduce their military

patrons to the reserved character of Song literary

and visual arts. Thus, through formal restraint and

directness in accord with Zen traditions, Song cul-

ture provided warriors with a foundation for further

arts patronage, as well as a cause to which they

became dedicated.

Many scholars have asserted that samurai were

attracted to Zen largely due to its insistence on self-

discipline. Compared with other schools of Bud-

dhism practiced in Japan, Zen especially emphasized

poverty and seclusion for monastics, although inter-

action between clerics and the laity was acceptable

and encouraged. Zen practices originating in China

included long hours of intense meditation, ritualized

tea gatherings to promote health and concentration,

composition of poetry, calligraphy, and paintings

with a distinctive Zen flavor, and even gardens

designed to inspire insight. Monk-painters in Japan-

ese monasteries began emulating the minimalist

monochrome landscape paintings first brought to

Japan by Chinese monastics as part of their training.

Such images were thought to cultivate intuition and

insight. However, many practices associated with

Zen also served as leisure and cultural activities for

privileged members of Japanese society. Daimyo and

shoguns amassed notable collections of painting and

calligraphy in the Zen idiom, especially in the

Muromachi era. Elite warriors sought to learn paint-

ing and calligraphy techniques through study with

Zen monastics. Chinese architectural styles used in

Japan for Zen temples were admired by Japanese

military ﬁgures, who borrowed the Zen aesthetic in

designing cultural retreats surrounded by Chinese-

inspired gardens, where they could indulge in aes-

thetic pursuits. Zen promoted study of Chinese

literature and history, which offered models for suc-

cessful administration and righteous rule that

assisted members of the military classes, while also

affirming the virtues of education and contempla-

tion. Thus, Zen represented not only a religious tra-

dition, but also the possibility of a broader cultural

horizon deemed necessary for warrior-class rulers

who sought to place themselves on an aesthetic and

intellectual par with the nobility.

As Japan emerged from the Warring States

period, three warlords attempted in sequence to

seize political control of the country during the brief

Azuchi-Momoyama era. Some aspects of the patron-

age of this era reﬂect the grandiose excesses of which

daimyo were capable. Numerous castles were

erected, only to be conquered and destroyed by

competing lords, and are evidence of the frequent

shifts in authority that marked this tumultuous age.

Fortifications constructed during the rule of the

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Ashikaga shoguns had been designed primarily for

military purposes. In contrast, although the palatial

castles of the Azuchi-Momoyama period were

erected with defense against gunﬁre in mind, they

were primarily a setting for daimyo displays of mili-

tary and political power. Warlords also favored

extravagant paintings for their castle interiors, and

were particularly fond of gold pigments and gold

leaf. Considerable resources were devoted to com-

missions that would promote the political and cul-

tural superiority of elite lords.

Early Modern Art and

Architecture

The uniﬁcation of Japan under the leadership of the

Tokugawa family in 1615, and the establishment of a

stable government in the city of Edo, marked the

end of decades of war and political upheaval, and the

start of a 250-year period of peace. The combination

of increased leisure time, the redeﬁnition of the mil-

itary classes in peacetime, and the rise of an increas-

ingly wealthy class of merchants and artisans, with

their interest in urban amusements, contributed to

the artistic variety that marked the early modern

period.

The focus of the visual arts changed, in part,

because the prosperity and the security of peace

allowed time for leisure pursuits. Amusing pastimes,

local scenery, and images of everyday life replaced

battle chronicles, religious themes, and ﬂashy com-

positions that had been favored by warrior patrons

since the 16th century. The prohibition on overseas

travel for Japanese, and strict trade limitations with

foreigners, meant that Japanese artists produced

their works with the indigenous population in

mind, with the exception of ceramics exported to

China during the 17th century. An increase in dis-

posable income and the growth of the leisure indus-

try also spurred demand for a greater variety of

functional art objects, such as ceramics, lacquer, and

textiles.

Although they controlled the government and

most of the wealth, Tokugawa patronage produced

probably the least innovative development in Edo

art. The Kano school, a studio of extended family

members who exempliﬁed the regime’s conservative

approach, dominated works completed for the

shoguns from the 1620s onward. Kano painters uti-

lized a decorative manner ﬁrst favored by Tokugawa

forbears in the Momoyama era in conjunction with

Chinese subjects that highlight Confucian themes

and characters. Models of good government drawn

from Confucian sources adorned painted sliding

doors and screens in reception rooms where ofﬁcial

business was conducted, thus reinforcing shogunal

policies. While Tokugawa commissions lacked

drama, they certainly fulﬁlled the shogunate’s cen-

tral ambition by keeping tradition intact.

As in past eras, religion and philosophy contin-

ued to inform Edo-period artistic and cultural

developments. The ethical implications of Neo-

Confucianism—principles for maintaining an or-

dered government and social structure originating

in China—became especially vital as Tokugawa sho-

guns aimed to shepherd the self-reliant lords and

retainers of about 250 domains into a genial, cohe-

sive bureaucracy. Brush and ink compositions,

including various forms of calligraphy and painting

styles inspired by Chinese Ming-dynasty works,

promoted the Confucian scholar-official ideal to

which samurai were expected to aspire.

Beyond the shogun’s residence at Edo Castle, a

vast array of visual art forms ﬂourished, in a testa-

ment to the cultural diversity of the early modern

period. A healthy economy, changing aesthetics, and

social competition helped the arts to become more

accessible during the Edo period. Artists enjoyed a

better standard of living, were able to specialize and

attract clients seeking their particular abilities, and

experienced more freedom than in earlier periods.

Censorship occurred, although sumptuary laws and

restrictions on content often spurred artists to cre-

ative circumvention.

The maintenance of clearly demarcated social

classes was an important component of Tokugawa

policy that affected art, consumption, and currents

in visual culture. All citizens were required to

observe various statutes regarding proper appear-

ance as determined by the social hierarchy. Individu-

als and family groups were closely identified with

visual and contextual symbols that indicated one’s

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286

position in life at a glance. High sensitivity to status

fueled competition among those of means.

One Edo cultural institution largely eluded the

shoguns’ far-reaching regulations: the sometimes

bawdy diversions found in the pleasure quarters.

Despite several edicts by Tokugawa rulers that

attempted to quiet the boisterous world of theaters,

street performers, vendors, public baths, teahouses,

and brothels, the pleasure districts maintained a

prosperous urban leisure culture. One of the first

licensed districts, the Yoshiwara, was located in the

Tokugawa capital, and became a main attraction of

Edo urban life. These quarters, known as the ﬂoat-

ing world, or ukiyo (see below in ukiyo-e), spawned

colorful new trends in the visual arts.

Like the changing of the political guard, the

shifting economic circumstances also affected Edo-

period arts as a new class of patrons emerged who

favored the glamour and unique ﬂavor of urban cen-

ters. Many artists formulated their aesthetics to

appeal to the fashion-conscious merchants, money-

lenders, and other discerning urban residents who

made up the wealthiest portions of the population.

Edo-period artists often looked to past artistic

trends, yet reworked earlier styles and techniques

into a new idiom that accorded with the tastes and

sensibilities of such patrons as warriors, merchants,

artists, and aristocrats.

ART

Sculpture

Prior to the medieval period, Japanese sculpture was

fabricated in a variety of mediums including wood,

bronze, clay, and dry lacquer modeled over wood.

By the beginning of the Kamakura period, wood

had become the primary medium for sculpture.

Medieval wood sculpture, which was mostly Bud-

dhist in subject matter, was either carved from a sin-

gle solid block of wood (ichiboku zukuri) or made

from parts carved separately and then joined

together (yosegi zukuri).

MEDIEVAL PERIOD

Heian- and Kamakura-period Buddhist sculptors

were typically organized into workshops (bussho),

independent or associated with a particular temple,

which consisted of a group of Buddhist sculptors

(busshi) working in a similar style, passed down from

a teacher to students and studio assistants.

Although Kamakura-period sculpture still some-

times used styles derived from Chinese and Heian-

period precedents, there were significant stylistic

innovations in the construction and decoration of

Buddhist sculpture in the medieval period. The

Heian-period style of gilded statues continued, but

from the late 12th century, a dramatic sculptural

style grounded in realism dominated, especially

in images by sculptors of the Kei school. These

works were executed using the joined-wood tech-

nique (yosegi zukuri). Realism was enhanced by the

use of crystal insets for eyes (gyokugan, “jewel eyes”).

The most important workshop in the Kamakura

period, the Kei school (Keiha) was so called because

the important ﬁgures all shared the character kei in

their names. These sculptors worked within sculp-

ture studios that were commissioned to work on

images for temples. The Kei-school style ranges

from stark to dramatic to beatific realism, and as

these artists worked in the former capital at Nara,

they were also affected by the classicism of the

eighth-century works that remained in Nara tem-

ples. However, works by Kei-school artists often

venture beyond realism to exaggeration, especially

in depictions of unenlightened beings. Thus the

Kei-school of Kamakura sculpture can be under-

stood as a response to and dramatization of earlier

realistic modes in Japanese sculpture. For further

clariﬁcation, some have characterized the Kei style

as “exaggerated realism.” Perhaps the sensational

appearance of dramatic Kei ﬁgures, like the pair of

guardians located beneath the Great South Gate

(nandaimon) at Todaiji, can be connected with the

brutal nature of military experience, as seen in illus-

trated battle tales and other examples of medieval

warrior patronage.

There were a number of Kei masters. Unkei (d.

1223) and Kaikei (active ca. 1185–1223) worked on

both collaborative and individual projects. Their

most famous collaboration is the pair of Buddhist

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287

guardian ﬁgures (ni-o) crafted for the newly recon-

structed Great South Gate (nandaimon) at Todaiji.

This project received support from the Kamakura

shogunate.

Separately, Unkei was noted for a number of

works including a pair of wooden sculptures located

at the Kofukuji in Nara. These are images of two

Indian Buddhist monks named Muchaku (in San-

skrit, Asanga) and Seshin (in Sanskrit, Vasubandhu)

that utilize such Kamakura-period sculptural inno-

vations as a high level of realism realized, in part,

through the use of crystal for the eyes. In contrast to

Unkei, Kaikei’s images are sometimes less expressive

of realism and tend more toward idealism. Kaikei

also uses gold and paint on the surface of some of his

images. Particularly well-known are his images of

Hachiman, a Shinto god portrayed wearing a Bud-

dhist monk’s garb, and the bodhisattva Jizo.

Unkei’s six sons were also sculptors. Of special

note were the eldest son, Tankei (1173–1256), and

the fourth son, Kosho (active late 12th to early 13th

century). Tankei and his workshop sculpted some of

the many Buddhist images at Rengeoin (popularly

known as Sanjusangendo (Hall of 33 bays) in Kyoto.

Images of the gods of thunder and wind are particu-

larly famous. Kosho’s most famous work is an image

of the Heian-period Japanese Buddhist priest Kuya

(903–972). Kuya was an advocate of the practice of

reciting the nembutsu: namu Amida butsu, meaning

“Praise to Amida Buddha,” as a means to gain birth

in the Pure Land, or Western Paradise, of Amida.

Kosho’s realistic sculptural portrait of Kuya shows

the monk chanting the nembutsu. Emerging from

Kuya’s mouth are six tiny images of Amida, each ﬁg-

ure representing one of the six characters that com-

prise the nembutsu (na-mu-a-mi-da-butsu).

While Buddhist sculptures were the most com-

monly produced, there were other trends in

Kamakura-period sculpture that included secular

subject matter. Portrait sculptures, though they

might be of important monks, were also made of

famous warriors such as the late 13th-century image

of Minamoto no Yoritomo, the founder of the

Kamakura shogunate. Like other Kamakura-period

sculpture, this seated portrait employs realism and

inlaid crystal eyes. In a similar style is the seated

sculpture of Uesugi Shigefusa, a 13th-century ad-

viser to the shogunate.

By the Muromachi period, the earlier emphasis

on Buddhist sculpture rendered in a realistic manner

was largely discontinued. Religious sculpture was no

longer produced by sculpture workshops like the

Kei, but instead by artisans without the kind of for-

mal ties to Buddhist temples that Kamakura-period

sculptural schools had. This was less because a new

form of sculpture had taken its place and more due

to changing warrior sensibilities, especially as the

result of the importation of Zen Buddhism and the

arts this religious tradition engendered. Interest

shifted from Buddhist sculpture to new art forms

such as ink painting. While ink painting could be a

powerful medium for expressing Buddhist ideas, it

accomplished this in a much different way than the

realism of Kamakura-period sensibilities.

EARLY MODERN PERIOD

Edo-period sculpture is sometimes described as

insignificant compared with its medieval ante-

cedents. While it was the case that impressive work-

shops of gifted sculptors were no longer the norm,

there were nevertheless important works produced

in the early modern period. One avenue for sculp-

tural creativity resulted from the rebuilding of Bud-

dhist temples destroyed during the Warring States

period. These temples commissioned sculptors to

reproduce the images that had been lost when build-

ings were burned or razed. Often these images were

made in imitation of the earlier styles of the

destroyed images.

The most original early modern sculptor was the

artist Enku (1632–95). Enku was a Buddhist priest

who wandered the countryside preaching and creat-

ing religious images. His sculptural style is usually

classified as natabori, in which the wood is only

roughly carved and the ﬁnished surface shows the

wood grain and the marks made by the chisel or ax.

His many works suggest a spontaneity of both con-

cept and execution.

Painting

Artists produced paintings of both secular and reli-

gious subjects throughout the medieval and early

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288

modern eras. The breadth and richness of Japanese

painting traditions are evident in the numerous for-

mats, styles, and diverse subjects represented in the

many surviving works from feudal times. Yet the

variety of approaches to painting produced during

military rule complicates a brief survey of this form

of artistic expression during a period of nearly 700

years. For instance, Buddhist figures and themes

were painted in several different formats and

styles—resulting in images that defy association with

discrete categories. Images rendered in mono-

chrome ink, a widely used technique in the medieval

era, encompass both secular and religious subject

matter, and were executed in diverse formats such as

screens, doors, and hanging scrolls. Thus, a single

chapter examining painting in medieval and early

modern Japan cannot summarize the many impor-

tant artists and signiﬁcant trends in detail. Instead

this section provides an overview of painting formats

and techniques employed in the age of warrior rule,

along with a general survey of major movements in

painting.

At the outset of this brief introduction to me-

dieval and early modern painting in Japan, one

aspect of art historical terminology must be clariﬁed.

The stylistic terms kara-e (Chinese-style pictures)

and yamato-e (Japanese-style pictures), first em-

ployed in the Heian period, persist in descriptions of

Japanese painting throughout the medieval era.

Although these terms may initially seem straightfor-

ward, in fact they are used to designate varied styles,

techniques, and content in painted images. Kara-e

can refer to works made by Chinese painters or

images by Japanese artists utilizing Chinese painting

styles. Images executed by Japanese artists that fea-

ture Chinese subject matter, such as a landscape

depicting a locale in China (whether mythic or real)

are also described as kara-e. Chinese landscapes are

visually distinct from Japanese outdoor scenes, for

kara-e paintings feature the precipitous mountains

typical of many areas of China, while yamato-e

images focus on the gently rolling landscapes that

characterize the Japanese archipelago. Although the

term can also refer to landscape scenes, the word

yamato-e was ﬁrst used to identify images rendered

in a distinctive Japanese manner, involving appli-

cation of thick layered pigments in rich jewel tones

by Japanese artists. (Yamato is an old Japanese word

for “Japan.”) Poignant subjects drawn from aristo-

cratic literature dominate yamato-e or Japanese-style

painting from the Heian period onward. However,

Edo-period approaches, such as the Rimpa style,

incorporate typical yamato-e content presented in

painting techniques that depart from established

yamato-e traditions—thus reworking familiar themes

in a new manner. Quintessentially Japanese painting

formats, such as hand scrolls (emakimono) and six-

panel folding screens (byobu) that incorporate liter-

ary tales, seasonal imagery, or scenes of everyday

life, are also identiﬁed as representative examples of

Japanese-style painting that proliferated throughout

the medieval and early modern eras.

MAJOR PAINTING FORMATS

Formats such as hand scrolls (emakimono) and hang-

ing scrolls (kakemono or kakejiku) were introduced to

Japan from China before the Heian period. These

types of paintings could be easily transported, and

would be displayed for brief periods of time. Often

hand scrolls and hanging scrolls have survived in

fairly good condition since they were protected

when stored and could be removed quickly in case of

fire or other disasters. Other formats for painting

were more interrelated with architectural settings,

such as wall painting (hekiga), screens (byobu), and

sliding doors (fusuma).

Hand Scrolls Pieces of silk or paper attached hori-

zontally comprise Japanese hand scrolls (emakimono,

“rolled object with images”), which are fastened on

the left side to a dowel-like rod (called a jiku). Hand-

scrolls are unrolled and read from right to left. In

the medieval and early modern eras, handscrolls

measured approximately 20–50 centimeters in

height (eight to 20 inches) and could be many

meters long. These painted scrolls were designed to

be held by one or two people and viewed in sections

approximately 30 centimeters (one foot) wide as

they were unrolled from right to left, in the same

direction that Chinese and Japanese characters are

traditionally written. As viewing proceeded, the por-

tion of the scroll that had already been seen would

be rolled up on the right-hand side, while the

unseen content was unrolled on the left. When

viewing was complete, the entire scroll would be

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289

rolled up on the left-hand side, ﬁtted with a dowel

for that purpose, and fastened with a cord made of

silk. Works in horizontal scrolled format soon de-

parted somewhat in style and technique from Chi-

nese antecedents, and by the early Kamakura period,

these types of paintings were well established as for-

mats favored for native Japanese-style (or yamato-e)

painting. The hand scroll format allows the artist to

depict an illustrated narrative in an extended man-

ner. Images on a hand scroll sometimes include text.

Hand scrolls were especially prized during the Ka-

makura period, though the format was used through

the Edo period. They are often associated with the

yamato-e picture style.

Hanging Scrolls The center panel of a hanging

scroll (kakemono or kakejiku) consists of a piece of

silk or paper on which the image, which may be

painting, calligraphy, or a combination of both, is

rendered. This panel is attached to a backing made

of paper, which is ﬁxed to a dowel-like rod at the

bottom of the image. This rod allows the image to

be rolled up for storage, and when unrolled for dis-

play, its weight helps to keep the scroll evenly

extended. Atop the original panel, hanging scrolls

are fitted for display with a mounting, or frame,

made of silk or brocade. Hanging scrolls are meant

to be hung on a wall and are typically changed with

the seasons so that the subject matter of the scroll is

congruent with the time of year.

Screen, Door, and Wall Paintings Paintings were

executed on paper-covered sliding doors (fusuma),

freestanding folding screens (byobu), freestanding

single-panel screens (tsuitate), and sometimes

directly onto walls. These painting formats were

especially important in the latter half of the

medieval period and in the early modern period.

Shoin-style architecture made particular use of

screen and door paintings executed in a variety of

styles. (For a description of the architectural fea-

tures of screens and doors, see “Architecture”

below.)

PAINTING IN THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD

Religious and Secular Painting Religious images

were an important subject for medieval painters.

Paintings included illustrated biographies of famous

Buddhist priests, such as the Ippen hijiri-e (Pictures

of the Buddhist ascetic Ippen, 1299), a set of 12 hand

scrolls depicting the life of the monk Ippen Shonin

(1239–89) by En’i (active late 13th century).

Depictions of Buddhist and Shinto mandala

(mandara) were also a common subject for medieval

painting. Mandalas are typically abstracted repre-

sentations of the Buddhist universe and often depict

the Buddhas and bodhisattvas. Borrowing from

Buddhism, Shinto mandalas were also painted in the

medieval period. Unlike their more abstract Bud-

dhist counterparts, Shinto mandalas depicted a bird’s

eye view of a shrine in its natural setting.

Another subject for Buddhist paintings were

images called rokudo-e, or pictures of the six kinds of

rebirth in the samsaric world (see chapter 6: Reli-

gion). These six realms were understood as the six

possible states of existence for those bound to the

cycle of rebirth, a cycle which could be transcended

through the intervention of Buddhas and bod-

hisattvas who could sever one’s samsaric connections

and facilitate birth in a Pure Land. Religiously

rokudo-e were visual reminders of how nasty exis-

tence could be for those who did not strive toward

Buddhist enlightenment. Particularly vivid were

paintings of the different levels of hell and the horri-

ble experiences awaiting one reborn there. A well-

known example is the Jigoku zoshi (Hell scrolls; late

12th-century hand scroll).

In contrast to rokudo-e were images called raigozu

(“welcoming pictures”). Raigozu depict the descent

of Amida Buddha to the bedside of a dying adherent

to the Buddhist Pure Land school. According to a

Pure Land school sutra, Amida comes to welcome

the faithful to the Pure Land upon their death. The

raigozu genre was pictorial representations of this

idea and were meant to bolster the faith and resolve

of Pure Land Buddhists that they would be born

into the Pure Land at death.

Many religious paintings utilized the illustrated

hand scroll (emakimono) format, but hand scrolls

were also used in paintings with secular themes, such

as war tales, aristocratic literature, and historical

biographies. The Heiji monogatari emaki (Tale of

Heiji scrolls; later half of the 14th century), recount-

ing clashes between the Taira and the Minamoto

prior to the start of the Gempei War in 1180, is a

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famous example of a secular hand scroll. Kamakura-

period hand scrolls used realist modes of representa-

tion, much in the way that Kamakura-period

sculpture did. Realist detail is also seen in both secu-

lar and religious hanging scrolls that depict land-

scapes.

Ink Painting In the 13th and 14th centuries, Chi-

nese Zen ink painting was imported into Japan. The

Japanese interest in ink painting was largely the

product of the emerging importance of Zen Bud-

dhism in Japan. Ink painting, or suibokuga (“water-

ink painting”), blossomed especially during the

Muromachi and Momoyama periods. This form of

painting is also called sumi-e, or “ink pictures.” Solid

black ink, made of soot or charcoal, is ground on an

inkstone. Once water is added to the ground ink, it is

ready to use for painting or calligraphy.

Ink painting styles, subjects, and techniques were

first introduced through hanging scrolls and hand

scrolls executed by Chinese artists of the Song

dynasty (960–1279). Once Zen Buddhism became

established in Japan during the Kamakura period,

Chinese ink paintings were also brought to Japan,

since they constituted a key element of Zen tradition

passed to Japanese monastics by their Chinese coun-

terparts. In the 14th century, Japanese painters

began to adopt the techniques and subjects they

observed in Chinese works in temple collections.

Unlike raigo images, emakimono, and other genres of

Buddhist and secular painting, the power of sui-

bokuga lay in evocative, minimalist techniques.

A brief explanation of the origins of the two sim-

ilar terms suibokuga and sumi-e indicates something

of the history of the technique in Japan and its cul-

tural role. The character for ink in Japanese can be

read, or pronounced, in two different ways: boku, an

approximation of the Chinese pronunciation (on-

yomi) for the same character, or sumi, the native

Japanese term (kunyomi) for the concept ink. These

two terms used for ink painting, suibokuga and sumi-e,

carry different connotations in Japanese that help

illuminate the origins of the painting method. The

former suggests the Chinese origins of this painting

practice, while the latter term has a more native

sound. While some Japanese artists executed ink

paintings in a Chinese style, other painters created a

distinctive Japanese ink-painting style. Although ink

paintings made during the medieval period usually

use a single color of ink, and are thus called mono-

chrome works, variations of tone, texture, and style

in brushstrokes create visual interest.

Muromachi-period ink paintings were com-

monly executed by Zen priest-painters. Among the

important Japanese ink painters were Mokuan Reien

(active ca. 1330–45), Kao Ninga (active early 14th

century), Josetsu (active early 15th century), Tensho

Shubun (active 1425–50), Sesshu Toyo (1420–1506),

and Sesson Shukei (ca. 1504–89). Not all ink

painters, however, were Zen priests, including a no-

table group of artists—Noami (1397–1471), Geiami

(1431–85), and Soami (1455–1525)—who were Pure

Land Buddhists.

Typical subjects of medieval ink paintings in-

cluded portraits of important priests (chinso); Zen

aphorisms; landscapes; bamboo, ﬂowers, birds, and

animals; images meant to aid the viewer to awaken

to enlightenment (doshakuga); and depictions of

Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion, and Bod-

hidharma (in Japanese, Daruma), the legendary

founder of Zen Buddhism in China. By the middle

of the 15th century, a Zen ink-painting format

known as shigajiku was also becoming popular. Shi-

gajiku were hanging scrolls that coupled an imagi-

nary landscape ink painting with a poetic inscription

usually written by one or more Zen priests.

The priest-painter Sesshu arguably represents

the pinnacle of Muromachi-period Zen ink painting.

Although he traveled for two years in China,

Sesshu’s landscapes are imbued with a Japanese sen-

sibility. Besides landscapes, Sesshu painted birds,

ﬂowers, and other natural images. Sesshu did utilize

painting techniques learned during his sojourn in

China. Of particular note was his use of splashed ink

(hatsuboku) landscapes, in which ink is spattered onto

the paper or silk. Sesshu also employed a similar

technique called “broken ink” (haboku), creating a

raised wash effect that gave texture and volume to

shapes within the landscape painting. Sesshu’s work

was a model for subsequent artists.

Kano School The Kano school of painters, a single

family, dominated the art of opulent decorative

painting for the interiors of both castles and tem-

ples. The Kano school became an academy with a

genealogy of known masters bound by stylistic

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afﬁnities as well as by family ties. Part of the success

of the Kano school was the result of patronage by

the Ashikaga and subsequent shoguns through the

end of the Edo period.

Kano school painters were versatile, working in a

number of different styles and formats. Kano

painters were especially famous as the foremost

Japanese school painting in Chinese style (kanga).

Subject matter for these paintings included land-

scapes and images of birds and flowers. Kano

painters were also capable ink-painting artists and

executed compositions on all the major formats of

the day such as handscrolls, hanging scrolls, screens,

and doors.

Kano Masanobu (1434–1530) is considered the

founder of the Kano school. He was appointed the

ofﬁcial painter to the Ashikaga shogunate. He spe-

cialized in the Chinese style of monochrome ink

painting, and later passed his skills on to his son,

Motonobu. It is Kano Motonobu (1476–1559) who

is usually credited with bringing real fame to the

family. Like his father, Motonobu worked in the

Chinese style, but he was also known for his paint-

ings in the Japanese style (Yamato-e), a manner of

painting that had fallen out of favor with the rise of

Zen ink painting and its associations with the war-

rior class. Motonobu was able to blend the Japanese

and Chinese styles to create a dynamic new mode of

painting. Motonobu’s paintings executed on sliding

doors (fusuma) are particularly famous.

Motonobu’s grandson, Kano Eitoku (1543–90),

was the most important and famous of the medieval

Kano-school artists. During the Azuchi-Momoyama

period, he was chosen to paint for the warriors Oda

Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In 1576,

Eitoku provided paintings for Nobunaga’s Azuchi

Castle. Though both the castle and Eitoku’s art were

destroyed, historical accounts record that Eitoku

executed monochrome ink paintings as well as color

paintings with a great variety of subjects including

natural scenes, Buddhist imagery, and depictions of

Chinese sages.

One of Eitoku’s contributions to Japanese paint-

ing was his use of ink painting with the addition of

bright colors and gold washes to his compositions.

Eitoku had a well-developed sense of decorative

style that he employed in his ink painting, thus inno-

vating while maintaining the Kano school’s reputa-

tion as the premiere monochrome-ink specialists.

Eitoku’s decorative style, however, eventually led to

the development of a new school of painting known

as Rimpa (see below) that focused on decoration in

painting.

Hasegawa Tohaku Hasegawa Tohaku (1539–1610)

worked as an independent artist during the

Momoyama period. He established himself as a vir-

tuoso painter of landscape subjects who was accom-

plished in employing two rather distinct manners

simultaneously. Like Kano school painters, Tohaku

showed mastery of the screen (byobu) and sliding

door (fusuma) formats, executing splendid works in

vivid colors accented with gold leaf. A set of screens

depicting an autumn maple and other fall foliage in

brilliant hues that are today housed in the Chisha-

kuin temple in Kyoto constitutes one of the best

examples of his work in this manner.

Genre Painting In the 16th century genre painting

became a popular artistic style. Genre painting

refers to works that depict the everyday life and

activities of the different social classes. A famous

work, and the oldest extant example of a genre

painting, is a pair of six-paneled screens titled Raku-

chu rakugai zu (Scenes Inside and Outside of Kyoto;

1525). The screens portray Kyoto and the surround-

ing area from a bird’s-eye view. Scenes of daily

life are visible with images of people working and re-

laxing, a snapshot of a day in early 16th-century

Kyoto. Visible, also, are celebrated temples, palaces,

and other buildings, as well as famous areas in the

city and its environs. This subject matter, life in

the city, was often depicted in subsequent genre

paintings.

Another popular theme of genre paintings was

leisure activities. Paintings portrayed shrine festi-

vals, cherry blossom and maple viewing, horse rac-

ing, theater performances, odd-looking Westerners,

and the pleasure quarters. Such paintings continued

to be made through the 17th century when they

were largely eclipsed by the new techniques that

gave rise to woodblock prints, which portrayed sim-

ilar kinds of subject matter.

Namban Paintings Another form of genre paint-

ing is called namban (southern barbarian) painting.

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The word namban refers to images connected with

European merchants and missionaries who were in

Japan for approximately a 100-year period starting

in the mid 16th century. Europeans, except for a

small Dutch enclave on Deshima island in Nagasaki

harbor, were expelled from Japan in the 1630s. In a

broad sense, namban art encompasses works incor-

porating European figures as well as those created

by Europeans and brought to Japan. More speci-

fically, namban refers to pairs of screens painted

during a period of less than 50 years, beginning

in the last quarter of the 16th century. The term

namban comes from the route many of these tra-

velers used to reach Japan, since the Portuguese

and Spanish arrived from the south. Japan, follow-

ing China’s precedent, generally used the word

namban to describe inhabitants of all countries to

the south of China who, as foreigners, were consid-

ered barbarians.

Some namban works are essentially copies of reli-

gious paintings and related objects brought by

Jesuits to aid in spreading their cause throughout

Japan. Few of these works survive, due to the perse-

cution of Christianity. However, the vast majority of

namban works were secular and were likely inspired

by books, prints, and atlases displaying artistic styles

and content popular in 16th-century Europe. As

imported styles and forms became popular, Japanese

artists were commissioned to render images with the

ﬂavor of distant lands and cultures. Scenes include

Portuguese and Dutch traders as well as Jesuit

prelates who settled in Japan during this era. Some

Japanese artists adopted Western conventions such

as the bird’s eye perspective used for maps. Yet even

when experimenting with foreign formats and sub-

jects, painters of namban works otherwise worked in

traditional Japanese modes.

PAINTING IN

THE EARLY MODERN PERIOD

The early modern period witnessed both the contin-

uation of some late medieval painting styles, but it

also gave rise to new schools that innovated from

older painting trends or created new modes of artis-

tic expression. The Kano school, for instance, con-

tinued to be a significant artistic force during the

Edo period, but new movements such as Rimpa and

Maruyama-Shijo took painting in new directions.

Ink painting, for instance, continued to be an impor-

tant style but it was taken in new stylistic directions

by literati- and Rimpa-school painters.

Kano School The Kano school continued to be the

ofﬁcial painters to the shogunate. Of special note is

Kano Tan’yu (1602–74) who was appointed at age 15

to be the first official painter of the Tokugawa

shogunate. Tan’yu, Eitoku’s grandson, was an espe-

cially fine and prolific artist. He, along with his

brothers, painted interior doors and screens of the

newly built Nijo Castle in Kyoto. Like Kano

painters before him, Tan’yu was an ink painter, but

he pioneered a new style of ink painting that made

creative use of empty space while at the same time

displaying a knack for reﬁned brushwork. Although

the Kano school maintained its reputation and

served the shogunate subsequent to Tan’yu, other

painting schools also attained important stylistic and

aesthetic achievements.

Tosa School The Tosa school, another dominant

lineage of master painters, was established in the

15th century and continued to prosper into the Edo

period, although through intermarriage with the

Kano-school artists, the two styles became less dis-

tinct over time. Just as the Kano painters were em-

ployed by the shogunate, so did Tosa artists serve as

official painters to the imperial court. The Tosa

school, which dates from the early 15th century, spe-

cialized in traditional yamato-e style painting. Tosa

paintings often used subjects taken from classical lit-

erature such as the celebrated Heian-period work,

Genji monogatari (Tale of Genji). The use of gold and

bright colors was one characteristic of Tosa paint-

ings. Although one of the Tosa school’s most famous

painters, Tosa Mitsunobu (ca. 1434–ca. 1525),

worked in the medieval period, the school continued

through the 19th century.

Rimpa School One important decorative school of

painting was called Rimpa. A painter named

Tawaraya Sotatsu, who began his career as propri-

etor of a fan-painting shop (active 1600–40), is most

closely associated with the strongly expressive deco-

rative styles popular in the early Edo period. He is

best known for his dappled brush effects. Sotatsu

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