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is one of the oldest and most highly refined of the Japanese visual arts, encompassing a wide variety of genres and styles. As with the history of Japanese arts in general, the long history of Japanese painting exhibits synthesis and competition between native
Japanese aesthetics Japanese aesthetics comprise a set of ancient ideals that include '' wabi'' (transient and stark beauty), '' sabi'' (the beauty of natural patina and aging), and ''yūgen'' (profound grace and subtlety). These ideals, and others, underpin much of ...
and the adaptation of imported ideas, mainly from Chinese painting, which was especially influential at a number of points; significant
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
influence only comes from the 19th century onwards, beginning at the same time as Japanese art was influencing that of the West. Areas of subject matter where Chinese influence has been repeatedly significant include Buddhist religious painting,
ink-wash painting Ink wash painting ( zh, t=水墨畫, s=水墨画, p=shuǐmòhuà; ja, 水墨画, translit=suiboku-ga or ja, 墨絵, translit=sumi-e; ko, 수묵화, translit=sumukhwa) is a type of Chinese ink brush painting which uses black ink, such as tha ...
of landscapes in the Chinese literati painting tradition, calligraphy of sinograms, and the painting of animals and plants, especially birds and flowers. However, distinctively Japanese traditions have developed in all these fields. The subject matter that is widely regarded as most characteristic of Japanese painting, and later printmaking, is the depiction of scenes from everyday life and narrative scenes that are often crowded with figures and detail. This tradition no doubt began in the early medieval period under Chinese influence that is now beyond tracing except in the most general terms, but from the period of the earliest surviving works had developed into a specifically Japanese tradition that lasted until the modern period. The official
List of National Treasures of Japan (paintings) The term " National Treasure" has been used in Japan to denote cultural properties since 1897. The definition and the criteria have changed since the inception of the term. These paintings adhere to the current definition, and were designated na ...
includes 162 works or sets of works from the 8th to the 19th century that represent peaks of achievement, or very rare survivals from early periods.


Timeline


Ancient Japan and Asuka period (until 710)

The origins of painting in Japan date well back into Japan's prehistoric period. Simple figural representations, as well as botanical, architectural, and geometric designs are found on Jōmon period pottery and Yayoi period (1000 BC – 300 AD) ''
dōtaku are Japanese bells smelted from relatively thin bronze and richly decorated. Dotaku were used for about 400 years, between the second century B.C. and the second century C.E. (corresponding to the end of the Yayoi era), and were nearly only used ...
'' bronze bells. Mural paintings with both geometric and figural designs have been found in numerous
tumuli A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones built ...
dating to the Kofun period and Asuka period (300–700 AD). Along with the introduction of the Chinese writing system (''
kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...
''), Chinese modes of governmental administration, and
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
in the Asuka period, many art works were imported into Japan from China and local copies in similar styles began to be produced.


Nara period (710–794)

With further establishment of
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
in 6th- and 7th-century Japan, religious painting flourished and was used to adorn numerous temples erected by the aristocracy. However, Nara-period Japan is recognized more for important contributions in the art of
sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...
than painting. The earliest surviving paintings from this period include the murals on the interior walls of the at the temple
Hōryū-ji is a Buddhist temple that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples, in Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture, Japan. Its full name is , or Learning Temple of the Flourishing Law, the complex serving as both a seminary and monastery. The temple was ...
in Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture. These mural paintings, as well as painted images on the important
Tamamushi Shrine The is a miniature shrine owned by the Hōryū-ji temple complex of Nara, Japan. Its date of construction is unknown, but estimated to be around the middle of the seventh century. Decorated with rare examples of Asuka-period paintings, it pro ...
include narratives such as ''
jataka The Jātakas (meaning "Birth Story", "related to a birth") are a voluminous body of literature native to India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, th ...
'', episodes from the life of the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni, in addition to iconic images of buddhas, bodhisattvas, and various minor deities. The style is reminiscent of Chinese painting from the Sui dynasty or the late Sixteen Kingdoms period. However, by the mid-Nara period, paintings in the style of the
Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...
became very popular. These also include the wall murals in the
Takamatsuzuka Tomb The or "Tall Pine Tree Ancient Burial Mound" in Japanese is an ancient circular tomb in Asuka village, Nara Prefecture, Japan. History The tomb is thought to have been built at some time between the end of the 7th century and the beginning of t ...
, dating from around 700 AD. This style evolved into the (Kara-e) genre, which remained popular through the early
Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese ...
. As most of the paintings in the Nara period are religious in nature, the vast majority are by anonymous artists. A large collection of Nara period art, Japanese as well as from the Chinese Tang dynasty is preserved at the Shōsō-in, an 8th-century repository formerly owned by
Tōdai-ji is a Buddhist temple complex that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples, located in the city of Nara, Japan. Though it was originally founded in the year 738 CE, Tōdai-ji was not opened until the year 752 CE. The temple has undergo ...
and currently administered by the Imperial Household Agency.


Heian period (794–1185)

With the development of the Esoteric Buddhist sects of
Shingon Shingon monks at Mount Koya is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra. Kn ...
and
Tendai , also known as the Tendai Lotus School (天台法華宗 ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just "''hokke shū''") is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition (with significant esoteric elements) officially established in Japan in 806 by the Japanese m ...
, painting of the 8th and 9th centuries is characterized by religious imagery, most notably painted . Numerous versions of mandala, most famously the ''
Diamond Realm In Vajrayana Buddhism, the Diamond Realm (Skt. वज्रधातु ''vajradhātu'', Traditional Chinese: 金剛界; Pinyin: ''Jīngāngjiè''; Romaji: ''Kongōkai'') is a metaphysical space inhabited by the Five Tathagatas. The Diamond Real ...
Mandala'' and '' Womb Realm Mandala'' at Tōji in Kyoto, were created as hanging scrolls, and also as murals on the walls of temples. A noted early example is at the five-story
pagoda A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...
of
Daigo-ji is a Shingon Buddhist temple in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Japan. Its main devotion ('' honzon'') is Yakushi. ''Daigo'', literally "ghee", is used figuratively to mean " crème de la crème" and is a metaphor of the most profound part of Buddhist thoug ...
, a temple south of
Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...
. The Kose School was a family of court artists founded by Kanaoka Kose in the latter half of the 9th century, during the early Heian period. This school does not represent a single style of painting like other schools, but the various painting styles created by Kanaoka Kose and his descendants and pupils. This school changed Chinese style paintings with Chinese themes into Japanese style and played a major role in the formation of
yamato-e is a style of Japanese painting inspired by Tang dynasty paintings and fully developed by the late Heian period. It is considered the classical Japanese style. From the Muromachi period (15th century), the term Yamato-e has been used to distingui ...
painting style. With the rising importance of Pure Land sects of
Japanese Buddhism Buddhism has been practiced in Japan since about the 6th century CE. Japanese Buddhism () created many new Buddhist schools, and some schools are original to Japan and some are derived from Chinese Buddhist schools. Japanese Buddhism has had ...
in the 10th century, new image-types were developed to satisfy the devotional needs of these sects. These include , which depict Amida Buddha along with attendant bodhisattvas Kannon and Seishi arriving to welcome the souls of the faithful departed to Amida's Western Paradise. A noted early example dating from 1053 are painted on the interior of the Phoenix Hall of the
Byōdō-in is a Buddhist temple in the city of Uji in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan, built in the late Heian period. It is jointly a temple of the Jōdo-shū (Pure Land) and Tendai-shū sects. History This temple was originally built in 998 in the He ...
, a temple in Uji, Kyoto. This is also considered an early example of so-called , insofar as it includes landscape elements such as soft rolling hills that seem to reflect something of the actual appearance of the landscape of western Japan. The mid-Heian period is seen as the golden age of ''Yamato-e,'' which were initially used primarily for sliding doors ('' fusuma'') and folding screens (''
byōbu are Japanese folding screens made from several joined panels, bearing decorative painting and calligraphy, used to separate interiors and enclose private spaces, among other uses. History are thought to have originated in Han dynasty C ...
''). However, new painting formats also came to the fore, especially towards the end of the Heian period, including ''
emakimono or is an illustrated horizontal narration system of painted handscrolls that dates back to Nara-period (710–794 CE) Japan. Initially copying their much older Chinese counterparts in style, during the succeeding Heian (794–1185) and Ka ...
'', or long illustrated handscrolls. Varieties of ''emakimono'' encompass illustrated novels, such as the '' Genji Monogatari '', historical works, such as the '' Ban Dainagon Ekotoba '', and religious works. In some cases, ''emaki'' artists employed pictorial narrative conventions that had been used in Buddhist art since ancient times, while at other times they devised new narrative modes that are believed to convey visually the emotional content of the underlying narrative. ''Genji Monogatari'' is organized into discrete episodes, whereas the more lively ''Ban Dainagon Ekotoba'' uses a continuous narrative mode in order to emphasize the narrative's forward motion. These two ''emaki'' differ stylistically as well, with the rapid brush strokes and light coloring of ''Ban Dainagon'' contrasting starkly to the abstracted forms and vibrant mineral pigments of the ''Genji'' scrolls. The Siege of the Sanjō Palace is another famous example of this type of painting. ''E-maki'' also serve as some of the earliest and greatest examples of the '' onna-e'' ("women's pictures") and '' otoko-e'' ("men's pictures") and styles of painting. There are many fine differences in the two styles. Although the terms seem to suggest the aesthetic preferences of each gender, historians of Japanese art have long debated the actual meaning of these terms, and they remain unclear. Perhaps most easily noticeable are the differences in subject matter. ''Onna-e'', epitomized by the ''Tale of Genji'' handscroll, typically deals with court life and courtly romance while ''otoko-e'', often deal with historical or semi-legendary events, particularly battles.


Kamakura period (1185–1333)

These genres continued on through
Kamakura period The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...
Japan. This style of art was greatly exemplified in the painting titled "Night Attack on the Sanjo Palace" for it was full of vibrate colors, details, and a great visualization from a novel titled the "Heiji Monogatari". ''E-maki'' of various kinds continued to be produced; however, the Kamakura period was much more strongly characterized by the art of
sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...
, rather than painting. ''The Kamakura period extended from the end of the twelfth through the fourteenth century. It was a time of art works, such as paintings, but mainly sculptures that brought a more realistic visual of life and its aspects at the time. In each of these statues many life-like traits were incorporated into the production of making them. Many sculptures included noses, eyes, individual fingers, and other details that were new to the sculpture place in art.'' As most of the paintings in the Heian and Kamakura periods are religious in nature, the vast majority are by anonymous artists. But there is one artist who is known for his perfection in this new Kamakura period art style. His name was Unkei, and he eventually mastered this sculpturing art form and opened his own school called Kei School. As time went with this era, "there were the revival of still earlier classical styles, the importation of new styles from the Continent and, in the second half of the period, the development of unique Eastern Japanese styles centering around the Kamakura era".


Muromachi period (1333–1573)

During the 14th century, the development of the great
Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
monasteries in Kamakura and
Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...
had a major impact on the visual arts. ''
Suibokuga Ink wash painting ( zh, t=水墨畫, s=水墨画, p=shuǐmòhuà; ja, 水墨画, translit=suiboku-ga or ja, 墨絵, translit=sumi-e; ko, 수묵화, translit=sumukhwa) is a type of Chinese ink brush painting which uses black ink, such as tha ...
,'' an austere monochrome style of ink painting introduced from the
Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...
China of the Song and Yuan ink wash styles, especially Muqi (牧谿), largely replaced the polychrome scroll paintings of the early zen art in Japan attached to Buddhist iconography norms from centuries earlier such as Takuma Eiga (宅磨栄賀). Despite the new chinese cultural wave generated by the Higashiyama culture, some polychrome portraiture remained – primary in the form of ''chinso'' paintings of Zen monks. '' Catching a Catfish with a Gourd'' (located at Taizō-in,
Myōshin-ji is a temple complex in Kyoto, Japan, and head temple of the associated branch of Rinzai Zen Buddhism. The Myōshin-ji school is by far the largest school in Rinzai Zen, approximately as big as the other thirteen branches combined: it contains wit ...
, Kyoto), by the priest-painter Josetsu, marks a turning point in Muromachi painting. In the foreground a man is depicted on the bank of a stream holding a small gourd and looking at a large slithery catfish. Mist fills the middle ground, and the background, mountains appear to be far in the distance. It is generally assumed that the "new style" of the painting, executed about 1413, refers to a more Chinese sense of deep space within the picture plane. By the end of the 14th century, monochrome
landscape painting Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent compo ...
s (山水画 ) had found patronage by the ruling Ashikaga family and was the preferred genre among Zen painters, gradually evolving from its Chinese roots to a more Japanese style. A further development of landscape painting was the poem picture scroll, known as shigajiku. The foremost artists of the Muromachi period are the priest-painters Shūbun and Sesshū. Shūbun, a monk at the Kyoto temple of Shōkoku-ji, created in the painting '' Reading in a Bamboo Grove'' (1446) a realistic landscape with deep recession into space. Sesshū, unlike most artists of the period, was able to journey to China and study Chinese painting at its source. ''Landscape of the Four Seasons'' (''Sansui Chokan''; c. 1486) is one of Sesshu's most accomplished works, depicting a continuing landscape through the four seasons. In the late Muromachi period, ink painting had migrated out of the Zen monasteries into the art world in general, as artists from the Kanō school and the Ami school ( :ja:阿弥派) adopted the style and themes, but introducing a more plastic and decorative effect that would continue into modern times. Important artists in the Muromachi period Japan include: * Mokkei (c. 1250) * Mokuan Reien (died 1345) * Kaō Ninga (e.14th century) * Mincho (1352–1431) * Josetsu (1405–1423) * Tenshō Shūbun (died 1460) *
Sesshū Tōyō (c. 1420 – 26 August 1506) has been regarded as one of the greatest painters in Japanese history. Sesshū was a Zen-Shu priest painter of the Muromachi period in Japan, prominently recognised for his art of sumi-e (black ink painting). Initi ...
(1420–1506) * Kanō Masanobu (1434–1530) * Kanō Motonobu (1476–1559)


Azuchi–Momoyama period (1573–1615)

In sharp contrast to the previous Muromachi period, the Azuchi–Momoyama period was characterized by a grandiose polychrome style, with extensive use of gold and silver foil that would be applied to paintings, garments, architecture, etc.; and by works on a very large scale. In contrast to the lavish style many knew, military elite supported rustic simplicity, especially in the form of the tea ceremony where the would use weathered and imperfect utensils in a similar setting. This period began the unification of "warring" leaders under a central government. The initial dating for this period is often believed to be 1568 when Nobunaga entered Kyoto or 1573 when the last Ashikaga Shogun was removed from Kyoto. The Kanō school, patronized by Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and their followers, gained tremendously in size and prestige. Kanō Eitoku developed a formula for the creation of monumental landscapes on the sliding doors enclosing a room. These huge screens and wall paintings were commissioned to decorate the castles and palaces of the military nobility. Most notably, Nobunaga had a massive castle built between 1576 and 1579 which proved to be one of the biggest artistic challenges for Kanō Eitoku. His successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, also constructed several castles during this period. These castles were some of the most important artistic works when it came to experimentation in this period. These castles represent the power and confidence of leaders and warriors in the new age. This status continued into the subsequent Edo period, as the Tokugawa bakufu continued to promote the works of the Kanō school as the officially sanctioned art for the shōgun, daimyōs, and Imperial court. However, non-Kano school artists and currents existed and developed during the Azuchi–Momoyama period as well, adapting Chinese themes to Japanese materials and aesthetics. One important group was the Tosa school, which developed primarily out of the yamato-e tradition, and which was known mostly for small scale works and illustrations of literary classics in book or emaki format. Important artists in the Azuchi-Momoyama period include: * Kanō Eitoku (1543–1590) * Hasegawa Tōhaku (1539–1610) * Kaihō Yūshō (1533–1615)


Edo period (1603–1868)

Many art historians show the
Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characte ...
as a continuation of the Azuchi-Momoyama period. Certainly, during the early Edo period, many of the previous trends in painting continued to be popular; however, a number of new trends also emerged. One very significant school which arose in the early Edo period was the
Rinpa school is one of the major historical schools of Japanese painting. It was created in 17th century Kyoto by Hon'ami Kōetsu (1558–1637) and Tawaraya Sōtatsu (d. c.1643). Roughly fifty years later, the style was consolidated by brothers Ogata Kōrin ...
, which used classical themes, but presented them in a bold, and lavishly decorative format. Sōtatsu in particular evolved a decorative style by re-creating themes from classical literature, using brilliantly colored figures and motifs from the natural world set against gold-leaf backgrounds. A century later, Korin reworked Sōtatsu's style and created visually gorgeous works uniquely his own. Another important genre which began during Azuchi–Momoyama period, but which reached its full development during the early Edo period was ''
Nanban art refers to Japanese art of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries influenced by contact with the or 'Southern barbarians', traders and missionaries from Europe and specifically from Portugal. It is a Sino-Japanese word, Chinese '' Nánmán' ...
'', both in the depiction of exotic foreigners and in the use of the exotic foreigner style in painting. This genre was centered around the port of Nagasaki, which after the start of the national seclusion policy of the
Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...
was the only Japanese port left open to foreign trade, and was thus the conduit by which Chinese and European artistic influences came to Japan. Paintings in this genre include Nagasaki school paintings, and also the Maruyama-Shijo school, which combine Chinese and Western influences with traditional Japanese elements. File:European in Japan playing viol.jpg color modified.jpg, Painting from Momoyama period (1573-1615) by Hasegawa Nobukata of a European woman playing a viola de mano. File:"Master Two Children" (師父二童子図).jpg, Hasegawa Nobukata painting of a religious man with children. Edo period, early 17th century. File:"Two Western Warriors" (西洋二武人図).jpg, Hasegawa Nobukata painting of two "Western warriors." Edo period, early 17th century. File:"Daruma", portrait attributed to Hasegawa Nobukata.jpg, Western shading techniques applied to Buddist theme by Hasegawa Nobukata, called " Daruma" or " Bodhidharma." Edo period, early 17th century. File:Stellschirm Hosokawa.jpg, Nanban art, screen painting, circa 1600. A third important trend in the Edo period was the rise of the ''Bunjinga'' (literati painting) genre, also known as the Nanga school (Southern Painting school). This genre started as an imitation of the works of Chinese scholar-amateur painters of the
Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fift ...
, whose works and techniques came to Japan in the mid-18th century. Master Kuwayama Gyokushū was the greatest supporter of creating the ''bunjin'' style. He theorised that polychromatic landscapes were to be considered at the same level of monochromatic paintings by Chinese literati. Furthermore, he included some Japanese traditionalist artists, such as Tawaraya Sōtatsu and
Ogata Kōrin Ogata Kōrin ( ja, 尾形光琳; 1658 – June 2, 1716) was a Japanese landscape illustrator, lacquerer, painter, and textile designer of the Rinpa School. Kōrin is best known for his ''byōbu'' folding screens, such as '' Irises'' and ' ...
of the Rinpa group, among major Nanga representatives.Marco, Meccarelli. 2015.
"Chinese Painters in Nagasaki: Style and Artistic Contaminatio during the Tokugawa Period (1603–1868)"
Ming Qing Studies 2015, Pages 175–236.
Later ''bunjinga'' artists considerably modified both the techniques and the subject matter of this genre to create a blending of Japanese and Chinese styles. The exemplars of this style are Ike no Taiga, Uragami Gyokudō,
Yosa Buson was a Japanese poet and painter of the Edo period. Along with Matsuo Bashō and Kobayashi Issa, Buson is considered among the greatest poets of the Edo Period. He is also known for completing haiga as a style of art, working with haibun pros ...
, Tanomura Chikuden, Tani Bunchō, and
Yamamoto Baiitsu Yamamoto Baiitsu (山本梅逸) (1783–1856) was a Japanese Edo period painter. Biography He was born in Nagoya, son of the sculptor Yamamoto Yumigiemon. His father was in the service of the court of the Tokugawa lords of the Owari Domain. He ...
. Due to the Tokugawa shogunate's policies of fiscal and social austerity, the luxurious modes of these genre and styles were largely limited to the upper strata of society, and were unavailable, if not actually forbidden to the lower classes. The common people developed a separate type of art, the '' fūzokuga'' (風俗画,
Genre art Genre art is the pictorial representation in any of various media of scenes or events from everyday life, such as markets, domestic settings, interiors, parties, inn scenes, work, and street scenes. Such representations (also called genre works, ...
), in which painting depicting scenes from common, everyday life, especially that of the common people, ''
kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance- drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is though ...
'' theatre, prostitutes and landscapes were popular. These paintings in the 16th century gave rise to the paintings and woodcut prints of
ukiyo-e Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes from history and folk t ...
. Important artists in the Edo period include: *
Kanō Sanraku was a Japanese painter also known as Kimura Heizō (his birth name), Shūri, Mitsuyori, and Sanraku. Sanraku's works combine the forceful quality of Momoyama work with the tranquil depiction of nature, and they have a more refined use of color ...
(1559–1663) * Kanō Tan'yū (1602–1674) * Tawaraya Sōtatsu (died 1643) * Tosa Mitsuoki (1617–1691) *
Ogata Kōrin Ogata Kōrin ( ja, 尾形光琳; 1658 – June 2, 1716) was a Japanese landscape illustrator, lacquerer, painter, and textile designer of the Rinpa School. Kōrin is best known for his ''byōbu'' folding screens, such as '' Irises'' and ' ...
(1658–1716) * Gion Nankai (1677–1751) * Sakaki Hyakusen (1697–1752) * Yanagisawa Kien (1704–1758) *
Yosa Buson was a Japanese poet and painter of the Edo period. Along with Matsuo Bashō and Kobayashi Issa, Buson is considered among the greatest poets of the Edo Period. He is also known for completing haiga as a style of art, working with haibun pros ...
(1716–1783) * Itō Jakuchū (1716–1800) * Ike no Taiga (1723–1776) * Suzuki Harunobu (c. 1725–1770) * Soga Shōhaku (1730–1781) * Maruyama Ōkyo (1733–1795) * Okada Beisanjin (1744–1820) * Uragami Gyokudō (1745–1820) * Matsumura Goshun (1752–1811) * Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) * Tani Bunchō (1763–1840) * Tanomura Chikuden (1777–1835) * Okada Hankō (1782–1846) *
Yamamoto Baiitsu Yamamoto Baiitsu (山本梅逸) (1783–1856) was a Japanese Edo period painter. Biography He was born in Nagoya, son of the sculptor Yamamoto Yumigiemon. His father was in the service of the court of the Tokugawa lords of the Owari Domain. He ...
(1783–1856) *
Watanabe Kazan was a Japanese painter, scholar and statesman member of the samurai class. Biography He was born Watanabe Sadayasu in Edo (now Tokyo) to a poor samurai family, and his artistic talent was developed from an early age. His family served the ...
(1793–1841) *
Utagawa Hiroshige Utagawa Hiroshige (, also ; ja, 歌川 広重 ), born Andō Tokutarō (; 1797 – 12 October 1858), was a Japanese ''ukiyo-e'' artist, considered the last great master of that tradition. Hiroshige is best known for his horizontal-format l ...
(1797–1858) *
Shibata Zeshin was a Japanese lacquer painter and print artist of the late Edo period and early Meiji era. He has been called "Japan's greatest lacquerer", but his reputation as painter and print artist is more complex: In Japan, he is known as both too ...
(1807–1891) *
Tomioka Tessai was the pseudonym for a painter and calligrapher in imperial Japan. He is regarded as the last major artist in the '' Bunjinga'' tradition and one of the first major artists of the '' Nihonga'' style. His real name was Yusuke, which he later c ...
(1836–1924) * Kumashiro Hi (Yūhi) (c. 1712–1772)


Prewar period (1868–1945)

The prewar period was marked by the division of art into competing European styles and traditional indigenous styles. During the
Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...
, Japan underwent a tremendous political and social change in the course of the Europeanization and modernization campaign organized by the Meiji government. Western-style painting (''
yōga is a style of artistic painting in Japan, typically of Japanese subjects, themes, or landscapes, but using Western (European) artistic conventions, techniques, and materials. The term was coined in the Meiji period (1868–1912) to distingu ...
'') was officially promoted by the government, who sent promising young artists abroad for studies, and who hired foreign artists to come to Japan to establish an art curriculum at Japanese schools. However, after an initial burst of enthusiasm for western style art, the pendulum swung in the opposite direction, and led by art critic Okakura Kakuzō and educator
Ernest Fenollosa Ernest Francisco Fenollosa (February 18, 1853 – September 21, 1908) was an American art historian of Japanese art, professor of philosophy and political economy at Tokyo Imperial University. An important educator during the modernization of Japa ...
, there was a revival of appreciation for traditional Japanese styles (
Nihonga ''Nihonga'' (, "Japanese-style paintings") are Japanese paintings from about 1900 onwards that have been made in accordance with traditional Japanese artistic conventions, techniques and materials. While based on traditions over a thousand years ...
). In the 1880s, western style art was banned from official exhibitions and was severely criticized by critics. Supported by Okakura and Fenollosa, the ''Nihonga'' style evolved with influences from the European pre-Raphaelite movement and European
Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
. The Yōga style painters formed the ''Meiji Bijutsukai'' (Meiji Fine Arts Society) to hold its own exhibitions and to promote a renewed interest in western art. In 1907, with the establishment of the''
Bunten The is a Japanese art exhibition established in 1907. The exhibition consists of five art faculties: Japanese Style and Western Style Painting, Sculpture, Craft as Art, and Sho (calligraphy). During each exhibition, works of the great masters are ...
'' under the aegis of the
Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
, both competing groups found mutual recognition and co-existence, and even began the process towards mutual synthesis. The Taishō period saw the predominance of ''Yōga'' over ''Nihonga''. After long stays in Europe, many artists (including Arishima Ikuma) returned to Japan under the reign of Yoshihito, bringing with them the techniques of Impressionism and early Post-Impressionism. The works of Camille Pissarro, Paul Cézanne and Pierre-Auguste Renoir influenced early Taishō period paintings. However, ''yōga'' artists in the Taishō period also tended towards eclecticism, and there was a profusion of dissident artistic movements. These included the Fusain Society (''Fyuzankai'') which emphasized styles of post-impressionism, especially Fauvism. In 1914, the ''Nikakai'' (Second Division Society) emerged to oppose the government-sponsored Bunten Exhibition. Japanese painting during the Taishō period was only mildly influenced by other contemporary European movements, such as neoclassicism and late post-impressionism. However, it was resurgent ''Nihonga'', towards mid-1920s, which adopted certain trends from post-impressionism. The second generation of ''Nihonga'' artists formed the Japan Fine Arts Academy (''Nihon Bijutsuin'') to compete against the government-sponsored ''Bunten'', and although ''yamato-e'' traditions remained strong, the increasing use of western perspective, and western concepts of space and light began to blur the distinction between ''Nihonga'' and ''yōga''. Japanese painting in the prewar Shōwa period was largely dominated by Sōtarō Yasui and Ryūzaburō Umehara, who introduced the concepts of pure art and abstract painting to the ''Nihonga'' tradition, and thus created a more interpretative version of that genre. This trend was further developed by Leonard Foujita and the Nika Society, to encompass surrealism. To promote these trends, the Independent Art Association (''Dokuritsu Bijutsu Kyokai'') was formed in 1931. During the
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, government controls and
censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
meant that only patriotic themes could be expressed. Many artists were recruited into the government propaganda effort, and critical non-emotional review of their works is only just beginning. Important artists in the prewar period include: * Harada Naojirō (1863–1899) * Yamamoto Hōsui (1850–1906) * Asai Chū (1856–1907) *
Kanō Hōgai Kanō Hōgai (狩野 芳崖, February 27, 1828 – October 5, 1888) was a Japanese painter of the Kanō school. Life The son of the local daimyō's chief painter, he was sent at the age of 18 to Edo to study painting formally. He stayed there fo ...
(1828–1888) *
Hashimoto Gahō was a Japanese Painting, painter, one of the last to paint in the style of the Kanō school. He was one of the first five painters to be appointed as an Imperial Household Artist and was one of the most authoritative painters in Japan at that ti ...
(1835–1908) *
Kuroda Seiki Viscount was a Japanese painter and teacher, noted for bringing Western art theory and practice to a wide Japanese audience. He was among the leaders of the '' yōga'' (or Western-style) movement in late 19th and early 20th-century Japanese pa ...
(1866–1924) *
Wada Eisaku was a Japanese painter and luminary of the ''yōga'' (or Western-style) scene in the late Meiji (era), Meiji, Taishō, and Shōwa (1926–1989), Shōwa eras. He was a member of the Japan Art Academy, an Imperial Household Artist, a recipient of ...
(1874–1959) *
Okada Saburōsuke Okada Saburōsuke (Japanese: 岡田 三郎助; 12 January 1869, Saga – 23 September 1939, Tokyo) was a Japanese painter in the Yōga style and a professor at the "Tōkyō Bijutsu Gakkō" (School of Fine Arts); precursor of the Tokyo University ...
(1869–1939) * Sakamoto Hanjirō (1882–1962) * Aoki Shigeru (1882–1911) * Fujishima Takeji (1867–1943) *
Yokoyama Taikan was the art-name of a major figure in pre-World War II Japanese painting. He is notable for helping create the Japanese painting technique of ''Nihonga''. Early life Yokoyama was born in Mito city, Ibaraki Prefecture, as the eldest son of S ...
(1868–1958) * Hishida Shunsō (1874–1911) *
Kawai Gyokudō was the pseudonym of a Japanese painter in the nihonga school, active from Meiji through Shōwa period Japan. His real name was Kawai Yoshisaburō. Biography Gyokudō was born in what is now Ichinomiya city, Aichi Prefecture, as the eldest ...
(1873–1957) *
Uemura Shōen was the pseudonym of an artist in Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa period Japanese painting. Her real name was Uemura Tsune. Shōen was known primarily for her ''bijin-ga,'' or paintings of beautiful women, in the ''nihonga'' style, although sh ...
(1875–1949) * Maeda Seison (1885–1977) *
Takeuchi Seihō (December 20, 1864 – August 23, 1942) was a Japanese painter of the ''Nihonga'' genre, active from the Meiji through the early Shōwa period. One of the founders of ''nihonga'', his works spanned half a century and he was regarded as master o ...
(1864–1942) *
Tomioka Tessai was the pseudonym for a painter and calligrapher in imperial Japan. He is regarded as the last major artist in the '' Bunjinga'' tradition and one of the first major artists of the '' Nihonga'' style. His real name was Yusuke, which he later c ...
(1837–1924) * Shimomura Kanzan (1873–1930) * Takeshiro Kanokogi (1874–1941) * Imamura Shiro (1880–1916) * Tomita Keisen (1879–1936) * Koide Narashige (1887–1931) *
Kishida Ryūsei is a Japanese politician serving as Prime Minister of Japan and president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since 2021. A member of the House of Representatives, he previously served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2012 to 2017 and ...
(1891–1929) * Tetsugorō Yorozu (1885–1927) * Hayami Gyoshū (1894–1935) * Kawabata Ryūshi (1885–1966) * Tsuchida Hakusen (1887–1936) * Murakami Kagaku (1888–1939) * Sōtarō Yasui (1881–1955) * Sanzō Wada (1883–1967) * Ryūzaburō Umehara (1888–1986) * Yasuda Yukihiko (1884–1978) * Kobayashi Kokei (1883–1957) * Leonard Foujita (1886–1968) * Yuzō Saeki (1898–1928) * Itō Shinsui (1898–1972) * Kaburaki Kiyokata (1878–1972) * Takehisa Yumeji (1884–1934)


Postwar period (1945–present)

In the postwar period, the government-sponsored Japan Art Academy (''Nihon Geijutsuin'') was formed in 1947, containing both ''nihonga'' and ''yōga'' divisions. Government sponsorship of art exhibitions has ended, but has been replaced by private exhibitions, such as the ''Nitten'', on an even larger scale. Although the ''Nitten'' was initially the exhibition of the Japan Art Academy, since 1958 it has been run by a separate private corporation. Participation in the ''Nitten'' has become almost a prerequisite for nomination to the Japan Art Academy, which in itself is almost an unofficial prerequisite for nomination to the
Order of Culture The is a Japanese order, established on February 11, 1937. The order has one class only, and may be awarded to men and women for contributions to Japan's art, literature, science, technology, or anything related to culture in general; recipient ...
. The arts of the Edo and prewar periods (1603–1945) was supported by merchants and urban people. Counter to the Edo and prewar periods, arts of the postwar period became popular. After
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, painters, calligraphers, and printmakers flourished in the big cities, particularly
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
, and became preoccupied with the mechanisms of urban life, reflected in the flickering lights, neon colors, and frenetic pace of their abstractions. All the "isms" of the New York-Paris art world were fervently embraced. After the abstractions of the 1960s, the 1970s saw a return to realism strongly flavored by the "op" and "pop" art movements, embodied in the 1980s in the explosive works of Ushio Shinohara. Many such outstanding avant-garde artists worked both in Japan and abroad, winning international prizes. These artists felt that there was "nothing Japanese" about their works, and indeed they belonged to the international school. By the late 1970s, the search for Japanese qualities and a national style caused many artists to reevaluate their artistic ideology and turn away from what some felt were the empty formulas of the West. Contemporary paintings within the modern idiom began to make conscious use of traditional Japanese art forms, devices, and ideologies. A number of '' mono-ha'' artists turned to painting to recapture traditional nuances in spatial arrangements, color harmonies, and lyricism. Japanese-style or ''
nihonga ''Nihonga'' (, "Japanese-style paintings") are Japanese paintings from about 1900 onwards that have been made in accordance with traditional Japanese artistic conventions, techniques and materials. While based on traditions over a thousand years ...
'' painting continues in a prewar fashion, updating traditional expressions while retaining their intrinsic character. Some artists within this style still paint on
silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the ...
or paper with traditional colors and ink, while others used new materials, such as acrylics. Many of the older schools of art, most notably those of the Edo and prewar periods, were still practiced. For example, the decorative naturalism of the ''rimpa'' school, characterized by brilliant, pure colors and bleeding washes, was reflected in the work of many artists of the postwar period in the 1980s art of Hikosaka Naoyoshi. The realism of Maruyama Ōkyo's
school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes comp ...
and the calligraphic and spontaneous Japanese style of the gentlemen-scholars were both widely practiced in the 1980s. Sometimes all of these schools, as well as older ones, such as the Kanō school ink traditions, were drawn on by contemporary artists in the Japanese style and in the modern idiom. Many Japanese-style painters were honored with awards and prizes as a result of renewed popular demand for Japanese-style art beginning in the 1970s. More and more, the international modern painters also drew on the Japanese schools as they turned away from Western styles in the 1980s. The tendency had been to synthesize East and West. Some artists had already leapt the gap between the two, as did the outstanding painter Shinoda Toko. Her bold sumi ink abstractions were inspired by traditional calligraphy but realized as lyrical expressions of modern abstraction. There are also a number of contemporary painters in Japan whose work is largely inspired by
anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
sub-cultures and other aspects of popular and youth culture.
Takashi Murakami is a Japanese contemporary artist. He works in fine arts media (such as painting and sculpture) as well as commercial (such as fashion, merchandise, and animation) and is known for blurring the line between high and low arts as well as co ae ...
is perhaps among the most famous and popular of these, along with and the other artists in his
Kaikai Kiki is a Japanese contemporary artist. He works in fine arts media (such as painting and sculpture) as well as commercial (such as fashion, merchandise, and animation) and is known for blurring the line between high and low arts as well as co aes ...
studio collective. His work centers on expressing issues and concerns of postwar Japanese society through what are usually seemingly innocuous forms. He draws heavily from anime and related styles, but produces paintings and sculptures in media more traditionally associated with fine arts, intentionally blurring the lines between commercial and popular art and fine arts. Important artists in the postwar period include: * Ogura Yuki (1895–2000) * Uemura Shōko (1902–2001) * Koiso Ryōhei (1903–1988) * Kaii Higashiyama (1908–1999)


See also

*
List of collections of Japanese art Japanese art is collected by museums, galleries and private collectors in many countries around the world. See also * List of museums of Asian art * List of museums References

{{reflist Japanese art, Collections Lists of art museums ...
* Chinese painting *
Korean painting Korean painting includes paintings made in Korea or by overseas Koreans on all surfaces. The earliest surviving Korean paintings are murals in the Goguryeo tombs, of which considerable numbers survive, the oldest from some 2,000 years ago (mostly ...
*
History of Asian art The history of Asian art includes a vast range of arts from various cultures, regions, and religions across the continent of Asia. The major regions of Asia include Central, East, South, Southeast, and West Asia. Central Asian art primarily c ...


References


Further reading

* Keene, Donald. ''Dawn to the West''. Columbia University Press; (1998). * Mason, Penelope. '' History of Japanese Art ''. Prentice Hall (2005). * Paine, Robert Treat, in: Paine, R. T. & Soper A, "The Art and Architecture of Japan", Pelican History of Art, 3rd ed 1981, Penguin (now Yale History of Art), * Sadao, Tsuneko. ''Discovering the Arts of Japan: A Historical Overview''. Kodansha International (2003). * Schaap, Robert, ''A Brush with Animals, Japanese Paintings, 1700-1950'', Bergeijk, Society for Japanese Arts & Hotei Publishing, 2007. * Schaarschmidt Richte. '' Japanese Modern Art Painting From 1910 ''. Edition Stemmle. * Watson, William, ''The Great Japan Exhibition: Art of the Edo Period 1600-1868'', 1981, Royal Academy of Arts/Weidenfeld & Nicolson * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Japanese Painting Japanese art