Artistic Shifts During the The Kamakura Period

From 30 BC to 300 AD is known as the Yayoi Period, and is the time when rice was introduced to the Islands of Japan. With agriculture now involved, social classes developed with landowners starting to create factions with followers underneath them. The most influential leader of this time is believed to be Queen Himiko, who ruled Japan as it gained advances such as iron working from other developing countries. The formation of the first true governing body of Japan was in the Kofun Period, which spanned 300 to 538. From 538 to 710, the Asuka Period introduced the Oni’s supposed creators, the religion of Buddhism. It also marked the end of Early Japan, and the several different Periods after would be much longer and hold many more events, changes in power, all the while shaping and molding Japan’s culture into what it is today. In the year 710, Nara, the first Japanese capital as built. Large Buddhist monasteries were scattered around the city, spreading the religion’s influence. This influence continued to grow to such a strong position, that the capital had to be moved to the city of Nagaoka in 784. Later, the capital was moved again, where it would remain in Heian, current day Kyoto, for over a thousand years. This time period is believed to be when the Oni myth and story was first created, if not

(Kleiner 1066) And famous paintings created in this time was created by Muromachi priest-painter, Sesshu Toyo. He created works using a technique called splashed ink or haboku. Toyo would picture his subject and load the paint brush with paint and with quick and broad strokes creating a balance between traditional painting and spontaneous painting, an example of his work is figure 34-3, Splashed-ink Landscape, 1495. (Kleiner 1068) Around this time, in 1434, an official painter named Kano Masanobu founded the Kano school for art. His son, Kano Motonobu was the major influence for this era, and established the iconic Kano style found in the Muromachi period. His painting Zen Patriach Xiangyen Zhixian Sweeping with a Broom (Figure 34-4) where he created his painting by focusing on small details and precision with the ink. Because of this, The Kano School became the national painting academy of Japan in the 17th century. (Kleiner

Buddha in the Land of Kami reviews Japan on a historical account. It revisits the story of the Kami and elaborates on the country’s uniqueness. Significant to Japanese culture, this film recognizes Chinese culture as the primary influence on Japan formation. The film given categorizes as a historical documentary that appears to be in the setting of Japan from the seventh and twelfth centuries. Although World History; Culture, States and Societies, explore a different time frame (500 B.C.E- Seventh century), there are still many similarities as compared to the documentary; such as the importance of the Kami, and the role Chinese culture play on the development of Japan.

The major periods that shaped Japan’s history and future were the Heian-era of Aristocracy and the Kamakura period of Samurai. The Heian-era and the Kamakura period are interesting because of their differences in social structure, tradition, and culture. In the Heian era, the aristocrat’s social class was sought by many because of their social and cultural status. When the warrior rise in the Kamakura age the social classes change dramatically between aristocrat and warrior. The Heian-era (794-1191) was an age of self development in Japan’s culture and tradition. Before the Heian-era, Japan

The Japanese social structure was a lot more complicated than the Europeans simple and permanent one. They were a lot more specific on who went where, and they had several levels of peasants. This structure was determined by looking at how much you contributed to the society, and the more you did, obviously the more important on the ranking you were. The Eta and Hinin were considered “unhuman” because they did work which went against the laws of Buddhism. In medieval Europe, the social structure was simple; if you were a peasant, there was no changing that. You were a peasant! The King was only answerable to the Pope, as during this time the Catholic Church was extremely powerful, having their say in practically everything. The difference between these two is that the Japanese simply had a ruler (the emperor), and although of course they were swayed by their religion, the Emperor had a strong say, whereas the European

The Tokugawa period or otherwise known as the Edo period has been recognised as an extremely significant aspect of Japanese history and left history changing effects on the country. In this essay, five primary aspects of the Edo period, which has helped produce present day Japan and had greatly impacted on the nation during this period will be addressed:

Introduced by a mission from Korea in 552 C.E., Buddhism has long been a central theme in Japanese artwork. Since the king of Paekche, a kingdom in the South East of the Korean peninsula, first gave the Japanese emperor a bronze Buddha statue, the Buddhist art forms that were periodically introduced from China and Korea were tempered in the crucible of local custom and usage, to yield a rich tradition of religious art.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi born 1797 was one of the last great masters of the japanese ukiyo-e style woodblock prints and painting.

“Amida Buddha” (Figure 1) is a bronze figure created during the Kamakura Period, dated 1185-1333. The work is a figurative representation of Amida, who was highly worshipped during the Kamakura Period. The figure “Amida Buddha” is currently on exhibition at the Kimbell Art Museum (2018) in Fort Worth, Texas as part of the Sam and Myrna Myers Collection, Lands of Asia Exhibition.

The Kamakura period was the beginning of the warrior class rule. The court still handled civil

There is a vast difference between the courtly airs of the Heian Period and the overall feeling of the following Kamakura Period that makes the younger of the two periods more appealing. The changes in Japanese literature during the Kamakura Period can be readily observed in many works, including the innovation in poet devices found in the Shinkokinshu, as well as the subject matters of different stories. We have the introduction of another ancient Japanese classic in Heike Monogatari, where the reader is assaulted with battlefield stories and upfront political warfare not seen to that extent before. A significant feature, if not the most significant feature, of the Kamakura Period is the increased presence of Buddhist teachings and

Why was Zen Buddhism so popular and influential among the warrior class and aristocrats during the Kamakura period? Compared to the other sects of Buddhism what characteristics made Zen the favor out of all? Originating circa 552 AD, Buddhism has been a leading influencer on Japanese culture from early on in Japanese history reaching a peak after the bakufu moved its capital to Kamakura. Although Buddhism itself is one religion it has multiple sections that differ among the countries that practice, as well as among that country itself.

During the Heian period (745-1185AD) Buddhism spread throughout Japan and thrived in the imperial court in Heiankyo (Kyoto). There were two sects of Buddhism that were most popular during this time, one was Tendai and the other was Shingon. Both of these sects of Buddhism came from China and were brought over to Japan by two different people. Saicho or Dengyo Daishi brought over Tendai sect (767-822) and Kukai or Kobo Daishi brought over Shingon sect (774-835) known as Esoteric Buddhism. Tendai sect beliefs were also of Esoteric Buddhism, but Saicho teachings were based on Chih-I form inspired by the Lotus Sutra, the practice of Chines Ch’an, the commandments of the Mahayant, and part of the esoteric teaching of the “True Word” (History of Buddhism). Due to both Saicho and Kukai being introduced to Esoteric Buddhism, some might have thought there was a rivalry between them, but that was not so due to Kukai was consider an expert due to his training he had with his mentor. Out of the two sects it would be Kukai that would still have a strong hold in the Japanese culture today. It is important to understand how Kukai came to understand his beliefs and what Esoteric Buddhism was for him and the influence Kukai would have on Esoteric Buddhism.

Portrait of an Arhat (Rakan) was created in Edo period of the Japanese art culture. This period started in 1615-1868 when culture expression started to really blossom for the Japanese culture (Singer). From statues, lavish paintings, and religion the art speaks vibrant vibrations. This culturally diverse period gets its name from the city of Edo, known as Tokyo modern day. Which became the headquarters of the government when Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542 – 1616) unified the country (Department of Asian Art). The Tokugawa regime was started in 1603, when the emperor, in “recognition of Ieyasu’s supremacy on the battlefield”, appointed him shogun. Shogun is the highest military position you can carry in Japan (Singer). After this Japan had strict laws on not using motor vehicles were put into place. Going into the 1630s, contact with the outside world was stopped through “official prohibition of foreigners” (Department of Asian Art). Around 1720 Edo had a population of “more than one million residents having more population than London or Paris at the time” (Singer). According to Art of Edo Japan Kyoto, was city of temples and shrines. It was the leading center of arts and crafts production with a population of close to 400,000 (Singer).

This Paper will be an analysis of the development of Japanese landscape painting, analyzing the historical context behind these paintings and what led to the changes in style. Both of these paintings are representative of their specific culture during this rapidly changing time and these changes will be discussed in relation to the artwork. I am going to be discussing Japanese landscape painting, the outside influences shaping Japanese landscape painting but also focusing on the internal elements of Japanese culture shaping the style of artworks. The changing techniques and styles as well as the changing political climate will all be looked at.