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The Muromachi Period

Decent Essays

The Kamakura shogunate had control of Japan for over a century but collapsed in 1332 which resulted in civil wars afterward. These civil wars lead to the rise of the Ashikaga clan and thus began the Muromachi period which lasted from 1333 to 1573. During this period, Zen Buddhism and older traditions became popular again. Zen was mainly focused on rigorous discipline and personal responsibility which influenced samurai and aristocrats, and merchants to place high value in loyalty, courage and self-control. This wasn’t just a religion to these people but became centers of culture and art. In this period, gardens played a major role in the lives of the Zen Buddhist because these karesansui rock gardens gave monks a place to meditate without the …show more content…

(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 …show more content…

Japan’s literati paintings where inspired by China, which was only connected with Japan through Korea. One of the most famous painters of this style was Yosa Buson, using poetic ability with both haiku and his paintings. (Kleiner 1075) These changes soon led to the availability of cheap prints and ukiyo-e to depict the delights of the city. One of the most famous ukiyo-e printmakers was Suzuki Harunobu who influenced the development of polychrome prints. These prints were very sumptuous and colorful and called nishiki-e (“brocade pictures”). These prints were made of the best quality materials and costly pigments and were not very common in the Edo period. Harunobu’s genius in his work is well shown in the Evening Bell at the Clock (Fig. 34-1). This print was based on a Chinese series where the images depicted a certain time of day or time of year in the work. In Harunobu’s version, the subjects were beautiful young women and their activities in their daily lives. The two women in the pint are seen from a regular Japanese elevated point of view, with one drying herself and the other looking away at a clock. Private scenes like this were very common in ukiyo-e. Before Harunobu’s Evening Bell at the Clock, this theme was not a regular subject seen in ukiyo-e, but soon became a common sight. These prints used flatness and rich colors to

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