The Visible And Invisible In Edo Japan

The social structure of Japan was composed with 7 parts, which includes the shogun, samurai, farmers, artisans, merchants, outcasts and non-humans. Next to the shogun, the samurai is looked at with the most prestigious position in their society. As a samurai, they are taught to act and behave in a certain way. This is called the code of Bushido, which states that “the true warrior must hold loyalty, courage, veracity, compassion, and honor as important, above all else. An appreciation and respect of life was also imperative, as it added balance to the warrior character of the Samurai.”

Art has evolved and regenerated itself many times during our human existence. These differences are defined through changes in styles under various theories. During the nineteenth and early twentieth century, a style known as Expressionism became popular. During this movement the artists were trying to use their artwork as a tool of expression toward life. It was mainly dominant in the nonrepresentational arts, such as abstract visual arts and music. It also was probably one of the most difficult movements to understand because the whole point of the piece lay within the artist. Not only was it a movement, it defined the act of art as a whole. From the beginning of time, each work of art, excluding replicas, show a way of expressing

The Edo period, also known as the Tokugawa period-taken from the name of the ruling Tokugawa family-was a long period of peace and order that lasted for about 250 years. This was a remarkable feat considering the fact that this period was preceded by devastating ordeals. The sengoku jidai ("the age of country at war") was the Warring States Period of Japan during which numerous rival daimyos with their individual armies fought each other to gain greater jurisdiction of control over Japan, which was divided into about 260 "countries". The term, "Warring State Period" was borrowed, among many other things, from the Chinese. But though the name was appropriate in describing the chaotic feudal warfare, it was more of a war (power struggle) among

With all the struggle the Japanese went though, they finally were grasping a sense of themselves. This age of curiosity and exploration of a country, that the world would later know as Japan, was called the Tokugawa period. As a result of their newfound self, came art and more specifically, woodblock prints. These woodblock prints are significant to the Tokugawa era because they reflected what was going on during that period, including: what was currently happening, how the people viewed the world, and what new discoveries were made. During the Tokugawa era, the woodblock prints show that this was a time of peace because of the often travel, economic growth and significance of nature.

Japan is not only a major economic power, it is one of the most economically developed countries in the world. Japan’s economic development begun between the 12th and 17th century, in a period of time that the Japanese refer to as the Edo period. Although specific economic structures didn’t exist at the time, the conditions, both socially and politically, set the Japanese up for a later successful industrialization and modernization. During the Edo period, the ruling government was known as the bakufu. The bakufu had absolute political power over smaller, local governments, however, they lacked a consistent economic stance. Therefore, the local governments, known as the han, were allowed to decide how their people would be taxed, and how administration would work, along with education, industrialization, and issuing paper currency as long as it was not directly prohibited by the bakufu.

Prior to the Edo period Japan was a country in turmoil and at constant war. The people of this era spent most of their time trying to survive rather than living for the moment. Japan’s suffering started to decrease as their leader Tokugawa came to power after being victorious in a battle that some say moved Japan out of the mediaeval period. With this new profound peace in the country other problems quickly arouse. As prostitution spread throughout the land so did the crime that followed those types of activities. In efforts to control crime and restore order Tokugawa established three Pleasure Quarters to contain prostitution and other related entertainment.

The history of japan goes back in time to the early 800s. It went through many eras and periods of time under different rules and situations and continued to evolve in culture, politics, ideologies and all different aspects. A period of time where japan was known for its peace, prosperity, growing economic stability, cultural productivity and had the last feudal Japanese government is the Tokugawa Shogunate, also known as Tokugawa Bakufu and Edo Bakufu. It was founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu the first shogun (general) of the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1603 and lasted until the Meiji restoration took over in 1868. As any other nation in history. The Edo period, lasting for more than two centuries, went through many changes through time. The last decade

The art of South and East Asia provided new forms for traditional ideas. Japan is one of a multiplicity of countries where the ideas of artists were rooted in the artistic traditions of previous eras or of other countries. These artists would then place their own spin on the art, in regards to both subject and style. Tradition and innovation are complementary qualities of the arts of South and East Asia, as the artists of South and East Asia both inspired other artists and took inspiration from other artists.

French artists began gaining influences from Japanese art, and Japonisme infiltrated their works. The term Japonisme was initially conceived by French art critic Philippe Burty in 1872 to describe the newly found interest of Japanese culture and to “designate a new field of study-artistic, historic, and ethnographic.” It freed Western artists from the restrictions within their own art culture and stylistic tradition by opening up a new array of ideas and outlet for inspiration (ibid). It gave artists a whole new array of subject matter, techniques, and devices such as “the representation of depth and surfaces, the treatment of light and shade, and format and division of the picture plane… the symbolic role of real objects…[and], new poses captured through new means of representation…” (Wichmann 1999, 10).

Today I am going to convince you that Japan Under the Shoguns was a more important society than that of the Vikings. I will talk to you about Japan’s daily life and the wars they fought the warriors and the weaponry.

In feudal Japan, a young man named Oda Hachirou was once famed samurai and Japan’s hero under Lord Shin Nijimura who sought to bring peace to the nation. Born on May 23, 1055, the young warrior came from a small family of three, his parents, and a younger sister. He traveled across the country to learn Bushido, proven to be worthy after his father, Tatsuo Hachirou. Until recently, the Japanese town of Seika became plagued with disease and sickness, eventually attacked by vengeful spirits and demons; rumors were rogue samurais held responsible for this tragedy, including the deaths of Lord Nijimura and his family. No men and women know where these hostile entities came from, though Oda had soon learned that the evildoer was a woman, someone

Because it was peaceful during this time the population grew and this caused a scarcity of land so they started building houses that were over two stories. A popular style of residential architecture was the sukiya style. Great examples of this is Katsura Detached Palace. In this style they use plain lines and decor and used wood in it’s natural

The Meiji Restoration of 1868 propelled Japan onto the world stage. During the period between 1868 to 1912, a rapid modernisation process occurred which saw Japanese society transformed drastically on a social and psychological level. The changes that occurred were mainly selectively borrowed from various European nations which Hirakawa (1998: 63-64) stated: "The Japanese modelled themselves after England for industrial and navel development; Prussia, which defeated France in 1871, provided a model for military organisation; France offered the model of its centralised police system and educational and legal patterns…" Though Europe presented the Japanese with many modern institutions and ideologies, these European structures, however, had a

During the Tokugawa era Noh continued to be an aristocratic art form supported by the shogun, the feudal aristocrats or daimyo, as well as several wealthy and more sophisticated commoners. While kabuki and joruri, popular to the middle class, focused on new and experimental entertainment, Noh strived to preserve its established high standards and historic authenticity and remained mostly unchanged throughout the era. To capture the essence of performances given by great masters, every detail in movements and positions is reproduced by others, generally resulting in an increasingly slow, ceremonial tempo.

In the Edo Period, by UsHistory, the main idea was about the peaceful but busy in the Edo Period. The main idea, or the theme, was shown many different ways, for example, busy streets, plays, and food on both sides of the road. The houses were very compacted together and people on the streets. Quoting the article, “Busy streets crowded with pedestrians. Shopping opportunities for all budgets, from large merchant houses that pamper their clientele to vendors hawking their wares on the street. Events for all during the day followed by a vibrant nightlife after the sun goes down. A lively theater scene, with superstars in top acts playing to packed houses.” It was also a very busy era because the merchants, shops, and entertainment were blooming,