Japanese paintings

Japanese painting 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 nativeJapanese aesthetics and the adaptation of imported ideas, mainly from Chinese painting which was especially influential at a number of points; significant Western influence only comes from the later 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 paintingof landscapes in the Chinese literati painting tradition, calligraphy of ideographs, 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) includes 158 works or sets of works from the 8th to the 19th century (though including a number of Chinese paintings that have long been in Japan) 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 (300 BC – 300 AD) dotaku bronze bells. Muralpaintings with both geometric and figural designs have been found in numerous tumuli dating to the Kofun period and Asuka period (300-700 AD).

Nara period (710-794)

With the further establishment of Buddhism 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 than painting.

 

Heian period (794-1185)

With the development of the Esoteric Buddhist sects of Shingon and Tendai, painting of the 8th and 9th centuries is characterized by religious imagery, most notably painted Mandala (mandara). Numerous versions of mandala, most famously the Diamond Realm 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 of Daigo-ji, a temple south of Kyoto.

 

Kamakura period (1185-1333)

These genres continued on through Kamakura period Japan. E-maki of various kinds continued to be produced; however, the Kamakura period was much more strongly characterized by the art of sculpture, rather than painting.As most of the paintings in the Heian and Kamakura periods are religious in nature, the vast majority are by anonymous artists.

 

Murom chi period (1333-1573)

 

During the 14th century, the development of the great Zen monasteries in Kamakuraand Kyoto had a major impact on the visual arts. Suibokuga, an austere monochrome style of ink painting introduced from Sung and Yuan dynasty China largely replaced the polychrome scroll paintings of the previous period, although some polychrome portraiture remained – primary in the form of chinso paintings of Zen monks.

 

Azuchi-Momoyama period (1573-1603)

In sharp contrast to the previous Murom chi period, the Azuchi Momoyama period was characterized by a grandiose polychrome style, with extensive use of gold and silverfoil, and by works on a very large scale.

 

Edo period (1603-1868)

Many art historians show the Edo period 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.

 

Prewar period (1868-1945)

The prewar period was marked by the division of art into competing European styles and traditional indigenous styles.

 

Postwar period (1945-present)

In the postwar period, the government-sponsored Japan Art Academy (Nihon Geijutsuin) was formed in 1947, containing both nihongaand yōga divisions. Government sponsorship of art exhibitions has ended, but has been replaced by private exhibitions, such as theNitten, 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.