japanese art history exam 2

most prominent Japanese master of ink and wash painting from the middle Muromachi period. He was born into the samurai Oda family, then brought up and educated to become a Zen Buddhist priest.

sesshu toyo

-style of residence that developed during the muromachi and momoyama period -formal shoin style reception rooms include a writing space, decorative alcoves (tokonoma), staggered shelves, and tatami floors -decorative sliding doors (fusuma) and translucent paper screen (shoji) -space for everyday activities- eating, sleeping, writing, reading, etc

shoin

a door, window or room divider consisting of translucent paper over a frame of wood which holds together a lattice of wood or bamboo.

shoji

-no two tea houses are identical -tea drinking was the custom of zen buddhist monk (as a stimulant to keep awake during meditation) -by 16th century, tea gained popularity among all classes of people

tea ceremony

-court tales -war tales

types of hand scroll

world view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection

wabi-sabi

-developed to seperate from Chinese art -Style of Japanese painting from the Heian period -Japanese subject matter -Bright and thick color -Human features are abbreviated (line eyes/hook nose) -View from above showing interior of buildings -careful depictions of building and objects with large banks of clouds

yamato-e

-generous patronage from shoguns -zen masters became adcvisors to shoguns on cultural, economic, and political matters

zen and the military

-zen originated in india with a monk called daruma -meditation is the pathway to enlightenment -known since 7th century -enthusiastically embraced by the military class from the 13th century

zen buddhism

-two japanese buddhist masters studied in china, established zen in japan -meditation, self reliance, and restraint, not through faith in external beings -manual labor, the study of koan (questions/answers - exchanges with a zen master as a method of attaining enlightenment, not logically answered) -encouraged focus on nothingness to allow "inner truth" to surface -Doesn't worship dieties, nor study religious texts; no intellectual effort

zen buddhism in japan

brushstrokes composition - asymmetrical -theme -not clearly detailed

zen buddhism style

-composition invites endless spedulation (focus for meditation) -viewer experiences the garden by looking -no intellectual interpetation required -only be experience of individuals in search of spiritual growth -enlightenment can strike during meditation or performing mindful mundane work

zen dry garden

-literally means "skill", "talent", "ability" -fusion of shinto dances, popular, peasent, plays, court music, chinese drama, and buddhist teachings -refined classic art performed by professional men for an elite audience -high status warriors and patrons work as avid patrons of noh

Noh

-concept of tea ceremony combined zen sensibiities and appreciated of the mundane -prepares tea in precscribed manner, serving and drinking tea follows precise code of conduct -peaceful atmosphere

aesthetic concepts relating to tea ceremony

-japanese folding screens made from several joined panels -bears decorative painting and calligraphy -used to seperate interiors and enclose private spaces

byobu

fortified structures on massive stone bases to withstand attacks functional as luxurious residences of military rulers displayed their authority, wealth, and artistic taste

castles

two new forms of buildings were formed during 16th and 17th century and are models for japanese architecture ever since castle: representated countries military and political power shoin- established form of residential buildings

castles and shoji

vertical rectangular panels which can slide from side to side to redefine spaces within a room, or act as doors. -were traditionally painted, with scenes of nature or animals

fusuma

a symbol of the imperial family suggests the retired shoguns aspirstion to courtly status and cultural authority

golden pavillion - golden Phoenix on the roof

place of relaxation and point of departure for boat rides

golden pavillion ground floor

L shaped space with with spacious veranda for fine views of the lake and also for moon-viewing parties (style loved by the warrior elite)

golden pavillion second floor

bell shaped windows housed amida buddha(pure land buddhism) and 25 bodhisattvas, attesting to ashikaga yoshimitsus eclectic tastes

golden pavillion top floor

-designed to be unrolled in sections for close up viewing -birds of view of action, moves right to left -vibrant color, continues narrative form (main chacters appear repititously)

handscroll (e-maki), heiji monogatari example of handscroll

was a professional artist who founded the hasagawa school during the momoyama period tohaku was a rival of kano school -he began his career as a painter of buddhist painting -studied at kano school in kyoto -also studied sesshu toyo(zen inspired art works) -sen no rikyus aesthetic principles

hasagawa tohaku (creator of pine forest)

Japanese war epic detailing the events of the Heiji Rebellion

heiji monogatari

josetsu was a monk at a zen temple -zen follower shogun yoshimochi commissioned josetsu to create painting for small standing screen -accompained by 31 poems written by different monks, it was transformed into a hanging scroll -defies any logic/intellectual working -asymmetry/imperfection all details are left out -color is minimal, just orange gourd

josetsu (artist of catching a catfish with a gourd)

-one of the dominant painting style in japan -professional artists (major patrons include military elite, nobility, and emperor) -artists received formal workshop training in the family workshop -established by kano masanobu (1434-1530) -bold style with firm outline and bright color (decorative qualities associated with yamato-e) -flattened surface contributing to the overall decorative effect -lavish use of gold leaf- conveys owners wealth -kano school byobu- used to seperate and decorate interiors

kano school

a riddle, used in Zen Buddhism to demonstrate the inadequacy of logical reasoning and to provoke enlightenment.

koan

-style of japanese painting -small figures and careful depictions of details of buildings and other objects -oblique view from above -depicts japanese history -bright color

masterpiece of yamato-e tradition

-run by military elite (shogun, daimyo, samurai) -military men were great patrons of the art (tea house, castle, tea ceremony, painting screen) -The golden age of culture

momoyama and tokugawa period

monumental size (5 ft by 12 ft long) extravagent use of gold leaf -diversity of subject matter -patronized by military rulers -reflects the variety of interest of patrons

momoyama screen

hybrid style- mixture of japanese and western -goldfoil background (kano school) -appropriated western modeling of human body

namban and yamato-e connection

literally meaning "southern barbarian art" -chinese word for the region of the south, japanese adopted for portugal and spain -refers to art created from the late 16th century to early 17th century under influence of spanish and portugal art

namban art

-realism was not a goal of the noh theater -stylized and slow moving -wooden stages with few props -noh stage has a background of a painted pine tree -elaborate costumes and masks -filled with symbolism, subtle nuances, slow pace, and mysterious masks

noh qualities

"wabi" the appreciation of simplicity, austerity, and understatement (tea ceremony in a small, humble, rustic room. done with minimal utensils) "sabi" the beauty of silence and timework objects. a preference for the old, imperfect, weathered over the new, perfect -simplicity, imperfection, irrefularity, asymmetry

raku chojiro (tea bowl)

-tea master -codified a style of tea ceremony -austere building of tea house

sen no rikyu

harmony respect purity tranquility

sen no rikyus ideals of tea ceremony