Japanese Art History (653 b.c.-a.d.1900) Presented by Jesse A.Cortez

The Great Wave off Kanagawa (Thirty Six Views of Mount Fuji) Who: Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese ukiyo-e artist) When: 1829-1832 (Edo Period) How: The Great Wave Off Kanagawa is a woodblock print (created the through the process of printmaking) that was mainly created with the use of ink and carving tools. Artistic Qualities: This piece of art uses Color, Movement, Perspective, Focus. History: Hokusai’s work was originally created during a time when Japanese trade was heavily restricted, however, thousands of copies of the art were created and sold at an affordable price. This print was also influenced by Dutch art and influenced many European artists in the 19th century.

Night Attack on the Sanjô Palace (gunki monogatari) Who: Unknown; Found in the Illustrated Scrolls of the Heiji Era When: 1159-1160 (Heiji Era) How: The Night Attack on the Sanjo Palace was created onto a hand scroll, which is a common East Asian painting format in Japan called an emaki. Artistic Qualities: This piece of art uses Color, Movement, Perspective, Focus, and Value. History: The Night Attack on the Sanjô Palace, once part of a larger set that pictorialized the entire Heiji incident, survives with two other scrolls, one of them only in remnants. The individual work itself depicts the Heiji Insurrection of 1159-1160. The scrolls were made in order to celebrate the change from rule by a royal court to control given to the samurai in Japan.

Great Buddha Hall (Todaiji) in Nara, Japan Who: Emperor Shomu When: First constructed in the 740s, reconstructed in the 12th century How: Todai-ji’s construction brought together the best craftspeople in Japan with the latest building technology at the time. Artistic Qualities: The finished building project used Color, Scale Perspective, Focus, and Patterns History: Every person in Japan was required to contribute through a special tax to its construction and the court chronicle, the Shoku Nihon-gi, notes that, “the people are made to suffer by the construction of Todai-ji and the clans worry over their suffering. The roots of Todai-ji are also found in the arrival of Buddhism in Japan in the 6th century.

Tea Bowl With Dragon Roundels Who: Nonomura Ninsei (Kyoto Potter) When: Edo Period (1603- 1868) How: Japanese Tea Ceremony Artistic Qualities: The finished building project used Color, Scale Perspective, Focus, and Patterns History: Although the dragon is a fearful creature in Western mythology, in China and Japan the dragon represents the most powerful of all supernatural animals. Ninsei was the first Japanese potter to apply his own seal to his work, making a statement that pottery should be valued as an individualized art form on par with painting.

The Steamship Powhatan Who: Unknown (Found on the Black Ship Scroll) When: Edo Period (1603-1868) How: Simple use of inks and colors on paper Artistic Qualities: The finished building project used Dim Colors and Scale Perspective History: The Powhatan, which was Perry's flagship on his second entry into Japanese waters in 1854, was a side-paddle steam frigate that was among the largest and the last U.S. Navy vessels of its day. Both the Kanagawa and United States-Japan treaties were signed on this steamboat as well.

Red and White Plum Blossoms Who: Ogata Korin When: Edo Period (1603-1868) How: Pair of two-fold screens, color and gold leaf on paper Artistic Qualities: The finished building project used Colors, Focus, and Patterns History: An acknowledged masterpiece painted toward the end of his life, Red and White Plum Blossoms exemplifies a certain style of Japanese art. It has profoundly impacted modernism in the West, most famously in the work of Gustav Klimt. Since the 19th century this combination of abstraction and naturalism, monumental presence, dynamism and gorgeous sensuality has commonly been referred to as Rimpa, or “School of Kôrin.”

Thank You for your Time! (Arigatou Gozaimasu)