Adison Lemmon

 The Jomon (cord markings) period lasted from 10, B.C.E  Jomon people were hunter-gatherers, but were settlers, not nomadic.  Villages were consisted of pit dwellings.  Cord markings is the technique they used for decorating earthenware.  Local variations of ceramic artwork flourished in the Middle Jomon period ( B.C.E)  Jomon pottery has a striking resemblance to that of Chinese earthenware 

 Ise Grand Shrine is located in Ise, Japan.  This shrine is dedicate to Amaterasu, Japan’s sun goddess.  It is made up of two different shrines, Geku and Naiku.  Naiku is the inner shrine and is dedicated to worship the sun goddess Amaterasu. Geku is dedicated to the deity of agriculture and industry, Toyouke no omikami.  Most of the temples built in Kyoto were destroyed during the Onin wars( ) and rebuilt.  Shinto is the native religion of Japan. Its main practice was the worship of clan deities and local deities inhabiting mountains, rivers, and other natural features.  Shinto shrines are built in beautiful, natural settings. The buildings themselves are rarely very impressive and the grounds feature large expanses of gravel.  Kyoto was the center of power for almost a thousand years, then power shifted into Edo, now present-day Tokyo.  Temples and shrines are normally made of wood.

 Most of Japanese paintings would be found in scrolls.  They would be painted over paper and be made out of ink and color.  The Legends of Mount Shigi was painted during the late 12 th century. It tells of miraculous events involving virtuous individuals.  It presented several scenes in a long, unbroken format. An example of this would be travelers at different points of their journey through the same landscape.  The Genji scrolls are different. They were written around the Nara and Heian periods. They told stories of prince Genji and his descendants. They were written by Murasaki Shikubu.  Not one person would paint and write these scrolls alone, it would require a team. This team would consist of a nobleman talented in calligraphy, a chief painter, and assistances.