The paintings of Japan developed under the influence of techniques brought from China. From the Nara Period(710-784) to the Heian Period(794-1185), the particular quality of Japanese-style painting gradually began to appear and was established as classical Japanese painting. In the Kamakura Period(1185-1333), ink painting was introduced, again from China, and its uniquely Japanese style was perfected in the Muromachi Period(1392-1573). In the Edo Period(1603-1867), Ukiyoe flourished. In the narrow sense, works called nihonga are paintings done with traditional materials, techniques and form; they are painted with brushes and paints, such as India ink and mineral pigments like the rock paints, on silk and Japanese paper. Nihonga come in various sizes and shapes. In addition to paper sliding doors, folding screens and square poetry paper being used as surfaces for painting, they are also painted in the form of picture scrolls.
Suibokuga are pictures painted in India ink. Their special characteristic is the method of shading the India ink and making strong and weak strokes, and the atmosphere changes with the quality of the paper on which they are painted. After being brought over from China in the Kamakura Period(1185-1333), ink painting was at the height of its popularity in the Muromachi Period(1392-1573). At first, there were mostly religious paintings connected with teaching of the Zen sect, but, by the fifteenth century, it started to deal with subjects such as landscapes, flowers and birds. Suibokuga in Japan came to perfection with the painter priest Sesshu. After learning the art of suibokuga at its source in China, he created his own particular style of painting.
Ukiyoe are paintings developed in the Edo Period(1603-1867), most of which became widespread as woodblock prints. They began in the second half of the seventeenth century when hishikawa Moronobu made a woodblock print to stand as one independent picture. At first, only India ink was used, but in the eighteenth century suzuki Harunobu developed the technique of printing with several colors. In addition to the human subjects of ukiyoe--beautiful women, actors and sumo wrestlers--landscapes and the living conditions of the common people were also illustrated. Famous among these are the prints of beautiful women by kitagawa Utamaro, Kabuki actors by to TOSHUSAI Sharaku, and landscapes by KATSUSHIKA Hokusai. In addition, ukiyoe art is known for its influence on Van Gogh and the Impressionists.
Vessels made of earth, coated with a glaze and baked are ceramics and are not permeable by light. Meanwhile, porcelain are very hard and are permeable by light. These are all generally called tojiki. Japanese tojiki are not only for practical use but are often works appreciated for their high art. In the art of flower arrangement and the tea ceremony, the very appreciation of the flower vases and tea cups as vessels for their own sake is regarded as important; those arts, therefore, were connected all the more to the development of tojiki. Tojiki are also referred to as setomono, a term taken from Seto City in Aichi Prefecture, a well-known production site. Representative ceramics are Shigaraki ware from Shiga and Bizen ware from Okayama; among porcelains, Imari ware from Saga Prefecture and Kutani ware from Ishikawa are famous.
Shikki is craftwork coated with lacquer, and it has been in general use in all over Southeast Asia for more than 2,000 years. Bamboo, wood and cloth materials are painted with a mixture of paints and concentrated lacquer tree sap. In Japan there was a strong influence from China in the sixth century when Buddhism was introduced, and the techniques of making shikki improved rapidly. Subsequently, shikki was used widely in daily life for furniture and tableware and before long it even came to be made for industrial art objects. In the trade with Portugal and Holland in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, it was widely introduced into Europe and in English was called "japan." The chief characteristics of shikki are its strength against humidity and heat and its outstanding durability. Even now, Wajima lacquer and Aizu lacquer are being made.
Kado is a traditional Japanese art that has flourished since the sixteenth century. Also called ikebana, its origin is said to date from the sixth century when Buddhist priests offered up flowers before Buddha. Its fundamental concept is to express the three elements of heaven, earth, and mankind in a balanced composition,using natural flowers. The general style is to fill a wide-mouthed, simple vase with water, and stick and heap up the flowers on kenzan, that is a metallic plate with a lot of thick needles pointing upwards. Natural beauty and oneÕs feelings are expressed by using scissors to adjust the length of the stems and to modify the shape of the leaves and by using the hands to add curvature. Today, avant-garde ikebana that does not even use plants is one genre of the art.
Sado, also called chado or cha no yu, is the traditional etiquette of preparing and drinking tea when one has guests. In sado, special powdered tea, different from ordinary Japanese tea is chiefly used. The powdered tea is put into a teacup, hot water is poured on it, it is whipped with a bamboo whisk till it foams and it is drunk. In the sixteenth century, Sen-no-Rikyu brought sado to perfection by incorporating the simple aesthetic values known as wabi(subtle taste) and sabi(elegant simplicity) and the concept that every single encounter never repeats in a life time(ichigo ichie). To make the encounter important, the host prepares with deep sincerity implements such as a hanging scroll or flowers to put in the alcove or the teacups. From such activities, meanwhile, the guests know the hostÕs warm hospitality and are filled with gratitude.
Shodo is the art of drawing characters with a brush and India ink to express spiritual depth and beauty. Shodo originally came from China, but in Japan Chinese characters(kanji) were combined with the Japanese syllabary(kana), devised in Japan, to create this unique character art. With a brush soaked in India ink one can freely control, unlike with a pen, the thickness and the tone of the characters. That is how the calligraphers are able to express their spirits and ideas. Beyond the standard square style of writing(kaisho), calligraphic style can be divided into the somewhat simplified semicursive style(gyosho) and the still more simplified cursive style(sosho). Except for New Year's cards and the like, a brush is ordinarily not used for writing, but shodo is included in the elementary school curriculum.
Haiku is poetry structured in the set form of 17 syllables, arranged in groups of 5, 7,and 5. It derives from the first line of the linked verse which alternately repeats a line in groups of 5, 7, and 5 syllables, and a line in groups of 7 and 7 syllables; in the Edo Period(1603-1867), MATSUO Basho established its present form. The designation haiku became widespread with the work of MASAOKA Shiki in the Meiji Period(1868-1912). Because haiku can express the beauty of nature and the depths of the human heart in a brief form, it now has spread throughout the world and in the United States it is even part of one's education. A season word, indicating the season, is included in haiku in the original style. The season word brings out ideas associated with the background of the word, and, within the space of just 17 syllables, it adds breadth and depth to the verse.
Tanka is short, lyrical poetry structured in 31 syllables arranged in groups of 5, 7, 5, 7 and 7, syllables, in a two-part form with the first part in 5, 7, 5, and the second part in 7 and 7. Even in the "Man'yoshu,"(the Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves) which is the Japan's oldest anthology of poetry, compiled in the eighth century, many of the poems were already composed in this form. It is written in the preface of "Kokinwakashu,"(the Collection of Japanese Poems from Ancient and Modern Times) that "the Japanese poetry grows out of people's feelings to become leaves of words for everything in the world." Its main feature is that, in expressing the gamut of feelings in a simple form, it must contain--and this is an indispensable feature--a suggestiveness felt beyond the words. Perhaps a requirement for an outstanding tanka is that it causes associations with a suggestiveness not expressed in words and a deep elegance. Today there are many lovers of this art form.