The History of Art in Japan
Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere2018, University of Tokyo Press eBooks
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Abstract
Reviewed by Brenda G. Jordan N obuo Tsuji's History of Art in Japan was originally published by the University of Tokyo Press in 2005 and is now available in English translation. The book covers Japan's art history from the ancient Jōmon Era all the way to the rise of manga and anime in the twentieth century. Included is a list of the main historical eras in both Romanization and Japanese; a map of archaeological sites; a timeline for Japan, Korea, and China; long lists of scholarly English-languages sources on Japanese art; and an extensive index that usefully includes the Japanese rendering of words. The author is Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo and Tama Art University. Tsuji is considered one of the preeminent Japanese art historians of his generation, a trailblazer in the research on Japanese eccentrics and the arts of playfulness in Japan. His introduction to this book takes a refreshingly different approach from the usual beaux arts (fine arts) focus of old by including a broad selection of Japanese arts: painting, sculpture, ceramics, lacquer, textiles, metalworking, architecture, gardens, calligraphy, photography, printmaking, and design. Rather than prioritizing one kind of art over another, Tsuji develops three concepts: "wonderous adornment (kazari), playfulness (asobi), and animism. " This kind of approach enables us to view the history of art in Japan more broadly and in tune with the current field of art history, as the idea of bijutsu (fine arts, beaux arts) didn't exist in Japan until the latter part of the nineteenth century. The numerous scholars who assisted the translator with this edition worked hard to provide context; Tsuji, like so many Japanese scholars, assumed a great deal of knowledge on the part of his readers. Even with that, there are likely to be sections that are harder for someone unfamiliar with Japan to fully understand, particularly the numerous references to sites and objects that are not illustrated. The book is probably most useful to graduate students and scholars of East Asian art history, especially Japanese art history, and particularly as a reference book. Some chapters, such as the introduction and chapter 1 on "Jōmon: The Force of Primal Imagination, " can be used for readings in a college classroom as context for the instructor's presentations. Other chapters, such as chapter 3, "Asuka and Hakuhō: The Sphere of East Asian Buddhist Arts, " require a great deal of previous background in Buddhist art, particularly that of China, in order to understand the text. An instructor might use selected readings from Tsuji's book to complement other texts such as Asian Art (Dorinda Neave, Lara Blanchard, and Marika Sardar, 2013) rather than attempt to use it as a main text. Even as an upper-level undergraduate or graduate-level text, the instructor would need to provide historical background and contextualization in order for students to fully understand the material. The book is extremely useful for providing a great deal of information and current research in a comprehensive English-language text.
