THE TOKUGAWA
PERIOD
In the Edo or
Tokugawa Period
between 1603 to 1868, Japan was under the
rule of the Tokugawa shogunate, a form of
military rule headed by the shogun. The
period was characterized by economic
growth, strict social order, isolationist foreign
policies, increased environmental protection,
and popular enjoyment of the arts.
Tokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and
first shōgun of the Tokugawa
shogunate of Japan, which
effectively ruled Japan from
the Battle of Sekigahara in
1600 until the Meiji
Restoration in 1868.
THE ART OF EDO PERIOD
In the harshly controlled feudal
society governed for over 250
years by the descendants of
Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542–1616),
creativity came not from its
leaders, a conservative military
class, but from the two lower
classes in the Confucian social
hierarchy,
the artisans and
merchants.
Restricted trade with Chinese and Dutch merchants was permitted in Nagasaki, and it
spurred development of Japanese porcelain and provided an opening for Ming literati
culture to filter into artistic circles of Kyoto and, later, Edo.
THE RINPA
SCHOOL
Rinpa School (which can also be pronounced Rimpa)
was a key part of the Edo period revival of indigenous
Japanese artistic interests described by the term yamato-e.
The term yamato-e,
literally means
“Japanese painting”
STYLE &
TECHNIQUE
Rinpa artists worked in various formats, notably screens, fans, hanging scrolls,
woodblock printed books, lacquerware, ceramics, and kimono textiles. Many Rinpa
paintings were used on the sliding doors and walls of noble homes.
STYLE &
TECHNIQUE
The stereotypical standard painting
in the Rinpa style involves simple
natural subjects such as birds,
plants, and flowers with the
background filled in with gold
leaf. Emphasis on refined design
and technique became more
pronounced as the Rinpa style
developed.
Two of the most important
participants in this revival were
Hon’ami K ōetsu
and Tawaraya
Sōtatsu.
Both were upper-class Kyoto merchants, a
group known as machishu, who allied
themselves with the culturally influential yet
impoverished nobility, who spearheaded the
call for a return to aristocratic ideals of the
late Heian period.
Hon'ami Kōetsu
Japanese craftsman, potter, lacquerer,
and calligrapher, whose work is generally
considered to have inspired the founding
of the Rinpa school of painting.
Tawaraya S ōtatsu
was a Japanese painter and designer of
the Rinpa school. Sōtatsu is best known
for his decorations of calligraphic works
by Hon'ami Kōetsu, and his spectacular
and highly influential folding screens,
such as National Treasures Wind God
and Thunder God and his painting of
the Sekiya and Miotsukushi chapters
from The Tale of Genji.
Wind God and Thunder God
Sekiya and Miotsukushi chapters from The Tale of Genji
Irises at Yatsuhasi Bridge
Ukiyo-e
Woodblock Prints
ukiyo-e
“pictures from the floating world”
With the rise of popular culture in the Edo period, a style of woodblock prints
called ukiyo-e became a major art form. Its techniques were fine tuned to produce
colorful prints of everything from daily news to schoolbooks. Subject matter ranged
from Kabuki actors and courtesans to famous landscapes.
Kabuki, traditional Japanese
popular drama with singing
and dancing performed in a
highly stylized manner. A rich
blend of music, dance, mime,
and spectacular staging and
costuming, it has been a
major theatrical form in
Japan for four centuries.
Ukiyo-e prints began to be produced in the
late 17th century, and required a highly
involved process that included a designer,
engraver, printer, and publisher.
Suzuki Harunobu produced the first
polychrome (multicolor) print in 1764, and
print designers of the next generation,
including Torii Kiyonaga and Utamaro,
created elegant and sometimes insightful
depictions of courtesans.
CHARACTERISTICS OF
UKIYO-E
The Subject Matter
The subjects of ukiyo-e paintings are varied, ranging from historical and
legendary figures to famous actors and courtesans to titillating sexuality.
The Design
Artistically, ukiyo-e is characterized by its flat fields of color and its
stylized forms, qualities that have made it famous worldwide. Dramatic
diagonals are a hallmark of the composition, giving the impression that
the subject is in motion.
CHARACTERISTICS OF
UKIYO-E
The Different Colors
Originally produced in black and white, Ukiyo-e prints gradually
incorporated color into their aesthetic. Ukiyo-e color is applied using
woodblock printing, with each color being printed from its own dedicated
block.
Line Work
Detail and texture are achieved by the employment of small lines in
ukiyo-e artwork. Lines are employed to give an image depth and bring it
to life.
HIROSHIGE
and
HOKUSAI
UTAGAWA HIROSHIGE
often regarded as the last great artist of the
Ukiyo-e movement.
Rather than create prints depicting typical
Ukiyo-e motifs, Hiroshige developed his own
style. He looked to the everyday experience
for inspiration, rendering images of working
men and women in urban environments. He
created his images with such skill, that
day-to-day scenes were transformed into
captivating landscapes with vibrant colors
and charming details.
Hiroshige's work came to have a marked influence on western European painting towards
the close of the 19th century as a part of the trend in Japonism. Western European artists,
such as Manet and Monet, collected and closely studied Hiroshige's compositions: Vincent
van Gogh, for instance, painted copies of some Hiroshige prints.
BY VINCENT VAN GOGH
Flowering Plum Orchard (after Hiroshige) Bridge in the Rain (after Hiroshige)
ARTWORKS OF
HIROSHIGE
Maiko Beach in Harima Province Naruto Whirlpool, Awa Province Cranes at Waka Bay in Kii Province
Fishing boats on a lake
Sokokura
KATSUSHIKA HOKUSAI
Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter, and printmaker
Katsushika Hokusai went by more than 30 names
throughout his career. Although changing names
was common practice among Japanese artists at
the time, Hokusai took the tradition even further by
giving himself a new pseudonym every few years.
Other than changing his name, Hokusai never
liked to stay in one place for too long, and by the
end of his life he had relocated a total of 93 times.
Why? He supposedly hated to clean, and would let
his various abodes build up with dirt before they
became unbearable, forcing him to vacate.
Among various illustrated
publications, between
1814–1819 Hokusai also
created a series of images
for aspiring artists to copy.
These works were compiled
into a best-selling book
titled Hokusai Manga, and
document one of the earliest
forms of Manga art.
ARTWORKS OF
HOKUSAI
The Great Wave at Kanagawa
Hokusai’s most famous work, The Great Wave at
Kanagawa, was made as part of the series Thirty-six Views of
Mount Fuji. A giant blue wave looms over two vessels, sea foam
spraying across a distant view of Mount Fuji. Hokusai used a
foreign pigment, Prussian blue ink, to color the woodblock print.
The piece was popularized in Western Europe where Hokusai’s
work influenced Impressionists like Claude
Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Edgar Degas. Today, original
prints of The Great Wave can be found at museums around the
world.
The Great Wave at Kanagawa
The waterfall in Ono on the Kisokai-road,
A Tour of the Waterfalls of the Provinces
Made as part of a series of waterfalls, The waterfall in Ono on
the Kisokai-road shows a landscape and towering waterfall and
bystanders on a bridge. This print clearly demonstrated qualities
of Japanese woodblock prints that fascinated Western
audiences during the 19th century. For example, the patterned
spray and stripes of falling water, along with the trees and
buildings that jut off the sides of the image, exemplify Japanese
aesthetic styles that invigorated the Impressionist movement.
The waterfall in Ono on the Kisokai-road,
A Tour of the Waterfalls of the Provinces
Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife
In addition to his other works, Hokusai has become famous for
his erotic imagery, called shunga in Japanese. Perhaps his
most famous print of this kind, Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife is
an example of shunga that was purchased by men and women
alike during the period. Interpretations of the piece have drawn
parallels with the Japanese story of Princess Tamatori, a shell
diver who, pursued by the god of the sea and his octopi, cuts
open her breast to hide her lover’s pearl.
Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife
Phoenix
Its detail and vibrant colors against a dark background make
Hokusai’s Phoenix stand out opposite his other works. In his
later years, Hokusai was commissioned to paint several building
interiors, one of which depicts a phoenix at Gansho-in in Obuse,
Japan, that can be visited today. Another similarly detailed
phoenix by Hokusai is on view at the Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston.
Phoenix
Fine Wind, Clear Morning
Depicting Mount Fuji in another of Hokusai’s Thirty-six Views of
Mount Fuji, Fine Wind, Clear Morning shows the volcano in
deep earthy reds. Small trees dot the mountainside, cueing the
viewer as to the scale of the mountain while flat-bottomed
clouds drift past its snow-capped peak. The series was
produced during the middle of Hokusai’s life, during the height
of his career.
Fine Wind, Clear Morning
