A History of Japanese Art

by Noritake Tsuda

  Fig. 164. Raised Gold Lacquer Box, by Kō-ami Nagashige

  Tokyo Imperial Household Museum

  In the late seventeenth century Kajikawa Kyūjirō was one of the master makers of gold lacquered inrō. Inrō is a kind of medicine box. It is usually decorated with gold lacquer or mother-of-pearl inlay. Men wore them at their waists as a rather showy decoration.

  In Kaga there was a famous gold lacquer artist called Igarashi Dōho who served the lord of Kaga and produced fine works of gold lacquer.

  In the Genroku Era (1688-1703), Japan became more peaceful than ever, and the work of gold lacquer made remarkable progress in technical elaboration and details. The gorgeous glow of the gold lacquer ware was really a symbol of the luxurious life of the Genroku Era.

  In Kyoto, Ogata Kōrin, 1658-1716, was the most famous maker of gold lacquer; and in Yedo, Yamada Jōkasai, who flourished in the late seventeenth century, Ogawa Haritsu, 1663-1747, Koma Kyūhaku, d. 1732, and Tatsuki Chobei, who flourished in the second half of the seventeenth century, were all noted workers in gold lacquer. Their works were highly admired, and later they were called “Jōken-in gold lacquer.” Jōken-in was the posthumous name of the fifth Shogun Tsunayoshi who reigned in their time. Indeed the zenith of technical perfection and elaboration of gold lacquer was reached by them and was never surpassed by other gold lacquer artists who came after them.

  Kōrin in Kyoto represented the Kōetsu style of gold lacquer and became very famous for the artistic quality of his designs which far surpassed the work of his contemporaries.

  In the Tokyo Imperial Household Museum is an excellent example of his work. It is a box with a design composed of iris and Yatsuhashi bridge on a black lacquer ground. The iris is represented in gold lacquer and mother-of-pearl; and the bridge is made of lead plates. The iris pond is the motif of this design. The general tone is quiet and highly decorative with its glow of colors. (Fig. 165) Ogawa Haritsu also studied the style of Kōetsu and became skilled in the work of inlay with tin, lead, pottery, and mother-of-pearl. But his work was not so fine as that of Kōrin.

  The following artists were also master workers in gold lacquer in the Yedo Period:

  Shiomi Seisei, 1646-1719; Iizuka Tōyō who flourished in about the middle of the eighteenth century; Koma Koryū who flourished in the later eighteenth century; Koma Kansai, 1766-1835; Hara Yōyūsai, 1772-1845; and Nakayama Komin, 1808-1870.

  Fig. 165. Gold Lacquer Box, by Kōrin

  Tokyo Imperial Household Museum

  It would be helpful in the appreciation of gold lacquer work to know the important technical processes necessary in the manufacture of artistic kinds of gold lacquer.

  First of all, the crude lacquer is obtained by making horizontal incisions on selected lacquer trees. The sap is then put into a large bowl and stirred with a spoon to evaporate any water. The lacquer is transparent and very sticky, the lacquer being blackened by mixing it with lampblack, and reddened by mixing it with vermilion.

  The body of lacquered wares is usually made of wood which is well dried. The joints are cut slightly hollow and filled up with a stuff called kokuso, a mixture of cut hemp and glue, to prevent any deformation from the joint parts; and then the whole surface is coated with pure lacquer, called seshime, entirely separated from water, to prevent any water or moisture creeping into the wood in later technical processes. after this, a coating of lacquer mixed with wheat flour is given and then a linen cloth is laid over it, taking the utmost care to stretch it perfectly smooth. The whole surface is coated several more times with other layers of lacquer; namely jinoko, a mixture of baked earth and lacquer, and then with a mixture of powdered whetstone and raw lacquer. These coats are given in order to get a smooth ground surface. after this, the black lacquer is applied and the surface is polished repeatedly with charcoal in order to get a glossy black finish of ground work.

  The gold lacquer design can now be applied to the ground surface. There are three different methods by which gold lacquer design is produced; that is, hira-maki-e or flat gold lacquer, togidashi-maki-e or polished out gold lacquer, and taka-maki-e or raised gold lacquer.

  In producing a flat gold lacquer design, the design required is drawn on paper and transferred by tracing its lines with lacquer on the article; then gold dust is sprinkled over the design so that the sticky lacquer will take the gold dust. after this, thin transparent lacquer is applied over the design. The article is dried in an air-tight damp box because lacquer dries only in damp air. Then the surface of the design is polished with charcoal.

  In producing a togidashi-maki-e design, the design required is made in the same manner as that of hira-maki-e but a slightly coarser gold dust is used. After the gold dust is sprinkled over the lacquer with which the design is painted, the whole surface of the article receives a coat of black or transparent lacquer. After the lacquer coating is dried in an air-tight damp box, the surface is ground down with charcoal until the design shows out on the fine smooth ground.

  In the processes of producing a raised gold lacquer design, some parts of the design are raised with sabi, which is composed of powdered whetstone and raw lacquer. And then gold dust is applied several times with lacquer to the raised design. When the final coat of lacquer is dried, the design is polished.

  The ground space, which has no pattern, is left black or sprinkled with different kinds of gold dust. According to the quality of gold dust sprinkled on the ground, there are three different kinds of golden ground, that is, the nashi-ji, hirame-ji, and kindami-ji. The nashi-ji is sprinkled with fine dust gold and the dense grains make it look somewhat like a yellow pear-skin; the hirame-ji is made of coarse gold filings which are usually sprinkled rather sparsely over the black ground; and the kindami-ji is made of fine gold dust by sprinkling it so thick that its finish looks like gold plate.

  5. TEXTILEINDUSTRY

  The textile industry made remarkable development in the seventh and the eighth centuries and left us a number of excellent examples which we have described elsewhere. (pp. 85-89)

  After the capital was removed from Nara to Kyoto at the close of the eighth century, it developed still more because of the needs of the court nobles. However, there remain almost no examples to show its actual conditions and prosperity. What we may know of the textile industry of those ages are the pictures of court nobles or Buddhist statues on which are painted dresses of the times. Through these pictures and statues we may understand the kind of pattern that prevailed among court nobles of the Fujiwara Period. The most characteristic pattern was a diaper design, of which there were two distinct types. One is the ground design figured by weaving, in which the same design is closely repeated. The other is the upper design, figured by weaving in threads of different colors over the ground diaper design. These designs are usually round patterns consisting of flowers, birds, or butterflies. Since this time, these classical designs have been used in ceremonial dresses of all ages. There remain a number of fine examples of such fabrics from the Yedo Period in the collections of the Imperial Household and in some families of former feudal lords.

  The next remarkable development in the history of the textile industry took place in the sixteenth century. At this time Japan was again much indebted to Chinese influence. Chinese experts came to Japan and started instruction in weaving at Sakai, a city not far from Osaka. In addition, Chinese trading ships brought fine examples of the Chinese weaving art to Japan. Meanwhile the Nishi-jin artisans of Kyoto learned advanced Chinese methods of weaving from Sakai artisans and made Kyoto the most important center of high-grade weaving in Japan. Moreover, Dutch, Spanish, and Portuguese merchants brought European textiles, such as figured satins, velvets, and Gobelins, giving for the first time an important Western influence to Japanese textile industry.

  Under these foreign influences, the textile industry in the Yedo Period made remarkable progress.

  The most gorgeous textile fabrics, used in the Noh drama, were produced mostly in Yedo and Kyoto. There were fou
r different kinds of fabrics worn by the actors who played in the Noh drama: kara-ori, atsu-ita, nui-haku, and suri-haku. Kara-ori is a kind of rich brocade; atsu-ita is a kind of silk fabric; nui-haku, a fabric having a design in embroidery as well as in gold-leaf; and suri-haku, a fabric with a pattern of gold leaf only. The bright colors and intricate patterns of these Noh costumes were appreciated especially by the nobility and by military leaders in times of peace. Such taste for richly costumed drama had been first introduced by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the Momoyama Period, late in the sixteenth century. His gorgeous taste was beautifully expressed by the flowery costumes of the quiet and pantomimic Noh actors. This taste was followed in the Yedo Period, although not so vividly as in his own time. The particularly interesting feature of the Noh costume is the variety of warm hues, such as gold, red, and yellow, which appear in the slow rhythm, punctuated by symbolic gestures of the Noh actors.

  In the Tokyo Imperial Household Museum are some fine examples of Noh costumes; but more examples will be found in private collections in Tokyo and other cities. In our color plate 6, we have reproduced an excellent specimen of kara-ori owned by Mr. Kikusaburo Fukui, Tokyo.

  Fig. 166. Kosode Garment with Painted Pattern, by Kōrin

  Tokyo Imperial Household Museum

  Next, various kinds of silk stuff, needed by rich plebeians, also were remarkably improved. The silk fabrics used most for making kimono and obi or sashes, were satin or shusu, figured damask or donsu, crepe or chirimen, rinzu, and yūzen. To such silk stuffs, gorgeous patterns were applied by dyeing, embroidery, or weaving out in the loom. But a special design was sometimes painted by an artist himself. A unique example of such stuff is in the Tokyo Imperial Household Museum. It is a kosode garment worn by the lady of a rich merchant in the Genroku Era. It is made of white silk twill and painted with different kinds of autumnal grasses in colors by the famous painter, Ogata Kōrin. (Fig. 166) It well symbolizes the luxurious life of the plebeians in the Genroku Era (1688-1703).

  In the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston are a number of Japanese ladies’ clothes of the Yedo Period. Also some fine examples are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

  6. ARCHITECTURE

  As a whole the architecture of the Yedo Period was a continuation of what had developed in the Momoyama Period; but it gradually declined. The architectural features of the Yedo Period were elaboration in technical details, too rich in colors, and too many carvings with no constructional significance. They presented what may be called a rococo style of Japanese architecture.

  However, the early Yedo Period, that is, the major part of the seventeenth century, was not so bad, since mausoleum architecture made a notable development. Nevertheless the mausoleums were wonderful only in the decoration—prodigal, exquisite in details, and ornate in colors—as will be seen in Fig. 167 which reproduces the interior of the Zuihōden, the mausoleum of the lord of Sendai, erected in the year 1637.

  The following are the important remains of this kind of mausoleum architecture in the Yedo Period:

  The Tōshō-gū Shrine on Kunō-zan in Suruga built in the year 1617.

  Fig. 167. Interior of Zuihōden Mausoleum

  Sendai

  The Daitoku-in, the mausoleum of the second Shogun Hidetada, in Shiba Park, Tokyo, erected in the year 1635.

  The Tōshō-gū at Nikko, the mausoleum of the first Shogun Ieyasu, built in the year 1636.

  The Daiyū-in, the mausoleum of the third Shogun Iemitsu, at Nikko, erected in the year 1653.

  Of the Buddhist architecture a number of large temples were reconstructed and the following are worth while visiting:

  The preaching Hall (1656) and the Hall of Buddha (1583) in the Myōshin-ji monastery, Kyoto.

  The Main Hall (1642) and the Lecture hall of the Enrya-kuji monastery on Mt. Hiei.

  The Daibutsu-den Hall (1708) of the Tōdai-ji monastery, Nara.

  These buildings are all reconstruction architecture of the old temples. However, a new style of Buddhist architecture was introduced from China, coming with the introduction of the Ōbaku branch of the Zen sect of Buddhism. It was the architecture of Chinese style of the Ming Dynasty, and its best example remains in the Mampuku-ji monastery at Uji, near Kyoto. It is almost entirely Chinese in style and principle and no Japanese taste or feeling is expressed as will be noticed in the Lecture Hall (Hattō) reproduced in Fig. 168.

  7. THE ART OF GARDENING

  The garden is an important part of our habitation; it gives us rest and comfort and has an influence upon our life.

  From the remote past, people, in the east and the west, and in the north and the south, have been seeking an everlasting land of happiness in places of distance and height or in heaven, in connection with the celestial abodes of gods. The Christians found Paradise for the blessed souls of the deceased. Taoists discovered the Mount P’êng-lai shan (Hōrai-san), a land of eternal spring. Buddha Amida has created for the faithful the Land of Extreme Happiness in heaven, where there is the garden filled with perfumed lotus flowers and bright with the golden rays of the sun.

  Fig. 168. Hattō

  Mampuku-ji, Uji

  On the other hand we have been also trying to create such a place on earth. The shrines and temples of gods and Buddhas on earth have their gardens, which are created by human hands, and as culture advances we hope that our own abodes may also become nearer to those of the gods and Buddha in heaven. The history of gardens shows this attitude of man in seeking for a beautiful garden for his habitation.

  In the study of the gardens of the Yedo Period we also find this trend of human desire.

  The gardens in the Yedo Period may be divided into three kinds, that is, tea-garden, or cha-niwa, flat-garden or hira-niwa, and stroll landscape garden or kwaiyū-shiki-teien. The tea-garden is but a garden-path leading to a tearoom from the gate; hence it is inseparably related to the tearoom, and naturally it is very small and narrow. But the aim of tea-garden is to get an atmosphere of natural scenery with studied rusticity and simplicity. Such atmosphere is described by the word wabi. In other words the tea-garden should be so designed as to convey a feeling of loneliness and an appearance of extensive natural scenery in a given small plot of land, before one enters the tearoom, which is likewise very small. For such a purpose evergreens are usually planted in the tea-garden, and flowers are not welcomed. Grass under the trees is also important in giving this feeling; and moss on the ground is especially appreciated because of the soft and quiet feeling it gives to the garden.

  In laying out a tea-garden the arrangement of stepping stones, or tobi-ishi, is most important, not only for the beauty of the garden but also for practical use. In Fig. 169 we have reproduced some of the stepping stones in the garden of Mr. Giichiro Nishida in Kanazawa, which was originally laid out by a samurai who served Maeda, the Lord of Kaga, in the seventeenth century. The stones, all of different shapes, are skilfully arranged; and velvet-like moss, which covers the ground and creeps up over the stones, gives the feeling of wabi.

  Fig. 169. Stepping Stones of a Tea-garden

  Mr. Nishida, Kanazawa

  Fig. 170. Tsukubai of a Tea-garden

  Seison-kaku, Kanazawa

  The next important accessory in the tea-garden is tsukubai. The tsukubai located near the tearoom, consists of chōzu-bachi, or stone basin holding water for washing the hands, and several stones arranged at the side of the basin. The stone lantern is also indispensable in the tea-garden, and in Fig. 170 is shown a fine example of tsukubai with a stone lantern behind. These are in the garden of Seison-kaku, the villa of Marquis Maeda, in Kanazawa.

  The flat garden, or hira-niwa, is laid out for shoin type of building and is to be appreciated from the interior of a room. Fine examples will be seen in the gardens of the Hōjō at the Daitokuji and Nanzen-ji. (Fig. 171)The stroll landscape garden is the largest and most elaborate of Japanese gardens, and its highest development was reached in the Yedo Period. They were mostly laid out for the residences of feudal lo
rds.

  In the stroll landscape garden the principal area is occupied by a large pond; and the pond has an island which often is called Hōrai-jima, meaning an Elysian Isle. The pond including an island has a long history in the Japanese garden. The oldest garden known to us had it, and it was surely related to the Taoistic conception of the everlasting island of spring time. The Buddhist temple of the Amida doctrine had a garden in which there were a pond and an island, symbolizing the Land of Extreme Happiness of the Pure Land doctrine.

  Fig. 171. Flat Garden

  Nanzen-ji, Kyoto

  Furthermore the garden-path of the stroll landscape garden is usually laid out through undulating hills made along the pond. These are the essential features of the large landscape gardens in the Yedo Period. In laying out such gardens, different kinds of rocks were collected from distant places, and rare trees were transplanted from various localities. In the structure of a gate different woods were gathered. different famous views were copied, and imitations of famous Chinese landscapes were highly appreciated by those feudal lords who were interested in Chinese landscape literature. Such were also characteristic features of the stroll gardens in the Yedo Period.

  The idea of tea-ceremony was closely related to the development of stroll landscape garden.