A History of Japanese Art

by Noritake Tsuda

  Such is the background of the contemporary art of Japan. Its influence on visual arts is conspicuous. The contemporary painting in Japanese native style is so complicated that its worth can not be judged by the standards of schools like Tosa, Kanō, Maruyama, and others of olden times. It is quite rare that any painter clings solely to one particular school of the past. Many painters study different native schools as well as Western styles and there is no definite technique. They should express their own ideas of the things they see, giving them their own interpretations by new technical skill. But we find that their subjects are often too remote from the present life. They repeat classical subjects without giving any new interpretations. Such seems to be an outstanding defect in the contemporary painting in Japanese style.

  Such a tendency will be found in the exhibitions held yearly by two organizations: Teikoku Bijutsu-in or the Imperial Fine Arts Academy, and Nihon Bijutsu-in, or the Institute of Japanese Fine Art. The former is called Teiten; and the latter, Inten. The Teiten is the government organization and occupies the highest seat of art in Japan, as does the Royal Academy of Arts in England, while the Inten is a private organization founded by Okakura Kakuzo, the members of which cling to the style of the so-called Inten School.

  The Imperial Fine Arts Academy has for its object the promotion and development of national art. Its members consist of Japanese artists with distinguished careers, who are appointed for life. The most important of its activities is the holding of an annual art exhibition in autumn. The exhibition is divided into four sections: Japanese style painting, Western style painting, sculpture, and applied arts. The works sent in for the exhibition are selected by a standing committee composed of several members of the Academy and of those appointed from artists of established fame by the Academy for exhibition. There are two ways of recognizing the superior merit by making Special Selection (Toku-sen) or by conferring an Academic Prize (In-shō).

  About half the members of the Academy, in charge of Japanese painting, are selected from masters living in Tokyo and the rest are taken from among those in Kyoto. The Tokyo members have to supervise their pupils living in Tokyo, while those of Kyoto are the sponsors for younger painters living in that city.

  Kawai Gyokudō, Araki Jippo, Komuro Suiun, Yūki Somei, Kaburagi Kiyokata, Matsuoka Eikyū, and Yokoyama Taikan represent Tokyo, and Takenouchi Seihō, Kikuchi Keigetsu, Nishiyama Suishō, and Kawamura Manshu represent Kyoto. The style of the members of the Kyoto section developed according to the style of the Shijō or Maruyama School, while that of those living in Tokyo is generally more complicated. Komuro Suiun, the leader of the Nangwa School, Kaburagi Kiyokata, the leading painter of the Ukiyo-e style, and Matsuoka Eikyu, the leader of the new Yamato-e style are exceptions.

  Besides the members of the Imperial Fine Arts Academy, we have painters of established fame, in Tokyo and Kyoto, whose works are generally seen in the exhibitions of the Academy. In Tokyo live such masters as Shimada Bokusen, Yamaguchi Hōshun, Tsutaya Ryūkō, Yazawa Gengetsu, and Hiroshima Kwōho; and in Kyoto live such masters as Tsuchida Bakusen, Dōmoto Inshō, Hashimoto Kwansetsu, and Konoshima Ōkoku.

  The painters of the Nihon Bijutsu-in, or the Institute of Japanese Art, represent the new style of national painting, and occupy the camp opposite the exhibitions of the Imperial Fine Arts Academy. Yokoyama Taikan now presides over the Institute, under the influence of the ideal and the spirit of Okakura, the founder of the Institute. Among the members of the Institute, Arai Kampō, Kobayashi Kokei, Kimura Buzan, Yasuda Yukihiko, Maeda Seison, and Tomita Keisen are well-known masters.

  Besides these two great art organizations, there are the Seiryū-sha and the Nangwa-in. The Seiryū-sha was founded by Kawabata Ryūshi, and the Nangwa-in, or Institute of Nangwa Painting, is presided over by Komuro Suiun. Both hold a yearly spring exhibition at Ueno.

  Contemporary painting in Western style is making remarkable progress. Exhibitions are held yearly in spring and autumn by various art organizations, besides those held by the Imperial Fine Arts Academy. The most noteworthy are the Nikwakwai, the Shunyō-kwai, the Kōfu-kwai, and the Kokugwa-kwai.

  The Nikwa-kwai was originally organized by a number of artists who were dissatisfied with the attitude taken by the committee for the government exhibition. The members of the Nikwakwai are very radical and progressive, accelerating the new development against the bureaucratic and academic style of the members of the Imperial Fine Arts Academy and their associates.

  But now, both new and old styles are studied carefully and critically by the artists of all the different art organizations, including those of the Imperial Academy. The Impressionist, Cubist, Expressionist, Realist, and other schools are studied as sources from which they may create their own individual styles with aesthetic freedom. So it will be recognized that every exhibition is yearly making progress toward the same goal.

  In the exhibition held by the Imperial Fine Arts Academy are sometimes seen works by old masters, such as Fujishima Takeji, Minami Kunzō, and Wada Sanzō. But the tendency of the Imperial Academy exhibition is represented by younger masters, such as Aoyama Kumaji, Kanayama Heizō, Tanabe Itaru, Makino Torao, Kumaoka Yoshihiko, Katada Tokurō, Ota Saburō, and Takama Sōshichi. They are as a whole moderate and reasonable, and never eccentric.

  In the Nikwa-kwai exhibition we see works by such eminent painters as Ishii Hakutei, Yamashita Shintarō, Arishima Ikuma, Sakamoto Hanjirō, Tsuda Seifū, and Yasui Sōtarō. They are much influenced by Impressionism or Post-impressionism. Ishii Hakutei, the founder of the Nikwa-kwai, shows much Japanese taste in his Naturalism. The work by Yasui Sōtarō, who has studied Cezanne, is especially remarkable and he plays a very important role in the exhibition. But the new tendency of the exhibition is now represented by Kojima Zenzaburō, Hayashi Shigeyoshi, Koga Shunkō, and Tōgō Seiji.

  In the Shunyō-kwai we have such master painters as Yamamoto Kanae, Kosugi Hōan, Morita Tsunetomo, Hasegawa Noboru, Kurata Hakuyō, Adachi Gen-ichirō, Kimura Shōhachi, Nakagawa Kazumasa, Okamoto Ippei, Hayashi Shizue, and Koyama Keizō.

  In minor arts, pottery, lacquer wares, textile fabrics, and metal works are making remarkable progress in a new direction. Two government exhibitions are held yearly to encourage development of minor arts. One is included in the annual exhibition of the Imperial Fine Arts Academy held in autumn. However, the exhibits in this exhibition are mostly too imaginative in form and decoration for practical use. Another exhibition, held in spring under the auspices of the Department of Commerce and Industry, seems to have more popular appeal than that held by the Imperial Fine Arts Academy.

  The most artistic works made of metal by contemporary artists are vessels or flower vases in bronze. Tokyo and Kyoto are the principal centers of such productions. Cloisonné wares enjoy a world-wide reputation for their exquisite workmanship and extremely fine quality. Nagoya, Kyoto, and Tokyo are the three great centers of the enamellers' art.

  Contemporary textile fabrics have made remarkable progress in designs, dyeing, and weaving. The most artistic are Nishi-jin, Yūzen, and embroidery, and the best of these are produced in Kyoto. The Nishi-jin, the weaving quarter of Kyoto, is generally known, and has held the highest position in the silk industry in Japan for hundreds of years. In recent years, under the influence of European methods, panels, screens, table cloths, and wall tapestries of excellent workmanship have come to be made, besides many kinds of damask, gold brocade, figured crêpe, striped satin, and so forth. Yūzen is a comprehensive name given to all these dyed delicate silk fabrics on which various designs are executed by a particular process, which has always been a specialty of Kyoto dyers.

  In the decorative art of Japan pottery is probably most attractive in its color and form. Kyoto is celebrated for the manufacture of the art-faience, which, under the names of Kiyomizu-yaki and Awata-yaki, has won the golden opinion of connoisseurs of ceramic art both in Japan and abroad. Arita in Kyushu is famous for Kaki-e-mon, Iro-nabeshima, and Arita wares. Kanazawa of Kaga
is famous for Kutani ware. At present the manufacture of Kutani ware is not on so large a scale as it used to be. It is worthy of note, however, that wares of such a quality as is fit to meet the general demand are now manufactured in greater quantities than are the orthodox Kutani wares.

  It is a deeply deplorable thing for Japanese who are proud of their fine art that they have no museum where contemporary art can be seen. It can be seen only at exhibitions held in the spring and autumn in Tokyo and Kyoto; or from time to time in small galleries in large department stores in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka.

  Part Two

  GUIDE TO TEMPLES AND MUSEUMS

  CHAPTER 1

  Tokyo

  1. IMPERIAL HOUSEHOLD MUSEUM, UENO PARK

  The Museum was first opened in 1882. The collections are divided into three departments: Historical Department, Fine Arts Department, and Industrial Arts Department. The collections of each department are sub-divided into various kinds. However, the following collections are most important for students of Japanese art:

  The collection of protohistoric relics—arms and armor, horse trappings, bronze mirrors, and personal ornaments—beads mainly of stone and glass, and rings and fillets of metal.

  The collection of textiles from the eighth century, formerly belonging to the Hōryū-ji monastery in Yamato.

  The collection of arms and armor of the historic period.

  The collection of costumes of the Yedo Period.

  The collection of sculpture.

  The collection of ceramic art.

  The collection of gold lacquer wares.

  The museum also has loan collections besides their own.

  We describe here some of the important exhibits.

  Painting

  The Bodhisattva of All-Pervading Wisdom, or Fugen Bodhisattva. (Fig. 179) Mounted as kakemono. Colored on silk. Fujiwara Period. Fugen was one of the popular Bodhisattvas worshipped at this time and this painting is one of the finest examples now existent. The Bodhisattva is seated on a lotus blossom, which is placed on the back of a white elephant, the symbol of sagacity and prudence. The posture and the worshipping attitude of the clasped hands are suggestive of sublimity, and at the same time the whole is typified by the ideal feminine beauty as conceived by the people of those days. The most delicate cinnabar lines outline the white flesh. The eyes are opened narrowly; yet clearly cast downward. The lines of the nose are so extremely fine that it almost escapes notice. On the other hand the lips are touched with deep red by the pious brush of the painter. As a whole the expression is extremely calm and of womanly quietude, symbolizing celestial and spiritualized joy, yet touch-ing the spring florescence on earth. The coloring of the dress is very elaborate and the gold color and many other pigments that have been used reflect the most refined taste of the nobles of the day when this work was produced.

  Fig. 179. Fugen Bodhisattva

  Tokyo Imperial Household Museum

  Figure of Shaka, or Shaka-zō. (Fig. 180) Jingo-ji monastery. Mounted as kakemomo. Colored on silk. Fujiwara Period. This is one of the most representative Buddhist paintings developed under the purely Japanese ideas of the Fujiwara Period. The face expresses womanly loving-kindness and the robe is highly decorated with a fine diaper design in rich colors and cut gold.

  Yellow figure of Fudō, or Ki-Fudō. A national treasure. Manju-in temple. Mounted as kakemono. Colored on silk. Late Fujiwara Period. In form and lines the power of Fudō is skilfully made visual.

  Lotus Flower. A national treasure. Hompō-ji temple. Mounted as kakemono in pair. Colored on silk. Sung Dynasty.

  Landscape. A national treasure. Kōtō-in temple. Mounted as kakemono in pair. Ink painting on silk. Late Sung Dynasty. A unique example of Chinese landscape painting.

  Fig. 180. Figure of Shaka

  Tokyo Imperial Household Museum

  Animal Caricatures. Kōzan-ji monastery. Mounted as scroll in four pieces. Painted in black and white on paper. Kamakura Period. This painting was long attributed to the priest Toba Sōjō, but without foundation. At the end of the picture is an inscription bearing the name Takemura and the date 1253. This may be the name of a former owner. The scrolls contain various sketches of the doings of Buddhist priests in Nara and Mount Hiei, humorously represented by lower animals, the stag standing for the priests of Kōfuku-ji and Kasuga, and the monkey for those on Mount Hiei. They are highly prized for their artistic merit, though the painter is unknown. No doubt they were executed by a master hand who had studied the Yamato-e style in the early Kamakura Period (1186-1333). In the part reproduced in Fig. 181 is seen a big frog, sitting on an altar, in the posture of a Buddha. In front sits a large monkey, wearing a Buddhist costume vehemently saying something to the Buddha. In the background sit foxes, horses, monkeys, and other animals, in various postures and with different expressions. The lines depicting them are simple but strenuous, and full of life and movement, evoking some emotional interest when we trace the long series of caricatures.

  Fig. 181. Animal Caricatures (N.T.)

  Tokyo Imperial Household Museum

  The History of the Origin of Matsuzaki Tenjin, or Matsuzaki Tenjin Engi. (Fig. 182) Matsuzaki-jinja. Mounted as makimono in six pieces. Colored on paper. Late Kamakura Period. The picture is an excellent example of the beautifully colored picture scrolls developed in the Kamakura Period. At the end of the last scroll there is an inscription dated 1311 A.D.

  Pictures of Arrogant Monks of Different Monasteries, or Tengu-zōshi. Mounted as makimono in two pieces. Colored on paper. Kamakura Period. Yamato-e style in the Kamakura Period is well represented in the long series of pictures.

  Fig. 182. Matsuzaki Tenjin Engi (N.T.)

  Tokyo Imperial Household Museum

  Picture of Hungry Devils, or Gaki-zōshi. (Fig. 183) Sōgen-ji Temple. Mounted as makimono. Slightly colored on paper. Early Kamakura Period. An appalling view of hell is presented vividly. The painting is attributed but its origin is quite uncertain.

  Peony. A national treasure. Kōtō-in temple. Mounted as kakemono. Colored on silk. Yüan Dynasty.

  Landscape, by Sesshū. (Fig. 184) Mounted as kakemono. Ink painting on paper. Muromachi Period. In this work we see how a few strokes of the ink brush by his sensitive hand skilfully suggest rocks, trees, and a beach. It is an idealistic expression of his character as a Zen priest. Sesshū, 1420-1506, was one of the great Japanese landscape painters, and the founder of the Unkoko School. (See pp. 167-168)

  Priest Eka Cutting His Arm, or Eka-dampi Zu, by Sesshū. A national treasure. Sainen-ji. Mounted as kakemono. Slightly colored on paper. 15th century. The picture was painted in 1495 when Sesshū was seventy-seven years old. This is a unique example of his work.

  Landscape, by Motonobu, 1471-1559. Reiun-in temple. Mounted as kakemono. Slightly colored on paper. Muromachi Period. The pictures were originally painted on the sliding screens (fusuma) in the rooms of the Reiun-in temple of the Myoshin-ji monastery at Kyoto. But they have been peeled off the panels and mounted as 49 kakemono. A landscape painted on three kakemono is now preserved in the museum. (Fig. 185) The picture represents mountains overlooking an extensive lake from three sides, with a wide opening in front under the lofty sky. It is painted with slight color on a large scale. On the kakemono of the left side is a place secluded by gigantic rocks, where a group of Chinese saints are playing music. The seclusion of such a rocky plot in the mountain is made thoughtfully for the saints, according to Taoistic idea. The rocks are delineated with a powerful touch of the brush. In the middle kakemono is painted an extensive lake with mountains in the background and beyond the lake is seen a line of ducks flying down peacefully. The lofty sky and mirror-like water are executed beautifully with a soft and sweet touch of the brush. In the kakemono at the right side there are a large misty hill and part of the lake, on the beach of which an old man is angling for fish. The main interest of this picture is in its chiaroscuro, the mellow tone of the strokes, and the harmonious composition of rocks, water, hills, and sky. On
the whole, the vast and restful feeling of nature as portrayed by this masterpiece of Motonobu is most attractive.

  Fig. 183. Picture of Hungry Devils

  Tokyo Imperial Household Museum

  Illustrated History of Kiyomizu-dera Temple or Kiyomizu-dera Engi, by Tosa Mitsunobu. Mounted as makimono in three pieces. Muromachi Period. The picture was painted in the Eishō Era (1504-1520) when the painter was about eighty years old. (See page 175 and Fig. 102)

  Fig. 184. Landscape, by Sesshu

  Tokyo Imperial Household Museum

  Chō Ryō and Three Laughers in the Tiger Valley, or Chō Ryō and Kokei Sanshō, by Kanō Sanraku. Mounted as byobu in pair. Colored on paper. Momoyama Period. This is one of the best works of Sanraku. On one of the pair is painted a Chinese Taoist legend of Chō Ryō (Chang Liang) and on the other, Kokei Sanshō, or The Three Laughers in the Tiger Valley. According to the legend, Chō Ryō, one day in his early life, encountered a poor and aged man, one of whose sandals had dropped off. Chō Ryō picked up the sandal and restored it to him. As a reward for this service the old man bade him come and see him five days later at an appointed place. The old man postponed the promised revelation three times, because each time Chō Ryō failed to arrive respectfully at an earlier hour than his strange acquaintance. However, the old man, satisfied at length, drew from his robe a volume of military tactics which he bestowed upon him with the words, "He who studies this book shall become a kings preceptor!" He added that in thirteen years' time Chō Ryō would meet him once more in the shape of a yellow stone (Kōseki) at Ku-chêng. This story is most dramatically and splendidly rendered on a gold screen. Chō Ryō is receiving the scroll from the old man who stands by the side of a horse, under a large pine tree. At the side of the pine tree a plum tree is in bloom, and beside a massive rock at the left a cluster of peonies is in full flower. The scene is altogether joyful. Its design and colors are bright and harmonious. On the other half of the pair is painted Kokei Sanshō or the Three Laughers in the Tiger Valley. (Color plt. 8) One of the three laughers is a priest of the Zen sect, who has come out of his temple to bid farewell to his two friends, one of whom is a Confucianist and the other a Taoist. The Buddhist priest had never crossed the Tiger Valley, in the vicinity of his temple, when he went to see his guests off. But this day, while talking on the way about his own philosophy, he became so deeply engrossed that he forgot to stop before reaching the valley, and so crossed it. A tiger roared as a warning against his transgression of his usual practice, but the trio merely laughed at the roar and parted. This story symbolizes the unity of the three doctrines: Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. This unity was prevalent in the Sung Dynasty. The artist has rendered this beautiful episode very successfully with wonderful space composition and a beautiful color scheme of gold, green, and blue, as is noticed in our color reproduction.