Urushi or the art of Japanese lacquerware
Urushi lacquerware is derived from the lacquer tree of the same name and flourished in Japan more than 2,000 years ago. The first lacquerware objects date from the late Jōmon period (13,000 to 300 BC). Until the 10th century, although the technique was largely indigenous, the motifs borrowed Chinese forms and patterns, before the Japaneseurushi developed decisively during the Nara (710-794) and then Heian (794-1185) eras. The maki-e technique, which consists of sprinkling the lacquer with gold or silver, then freed itself from ancestral techniques. During the Kamakura period (1185-1333), the decoration of large objects, the work of relief lacquer and the technique of inlaying pearls (or raden) were developed. The shōguns carry a great admiration for Chinese products, this period saw the blossoming of new techniques blended with the know-how of the Song and Ming dynasties. Conversely, lacquers were exported to Korea and China. In the 16th century, the arrival of the Portuguese provided a new market, while Europeans became passionate about lacquered objects. Later, Queen Marie-Antoinette herself collected them! Since then, Japanese lacquerware has enjoyed an ever-growing international reputation.Japanese sculpture, from Buddhist tradition to modernity
In the Land of the Rising Sun, the majority of sculptures are linked to the Buddhist tradition, whose golden age is that of the Kei school, which appeared at the beginning of the Kamakura period (1185-1333) and was influential until the end of the 19th century. While remaining linked to Buddhism, the Kei sculptors contributed to the development of this art, refining the features of the works. The two great names of this tradition are Unkei (1151-1223) and Kaikei (1183-1223), who, in very different styles, marked the artistic history of the country. Many works from this period can be found in Nara, such as the Niō of Tōdai-ji. In modern Japan, sculpture inspired by the Western style is developing. In the 20th century, the country gave birth to great artists who marked the history of modern sculpture, for example Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988), also a designer. Today, contemporary sculpture is not to be outdone, with leading figures such as Tadashi Kawamata (1953 -) or Kohei Nawa (1975-).
From Chinese influence to Yamato-e
Japanese painting has a very ancient history, as evidenced by the decorated objects from the periods Jōmon (-13,000 to -300 BC) and Yayoi (300 BC to 300 AD). It was with the development of Buddhist art during the Nara period (710-794) that painting, mainly murals, began to flourish decisively. This art is strongly influenced by the Sui and Tang dynasties of China, where landscape is the main focus. It was only later, at the beginning of the Heian period (794-1185), that yamato-e was born, a style of profane painting that was distinctly Japanese, more decorative, detailed and inspired by everyday life. Not to be missed from this period is the Tô-ji landscape screen, now on display at the Kyoto National Museum, one of the few surviving treasures of the period. During the Heian and Kamakura periods (1185-1333), the painters illustrated not only the life of the religious, but also that of the nobility and great national figures, particularly those in the novels of the imperial court. At the same time, a new style of painting with monochrome ink, coming from China and based on wash, was born, but it only really took off during the Muromachi period (1336-1573). Under the Ashikaga regime, landscape painting was supported by the ruling family and was strongly influenced by Zen. Monks, also painters and calligraphers, like the famous Sesshū (1420 - 1506), took over the technique of washing to give it a distinctly Japanese style.
From Muromachi (1336 - 1573) to Meiji, the great school Kanō
The Muromachi period (1336 - 1573) also saw the rise of the famous Kanō school, which, as close to power as possible, would influence the archipelago for several centuries. One of its members, Kanō Motonobu (1476 - 1559), skillfully mixes light, transparent washes with broad ink washes. During the Edo period (1600-1868), the school Kanō decorated residences and palaces, including Eitoku Kanō (1543 - 1590), who undertook the decoration of the residence of Hideyoshi Toyotomi. Master Tan-yu (1602 - 1674) also decorated the Nan Zen-ji and the imperial palace in Kyoto.
Between realism and formalism, the Maruyama school-Shijō
In front of the official schools of the time, such as the school Kanō, the Maruyama-Shijō school was created on the initiative of Maruyama Ōkyo (1733-1795) and Matsumura Goshun (1752-1811), two monuments of Japanese painting. The artists of the Maruyama-Shijō school developed a style that synthesized the two major trends of the 18th century: on the one hand, the idealism of the learned promoted by the old schools, which emphasizes the decorative dimension of the works, and on the other hand, realism, which takes a precise look at nature by drawing inspiration from the Western scientific naturalism brought to Nagasaki by the Dutch.
Printmaking, a revolution in Japanese art
It would be more accurate to speak of xylography, or woodcutting, a technique that allows the reproduction of both images and texts and which was developed during the Edo period (1603 - 1868) with theukiyo-e, or "images of the floating world". The drawing is first engraved on a block of wood, before being printed on a sheet of paper. While Japanese print lovers in Europe often refer to erotic prints - the shunga or "images of spring" -, the subjects represented are varied and correspond to the interests of the urban bourgeoisie of the time, in search of culture and entertainment: popular characters (courtesans, kabuki actors, sumo wrestlers, yōkai), landscapes and monuments. This new urban culture developed first in Kansai, Kyoto and Osaka, then in Edo (now Tokyo). It corresponds to an era of peace and prosperity, of social and economic evolution accompanied by a change in artistic forms.Ukiyo-e, which allows reproduction on inexpensive paper, is in keeping with the spirit of the time and its images recall the fragility of the world and the desire to enjoy the things of life. To mention only a few of the great names ofukiyo-e, one should not miss the works of Torii Kiyonaga (1752-1815), Kitagawa Utamaro (1753 - 1806), Katsushika Hokusaï (1760 - 1849) of course, or Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858). To do so, visit the tiny and picturesque Kyoto Ukiyo-e Museum.
Meiji (1868-1912), an encounter with Western aesthetics
If the pictorial space was disrupted in the mid-18th century by the introduction of linear perspective by the Dutch from Nagasaki, Western techniques played only a superficial role until the Meiji era. The opening up to the West from 1868 onwards provoked a craze for European methods, particularly oil painting, which the government began to actively promote. Although at first Japanese artists who tried their hand at it struggled to break away from the style of the European masters, a new path was established from the 1880s onwards. Nihonga
(literally "Japanese painting") thus incorporated elements of Western art while respecting the aesthetic rules of Japanese tradition. It was under the influence of Ernest Fenellosa (1853-1908), an American sociologist who was close to the painters Kanō, that the Tokyo University of Fine Arts was founded in 1887. Its aim was to revive traditional Japanese art while modernizing it, without bending to European trends. Research is multiplying and, while oil is developing, some are returning to yamato-e, others to Chinese sources, and others to sumi-e . Painting remained very attached to literary trends until the end of the Second World War. The most representative painters of this period are Meiji Hashimoto (1904 - 1991), Kokei Kobayashi (1883-1957) and Yasuda Yukihiko (1884 - 1978). Others came to seek inspiration in Europe and the United States, like Foujita (1886 - 1968).Photography, from European influence to Japanese rule
Photography was introduced to Japan in 1848 through the Dutch in Nagasaki. One of the first Japanese to take up this technique was Shimazu Nariakira (1809 - 1858), a daimyō fascinated by Western knowledge. With the increasing openness of Japan in the second half of the 19th century, more photographic equipment circulated and foreigners began to travel the archipelago to capture its inhabitants and landscapes, or set up their studios there like the Italian-British Felice Beato (1832-1909). Many Japanese photographers will follow, like Ueno Hikoma (1838 - 1904) or Shimooka Renjo (1823 - 1924). The development of the press and the photographic industry at the beginning of the 20th century encouraged the growth of photojournalism, with great photographers such as Ken Domon (1909 - 1990), Ihee Kimura (1901 - 1974) or Yōnosuke Natori (1910 - 1962). Although the Second World War weakened the sector, a new impetus was needed in the decades that followed. The country became the leader in photographic technology between the 1960s and 1980s, and many Japanese practitioners honoured this first place, such as Daidō Moriyama (1938 -), Nobuyoshi Araki (1940 -) or Hiroshi Sugimoto (1948-). Although since the 1990s this trend has diminished, art photography continues to renew itself in the archipelago, with talented artists among the new generations, such as Mika Ninagawa (1972-), Akihito Yoshida (1980-) or Motoyuki Daifu (1985-).
From neo pop art to data-artists, a hybrid contemporary scene
The Japanese contemporary scene is rich, diverse, and offers much to discover beyond neo pop-art stars such as the unavoidable Takashi Murakami (1962-). In the field of new technologies, the country has distinguished itself with artists whose work has revolutionized our relationship with multimedia, such as Shiro Takatani (1963-) or Ryoji Ikeda (1966-). In a more political vein, the archipelago is also endowed with critical artists, whose committed works upset the norms of Japanese society, such as Makoto Aida (1965-) or Koki Tanaka (1975-) and his composite installations. Another facet of contemporary creation turns to the question of intimacy, with delicate and sensitive works such as those of Rei Naito (1961-) or Chiharu Shiota (1972-).
