1. Japanese Art
Never been successfully invaded by an outside army- so that means it has been
Isolated. So the art has been isolated as well. Commodore Perry opened Japan
Up to the world in Ukioy-e prints were revealed first as packing tea material
And then as prints in their own right.
Europe and America loved them and learned from them; the Japanese upper
Class hated them.
Japanese artists worked for royalty and religious leaders.
Workshops with masters (families) and assistants taught the trade from the small
Things ( ink grinding and paper making) to the larger things.
Aristocrats of both genders learned to paint.
Zen Buddhism is part of the culture: austerity, self-control, courage and loyalty is seen as in the samurai warriors. Zen is introspective and art follows suit.

2. Tea Ceremony is highly important and extremely influential.
Seems casual, but is sophisticated. Use of crude vessels ( keeping things for over a year,
refined tea, gestures during the ceremony.. .are all minimal.
Low door way- entry way for humbleness
Private area for the ceremony
Rectangular spaces that house Zen paintings
5 people
4 principles:
Purity, Harmony, respect, tranquility
All parts of the ceremony are scripted down to the content of conversation
Architecture and Sculpture
AUSTERITY- Harmonizing with nature- one story- wood, pillars support the roof,
There is an opening to see out to nature
Floors are raised for circulation, eaves long- to assist with shade, steep roofs allow for run-off of rain or snow
Interiors are mobile with sliding screens, and floors have stray mats.
Zen garden is meticulous in the raking lines, placed stones, and plants. There is no water , but it is surmised through the rock placement. Gardens are to refresh.
Shintoism is the native religion- spirits in nature and objects.

3. Todai-ji
South Gate/ Buddha Hall/ Eastern Gate
The golden rooftop "horns" are also tile; they're more properly called acroteria (Japanese = shibi) and are a highly stylized fishtail.

4. Image 197 Todai-ji Temple in Nara, Japan
1700 ceramic and tiled roof on wood
Eastern Temple on the eastern edge of Nara
Noted for the colossal statue of the Vairocana( Long men Buddha- the universal Buddha) Buddha, both have been rebuilt many times
7 bays on the façade, Influenced by the Longmen Chinese statuary, Largest wooden building in the world. Originally 11 bays.
Originally held the offices of 7 monasteries. Originally there were meter pagodas that were larger that the pyramids at Giza.

5. Image 197 Todai-Ji Buddha, 743- rebuilt in 1100 – image itself 12th century
Recast several times- copper- Monumental feat of casting, Erected by Emperor Shomu to encourage stability during a time of crisis.
Largest metal statue Buddha in the world, Do not Fear, and the Come here Mudra
Bankrupted the Emperor Shomu and used all the of the copper available and imported all the gold possible. It took 3 years to cast and 8 castings. When completed the opening ceremony was attended by 10,000 monks and 4000 dancers.

6. The temple gives the following dimensions for the statue:[21]
Height: 14.98 m (49.1 ft)
Face: 5.33 m (17.5 ft)
Eyes: 1.02 m (3.3 ft)
Nose: 0.5 m (1.6 ft)
Ears: 2.54 m (8.3 ft)
The statue's shoulders are 28 meters across and there are 960 six curls atop its head.[22] The Birushana Buddhas golden halo is 87 foot in diameter with 16 images each 8 feet tall.[23]
Recently, using x-rays, a human tooth, along with pearls, mirrors, swords, and jewels were discovered inside of the knee of the Great Buddha; these are believed to be the relics of Emperor Shomu[24](61-62).
The statue weighs 500 tonnes (550 short tons).
Temple precincts and gardens

7. Image 197 Todai-ji Great South Gate- Nara Japan- Nandiamon
5 Central Bays, 3 for passing and 2 blind
2 stories the same size, wooden, Deep eaves supported by brackets, which rise in tiers, Roof supported by pillars, no ceiling, roof from below is exposed, proportional and stately.
Compare to portals of Chartes, Gate of the Great Stupa, Front Gate of Forbidden City

8. Rafters supporting the eves on the South Gate

9. Image 197 Nio Guardian Figures protecting the Buddha on either side
Image 197 Nio Guardian Figures protecting the Buddha on either side. Swirling shapes,complex wood is joined together as woodblocks.
Fierce, keeps away bad spirits from the Buddha. Originally intended to be monks. ( Longmen Caves)- 28 feet tall
The Nio are an A-un pair known as Ungyo, which by tradition has a facial expression with a closed mouth, and Agyo, which has an open mouthed expression.[19] The two figures were closely evaluated and extensively restored by a team of art conservators between 1988 and Until then, these sculptures had never before been moved from the niches in which they were originally installed. This complex preservation project, costing $4.7 million, involved a restoration team of 15 experts from theNational Treasure Repairing Institute in Kyoto.[20]

10. The temple's name is synonymous with the temple's famous 'Zen garden', the  (dry landscape) rock garden, thought to have been built in the late 15th century.
The garden is a rectangle of 248 square meters. Placed within it are fifteen stones of different sizes, carefully composed in five groups; one group of five stones, two groups of three, and two groups of two stones. The stones are surrounded by white gravel, which is carefully raked each day by the monks. The only vegetation in the garden is some moss around the stones.
The garden is meant to be viewed from a seated position on the veranda of the hōjō, the residence of the abbot of the monastery.[10]
The stones are placed so that the entire composition cannot be seen at once from the veranda. They are also arranged so that when looking at the garden from any angle (other than from above) only fourteen of the boulders are visible at one time. It is traditionally said that only through attaining enlightenment would one be able to view the fifteenth boulder.
The wall behind the garden is an important element of the garden. It is made of clay, which has been stained by age with subtle brown and orange tones. In 1977, the tile roof of the wall was restored with tree bark to its original appearance.[6]
When the garden was rebuilt in 1799, it came up higher than before and a view over the wall to the mountain scenery behind came about. At present this view is blocked by trees.[11]
. Garden historian Gunter Nitschke wrote: "The garden at Ryōan-ji does not symbolize anything, or more precisely, to avoid any misunderstanding, the garden of Ryōan-ji does not symbolize, nor does it have the value of reproducing a natural beauty that one can find in the real or mythical world. I consider it to be an abstract composition of "natural" objects in space, a composition whose function is to incite meditation.".[13]

11. Image 207- Ryoan-ji 1480- currently an 18th century design, rock garden in Kyoto
Contains a wet garden and a dry garden ( peaceful dragon temple) It is a next to a Zen Monastery and Temple. When visitors pass through main gate, they encounter the Mirror Pond (Kyōyōchi) on the left with a scenic view of surrounding mountains. It contains a tea house, everything is specifically placed, though it seems random, symbolizes the natural world. Water symbolizes purification.
Dry garden is a microcosm of nature. Gravel is water, raked in patterns, rocks are mountains, meant to be viewed from the monastery, 15 rocks arranged in 3 groups, they are islands floating, with mountain peaks above the sky and constellations. No plants. The garden is not viewable at one time and only viewable from another structure.

12. Iamge 207- Ryoan-Ji Wet Garden

13. Raku kiln

14. Japanese Printmaking and Painting
Japanese copied Chinese painting so we see
Hanging scrolls, handscrolls and screens.
We see elevated viewpoints, diagonal lines and
Depersonalized faces.
Haboku- ink splashed looks random, but is not.
Yamato-e =Narrative scrolls developed in 12th century to tell the story of Japan. Depersonalized people here with a line for a mouth or a dot for a face. Strong diagonals are seen and scrolls are divided by clouds.
Genre painting is dominated by Ukioy-e prints.( pictures of the floating (transient) world). They depict geishas, festivals, domestic life and brothels.

15. Ukioy-e prints were distained by the Japanese upper class, but the Western World was exposed and loved them. They influenced the Impressionist Masters in France.
Prints were a collaborative art and made in black and white at first- color was added by the 18th century, even though it made the prints more expensive.
Hosukai- explored Ukioy-e and landscape with 37 views of Mt. Fujiyama.
French painters looked at the flat color, the diagonals, no shadow, odd angles and cut off areas and figures seen from behind or only partial figures.

16. Image 203 Night attack on the Sanjo Palace. 1250-1300- Handscroll
Ink and color on paper- read from right to left. Overall, including endpapers and jiku: 18 inches x 22 feet 10 inches long. This was the primary battle of the Hejii Rebellion. The former emperor was kidnapped and the current emperor taken prisoner at night be 500 men.
100 after the civil war. Elevated viewpoint- looking down. Yamato-e style----Strong diagonals which show movement. Read as the scroll is unrolled.Depersonalize figures, Lone archer escapes from the palace with the entire army behind him. War related narrative is very popular. Coup staged in 1159.
Imperial palace in flames forcing the emperor to become a prisoner. Heads on sticks are the enemies.
The Bayeux Tapestry

17. Diagonals, movement, crowds, viewpoint from above, non-descript faces

18. Image 203--Night Attack detail

19. Image 210 Ogata Korin, Red and White Plum Blossoms, Edo period, 18th century, pair of two-fold screens, color and gold leaf on paper, 67 inches tall each screen…..each, National Treasure (MOA Museum in Atami, Japan
Water color on paper.
Japanese rinpa ( School of Korin) style named for Ogata. Influenced by the Yamato-e style of painting. Stream cuts through the scene, swirling paint is the water. Tarashikomi technique- dropping into wet paint.

20. Image 210
Self taught technique- wealthy family- squandered his family’s money… traveled to China – was inspired by China.
Gustav Klimt.

21. Rinpa School with dropped paint in to wet paint
The Rinpa school was revived in the Genroku era (1688–1704) by Ogata Kōrin and his younger brother Ogata Kenzan, sons of a prosperous Kyoto textile merchant. Kōrin's innovation was to depict nature as an abstract using numerous color and hue gradations, and mixing colors on the surface to achieve eccentric effects, as well as liberal use of precious substances like goldand pearl.

22. Gustav Klimt- The Tree of Life
1905-9
Later made into a mosaic

23. Image 211
Hokusai- Under the Wave of Kanagawa or The Great Wave from the 36 Views of Mt.Fujiyama.
At least 10 blocks of color… each printmaker tired to outdo the next one. First time landscape becomes a theme in Japanese Art.Ink and color on paper.
Personification of Nature trying to drown the people in the boat.
Mt Fuji seems like one of the waves…. Negative space.
Cultural comparison- Turner- The Slave Ship

25. Hiroshige The Plum Tree- Ukioy-e Print