Chapter 8- Japan Before 1333

Besma ChaudryMarissa DeVinny

Van NgyugenPeriod 3

Artistic and Architectural Accomplishments of Pre-Buddhist Japan

Jomon Period (ca. 10,500-300 BCE)● Artistic:Thick and heavy pots. Great pottery adorned with rope

markings and coils of clay. o The artists preferred for modeled, not painted, ceramic pieces

of art.o Jomon pottery displays wealth with the ornate clay coils,

striped incisions, and occasionally, motifs.o The vessels had a purpose and were used for storage, cooking,

and bone burial.● Architecture: Pit dwellings- shallow round excavations with raised

rims and thatched roofs.

Artistic and Architectural Accomplishments of Pre-Buddhist Japan

Cont.

This vessel from Miyanomae shows the intricate details of the modeled surface and sculpted rim. It is from the Middle Jomon Period (2500-1500 BCE), made from earthenware, 1’11⅔” high, and is currently in the Tokyo National Museum.

Artistic and Architectural Accomplishments of Pre-Buddhist Japan

Cont.

Yayoi Period (ca. 300 BCE-300 CE)● Artistic: The Yayoi period produced pottery that was less

sculptural than the Joman ceramics and was often painted. They developed bronze casting and loom weaving.o Potaku(Bells): They were made of bronze and often put into

graves; they featured geometric decoration presented in bands. They consisted of simple line drawings of people and animals. They are the earliest pictorial art in Japan.

● Architecture: People continued to live in the pit dwellings but their villages grew in size so for defense, they built fortifications. The Chinese noted that they had walled towns and many small kingdoms.

Artistic and Architectural Accomplishments of Pre-Buddhist Japan

Cont.

Kofun Period (ca. 300-552)● Artistic: tall ceramic structures

o Haniwa- These sculptures were placed around a tumuli (mound of earth and stones over a grave). They often depicted humans and animals. Ornaments were applied to the sculptures and they built up on them and painted them.

● Architecture: Enormous earthen burial mounds (tumuli) that were used to place the dead on sacred mountains. These mounds grew dramatically in both number and scale in the 4th century. o Tomb of Nintoku

Artistic and Architectural Accomplishments of Pre-Buddhist Japan

Cont.

● Architecture Cont.: Since Shinto was the religion of the Yayoi and Jomon periods, great shrines were made to show love and appreciation towards their religiono Shrine of Amaterasu: Her shrine is the most important

religious center because of it’s unique connection to the Japanese imperial family. The main halls were inspired by granaries(a storehouse used for grain). The building displays pre-Buddhist art, smoked thatched roofs, metallic decorations, and ridgepoles(beams at the ridge of the roof). Inside there were lifted wood(in a mortise and tenon system), golden-hued columns, planks, and white gravel.

Artistic and Architectural Accomplishments of Pre-Buddhist Japan

Cont.

The Main Hall of the Amaterasu Shrine. This was dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu and depicts the early forms of Japanese architecture with it’s thatched roofs and wooden techniques.

Pre-Buddhist(Shinto) and Buddhist Shrine Strategies

Strategies● Shinto religion was developed in construction with agriculture of

Yayoi period● Focused mainly on agrarian society● The sole material was wood● Some strayegies were the mortise and tenon system, building

thatched roofs, adding metallic decor, and having 2 freestand post to support ridgepole

● Highlights connection central to Shinto● The ideas encircle nature and spirit.● The materials derived from natural world

Pre- Buddhist (Shinto) and Buddhist Shrine Strategies

Strategies Cont.● The structure were graceful with sturdy forms beneath● The main pillars decreased in diameter● Delicate brackets were built above and columns stout firms● An added porch was created● The reduction in scale from the 1st story to the 2nd story● The shrines were predominately made of ceramic tiles and

curved roof

Materials and Styles of Japanese Buddhist Sculpture

● Buddha Triad ( earliest ex. of Japanese Buddhist sculpture) by Tori Busshi

● Material used for Buddhist sculpture was bronze● central figure was Shaka; historical Buddha● the raised right hand was a “fear not” gesture● characterized with elongated heads, elegantly styled drapery

folds that defy gravityEarly Nara Period; Yakushi triad 7th/8th century ● Favored greater anatomical definition and shape revealing

drapery, long stylistic and sensual fleshiness with outthrust hipposes

Shaka Triad ● Tori Busshi Horyuji, Nara Prefecture,

Japan, Asuka Period, 623, bronze● Shaka and 2 bodhisattvas● Among one of earliest Japanese

Buddhist sculptures● The right hand raised in abhaya

mudrater ( fear not gesture )● Elongated heads & elegant swirling

drapery reflect sculptural style of china

● background featurwa flaming mandorla: lotas shaped nimbus

Relationship of Handscroll Painting and Japanese Society and

CultureWhy handscroll painting ties in with society and culture-● In the early Heian period, the arts flourished due to the emphasis on

religion in Shingon. ● Paintings and sculptures depicting Buddhism gave the followers of the

religion an image of what their religion looked like.● Handscroll paintings of the mandara(a diagram of the cosmic

universe) was often hung up on the walls of a Shingon kido where the meditation took place.

● One of the most famous of the handscroll paintings was from The Tale of Genji, one of Japans most admired literary classics.o It was published in 1021 and contained over four hundred

characters.● The Mount Shigi scrolls represent narratives and unlike the Genji

scrolls accentuates every feature of the painted figures.

Chinese and Korean Impact of Japanese Art and Architecture

How China and Korea impacted Japan● Communication with China and Korea greatly impacted Japanese art

and architecture. ● Trading and being exposed to Continental Eastern Asia civilizations

helped cause the increased interaction.● Increased interaction along with immigration brought dramatic social

and technological transformations.● They adopted Chinese writing such as Confucianism and Buddhism

iconography.● Their artwork also started developing humans with elongated heads

and drapery folds that formed swirls.● For architecture, the Japanese adapted the use of ceramic tiles and

curved roofs.

Bibliography● The Vessel from Miyanomae. 2500-1500 BCE. Tokyo National Museum,

Tokyo. StudyBlue. Web. 27 Sept. 2014.