The traditional woodcut art could no longer at the beginning of the Meiji period to build on the previous quality. Notable artists in this field were Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (* 1839, † 1892) and Kobayashi Kiyochika (* 1847, † 1915). In…
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Besides Suzuki Harunobu, who is known for his subtle depictions of women, the enigmatic Tōshūsai Sharaku, famous for his haunting portraits of actors, the Torii Kiyonaga, who is important for his exciting compositions of interior and exterior views, and Kitagawa…
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Edo period (1603-1868) The great teachers of the tea ceremony, Sen no Rikyū and Kobori Enshū (* 1579, † 1647), worked as masters of aesthetics. Restrained simplicity of form, as required by the tea ceremony, was particularly evident in garden…
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Sculpture workshops (Bussho), which continued the tradition of Jōchō, existed since the 11th century. The Keischule at Kōfukuji in Nara is particularly productive: Unkei, Kōkei (around 1150), Kaikei (* 1174, † 1253), Jōkei (around 1200) and Tankei (* 1173, †…
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The oldest picture scrolls (emakimono) of Buddhist type are preserved from the Nara period. Text illustrations on the Buddha’s life (E-ingakyō), the cult image of the goddess of luck Kichijōten (771, in the Yakushiji) painted on silk and mostly profane…
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Japanese art, term for art in the field of Japan. Japan v. a. from China (adoption of Chinese culture and writing; introduction of Buddhism in the 6th century), but also from Korea. The import of foreign art forms and styles…
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Modern and present (after 1868) The opening of the country and the resulting massive confrontation with Western cultural assets caused profound upheavals such as the creation of a modern literary language (conversion from the artificial, classical language to an idiom…
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Middle Ages (13th – 16th centuries) With the social upheavals following the takeover of power by the warrior class (samurai), a cross-class literature gradually emerged, in the creation of which warriors, monks and, increasingly, the emerging bourgeoisie participated. It was…
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Japanese literature, changing development against the background of geographical and at times political isolation. Phases of eager reception and adaptation of foreign influences (from the 6th to the second half of the 19th century mainly of Chinese, then modern Euro-American…
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Japanese history, since the Second World War Japan has developed into a democratic state and a global economic power. Initially an absolute monarchy with the Tennō as divine emperor at its head, Japan developed into a feudal state with the…
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