Japanese Art with Chelsea, Part 4
Or, Buddhism Arrives! Japan’s Two Religions
THE ASUKA PERIOD

Ise Shrine Complex, Ise

Before we jump headfirst into the Asuka period, when Buddhism arrives and brings not only a new religion but new technologies — of writing and of craftsmanship — it’s important to understand Japan’s indigenous religion, Shintō. These two […]

Tomb of Emperor Nintoku, late 4th/early 5th centuries, Osaka

Japanese Art with Chelsea, Part 3
Or, Big Mounds, Little People
THE KOFUN PERIOD
Two very opposite objects exemplify the Kofun Period — a few very large, and many very small. In the Kofun period, we find for the first time written records of the people of this period, […]

Reconstructed raised storage building, Yoshinogari, Saga prefecture

Japanese Art with Chelsea, Part 2
Or, Rice, Bells, and Granaries, Oh My!
THE YAYOI PERIOD
My apologies for the ridiculous title — I couldn’t think of anything more clever (and that’s saying something, since that title is clearly too cheesy for its own good)… Anyway, the Yayoi period! Around 400 […]

Japanese Art with Chelsea, Part 1
Or, The Oldest Pottery, Ever
THE JŌMON PERIOD

Flame Style Storage Vessel, c. 2500 BCE, Cleveland Museum of Art

Things are blurry in 10,000 BCE, but right now archaeologists are pretty sure that the oldest pottery vessels ever found come from Japan. Historians tend to have extremely clear dates for the history […]

Hello, Paperfox readers! I’m Chelsea, an old friend of the glorious Sarah, blogmistress extraordinaire! This summer, I’ll be guestblogging here about art history — specifically Japanese art, a subject that many art history intro classes in college that you may have taken just don’t cover. Which is a shame, because Japanese art […]