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 religions are essential to Japanese culture, so let’s take a brief look at both before we move on to Asuka period art. This is a pretty hefty installment in our series because Buddhism is just that important! So be ready to get enlightened and read on. (OK, that was a low joke, as you’ll see, but I couldn’t resist…)

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- If Only My 5th Grade Teacher Was This Cool
- Art: 'skine.art
- Art: Korin Faught's Twenty Two Exhibition
- Disney to Work with Japanese Animation Companies Madhouse, Jinni's Animation
- Art: Animator vs. Animation by Alan Becker

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, and also for the first time a people who associate themselves specifically with the continent of Japan. The word they used was Yamato. Also essential is the fact that these people had leaders, as evidenced in the huge tombs built for their rulers, like the one to the left.

Read the rest of this entry »

- If Only My 5th Grade Teacher Was This Cool
- Art: 'skine.art
- Art: Korin Faught's Twenty Two Exhibition
- Disney to Work with Japanese Animation Companies Madhouse, Jinni's Animation
- Art: Animator vs. Animation by Alan Becker

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 BCE, a break occured between the Jōmon peoples and a new kind of peoples, called the Yayoi. Like the Jōmon people, the Yayoi had a stationary life around the area of modern-day Tokyo (then called Yayoi — thus the period’s namesake), but unlike the Jōmon, Yayoi life centered around rice cultivation. The central symbol of that life, that was often manifested in art, was the rice granary (see right). This building was a raised structure meant for food storage, likely the extremely important rice crop.

Read the rest of this entry »

- If Only My 5th Grade Teacher Was This Cool
- Art: 'skine.art
- Art: Korin Faught's Twenty Two Exhibition
- Disney to Work with Japanese Animation Companies Madhouse, Jinni's Animation
- Art: Animator vs. Animation by Alan Becker

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 of Japan, and even though things are muddy way-back-when in the Jōmon period, most historians divide the period into roughly three parts: Early Jōmon, Middle Jōmon, and Late Jōmon — makes sense. Some even divide it further, but there’s really no need to for our purposes. Why is pottery like this interesting? Well, it tells us a lot about the people who made them — stuff we could never know without the vessels’ existence.
Read the rest of this entry »

- If Only My 5th Grade Teacher Was This Cool
- Art: 'skine.art
- Art: Korin Faught's Twenty Two Exhibition
- Disney to Work with Japanese Animation Companies Madhouse, Jinni's Animation
- Art: Animator vs. Animation by Alan Becker

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 is simply fascinating — anything but the stuffy and boring stuff you might think you’d learn when reading about art history.

So, what can you expect to see this summer? The oldest pottery in the world. The shrines of a religious site that its pilgrims travel hundreds of miles to not see, merely stand in front of its closed gates. More Buddhas than you’d ever thought existed. Scrolls that unravel almost endlessly in elaborate illustrated stories. Scrolls that illustrate unsolvable riddles. Scrolls that depict the romantic trials of Japan’s most popular prince. (Can you tell scrolls were a popular medium?) And of course, prints — prints with landscapes, prints with shoguns, prints with prostitutes. In fact, prints more erotic and, well, blatant than anything you’d ever expect to be considered ‘fine art.’

Read the rest of this entry »

- If Only My 5th Grade Teacher Was This Cool
- Art: 'skine.art
- Art: Korin Faught's Twenty Two Exhibition
- Disney to Work with Japanese Animation Companies Madhouse, Jinni's Animation
- Art: Animator vs. Animation by Alan Becker