Japanese art - In Japanese, "geido" is "the Way of art."

Asymmetry, "hacho," is the type of balance most characteristically found in Japanese art.

See articles on some of Japan's dynasties and periods, religions (Buddhism and Shinto), media (such as bronze, ceramics, and textiles), and forms (such as netsuke, screen, scroll, and woodblock printing).

Making generalizations about the visual culture of any group of people is a crude endeavor, especially with a culture as diverse as Japan's. With this thought in mind, know that this survey, as any must be, is tremendously limited in its breadth and depth.

[Expect a more in-depth article to appear here soon.]

Examples:

Japan, Jomon period, c.4500-200 BCE, Jar, earthenware, 22 x 16 inches, Birmingham Museum of Art.

Japan, Asuka period, 7th century, Incense Burner with Magpie Tail-shaped Handle, Tokyo National Museum. (National Treasure)

Japan, Asuka period, Bodhisattva Seated with One Leg Pendent, dated 606 or 666. (Important Cultural Property)

Japan, Pagoda at Horyu-ji Buddhist temple complex, c. 8th century. See pagoda and wood.

Japan, Late Heian period (897-1185), Fudo Myo-o, twelfth century, wood with color and gold leaf, height 80 inches (203.2 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. This statue of Fudo, whose name means "immovable," is a staunch guardian of the Buddhist faith, warding off enemies of the Buddha with his word of wisdom and binding evil forces with his lasso. A symbol of steadfastness in the face of temptation, Fudo is one of the most commonly depicted of the Esoteric Buddhist deities known as Myo-o, "King of Brightness." Here his youthful, chubby body and his skirt and scarf are modeled with the restrained, gentle curves typical of late Heian sculpture. Fudo's hair was once painted red and his flesh dark blue green.

Japan, Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion), 1397.

Japan, Storage jar, Shigaraki ware, Muromachi period (1392-1573), 14th-15th century, stoneware with natural ash glaze, 18 3/8 x 15 1/2 inches (46.7 x 39.4 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. See wabi-sabi.

Japan, Stationery box, Momoyama period (1568-1615), early 17th century, lacquer, with sprinkled gold decroation in Kodai-ji style, inlaid with gold and silver foil, height 8 1/4 inches (21 cm), width 17 15/16 inches (45.6 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.

Japan, Kosode, 1600-1649, first half of the 17th century, plain-weave silk with warp floats, silk embroidery, and impressed gold, 56 5/16 x 46 1/4 inches (143 x 117.47 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.

Ogata Korin (Japanese, 1658-1716), Eight-Planked Bridge (Yatsuhashi), Edo period (1615-1868), 18th century, pair of six-panel folding screen, ink, color, and gold-leaf on paper, each 70 1/2 x 12 feet 2 1/4 inches (179.1 x 371.5 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.

Toshusai Sharaku (Japanese), The Two Actors Sanogawa Ichimatsu III and Ichikawa Tomiemon, 1774, Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst, Berlin.

Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, 1760-1849), The Great Wave Off Kanagawa, from "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji", Edo period, 1823-29, color woodcut, 10 x 15 inches, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.

Ando Hiroshige (Japanese, 1797-1858), Great Bridge: Sudden Rain at Atake, Edo period, 1857, color woodcut. Rain is pelting pedestrians on the bridge at Ohashi in the city of Edo (modern-day Tokyo).

Yayoi Kusama (Japanese, 1929-), Baby Carriage, 1964, repainted c. 1966, baby carriage, cloth, stuffing, silver metallic paint, 38 x 23 1/4 x 40 inches (96.5 x 59 x 101.6 cm), Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, OH. See found material.

Hiroshi Sugimoto (Japanese, 1948-), Boden Sea, Uttwil, 1993, depicted: Uttwil, Switzerland, gelatin silver print, 42.3 x 54.2 cm (16 5/8 x 21 5/16 inches), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. See seascape.

• "If we study Japanese art, we see a man who is undoubtedly wise, philosophic and intelligent, who spends his time doing what? In studying the distance between the earth and the moon? No. In studying Bismark's policy? No. He studies a single blade of grass." Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), Dutch Post-Impressionist painter.

• Yahoo's list of Japanese arts and humanities links.
  
  
• QBIC is IBM's visual search engine on 3,000 of Japanese prints in the collection of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
  
  
• Kyoto National Museum. Kyoto, Japan.
  
  
• Tokugawa Art Museum, Japan.
  
  
• Japanese culture lessons from Australia regarding manga, samurai, daily life in Japan, Japanese geography, Japanese myth and legend. Mostly language arts material aimed at primary and intermediate levels. No fees.
  
  
• The Japan Society, USA.
  
  
• A Chronology of Japan's Fine Arts.
  
  
• A glossary of Japanese art terms in English.
  
  
• Japanese Historical Maps.
  
  
• Timeline of Japanese History.

Also see anime, archaeology, beni-e, benizuri-e, bokusaiga, bokuseki, bonsai, bun-chin, bunjinga, bunraku, busshi, calligraphy, chado, daho, edakumi-ryo, edokoro, ema, emakimono, eshi, ethnic, flags of Asia, fusuma-e, genpitsu, gyo, gyotaku, hoso-e, ikebana, kakemono, kakemono-e, kanshitsu, makimono, namban, nise-e, oban, shakudo, shibuichi, shin, shoji, shuji, so, suiseki, sumi-e, surimono, torii, tradition, uki-e, ukiyo-e, and wabi-sabi.

https://inform.quest/_art