Japanese Art (History)

This is a survey of Japanese art history. The objective of the course is to have the student acquire knowledge of the foreign influences, trends, major works, special characteristics of Japanese art, and the effect of religious, historical, and social aspects on art. The course covers the early Neolithic (Jomon) to the Edo period. The emphasis is on sculpture and painting but applied arts such as ceramics and lacquerware are shown where necessary. The main types of art shown in the respective periods are: mostly pottery for the prehistorical periods of Jomon and Yayoi; haniwa figurines, metalware etc. for the Tumulus period; Buddhist sculpture etc. for the Asuka and Hakuho periods; Buddhist sculpture, crafts in the Shosoin Repository etc. for the Tempyo period; Esoteric Buddhist sculpture and painting etc. for the Early Heian period; Buddhist art, narrative picture scrolls, ornamented sutra transcriptions etc. for the Late Heian period; Buddhist art, narrative picture scrolls etc. for the Kamakura period; Zen temple gardens, ink painting etc. for the Nambokucho and Muromachi periods; art related to the tea ceremony, popular themes in painting (Namban painting etc.) and various schools of painting (Kano school, Rimpa etc.) for the Momoyama period; and various schools of painting (schools continuing from the Momoyama period as well as new schools such as Nanga, Maruyama school, ukiyoe etc.) for the Edo period. Lectures are conducted in English accompanied by slides.