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1 Characteristics of Japanese Lacquer Art

THERE ARE CERTAIN SIMILARITIES BETWEEN MINIATURE metal and lacquer art. Both were held in the highest esteem by the Japanese and were fostered by the imperial court and local wealthy feudal lords. Great metal and lacquer artists received honorary titles in spite of the relatively low social strata that these artisans held in Japan's feudal society. Both metal and lacquer arts were essentially graphic rather than sculptural, and yet they possessed subtle sculptural elements. Both of these arts utilized similar artistic techniques even though in entirely different media. They both made full use of color for decorative values: different-colored lacquers and different-colored metals. Yet in both forms at times color was minimized, as seen in plain iron sword ornamentation with just a touch of sculptural effects in the iron. The same applied to lacquer, where we might see a subtle simple black design superimposed upon a plain black lacquered background. Both metal and lacquer arts used combinations of flat, medium, and raised reliefs as well as encrustations. Art motifs and background effects were also often comparable. Finally all three of these art media slowly evolved over the centuries and reached the zenith of their artistic and technical development in the 18th century. Separate and famous schools of netsuke, metal, and lacquer artists evolved during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Each of these highly specialized art forms required years of assiduous training, and each developed numerous schools of different and overlapping artistic styles. Figures 17, 18, and 19 represent the simple subject of a pair of playful puppies as portrayed in each of the three miniature art forms by a master craftsman in each medium.

To the Western eye it is somewhat difficult to appreciate Oriental artistic presentation of subject matter and design in graphic form. This can only be realized by obtaining a thorough understanding of the tastes and the aesthetic development of the Oriental artist over centuries of maturation. The uninitiated, upon viewing an expert specimen of Japanese lacquer, may see what appears to be somewhat grotesque, exaggerated, and conventionalized figures and designs eccentrically placed over the surface area of the lacquered object. The design, more often than not, will flow over and envelop all sides of the object in question. Such artistic treatment of subject matter and surface area, unique in Japanese lacquer art, may at first appear disturbingly strange until we gain a better knowledge of Oriental and Japanese artistic concepts. Figure 2 represents a masked Noh dancer. What at first may appear to be a grotesque face on second glance becomes a powerfully expressive mask. The figure abounds with motion and energy. The clothes, upon closer scrutiny, are typically Japanese in treatment. It is not enough to represent an exquisite, colorful, detailed, designed robe, but also each part of the garment has a different motif in different colors. There are even slight ornamental variations within each motif itself. The motifs themselves have symbolic meaning, including the "seven precious things." The dancing figure is eccentrically placed on the surface area and is counterbalanced by the peonies. The flowers are done in encrusted raised mother-of-pearl similar to the face of the Noh dancer for heightened effect. Thus we see how the Japanese artist deliberately and thoughtfully presents his subject matter. Strength and motion are counterbalanced by delicate intricate ornamental design. The asymmetry of the overall design and of the details within the design artistically prevents boredom. The technical use of materials such as the mother-of-pearl and the red lacquer of the dancer's hair completes the artistic effect. One final effect should be noted: that of the subtle use of perspective completely different from Western techniques. The dancer appears to be leaping into the air. This effect is heightened by the peonies, which are on a lower level and appear to be rising above the ground although the ground itself is not portrayed. This is perspective in a vertical sense rather than one of depth. Yet the sense of depth is also present through the proportionately large size of the peonies, which appear as if in the foreground. Depth and perspective are also gained within the design itself by use of the flat and raised lacquer and the inlaid mother-of-pearl.

The development of such artistic concepts and aestheticism as related to Japanese lacquer was dependent upon five major influences, which through the centuries formulated these concepts. These influences are: 1) geographical, 2) Chinese, 3) religious, 4) feudal (political and economic), and 5) cultural. Together, these five factors formed and molded the customs, mores, and aesthetic values of Japan, which, combined with endless Oriental patience and supreme technical craftsmanship, produced the finest lacquer ware the world has ever known. All of the arts were influenced historically by the customs, aesthetics, and technical knowledge of the day along with Chinese and Buddhist influences. Similarly there was a certain degree of influence of the arts upon one another. Thus lacquer artists often adopted designs of famous paintings and prints. Similarly, metal artists often did encrusted work on inro, and netsuke artists occasionally made inro. On the other hand, lacquer became a uniquely independent and highly developed art form because of two major factors. The first was that lacquer art was practiced throughout the ages by a highly specialized class of artisans and their families. The second was that since this media involved so much time, effort, and expense, it could only be patronized by wealthy persons, such as the imperial household, the nobility, and the local feudal lords. Lacquer art was not only highly esteemed but naturally reflected the more subtle conservative aesthetic tastes of these patrons, being altered only by the 18th-century school of lacquer impressionists and in the 19th century by the more ornate, lavish, less artistic tastes of the rising merchant class. Finally it should be noted that, at the height of lacquer-art development in the 18th century, the influence of the traditional, conventional, and rigid dogma of Chinese art had already been completely modified, softened, and liberalized in relation to Japanese lacquer. Pictorially, decoratively, and in regard to technique, Japan now emerged unsurpassed and unrivaled in her lacquer art.

Geographical Influences

In most countries ancient art, because of limited communication and transportation, was physically and aesthetically dependent upon natural resources along with the inevitable influences of neighboring civilizations. This applied particularly to Japan, whose close proximity to the older Chinese and Korean civilizations resulted in adoption of their art forms and techniques along with assimilation of their culture, religions, mythology, and symbolism. Thus early Japanese lacquer was strongly influenced by Chinese art and lacquer through intercourse with China. However, when Japan closed her doors to the world from the mid-17th to the mid-19th century, entering virtually complete cultural and physical isolation, her lacquer art rapidly developed into a true Japanese art form both in technique and in artistic concept.

The physical restrictions, natural resources, and climate of Japan played a great part in the development of her arts. In regard to physical restrictions, for example, the absence of stone ranges, such as found in China, was responsible for the absence of large stone sculpture and stone architecture, with the exception of occasional small stone images and stone lanterns. The same reasoning may be applied to jade carvings, as jade is not indigenous to Japan, nor did Japan have any marble quarries. Similarly, ivory was not in common use until it became popular in the 18th century, after which it was imported in relatively large quantities. On the other hand, the field of metal art was stimulated by the discovery of gold, silver, and copper in the early 8th century. The local daimyo readily developed their own industries including that of mining metals. However, the amount of available gold was limited, so that pure good-quality gold was used only by the best lacquer and metal artists. The fine gold used by Korin, for example, was of a rich dark orange-yellow appearance in contrast to the diluted lighter yellow color of the inferior products of the late 19th century. Originally, up to the Nara period, woods were often imported from China for sculptural art. However, Japan soon turned to her own abundant native woods. The rainfall and humidity are responsible for the well-wooded, thick forests of Japan with their abundance of many varieties of woods. Light, well-seasoned, nonwarping woods provided the basis of lacquer work, while tougher, finer-grained woods offered themselves to the sculptural arts, such as that of the netsuke. The Japanese love of natural woods, including their shapes, forms, color, grain, bark, and even defects, is reflected and imitated in Japan's lacquer art. At other times the wood or bark itself was used for the lacquer ground.

The lacquer tree was not indigenous to Japan and was undoubtedly originally brought to Japan from China. The best lacquer is obtained north of the 36th parallel between latitudes 37° and 39°. In general, lacquer coming from the temperate zones, as in Japan and China, is superior to that of the tropics.

The subject matter of early Japanese lacquer was at first influenced by the neighboring Chinese art. These subjects were at first mostly religious or mythological, and the designs were of rigid, conventionalized patterns and arabesques with an overall symmetrical pattern. However, the innate love of the Japanese for their own landscapes, flowers and natural vegetation, plants, insects, and animal life, stimulated by Zen Buddhism, created an entirely new world of subject matter. This became most apparent by the 18th century. The beauty and softness of the Japanese countryside, in contrast to the more rugged Chinese terrain, also became apparent in their art. Flowers and trees indigenous to Japan, such as the iris, cherry blossom, chrysanthemum, plum blossom, and wisteria, were frequently depicted in pictorial form and often as ornamental or conventionalized powderings, such as the sixteen-petaled chrysanthemum used as the crest (kiku-mon) of the imperial house. Similarly, every detailed aspect of Japanese nature, both animate and inanimate, was carefully observed by the artist and portrayed either realistically or in accord with his aesthetic and religious concepts. On the other hand, an animal such as the tiger, not indigenous to Japan, was often represented quite inaccurately, being copied from prior inaccurate models or from Chinese portrayals.

The Japanese climate not only influenced the architecture of the Japanese but their art as well. In Japan the four seasons are sharply divided, each being about the same length of time. The lacquer artist, as well as the painter, was keenly aware not only of the distinct four seasons but also of the influences of the seasons on every aspect of nature. The lacquer artist, however, had a distinct advantage over the painter. He had at his disposal many more ways of portraying nature. Thus while the Japanese painter basically painted in black and white, using only washes and stroke pressure to obtain effects, the lacquer artist freely used all tonalities of color, such as when depicting autumn leaves, or expressed visual and tactile aspects of nature by using smooth or rough lacquer and enhanced the sense of depth by using raised lacquer or encrustations. Each one of dozens of lacquer techniques was at the disposal of the master lacquer artist in order to bring out his aesthetic concepts.

Chinese Influences

China both directly and indirectly exerted great influence on Japanese lacquer. The close proximity of Japan to China and Korea, with their intermittent political and commercial ties as far back as the 5th century A.D., brought the two countries into close cultural contact. This consisted of emigration of Chinese artisans (as well as Buddhist priests who were familiar with the fine arts) into Japan as well as emigration of Japanese priests, students, and artisans into China. Thus not only were various techniques of Chinese lacquer adopted in Japan, but of equal significance was the adoption of diverse Chinese Buddhist sects, philosophy, and aesthetics. Early Japanese lacquer—that is, from the 6th century to the 15th century—was patronized essentially by the Buddhist temples in addition to the. nobility in Kyoto, and this art reflected both pictorially, symbolically, and ornamentally Chinese and Buddhist art. Similarly, in regard to subject matter, the Japanese artisans adopted Chinese mythology and folklore but gradually added to their ornamentation their own folklore and finally, by the 18th century, their own local realistic genre topics. Along with these changes in pictorial design and subject matter were major Japanese alterations in ornamental design. Japanese ornamentation, including background effects, added a tremendous deliberately pleasing and decorative effect to the more conservative, formal, and stiff Chinese art concepts.

While the use of Chinese subject matter was gradually altered to suit the more flexible and decorative Japanese taste, the Japanese maintained to a greater extent certain important basic Chinese aesthetic principles. These principles form the core of Oriental art in general. These aesthetic canons involved in artistic portrayal consist of 1) living movement (sei-do), 2) spiritual elevation (ki-in), 3) strength, 4) accuracy, 5) invention (esoragoto), 6) foreshortening, and 7) contrast (in-yo). While these canons applied to Oriental painting, they were also applicable, sometimes uniquely, to Japanese miniature lacquer.

Living movement is the transmission, through the strength of the brush stroke into the art object, of the painter's feeling of the true nature of the object portrayed. Such is the artistic personal pictorial representation of the infinite beauty and power of nature or the saintly expression of a Buddhist priest. These expressions are often exaggerated, especially by the Japanese artisan.

Spiritual elevation expresses elevation of sentiment and nobility imparted by a work of art, without which, no matter how technically perfect, it can never become a divine masterpiece.

It can be seen that if these artistic canons are accepted with a little excessive freedom, imagination, and individual leeway it is possible to obtain the more extreme effects seen in Japanese art. Thus living movement and invention, when carried to their extremes, might well result in extreme personal variation such as seen in impressionistic Japanese lacquer works as exemplified, for example, by Korin and Koetsu, but never seen in Chinese art.

Strength refers to the power of the brush stroke as imparted into the art object by the inspired artist. Such a nebulous effect may be obtained by various other means in lacquer art. Thus the use of "strength" in impressionistic lacquer was often obtained through contrasting large and yet simple encrustations of mother-of-pearl and pewter.

Accuracy consists of correctness of subject matter. A historical picture must be accurate concerning the dress, customs, and manners of the periods represented in the art object in question. Similarly, the various subjects themselves must be in keeping with each other—both in regard to the season, symbolically, and in regard to the other canons of art such as contrast.

Contrast (in-yo) is used in the broadest sense whether it refers to color, active and passive, or upper and lower. Thus it may be generally expressed, for example, by two birds, one with its beak closed and one with its beak open (symbolically representing the male and the female) or simply by two brush strokes in a leaf, one up and one down (Fig. 20).

Invention is simply artistic liberty used to heighten the effect, such as decreasing the number of branches of a tree or drawing the leaves relatively larger than the stems. Occasionally such relative disproportions have symbolic meanings as well, such as the relatively large head of a child indicating naivete.

Foreshortening is rendering a picture more effective by means of a minimum of design and strokes to achieve the desired effect. Thus a simple bent twig of a tree against a moonlight background may prove far more effective than a detailed realistic landscape topography. Simplicity and foreshortening were especially evident in Japanese art under the influence of Zen Buddhism. Such influence is best exemplified by the lacquer, metal, and pottery objects of the Zen tea ceremony and even permeated the associated simple aesthetic Zen-influenced flower arrangements, gardens, and architectural format. To the Japanese connoisseur this abbreviated and yet powerful form of art is considered the epitome of art whether it be graphic or sculptural such as in the netsuke. Specifically, in regard to the small surface areas provided in miniature lacquer, great artistic ingenuity is necessary in order to portray subject matter in relation to this principle of foreshortening. The small irregular area provided by an inro or a kobako necessitates abbreviation of complete scenes and landscapes which would appear too crowded and cumbersome if shown in their entirety. A part of a tree, a few sprays of flowers with a distant glimpse of a mountain are more appropriate (Fig. 21). Such suggestibility of the whole by portraying the part forms the core of the aesthetic subtlety of the Japanese artist's mind. Foreshortening goes even beyond this point. It is the ability to select and portray part of a subject both effectively and artistically, with a minimal amount of detail, stripped of minute photographic realism, from which arise strength, simplicity, delicacy, and subtlety. This concept of art prevalent in 18th-century lacquer works gave way by the mid-19th century to elaborate, gaudy, overornate, naturalistic, commonplace subject matter portrayed with an excess of minute decorative detail. This trend was due to the popularization of the arts under the more ostentatious taste of the merchants and the banal demands of the masses. These radical changes in aesthetic ideals were reflected in all forms of Japanese art. Thus simple black-and-white ink painting gave way to the naturalistic Okyo school and realistic woodblock prints. Concomitantly, in sculptural art, the simply carved, strongly expressive early netsuke gave way to detail and technical perfection. Similar changes occurred in lacquer art as seen in the 19th-century Somada and Shibayama schools as well as in makie work.

In general, when the canons of Japanese art are properly used and applied not just to stereotyped religious and military subjects, but artistically modified and softened, using nature and other less stereotyped subject matter and combined with typical Japanese decorative effects, we reach the height of Japanese aestheticism.

So far the aesthetic principles of Far Eastern art do not differ essentially from those of Western art. However, definite differences exist concerning perspective and handling of subject matter, both pictorial and ornamental. Chinese and Japanese perspective is basically two-dimensional. Shading is considered inartistic. There ate no graphic sculptural effects. Features of people are in two dimensions. Pictorially, Oriental artists used many subtle means of obtaining perspective which accomplished their purpose and at the same time aesthetically avoided the distortion of Western perspective. Depth is expressed by aerial perspective rather than linear. A landscape scene is depicted with all of the parts, both near and far, with the eye parallel to all parts of the scene rather than fixed at one angle. This contrasts with Western art, where distant lines tend to converge, giving an accurate linear scientific aspect to perspective, which, however, is not always too aesthetically pleasing. Perspective in Oriental art is, however, still artistically suggested by various other means. Thus distant objects are often partially overlapped by nearer objects or are drawn smaller or partially obscured by haze or clouds. A mountain at a distance has no ledge marks and a man no eyes. Objects in the foreground ate accentuated by having darker tones, or by using raised encrustations or raised lacquer (takamakie) techniques. More distant objects are often depicted at higher levels in the design and in softer tones and occasionally using a flat lacquer technique, such as togidashi. Occasionally perspective is interestingly shown where the observer appears to be peering down at a landscape, and at other times the eye follows the landscape upward, each successive "level," however, being parallel with the eye at its own level (Fig. 22). Occasionally the eye is at one level, halfway up a mountain or where only the middle of a tree can be seen (Fig. 23). In regard to lacquer art, perspective is stressed in many ways. Shading is delicately seen in sumie lacquer imitations of brush-stroke painting, as often done on inro made by Toyo (Figs. 22,209). Here the shading of various black and gray tones is obtained by the density of black dustings used, as well as by the depth of the black within the translucent lacquer plus the exact amount of polishing used. However, much more often perspective and depth are obtained by the three principal lacquer techniques of flat lacquer, slightly raised lacquer, and highly raised lacquer, the last almost approaching sculptural qualities. Furthermore, raised metallic, ivory, and stone inlays were often used both for decorative pictorial effect and for obtaining a sense of depth. Finally perspective was realized (as in sumie lacquer) in a much more subtle way, within the depths of flat lacquer itself, by means of soft shadings of slightly different-colored metallic dusts. By dusting these powders within different layers of the built-up lacquer, the effects of distance, clouds, mists, rain, etc., could all be obtained with perfect blending, softness, and beautiful delicacy unobtainable in any other Japanese art form (Figs. 149, 151). The same metallic dust has softly modulated different tones at different depths of the layers of lacquer (Fig. 24). The different sparkling brown, orange, and gold tones of nashiji lacquer are an example of such a technique, where the flecks of gold dust vary in color depending upon their depth within the semi-transparent lacquer.

The last major Chinese influence on Japanese art relates to subject matter. There are strict specific laws adopted from the Chinese painters for portraying various subjects down to the minutest details, including the actual sequence of each stroke. These techniques were adopted by the Japanese painters along with some secondary influences upon the lacquer artists. For example, there are 18 different ways (laws) of depicting the lines and folds of a garment. Thus the robes of "elevated personages" are portrayed by the fine "floating silk thread line" (ko-ko yu-shi byo), the stiffly starched garments of the court nobles, samurai, and Noh dancers by the stiff "stretched iron wire line" (tetsu-sen byo), and beggars' clothes by the coarse irregular "rusty nail and old post line" (ketsu-to-tei byo). Similarly, specific techniques are adhered to in portraying landscapes, water, clouds, trees, birds, and flowers. Besides the adherence to these details and laws, specific overall aesthetic and spiritual effects (such as spiritual elevation and living movement) are of paramount importance. Thus pure copying of nature or of human subjects stripped of these aesthetic principles is considered unworthy. Besides, even from a practical point of view, scenic portrayals could not be directly copied from nature because of the media of the Oriental artist. In painting, corrections of ink strokes were virtually impossible, and the rapidity of working with such ink necessitated a mental image of the entire final product before the painting could even be started. Similarly, this applied to netsuke and lacquer art. While the netsuke artist might spend hours studying his subject, such as a wild animal, the final product was his personal artistic conception, using his own unique style, of the wild animal after months of inspired carving. Similarly, with the lacquer artist, who even though he might work from sketches, or from a famous painting, the final product would be his own personal conception evolving out of months of slow, tedious, technical work necessitated by his difficult medium. True imitation is not to be seen in any great Japanese artist's work.

Landscapes should reveal the powers and influences of nature, warriors should look bold, religious personages divine, women delicate and graceful, etc. Thus the body and anatomy are not of prime importance but rather the feeling and spirit of the individual depicted. In Chinese art individual facial expression and bodily movement was not stressed as in Japanese portrayals. These differences will be noted subsequently in describing what might be considered the purely Japanese pictorial and ornamental art form following its emergence from Chinese influence. Chinese ornamental design and techniques, along with the pictorial element, also strongly influenced early Japanese art. Chinese ornamentation, especially in lacquer ware, tended to be overcrowded and symmetrically arranged. These designs consisted essentially of fine networks of scrolls, tendrils, and arabesques along with conventionalized animals and birds, the latter often incorporated into medallions. However, the Japanese artist soon broke away from such stereotyped ornamental tradition. It was this particular field of decoration and ornamentation that the Japanese uniquely developed to the highest degree, revealing the full force of their ingenuity, aesthetic ideals, and supreme technical craftsmanship. The Japanese also adapted the Chinese use of calligraphy both as an art form by itself and as a supplement to other art forms. Thus a treasured scroll may consist entirely of finely executed characters, or a picture might inspire a poem to be appropriately written alongside of it. On the other hand, a poem might inspire a picture. Similarly, calligraphy was used to enhance a pictorial design by interspersing a few letters within the tendrils and leaves of the design itself. In the Japanese handicrafts, including lacquer ware, the entire design might consist of two or three Chinese ideograms or of a few characters alluding to a waka poem. Calligraphy itself, as with all Japanese arts and culture, depicts specific symbolism and aesthetic ideals. The interplay between poetry, calligraphy, the fine arts, symbolism, the drama, and literature again represents the close interrelationship between Japanese culture and way of life.

Japanese lacquer techniques initially were copies of those found in the Chinese and Korean art products which were highly esteemed by their patrons. Gradually the Chinese techniques were incorporated into native taste and were modified and further developed in typical Japanese fashion. New techniques originated and were used alongside the older ones. Thus the relatively crude Chinese method of dusting of lacquer with metallic filings formed the basis of the highly developed Japanese makie techniques which the Chinese artisans themselves tried to copy in vain. Similarly, the technique of the heavily carved, busy, Chinese choshitsu lacquer never gained popularity in Japan as an exclusive technique for an object but was used more often as a supplementary technique for enhancing makie ware or, for example, on a netsuke or an inro to render the red hair of a witch or a shojo Kabuki dancer. The Chinese technique of mother-of-pearl inlay work was similarly adopted by the Japanese by selectively using this method in makie work for supplementary artistic and decorative effect. Thus a fish, done purely in makie, would have realistic glistening iridescent mother-of-pearl eyes (Fig. 3). Many of the older pieces of blue-green iridescent mother-of-pearl inlay work were subtly combined with togidashi lacquer technique. It is only with the relatively late Somada school that we begin to see mother-of-pearl used only by itself, reminiscent of the original Chinese technique. These late specimens, not typically Japanese in taste, permitted aesthetic beauty of design to give way to overornate, ostentatious, gaudy, overdecorated technical details. It might be mentioned that while the Chinese used encrustations of mother-of-pearl, jade, and soapstone, the Japanese expanded this technique to include various metallic encrustations which were done by metal (sword furniture) artists.

Initially Japanese art, including lacquer ware, was strongly influenced by the Chinese both in specific techniques and in subject matter, along with the aesthetic canons of presenting this subject matter. With the isolation of Japan during the Edo period, combined with the natural decorative instinct of her artists, a purely Japanese form of art and art values arose. Thus the harsh Chinese landscape gave way to the softer, more delicate, and loving Japanese portrayal of nature which was combined and balanced with the strong Japanese sense of ornamental design. Similarly, the Japanese artist, especially the miniature handicraft artist, depicted more of the finer details of nature in preference to overpowering landscape scenes. This stress placed on the realistic portrayal of the minutiae of nature became characteristically Japanese in feeling and flavor. The scope of subject matter also became much wider and more plebeian in taste by the 18th century, portraying every detail of Japanese living and customs. The Japanese placed more and more stress on the decorative element. Formalized early Chinese lacquer designs and arabesques of relative symmetry, or of crowded figures and landscapes, gave way to typical Japanese lacquer styles. The pictorial element became less crowded and more and more pleasingly asymmetrical. Human and animal figures were shown with less and less stylization and more naturalism. Humor and impressionism were introduced. The decorative element became more Japanese in style, being more varied, softer in feeling, and used not just as a background but as a counterbalance enhancing the pictorial element. The love of the Japanese artist for various textures, natural materials, and "defects" was displayed in Japanese handicrafts. In the miniature metal arts this appeared as the development of various ishime grounds. In lacquer art it appeared as the simulation of various textures in both the ground and the pictorial element. Thus lacquer was purposely made in appearance and texture to imitate the knots of wood, the rough bark of a tree, or even pottery or leather. By the late 17th century Japanese lacquer, in technique, ornamental design, and subject matter, had completely divorced itself from its original Chinese influences and had reached its zenith as a unique, purely Japanese art form.

By the late Edo period there was a sudden increased demand for art objects by the nouveau riche. The ultimate result was the degeneration of artistic values for the sake of technique itself. Art objects became more and more gaudy and ornate, entailing extremely detailed, elaborate techniques. Such mechanically perfect specimens were often done by special classes of technicians, such as mother-of-pearl inlayers, and were rarely signed.

Thus we see that it would be entirely false to state that the Japanese craftsmen were merely excellent imitators of Chinese art rather than truly inventive artisans themselves. This false impression was gained by naive and uninitiated Western critics, mainly through poor commercial late examples of Japanese art exported specifically for "Western taste."

Religious Influences

The influence of religion, especially Buddhism, on early Japanese lacquer was considerable. All forms of Japanese art were in their infancy until the advent of relations with China and the introduction of Chinese art and techniques along with the introduction of Buddhism and Buddhist art.

In the 7th century Korean and Chinese artists had emigrated to Japan, and many Buddhist priests were quite conversant with the fine arts. Buddhism had rapidly spread from India, through Central Asia to China, and then to Korea. Thus early Japanese Buddhist ecclesiastical art was tinged with Indian sculptural influences as well as decorative designs. Japanese style and influence in lacquer art had not as yet developed. In the early Heian period (794-889) new Buddhist sects were introduced into Japan. These various sects opened their own workshops, utilizing lacquer artists for the temples and their hierarchies of gods. By the late Heian period, with temporary loss of contact with China, ecclesiastical art saw the true beginnings of its own national art forms and characteristics. In general, designs of the arts changed from the stiff, symmetrical, conventionalized arabesque and religious type of Chinese motifs to the lighter, more asymmetrical, more artistically ornamental Japanese style expressing rhythm, movement, and more typical Japanese subject matter. This change was not only reflected in ecclesiastical art but also in secular art, which had begun to emerge—as, for example, in the beginnings of the Yamato-e school of painting. Similarly, makie and raden techniques developed and were used not only for Buddhist art but also on household articles and furnishings. It should be noted, however, that many of the early Chinese diaper designs, conventionalized bird and animal forms, and arabesque patterns are used to this very day in Japanese lacquer art, but usually as a means of background or fringe decorative element supplementing the main pictorial motif. This contrasts with early Chinese carved lacquer, which used such designs usually as the central motif itself in an elegant but more formal symmetrical manner. The significance of Buddhist art was not simply the fact that Buddhism patronized the arts and that early Japanese subject matter was mainly Buddhist, but rather that the aesthetic concepts formulated by these newly adopted sects, ingrained in the Oriental mind, were naturally projected into the art forms. For example, the principle that all living things are endowed with spirit (and are therefore fit subjects for artistic portrayal) is part of the Buddhist philosophy of the transmigration of souls. The insignificance and transience of man along with the grandeur and infiniteness of nature similarly reflects Buddhist thought. The religious aspects toward nature are commonly depicted, represented often by a tiny insignificant human figure portrayed against awe-inspiring large rocky landscapes or a small hut tucked away in large rising mountain ranges.

The Japanese absorbed not only Buddhist philosophy but also the associated iconography, mythology, and symbolism. All of these factors became transformed into Japanese thinking and customs and of course secondarily into art expression. A considerable part of the subject matter of Oriental art centers about religion. This includes portrayal of the various gods themselves as well as portrayal of the various legendary (mythological) stories about them. Similarly represented, especially to the delight of the imaginative and expressive Japanese artisan, are Buddhist concepts of hell with its fierce demonology. This subject matter represented direct portrayal of Buddhist religion, but of greater significance are the offshoots of Buddhist art and subject matter representing aesthetic and philosophical concepts engendered by Buddhism. An example already noted is the Buddhist concept of nature and its subjects. Zen Buddhism stressed the importance of meditation in the presence of nature, out of which evolved the typical Japanese garden. Similarly the art of the tea ceremony, the tokonoma, and the symbolic art of flower arrangement were offshoots of Zen Buddhism. The tea ceremony in turn led to the development of tea utensils, including lacquer ware, metal ware, and pottery. The basic simplicity of Zen philosophy was reflected in the concepts of Zen art, and complicated iconography and religious sculpture was rejected by Zen Buddhism, which had become the official religion of the court. Chinese monochrome brush-stroke painting, applying to Zen philosophy, resulted in simple artistic paintings, expressing the painter's meditative enlightenment concerning the inner essence of various aspects of nature. This simple economy and strength of stroke and the elimination of ornamental detail to express the "inner truth" of the subject rather than photographic accuracy are still considered by the Oriental connoisseur as the quintessence of art in its purest form. This principle applied as well to the pottery and lacquer ware of the Zen tea ceremony. The pottery, such as Raku ware, was purposely simple, crude, and muted. Similarly, lacquer trays and tea jars were of the simplest effective designs done in subtle, soft, muted tones. This spirit was reflected in other lacquer articles made during these times, such as incense boxes.

With the complete popularization of the arts by the Edo period, portrayal of religious subjects was replaced to a great degree by portrayal of secular subjects; yet the aesthetic artistic principles based on Buddhist philosophy remained in these purely Japanese artistic creations. It is only with a basic knowledge of these concepts, along with an understanding of the previously mentioned principles of Oriental art, that true appreciation and critical evaluation of Japanese art can be achieved.

Influences of the Feudal System

The Japanese feudal system provided an almost ideal means for a development of the fine arts in which commercialism played absolutely no part. Briefly, the feudal system in Japan consisted of a balance of power, both economic and military, between groups of clans,. The stress upon hereditary rights and ancestor worship not only perpetuated powerful families or clans in an economic and political sense but also was responsible for the development of the artisan class and long family lines of lacquer artists. Japan was ruled basically by four powerful factions:

1) the imperial household, including the emperor and the court nobility: descendants of the founders of the Yamato Province of the 7th century b.c.

2) the military government (bakufu or shogunate) headed by the shogun, or generalissimo, first established in Kamakura in A.D. 1192.

3) the local shugo (high constables), who ruled through the shogunate the local provinces or fiefs (kuni). (The local military leaders, or daimyo, were descendants of the shugo and developed independent power by the 15th century a.d.)

4) the various economically and militarily powerful Buddhist sects, which hired their own mercenaries.

Historically, the Japanese feudal system evolved as follows: Japan was initially inhabited by numerous clans which ultimately came under the military control of one clan whose authority was centered in Yamato in the 7th century b.c., thus instituting the first emperor and the beginnings of the imperial household. By 71 b.c. the ruling emperor had allocated fiefs or provinces (kuni) to 77 of his children, marking the beginning of feudal land distribution in Japan. Shintoism, the religion of Japan at this time, basically professed that everything in nature was equally divine (kami) and that the imperial family was an intermediary between the spirits and the people. By the 7th century A.D. Japan was divided into provinces which were owned by different clans. During this period Buddhism was introduced. The imperial capital was moved to Nara in 710 and to Heian-kyo in 794. The local militarily powerful clans, such as the Soga and subsequently the Fujiwara family, often directly or indirectly controlled the imperial family. Meanwhile, newly introduced Buddhist sects also gained economic, political, and military power by hiring mercenaries. Much of the land was owned through a system of absentee landlords who were descendants of the court nobility. In order to protect their property, mercenaries were hired, so that by the 11th century there arose the military class (bushi), War between the powerful clans broke out, the final conflict occurring between the Taira or Heike and the Minamoto or Genji. The latter ultimately gained ascendancy in 1185 and initiated the Kamakura period (1185-1392), the military government being set up in Kamakura. The head of this military government was the shogun, or generalissimo, and thus was established the bakufu, or shogunate government. The shogun appointed members of his own clan to rule the local provinces. These were known as shugo (high constables), although the tight of administration was theoretically still in the hands of the court-appointed governors.

The Muromachi or Ashikaga period (1392-1573) was marked by continued strife between the emperor and such powerful clans as the Ashikaga. Meanwhile the shugo increased their local military power and became autonomous beyond the control of the shogunate or the imperial house. They became known as daimyo (dai, great; myo, name). Art now continued to flourish under the patronage of the church, the court, the shogunate, and the local daimyo along with the stimulus of the newly introduced Zen culture.

It would seem almost paradoxical that a warlike feudal system dominated by the military class should be conducive to the fostering of art. This was true, however, for three basic reasons: military, economic, and love of art. The Japanese admiration of art and their keen aesthetic sense, associated with their love of nature, has already been seen to arise out of their religion and their adoption of the already highly developed art forms of their neighbors, China and Korea.

The initial patrons of the fine arts, including music, poetry, and calligraphy, were the nobility and the imperial court. As early as the Heian period the wealthy Kyoto nobility contented themselves with the refinements of all forms of art and aestheticism as aptly described in the Genji Monogatari and the Makura no Soshi. The highly artistic, delicate, almost effeminate tastes of the nobility were naturally reflected in the art commissioned by them. The wealth of the nobility was made possible by the feudal system, under which members of imperial lineage (nobility) were given hereditary land grants as far back as the 4th century A.D. and taxes Were collected from the farming class who inhabited these fiefs. The power of the nobility was sustained throughout the centuries through the religious concept (Shintoism) of the divine origin of the imperial family. Even when stripped of political and military power, the nobility contented themselves with the pleasures of artistic enjoyment and endeavors.

The Buddhist church was also a great patron of the arts, mainly for the embellishment of its temples. Many of the priests were learned men who were fully conversant with the arts and often were artists themselves. Some of the priests brought into Japan the arts of China and Korea. The feudal system also permitted the military, political, and economic expansion of the Buddhist sects in many ways. The impoverished peasants preferred to give their land to the church and act as tenants for smaller rent, rather than pay the enormous taxes levied on them. The power of the church was further increased by the shogunate's acceptance of its tenets. Shintoism allowed its clergy to marry, so that the abbots became hereditary. Again, emperors who were in conflict with the ruling shogunate became nominal monks and called powerful clans to help them. The church as well hired mercenaries. From an aesthetic point of view Buddhist art was represented mainly by adornment of temples with lacquer, large sculptures in wood, bronze and lacquered images of deities, and religious paintings. The early religious art forms reflected Buddhist-Chinese-Indian artistry but later reflected Japanese overtones with more lifelike individual faces combined with motion as expressed in muscle and bone configuration, position of the extremities, and more naturally flowing draperies. Even political expediency played a part in the development of the arts. During the time of their political dominance in the 10th and 11th centuries, the Fujiwara family had been inculcated with art appreciation to the neglect of rule by military power. Minamoto Yoritomo, emerging as shogun in 1192, realized this and maintained the center of power in Kamakura in order to isolate the military class from the weakening influence of art in Kyoto. On the other hand, the shogunate often encouraged the arts to distract the warlike clans and also for economic reasons in establishing trade relations with China, Korea, and Southeast Asia. However, the economic advantages of such trade were readily capitalized on by the local daimyo, who rapidly developed their own industries and patronized their own artists. Thus during the Kamakura (1185-1392) and Muromachi (1392-1573) periods the arts were also patronized to a great extent by the shogunate and the local daimyo. The taste of these new art patrons was reflected in the changing art motifs of these years. There was a predominance of Zen Buddhist art, since Zen was adopted mainly by the samurai class. Along with this religious art there developed, as previously mentioned, the tea ceremony, the art of flower arrangement, and the art of the Japanese garden. The daimyo, in spite of their militaristic spirit, were quick to emulate the nobility and the shogunate in their art appreciation. They competed in lavishing every possible artistic luxury on their castles, their taste often being somewhat gaudy and colorful and certainly less delicate than that of the Heian nobility. The metal arts, including the making of swords and sword furnishings, flourished under the military rule. The firm establishment of the Tokugawa regime early in the 17th century was responsible for radical changes in art forms. The political expediency of reducing the power of all but the shogunate resulted in the suppression of the Buddhist church and in the isolation of Japan from trade and political relations with the rest of the world. The result was the decline of religious art in deference to secular art, the rapid development of Japanese art techniques divorced from foreign influence, and the development of art in the local provinces.

The feudal system was also responsible for the propagation of art families. Thus as early as A.D. 905 Emperor Daigo ordered that official lacquer artists should not be permitted to change their occupation and that they were to train students to succeed them. The subsequent class distinctions (including prohibition of intermarriage) following the introduction of Confucian philosophy resulted in further isolation of the artisan class. These artists lived in homes set aside on the grounds and under the patronage of their local daimyo. Furthermore, the importance, according to the Shinto religion, of perpetuating the family name resulted in artists' adopting adept students and giving them the right to use part or all of their family name. Incidentally, this in turn, is in part responsible for the confusion of signatures in identifying Japanese works of art. Well-known artistic families were appreciated, often given honorary titles, and patronized, so that quality of work took complete precedence over quantity and commercialism. It was also the custom for the daimyo and the shogun to commission specific articles to be made for them by the lacquer artists. These commissioned articles, even when made by a very great artist, out of deference to the lord were never sighed..

The cycle became complete with the rise of the merchant class during the Edo period (1615-1868) and the almost total popularization and secularization of the arts among the common classes. Money, rather than produce, became the basis of exchange, and with the development of commerce and industry wholesale and retail dealers and moneychangers gained economic ascendancy. This nouveau riche merchant class began to patronize the arts. More schools were established, spreading education and culture among the common people. Poetry, the drama, and woodblock printing gained popularity among the masses. Art began to be mass-produced according to the tastes of its new patrons. Subject matter was expanded to appeal to the masses and to the wealthy merchants. Every aspect of everyday Japanese life became fit subject matter for Japanese art. Art objects became more photographically realistic and technically increasingly more detailed, ornate, and colorful, quite often at the expense of prior effective artistic strength and simplicity. By the end of the Edo period, along with commercialization of art, the military class was disbanded and the wearing of arms was forbidden, which ended the fine miniature metal art of sword furnishings. The modernization of Japan, including the wearing of Western dress, ended the need for inro. The daimyo were forced to return their fiefs in 1869. The decreased demand for and the loss of the feudal patronage of lacquer art, combined with the rising cost of living and labor, made it virtually economically impossible for an artist to devote the necessary time needed to create a superior piece of lacquer art.

Cultural Influences

Along with the political and economic reasons for art development under the Japanese feudal system was the basic love of art, "art for art's sake." Without this the natural outlets of artistic development under the nobility, imperial household, church, daimyo, shogunate, and merchant classes could not have been realized.

Art forms existed to a minor degree in the pre-Buddhist era. As soon as Japan became organized into provinces by settled tribes, governmental fostering of the fine arts was eagerly promulgated. As early as A.D. 701 the legal code provided for bureaus of lacquer artists and textile workers. The cultivation of lacquer trees was encouraged, and raw lac was accepted in lieu of taxes. Lacquer ware was even accepted instead of land grants. Meritorious deeds were often rewarded by the shogunate with gifts of lacquer ware. Artists were held in high esteem and were widely patronized by the wealthy and ruling classes and were given honorary titles, such as hogen and hokkyo. Even civil wars and campaigns against neighboring countries did not adversely affect the development of the arts. In fact the art-conscious Hideyoshi brought back potters during his war with Korea between 1592 and 1598. Similarly, local strife, such as the conflict between the Taira and Minamoto clans at the beginning of the 12th century, resulted in the rebuilding of temples which had been destroyed. The war of Onin (1467-78) resulted in the destruction of Kyoto, but the city was soon zealously and artistically rebuilt. What, then, formed the basis of this aestheticism of the Japanese people? We have seen that there were numerous factors responsible for the molding of the Japanese love of art. The intermittent close ties with China caused ready absorption of the already long-standing and well-established art forms of China. The simultaneous rise of Buddhist art and Buddhist philosophy also played a large part. The natural emulation of the shogunate, daimyo, and finally merchant class of the culture of the nobility also played a significant role. Finally there was the establishment of various artistic Japanese customs and modes of living thoroughly subconsciously indoctrinated into the Japanese mind, both young and old. The Japanese custom of applying art practically solely to utilitarian objects, no matter how insignificant, brought art within the reach of all social levels. Finally, the natural craftsmanship and technical ability of the Japanese artisan helped foster the handicrafts.

Appreciation of art and nature and antiquity is instilled into Japanese children at home and in school. Special excursions are taken into the countryside, to beauty spots, to famous temples, and to adjacent historical sites. Appreciation and observation of landscapes and of animal and insect life is inculcated into the students. The art of miniature landscape garden arrangement traces back as far as the reign of Empress Suiko (A.D. 593628), when stones of rare shape were presented to the court from China. Various forms of arrangement thus developed including bonseki (tray stone), bonkei (tray landscapes), bonsai (potted dwarf trees), bonga (tray pictures), etc. In some of these art forms dwarf trees are used; in others sand is used to symbolically represent water and earth; and even feathers are used to represent different types of waves (according to the season). The custom of employing "rare" stones (kiseki) of unusual shapes to represent mountains or other natural phenomena is also followed in these miniature landscapes, or they are used by themselves for the tokonoma. Beautiful natural and often grotesque stones are similarly seen in Japanese gardens and are often depicted on Japanese lacquer ware. Thus appreciation of the natural materials of nature and texture are enjoyed by all classes of society. This important feature is represented in the various handicrafts where lacquer or metal backgrounds were often made to imitate both the appearance of and the texture of earth, wood, stone, or the bark of a tree. Lacquer was even devised to imitate antique bronze or rough pottery (Fig. 4). The appreciation of texture itself was not just visual but tactile as well, as exemplified by the purposefully rough texture of pottery or the stress placed upon the soft rounded feel of an old netsuke. This idea went even further into love of "defects" and "crudeness," including those of nature. Pottery was purposely made with defects in an artistic sense and made to appear artistically "crude." The aesthetically crude appearance of an unadorned old iron tsuba (sword guard) is highly appreciated by the Japanese connoisseur. Defects in the grain of ivory were incorporated into the design of the lid of the tea caddy, and metals were purposely divorced from their regular artificial sheen by use of various patinas and ground techniques, such as ishime. Nature is similarly represented with natural defects and erosions. In painting, specific brush strokes depict special erosions of rocks and landscapes; woods are represented with cracks, worm holes, and decay; and leaves similarly reflect the blights of nature. All these facts combine symbolism and keen observation of nature with consummate artistic mastery and technical perfection.

The Japanese garden and art of flower arrangement, outgrowths of Zen Buddhism, combine the simplicity of Zen philosophy with artistic and symbolic treatment of nature. Every Japanese town has its gardens of chrysanthemums, plum blossoms, cherry blossoms, etc. Similarly, Japanese homes are constructed with landscaped gardens. The reception room always overlooks these gardens, and when the outer doors are removed, the garden becomes essentially part of the house. The garden also forms part of the architecture of the adjacent teahouse, permitting meditation in nature as an integral essential of the tea ceremony (another artistic outgrowth of Zen Buddhism). These gardens are carefully planned works of art and contain natural stones, including irregular, artistically placed steppingstones of different size, shape, and color. Evergreen trees and nonflowering shrubs and moss-covered ground complete the simple, quiet-toned monochrome picture. In the larger gardens, water in the form of ponds, streams, and even waterfalls is employed, but in smaller gardens these are symbolically represented by sand.

The art of flower arrangement similarly represents the Japanese aesthetic method of displaying flowers. This may vary from a single bud in a simple bamboo vase for the tokonoma to a more complicated specific symbolic type of flower arrangement depending upon the season or festival but at the same time remaining complementary to the kakemono. In general, the flowers and branches are asymmetrically arranged and placed basically at three different levels, the tallest representing heaven, the lowest earth, and the middle the "reconciling principle," man. This art, known as ikebana, is taught in nearly all the girls' schools as well as privately by flower masters.

The Japanese home itself also typifies the aesthetic principles of its inhabitants. The typical home is the epitome of simplicity, representing the transience of man's life on earth. Basically it consists of rooms which are separated by movable partitions of folding screens (byobu), single screens (tsuitate), and sliding and removable doors (fusuma). There are also, in lieu of windows, sliding doors called shoji. These are covered with translucent paper, permitting soft diffused light to enter the room. Incidentally, paintings look better in this soft light and lose their subtle shadings (washes) in stronger light. The partitions are removable so that the rooms may readily be changed at will, or a portion removed so as to allow a view of the veranda (engawa), which may be either open or closed, and the garden. No furniture is used except for such items as the mats on the floor, a low table, and built-in wall shelves (chigaidana). An integral part of the house is the tearoom (chashitsu) as well as the tokonoma, or picture recess. The main room or reception room faces the garden and contains the tokonoma and the chigaidana. The tokonoma is basically a recessed frame containing a platform, all of which is constructed of beautiful natural woods. On the wall of the tokonoma is hung a scroll (kakemono), and on the platform sits a floral decoration (ikebana) or some work of art, each chosen, as mentioned, according to the season or holiday festival. In general, the house is built to permit maximum ventilation in the humid summer weather. Also to be noted is the typical asymmetry not only in the house but even in the eccentric placement of the tokonoma and the chigaidana as well as the shelves of the chigaidana itself. The entire house stands in the middle of the garden, which in turn is surrounded by a wooden fence.

The home is uncluttered by furniture, and the woods used for decoration of the interior of the house are unpainted but carefully chosen for their beauty of grain, texture, and color.

The widely practiced tea ceremony (cha-no-yu) involves details of etiquette approaching those of an aesthetic art form. Prior to the actual drinking of the tea, the guests sit in an arbor of the garden adjacent to the small tearoom or teahouse. It is here that one meditates in the presence of nature and divorces oneself from worldly things. The tearoom is also arranged simply according to Zen philosophy. It contains quite unobtrusively woodwork of the finest grains of various natural woods. It also contains a tokonoma from which hangs a kakemono of simple brushstroke painting, or just calligraphy, and an appropriate flower arrangement. Part of the ceremony consists of studying, examining, appreciating, and asking questions about the history of the scroll, the displayed art objects, and the utensils used in the ceremony itself. These include the teakettle, the tea caddy, and other objects used in the preparation and drinking of the specially prepared tea. Such objects are in simple taste and are often valuable art treasures. Even the approved manner of handling these objects of art in the palm of the hand (guarded with the opposite hand and held low) speaks for the loving care with which the Japanese regard fine art objects. The stimulus given to the metal, lacquer, and ceramic handicrafts for use with the tea ceremony has already been noted.

Poetry, calligraphy, brush-stroke painting, and musical dramas are all interrelated with one another and to the handicrafts as well. They all form part of the cultural and aesthetic background of the Japanese people. The children are taught the Japanese katakana and hiragana syllabaries and then the Chinese ideographs. This trains them in the use of the brush as well as in the art of calligraphy itself. Furthermore, it visually and artistically fuses written language with ideographs. It is also training for the accuracy and keen observation so necessary for the Japanese artist. A much-valued scroll may contain just calligraphy, or a picture may inspire a poem which is appropriately written on the scroll. The use of written characters intertwined in a lacquer picture alluding to a poem (waka) was common to both Chinese and Japanese art. Poetic or literary allusions are found in Japanese plays. Poetry reading and composition was popular among all classes of society. In the spring, people would stroll in gardens and arbors and improvise poetry on paper in honor of the wisteria or of springtime and attach them to the branches of the tree so that they would be read by other passersby. Similarly, an old custom consists of parties held for the purpose of viewing the moon, at which time poetry was written.

The various forms of drama revolve about mythology and folklore and are expressed by subtle symbolic mimicry and movement abetted by music, make-up, or masks, and magnificent costumes. The development of mask carving (14th-17th centuries) and stimulation of textile manufacturing can be attributed to these dramas. The popularity of the Kabuki drama was reflected in the ukiyo-e woodblock prints, which commonly depicted the actors and their costumes and headdresses. The costumes and headdresses of a popular actor often became the "rage" of the day. In the Gagaku, or oldest form of court music, grotesque and exaggerated facial expressions contrasted with the esoteric Buddhist sculpture of the corresponding era. The Noh drama, which developed during the latter half of the Kamakura period (1185-1392), was derived from the Sarugaku. The Noh became quite popular among the nobles and upper classes while the later Kabuki drama was more popular among the masses. In the Noh play the principal actor (shite) and the adjunct to the shite (shite-zure) wear masks. The most famous mask carvers stem from this time (14th-17th centuries). The essence of the Noh play is to bring out a sense of elegance, beauty, and simplicity as specifically expressed rhythmically and musically in the dances. This is effected through a minimum of stylized movement and lack of facial expression. The plots are simple and concern themselves with mythology, folk tales, and war tales. In general the Japanese drama expresses life and emotion artistically through symbolism and suggestion in a simple lofty aesthetic manner so characteristic of Japanese art in general, whether it be painting, the tea ceremony, or flower arrangement. The allusions in the drama to poetry, literature, mythology, and Shinto and Buddhist ideas again typify the close relationship of the various art forms among themselves and also to folklore, symbolism, and native religion in regard to subject matter.

Japanese music, like the other art forms, is not isolated but is also related to religious, dramatic, or festival occasions. Japanese festivals again reflect a mixture of folklore, symbolism, religion, and love of nature and various art forms. All of the festivals purposely fall on an odd day of an odd month, since odd numbers are "positive," lucky, and reflect the male principle. Along with each festival there are associated symbolic flowers. Similarly, the tokonoma is decorated not only according to the season but also according to the festivals. The Girls' Festival, for example, is celebrated on the third day of the third month and is associated with the peach blossom (a symbol of longevity). An appropriate painting for the tokonoma is one of kamibina, or paper dolls. The women wear festive clothing, and the girls take out their dolls for display. Appropriate gifts to the girls are dolls which are essentially works of art rather than mere playthings and are often family heirlooms. Similarly, the New Year is celebrated with an appropriate picture, such as that of Fukurokuju, a god of good luck. The houses are adorned with evergreens. To the tight and left of the entrance to the house are placed red- and black-stemmed pines representing the female and male principles, together indicating happy marriage. Near the entrance is also placed a straw rope which is divided into specific odd numbers of strands dividing the pure from the impure. From the rope are suspended other symbolic objects. A painting of the takarabune, or treasure ship (Fig. 25), is placed under the pillow to bring happiness for the coming year. At New Year's actors perform religious dances and pantomimes, strolling artists draw, and wandering ballad singers appear.

We have seen to a certain extent how the various art forms pervade every aspect of Japanese life and customs. We have seen this in the Japanese love of nature, their early school training, their flower and garden arrangements, their architecture and tokonoma, their tea ceremony, their poetry, music and drama, and their festivals. Japanese art objects and art forms are basically utilitarian or related to other aspects of their culture, rather than an isolated art in themselves. This applies to the handicrafts that specifically combine utility and art. Even paintings are done to reflect religious and spiritual qualities rather than to be appreciated mainly for their face value. Conversely, utilitarian objects are usually in themselves works of art. Thus even so minor an object as a penny fan or inexpensive writing paper is made tastefully and artistically. Each Japanese home has its tokonoma with its art objects commensurate with the economic status of its members. This also applies to the tea-ceremony objects. Such art objects are highly treasured and tastefully displayed a few at a time, the remainder being carefully stored away in fine silk bags and in turn in a storage box. This box is often carefully made and signed by the artist, thus providing as well a document of authenticity. Art objects are displayed also to the taste of invited guests, the best objects being brought out for the most honored guests. This is not a sign of ostentation but of true appreciation by the household and by the guests as well. This close observation of works of art is in part responsible for the extreme detail found in most Japanese art objects. The objects are decorated and carved equally carefully from all sides, including the bottom surfaces, since their quality depends on their being beautiful from no matter what aspect they are studied. This applies even to the drama, where the pose of the actors must look equally artistic from all directions. The feel of the art object is of equal importance, such as the rough texture of Raku ware, the smooth glossy texture of lacquer ware, and the rounded soft oval feel of a good old netsuke. In general, Japanese art objects are pleasing from a distance as well as upon minute scrutiny. The minuteness of many works, whether it be painting, metal work, lacquer, or sculpture, is often undiscernible until a strong hand lens is used. It is only at this time that the technical finesse of the artist can be fully appreciated. The details of brush stroke, the minuteness of chisel marks and metallic inlays, the hairline quality of chinkin-bori can only then be truly appreciated. Yet a good artist does not satisfy himself with pure technical detail at the expense of artistic values, as was commonly done in the late Edo period. The simplicity of design, the minimal strokes used to achieve the desired effect are of primary importance. The canons of art should be adhered to with the utmost simplicity and yet effective aesthetic taste.

The Japanese custom of exchange of gifts was already established under the first Tokugawa shogun, Ieyasu. Japanese gifts are usually works of art and must be appropriate to the occasion. Thus, when a male child is born, the proper present to the family is a carp kakemono, the carp representing the epitome of perseverance and military spirit. Similarly when a female child is born a kamibina (paper doll) painting is presented. As a wedding gift, a painting of male and female mandarin ducks, symbolic of conjugal fidelity, is appropriate. As previously mentioned, gifts of lacquer ware were happily accepted in lieu of land grants as rewards for meritorious deeds for the government.

Japanese clothing also reflects Japan's decorative textile art. Such clothing varies according to the season. Valuable works of art are stored in precious brocades. Even the Japanese meal is aesthetically presented. Food is served in artistic lacquered and pottery cups and dishes placed on fine lacquered trays. The food is artistically arranged so as to be pleasing to the eye as well as to satisfy the appetite.

In summary, then, the Japanese culture is pervaded with aestheticism and the home with artistic utilitarian objects. To this very day a high percentage of luxury money is spent on items of art. A specific example of the close interrelationship between Japanese culture, mythology, symbolism, and art in everyday living is reflected in the carp. This fresh-water fish (koi), according to Chinese mythology, in the third month of each year (note the odd-numbered month) ascends the Yellow River. It fights its way up the cataracts (five gates) and finally leaps the Dragon Gate, which, if it can pass it, will transform the carp into a dragon. The symbolic association of the carp is therefore that of perseverance, the conquering of obstacles, and military spirit. This symbolic representation is introduced into Japanese life in many ways: to pass the state examinations is known as "leaping the Dragon Gate." At the Boys' Festival, celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month (note positive, odd, or male numbers), it is customary to hang carp flags or carp-shaped balloons attached to bamboo rods and lines over every housetop to encourage its boys to rise to fame and fortune. When a male child is born a proper present to the family is a carp kakemono. The carp is also used at ceremonial banquets and cut up alive for sashimi. The fish is placed alive in a vessel during the meal, and then the carver passes the flat side of the knife blade over the body of the fish, which becomes motionless and submits to being sliced to the backbone. The carp in Japanese mythology is associated with such Japanese deities as the sennin Kinko, the household god Ebisu, and the priest Kensu. Kinko was a Chinese recluse who spent his life (twelve centuries) painting fish. He was led by a fish through the river world, and he returned riding on the back of a carp in view of his disciples. The smiling old bearded priest Kinko riding on the back of a carp is a favorite Japanese art motif. Another favorite subject of Japanese art depicts the carp struggling upstream (Figs. 26, 27). We see here that the Japanese gods themselves represented basically the idealistic and aesthetic principles of the life of the Japanese people. Thus the close association of the gods with nature, their love of artistic and meditative pursuits, their adherence to religious and Confucian philosophy, their gentleness and individual personalities, and even gentle humor, reflect the basic Japanese mind, which in turn created its own mythology and folklore, in its own "mind's eye."

With a comprehensive knowledge of all of the factors influencing Japanese art we can now outline what may be considered as the final evolution of its art motifs, both pictorial and ornamental. We have already noted the strong Chinese and Buddhist influences which gradually gave way to typical Japanese modifications in response to indigenous Japanese culture and aestheticism. We have also noted the various factors responsible for the ultimate development of this culture and aestheticism. Of what, then, when broken down, does this typical Japanese art consist? Japanese art may be broken down into three main categories: 1) general aesthetic concepts of art and art motifs, 2) treatment of subject matter or pictorial design, and 3) treatment of decoration, surface area and backgrounds.

The way in which Japanese artisans portray these three factors comprises the inner core of their unique art. We have already discussed the evolution of and influences upon Japanese aesthetic principles of art. We can now analyze the basic Japanese treatment of specific subject matter.

Subject Matter: General Principles

Generally speaking, subject matter in lacquer art is treated in an overall Chinese or Oriental fashion. This includes the traditional method of handling perspective in the two-dimensional form and the use of typical Oriental subjects, such as landscapes, details of nature, birds, animals, and gods. Yet there evolved tremendous changes throughout the centuries, ultimately creating a distinctly unique Japanese flavor which reached its sublime quintessence by the 18th century, with which period we are primarily concerned. We have already seen how the Japanese lacquerer handled perspective, both subtly with the use of simple flat lacquer and more sculpturally with the use of raised lacquer and encrustations. The second general distinction of lacquer art which deviated from traditional ink-stroke painting was the use of color. Color, as practiced in typical sumie painting according to the subdued aesthetic principles of Zen art, is of secondary importance, if to be used at all. Color in black-and-white, as in Chinese painting, is obtained by the amount of pressure of the brush stroke and by the "wash"—the more diluted the ink, the lighter the tone. Thus an endless variety of tones (washes) could be obtained, from a deep powerful black to a faint, delicate, hazy gray-white. In such a way both strength and subtlety could be achieved, including beautiful portrayals of mist, haze, and other vagaries of nature, so dear to the heart of the Japanese.

Such washes were also, as previously noted, used to depict perspective. This black-and-white painting was only occasionally imitated by the lacquer artist or even the metal artist. In lacquer the design consisted of shadings of black lacquer against a gold of silver background. Toyo was famous for this style of decoration (Figs. 22, 209). The metal artist also occasionally imitated this technique, using the black alloy shakudo against a gray background of the alloy known as shibuichi. With the popularization of the arts in the Edo period, the more striking use of color became a predominating motif in the arts as exemplified by the detailed naturalistic ukiyo-e school. In general, lacquer art always stressed color effects to varying degrees. While it has been stated that pure lacquer colors could not be obtained because of the inherent amber tone of clear lacquer, the real reason is that the Japanese lacquer artist preferred soft, muted colors and tones to sharp "pure" colors, as much as the metal artist preferred various subdued alloys and "picklings" to sharp, shiny pure copper and silver. Thus in lacquer art greens are muted, revealing an olive tint; blues are light and soft, often a muted grayish color; and reds also are toned down or brick-colored. Many gradations of tones were used, so that a subtle green would readily blend with a delicate blue tone. In later lacquer works, such as those of the Somada school, special iridescent blue-green mother-of-pearl was used. Occasionally gold leaf was put under the mother-of-pearl to give a golden hue, a similar color effect being used for inlaid tortoise shell. In general, it is in more modern works that colors have become more pure, sharp, and harsh. The one exception to the use of pure color is roiro or the highly prized, highly polished, rich gleaming black lacquer used as a ground. Figure 6 shows an inro revealing very unusual colors rarely seen in Japanese lacquer, including a rich dark olive-green ground and rarely used yellow lacquer along with shades of fairly pure reds.

Contrasting with the more decorative colorful aspects of Japanese lacquer are a group of subtle lacquer techniques which appeal to the Japanese taste and ultimately to the Western connoisseur. Such simple subdued taste was in keeping with the Zen tea ceremony. This consists of the use of fine simple black designs very slightly raised on a rich black background, such as may be seen by the nature lover at night. Occasionally the design is done in a dull black finish on the black glossy ground. Rarely the black design itself is etched or slightly below the ground surface. At times the design imitates an old Chinese inkstick with "cracks" in the background surface. Variations of this technique use dark tones of brown or combinations of dark brown and black. It is almost impossible to photograph such specimens of art, for the design can often only be visualized by tilting the lacquered object so that the light strikes it indirectly (Figs. 28,147).

Irregularity and asymmetry of subject matter presentation is much more distinctly Japanese. While the Chinese may present the natural irregularity of nature by a tree with asymmetrical branches, the Japanese will go much further and present an aesthetically pleasing asymmetrical picture in regard to grouping all of the subject matter involved. The hardest part of the Japanese artisan's pictorial effect is often considered to be the "blank space." At times the Japanese artist definitely exaggerated the asymmetry so that almost an entire scene may be depicted in a corner of a lacquer painting (Figs. 25, 29). Japanese artistic effects of foreshortening and suggestion have already been noted.

Pictorial Subject Matter: Nature

Nature itself is handled with less awesome and more affectionate care than in comparable Chinese representations. Landscapes are less intense and foreboding, softer and more gentle, an effect due not only to the sympathetic daily existence of the Japanese in the midst of nature but also to their gentler natural landscapes. Japanese landscapes are not only less foreboding, but the Japanese handling of every facet of nature is keener, for it is portrayed in a more tender, realistic, often humorous, and yet artistic fashion. The Japanese artist is particularly fond of depicting not only the effect of the different seasons on natural vegetation—such as leaves gently bending in the wind and the nuances of autumnal tints—but also the subtle modifications and effects of such ethereal aspects of nature as wind, rain, mist, haze, and moonlight. A favorite picture is that of a tiny leaf or two wafting downward in the moonlight. As mentioned, a night effect is quite imaginatively obtained on lacquer ware by using "black on black." The Japanese artisan goes so far as to observe and depict the different types of rain. Thus spring rain is depicted by thin slightly opaque lines and winter rain by heavy, closely placed, very opaque lines falling at different angles. Waves are similarly represented differently according to the different seasons. Thus there are peacefully long spring waves, rippling summer waves, rougher autumn waves, and choppy winter waves. Even the directions of the wind peculiar to each season were considered. In general, however, the Japanese artist inherited and retained many of the Chinese conventionalized methods of portraying waves and clouds. An exception is the artistic semiconventionalized cloudlike appearance of nashiji used for background effect (see mura nashiji, page 113). Wind is revealed by bending of blades of grass or of a bird helplessly drifting with sideward motion against a strong breeze. Even the direction of the wind may be ingeniously represented. The Chinese had already carefully noted the natural erosion of their massive rocks and landscapes. They were accurately portrayed by numerous specific brush strokes, such as "axe marks," which were quite effective and powerful. Such landscapes are now existent in Japan through the Chinese Yuan teaching of painting, which had some effect on the Japanese artisan, including the lacquerers of the Muromachi period (1392-1573).

Astute observation is noted in the Japanese portrayal of every aspect of nature: its minerals, vegetables, insects, and animals. As we have previously noted, the appearance and physical texture, and grain of natural objects are keenly observed and artistically copied in the various handicrafts, being portrayed either as part of the ornamental design or as the background. Figure 30 shows a delicate sprig of plum blossoms contrasted against a background of rough-textured lacquer imitating in a semirealistic way the bark of a tree. The deleterious effects of time and the seasons on nature are also a favorite Japanese theme. A rotting plant or vegetable being eaten by parasitic insects and the natural decay and color changes of a leaf are popular subjects. In general the Japanese artist would as readily depict a simple worm or bug as an imposing landscape. Occasionally, plant and animal life was portrayed in a very impressionistic manner. Impressionism is best seen in the Korin school of lacquer ware. This is strictly a Japanese innovation, since Chinese impressionistic lacquer ware did not exist. Finally we should note that, in representing nature, the various elements of subject matter are often symbolic and may refer to folklore and mythology as in Chinese art. The symbolic elements, of course, must be in keeping with each other, such as the representing of a fir tree with bamboo, cranes, or tortoises, all of which are symbols of longevity.

Pictorial Subject Matter: Human Figures

Human figures are also handled much differently by the Japanese artisans. True, there are the set Chinese laws for drawing robes, faces, and figures, but all this is modified by the Japanese taste for individualism, expression, motion, realism, and ornamentation. In the early art periods, facial expression, as exemplified by the scroll paintings of the Heian period in Japanese art, was disregarded, being secondary to colorful robes. Similarly the faces in early Japanese Buddhist art reveal lack of individuality. Subsequently a certain amount of stereotyped portrayal developed, warriors collectively being depicted as bold, or ladies as equally beautiful. Ultimately there developed individuality of sentiment and expression. Even gods were softened and humanized in distinction to the placid, esoteric Chinese faces. In fact there is a decided tendency for the Japanese to exaggerate facial expression. This found fruition in depicting the more fierce Buddhist gods and in the concepts of hell. The love of grotesqueness and exaggeration is best seen in the portrayal of various ghosts and hobgoblins so popular in Japanese mythology and folklore. Free vent of the imagination can also be seen in the innumerable types of carved masks as well as in strong facial expressions seen in netsuke. The full range of human emotion and expression is forcefully depicted: from fear, horror, ferocity, humor, and caricature to subtle nobility of spirit. Artistic portrayal of symbolic positioning is also typically seen in the theater. In either case the accepted pattern is for exaggeration of body expressions. Similarly, the masks used in the drama overplay facial expression. While exaggeration of expression was considered poor taste in painting, it ran rampant in the handicrafts, although to a lesser degree in lacquer ware. Along with strong facial expression the Japanese portrayed corresponding power and motion in the muscles, bones, and sinews and in the flowing robes of their subjects (Fig. 32). The stiff Chinese portrayal of robes, especially in ecclesiastical subjects, gave way to softer, more natural flowing lines or to more vigorous swirling, waving, flying ends of draperies and garments in depicting motion and vigor. Such powerful delineation was seen as far back in Japanese sculpture as in portrayals of the guardian gods of the Nara period, in which even the veins of the arms were made to stand out. The muscles of the face, neck, exposed shoulders, forearms, hands, legs, and feet are similarly well anatomically presented with strength and motion. At the other extreme the Japanese artisan would just as carefully paint or carve a serene Buddhist deity or lovely, dainty female with a quiet restraint in which motion and grace might be subtly suggested by a slightly upturned wrist or finger and gently flowing draperies (Fig. 7). Copying the nude figure, on the other hand, played absolutely no part in Japanese art, either in sculpture, painting, or the handicrafts. Human figures were often portrayed in Chinese lacquer art, not as individual entities but as expressionless, motionless, stereotyped, similarly dressed people standing in great numbers in crowded court scenes or amidst scenes of numerous rigid pagodas, houses, trees, bridges, etc. Such works typified the minutely but nonaesthetically carved Chinese tsuishu lacquer ware, which never became very popular in Japan.

Japanese humor and caricature played a considerable role in art as far back as the animal scrolls of the Heian period (794-1185). Not only are animals portrayed in a humorous vein; they are often whimsically shown imitating human characteristics and foibles. Typical examples range from the almost slapstick Japanese humor of a monkey seriously studying an inro with a hand lens or a woman intently picking fleas out of her kimono to that of the subtle, penetrating caricatures of Sharaku's woodblock prints of actors. However, humor played a more predominant role in the plebeian arts like that of the netsuke rather than in lacquer art (Figs. 186, 196). Humor in Chinese art is less common.

Subject Matter: Decorative

Of utmost importance in Japanese art, especially the handicrafts, are the specific Japanese principles and techniques of ornamentation. Early-Japanese art consisted essentially of Chinese art motifs and designs dispersed in the Chinese manner and with backgrounds reflecting Chinese methods. The designs, especially in the handicrafts, were of scrolls and arabesques of Buddhist Chinese-Indian-Persian flavor. The same applies to designs associated with Buddhist iconography, such as the flame pattern seen in halos. Other motifs adopted from the Chinese included conventionalized ocean waves, clouds, and mythological birds and animals like the phoenix (ho-o) and the dragon (ryu). However, such designs were gradually modified to Japanese taste. The birds were made more graceful, and in the case of the mythological Buddhist birds called karyobinga the human face evolved into that of a Japanese woman. These mythological animals and birds were transposed by Chinese art into stiff formal medallions and arabesques as part of the overall scrollwork of conventionalized patterns of tendrils and leaves. These ornamental patterns were quite densely and evenly dispersed over the entire surface area. Backgrounds in paintings were of dark, somber washes. But this formal, heavy method of ornamentation did not for long appeal to the Japanese artisan. By the Heian period, even though the designs were still essentially Chinese in origin, they became less profuse, more curving and delicate in conforming to the somewhat effeminate aesthetic taste of the nobility. In later eras the Japanese continued to adopt Chinese techniques of painting as well as techniques involving the handicrafts, but such methods were used mainly as a means of further enhancing their own decorative patterns. Subject matter became typically Japanese, portraying Japan's own folklore or incidents in the everyday life of its people. This subject matter was tastefully balanced by ornamental decorative patterns. Background effects, especially in the handicrafts, became more and more important in order to enhance the pictorial element. By the early Edo period (17th century) ornamentation had become more and more predominant. Finally, by the late Edo period (19th century), the accent on superfluous and detailed decoration completely overwhelmed many attempts at artistic pictorial effects.

What, then, were the Japanese ornamental techniques? There were both general and also more specific techniques. The general techniques were: 1) subject matter, 2) color, 3) shape, 4) disproportion and impressionism, 5) symmetry, and 6) surface area. The specific techniques were: 1) fretwork, 2) diaper patterns, 3) powderings, 4) medallion work, 5) designs, 6) materials and multiple techniques, and 7) background effects.

Subject matter was often chosen specifically for its decorative effect rather than for artistic accomplishment. This was particularly true in genre painting and in the handicrafts of the late Edo period. Instead of religious subjects and the spiritual, aesthetic portrayal of nature, subjects were chosen such as seen in ukiyo-e prints of beautiful women in colorful flowing robes. Similarly, flowers and scenes on gold backgrounds were depicted on the screens of the daimyo in the Momoyama period (15731615) for purely decorative effect.

Color, at one time considered of secondary importance, now became predominant in Japanese art. Black-and-white paintings gave way to colorful paintings or were combined with color effects. The technique of combining artistry and decorative effect reached its zenith in the Korin school (early 18th century). In metalwork simple artistic monotone ironwork gave way to the lavish use of color obtained by encrustations with gold, silver, copper, and various alloys, such as shakudo, shibuichi, and sentoku. Similarly, in lacquer ware makie techniques became more detailed, colorful, and decorative. Ultimately the makie was combined with blue-green iridescent mother-of-pearl and various colorful encrustations using tinted ivory, metals, coral, malachite, etc.

The shape of decorated objects became more varied, more ornamental, and more dating. Simplicity gave way to irregular forms, often to shapes simulating their pictorial element. Thus an inro depicting sea shells might be made in the form of a sea shell, or a Daruma in the shape of a Daruma (Figs. 31, 103, 104, 212, 229). The use of disproportion for artistic decorative effect was seen especially in the Korin school. Here effects actually became impressionistic both in painting and in lacquer ware. Detail was minimal, and bold strokes were used to obtain the decorative effect. In lacquer ware large, strong, almost crude-appearing pieces of tin, pewter, lead, and mother-of-pearl would be encrusted in an impressionistic manner offsetting a few finely decorative touches (Fig. 8). To achieve such effects a flower may be proportionately greatly enlarged in eye-catching fashion and perspective purposely distorted. Such artistic liberties were taught to a lesser degree in Chinese art, where flowers and leaves were made relatively larger than the remainder of the branches, or the tree trunk. Such disregard for proportion is often seen in netsuke—for example, a frog squatting on a relatively large leaf or, conversely, a large frog climbing out of a relatively small water bucket. Occasionally such disproportion was used for symbolic reasons father than purely artistic ones.

Asymmetry has always been a keynote in Japanese artistic taste, evinced in architecture, gardens, flower arrangement, and all of the arts. The basically symmetrical arrangement of Chinese lacquer art was soon replaced in Japanese lacquer ware by greater and greater asymmetry both in pictorial effect and in ornamentation (Figs. 25, 29). Subject matter was displaced to one side or low down in a picture, often leaving a large completely blank area which was occasionally enhanced with a few ornamental leaves or blades of grass. Similarly, the details within the subject matter itself would be asymmetrically arranged to avoid visual boredom. Flowers and branches would show a variety of shape and form, the stems and leaves being carefully eccentrically placed. The designs on a robe may vary in pattern, shape, design, and color and yet form a decorative cohesive whole. The same applies to ornamental patterns. Here various geometric and scroll-like patterns may be scattered throughout or border the pictorial element. Such patterns similarly vary in design and shape and are eccentrically dispersed, often twisting at various angles and even overlapping one another. The perfect balance between such ornamental design and the pictorial element is typical of Japanese artistry.

The Japanese handling or ornamentation of an object of art is unique. To the Japanese artist the entire surface area must be a part of the design. The sides, bottom, insides, and edges of the object all enter into both the pictorial and the ornamental effects. Specifically by the Momoyama period (1573-1615) both the picture and the supplemental ornamentation began to flow over the rims, edges, and sides of the objects. The entire object, no matter what its shape, was part of the design. While the insides of boxes and their bottom surfaces did not usually contain the pictorial design, they were enhanced with fine lacquer, frequently of nashiji. The inside of the covers, however, usually revealed designs often finer than those of the outside (Figs. 9, 130, 131). Even the natural openings of an object, such as a tsuba, were often employed for decorative purposes or as part of the picture. The holes in the tsuba were artistically made use of by including them as part of the design or permitting the design to sweep through them as if they never existed. Similarly, in the kimono, the design incorporated the entire surface area, including the neck and the sleeves.

We now come to more specific Japanese methods of ornamentation, the simplest being variations of fretwork. Japanese fretwork, like the comparable ancient Greek fretwork, consists of repeated angular geometric designs such as the well-known key pattern, which is usually used as an ornamentation about the. edges of the lacquered object. The Japanese frets, however, are usually intermittent rather than continuous. They are extended or reduced to suit the size and shape of the objects to which they are applied. Japanese fretwork is extremely diversified and is further developed in Japanese diaperwork.

Japanese diaperwork again illustrates the love of variety. Diaperwork is essentially a more complicated, diversified, and extended form of fretwork. The designs are again geometric in nature or combined with geometriclike conventionalized forms. The diaper is often used as a supplementary ornamental design to the main pictorial element or, most or all, the design itself may consist of pure diaperwork (Fig. 35). The diaperwork on Japanese art objects is usually of several designs. The surface of the object is divided up into asymmetrical spaces constructed by the intersection of straight or curved lines, by combinations of the triangle, square, circle, or multisided forms. Thus there may be displayed intersecting circles, hexagons, lozenge forms, fish-scale diapers, etc. Quite often varying irregular spaces are left between the diaper forms, or the diapers are effectively contrasted and broken up with delicate scroll or floral patterns. Diapers may be of pure geometric designs or of conventionalized patterns of flowers and foliage. Attempts are purposely made to disguise any repeated symmetrical pattern or diaper so that the varied diaper designs may be irregular or geometric divisions which often intersect each other at varying angles. Finally the diaperwork may be dispersed in the form of medallions, which is a unique Japanese method developed as an offshoot of powderings.

Powdering consists of a decorative effect obtained by distributing small conventional geometrical (often floral) or pictorial designs through a field (Fig. 37). Quite often the powderings consist of various Japanese heraldic crests. The Japanese technique, in contrast to Western methods, employs powderings which are irregularly distributed, while the powderings themselves are usually varied. These powderings may be irregularly scattered, combined in varying-sized groups, or made to overlap one another. This seemingly haphazard distribution of powderings, as well as medallion decoration, is in reality very carefully planned so as to render a flexible, pleasing, nonboring appearance. In general powderings are most commonly seen as small circles within which appear conventionalized designs of flowers, animals, and heraldic crests.

A higher form of development of powdering technique, unique to Japanese art, is the medallion system. The medallion is a geometrically outlined form filled in with more ornate decoration, such as landscapes, flower, animal, or figure subjects. These medallions are of various sizes and shapes, most commonly circles or segments of the circumference of a circle. Circular medallions are often formed by conventionalized birds and foliage which coil on themselves. The medallions are kept distinct from the background by having different material, color, or groundwork and usually have well-defined borders of geometric shapes. When the circular medallions are used alone they are usually of different sizes. Commonly medallions of different shapes and sizes, as well, as different designs, are used. The medallions, like powderings, ate asymmetrically distributed (Fig. 36). In typical Japanese fashion the irregular dispersal of powderings and medallion work against varied backgrounds and pictorial effects makes the entire surface area quite pleasing to the eye and does not induce boredom. Similarly, their dispersal on all sides of the object makes it pleasing from all directions. Upon closer scrutiny this effect is still maintained by the detailed and variegated designs within the powderings, medallions, background, and picture. In small objects, such as inro, however, the use of medallions and powderings is limited by the small surface area. These techniques nevertheless were used on inro. More commonly, such ornamentation was absent or was achieved by means of diapers, powderings, or medallions along the edges of the inro outlining the subject matter or decoratively placed on the risers, on the external cord channels, or on the top and bottom surfaces. This ornamentation was done in makie, mother-of-pearl, chinkin-bori, and other techniques (Fig. 10).

Special geometric designs were used by the Japanese artisan—for example, the oblique or zigzag line which divided the surface roughly into corresponding asymmetrical halves. These contrasting halves were usually decorated differently. This technique became popular in the Momoyama period (1573-1615) and was applied to textile and lacquer-ware decoration (Figs. 158, 229). There are specific names for some of these geometric patterns (saja-gata), such as rinzu and asa-no-ha. The rinzu pattern is essentially a series of straight lines resembling the well-known "key pattern." Asa-no-ha, which is commonly found on Chinese and Japanese tsuishu lacquer ware, consists of a series of circles whose points of intersection are connected by lines forming a star (Figs.- 40, 74). This pattern was called the hemp-leaf pattern and was used for babies' clothing, indicating the desire for the baby to "grow with a strength like that of the hemp plant." In other cases the geometric pattern represents decorative effects by conventionalizing the pictorial elements. The popular Zeshin "wave design" is such an example and consists of a repetitive series of concentrically smaller arcs fitting within one another (seigai-ha; Figs. 11, 25).

In a broader sense special designs of the pictorial element itself were done in order to obtain a decorative effect. These consisted of arabesques and scroll designs of flowers, plant life, birds, and even animals. In their simplest form these designs were done as circular powderings. Heraldic crests of infinite variety were commonly used as decorative powderings and often represented the crest of the noble family for whom the lacquered object was made. In a still broader sense even an entire tree—for example, a pine sapling—was represented in a decorative, slightly conventionalized manner. In general, however, the Japanese lacquer artist preferred to limit conventionalized patterns purely as a decorative adjunct to the more individual aesthetic pictorial element, in contrast to the Chinese lacquer artisan, in whose work the entire surface area was more often than not composed of stylized conventionalized and geometric patterns.

In general the varied decorative effects that the Japanese artisan obtained were achieved through the numerous materials and multiple techniques that had been developed within each field of art. The final effect was a combination of the aesthetic decorative ingenuity of the artist using the numerous techniques at hand. Specifically in lacquer ware the artist had at his disposal all gradations of colored lacquer, various sizes of metallic powders and cut foil, from a fine powder to large heavy sheets, ivory, coral, mother-of-pearl and various metals and alloys for encrustation. These and many more techniques from completely flat to highly raised lacquer work could be used in an infinite number of combinations to achieve the ultimate desired pictorial and decorative effect. Under such circumstances it is no small wonder that the artisan by the late Edo period tended to overdo the ornamentation producing ostentatious, gaudy, detailed decoration at the expense of simple, strong, aesthetic pictorial effects.

Of considerable importance in the development of Japanese decorative effects was the stress placed on background. This does not involve the various powderings and designs which were often used as decorations on the backgrounds. More specifically it consists of the groundwork upon which the decorative and pictorial elements were applied. Such backgrounds, known technically as the "ground," received as much attention as the pictorial element itself. These grounds often involved special techniques including the artistic portrayal of special "textures." Many times the backgrounds were prepared by special artists, both in lacquer and in the metal arts. There were even special artists who devoted themselves to preparing even so specific a metal background as nanako (tiny circular pebbles). Similarly in lacquer ware, the background may be of a natural wood grain, seen especially in the works of Ritsuo, or it may consist of a rich velvety black lacquer, occasionally prepared by a special group of artisans. This black lacquer may be enhanced by artistic dusting of metallic powders (nashiji). Quite often the lacquer ground may be made to simulate the bark of a tree, a rough stone surface, or the grain of natural wood or leather. "Rough" iron and "crude" pottery were so perfectly imitated in lacquer as to defy identification of the material unless inspected by handling (Fig. 5). Objects such as Japanese dolls were similarly so cleverly made of porcelain, wood, or papier-mache as to defy visual identification of their actual material. Even wood was carved to simulate a more "woody" appearance by purposely accentuating the grain and carving out defects and knotholes. Mokume was a technique used by both lacquer and metal artists in which the grain of wood was artistically simulated. Such background techniques imitating texture and natural simple crude products of nature were highly esteemed by all the handicraft artists. In a similar fashion the metal artist attained background effects by carefully engraving, hammering, and chiseling as seen in the various types of nanako and ishime (see metal techniques). By such methods highly artistic background effects simulating stone surfaces, the skin of a toad, falling drops of rain, etc., were carried out. Furthermore, the use of copper, gold, and silver in metalwork (and as encrustation for lacquer ware) was further developed technically into the use of various alloys, and the patina of the alloys themselves was altered for artistic effects by boiling them in chemical baths. The result of these innovations was the magnificent black and gray patinas of such alloys as shakudo and shibuichi, which were used primarily for background color effect as well as for adding variety to the pictorial element. As noted before, the use of pure shiny silver, gold, or copper for either the background or pictorial design was considered as vulgar taste. This was another reason for altering the appearance of the metals.

In summary, all forms of Japanese art, and in fact everyday Japanese living and culture itself, consist of a complicated web of reciprocating influences. Nature, art, religion, mythology, culture, symbolism, aesthetics, and home life are not isolated, independently working factors but are completely interrelated. A masterpiece of painting or handicraft is not simply a work of art to be placed in a museum but the symbolic representation of the artist's inner religious and aesthetic feelings toward his subject matter. In turn, we have seen how the artist's concepts were basically formulated by the above-mentioned interrelationships forming the background of Japanese aestheticism. Thus to the untrained eye, a simple picture of a stalk of bamboo merely represents an artist's sketch of one small aspect of nature. This is furthest from the truth, and such lack of understanding almost totally destroys the aesthetic value of the picture beyond its decorative effect. The bamboo, typifying constancy and upright conduct, is to the Japanese a paragon. Because the bamboo stalk grows close to the parent stem it is considered an emblem of family loyalty. The bamboo permeates every aspect of Japanese life. It is used in housing, for various utensils, as a food, and even as a medicine. To the Oriental eye, the bamboo is represented in spring with its leaves spread out joyously, or in rainy weather hanging down despondently, or wildly crossing its stems in windy weather. Symbolically the bamboo also represents longevity, constancy, and upright virtue. This symbolism is expressed in the upright conventional way of drawing bamboo and bamboo leaves. Symbolism is further reflected as far as minute specific rules for drawing every detail of the bamboo. Such details not only represent what is considered most appropriate artistically but also include symbolic strokes of calligraphy and references to nature. Thus the various horizontal lines on the bamboo stalk are similar in appearance to such Chinese characters as those for "positively," "heart," "second," and "eight." This close correlation between calligraphy and art has already been noted. The stem of the bamboo is similar in appearance to rats' tails, and the seven-leaf arrangements (odd numbers are favored) appear as "fishtails," "goldfish triple tails," and the "swallowtail." These cross references to nature reveal the harmony between art and nature and between all created things.

The bamboo is also associated with various mythological and folklore stories, such as the "Seven Sages in the Bamboo Grove" (Fig. 119). As in all Japanese art the bamboo is represented in keeping with the season and in symbolic accordance with the rest of the pictorial element. Thus it is often depicted giving refuge to the tiger during a storm and is symbolically associated with the crane representing long life, fidelity, and constancy. Finally the bamboo is presented in accordance with the previously mentioned canons of Japanese art along with whatever decorative elements and acceptable artistic license the artist may choose.

Thus we have seen that constant intercourse between nature and daily life was an integral part of Japanese cultural expression, and it was this combination that produced the various pictorial and decorative elements of Japanese lacquer ware, which evolved into a unique national art form.