Those Beautiful Images We Know So Well, Shown In Context Rinpa: The Aesthetics of the Capital, at the Kyoto National Museum Review by Emily Sano, October 20, 2015 The abundant exhibitions at many museums in major cities and the national museums provide one of the special treats of visiting Japan in the autumn. This year is no exception, but visitors need to know that this year's most significant exhibit for the traditional Japanese arts is Rinpa: The Aesthetics of the Capital, at the Kyoto National Museum. The exhibition, which opened on October 10, will last only six weeks, until November 23, 2015. While the excellent catalogue lists 175 objects, many are on view for shorter periods of time, and some displays change every week on Mondays during the run of the exhibition. The term Rinpa―which is combined from the second character in Kōrin's name and the character for "school" or "style"―was coined in modern times and did not exist during the Edo period. Though sometimes described as a school, Rinpa is less a direct lineage of teachers and their disciples than a lineage of personal artistic influence: Sōtatsu's work inspired Kōrin, whose oeuvre, in turn, influenced Hōitsu. Of course, these three artists never actually met: most artists working in the Rinpa mode discovered the aesthetic for themselves and pursued it out of admiration for their artistic predecessors. “Rinpa and Kyoto,” English preface, p. V) One of the most familiar of Japanese decorative styles, Rinpa (also spelled Rimpa, which this reviewer prefers, but I will stay with the Museum's spelling) includes works commonly viewed as the epitome of the arts of Japan. Even in reproduction, masterworks by the painter Sōtatsu, dazzle viewers with works like the monumental screens of pine trees and small islands (Matsushima) at the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., or the stunning screens of clusters of blooming purple irises at the Nezu Museum by Kōrin—the artist for whom the genre is named. For a style ubiquitous in Japan, it comes as a surprise to learn that the current exhibition is the first major show of Rinpa held in the city where the school originated. The museum mounted the show as a special exhibition to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Rinpa's origins. In 1615, the first Tokugawa Shogun, Ieyasu (1543-1616), gave a tract of land in Takagamine, northwest of Kyoto to the renowned calligrapher and sword connoisseur, Hon'ami Kōetsu (1558-1637). Kōetsu then established a village called Kōetsu-chō with a variety of craftsmen and others who followed Nichiren Buddhism. Those metal workers, potters, lacquerers, and painters surrounding Kōetsu, whose aesthetic preferences drew upon classical Heian period (794-1185) art and literary traditions, form the basis of the revivalist decorative style that we know as Rinpa. Nature and classical literature provide the subject matter of Rinpa works, and they possess a decorative sensibility marked by abstracted design elements and distinctive techniques. Significantly, the 175 piece exhibition traces the transmission of the Rinpa aesthetic from its inception through the Edo period (1615–1868). While Kōetsu established the framework, three master artists who lived and worked at different periods in early modern Japan best represent the Rinpa tradition: Tawaraya Sōtatsu (active early 1600s), Ogata Kōrin (1658–1716), and Sakai Hōitsu (1761–1828). Beautiful works by Kōetsu and his fellow Rinpa founder Sōtatsu open the exhibition. A sword and a selection of teabowls and lacquerwares reflect Kōetsu's skills . But the outstanding collaborative masterpiece comes further into the show in the “Anthology with Cranes” (also known as “The Crane Scroll”). Sōtatsu painted this thirteen and a half meter long scroll in silver and gold, depicting flying and pacing cranes, rhythmically interspersed with clouds and waves, that serve as the dramatic backdrop to the elegantly brushed poems from the anthology of the Thirty-six Immortal Poets — a diverse group of individuals from different eras whose work was compiled in about the year 1010. Happily for the visitor, this scroll will remain on view for the duration of the show. As a bonus, the show presents several other examples of Sōtatsu's painting in a variety of formats, including fans, small album leaves, pictorial handscrolls, panel paintings, ink hanging scrolls, and screens. His brilliantly abstract Ivy Lane in deep green and gold is breathtaking—indeed, an aesthetic marvel of simplified landscape in which a mere suggestion of the the ivy carries the idea of the Ivy Lane, a scene from the Tales of Ise. While we know very little about Sōtatsu, his distinguished follower, Ogata Kōrin, had a well documented life. Born into a wealthy Kyoto family of kimono purveyors, a downturn in the business necessitated that Kōrin earn a living on his own. Needless to say, the world of Japanese art is much the better for that turn of fate. While the Kyoto show omits some iconic masterpieces of Kōrin's painting—the Nezu's above-mentioned Iris screens and the Red and White Plum Trees from the MOA collection in Atami—it includes enough of his works to demonstrate his genius. Among the shows offerings, one finds his inimitable flower screens, scenes drawn from classical literature (such as Heian period “Tales of Ise”) portraits, ink paintings of animals and legendary figures, incense wrappers, lacquer wares, and textiles. Indeed, one wonders how, even given his privileged background, Kōrin learned to draw and paint so well, on top of which that he could appear as a fully formed artist in this thirties. Sakai Hōitsu, the third master artist to follow in the footsteps of his Rinpa predecessors, also had a privileged Kōrin youth. Born during the mid-Edo period as the younger brother of the feudal lord of Himeji (just west of Kobe), Hōitsu admired the work of Kōrin. In 1815, to honor the one hundred year anniversary of Kōrin's death, he published “One Hundred Paintings by Kōrin” (Kōrin hyaku-zu ), a woodblock printed album that reproduced the master's work. By so doing, he perpetuated the Rinpa style to a later age, and at the same time established his own lineage to the great master. Many of Hōitsu's works resemble those of Kōrin in subjects and style, but this show also demonstrates that he had his own sensibilities that deserve recognition in their own right. The screen pair in silver leaf called Summer and Autumn Plants from the Tokyo National Museum, a composition unique to Hōitsu, as far as we know, secures his reputation as an acclaimed independent artist. Interestingly, the Kyoto National Museum's exhibition features several sets of paintings by two or more of the master painters depicting the same subject, presented together for comparison. Together for the first time in 75 years, one sees the National Treasure screens Wind God and Thunder God by Sōtatsu, as well the important Kōrin screens Wind God and Thunder God screens (Important Cultural Property) and a screen of the same subject by Hōitsu. The organizers consciously make a point of demonstrating how, while copies of famous works are made as a method of study, as they are in the West, in Japan these copies garner high regard from the cognoscenti both as homage to the original artist and completely acceptable as works of art in their own right. The inclusion of many pieces produced by lesser known artists working in familiar styles. emphasizes the Rinpa tradition's richness. Ogata Kenzan, the potter, painter, and younger brother of Kōrin, frequently collaborated with his brother. The exhibition contains many fine examples of ceramic sets made by Kenzan and painted by Kōrin. The versatile painter Watanabe Shikō (1683-1755) created a handsome pair of hanging scrolls with floral motifs, works recently re-discovered after having disappeared for most of the 20th century. The show also contains a screen by Fukae Roshū (1699-1757) that uses the “Ivy Lane” motif from the Tales of Ise, following a small album leaf painting (regrettably not included in this show) originally made by Sōtatsu. Works by Nakamura Hōchū, a gifted and original painter from Osaka, include paintings that emphasize simple forms and compositions that use the same palette as Rinpa paintings, as well as the distinctive puddled ink technique called tarashikomi. Lastly, two important screen pairs by Suzuki Kiitsu (1796-1858), whose work more closely resembles that of Hōitsu than Sōtatsu or Kōrin, present contrasting moods with skilled brushwork. One, from the collection of the Nezu Museum, shows a landscape with strong motif of trees and a rushing stream; the second, belonging to the American collectors Joe and Etsuko Price, shows a delicate curtain of willow branches and leaves and a heron in flight. Significantly, the show does not include any work by an artist recognized as part of the Rinpa tradition, but whose work dates from more recent times: Kamisaka Sekka (1866-1942). While he enjoys an enthusiastic following among some collectors, the show's contents adhere to the recognized dates of the Edo period. The Rinpa show catalogue fully illustrates and documents the exhibited works in Japanese. Happily for the English language reader, the Kyoto National Museum went further than most Japanese museums by providing in English the Foreword, Preface, check list of exhibits, as well as a lively essay by the important scholar, Professor Motoaki Kōno. Emeritus professor of art history at Tokyo University, and former chair of the governing board of the journal, Kokka, Kōno's highly personal account of his enduring love for Rinpa is testament to the power of art and a joy to read. Overall, the ambitious Rinpa: the Aesthetics of the Capital exhibition is well worth a trip to Kyoto before the end of November.