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Edo: Art in Japan 1615-1868. Teaching Program. INSTITUTION National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

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Edo: Art in Japan 1615-1868. Teaching Program. INSTITUTION National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC DOCUMENT RESUME ED 470 399 SO 034 129 AUTHOR Guth, Christine; Henderson, Anne; Hinish, Heidi; Moore, Barbara TITLE Edo: Art in Japan 1615-1868. Teaching Program. INSTITUTION National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. PUB DATE 1998-00-00 NOTE 52p. AVAILABLE FROM National Gallery of Art, 2000B South Club Drive, Landover, MD 20785. Tel: 202-737-4215; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.nga.gov/ . PUB TYPE Guides Classroom Teacher (052) EDRS PRICE EDRS Price MF01/PC03 Plus Postage.. DESCRIPTORS *Art Activities; *Art Education; *Art History; *Cultural Context; Foreign Countries; Interdisciplinary Approach; Language Arts; Mathematics; Secondary Education; Social Studies IDENTIFIERS Japan; *Japanese Art ABSTRACT The Edo period in Japan (1615-1868) saw the flowering of many forms of cultural expression, colorful and boisterous, muted and restrained, that today is thought of as typically Japanese. These include kabuki and no drama, the tea ceremony, martial arts, woodblock prints, and porcelain. This culturally diverse and vibrant period gets its name from the city of Edo, now known as TOkyo. This teaching guide to the art of "Edo" first presents a historical overview of the period. The guide is then divided into 11 'sections:(1) .7Edo Style"; (2)"Samurai"; (3) "Work"; (4) "Religion"; (5) "Travel"; (6) "Entertainment";(7) "Glossary";(8) "Chronology"; (9) "Activities ";(10) "Further Reading"; and (11) "Slide List." It includes many color illustrations. Activities are designed for beginner, intermediate, or advanced learners; curriculum connections are suggested for art, language arts, mathematics, or social studies. (BT) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Edo: Art in Japan 1615-1868. Teaching Program. Christine Guth Anne Henderson Heidi Hinish Barbara Moore National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) a. This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization 2 originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this I COPY AVM BLIE document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. Teaching Program 11111do ART IN JAPAN 1615 1868 J T;) f'-e' '1177-7" 11 = bp.6_ `ice, 7sti -11.1l)4 _jam ')11. ;11fr- r71 _17 ,L-T7-1! NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART, WASHINGTON ( r i,s1 --71t)1 ill.1' r . J ) , L I 1 r it* -11' P f''. i 17 SY iwAll ---7.1. I _ z---,:___ ,..,..1.:: 2 The exhibition Edo: Art in Japan 16151868 is made possible by NTT Exhibition dates: 15 November 1998 through 15 February 1999 4 ado ART IIK ;ALLAN x6E5 H868 Teaching Program NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART, WASHINGTON 5 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS NOTES TO THE READER This teaching program was written for the The Japanese government has designated education division by Christine Guth, an inde- numerous works of art as National Treasures, pendent scholar. Since receiving her Ph.D. in Important Cultural Properties, or Important Art Fine Arts from Harvard University in 1976, she Objects because of their artistic quality, historic has taught at institutions such as Harvard, value, and rarity. Several works with these des- Princeton, and the University of Pennsylvania. ignations are included in this publication. Her recent publications include Art, Tea, and Industry: Masuda Takashi and the Mitsui Circle Dimensions are in centimeters, followed by (Princeton, 1993) and Art of Edo Japan: The Artist inches in parentheses, height preceding width, and the City, 1615-1868 (New York, 1996). and width preceding depth. Concept development and teaching activities Cover: Watanabe ShikO, Mount Yoshino, early by Anne Henderson, Heidi Hinish, and Barbara eighteenth century, detail from a pair of six- Moore. panel screens; ink, color, and gold on paper, Private Collection, Kyoto Thanks to Leo Kasun, Elisa Patterson, Ruth Perlin, Renata Sant'anna, Takahide Tsuchiya, Title page: Dish with radish and waves design, and Susan Witmer for their assistance with c. 168os -169os, Nabeshima ware porcelain, this project. Imaemon Museum of Ceramic Antiques, Saga Produced by Donna Mann. Copyright © 1998. All rights reserved. Designed by Carol Beehler. Board of Trustees, National Gallery of Art, Washington CONTENTS Edo: Art in Japan16'5 186804 Edo Style o ro Samuraio 15 Worko 19 Religiono 23 Travel 028 Entertainmento 33 Glossaryo 39 Chronologyo 40 Activities o42 Further Readingo 44 Slide Listo 46 7 EDO: ART IN JAPAN 1615 - 1868 HE EDO PERIOD (16151868) ment. The emperor was a figurehead saw the flowering of many who commanded no political author- 7forms of cultural expression, ity, but his approval was necessary both colorful and boisterous, muted to legitimize the shogun. By putting and restrained, that we think of today in place a highly centralized admin- as typically Japanese. These include istrative organization and strictly kabuki and no drama, the tea cere- controlling Japan's contacts with mony (see fig. 1), the martial arts, other countries, Ieyasu and fifteen woodblock prints, and porcelain. This successive generations of Tokugawa culturally diverse and extraordinarily shogun ensured peace and stability vibrant period gets its name from the for an unprecedented two and a city of Edo, now known as Tokyo, half centuries. which became the seat of the govern- The Tokugawa rulers exercised ment when Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542 authority through their roughly 25o 1616) unified the country after a cen- feudal vassals, known as daimyo, to tury and a half of warfare. whom they granted fiefs throughout The Tokugawa regime was for- the country. In return, these feudal FIGURE I Nonomura Ninsei (d. 1695), mally established in 1603, when the lords were expected to lend military Tea bowl with crescent moon emperor, in recognition of Ieyasu's assistance when required, to serve the and waves design, c. 1656, supremacy on the battlefield, shogun in various administrative stoneware with polychrome appointed him shogun, the highest capacities, and to provide ceremonial overglaze enamels, diameter 12.5 (4'/8), Tokyo National rank in the military order, and the entertainments and gifts. Their fiefs Museum titular head of the military govern- were strategically allocated to keep potentially dangerous rivals as far from Edo as possible. To ensure that they did not establish provincial power bases that might challenge shogunal authority, the daimyo had to spend alternate years in residence in Edo. Even when they returned home, they had to leave wives and family as hostages in Edo. By 172o Edo, the nation's adminis- trative capital, had a population of more than one million inhabitants exceeding that of London or Paris at the time. Kyoto, a city of temples and shrines, the residence of the emperor, and the leading center of arts and crafts production, had a population of close to 400,00o. Osaka, popularly known as the nation's kitchen because it was the hub of rice trade 8 4 Edo: Art in Japan BEST COPY AVM FIGURE 2 and shipping, also had around 400,000 make Japan one of the most urban- inhabitants. These metropolises, ized countries in the world (see fig. 2). along with the smaller cities and The growth of a money economy towns that sprang up across the and resulting concentration of wealth Japanese archipelago, combined to in the urban setting led to a dramatic 9 Edo: Art in Japan 5 BEST COPYAVM shift in cultural power over the course ative weavers, dyers, and designers to of the Edo period. Although the ruling supply her luxurious, trendsetting warrior or samurai class was at the wardrobe. pinnacle of the social hierarchy, fol- Despite the phenomenal growth of lowed by farmers, artisans, and mer- towns and cities, more than eighty chants, its members were largely percent of the population continued dependent on fixed stipends from rice to make a living by farming. Rice was production. The same was true of the the dominant crop, but to supplement court nobility and clergy. The money- this, many farmers began to diversify, based income of merchants and arti- planting cash crops such as cotton, sans, on the other hand, was variable rapeseed, or tobacco and producing and therefore more responsive to goods such as cotton fabrics. The eco- inflationary pressures. Although polit- nomic benefits of these developments ical power was monopolized by the enabled some farmers to acquire samurai, artisans and merchants wealth enough to devote themselves vastly outnumbered them and to cultural pursuits such as poetry, became more affluent and influential painting, and calligraphy, previously as patrons of the arts. enjoyed only by the urban elite. Through their enthusiastic sup- Literati painters such as Ike Taiga port of visual and performing arts, (17231776) and Yosa Buson (1716 such as woodblock prints and kabuki 1783) traveled to rural areas to provide theater, this new urban economic instruction as well as to find new elite had a lasting impact on the dis- markets for their work. tinctive cultural style of the Edo A nationwide system of roadways period. But traditional patterns of and waterways fostered communi- patronage did not disappear. The cation, commerce, and cultural samurai class required a wide range exchange between city and country. of paintings and other arts to decorate Traffic went both ways. Urban fash- their residences. To fill these needs, ions were quickly taken up in the they retained hereditary lineages of provinces, and rural folk paintings artists, such as the Kano school of and textiles found favor in the cities. painters, whose themes and styles This flow of culture between the dictated official taste of the period. metropolis and the periphery Religious institutions employed car- enriched the lives of individuals and penters to build new halls and sculp- fostered the growth of shared cultural tors, painters, and other craftsmen to values throughout the Japanese fill them.
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