Visual and Material Culture at Hōkyōji Imperial Convent: The Significance of “Women’s Art” in Early Modern Japan by Sharon Mitsuko Yamamoto A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History of Art in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Gregory P. A. Levine, Chair Professor Patricia Berger Professor H. Mack Horton Fall 2010 Copyright by Sharon Mitsuko Yamamoto 2010. All rights reserved. Abstract Visual and Material Culture at Hōkyōji Imperial Convent: The Significance of “Women’s Art” in Early Modern Japan by Sharon Mitsuko Yamamoto Doctor of Philosophy in History of Art University of California, Berkeley Professor Gregory Levine, Chair This dissertation focuses on the visual and material culture of Hōkyōji Imperial Buddhist Convent (Hōkyōji ama monzeki jiin) during the Edo period (1600-1868). Situated in Kyoto and in operation since the mid-fourteenth century, Hōkyōji has been the home for women from the highest echelons of society—the nobility and military aristocracy—since its foundation. The objects associated with women in the rarefied position of princess-nun offer an invaluable look into the role of visual and material culture in the lives of elite women in early modern Japan. Art associated with nuns reflects aristocratic upbringing, religious devotion, and individual expression. As such, it defies easy classification: court, convent, sacred, secular, elite, and female are shown to be inadequate labels to identify art associated with women. This study examines visual and material culture through the intersecting factors that inspired, affected, and defined the lives of princess-nuns, broadening the understanding of the significance of art associated with women in Japanese art history. Specific examples of visual and material culture are studied in four chapters that challenge existing conceptions and elucidate women’s art in Japan during the early modern period. Chapter One explores the historical circumstances of the convent’s origins and the social, political, and religious place of Hōkyōji in the visual culture of the early modern period. Chapter Two focuses on the painting program of Rice Cultivation in Four Seasons in the two most public rooms of Hōkyōji’s reception hall. The paintings are examined with consideration of the extent to which gender played a role in the decoration of the convent and how the choice of decorative theme may have impacted women in the convent. Chapter Three focuses on 1 objects created by Tokugon Rihō (later known as Hongakuin no miya), the twenty-second abbess of Hōkyōji, highlighting the religious and imperial education that informs her art. The final chapter addresses the cultural significance both within and without the convent of a Tale of Genji-themed painted incense album by Hongakuin no miya. The album reflects personal interest, education, and the anticipation of a late Edo Genji boom in art and literature in urban centers and epitomizes cultural currents in imperial Buddhist convents and Kyoto society during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The trajectory the object takes from personal object of use to cultural marker is traced and discussed in this chapter. Through close study of objects associated with Hōkyōji nuns, it becomes possible to see how visual and material culture reflects, changes, and fulfills the lives of a segment of Japanese society for which our knowledge to date has been fragmented and incomplete. The larger goal of this dissertation is to contribute to an ongoing effort within the discipline to redefine and expand the borders of Japanese art history. 2 Acknowledgments My sincerest thanks go first and foremost to Abbess Tanaka Ekō of Hōkyōji Imperial Convent. From the beginning of this project, she graciously opened her convent, patiently answered questions, and supported my research. I am indebted to her generosity and consideration. Many thanks as well go to former Hōkyōji curator, Tanaka Masaru, for his help with viewing and handling Hōkyōji objects. I am fortunate to have had the experience of being taught by wonderful teachers at Berkeley, starting with my dissertation committee. My advisor, Gregory Levine, has always offered support for my interests, shared his great knowledge of pre- and early modern Japanese art history and history, and demanded diligence of thought and process, which has improved my research and writing skills. Patricia Berger and Mack Horton are models of academic excellence and mentorship in their respective fields. Their intellect and exuberance for everything they undertake continue to be inspiring. Classes with Margaretta Lovell, T. J. Clark, Joanna Williams, and Mary Elizabeth Berry stimulated and nurtured my interests in art history, material culture, and early modern Japanese history. Friends and colleagues at Berkeley created a rich, supportive community, and I give thanks to Soo Kim, Deborah Stein, Janice Kanemitsu, Barrett Heusch, Sung Lim Kim, Orna Tsultem, Doryun Chong, and Alka Hingorani for keeping me smiling along the way. Special thanks go to Sean McPherson for years of encouragement and caffeine. A Fulbright IIE Fellowship, fellowships from UC Berkeley, and a grant from the Institute of Medieval Japanese Studies funded research for this project at various stages. In Kyoto, I was greatly aided by Nedachi Kensuke, my advisor at Kyoto University. I offer my gratitude to him, Sasaki Jōhei, and the art history Kenkyūshitsu at Kyoto University. Special thanks go to Sakamura Masami for her help in reading primary sources in cursive Japanese and Sanetaka Yōko for bringing me on surveys of Reikanji Imperial Convent and Shogoin Imperial Temple. My greatest appreciation also goes to Patricia Fister of the International Research Center for Japanese Studies in Kyoto, whose generous support helped me greatly at different stages of this project. I am grateful to Barbara Ruch and the staff of the Institute of Medieval Japanese Studies for the initial introduction to Hōkyōji’s abbess and for kindly giving me access to their initial research of the Imperial Buddhist Convents kept at the Institute at Columbia University. The staff of the Japanese branch of IMJS, the Chūsei Nihon Kenkyūjo, offered assistance in Kyoto and a quiet place to study and for that I am thankful as well. i Finally, this project could never have been completed without the love and encouragement of my family. This dissertation is dedicated to my parents, Richard and Lily, for being so supportive; to Lani, for being my greatest cheerleader; to Norio, for being so understanding; and to Raphael, Leilani, and Karine, for simply being. ii Table of Contents Abstract 1 Acknowledgments i Table of Contents iii List of Illustrations vi Introduction 1 Methodology: Material and Visual Culture 6 Summary of Chapters 9 Prologue A Walking Tour of Hōkyōji 14 Chapter One Hōkyōji – Its Origins and Place in the Imperial Capital: The Convent as a Site of Women’s Authority 20 The Institutional Origins of Hōkyōji 23 What’s in a Name? Bikuni gosho/Ama monzeki in Kyoto 25 Convent Diaries: A Glimpse at the Daily Lives of Princess Nuns 31 The Imperial Family and Imperial Buddhist Convents 32 The Codification of Bikuni Gosho in the Early Edo Period 34 Gift-Giving as a Symbol of Authority and Independence 36 Personal Relationships and Power through Association 41 Hōkyōji’s Historical Affiliations with the Ashikaga, Daijiin, and Keiaji 44 Keiaiji and the Ama Gozan System 46 The Imperial Buddhist Convents’ “Purple Robe Incident” 48 Visual Reminders: The Location and Recognition of Hōkyōji in the Edo Period 51 Conclusion 57 Chapter Two The Question of Gendered Space: The Choice of Wall Painting Themes in the Hōkyōji Shoin 58 Overview of the Shoin at Hōkyōji 63 Rice Cultivation in Four Seasons in the Shoin 64 Rice Cultivation in Four Seasons Painting Programs: An Historical Overview 68 iii Daisen’in: An Early Example of Rice Cultivation in Four Season 69 Reading Gender in the Shōhekiga at Hōkyōji 73 Didactic Readings of Rice Cultivation in Four Seasons and their Gendered Implications 74 Omote and Oku: Painting Themes on Public and Private Spaces in Imperial Buddhist Convents 77 The Omote Shoin at Reikanji: A Comparative Study 81 A Historical Overview of Reikanji 81 The Omote Shoin at Reikanji 82 Chino’s Research on Gender, Architecture, and Shōhekiga in Japan 83 Conclusion: Gender and Hōkyōji 90 Chapter Three The Individual: the Artist, the Abbess 93 The Religious Training of Hongakuin no miya 95 Hongakuin no miya’s Self-Portrait 97 Identifying Hongakuin no miya 99 Portraits of Gen’yō 105 The Raichō Hanging Scroll: Painting as Education and the Kano Connection 107 Raichō as Bird and Flower Painting 108 Painting Model Precedents and Bird and Flower Motifs in the Early Edo Period 113 Raichō as Poem-Painting 116 Buddhist Precedents for Paintings with Birds and Flowers and Poems 119 Nyorai, Nyorai: Calligraphy and Devotional Practice 122 Ōbaku Calligraphy and Hongakuin no miya 124 Acts of Repetition: Devotional Calligraphy and the Distribution of Hongakuin no miya’s Brush 126 Conclusion 129 Chapter Four An Incense Album and its Place in Eighteenth Century Kyoto 130 Physical Attributes of the Genji Incense Album 134 The Aristocratic Community: The Genji Incense Album as Display Object 136 Ekotoba and the Systemization of Genji Images 138 Visual Differences and Intended Viewers of Genji Albums 140 The Genji Incense Album as Game Equipment 143 “Knowing Genji”: Dissemination of Genji in Visual Form 147 iv The Genji Incense Game 149 Genji Incense Symbols as Signs of Erudition 151 Social Etiquette: the Genji and Genji mon as Didactic Material 155 The Incense Game: Perpetuation of Tradition through Play 162 Conclusion 166 Conclusion The Legacy of Women’s Art at Hōkyōji 168 The Life of An Imperial Buddhist Nun in the Modern Era 168 Hōkyōji Today: The Legacy of Women’s Art 171 Bibliography 175 Illustrations 214 v List of Illustrations Introduction and Prologue 0.1 Front gate and informational sign.