Japanese sculpture

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Sculpture in Japan began with the clay figure. Towards the end of the long Neolithic Jōmon period, some pottery vessels were "flame-rimmed" with extensions to the rim that can only be called sculptural,^[1] and very stylized pottery dogū figures were produced, many with the characteristic "snow-goggle" eyes. During the Kofun period of the 3rd to 6th century CE, haniwa terracotta figures of humans and animals in a simplistic style were erected outside important tombs. The arrival of Buddhism in the 6th century brought with it sophisticated traditions in sculpture, Chinese styles mediated via Korea. The 7th-century Hōryū-ji and its contents have survived more intact than any East Asian Buddhist temple of its date, with works including a Shaka Trinity of 623 in bronze, showing the historical Buddha flanked by two bodhisattvas and also the Guardian Kings of the Four Directions.^[2]

Jōchō is said not only to be one of the greatest Buddhist sculptors in the Heian period but also in the history of Buddhist statues in Japan. Jōchō redefined the body shape of Buddha statues by perfecting the technique of yosegi zukuri (寄木造り) which is a combination of several woods. The peaceful expression and graceful figure of the Buddha statue that he made completed a Japanese style of sculpture of Buddha statues called Jōchō yō ('Jōchō style', 定朝様) and determined the style of Japanese Buddhist statues of the later period. His achievement dramatically raised the social status of busshi (Buddhist sculptor) in Japan.^[3]

In the

Almost all subsequent significant large sculpture in Japan was Buddhist, with some Shinto equivalents, and after Buddhism declined in Japan in the 15th century, monumental sculpture became largely architectural decoration and less significant.^[5] However sculptural work in the decorative arts was developed to a remarkable level of technical achievement and refinement in small objects such as inro and netsuke in many materials, and metal tosogu or Japanese sword mountings. In the 19th century there were export industries of small bronze sculptures of extreme virtuosity, ivory and porcelain figurines, and other types of small sculpture, increasingly emphasizing technical accomplishment.

History

Ancient art

Interest in ancient art is growing and artists seek to produce similar artistry in their own works. In every instance, examples of ancient art have been found to possess characteristics identical to modern arts, and the ancient Japanese clay figures known as dogū (土偶) and haniwa (埴輪) are no exceptions to this rule.

No scholar has been able to determine absolutely just when humans moved over into the Japanese archipelago. It was these early inhabitants who eventually evolved the first Japanese native art in rough earthenware and in strange clay figures called dogū, which are probably fetishes of some religious nature. Some may have been used in fertility rites, and some for exorcism or other forms of ritual.

The dogū figures are impressive in their elaborate and mysterious symbolism; and there is a sense of force and passion in the strongly engraved lines and swirls with which the figures are decorated.^[

Legend, as recorded in the Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of Japan) which is an ancient history of Japan compiled in 720, states that haniwa was ordered at the time of an empress's death by the emperor who regretted the custom of servants and maids of the deceased following their master in death, and ordered that clay figures be molded and placed around the kofun burial mound instead of the sacrifice of living beings. Scholars doubt the authenticity of this story and contend that plain cylindrical clay pipes were the first haniwa forms, and that they were used in the manner of stakes to hold the earth of the burial mound in place. Later these plain cylindrical haniwa came to be decorated and to take various forms, including the shapes of houses and domestic animals as well as human beings. They have been found arranged in a circle around the mound, lending credence to the scholars' theory. However, the haniwa figures no doubt came to take on some sort of religious symbolism later, aside from their original practical purpose as stakes.

• 
  'Flame-style' vessel, Neolithic Jōmon period; c. 2750 BCE; earthenware with carved and applied decoration; height: 61 cm, diameter: 55.8 cm
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  Dogū with "snow-goggle" eyes, 1000–400 BCE
• 
  Haniwa figure

Asuka and Hakuhō periods

Japanese emergence from the period of native primitive arts was instigated mainly by the introduction of Buddhism from the mainland Asian continent about the middle of the sixth century. Together with the new religion, skilled artists and craftsmen from

Earliest examples of Buddhist art may be seen at the seventh-century Horyū-ji temple in Nara, whose buildings themselves, set in a prescribed pattern with main hall, belfry, pagodas, and other buildings enclosed within an encircling roofed corridor, retain an aura of the ancient era, together with the countless art treasures preserved within their halls.

Nara and its vicinity contain the vast majority of the nation's treasures of the early period of Buddhist art, known in art history as the Asuka period. The sculpture of this period shows, as does most all subsequent sculpture, the influence of continental art. Noted Asuka sculptor

Some of the most important Buddhist sculptures belong to the ensuing

• 
  Bodhisattva, Asuka period, 7th century. Tokyo National Museum.
• 
  The Shakyamuni Daibutsu Bronze (4.8 metres) is the oldest known sculpture of Buddha in Japan cast by Tori Busshi in 609.

Nara period

In 710–793, Japanese sculptors learned high Tang style and produced a style called Tenpyō sculpture, which shows realistic face, massive solid volume, natural drapery, and representation of sentiment. Emperor Shōmu ordered the colossal gilt bronze Vairocana Buddha in Tōdai-ji temple, which was completed in 752. Although the statue has been destroyed twice and repaired, a minor original part has survived. Among many original works, the Asura in Kōfukuji temple is a dry lacquer statue showing delicate representation of sentiment. The four guardians in Kaidanin, a division of Tōdai-ji temple, are clay statues. A national official factory, Zō Tōdai-ji shi ("Tōdai-ji Temple construction office"), produced many Buddhist sculptures by division of the work for Tōdai-ji and other official temples and temples for novelties. Gilt bronze, dry lacquer, clay, terracotta, repousee, stone, and silver sculptures were made in the factory. Generally the sculptors were secular and received official status and salary. Some private studios offered Buddhist icons to people, and some monks made them themselves.

• 
  Triad of Yakushi at Yakushi-ji
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  Jūichimen kannon. 8th century, Shōrin-ji in Nara
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  Senju Kannon of Fujii-dera in Osaka
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  Great Buddha of Tōdai-ji in Nara
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  Fukū-kensaku Kannon of Hokke-do. Tōdai-ji in Nara
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  Shukongoshin. Tōdai-ji in Nara

Heian period

With the moving of the imperial capital from Nara to Kyoto in 794, big temples did not move to Kyoto. The government fed new esoteric Buddhism imported from the Tang dynasty in China. The official factory Zo Tōdai-ji shi was closed in 789. The fired sculptors worked under the patronage of large temples in Nara, new temples of the esoteric sect, the court, and the novelties.^{[clarification needed]} Sculptors received temple clergy status whether or not they were members of the order. Wood became the primary medium. Regarding the style, the Heian period was divided in two: the early Heian period and the later. In the early Heian period (794 to about the mid-10th century), esoteric Buddhist statues flourished.

In the later Heian period (the mid-10th century to the 12th century), the sophistication of court culture and popularity of Amida Worship gave rise to a new style: gentle, calm, and refined features with more attenuated proportion. Sculptors Japanized faces of images.

• 
  Bonten in Tō-ji

  . 839
• 
  Amitābha in Byōdō-in created by Jōchō. 1053.
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  A gilt-wood statue of Vairocana Buddha, 11th-12th century
• 
  Statue of Komokuten (Virūpākṣa). Jōruri-ji, 11th-12th century.
• 
  Statue of Tamonten (Vaiśravaṇa), Nara National Museum, 11th-12th century, late Heian or early Kamakura period

Kamakura period

This Kamakura period is regarded as the Renaissance era of Japanese sculpture. Kei school sculptures led this trend; they are descendants of Jōchō. They established a new style of Buddhist sculpture based on realism, incorporating elements of the Tenpyo style of the Nara period as well as the yosegi-zukuri technique established by Jōchō in the Heian period. Their sculptures are characterized by sharp and stern expressions, muscular and three-dimensional bodies, and postures and clothing that express movement, and they have succeeded in expressing their emotions, three-dimensional feelings, and movements more than before. This realism reflected the tastes of samurai, who had effectively governed Japan since the Kamakura period and had become new patrons of Buddhist sculptures. On the other side, clay, dry-lacquer, embossing, and terracotta sculptures did not revive. They used mainly wood and sometimes bronze.^[6]

The Kei school took root in

Sculptors also worked for the Kamakura shogunate and other military clans. They produced Buddhist and portrait sculptures for them. The colossal bronze Amitabha Buddha in Kamakura Kōtoku-in was made in 1252. All classes of society contributed funds to make this colossal bronze. Such patronage raised and sometimes replaced the former patronage of wealthy and powerful men.^{[clarification needed]}

• 
  Amitābha by Kaikei. Jōdo-ji, 1195－1197.
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  Yuima Koji by Jōkei, Kōfuku-ji, 1196, National Treasure
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  Nio guardian in Tōdai-ji, by Unkei, 1203
• 
  Aizen Myo'o (

  Ragaraja), CE13th century, Tokyo National Museum
• 
  Portrait of monk Kūya (CE 930–972), total about cm height, wood, colored, CE13th century by Kosho
• 
  Seitaka Dōji by Unkei, Kongōbu-ji, National Treasure
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  Kongō Rikishi, Kōfuku-ji, National Treasure
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  Twelve Heavenly Generals, Kōfuku-ji, 1207. National Treasure.
• 
  Ryūtōki by Kōben, Kōfuku-ji, 1215, National Treasure
• 
  Senju Kannon by Tankei, Sanjūsangen-dō, 1254
• 
  Kamakura Daibutsu (Amida Buddha) at Kōtoku-in

Buddhist sculptures declined in quantity and quality. The new Zen Buddhism deprecated images of Buddha. Big temples of the old sects were depressed under civil wars. Portrait sculptures of Zen masters became a new genre during this period. The art of carving masks for Noh theatre flourished and improved from the 15th to 17th centuries.

• 
  Senju Kannon, 14th century. Tokyo National Museum
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  Jūichimen Kannon, 14th century. Metropolitan Museum of Art
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  Zaō Gongen. 14th-16th century, Metropolitan Museum of Art
• 
  Noh mask, 16th century

Edo period

The reconstruction of Buddhist temples burned in the civil wars required sculptors. The new sculptures were mostly conservatively carved from wood and gilt or polychromed. They mostly lack artistic power. However, some Buddhist monk sculptors produced unpainted, roughly hewn images of wood. Enkū (1632–1695) and Mokujiki (1718–1810) are representative. They traveled through Japan and produced enormous works for missionary and ceremonial purposes. Their archaic and spiritual styles were reevaluated in the 20th century. The art of carving masks for Noh also continued to produce better works in the 17th century.

In the Edo period, urbanization progressed in various parts of Japan and townspeople culture developed greatly. In this period, inro and netsuke became popular as accessories for men. Netsuke are elaborate carvings of wood and ivory, and mainly animals and imaginary creatures were the subject matter. Because netsuke is small and easy to collect, there are many collectors even now.

During this period, many sculptures were attached to the buildings of

• 
  Netsuke of tigress with two cubs, mid-19th-century, ivory with shell inlay
• 
  Sword fittings. Tsuba (top left) and fuchigashira (top right) made by Ishiguro Masayoshi in the 18th or 19th century. Kogai (middle) and kozuka (bottom) made by Yanagawa Naomasa in the 18th century.
• 
  Izumiya Tomotada, netsuke in the form of a dog, late 18th century
• 
  Seishi Bosatsu (Bodhisattva). 17th or 18th century. Metropolitan Museum of Art
• 
  Noh Mask Hannya type. 17th or 18th century. Tokyo National Museum
• 
  Kangiin Temple

Meiji to modern period

• 
  Incense burner (Koro), silver decorated with precious metals and rock crystal, 1890
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  Eagle by Suzuki Chokichi, 1892, Tokyo National Museum
• 
  Twelve Hawks by Suzuki Chokichi, 1893
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  Old Monkey By Takamura Kōun, 1893
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  Basket of Flowers made of ivory, circa 1900 in the Khalili Collection of Japanese Art
• 
  Okimono of fish in water, circa 1900 in the Khalili Collection of Japanese Art

Contemporary art

After

In the 1970s, the ideas of contextual placement of natural objects of stone, wood, bamboo, and paper into relationships with people and their environment were embodied in the mono-ha school. The mono-ha artists emphasized materiality as the most important aspect of art and brought to an end the antiformalism that had dominated the avant-garde in the preceding two decades. This focus on the relationships between objects and people was ubiquitous throughout the arts world and led to a rising appreciation of "Japanese" qualities in the environment and a return to native artistic principles and forms. Among these precepts were a reverence for nature and various Buddhist concepts, which were brought into play by architects to treat time and space problems. Western ideology was carefully reexamined, and much was rejected as artists turned to their own environment—both inward and outward—for sustenance and inspiration. From the late 1970s through the late 1980s, artists began to create a vital new art, which was both contemporary and Asian in sources and expression but still very much a part of the international scene. These artists focused on projecting their own individualism and national styles rather than on adapting or synthesizing Western ideas exclusively.

Outdoor sculpture, which came to the fore with the advent of the Hakone Open-Air Museum in 1969, was widely used in the 1980s. Cities supported enormous outdoor sculptures for parks and plazas, and major architects planned for sculpture in their buildings and urban layouts. Outdoor museums and exhibitions burgeoned, stressing the natural placement of sculpture in the environment. Because hard sculpture stone is not native to Japan, most outdoor pieces were created from stainless steel, plastic, or aluminum for "tension and compression" machine constructions of mirror-surfaced steel or for elegant, polished-aluminum, ultramodern shapes. The strong influence of modern high technology on the artists resulted in experimentation with kinetic, tensile forms, such as flexible arcs and "info-environmental" sculptures using lights. Video components and video art developed rapidly from the late 1970s throughout the 1980s. The new Japanese experimental sculptors could be understood as working with Buddhist ideas of permeability and regeneration in structuring their forms, in contrast to the general Western conception of sculpture as something with finite and permanent contours.

In the 1980s, wood and natural materials were used prominently by many sculptors, who now began to place their works in inner courtyards and enclosed spaces. Also, a Japanese feeling for rhythmic motion, captured in recurring forms as a "systematic gestural motion", was used by both long-established artists like Kyubei Kiyomizu and Hidetoshi Nagasawa and the younger generation led by Shigeo Toya.

See also

• Culture of Japan
  • Japanese art
• List of National Treasures of Japan (sculptures)
  • Shinjō Itō
• List of collections of Japanese art

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sculptures in Japan.

• Japan This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Country Studies. Federal Research Division.
• Approarch to Japanese culture, Kokusai Bunka Shinkokai, The Japan Times
• Earle, Joe (1999). Splendors of Meiji : treasures of imperial Japan : masterpieces from the Khalili Collection. St. Petersburg, Fla.: Broughton International Inc.
  OCLC 42476594
  .