East Asian Works of Art

Japanese:
● Todai-Ji
● Ryoan-Ji
● Night Attack on the Sanjo Palace
● Under the Wave off Kanagawa (The Great Wave)

Korean:
● Gold and Jade Crown
● Portrait of Sin Sukju
● Summer Trees

Japanese Historical Background:

● Lack of outside invasions
○ Japan is one of the only countries in the world that has never been successfully
invaded
○ Mongols attempted twice but destroyed by typhoon
○ WWII: Allies defeated Japanese but w/o invading
○ Isolationist until 1800s
● Japanese art & influence around the world
○ Japan shipped its ukiyo-e prints to European and American markets where they
became hits during the 19th century (many landscapes)
○ Ukiyo-e means “pictures of a floating world”, a Japanese genre popular from
17th-19th centuries
● Characteristics of Ukiyo-e:
○ Floating meant the transient nature of life (Buddhism)
○ Depicted scenes of everyday life: festivals, theatre, dometic life, geishas,
brothels, etc.
○ Usually woodblock prints, sometimes on scrolls or screens
○ The target audience for the woodblock prints was the Japanese middle-class and
was looked down upon by the upper-class
○ Europeans took inspiration from this style - for example, Mary Cassatt
 ○ Prints became very popular & accessible and allowed for more experimentation,
causing new technological advancements (for example, polychrome color prints)

Handscrolls:
● Handscrolls were read right to left and were usually made of silk
● Color and texture is used to evoke mood
● Silk was attached to wooden dowel and secured at the ends
● Scrolls unroll by section, title panel appears 1st
● Text and painting are intertwined
● Last page, colophon, is for commentaries and notes

Society Levels:
1. Emperor - at the top of Japanese society but had little real power
2. Shogun - actual ruler of Japan
3. Daimyo - wealthy landowners, nobles
4. Samurai - Japan’s warriors
5. Peasants/Artisans - the largest class
6. Merchants - lowest class because they produced nothing on their own

203. Night Attack on the Sanjo Palace

● Culture: Japanese
● Date: 1250-1300 CE (Kamakura Period)
● Medium: Painting (ink and watercolor on paper)
○ Illustrated handscroll - a fragment of the original (26 ft by 16 in)
○ The artist does not draw the roof/walls so that you can see everything taking
place w/ a clear view
○ Lots of action and motion is taking place
○ Depicts the horrors of Japanese war
○ Figures are layered on top of one another
○ It is read from right to left in small segments
○ Shows tales from history, fiction, nature, and other subjects
○ Offers rare depiction of Japanese Samurai of Kamakura period
○ Action-packed scene appealed to Japan’s powerful military leaders - abandons
introspective daoist philosophy
 ○ Uses continuous narrative
○ Shows about 500 Samurai invading the emperor’s palace and start fires and
destroy the building - they take the emperor and his daughter and hold them
captive
○ Features stylized figures w/ bright pigments and simple faces w/ few features
○ This sneak attack happened at about 2am in the year 1159
○ The Samurai coming in are depicted as animals
○ Considered a masterpiece of Yamato painting - meant to break from Chinese
style
○ Sanjo Palace was the home to former Emperor Go-Shirakawa
○ Yoshitomo’s son (Yoritomo) becomes the first Shogun (military dictator)

210. White and Red Plum Blossoms

● Artist: Ogata Korin
● Culture: Japanese
● Date: 1710-1716 (Edo Period)
● Medium: Pair of two-fold screens (ink, watercolor, and gold leaf on paper)
○ Tarashikomi technique - Paint is applied to surface that has not already dried
from previous application - this created a dripping effect useful in depicting
streams or flowers
○ White blossoms are on the left, red blossoms are on the right
○ Ogata and brother belonged to a textile family and experimented w/ many styles
○ Part of Rinpa school - a loose coalition of artists who self-identified based on their
artistic orientation
○ Rinpa school is known for the technique of wet color on wet ink (Tarishikomi)
seen in branches and trunks - the stream is stylized loops to evoke rhythmic flow
○ Depicts plum trees divided by a winding stream
○ Korin originated the style of depicted plum blossoms w/o outlines

211. Under the Wave off Kanagawa (The Great Wave)

● From the series “36 Views of Mount Fuji”
● Artist: Hokusai
● Culture: Japanese
● Date: 1830-1833 CE (Edo Period)
 ● Medium: Polychrome woodblock print with ink and color on paper
○ Hokusai was in his 70s when he painted this and had been painting for 60 years
before creating this print
○ There are multiple copies of this that are displayed in museums around the world
○ It is clearly a print because there are no visual brushstrokes and there are very
clear outlines and defined colors
○ Japanese politicians and art historians didn’t view this style as real art
○ There are about 5000-8000 prints that were made of this - each print is
numbered by when it was made and it is worth more if it was made earlier
because the quality lessened as more were made
○ Hokusai reformed and evolved the ukiyo-e style
○ It was originally sold for very cheap but now is much more expensive
○ Had strong shapes, outlines, and bright colors (all typical of ukiyo-e prints)
○ Hokusai designed this image, but it was made by a master printer
○ Depicts a rogue wave, not a tsunami (approx. 32-39 feet tall)
○ Influenced by Dutch prints, influential to Europeans
○ Linear perspective, low horizon line, and strong “Prussian Blue” color, are all
hallmarks of these influential prints

196. Gold and Jade Crown

● Culture: Korean (Silla Kingdom)
● Medium: Metalwork (gold and jade)
● Date: 5th-6th century CE
● Location: National Museum of Korea in Seoul, South Korea
○ Buried on the head of the owner (usually an important or high-status person)
○ Likely also was used for royal ceremonies as well
○ Worn on the forehead (headband type of crown)
○ Middle vertical element represents the sacred tree that once grew in the center of
the Silla capital
○ The side protrusions may represent reindeer antlers native to the Eurasian
Steppe to the north of the Korean peninsula
○ The gold discs and jade ornaments hanging from the crown likely symbolize ripe
fruit hanging from tree branches
○ Other information in earlier notes from U5
205. Portrait of Sin Sukju
● Culture: Korean
● Medium: Ink and color on silk
● Date: 15th century CE (1417-1475)
○ During the Joseon Dynasty, portraits of meritorious government officials
(gongsin) were created to reward distinguished service
○ Promoted Confucian virtues of loyalty to the king
○ Created by court painters working as a group
○ People were portrayed full length, seated, w/ feet elevated and in ¾ view
○ Their hands were typically folded and concealed in their sleeves which was
considered proper
○ Confucian principles were valued and followed strict social hierarchy praised
obedience and loyalty to authority to create harmony and order within society
○ Men took state examinations in order to achieve social success - this theoretically
meant that anyone could earn a high rank or governmental position, but in reality
only high class families could afford the education required to pass the test
○ Sin Sukju was a key political figure during his lifetime and eventually rose to
power as a prime minister
○ He was named a meritorious subject four times in his life and served 2 different
kings and a prince
○ Sukju’s rank badge was embroidered with gold silk and features two peacocks
among flowering plants and clouds - this showed his rank to people who saw it
○ The face in these portraits was individualized because Koreans believed that the
individual face can reveal clues about a person
○ Confucianism emphasized filial piety, which meant honoring and respecting
elders and ancestors
○ After the subject died, the portrait would function as a focus for ancestral rituals
for their family
○ These portraits hung in the home as part of a family shrine for ancestral worship
○ It honored the deceased with symbols of rank and deeds, while also recording
likeness (exactly as they are - realism)

227. Summer Trees

● Artist: Song Su-nam
● Date: 1983 CE
● Ink on paper
● Culture: South Korea
○ This shows a respect for tradition while also experimenting and innovating
○ Su-nam used the traditional media of ink on paper, preferred materials for
Chinese and Korean artists
○ The painting is contemporary and abstract, but the title recalls traditional
landscape paintings from China and Korea
○ It is possible that the trees reference a group of friends or upright moral character
○ Many think that Su-nam could have been inspired by American abstract artists
such as Morris Louis
○ This was created by applying broad strokes of black ink to wet paper - the edges
of the strokes bleed into the wet background
○ Su-nam became a leader in the Oriental Ink Movement - it focused on recovering
Korean identity and pride to elicit an inner spirituality that they believed had been
lost in the modern technological age
○ As a result of the political turmoil following the Korean War, many in the Oriential
Ink Movement feared Korea was becoming too Westernized