Japanese Painting

The art of Japanese painting is full of mesmerizing Asian charm when you look at it from a purely decorative view. But it is also a subject that can be a bit confusing for novices when you want to learn more about it. Different painting schools and styles, a variety of different media, the deep roots in Zen Buddhism and the use of specific terms from the Japanese language make this art form not always easily accessible for Westerners.

To understand Japanese painting, one should know that it has always been torn between three mainstreams movements - Chinese, Japanese and Western.

First Publication: August 2003
Latest Update: May 2013

History of Japanese Painting

As nearly all forms of art, early painting had been under the influence of the Chinese culture. By and by, new and specifically Japanese styles were developed and painting schools were established. Each school practized their own style. But the Chinese influence remained strong until the beginning of the Edo period (1603-1867). There is a general term to describe painting in Japanese style - yamato-e.

After the opening of Japan to the West under the Meiji period (1868-1912), the early years were marked by an exaggerated embracing of Western art. The newly founded universities established departments for Western art, called Western academic artists into the country as teachers and sent out students to study art in Europe - mainly in France and Italy.

Hand in hand with a rising nationalism, the pendulum soon went back into the other direction. The public opinion began to recognize the richness of the old tradition and even condemned Western art.

The twentieth century was marked by cooperation. Art colleges offer departments for both Japanese and Western painting styles.

Painting Schools and Styles

Suibokuga is the term for painting in black ink. It was adopted from China and strongly influenced by Zen Buddhism. During the 15th century ink painting gained a more Japanese style of its own.

Kano Masanobu (1453-1490) and his son Kano Motonobu (1476-1559) established the Kano painting school. It began as a protest against the Chinese ink painting technique in black. The Kano school used bright colors and introduced daring compositions with large flat areas that later should dominate the ukiyo-e designs. The Kano school split into several branches over the time, but remained dominant during the Edo period. Many ukiyo-e artists were trained as Kano painters.

Tosa-ha was a painting school specialized on small miniature formats in book illustrations. The founder was Tosa Yukihiro in the 14th century. The Tosa school became something like the official art school of the imperial court in Kyoto. The imperial court was a secluded world of its own, politically powerless, but well equipped with funds by the governing shoguns to dedicate themselves to fine arts.

The nanga painting style was strong at the beginning of the 19th century during the bunka and bunsai era. The advocates of this style painted idealized landscapes and natural subjects like birds and flowers for a cultural elite. The style was rather Chinese.

The shijo school was a split in the 18th century from the official Kano school. The shijo style is characterized by subjects taken from people's everyday life. A kind of realism with sometimes satirical elements.