ID: (140) Illustration from Genji monogatori emaki - onna-e (women's painting) emakimono (horizontal illustrated narrative scroll)

MEDIUM: Ink and Color on paper; 8 5/8 x 18 7/8 in; Tokugawa Art Museum, Nagoya 

HOW WAS IT MADE:

-Little is known about the production of the scrolls 

-Scholars suggest that five teams worked on the project

-each team had:

-an aristocrat for the calligraphy and cultural    sophistication

-group of painters

-principal artist, sumigaki

-drew the outlines in black ink

-made comments on what colors  he wanted the others to use

-specialists who added pigment

PERIOD: 1140 C.E. - Late Heian or Insei period

WHAT MAKES IT STYLISTICALLY INTERESTING:

- onna-e (women's painting)

-soft colors and less action
 -use of tsukuri-e style

-"made up" or "constructed"

-this painting style was used considerably for illustrating romance tales during the Heian and Kamakura periods

-mono no aware

-"the pathos of things"

-the items in the room and the location of Genji in this scene adds meaning to the story

-use of fukinuki yatai (blown-off roof)

-could see the odd angles of sliding doors and folding screens

-metaphors abound!

-the awkwardness of the ritual with a child that is not Genji's is multiplied by placing him at the top of a a room that seems off-kilter

-space feels constricted by the diagonals

-lack of emotion and individualism

   -most people have the same face, and women were really only decipherable by the color of their kimono

SYMBOLIC/ICONOGRAPHIC SIGNIFICANCE:

The Genji Monagatari Emaki represents the court life experience by men and women during the Heian period.  The illustrations show societal roles and is particularly important in understanding the lives of women during this time.  The clothing, architecture, and places of interaction in the illustrations can tell one much about Heian aristocratic lifestyles.

CONTEXT IN HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK:

The scroll was most likely made for these women who were bored in their homes, not allowed to do much of anything.  The stories of Genji represent an escape and were a key form of entertainment for the stay-at-home mom.

THEORIES OF WHO MADE IT & WHY:

Lady Murasaki wrote the story, but the reason for this particular scroll's existence is questionable.  It was made somewhere around 100 years after the novel was written, so it was just a way of adding pictorial representation to a well known story (much like we do with modern film adaptations of old novels).

ID: (141) Illustration from Genji monogatori emaki (Minori chapter) - onna-e (women's painting) emakimono (horizontal illustrated narrative scroll)

MEDIUM: Ink and Color on paper; 8 5/8 x 19 in; Tokugawa Art Museum, Nagoya 

HOW WAS IT MADE: see other Genji flashcard

PERIOD: late heian - 1140

WHAT MAKES IT STYLISTICALLY INTERESTING:

-Again, the angles of the walls and surroundings represent Genji's feelings 

-Lady Murasaki is dying and Genji's grief is shown as he sits near the tangled garden he thought he could keep beautiful year round when he built this mansion.  Now he is entangled by the grief of losing Murasaki. The positioning of the people in relation to the space evokes more meaning from the text.

SYMBOLIC/ICONOGRAPHIC SIGNIFICANCE:

see other

CONTEXT IN HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK:

see other

THEORIES OF WHO MADE IT & WHY:

see other

ID: (142-144) various scenes from The Choju Jinbutsu (animal-person caricatures)

MEDIUM: emakimono - Ink on paper; 12 1/2 in h.; Kozanji, Kyoto

HOW WAS IT MADE:

-could have been commisioned by Emperor Go Shirakawa

    - a patron to the arts, he could have asked Mitsunaga, a scroll-maker, to make the piece.

-no color, so it really could have been done by one person with just a calligraphy brush and some ink + paper

-others believe it may have been made by non-aristocratic artists as cultural capital was spreading to the lower classes.

PERIOD: Mid-12th century (Late Heian)

WHAT MAKES IT STYLISTICALLY INTERESTING:

- the continuous narrative style moves from scene to scene without any text (unlike previous emaki's)

- the human activities of the animals produce interesting satirical meanings

   -the frogs interaction with the rabbits

   -the monkeys as monks, taking advantage of the other animals

   -the fox who is so excited his tail catches on fire

-the simple ink drawing style lends to the idea that this could have been done by anyone, even the non-aristocratic classes

SYMBOLIC/ICONOGRAPHIC SIGNIFICANCE:

-religious satire

    -the scene where the monkey performs a ceremony to the "frog buddha" + when the monkey is taking gifts from the other animals can be seen as lower classes poking fun of the aristocracies rituals

CONTEXT IN HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK:

-possibly shows the acquirement of art from the aristocratic class by the lower classes

THEORIES OF WHO MADE IT & WHY:

See above.

ID: (145) Illustration from Shigisan engi emaki (scroll of the legend of Mount Shigi)

MEDIUM: Ink and color on paper; 12 1/2 in; Chogosonshiji, Nara

HOW WAS IT MADE: outline figures and natural scenery in dark-grey brush strokes - add color using thin pigment to not obscure earlier lines 

PERIOD: after 1150 (Late Heian)

WHAT MAKES IT STYLISTICALLY INTERESTING:

-characters have character

   -unlike Genji and other onna-e and otoko-e emaki's

   -the women are doing things - people are seen making actions in part to the style of keeping the original lines clearly visible beyond the added color

-no text, use of expressive figures and action

    - action drives the story, but unlike otoko-e this is done without violence.

-hand gestures and facial expressions are abound

    - scenes affect the next, and the character of the bowl, the monk, and the townspeople all play certain parts so that the story is easy to understand

SYMBOLIC/ICONOGRAPHIC SIGNIFICANCE:

-the engi

   -historical stories of the founding of Buddhist establishments

-shows the relationship buddhist monks had with the common people

CONTEXT IN HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK:

see above.

THEORIES OF WHO MADE IT & WHY:

This is completely unknown - possibly by Myoren (founder of Chogosonshiji) but this is speculative at best.

ID: (172) Hoodo (Phoenix Hall) - Byodoin, Uji, Kyoto Pref.

MEDIUM: Building stuff.

HOW WAS IT MADE: By Building it...

But seriously, it as first built as a summer retreat for a wealthy family - turned into a temple in 1053

PERIOD: 1053 (Middle Heian or Fujiwara)

WHAT MAKES IT STYLISTICALLY INTERESTING:

-located on a man-made pond and semi-detached island

-reflected in the surface of the water

-although it is a one story building, it is made to look like a two story building

-the layout of the temple (main hall and two outstretched alcoves), plus the gilt bronze and red accents of the wood add to buildings resemblance of a phoenix

SYMBOLIC/ICONOGRAPHIC SIGNIFICANCE:

-the reflection in the pond resembles the halls of Amida's western paradise.

-as it looks like a phoenix, a bird which flies to the sky and dissappears, this echoes the feeling of those attending the temple that they too could leave this world for Amida's paradise

-represents the adherente with a complete materialization of the raigo (the welcome to the western paradise by Amida buddha)

CONTEXT IN HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK:

-It was built because the Prince Yorimuchi who owned it built it after he converted to Pure Land Buddhism

THEORIES OF WHO MADE IT & WHY:

see above.

ID: (173-74) Amida Nyorai by Jocho, in the Hoodo, Byodoin, Kyoto Pref.

MEDIUM: Cypress wood, with lacquered cloth and gold leaf; h. 110 in.

HOW WAS IT MADE:

-sculpted using yosegi (multiple block technique)

   -much like dry lacquer, but instead of a single block of wood, multiple sections were used.

-this dissallowed deep carving of facial details, but Jocho used this to make the Buddha more ethereal

-the master sketched the image, broke it up into wood block parts and entrust the rest to his underlings.

        -once fully assembled, the master added the detail.

PERIOD: 1053 (Middle Heian)

WHAT MAKES IT STYLISTICALLY INTERESTING:

-the multiple block technique creates a more "light-looking" buddhe (perfect for Amida who must keep going up and down to pick up souls)

-the gold halo of flames rises above him to the ceiling in a spiral, another allusion to his bringing of souls to the Western paradise

-the halo's decorative nature contrasts with the amida buddha's simplicity to make him seem even more serene

SYMBOLIC/ICONOGRAPHIC SIGNIFICANCE:

-he is sitting on a lotus flower in a lotus pond 

   -reinforces the "reality" of the Western paradise the hoodo is trying to construct

CONTEXT IN HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK:

-representation of the Amida Buddha in his role as the bringer of souls to the Western paradise...

THEORIES OF WHO MADE IT & WHY:

Jocho was commisioned to produce the sculpture, as he was one of the premier sculptors of the period.

ID: (175) Dancing Apsaras (celestial nymph) - Phoenix Hall - Byodoin, Kyoto pref.

MEDIUM: Wood, with traces of gofun (ground oystershell and glue) and paint

HOW WAS IT MADE: I'm guessing they were hand carved.

PERIOD: c. 1053 (Middle Heian or Fujiwara)

WHAT MAKES IT STYLISTICALLY INTERESTING: There are multiple kinds of Apsaras - some are playing musical instruments (like this one), others are dancing (the one from the book), and others just sitting or standing on clouds.  They are interesting because they show the variety of people who help the Amida Buddha bring souls to the Western paradise.

SYMBOLIC/ICONOGRAPHIC SIGNIFICANCE:

-they add to the sense of the temple as a raigo scene where Amida Buddha has come to take souls to the Western paradise.

CONTEXT IN HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK:

???

THEORIES OF WHO MADE IT & WHY:

Jocho, to fill out the room.

ID: (178) Amida Raigo triptych - Yushi Hachiman Association of Mount Koya, Juhakkain, Kongobuji, Wakayama pref.

MEDIUM: Color on silk

HOW WAS IT MADE: someone painted on some silk.

PERIOD: late eleventh century (Middle to Late Heian)

WHAT MAKES IT STYLISTICALLY INTERESTING:

- the high number of figures in the painting separates it from most triptych's

-all of the members are connected by the Amida Buddha's cloud, which seems to come from the top of the painting and pool around the musicians, monks, and bodhisattvas who surround Amida

-facial expressions are varied, but many of the apsaras musicians have joyful expressions - unusual for religious paintings

SYMBOLIC/ICONOGRAPHIC SIGNIFICANCE:

- it represents raigo as a social event involving many people rather than an individual journey to paradise

-combines religious imagery with the landscape of the Heian period in the yamato-e (japanese style) of painting, a step forward for japanese culture.

CONTEXT IN HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK:

-developed after they Byodoin style of paintings that depicted landscapes with the Amida Buddha raigo scene

THEORIES OF WHO MADE IT & WHY:

no specific author, but it was probably meant to be viewed by adherents to the Pure Land sect...inspirational or something.

ID: Sanjusangendo - Kyoto

MEDIUM: wood - 387 ft. long

HOW WAS IT MADE: it was re-built after a fire, so the plans were fairly old - built with wood and lacquer and traditional temple-building techniques.

PERIOD: 1266 (Kamakura Period)

WHAT MAKES IT STYLISTICALLY INTERESTING:

-It is very, very long (three x thirty-three bays)

   -obviously necessary to hold all the Kannon images

-not all that flashy for a temple

    -perhaps because the interior and the figures represent leaving the world for paradise; unlike Hoodo in this way.

SYMBOLIC/ICONOGRAPHIC SIGNIFICANCE:

CONTEXT IN HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK:

-Large Kannon image temples were popular because they represented the nine types of welcome in the Western Paradise

   - by replicating many images of Kannon, this enforced the idea of her guidance of many people to the Western Paradise.

THEORIES OF WHO MADE IT & WHY:

After the fire which burnt down Rengeoin in 1249, Sanju- was built in it's place as a remodelling of the Rengeoin's original purpose of housing a thousand Kannon images...

ID: Sanjusangendo - Kyoto (Interior - Kannon figures)

MEDIUM: Cypress wood, lacquer, gold leaf (?)

HOW WAS IT MADE: I'm guessing it was made either by dry lacquering in the ichiboku or yosegi style

PERIOD: 156 were made for the original temple (Rengeoin; 1164) - the rest were made for Sanju- (1266) (Late Heian + Kamakura)

WHAT MAKES IT STYLISTICALLY INTERESTING:

- The sheer quanity of the Kannon images is what is captivating to the audience

- most of the images are identical, but some carry a bit of weight to one side or the other

- the Kannons many arms are doing many different things

   -praying, displaying attributes, holding staffs

-very clean and crisp, the rows and columns seem perfectly leveled.

CONTEXT IN HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK:

-Represents the growth of the Pure Land sect and it's connection with aristocracy - who could build these kinds of grand temples

-the instant rebuilding effort after the first temple burned down also shows the commitment to the idea of the Pure Land

THEORIES OF WHO MADE IT & WHY:

Tankei, a sculptor, is credited with building the 876 replacement Kannon's after the first temple burnt down.  The Sanju- was a rebuilding effort.