SEASONS THE BEAUTY OF TRANSIENCE IN JAPANESE ART

Transcription

1 SEASONS THE BEAUTY OF TRANSIENCE IN JAPANESE ART FROM SPRING TO SUMMER: 16 AUGUST 21 SEPTEMBER 2003 FROM AUTUMN TO WINTER: 26 SEPTEMBER 26 OCTOBER 2003 (EXHIBITION CLOSED SEPTEMBER) ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES EDUCATION KIT

2 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION EDUCATION KIT OUTLINE THE EXHIBITION SEASONS IN JAPANESE ART JAPANESE ART AND LITERATURE EXHIBITION ARTFORMS WORKS IN PROFILE 8 ARTWORKS AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION K-6 LOOKING AND MAKING ACTIVITIES ART GALLERY NSW CO-ORGANISED BY THE ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, AGENCY FOR CULTURAL AFFAIRS, THE GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN AND THE JAPAN FOUNDATION WITH SUPPORT FROM THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF MODERN ART TOKYO SUPPORT MATERIAL LINKS WITH K-6 KEY LEARNING AREAS HISTORICAL PERIODS SEASONS, MONTHS AND MOTIFS POETRY OF THE SEASONS ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES RESOURCES RECOMMENDED READING PRINCIPAL SPONSOR SUPPORTING SPONSORS Lend Lease, Optimal Fund Management The Nomura Cultural Foundation Cover: Cat 93, Shimomura Kanzan ( ) Poet Fujiwara-no Teika in Mt. Ogura 1909 (detail) pair of six-fold screens; colour on silk: x 333.5cm each Yokohama Museum of Art Below: Cat. 6, Anonymous Beach pines 15th c. (detail) pair of six-fold screens; ink and colour on paper 160 x cm each Agency for Cultural Affairs. Important Cultural Property 2 SEASONS THE BEAUTY OF TRANSIENCE IN JAPANESE ART ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES EDUCATION KIT

3 EDUCATION KIT OUTLINE This education kit has been designed for use with the temporary exhibition SEASONS: The beauty of transience in Japanese art. The exhibition will be displayed in two separate exhibition periods, focusing on two seasons at a time: From spring to summer: 16 August 21 September 2003 From autumn to winter: 26 September 26 October Please note that the exhibition closes from September for changeover. This kit presents examples from both exhibition periods. It highlights key works and themes in the exhibition and wider contextual information on the importance of seasons in Japanese culture over time. This material may be used in conjunction with a visit to the exhibition or as pre- or post-visit resource material. After the exhibition has closed, it may be a useful resource for a wider investigation of Japanese visual arts and culture, combined with a visit to the Asian galleries at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. The kit is designed primarily as a resource for K 6 audiences, presenting Looking and Making Activities, written with reference to the New South Wales Creative Arts Syllabus, Years K 6. Links with other K 6 Key Learning Areas are also included. The kit may also be used as a Teachers Notes resource document for 7 12 audiences across a range of syllabus areas of study including: STAGE 4/5 VISUAL ART Forms Drawing, Painting, Ceramics, Textiles and Fibre Frames Cultural, Structural, Subjective Subject Matter People, Other Living Things, Objects, Places and Spaces, Events STAGE 6 VISUAL ARTS Practice art making, critical/historical study Frames cultural, structural, subjective Conceptual Framework world-artist-artwork-audience STAGE 4 HISTORY Topic Medieval Societies and Early Modern Period Area of Study Japan Stage 4 6 Japanese Language Background Cultural Studies Stage 4 5 Asian Studies Kosode with design of flowering plum tree, bamboo and snowflake roundels 17 18th c. tie-dye and embroidery on purple figured silk satin 145 x 126 cm National Museum of Japanese History, Chiba Cat SEASONS THE BEAUTY OF TRANSIENCE IN JAPANESE ART ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES EDUCATION KIT

4 INTRODUCTION THE EXHIBITION It is often said that the Japanese people have a unique appreciation of nature and seasons. They observe the seasons come and go, each with its associated flowers, birds and weather patterns, and surround themselves with seasonal images to incorporate the season in their life and their life in the season. SEASONS: The Beauty of Transience in Japanese Art illustrates this with examples of Japanese art rarely seen outside Japan, including paintings, lacquerware, ceramics and textiles. The Art Gallery of New South Wales has worked with the Japanese Government s Agency for Cultural Affairs, known as Bunkachō. The Bunkachō s role includes protection, preserving and promoting of objects they have designated as Important Cultural Property or Important Art Object. It holds one major exhibition of traditional Japanese art overseas each year. Traditional Japanese artworks are fragile and require strict climate control and special handling, and owners of significant works in Japan, particularly temples and private collectors, are reluctant to lend their collection to overseas exhibitions without the assurance of the Bunkachō. These exhibitions are recognised worldwide to be almost the only opportunities to see major Japanese art outside Japan. SEASONS is the exhibition for 2003, an honour for the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Other recent Bunkachō exhibitions have been held in Washington DC, London and Los Angeles. Works on paper and fabric are susceptible to light and must not be shown longer than six weeks at a time to protect them from deterioration. Due to these conservation reasons, SEASONS will be shown as two exhibitions with artworks in the first period (16 August 21 September) focusing on spring and summer and the second period (26 September 26 October), on autumn and winter. The dates of the works in this exhibition span the fifteenth century to the first half of the twentieth century, and are grouped according to their themes in the following three sections: 1 The Four Seasons 2 From Spring to Summer (first period) and From Autumn to Winter (second period) 3 Seasons and Literature The Four Seasons section shows the seasonal cycle how the change of season affected the life and work of the people. The second section features important icons of the season. For example, the cherry blossoms of spring will be represented by screens, as well as scroll paintings, poetry, tea-leaf jars and porcelain plates. Autumn will be represented with autumn grasses, insects and maples in paintings, kimono, ceramics and lacquer. The last section, Seasons and Literature, shows how Japanese classics such as the Tale of Genji, the world s first novel, the Tales of Ise and other literary subjects were inseparable from the concept of seasons in visual representation. The close link between Japanese poetry and nature is demonstrated throughout the exhibition. SEASONS IN JAPANESE ART Japan is a beautiful country with lush foliage and a rich array of seasonal flowers. This temperate and fertile land attracts migrating birds. Colourful birds with pleasant calls have also made it a permanent home. The archipelago is surrounded by both warm and cold currents, which ensure bountiful food from the sea. Like many other countries with temperate climates, Japan has four distinct seasons, and since ancient times the people have depended on agriculture for their sustenance. The seasonal cycle articulated their life, and aspects of nature were worshipped as gods that had powers to control their livelihoods. The Japanese people have a unique appreciation of nature and seasons. Observant foreign residents in the early Meiji period, such as Edward Morse and writer Lafcadio Hearn, were amazed how much more intimate ordinary Japanese people were with nature than Western people. Japanese have a tendency to look into the essence of nature and work on it so that it is presented as a perfected ideal for appreciation and enjoyment. For example, when ivy appears in paintings, rather than appearing densely tangled with other plants as it is in real life, it has been neatly trimmed of excess, given ample space and presented as an elegant embodiment of autumn. Rather than accepting nature s bounty, they have relentlessly pursued the ideal beauty of nature, creating forms that would best reflect the aesthetic and poetic. The refined skills of the Japanese nature aesthetic are reflected in all aspects of Japanese life, from garden design and flower arrangement to the functional objects and utensils of daily life as well as fine art. People are thus physically surrounded by nature in layers: the real nature outside their residence, the artfully formed nature of their garden and the perfectly composed idealized nature painted in the two-dimensional surface of the walls, doors and screens inside the house. This is further enhanced by seasonal activities as well as furniture and utensils of daily life which feature plants, insects and birds as decorative motifs. In many instances art surpasses nature with the representation of scenes from different seasons, times and locations bought together in the one work and presented as a whole. What was impossible in reality could be made possible by the artist. Thus the theme of the four seasons as a subject for screen painting could present scenes and elements from different times of the year, moving from spring through to winter, unified in the composition of one work. Adapted from 'Japanese Art and Nature', essay by Tadashi Kobayashi in SEASONS: The beauty of transience in Japanese art, Art Gallery of New South Wales, SEASONS THE BEAUTY OF TRANSIENCE IN JAPANESE ART ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES EDUCATION KIT INTRODUCTION

5 JAPANESE ART AND LITERATURE In pre-modern Japan, unlike in the West, any educated person was a poet, good or bad, and composing poems was a public practice. Court nobles were constantly required to compose poems at official occasions as well as in private life. In the tenth-century epic novel Tale of Genji, the protagonists communicate their deep feelings in poems rather than through dialogue. Poetic texts such as the Anthology of Ancient and Contemporary Poems and the Tales of Ise became established canons. And, if one s success in career or love depends on one s poetic accomplishments, one would study hard. Naturally, works of art reflected this perception, giving visual expression to this aesthetic. IMPERIAL ANTHOLOGIES It is thought that the Anthology of Ancient and Contemporary Poems (Kokin Waka-shō), the first imperial poetry collection compiled in the early tenth century, laid the foundations for aesthetic sensitivity to the four seasons because the poems were arranged, not in chronological order, but according to their contents. In this way gradual seasonal changes could be observed, starting from the early spring (the New Year in the old lunar calendar) with its snow-clad plum blossoms, then to the cherry blossoms, the rainy season and so on, ending with winter poems. In the foreword to the anthology, Ki no Tsurayuki, one of the selectors, writes: Japanese poetry has the human heart as seed and myriads of words as leaves The song of the warbler among the blossoms, the voice of the frog dwelling in the water these teach us that every living creature sings. It is song that moves heaven and earth and gods, brings harmony to the relations between men and women, and calms the hearts of fierce warriors. TALES OF ISE Tales of Ise is a collection of 125 poem tales that recount the situation and place associated with the composition of famous poems. TALE OF GENJI The world s first novel was written in the tenth century by Murasaki Shikibu, a lady in the imperial court. In 54 chapters it tells the story of the handsome and gifted Prince Genji and reveals the way that poetry was used in social exchanges in the Heian period to express emotions through references to the seasons and nature. HAIKU Traditional Japanese poetry takes the form of the 31-syllable waka and 17-syllable haiku (written in three lines of five, seven and five syllables respectively). One of the conventions of the form is that it must contain a seasonal keyword. These may be simply the name of the season itself or something identified with the season such as cherry blossom for spring. Waka is the oldest form, dating from the 8th century, and the shortened version, haiku, became popular from the 17th century with the great poet Matsuo Basho. Basho is known for his journey on foot to the north of the country to gain inspiration for his haiku which epitomise the expression of the fleeting moment. Haiku writing is still very popular today with new seasonal words being added to the list such as Christmas (kurisumasu) for winter. The anthropomorphic view of nature, a major characteristic of Japanese culture, is clearly seen here: poetry is likened to a tree in the very first sentence, and poetry to the songs of birds and frogs. Twenty-one further imperial anthologies were compiled up to the 15th century, further enhancing the attachment between the emotions expressed in the poem and seasonal subjects such as plants, birds, insects and the moon. 5 SEASONS THE BEAUTY OF TRANSIENCE IN JAPANESE ART ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES EDUCATION KIT INTRODUCTION

6 EXHIBITION ARTFORMS PAINTING Screens are painted panels used as room accessories or as a backdrop in religious or court ceremonies in traditional Japan. The most common type of screen, known as a byobu, is constructed from two, four or six panels made of wooden lattice covered with paper. While screens were first introduced from China and Korea around the eighth century, the innovation of seamless paper hinges for the screen panels devised in the 14th century, produced a large-scale surface for painters who created the bold Japanese style of decoration. Byobu are typically painted in pairs with either related themes, such as winter on one screen and summer on the other, or in one extended composition which covers both screens. From the Momoyama ( ) to the Edo ( ) periods, feudal lords, aristocrats and wealthy merchants commissioned numerous screens to furnish castles and lavish homes. Subject matter expanded from the Chinese-influenced ink paintings of landscapes, birds and flowers and animals favoured by the samurai class to scenes from daily life and literary motifs executed in vibrant colours with gold or silver leaf. Hanging scrolls are paintings mounted on silk with a rod at the bottom. In Japan, scrolls are displayed in the tokonoma, the special area for display of artworks in a traditional room. The format is typically vertical and, because the scroll is lightweight and portable, the display can easily be changed to suit the season or occasion. Album leaves are small, square or rectangular works gathered into a book. The small format means the composition of the painting may focus on a more close-up perspective than that in screens or scrolls. KIMONO Kimono literally means clothing and refers to the Japanese national costume for both men and women. The kimono is an ankle-length robe, open in front, which is crossed left-over-right and held closed with a fabric belt called an obi. Kimono are flat garments made of rectangular panels stitched together with no darts or gathers, buttons or zippers. Early kimono of the nobles of the Heian period ( ) were worn in many layers and dyed in colours to reflect the seasons. As people became more mobile the kimono evolved to the kosode, or smallsleeve referring to the small opening at the wrist to distinguish it from the earlier robes with their long, open sleeves. The growing wealth of the townspeople and samurai in the Edo period ( ) contributed to a flourishing fashion industry, where innovative techniques of weaving, dyeing and embroidery were combined with daring designs drawing on seasonal and poetic imagery. The kosode came to be treated as an artist s canvas, with designers focusing on the back of the garment. From the Meiji period ( ) government policies of modernisation encouraged Japanese people to adopt Western clothing and customs, resulting in a decline in the use of kimono. The word kimono replaced kosode in the 19th century. Today, Japanese people only wear kimono for social or ceremonial events such as weddings, graduations and New Year s holiday, and for performing traditional arts such as tea ceremony and traditional dance. LACQUER Lacquered objects have been produced since pre-historic times in many regions of Asia. In Japan lacquer ware has reached an outstanding level of technical and artistic quality. Lacquer, produced from the sap of the tree Rhus verniciflua, forms a waterproof protective coating, which was used to preserve and decorate basketwork, ceramics, and wooden objects such as combs. Following the introduction of Buddhism in the sixth century, demand for lacquer objects increased, to furnish the temples. The influence of Chinese techniques and motifs dominated until the late tenth century when a unique Japanese technique known as maki-e or sprinkled-picture, was invented. Maki-e involves applying metallic powder, usually gold, to still-wet lacquer. Maki-e designs depicting seasonal imagery from poetry became popular from the late Heian period ( ). Lacquer ware has always been valuable because its production is time consuming. Each coat of lacquer must be allowed to dry before it is polished. Quality pieces require up to thirty coats before the gold and other materials, including coral, shell, ivory, metal and mother-or-pearl, are applied. Throughout the Edo period ( ), lacquer was used for all sorts of everyday objects including combs, tables, vanities, toiletry kits, writing boxes, headrests, food containers, bottles and even saddles. Since the beginning of the Meiji period in 1868, lacquer craftsmen have continued to update their techniques while carrying on their artistic tradition. CERAMICS Japan s long tradition of ceramics dates back to the neolithic Jomon period (to c.200 BCE) and continues as an important art form today. Over the centuries the development of Japanese ceramics was greatly influenced at different points by Korean and Chinese techniques. Ceramic production flourished with the rise in popularity of the tea ceremony in the 15th and 16th centuries when ceramic utensils became valued as works of art. By the end of the 16th century there were tens of thousands of kilns throughout the country which developed their own different regional characteristics. As a result Japanese ceramic wares are commonly identified with the name of their production sites. Fine white-bodied porcelain with enamel glazes was made from the early 17th century in Arita in Kyushu prefecture and, following the interruption of Chinese porcelain production due to the fall of the Ming dynasty, Arita ware supplied the demand from Europe for exports. One particular type of porcelain, known for its use of kimono patterns to decorate porcelain in a quiet palette of cobalt blue, celadon green and red, became known as Nabeshima ware after the feudal lord who commissioned it for his use. Kyoto emerged as a ceramic centre in the Edo period ( ), noted for its application of colorful overglaze enamel designs to stoneware. The importance of Kyoto ware was strengthened by the work of artist potters Nonomura NINSEI (c s) and Ogata KENZAN ( ). This marked the first time that the individual names of potters became known. 6 SEASONS THE BEAUTY OF TRANSIENCE IN JAPANESE ART ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES EDUCATION KIT INTRODUCTION

7 WORKS IN PROFILE THE FOUR SEASONS Yamamoto Soken (active 1683 d.1706) Seasonal activities screen celebrating Meishō-in s seventieth year 1692 pair of six-fold screens; colour on paper: x 255.3cm each Enshō-ji Temple, Nara Cat 2 Since ancient times the court nobles had a pair of screens made in celebration of every tenth birthday from the age of forty onwards. Those involved in the celebration requested their fellow nobles skilled in calligraphy to neatly copy poems, composed either by themselves or by earlier poets, on poem cards and commissioned an artist to paint the contents of the poems. The finished screen was displayed at the celebration. This pair of screens follows this tradition. According to a diary written by a contemporary aristocrat, the screens were presented to Meishō-in, the grand-daughter of Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada in celebration of her seventieth birthday by her half-brother Reigen-in on 26 September The record also tells that the twelve waka poems were provided by twelve nobles close to Meishō-in, then Jimyō-in Mototoki wrote out the poems and the names of the poets, and Yamamoto Soken painted the images. The screens are painted in the Heian period style known as pictures of monthly subjects in which each of the twelve panels depicts a month. From right to left the subjects are: uprooting of young pine trees (First month), plum blossoms (Second month), young horses (Third month), rice planting (Fourth month), Iris Festival (Fifth month), summer purification ritual (Sixth month), deer in Kasuga-no fields (Seventh month), tribute horses at Ōsaka-no-seki (Eighth month), beach maples (Ninth month), cranes and reeds (Tenth month), hawking (Eleventh month), and snow (Twelfth month). Although each panel represents a different subject, the landscape continues throughout the screens. Use of gold clouds on both top and bottom of the painting surface assists the smooth transition of time and space. The artist Yamamoto Soken was a son of Yamamoto Sotei, who was a disciple of Kanō Tanyō. On the basis of his Kanō school training, he added the detailed description of the Tosa school. Soken was also said to have been a teacher of Ogata Kōrin, a founder of the famous Rinpa school. LOOKING AND MAKING ACTVITIES Find and count the following in the 2 screens: 24 Poem cards; 8 deer; 5 rice farmers; 4 horses; 3 buildings; 3 gates; 3 plum blossom trees; 3 cranes (birds); 1 silver moon. Step into the picture and walk around. What do you see and feel? Give an eyewitness news report for one of the monthly activities represented on the screens (for example, bringing the tribute horses in the Seventh month). Role-play a conversation between two figures in the painting or act out a scene involving more people. Use props and dress up. Seasonal images are well known and widely recognised in Japan. Find images on the screens that represent the four different seasons, (plum blossoms for spring, rice planting for summer, red maple trees for autumn and snow for winter). Discuss images that would suit an Australian seasonal theme. Construct a class Australian seasonal screen using collaged pictures on a simple painted background. Look carefully to find some writing on the screens. What are they written on? The poem above the figures planting rice reads: As water flows into the rice paddies/the planting of rice seedlings/celebrates the joyous abundance of life. Pick another picture and imagine what its corresponding poem might say. Read some poems or verses from birthday cards and compare them to a translation of one of these poems. Make a birthday card for your grandmother or grandfather (or someone special), with a scene that reads right to left. Include a poem written especially for your chosen person. 7 SEASONS THE BEAUTY OF TRANSIENCE IN JAPANESE ART ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES EDUCATION KIT WORKS IN PROFILE

8 Yamamoto Soken (active 1683 d.1706) Seasonal activities screen celebrating Meishō-in s seventieth birthday 1692 pair of six-fold screens; colour on paper: x 255.3cm each Enshō-ji temple, Nara Cat 2 8 SEASONS THE BEAUTY OF TRANSIENCE IN JAPANESE ART ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES EDUCATION KIT WORKS IN PROFILE

9 THE FOUR SEASONS Anonymous Uji River 16th century pair of six-fold screens; colour and gold on paper: x 313.8cm each Idemitsu Museum of Art, Tokyo Cat 7 A bridge crosses over the Uji River, which is known for its fast current. Small boats loaded with brushwood can be seen floating downstream. Baskets packed with rocks protect the riverbank from the rush of the fast running water and watermills take advantage of the powerful currents. The whirling water fills the whole screen, pushing the boats downstream. Even the birds travel in the direction of the water. The willows stretch their branches towards the stream: in the tree on the right, the leaves are just sprouting. The lush foliage of summer is seen in the centre of the composition. On the left side, the winter willow has lost its leaves and is covered in snow. Autumn is represented by the rice fields, golden with ripe grains seen between the summer and winter willows. Uji was not only an important traffic point between Nara to Kyoto and the Ōmi area during the Nara period, but also a popular scenic spot whose features such as mist over the river, haze, boats loaded with brushwood, and fishing using fish traps, had been celebrated in waka poetry since ancient times. Aristocrats who wanted to escape the bustling life in the capital often visited Uji, seeking its beauty and quietude. In the 7th century a bridge was built over the river, because its rapid flow made ferry transport too dangerous. It was believed that bridges were protected by divine spirits. On the left bank of the Uji river is a shrine of its protector goddess, and it is said that a god of Sumiyoshi commuted to Uji to see her as his wife. The last ten chapters of the Tale of Genji, often called the ten Uji chapters, in which the protagonist Kaoru commuted to Uji to see Lady Ukifune, were inspired by this legend. The gold leaf and bold pictorial composition are typical of the Momoyama period when the theme of Uji river and bridge became popular. The intention of the artist was not to depict the real landscape but to represent a glorified image of the place with so many literary associations. LOOKING AND MAKING ACTVITIES Play I Spy and find the following: a bridge; 2 watermills; 3 boats; some baskets; the river; flying birds; floating birds; 4 willow trees; rice fields; snow; mountains; clouds. Trace the lines of the clouds and the river with your finger in the air. Follow the shapes of the trees branches. Identify the types of lines your fingers are making. Draw some of these lines on paper and make repeated patterns with them. Use foam sheets to carve your pattern of lines and make a simple relief print. Imagine being on one of the boats traveling down the river. Describe the movement of the boat and the water. What would your journey be like? What would you see and hear? How would you feel? Write a short story about your journey. Invent a class dance or sequence of movements to act out the flow of the river in the painting. Choose some music to play for your dance. Invent some people to move into the painting. What will they do? Will they walk across the bridge, farm the rice field, steer the boats or picnic on the river bank? Draw your people onto a photocopy of the scene. Pretend you are the artist and describe how you made this work. How did you prepare the screen and what painting materials did you use? Where did you start your painting and where did you finish? What was your inspiration? Consider the bridge and compare it to Monet s Japanese bridge. Invent your own painted landscape and draw this bridge into it. 9 SEASONS THE BEAUTY OF TRANSIENCE IN JAPANESE ART ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES EDUCATION KIT WORKS IN PROFILE

10 Anonymous Uji River 16th century pair of six-fold screens; colour and gold on paper: x 313.8cm each Idemitsu Museum of Art, Tokyo Cat 7 10 SEASONS THE BEAUTY OF TRANSIENCE IN JAPANESE ART ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES EDUCATION KIT SECTION

11 SPRING AND SUMMER Picnic box with design of water and fishnet 18th century maki-e (lacquer and gold) on wood: 33.8 x 41 x 16.5cm Pauline Gandel Collection of Japanese Lacquer, Melbourne Cat 36 In many parts of Japan, summer can be very hot and humid. Apart from physically dealing with the heat such as changing into thin summer kimonos and using fans, Japanese people have devised ways of bringing coolness to the mind. Hanging wind chimes under the eave to catch the sound of breeze and displaying a bowl goldfish indoors are some examples. Likewise, this stunning design of running water and fishnet would have brought a respite to the mind when the people laid out the food containers and serving dishes in an outdoor setting. LOOKING AND MAKING ACTIVITIES Take the picnic box on a picnic outing. Where would you go? Who would you take with you and what food would you take? Make a drawing of your picnic, showing the picnic box in use. Unpack the picnic box. Research Japanese food. What would be eaten on a Japanese summer picnic? How would it be presented? Draw the contents of the picnic box filled with Japanese food. Make 3D sculptures of the food using plasticine or air hardening clay. Display your sculptures in hand-made containers. Look at the patterns that decorate the picnic box. Trace the lines with your fingers in the air. Draw them on paper and add other details that suit the water theme such as fish or water plants. Draw a new spring or autumn design for the picnic box. Discuss and compare picnic customs from the different cultures in your classroom. Consider food, utensils and locations. Explore the processes or techniques of layering and lacquering by investigating the art of découpage. Make a picture about nature with paper collage which is then lacquered, layer upon layer, with diluted PVA glue (this gives the picture a glossy, protective coating.) 11 SEASONS THE BEAUTY OF TRANSIENCE IN JAPANESE ART ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES EDUCATION KIT WORKS IN PROFILE

12 SPRING AND SUMMER Nonomura Ninsei (c s) Tea jar with design of Mount Yoshino 17th century stoneware with overglaze enamel: 28.6 x 27.1cm Seikadō Bunko, Tokyo. Important Cultural Property Cat 19 Nonomura Ninsei is known as the potter who established the Kyoto style ceramics in the second half of the 17th century. He produced many tea utensils such as tea jars, vases, water jars, censers, incense boxes and tea bowls, mostly using overglaze enamel technique which became the hallmark of Kyoto wares. His tea jars are particularly noteworthy. Ninsei worked in a variety of designs in the aristocratic taste. He is said to have used painting pattern books for his design and treated the surface as a complete pictorial space. In this work, he used as many colours as a painter would for his painting. In addition, the use of gold in the black background has resulted in the maki-e-like effect. With works such as this, Ninsei achieved a high degree of refinement and elegance in which realism and ornamentality are synthesised. This jar was used for storing tea leaves. The voluminous body with four lugs is the most common shape of Ninsei s jars. The lugs are largely ornamental, although in early jars they were used to keep the lid in place with cords. Compared to jars of the same period and those by other potters, Ninsei s jar has a thinner body, which testifies to his exceptional skill at the wheel. The body was first covered with white slip, and gold is used for the clouds on the shoulder. Under the golden clouds the background is in black. This glaze is commonly called Ninsei black, as Ninsei was the first potter to achieve the gloss and deep, black glaze. In the lower half, the mountains are drawn in green overglaze covered with cherry blossoms in red and silver. The blossoms are dotted in between the gold clouds, thus representing the most spectacular time of the year at Mount Yoshino. LOOKING AND MAKING ACTIVITIES Describe the shape and surface of this jar. What do you think it was used for? Guess what it might hold or contain. Where would it be stored? Look at the design that has been used to decorate the jar. List all the different colours. Name the flower motif. What season do you think it reflects? Draw designs to decorate the tea jar to represent different seasons. Design and make your own ceramic jar or papier-mâché vessel. Decorate with Australian shapes from nature. Discuss special plates or utensils your family might have at home. Does your family have a special dinner set or silver service, etc.? Look carefully to find the outline of a mountain and meandering paths. Mount Yoshino is a landmark in Japan famous for its cherry blossoms. Consider places in Australia that are well-known for what is found there, for example, the beach at Bondi. 12 SEASONS THE BEAUTY OF TRANSIENCE IN JAPANESE ART ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES EDUCATION KIT WORKS IN PROFILE

13 AUTUMN AND WINTER Kosode with design of flower-filled maple leaves 17th century Tie-dyeing and embroidery on red-brown figure silk satin: 147 x 123cm National Museum of Japanese History, Chiba Cat 54 The dynamic curve from the shoulder down to the opposite hem created by the maple leaves is a characteristic of the kosode from the Kanbun period ( ). This is the time that pattern books began to be published and wealthy townspeople pursued increasingly avantgarde fashion. In addition to plant and animal motifs, the use of writing and literary references became popular. The alternate layers of tie-dyed leaves and those filled with sasanqua flowers and an arabesque pattern on a black background create a diagonally upward movement. The background safflower red would have been much brighter when this was made and the contrast of colours even more spectacular. LOOKING AND MAKING ACTVITIES Imagine slipping into this kimono and greeting some important guests. How do you feel wearing the kimono? What sound would the fabric make? How would you walk or move? What would you say and what gestures would you make? How would you arrange your hair? Look at the patterns that decorate this garment and identify the leaves. What season do they refer to? Find examples of maple leaves in books or from gardens and trace their shapes onto paper. Paint and decorate the leaves with appropriate patterns and use the paper for wrapping paper. Explore other leaves or flowers and invent more patterns and designs. Draw or paint on very large sheets of paper and cut out to make paper garments or dolls clothes. Experiment with colouring, printing or dyeing fabric. Try silk painting, tie-dyeing, potato or sponge printing. Add some stitching or embroidery to further decorate your cloth. Collect a range of costumes and have fun dressing up. Pose a member of the class and draw the figure in costume. Conduct a class discussion about traditional costumes from different cultures represented in the classroom. 13 SEASONS THE BEAUTY OF TRANSIENCE IN JAPANESE ART ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES EDUCATION KIT WORKS IN PROFILE

14 AUTUMN AND WINTER Yosa Buson ( ) Eagle and crows pair of hanging scrolls; ink and light colour on paper: x 54.3cm each Kitamura Bunka Zaidan, Kyoto. Important Cultural Property Cat 70 This pair of scrolls features an eagle enduring the wind and rain on the right and crows huddled against the snow on the left. The former is summer and the latter, winter. The eagle is hanging onto the precarious branch with a determined expression, while the two crows quietly perch together in the falling snow. The birds appear to symbolise the spirit of the artist himself. Buson applied a range of ink-painting techniques in the depiction of the elements: in the right scroll, wide brushstrokes boldly cross the frame with ink running here and scratching there, creating the effect of a wild storm. The snowflakes on the left scroll, on the other hand, are left as white patches in the dark background filled with restrained brushstrokes. The blurred layers of ink create depth in the space. When seen side by side, those techniques emphasise the contrasting movement and stillness of each scroll, reinforcing each other. Yosa Buson is a famous haiku poet, but was better known as a painter. He was born in Osaka and studied haiku in Edo but spent the latter half of his life in Kyoto. It seems that in painting he was selftaught, from various Ming and Qing styles to the Japanese literati school. Towards the end of his life he had ingested those influences and created an original style of his own, making him one of the most accomplished literati painters. LOOKING AND MAKING ACTVITIES Guess the seasons shown in each scroll. Name the visual clues that depict them. Research the climate and weather patterns in Japan. Fly into one of these scrolls and give a weather report. What would you see, hear and feel? Imagine you are one of the birds and write a short story about your day. Invent an animal story or a haiku poem about animals that show strength and character. Role-play a conversation between the birds. Look carefully and list the colours you can see in the paintings. What has the red been used for? Count the shades of grey from white to black. Look closely at the brushstrokes. Identify the range of different marks. Suggest how and why the artist created such variety. Imagine what sort and size of brushes were used. Find examples of diagonal, vertical and horizontal lines made with these brushes. Practice painting with black ink. Create a range of tones by mixing the ink with varying amounts of water. Try painting with ink using a dry brush (don t add water) and then a wet brush. Experiment with creating a range of brushmarks on different types of paper. Make a brush and ink painting of an Autralian bird or animal. Use patterned brushstrokes to suggest a background setting. 14 SEASONS THE BEAUTY OF TRANSIENCE IN JAPANESE ART ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES EDUCATION KIT WORKS IN PROFILE

15 SEASONS AND LITERATURE Scenes from the Tale of Genji 17th century set of eight album leaves; colour on paper: approx 36 x 29cm (mount size) Sakai City Museum, Osaka Cat 89 This work was originally a set of fifty-four album leaves depicting one scene from each of all the chapters of the Tale of Genji, of which twenty-eight remain. This album leaf depicts the maple celebrations of the Tenth month. Genji s father, Emperor Kiritsubo, ordered Genji and his best friend Tono Chujo to dance Blue ocean wave for the pleasure of his beloved wife Fujitsubo. The dance was a great success and Genji s exceptional singing and dancing is particularly noted by all. The image celebrates the beauty of the maples and the graceful dancing of Genji, the Shining Prince. The Tale of Genji is an epic narrative centered on the lives of a small number of the main characters. In the story of interweaving relationships of the characters, waka poems are inserted at crucial moments, revealing the deep feelings of the protagonists. Paintings illustrating these key scenes have been an important genre of Japanese painting since the Heian period. Genji paintings traditionally use thickly applied pigments and of gold clouds to fill the space. Another characteristic of this tradition is that the faces of the nobles are stylised and expressionless. This is because the facial expression reveals the emotional state of the character, the reading of which ought to be left to the viewer s imagination as he or she is expected to be well acquainted with the story. In the Heian period, noble young ladies always had women with literary talent as their servants. These educated women helped the young mistresses to compose poems worthy of their social standing. The ability to compose excellent poems was considered to be part of a woman s charm. The author of Tale of Genji, Murasaki Shikibu, was a daughter of a lower-ranking aristocrat, but because of her outstanding literary talent she was able to serve under Empress Sh0 - shi. LOOKING AND MAKING ACTVITIES Look closely and name the season by noting the details of the tree depicted. What colour and shape are the leaves? Guess an activity or event that is being illustrated in this album leaf. What are the two central figures doing? Who might they be? How are they dressed? Who are the other figures? Note the costumes, hairstyles and accessories of all the figures in the image. Choreograph and present a dance version of Blue ocean wave for the class. Start from the posture and costume of the two central figures. Compose or find music to suit a performance for the dance. Find all the patterned items in the artwork. Draw a chart of some of the patterns. Use some of the patterns to design and make a wall hanging to be used as a backdrop for the dance. Speculate what the ornamental object in the lower left corner of the image might be. Discuss well-known examples of stories or novels in Western culture such as Aesop s Fables, the tales of Hans Christian Anderson, Ulysses and The Iliad, or the bush ballads of Henry Lawson and Banjo Patterson. Create a strip of comic book illustrations based on a famous story. 15 SEASONS THE BEAUTY OF TRANSIENCE IN JAPANESE ART ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES EDUCATION KIT WORKS IN PROFILE

16 SEASONS AND LITERATURE Shimomura Kanzan ( ) Poet Fujiwara-no Teika in Mt. Ogura 1909 pair of six-fold screens; colour on silk: x 333.5cm each Yokohama Museum of Art Cat 93 While this screen was painted in relatively modern times at the start of the last century, it depicts a poet from many centuries earlier. The figure in the right screen is Fujiwara Teika ( ), a famous poet of the late Heian period. At his retreat named warily detached hut at Mount Ogura in the northern outskirt of Kyoto, Teika selected and compiled the famous Ogura One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets. This work depicts Teika seated in the woods at Mount Ogura deep in contemplation, bringing to mind one of his poems: Now thinking of this Mount Ogura, I have become so familiar with the pine tree by the roof, I must have been here for a long time. A judge at a national painting competition praised this work saying: The figure subject is only secondary in this painting. The artist s primary motivation is to depict the colours of the trees on gold background, and he has achieved it like no other artist has since Kōetsu [ ]. This work combines Western naturalism with the Japanese concept of space and ornamentation in the depiction of clumps of autumn trees. LOOKING AND MAKING ACTVITIES Extend the picture. Draw what the poet might be looking at beyond the picture frame. List and look at all the aspects of nature illustrated in the painting. The artist has looked closely at the detail of the texture of the trees, the bark, leaves and moss. Conduct a texture rubbing activity to have students look closely at the surfaces of natural objects in their playground or a nearby park. Compose a landscape collage using the rubbings. Sit in Fujiwara Teika s pose and role-play the poet. What might he be thinking? What might he say if you sat down next to him? Use the five senses to describe what you would experience sitting in the autumn woods. Look closely and identify what you see on the ground in front of the poet. Pretend you are the poet and take up his writing implements. Write a poem that illustrates what he was inspired by. Practise using a brush and ink to make beautiful writing. Make an artwork celebrating a famous Australian poet and his or her work. 16 SEASONS THE BEAUTY OF TRANSIENCE IN JAPANESE ART ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES EDUCATION KIT WORKS IN PROFILE

17 Shimomura Kanzan ( ) Poet Fujiwara-no Teika in Mt. Ogura 1909 pair of six-fold screens; colour on silk: x 333.5cm each Yokohama Museum of Art Cat SEASONS THE BEAUTY OF TRANSIENCE IN JAPANESE ART ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES EDUCATION KIT WORKS IN PROFILE

18 SUPPORT MATERIAL LINKS WITH K 6 LEARNING AREAS ENGLISH: READING, WRITING, TALKING AND LISTENING Haiku Poetry of the Seasons Haiku are Japanese poems of 3 lines containing 5, 7 and 5 syllables respectively. A haiku describes the poet s direct experience of an everyday occurence and contains a seasonal key word. Read some of the haiku of the great poet Basho. Write some haiku and read aloud in class. Can your classmates guess which season your haiku belongs to? MATHEMATICS: NUMBER, SHAPE, SIZE, POSITION, SYMMETRY, SPACE The Aesthetics of Asymmetry Consider the images and objects in the exhibition with regard to the mathematical concepts of Number, Shape, Size, Position, Symmetry, Space, Repetition and Pattern. HUMAN SOCIETY AND ITS ENVIRONMENT: CULTURE The Tea Ceremony Research the Japanese tea ceremony. List and illustrate the different types of implements and vessels that are used. Cultural Gardens In Japan, like many Asian countries, gardens have been considered works of art. Find out about garden traditions in Japan, China or Mughal India. Describe what each culture appreciates in their gardens. Name typical flowers and write about their symbolism. Interior Design Research traditional design for houses in Japanese society. Consider layout, materials, colours, furniture and decoration. Find a space in your classroom to create a tokonoma (alcove). Make some paper flowers representing each season to decorate the classroom. Paint a hanging scroll for display in the tokonoma, or a screen on the theme of the four seasons. Japanese Fashion Clothing and ideas of beauty change over time. Find out about Japanese fashion in different historical periods, including the development of the kimono. Discuss what is fashionable in Japan today. Describe ways Japanese traditional clothing has influenced modern fashion. Weather Patterns Japan has a temperate climate. Find out what is meant by a temperate climate and what the weather conditions would be like for the different seasons in Japan. Compare the climate types and weather patterns of Australia to those of Japan. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: INVESTIGATING, USING TECHNOLOGY, PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Arts and Crafts Research the preparation and techniques involved in traditional Japanese crafts or artforms, such as paper making, lacquer or weaving. Fragile Art form Consider the scientific requirements of conservation with regard to Japanese painting. Discuss the concerns which are encountered in staging an exhibition of fragile works such as SEASONS such as the light sensitivity of paper and fabric, and the storage, display, and transportation of Japanese artworks. Tea Tea is an important beverage in many countries in Asia. Research the tea plant (Camelia sinensis) including growing regions, methods of cultivation and processing. Collect a range of different teas. Examine their leaves. Experiment by making a range of different teas and compare their tastes. 18 SEASONS THE BEAUTY OF TRANSIENCE IN JAPANESE ART ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES EDUCATION KIT SUPPORT MATERIAL

19 HISTORICAL PERIODS Jomon to 200 BCE Yayoi c 200 BCE c 250 CE Kofun (Tumulus) c 250 CE 552 Asuka Nara Heian Kamakura Nambokucho Muromachi Momoyama Edo Meiji Taisho Showa Heisei 1988 present THE MONTHS The words for Japanese months are combined from the number plus the word for month gatsu. If you can count in Japanese it is easy to learn the names for all twelve months. English Japanese Japanese festivals January Ichigatsu New Year s February Nigatsu March Sangatsu Doll s festival (Hina-matsuri) April Shigatsu May Gogatsu Children s Day June Rokugatsu July Shichigatsu Star festival (Tanabata) August Hachigatsu September Kugatsu Autumn moon viewing October Jyuugatsu November Jyuuichigatsu Shichi-go-san December Jyuunigatsu SEASONS, MONTHS AND MOTIFS Season Japanese Months Motifs Spring/Haru March/April/May Cherry blossom Plum blossom Mist Summer/Natsu June/July/August Iris Wisteria Hydrangea Rain Autumn/Aki September/October/ November Maple Chrysanthemum Bush clover Pampas grass Insects Winter/Fuyu December/January/ Snow-covered bamboo February Pine Frost POETRY OF THE SEASONS Four Seasons Spring is the cherry blossom Summer is the cuckoo Autumn is the moon And in winter, the shimmering snow is fresh to the eye. Eihei Dōgen ( ) Spring I wish to die under the blossoming cherry tree about the time of the full moon in the Kisaragi month Saigyō ( ) Summer Her summer kimono loose, untied, yet somehow trim Matsumoto Takashi ( ) trans. G Bownas & A Thawite Autumn In the evening, the biting autumn wind blows through the field and quails cry in the Village of Deep Grasses Fujiwara Toshihari ( ) Winter Not even a person is seen to stop and shake the snow off his sleeve at dusk in the Sano Pass in snow Fujiwara Teika ( ) 19 SEASONS THE BEAUTY OF TRANSIENCE IN JAPANESE ART ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES EDUCATION KIT SUPPORT MATERIAL

20 ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES RESOURCES SEASONS: The beauty of transience in Japanese art Exhibition Catalogue and CD, 2003 Living, Changing Art: How the Japanese wrap their lives in seasonal icons, article by Chiaki Ajioka, Curator of Japanese art in Look, Art Gallery Society of New South Wales, July 2003 Adventures in Asia Education Kit, 1999 Art Gallery of New South Wales Handbook: Asian Collection, 1990 RECOMMENDED READING These titles are available from the Art Gallery of New South Wales Gallery Shop OR Resources for Schools catalogue, Studies of Asia Bookshop, Freecall Easy Origami, John Mowtroll, Dover, 1992 Grass Sandals: The Travels of Basho, by Dawnine Spivak, illustrated by Demi, Atheneum, 1997 How to Look at Japanese art, Stephen Addiss with Audrey Yoshiko Seo, Harry N Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 1996 Japan Three Worlds, Dick Richards, Art Gallery of South Australia, 1999 Japanese Ink Painting: Lessons in Suiboku Technique, Ryukyu Saito, Tuttle Publishing, 1959, 22nd printing 2001 Japanese Ink Painting: The Art of Sumi-e, Naomi Okamoto, Sterling Publishing Co., 1996 One Day in Japan with Hokusai: Adventures in Art, Prestel, 2001 The Book of Kimono: The Complete Guide to Style and Wear, Norio Yamanaka, Kodansha International, 1986 Textile Art of Japan, Sunny Yang and Rochell M. Narasin, Shufunotomo/Japan Publications, 2000 The Book of Tea, Okakura Kakuzo, Tuttle Publishing, 1956, 47th printing 2001 The boy who drew cats and other Japanese fairy tales, Lafcadio Hearn and Others, Dover Publications, 1998 The cat who sent to Heaven, Elizabeth Coatsworth, Aladdin Paperbacks, 1990 The Haiku Handbook: How to Write, Share and Teach Haiku, William J. Higginson with Penny Harter, Kodansha International, The Tale of Genji: Legends and Paintings, Introduction by Miyeko Murase, The British Museum Press, SEASONS THE BEAUTY OF TRANSIENCE IN JAPANESE ART ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES EDUCATION KIT SUPPORT MATERIAL