Art of Japan

Vessel from Miyanomae, Middle

Jomon period, (Nagano

Prefecture), 2500-1500 BCE,

earthenware

Jomon period/ use of “coils” as a

ceramic ornament

Haniwa warrior figures from

the Late Kofun period, fifth to

mid-sixth century, low-

fired clay

Kofun period/cylindrical

statues made for tombs/ haniwa/

Haniwa falcon. Late Kofun period, sixth century

Ise Shrine (as rebuilt in 1973)

Shinto Shrine and the veneration of the kami/ Amaterasu/ rebuilt every 20 years (shikinen

sengu)

Right: Kunisada. Amaterasu emerging from

a cave, printBelow: Torii to Ise’s Inner

Shrine

“heart pillar”/ Imperial or Inner

Shrine/ Outer Shrine/ wooden

weights with metallic caps/ chigi forked

finials/ tiered fencing/ formal

simplicity, disciplined

structure, and a spiritual presence

Horuyuji kondo, or Golden Hall (Nara, Japan), Hakuho period, c. 680

world’s oldest wooden building

Right: Todai-Ji Temple at Nara, 743

Below: Horuyuji kondo

Buddhist capital at Nara/ kondo/

monastery-temple complex

Tori Busshi. Shaka triad from the Horyuji kondo

(Nara, Japan), Asuka period, 623, bronze

Portrait of the Priest Ganjin

(Toshodo-ji, Nara), mid-eighth

century, dry lacquer

Kongo Yasha, Kamakura period, wood, gesso and

colors

Kongo Yasha/ Five Radiant Kings

Statue of Minamoto

No Yoritomo, Kamakura

period, wood, paint and inlay

Stone and gravel garden at the temple of Ryoan-ji (Kyoto) c. 1480

Muromachi period/ Zen in spirit

Sesshu. Winter Landscape, Ashikaga

period, c. 1500, hanging scroll, ink, and light color on

paper

Himeji Castle, Muromachi period (Hyogo, near Osaka), 1601-9

Momoyama period/ a fortress

named the White Heron/

samurai warriors/

dolphin-like shachi-gawara motifs/ a maze of courtyards

Shoin architecture during the Momoyama period