Japan: Images of a People

OORTto

Smithsonian Institution January/February 1997

JAPAN:Images of a People

Inside

Lesson Plan

Take-Home Page in English/Spanish

Subjects

Art

Geography

Social Studies

Grades

4–9

Publication of Art to Zoois made possible throughthe generous support ofthe Brother InternationalCorporation.

T E A C H I N G W I T H T H E P O W E R O F O B J E C T S

CONTENTS

Background Essay 1 Page 3

Lesson Plan Step 1 Page 5

Activity Page 1 Page 6


Activity Page 2A Page 8

Activity Page 2B Page 9

Activity Page 2C Page 10

Background Essay 2 Page 11


Take-Home Page 1 Page 13

Take-Home Page 2 Page 14

Resources Page 15

Art to Zoo’s purpose is to help teachers bring intotheir classrooms the educational power of museumsand other community resources.

Art to Zoo draws on the Smithsonian’s hundredsof exhibitions and programs—from art, history, andscience to aviation and folklife—to create classroom-ready materials for grades four through nine.

Each of the four annual issues explores a singletopic through an interdisciplinary, multiculturalapproach.

The Smithsonian invites teachers to duplicate Art to Zoo materials for educational use.

You may request alarge-print or disk version of Art to Zoo by writing to theaddress listed on theback cover or by faxingto (202) 357-2116.

COVER PHOTO

Detail from Cherry Blossoms at Ueno ParkSix-fold screenBy Hishikawa Moronobu (1618–94)Ukiyo-e school, Edo period, seventeenth centuryColor and gold powder on paperFreer Gallery of Art accession number F06.267180 x 382.2 cm (70 7/8 x 150 1/2”)

This is a detail from a screen painted in the seventeenth century by Japanese artistHishikawa Moronobu depictingone of Tokyo’s most famous seasonal attractions: cherryblossoms in Ueno Park. To thisday visitors throng to the park inthe springtime to sit under thecherry trees with their friends,eat a picnic, and watch the delicate petals swirl in thebreeze.

land is mountainous, leavingonly the coastal areas forlarge cities, industrial development, and farming.

Because of Japan’s location in an unstable areaof the Earth’s crust, earth-quakes and tremors occurthere frequently. Underseaquakes can cause destructivetidal waves called tsunami.Some volcanic mountains arestill active, and there aremany hot springs, which theJapanese people use forrecreational and medicinalpurposes.

ClimateJust as the climate from

Maine to Florida varies, sodoes the climate vary fromthe northernmost to thesouthernmost islands ofJapan. Most of Japan hasfour seasons: winter(December to February),with heavy snow only onHokkaido and Honshu;

spring (March to May); summer (June to September)with hot and humid condi-tions; and fall (October toNovember). Much rain fallsduring the spring, summer,and fall. The precipitationstarts first in the south andmoves north during June andJuly, and destructive tropicalstorms called typhoons occurin September and October.

VegetationBecause of the hot,

humid summers there, morethan 17,000 varieties ofplants grow in Japan. Manytrees thrive, including broad-leafed evergreens such as camellia, deciduousbeech and oak, and conifers.Bamboo grows on Honshuand on the islands to thesouth. Many flowering plantsflourish: azaleas and treepeonies bloom in April and

May, respectively; the lotus in August; the chrysan-themum (Japan’s nationalflower) in November; and theplum in February.

Rice Growing andProcessing

Rice cultivation was introduced to Japan fromother Asian countries by thefifth century B.C. Today, ricegrows on almost half of thecultivated land in Japan. The climate in most areas of Japan allows for one cropof rice per year.

Long ago the Japanesebelieved the rice plant was a gift from the gods. Forhundreds of years the diffi-cult work of growing ricewas done by hand, but nowmuch is done by machine.However, the number ofhours of labor per acre is stillvery high, about 330 hoursper acre in 1975. This isabout forty times the number

Art to Zoo Japan: Images of a People January/February 1997 3

GeographyJapan is a crescent-shaped

archipelago of four large andmore than a thousand smallislands. The large islands areHokkaido, the northernmost;Honshu, the largest; Shikoku;and Kyushu. The combinedarea of the islands is about145,000 square miles, whichis larger than the state ofCalifornia or the country ofItaly. If it were superimposedover the East Coast of theUnited States, the group ofislands would cover a spacefrom Maine to Florida.

Japan is bordered on thenorth by the Sea of Okhotsk,on the east by the PacificOcean, and on the west bythe Tsushima Strait, the Seaof Japan, and the East ChinaSea. No part of Japan ismore than one hundred milesfrom the sea. Most of the

JAPAN: Images of a People

Japanese art—beautiful but mysterious? Demystify some examples of Japanesepainting and help your students better understand and appreciate the culture thatproduced them with this issue of Art to Zoo. The lessons have been adapted frommaterials developed by the education department of the Smithsonian Institution’sFreer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, the two national museums ofAsian art. (See page 15 for information on how to obtain their materials.) Afterlearning how to look at paintings, your students can make paper screens thatresemble Japanese screens. But first, the following information about the countrycan help you place the art lessons within a larger social studies unit on Japan.

of hours of labor needed peracre for the production ofcorn in the United States.

Farmers start rice seeds insmall plots of dry land, butthe plants need to grow inshallow water, so they buildlow walls to form a paddyaround a field. Pipes bringwater from a nearby river toflood the field artificially.After three or four weeks,farmers transplant the youngplants to the paddy. The fruit,a grain, is at the top of thestalk. When the rice is ripe,it resembles the oat plant andis golden yellow.

Farmers drain the paddyto harvest the rice. They cut the stalks, tie them inbundles, and hang them up to dry. When the bundles aredry, they thresh (beat) therice and winnow it (toss it inthe air) to separate the grain(the part that is eaten) fromthe outer brown husk. Finallythe harvesters store the grainin bags. Rice is Japan’s staple food and the plant’sstraw becomes part of manyuseful products such as hats,sandals, floor mats (tatami),wine (sake), and food forlivestock. Huge ropes madeof rice straw decorateentrances to shrines of theShinto religion.

Architecture and FurnitureJapanese architecture

emphasizes the use of naturalmaterials and the combina-tion of interior and exteriorspace through the use of slid-ing screens as doors and win-dows. Gardens are a part ofthe design of most buildings.The design of stilt-raisedbuildings originated from thestyle of architecture used inancient granaries. Steep roofs with wide eaves weredesigned to shed heavy rains.The multi-storied towers,called pagodas, developedfrom the finial decorationsfound on the tops of Indianstupas, mound-shaped structures built to house religious relics, usually related to Buddha.

Although there are nowhigh-rise apartments inJapan, traditional Japanesehouses have only one or two stories and no basement.They use space to the fullest;often the same room com-bines living room, diningroom, and bedroom. Insteadof solid walls, sliding paperscreens, called fusuma, andfolding screens, called

byobu, separate the area intorooms as necessary. Floorcoverings include rice-strawmats called tatami. Tatamiare a standard size: six feetlong, three feet wide, andtwo inches thick. As a result,rooms are measured by thenumber of mats they hold,not in feet and inches.Standard rooms measureeight, six, or four-and-a-halfmats. A bed, called a futon,consists of two mattressesthat can be folded up andstored during the day.Families use a low table andcushions for dining and canpush the furniture aside atother times.

Most homes contain atokonoma, a niche for dis-playing art work, a flowerarrangement, or both. Manypeople change the displayseasonally or more often.

ClothingToday most Japanese wear

Western-style clothing but may choose thetraditional kimono for specialoccasions. The kimono is afloor-length robe held together by a sash at thewaist. Men’s sashes are narrow, women’s sashes,called obi, are wide. For formal occasions, men wearkimono in dark shades andwomen wear very colorfuland beautifully embroideredkimono. Men sometimes

wear wide-legged trouserscalled hakama under a shortkimono. The most formalkimono are black garmentsdecorated with white,miniature family crests (oneon the back, one on each ofthe sleeves, and one on eachside of the chest). The crestdesigns are usually circularor square and are derivedfrom flowers, plants, birds,animals, and many other subjects.

A summer kimono madeof light cotton is called yukata. Winter kimono arewoolen. Special socks (tabi),which are divided betweenthe big toe and the rest of thetoes, cover the feet. Over thesocks go thong-type sandals,which can be worn on either foot.

Adapted from an essay by Nancy Hague Lyons andSarah Ridley in Japan:Images and Words.

4 Art to Zoo Japan: Images of a People January/February 1997


GEOGRAPHY OF JAPAN

Objectives■ Identify major geographical features ofJapan.■ Interpret Japan’s geographical location withreference to the UnitedStates.

Materials■ Copies of Activity Page 1.■ Maps of the world, Japan,and the United States (you might also use the atlas section of your socialstudies book).■ Pens, pencils, coloredmarkers, crayons.

Subjects■ Geography, social studies

Procedure1. Tell your students that

during the next few classmeetings they’ll be studyingsome of the traditional art ofJapan. Ask them to describeJapan’s location in the worldrelative to the United States.Answers may vary, but students will probably

conclude that the Japanesechain of islands is a greatdistance from the UnitedStates and close to the largerland mass of Asia.

2. Give each student acopy of Activity Page 1,“Mapping It Out,” and othermaps you have collected.Using Background Essay 1as a guide, tell your studentsthat Japan consists of a chainof mountainous islands that cover more than onethousand miles (1,600 km)from north to south—aboutthe distance from Maine toFlorida in the United States.Emphasize that only relatively small coastal areasof Japan are suitable for set-tlement and farming and thatthere is a great variation inclimate from north to south.

3. Direct your students to Activity Page 1. Ask them to estimate the distancebetween the west coast of theUnited States and Japanusing the provided inset mapof the world or maps in theirsocial studies books oratlases. (Be sure to stress theimportance of a map’s scalein determining distance.)Students should concludethat Japan is about 6,200miles (10,000 km) from theWest Coast of the UnitedStates. Have them measureits distance from the coast ofAsia. To place the measure-ments in perspective, havestudents determine distancesbetween their communityand diverse parts of the

United States as well asbetween different points onthe island chain.

4. Ask your students tocomplete the map of Japanincluded in Activity Page 1by placing the names of theselected islands, bodies ofwater, and cities in the cor-rect locations. (Younger stu-dents might enjoy coloringthe landforms and bodies ofwater.) When your studentshave finished the activity, askthem to think about whetheran island location mightaffect the culture of a people(you might also refer to otherisland nations such as GreatBritain, Australia, andCuba). How do people over-come geographic barriers?(Consider related issues suchas trade and language.)Mention that traditionalJapanese culture incorporatedboth indigenous elementsand cultural influences fromChina and other areas of theAsian mainland. Also notethat the sea is an importantresource to island peoples,both as a source of food and as a natural means oftransportation.

5. Conclude the lesson bytelling students that in thenext step they will be askedto observe how geographicalfeatures appear in the traditional art of Japan.

LESSON PLANStep 1

U.S.

N

0 3000 6000 mi

0 4800 9600 km

0 100 200

160 3200

mi

km

45°N

40°

35°

30°

25°

40°

35°

30°

ACTIVITY PAGE 1Mapping It Out

Directions:Locate the followingfeatures onthe map.

Major IslandsHonshuKyushuShikokuHokkaidoOkinawaRyukyu Islands

Major bodies of waterPacific OceanSea of JapanSea of OkhotskEast China Sea


Nearby CountriesRussiaChinaNorth KoreaSouth Korea

Selected CitiesTokyoYokohomaKyotoOsakaNagoyaSapporo

Japan


LOOKING FOR CLUES:PAINTINGS ASINFORMATION SOURCES

Objectives■ Interpret Japanese andAmerican paintings.■ Evaluate paintings assources of cultural and historical information.

Materials■ Copies of Activity Pages2A, B, and C.■ Pens or pencils.

Subjects■ Art, social studies

Procedure1. Tell your students

that they’ll be acting likedetectives in this activity.Ask them what detectiveslook for to solve a mystery.Answers may vary, but stu-dents will probably concludethat detectives seek clues thatsuggest a particular sequenceof events in the past.Emphasize that they’ll nowbe looking for clues in paint-ings that can provide insightsinto the daily lives of peoplein earlier times who lived inJapan and the United States.

2. Give each student acopy of Activity page 2A and2 copies of 2C. Ask them toexamine carefully the paint-ing on Activity Page 2A andanswer the accompanyingobservation questions from

Activity Page 2C. (Do nottell your students the title orsubject of the painting at this time.) When your stu-dents have finished answer-ing the questions, begin aclass discussion based ontheir responses. Students willprobably conclude that thepainting depicts a town in the United States during theearly twentieth century. Besure to tell your students thatthe scene was painted byAmerican artist WillardLeroy Metcalf in 1917 and is entitled OctoberMorning—Deerfield (seeinset for teacher’s notes).

3. Give each student acopy of Activity Page 2B and repeat the proceduredescribed in Lesson PlanStep 2. (Again, do not tellyour students the title or sub-ject of the painting yet.) Inthe class discussion, studentsmay conclude that the paint-ing depicts a rural area inJapan sometime in the past.Be sure to tell your studentsthat the painting, entitledCountry Scenes, was paintedby Japanese artist KatsushikaHokusai during the earlydecades of the 1800s (seeinset for teacher’s notes).Stress that the painting wasdone on panels that combineto make a six-fold screen, aform of traditional Japaneseart your students will studyin the next activity.

4. Review what studentslearned about both scenes byobserving the paintings. Howwould they characterize the

daily lives of the peoplesdepicted? How are the twoscenes alike or different? Askyour students to considerwhether paintings are goodsources for clues to anotherculture. They will probablyconclude that paintings arevaluable sources of informa-tion. If they do not note anylimitations of paintings asinformation sources, be sureto stress that paintings cap-ture only a single moment intime, in a particular place,and may express only theviewpoint of the artist. Havestudents create a list of ques-tions they have about thelives of the people depictedfor which the paintings donot provide answers. What do the paintings tell us aboutlife in Japan and Americatoday? You may also wish to emphasize that we canmisinterpret what we see.Conclude the activity by asking students what othersources of information theymight examine for clues to aculture. Answers will vary,but students will probablyconclude that paintings byother artists, artwork fromdifferent time periods, theaccounts of travelers, andcontact with people fromanother culture might provide alternative views of that culture.

TEACHER’S NOTES

October Morning—Deerfield,Mass.By Willard Leroy Metcalf(American, 1858–1925)Painted in 1917Oil on canvasFreer Gallery of Art accessionnumber 18.15466.1 x 73.8 cm (26 x 29”)

Country ScenesSix-fold screenBy Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese,1760–1849)Ukiyo-e School, Edo period, nineteenth centuryColor and gold on paperFreer Gallery of Art accession number 02.48150.9 x 353.1 cm (59 7/16 x 139”)

This is a detail from the rightscreen of a pair of screens. Theartist depicts the season, autumn,and the setting, Mount Fuji soar-ing above the clouds in the distantlandscape. On the right side of thescreen Hokusai painted a farmer’scottage. Four men are rethatchingthe roof; additional bundles ofthatch are tacked around thetrees. In the doorway of the housea man steps forward carrying abundle of white cloth that he willbring to the two women who areseated on the ground. The womenare fulling cloth, a method of pro-cessing woolen material with mal-lets to shrink and thicken it.Beside them stands a young boy,who drags a basket of chestnuts.Beyond this group a man worksbusily away deepening thegrooves in a millstone, while twopeddlers with their merchandisepause to chat on the path in theforeground. In the rear of the com-position a white dog follows twomen who converse on the bridge.

LESSON PLANStep 2


ACTIVITY PAGE 2A


ACTIVITY PAGE 2B


Directions: Answer the following questions for each painting that you study.

What types of land and water forms (mountains, valleys, rivers, etc.) do you see?

Can you tell what season it is?

What types of buildings do you see? What materials do they appear to be made of?

What types of weather are these buildings best suited for?

Describe the clothing that the people are wearing. What type of weather is it bestsuited for?

Does this painting depict a scene in the United States or Japan? Why?

What are the people doing in the picture?

Is this a scene from the past or the present? Why?

ACTIVITY PAGE 2CObserving a Scene


The screen is one of themost distinctive forms ofJapanese art. Uniquely adapt-able to a variety of settings,screens function both as free-standing partitions that definearchitectural space and as formats for the display of art.Many of Japan’s greatest artistscreated paintings and calligra-phy for folding screens knownas byobu, which literally meansprotection from wind.

Folding screens ideally suitthe flexible spatial environmentof traditional Japanese architec-ture, in which most interior par-titions consist of sliding panels(fusuma) rather than fixedwalls. Compact when closed,folding screens can be conve-niently moved and extendedfully to provide a stately, formalsetting for a ceremony or offi-cial meeting or arranged toencompass a more intimatespace for serving tea, reading,writing, or sleeping. In tradi-tional Japanese rooms, suchactivities take place on thefloor, which is covered by tata-mi mats. The change of a fewfurnishings can transform thefunction of the room.

Types of ScreensSingle-panel screens

known in Japanese as tsuitateoften stand near entrances tobuildings, in corridors, and insmall spaces. Folding screens(byobu), which range from twoto ten panels, may be opened invarious configurations to definesmaller spaces within a room.

The most common format isthe pair of six-panel screens,each screen measuring aboutone and one-half meters highand about three and one-halfmeters wide (approximatelyfive feet high and about elevenand one-half feet wide). Thedesign of a pair of screens mayform a single compositionwhen the screens stand side byside, but they usually havecomplementary themes, such aslandscapes of the spring andautumn. When screens areintended for audience rooms orceremonial display, the paint-ings usually depict auspicioussubjects denoting dignity andpower, such as pine trees orlions. Such screens aredesigned to be viewed from adistance. Low screens of twopanels, each one-half meter(approximately one and twothirds feet) or more in height,are well suited to small teagatherings or for embellishing aprivate living space. The inti-macy of the space allows view-ers to see art such as calligra-phy, scattered fans, or adetailed painting at close range.

Construction of Japanese Screens

Like sliding fusuma panels,screens are made of a lattice-work of wood on which largesheets of paper are attached tofrom a taut, continuous surface.Painting and calligraphy forscreens are usually executed onpaper or occasionally on silk.Either material may be paintedin subdued tones of ink or rich-

ly embellished with silver andgold. The whole screen isframed in wood, which may belacquered and embellishedwith metal ornaments.

The nearly invisible systemof paper hinges used to join thepanels to form a folding screenwas invented during theKamakura period (1185–1333).This innovation enhanced theartistic potential of theJapanese screen by providing avisually continuous surface forlarge-scale paintings.

History of Screens in JapanThe first screens used in

Japan, from the seventh to theeighth century, came fromChina and Korea. Later,screens were made in Japan.

Laborious and expensive toproduce, screen paintings wereoften commissioned bypatrons who expressed theirartistic preferences throughtheir choice of subjects andstyles. Monochromatic inkpainting, initially inspired byChinese paintings, became animportant style in Japanesescreen painting beginning inthe fourteenth century.

The large, continuous for-mat of screens is especiallysuited to brilliant designsusing color, often embellishedwith gold and silver. Gold leaf,which came into extensive useduring the sixteenth century,covers the surface of some ofthe most magnificent screens.This translucent material softlyreflects the muted light withintraditional Japanese rooms,

where the effect of the gold ismore subtle than it appears inmodern, artificial lighting.

The stability and prosperityof the Edo period (1615–1868)encouraged artistic innovation,stimulated by the emergenceof new patrons from the mer-chant class.

Themes of Screen PaintingLandscapes of the four sea-

sons or of spring and autumnhave been popular themes inJapanese screen painting sincethe fourteenth century. Alsocommon are narrative themesbased on Chinese or Japaneseliterature. Calligraphy ofJapanese or Chinese poetryappealed to the tastes of edu-cated patrons. Tigers, dragons,popular deities, and evenghosts appear on screens.Beginning in the sixteenthcentury, screens depictedgenre scenes of picnics andother activities in the citiesand countryside.

An indispensable elementof the daily environment ofprivileged Japanese house-holds, Japanese screens, likemany of the most highlyesteemed Japanese arts, hadboth a practical and an aesthet-ic value. Among the most pre-cious treasures of private andpublic art collections, screenpaintings represent some ofthe most brilliant artisticachievements of Japan.

Adapted from an essay in A Closer Look: JapaneseScreens by Ann Yonemura,Freer Gallery of Art.

BACKGROUND ESSAY 2


JAPANESE SCREENS

Objectives■ Identify the uses ofscreens.■ Create a miniature foldingscreen inspired by Japaneseexamples.

Materials■ Copies of Take-HomePages 1 and 2.■ Construction paper orplain stock paper.■ Photographs or slides ofJapanese screens (seeResources page for referencebooks).■ Pens, pencils, or markers.

SubjectsArt, social studies

Procedure1. Tell your students that

they’ll now be studying theunique art form of Japanesescreens. Give each student acopy of Take-Home Page 1and ask them to carefullystudy the photograph. (Youmay also wish to displayother screen images from ref-erence books.) Be sure tostress that the type of screen(byobu) reproduced on Take-Home Page 1 comprises aseries of six folding, paper

panels framed in wood andmeasuring about one andone-half meters (about fivefeet) high and three and one-half meters (about ten andone-half feet) wide. Ask yourstudents to think how suchlarge, lightweight, and highlydecorative folding objectsmight have been used in atraditional Japanese home.Explain that a traditionalJapanese home had only oneor two stories, no basement,and relatively little floorspace. Stress that this limitedarea often had to serve as aliving room, dining room,and bedroom. (If studentsneed a further hint, ask themto think about how a schoolgymnasium or auditoriummight be temporarily con-verted for use by a number ofdifferent classes.) Answersmay vary, but students willprobably conclude thatscreens served as partitionsbetween functional areas in atraditional Japanese homeand could be moved easily todivide existing space in avariety of ways according todifferent circumstances.

2. Using the photographon Take-Home Page 1 andadditional images from refer-ence books, direct your stu-dents to look carefully at thethemes depicted in screenartwork. Ask them to

describe generally what theysee. Emphasize that screensoften show seasonal land-scapes and stories from liter-ature, as well as tigers, drag-ons, deities, and even ghosts.

3. Give each student acopy of Take-Home Page 2.Tell your students that they’llnow make their own minia-ture screen, inspired by theJapanese art form. Ask themto follow the directions onTake-Home Page 2 to createa miniature four-panelscreen. Stress that they candecorate their screens in anumber of different ways(e.g., a story could be toldacross the four panels, eachpanel could feature a differ-ent decorative design, or thepanels could depict a com-posite landscape).

4. After students havecompleted Take-Home Page2, ask them to explain theirdesigns to the class. Whatdid they depict in theirscreens? Where would theyplace their screen (e.g., in adining area, living room, orbedroom) if it was as large asa traditional byobu?

LESSON PLANStep 3

TEACHER’S NOTES

Cherry Blossoms at Ueno ParkSix-fold screenBy Hishikawa Moronobu(1618–94)Ukiyo-e school, Edo period, seventeenth centuryColor and gold powder on paperFreer Gallery of Art accession number F06.267180 x 382.2 cm (70 7/8 x 1501/2”)

This scene occurs in Edo, the siteof modern Tokyo. The subject ofthe left screen is cherry blossomviewing and picnicking near theKan’eiji Temple at Ueno. At thefar right is the Kuro-mon, theblack gate that until modern timesstood in from of the site of thepresent-day Tokyo NationalMuseum. The Shinobazu pondappears in the foreground, and anarray of pilgrims, picnickers, andrevelers—the townspeople ofEdo—occupies the landscape. Onthe pair of screens the artist haspainted some 394 residents ofEdo, with almost no repeating ofclothing patterns.


Biombos japoneses sonpaneles de madera,firmes pero livianos,cubiertos de papel yunidos con bisagras casiinvisibles.

Hay biombos de unsólo panel, pero usual-mente, los biombosestan hechos de pares depaneles. Hay biombosde dos o cuatro paneles,pero nunca de tres ocinco paneles.

Japanese screens aresturdy, lightweightwood panels that arecovered with paper andconnected by nearlyinvisible hinges. Thereare single-panel screens,but usually you will findpanels in pairs. You canfind two or four panelstogether (but not threeor five).

TAKE-HOME PAGE 1What Is a JapaneseScreen?

TRABAJO PARA HACER EN LA CASA 1¿Qué es un biombojaponés?

Esta publicación ha sidoposible gracias al generosoaporte de la BrotherInternational Corporation.

Al maestro (a)■ Copie esta página paralos alumnos. ■ Usela con el tercer pasodel plan de la lección.

Publication of Art to Zoo ismade possible through the generous support of the BrotherInternational Corporation.

To the teacher■ Duplicate this pagefor students. ■ Use with LessonPlan Step 3.

SPRING

SUMMER

AUTUMN

WINTER

TAKE-HOME PAGE 2How Is a ScreenDecorated?

Pictures or words on ascreen often have spe-cial meaning. Forexample,Pine trees = DignityBamboo = PurityLions = Power

You might also seesome calligraphy.This beautiful writ-ing may be the artist’sname or a poem.

Ilustraciones y pal-abras en un biombo

frecuentementetienen un significa-do especial. Por

ejemplo, árbolesde pino significan dig-nidad; bambú significapureza; y leones sig-nifican fuerza o

poder.

TRABAJO PARA HACER EN LA CASA 2¿Cómo se decora un biombo?

Esta publicación ha sidoposible gracias al generosoaporte de la BrotherInternational Corporation.

Al maestro (a)■ Copie esta página paralos alumnos. ■ Usela con el tercer pasodel plan de la lección.

To the teacher■ Duplicate this pagefor students. ■ Use with LessonPlan Step 3.

Haz Tu Propio BiomboToma una hoja de papel, dóblala por la mitad yvuelve a doblarla dos veces más. Esto te dará un

biombo con pares de paneles.Decora tu biombo con ecsenas

de tu cuento favorito, condiseños decorativos o con

un paisaje estacional.

Make your own screenTake a sheet of construction paper (or plain paper)and fold it in half once, then twice more. Thisprocess will give you an evennumber of screen panels.Decorate your screen withscenes from your favorite story,a decorative design, or a seasonallandscape.

The changing seasonsare often depicted onscreens. Look forimages of spring, sum-mer, autumn, and win-ter. Silver and gold on ascreen shimmer andreflect light in a dimroom.

En algunos biombos sepuede ver caligrafía. Estabella escritura puede serun poema o el nombre delartista. Frecuentemente seve ilustrado el cambio delas estaciones. Busca imá-genes de primavera, vera-no, otoño e invierno.Pinturas doradas yplateadas en un biombobrillan tenuemente y reflejan luz.


Publication of Art to Zoo ismade possible through the generous support of the BrotherInternational Corporation.


BOOKS AND TEACHINGGUIDES

Baker, Joan Stanley. JapaneseArt. New York: Thames andHudson, 1991.

Doi, Tsugiyoshi. MomoyamaDecorative Painting. Trans.Edna B. Crawford. New York:Weatherhill, 1977.

Grilli, Elise. The Art of theJapanese Screen. New Yorkand Tokyo: Walker-Weatherhill, 1970.

Kalman, Bobbie. Japan theCulture. The Land, People,and Culture series. New York:Crabtree Publishing, 1989.

Lyons, Nancy Hague, andSarah Ridley. Japan: Imagesand Words: AnInterdisciplinary Unit forSixth-Grade Art and LanguageArts Classes. Washington,D.C.: Freer Gallery of Art,Smithsonian Institution, 1994.This kit brings the FreerGallery’s world-renowned col-lection of Japanese paintingsinto your classroom. The pack-et includes six full-colorposters, six slides, and six 8 x10”, black-and-white pho-tographs. View the images atthe Freer/Sackler World WideWeb site athttp://www.si.edu/asia. Toorder the kit, send a check orschool purchase order for$28.50 payable to “Education,Freer/Sackler) to School andFamily Programs, EducationDepartment, Freer Gallery of

Art/Arthur M. Sackler Gallery,Smithsonian Institution,Washington, DC 20560.

Masterpieces of Chinese andJapanese Art: Freer Gallery ofArt Handbook. Washington,D.C.: Smithsonian Institution,1976.

Murase, Miyeko.Masterpieces of JapaneseScreen Painting. New York:George Braziller, 1990.

SLIDES, PRINTS ANDPOSTERSSlide, prints, and posters ofmany of the images in thisissue can be obtained by writ-ing to Museum Shop, FreerGallery of Art, SmithsonianInstitution, Washington, DC20560. A $4.50 shipping andhandling fee will be added tothe cost of each order.

VIDEO RESOURCESFaces of Japan, a five-pro-gram PBS series on contem-porary Japan, is available forsecondary schools. Write toPacific Mountain Network,12596 West Bayaud, Suite215, Lakewood, CO 80228.$125.00.

Video Visits: Japan: TheIsland Empire stresses theconnections and contrastsbetween traditional and modern Japan. Available fromLibrary Video Company, P.O.Box 1110, Department AR,Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004;(800) 843-3620. $24.95.

ELECTRONIC RESOURCESA good starting point forteachers or others interested inexploring Asian resources onthe Internet is the Asia SocietyWorld Wide Web site athttp://www.askasia/org.

The Smithsonian Institution’sFreer Gallery of Art hosts an informative World Wide Web site at:http://www.si.edu/asia.

Teachers can find a represen-tative sampling of traditionalJapanese art by visiting theTokugawa Art Museum athttp://www.cjn.or.jp/tokugawa/index.html.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Freer Gallery of Art/Arthur M. Sackler Gallery:

Sarah RidleyAssistant Head of Education

Nancy Hague LyonsFreer Teacher Associate,1993–94

Marie TheriaultImaginAsia coordinator

Ann YonemuraAssistant Curator,Japanese Art

Waki MurayamaSchools Program Intern

PHOTOGRAPHSFreer Gallery of ArtSmithsonian Institution

ART TO ZOOArt to Zoo is a publication ofthe Office of Elementary andSecondary Education,Smithsonian Institution,Washington, DC 20560.

Content DeveloperAlan Smigielski

EditorDouglas Casey

TranslatorSarita Rodriguez

DesignerKarlic Design Associates, LLC

Baltimore, Maryland

Publications DirectorMichelle Knovic Smith

ART TO ZOO ONLINEThis publication is also available electronically overthe Internet (anonymous ftp to educate.si.edu and theWorld Wide Web athttp://educate.si.edu/art-to-zoo/azindex.htm) andAmerica Online (keywordSMITHSONIAN). Issuesstarting with spring 1993 arepart of this online collection.Look for more information onSmithsonian electronic educa-tional services and publicationsin future issues of Art to Zoo.

RESOURCES

SUBSCRIBE TO Art to Zoo

For a free subscription to Art to Zoo, make a copy of this form and send it to Smithsonian Office of

Elementary and Secondary Education / Art to Zoo, Arts and Industries Building 1163, MRC 402,

Washington, DC 20560. Please print clearly.

Name

Address

ZIP

DirectionsPrint clearly and include your ZIP code. Check ONE of the following boxes:

n This is my school (or other organization) address. n This is my home address.

SMITHSONIANOffice of Elementary and Secondary

Arts and Industries Building 1163MRC 402Washington, DC 20560

Official BusinessPenalty for Private Use, $300

Bulk RatePostage and Fees PaidSmithsonian InstitutionG-94

Documents

Japan: Images of a People