Japanese art: The Edo Period to the Twentieth Century

The school of painting started in the Edo period (1615–1867) by Koetsu Hon'ami and Sotatsu Tawaraya and continued by Ogata Korin and Ogata Kenzan represented a return to the native tradition of Japanese painting. The Deer Scroll (early 17th cent.; Seattle Art Mus.) by Koetsu and Sotatsu exemplifies the happy union of literature, calligraphy, and painting. A great demand for miniature sculptures in the form of ornamental buttons (netsuke) arose at this time, and great masterpieces of carving were produced. Dutch engraving found its way to Japan in this period and influenced such painters as Okyo Maruyama, the leader of the naturalist school, who created pictures with Western perspective.

There arose a new type of art in the form of wood-block prints known as ukiyo-e (pictures of the fleeting floating world), which appealed first to the taste of the lowest, but wealthiest, groups of feudal society. The color-print designers eventually won worldwide recognition and influenced Degas, Whistler, and numerous other Western artists. Among the major ukiyo-e painters are Harunobu, Kiyonaga, Utamaro, Hokusai, and Hiroshige.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Recent Japanese Art
• The Edo Period to the Twentieth Century
• The Momoyama Period
• The Muromachi Period
• The Kamakura Period
• The Fujiwara Period
• The Nara Period
• Buddhist and Chinese Influences
• Early Works
• Bibliography

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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