Features of Japan and its historical development are clearly visible today. This original country was able to carry through the centuries almost unchanged a special culture, in many respects different even from that originated in the territory of its closest neighbors. The main features of the traditions characteristic of Japan appeared in the early Middle Ages. Even then, the art of the developing people was marked by a desire to get closer to nature, an understanding of its beauty and harmony.
Conditions
Medieval Japan, located on the islands, was protected from invasion by nature itself. The influence of the outside world on the country was mainly expressed in the process of interaction of residents with Koreans and Chinese. Moreover, the Japanese fought more often with the former, while they adopted a lot from the latter.
The internal development of the country was inextricably linked with natural conditions. On relatively small islands, there is practically nowhere to escape from formidable typhoons and earthquakes. Therefore, on the one hand, the Japanese tried not to burden themselves with unnecessary things, so that at any moment it would be easy to collect all the essentials and escape from the raging elements.
SOn the other hand, it was thanks to such conditions that the culture of medieval Japan acquired its own characteristics. The inhabitants of the islands were aware of the power of the elements and their inability to oppose anything to it, they felt the strength and at the same time the harmony of nature. And they tried not to break it. The art of medieval Japan developed against the backdrop of Shintoism, which was based on the worship of the spirits of the elements, and then Buddhism, which welcomes contemplative comprehension of the inner and outer world.
First State
On the territory of the island of Honshu in the III-V centuries. The Yamato tribal federation was formed. By the 4th century, the first Japanese state was formed on its basis, headed by Tenno (emperor). Medieval Japan of that period is revealed to scientists in the process of studying the contents of burial mounds. In their very structure, one can feel the connection between the architecture of the country and nature: the mound resembles an island overgrown with trees, surrounded by a moat with water.
Various household items were placed in the burial, and the rest of the deceased ruler was guarded by hollow ceramic figures of khaniv, placed on the surface of the barrow. These small figurines show how observant the Japanese masters were: they depicted people and animals, noticing the slightest features, and were able to convey the mood and character traits.
Japan's first religion, Shinto, deified all nature, inhabiting every tree or body of water with spirits. Temples were built in mountainous and wooded areas from wood (“living” material). The architecture was very simple andblend in with the environment as much as possible. The temples had no decorations, the buildings seemed to flow smoothly into the landscape. The culture of medieval Japan sought to combine nature and man-made structures. And temples clearly demonstrate this.
The rise of feudalism
Japan in the Middle Ages borrowed a lot from China and Korea: features of legislation and land administration, writing and statehood. Through neighbors, Buddhism also entered the country, which played an important role in its development. He helped to overcome the internal disunity of the country, to unite the tribes into which Japan was divided. The periods of Asuka (552-645) and Nara (645-794) were characterized by the formation of feudalism, the development of an original culture based on borrowed elements.
The art of that time was inextricably linked with the construction of buildings that had a sacred meaning. A magnificent example of a Buddhist temple from this period is Horyuji, a monastery built near Nara, Japan's first capital. Everything in it is amazing: the magnificent interior decoration, the bulk of the five-tiered pagoda, the massive roof of the main building, supported by intricate brackets. In the architecture of the complex, both the influence of the traditions of Chinese construction and the original features that distinguished Japan in the Middle Ages are noticeable. There is no scope here, characteristic of the sanctuaries built in the expanses of the Celestial Empire. Japanese temples were more compact, even miniature.
The most impressive Buddhist temples began to be built in the 8th century, whencentralized medieval state. Japan needed a capital, and it was Nara, built on the Chinese model. The temples here were erected to match the scale of the city.
Sculpture
Fine arts developed in the same way as architecture - from imitation of Chinese masters towards acquiring more and more originality. Initially detached from the earth, the statues of deities began to fill with expression and emotionality, more characteristic of ordinary people than celestials.
A peculiar result of the development of sculpture of this time is a statue of Buddha 16 meters high, located in the Todaiji monastery. It is the result of a fusion of many techniques used in the Nara period: casting, fine engraving, chasing, forging. Huge and bright, it deserves the title of a wonder of the world.
At the same time, sculptural portraits of people appear, mostly ministers of temples. The buildings were decorated with paintings depicting heavenly worlds.
New round
Changes in the culture of Japan, which began in the 9th century, are associated with the political processes of this time. The country's capital was moved to Heian, known today as Kyoto. By the middle of the century, a policy of isolation had developed, medieval Japan fenced itself off from its neighbors and stopped receiving ambassadors. The culture has become increasingly distant from the Chinese.
The Heian period (IX-XII centuries) is the heyday of the famous Japanese poetry. Tanka (five lines) accompanied the Japanese constantly. It is no coincidence that this period is called golden.century of Japanese poetry. It, perhaps, most fully expressed the attitude of the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun to the world, his understanding of the deep connection between man and nature, the ability to notice beauty even in the smallest. Psychologism and a special philosophy of poetry permeate all the art of the Heian period: architecture, painting, prose.
Temples and secular buildings
The peculiarities of Japan at that time were largely associated with the emergence of Buddhist sects, which combined the teachings of the Buddha and the traditions of Shinto. Monasteries and temples again began to be located outside the city walls - in forests and on the mountains. They did not have a clear plan, as if they randomly appeared among the trees or hills. Nature itself served as decoration, the buildings were outwardly as simple as possible. The landscape seemed to be a continuation of architectural structures. The monasteries did not oppose nature, but harmoniously fit into it.
Secular buildings were created according to the same principle. Shinden, the front pavilion of the estate, was a single space, if necessary, divided by screens. Each building was necessarily accompanied by a garden, often quite small, and sometimes, as in the emperor's palace, equipped with ponds, bridges and gazebos. All of medieval Asia could not boast of such gardens. Japan, reworking styles and elements borrowed from China, has created its own architecture, inextricably linked with nature.
Painting
Sculpture has also changed: new images have appeared, plastic has become more refined and multicolored. However, the most noticeablenational features manifested themselves in painting. In the 11th-12th centuries, a new style developed - yamato-e. Water-based paints were used for it. Yamato-e was primarily used to illustrate various texts. At this time, artistic prose was actively developing, scrolls-tales, or emakimono, appeared, in which the poetic worldview and reverence for nature, characteristic of medieval Japanese, were embodied. As a rule, such texts were accompanied by illustrations. Yamato-e masters were able to convey the greatness of nature and the emotional experiences of people, using various colors, achieving the effect of shimmer and translucency.
The poetic understanding of the world is also noticeable in the lacquerware of that time - literally luminous boxes and bowls, smooth musical instruments, gilded chests.
Minamoto Dynasty
At the end of the 12th century, due to the feudal war, the capital of Japan was again moved. The victorious Minamoto clan made Kamakura the main city of the country. The whole of medieval Japan obeyed the new ruler. Briefly, the Kamakura period can be described as the time of the shogunate - military rule. It lasted for several centuries. Special warriors - samurai - began to rule the state. In Japan, with their coming to power, new cultural features began to take shape. Tanka poetry was replaced by gunks - heroic epics that glorified the courage of warriors. Zen Buddhism began to play a significant role in religion, teaching to achieve salvation on earth through physical training, strong-willed efforts and deep self-knowledge. The outer gloss is notmattered, the ritual side of religion faded into the background.
Samurai in Japan have laid a special culture of spirit, honor and devotion. The masculinity and strength inherent in them permeated all art from architecture to painting. Monasteries began to be built without pagodas, the sophistication of the Heian period disappeared from them. The temples resembled simple huts, which only increased their unity with nature. A large number of sculptural portraits appeared. The craftsmen learned new techniques that made it possible to create images that seemed to be alive. At the same time, the same masculinity and severity showed through in poses, forms and compositions.
Emakimono of this time are characterized not by the emotionality of the characters, but by the dynamism of the plots telling about bloody wars between clans.
The garden is an extension of the house
In 1333 the capital was returned to Heian. The new rulers began to patronize the arts. The architecture of this period is characterized by an even closer unity with nature. Severity and simplicity began to coexist with poetry and beauty. The teachings of the Zen sect came to the fore, which sang spiritual ex altation through the contemplation of nature, harmonization with it.
During this period, the art of ikebana developed, and houses began to be built in such a way that in different parts of the dwelling one could admire the garden from a slightly different angle. A small piece of nature was often not separated from the house even by a threshold, it was its continuation. This is most noticeable in the Ginkakuji building, where a veranda was built, smoothlyflowing into the garden and hanging over the pond. The person who was in the house had the illusion that there was no border between the living quarters and the water and the garden, that these were two parts of a single whole.
Tea as a philosophy
In the XV-XVI centuries, tea houses began to appear in Japan. The leisurely enjoyment of a drink imported from China has become a whole ritual. The tea houses looked like hermit huts. They were arranged in such a way that the participants in the ceremony could feel separated from the outside world. The small size of the room and the windows covered with paper created a special atmosphere and mood. Everything from the rough stone path leading to the door, to the simple pottery and the sound of boiling water, was filled with poetry and a philosophy of peace.
Monochrome painting
In parallel with the art of gardening and the tea ceremony, painting also developed. History of medieval Japan and its culture in the XIV-XV centuries. marked by the appearance of suibok-ga - ink painting. The paintings of the new genre were monochrome landscape sketches placed on scrolls. Masters of Suiboku-ga, having adopted the features of painting from the Chinese, quickly brought Japanese originality to painting. They learned to convey the beauty of nature, its mood, majesty and mystery. At the beginning of the 16th century, the techniques of suiboku-ga organically merged with the techniques of yamato-e, giving rise to a new style in painting.
Late Middle Ages
The map of medieval Japan by the end of the 16th century ceased to be a "patchwork quilt" ofpossessions of different clans. The unification of the country began. Contacts with Western states began to be established. Secular architecture now played a significant role. The formidable castles of the shoguns during the period of peace became palaces with solemnly decorated chambers. The halls were delimited by sliding partitions, decorated with paintings and diffusing light in a special way, creating a festive atmosphere.
Painted by the masters of the Kano school, which developed at that time, were covered not only with screens, but also with the walls of the palaces. Picturesque paintings were distinguished by juicy colors, conveying the splendor and solemnity of nature. New subjects appeared - images of the life of ordinary people. Monochrome painting was also present in the palaces, which acquired a special expressiveness.
Most often, monochrome painting adorned tea houses, where an atmosphere of tranquility was preserved, alien to the solemnity of castle chambers. The combination of simplicity and splendor permeates the entire culture of the Edo period (XVII-XIX centuries). At this time, medieval Japan again pursued a policy of isolation. New types of art appeared that expressed the special attitude of the Japanese: kabuki theater, woodcuts, novels.
The Edo period is characterized by the proximity of the opulent decoration of castles and modest tea houses, the traditions of yamato-e and painting techniques of the late 16th century. The combination of different artistic movements and crafts is clearly visible in the engravings. Masters of different styles often worked together, moreover, sometimes the same artist painted both fans and screens, as well as engravings and caskets.
The late Middle Ages are characterized by increased attention to the subject content of everyday life: new fabrics appear, porcelain is used, the costume changes. The latter is associated with the emergence of netsuke, which are small original buttons or key chains. They became a definite result of the development of the sculpture of the Land of the Rising Sun.
The culture of Japan is difficult to confuse with the results of the creative thought of other peoples. Its originality developed in special natural conditions. The constant proximity to the inexorable elements gave rise to a special philosophy of striving for harmony, which manifested itself in all areas of art and craft.
