Artists of Japan - from ancient times to the present day. School Encyclopedia Art Japan

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« A big wave in Kanagawa" by Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) is one of the most famous engravings and the first sheet of the Thirty-six Views of Fuji series. In the early 1830s, Katsushika Hokusai, commissioned by the Eijudo publishing house, began to create a series of 46 sheets (36 main and 10 additional), and The Great Wave off Kanagawa was an engraving that opens the whole series.

Such collections of engravings served for the townspeople of that time as a kind of " virtual travel”, a way to satisfy curiosity - convenient and inexpensive. Fuji-like prints cost about 20 mon - about the same as a double portion of noodles in a Japanese eatery of the time. However, the success was so great that by 1838 the cost of Hokusai's sheets had grown to almost 50 mon, and after the death of the master, the Wave alone was reprinted from new boards more than 1000 times.

It is surprising that, despite the stated theme of the entire series, Fuji in The Wave plays like minor role. Chief " actor”on this engraving is a wave, and in the foreground a dramatic scene of a man’s struggle with the elements unfolds. The edges of the foam crest look like the twisted fingers of a fantastic angry demon, and the facelessness and inactivity of the human figures in the boats leave no doubt who will be the winner in this fight. However, it is not this confrontation that is the conflict that creates the plot of the engraving.
By stopping the moment after which the boats crash, Hokusai allows the viewer to see Fuji for a moment against the gray sky, darkening towards the horizon. Although Japanese engravers were already familiar with the principles of European linear and aerial perspective by that time, they did not feel the need for this technique. The dark background, as well as the long journey of the eye from the foreground with boats through the movement of the wave to Fuji, convince the eye that sacred mountain separated from us by the sea.

Fuji rises far from the shore as a symbol of stability and constancy, as opposed to the stormy elements. The unity and interdependence of opposites underlay the idea of ​​cosmic order and absolute harmony in the worldview of the Far East, and it was they that became the main theme of the engraving "The Great Wave off Kanagawa", which opened the series by Katsushika Hokusai.

"Beauty Nanivaya Okita" by Kitagawa Utamaro, 1795-1796

Art Institute of Chicago

Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806) can rightly be called a singer female beauty in Japanese print ukiyo-e: he created a number of canonical images of Japanese beauties ( bijinga) - the inhabitants of tea houses and the famous entertainment quarter Yoshiwara in the capital of Japan, Edo edo — the name of Tokyo before 1868..

In bijinga engraving, everything is not quite what it seems to the modern viewer. Richly dressed noble ladies were, as a rule, engaged in a shameful craft and belonged to the lower class, and engravings with portraits of beauties had an openly advertising function. At the same time, the engraving did not give an idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe appearance of the girl, and although Okita from the Nanivaya tea house near the Asakusa temple was considered the first beauty of Edo, her face in the engraving is completely devoid of individuality.

Since the 10th century, female images in Japanese art have been subject to the canon of minimalism. "Line-eye, hook-nose" - technique hikime-kagihana allowed the artist only to indicate that a certain woman was depicted: in Japanese traditional culture, the issue of physical beauty was often omitted. In women of noble birth, the “beauty of the heart” and education were much more valued, and the inhabitants of the cheerful quarters strove to imitate the highest examples in everything. According to Utamaro, Okita was truly beautiful.

The sheet “Beauty Nanivaya Okita” was printed in 1795-1796 in the series “Famous Beauties Likened to Six Immortal Poets”, in which one of the writers of the 9th century corresponded to each beauty. On the sheet with a portrait of Okita in the upper left corner there is an image of Arivara no Narihira (825-880), one of the most revered poets in Japan, to whom the novel Ise Monogatari is traditionally attributed. This noble nobleman and brilliant poet also became famous for his love affairs, some of which formed the basis of the novel.

This sheet is a peculiar use of the technique mitate(comparisons) in Japanese engraving. The qualities of an authoritative “prototype” are transferred to the depicted beauty, and the elegant courtesan, with a serene face serving the guest a cup of tea, is already read by the viewer as a lady skilled in poetry and deeds of love. The comparison with Arivara no Narihira was truly a recognition of her superiority among the Edo beauties.

At the same time, Utamaro creates a surprisingly lyrical image. Balancing dark and light spots on the leaf and outlining the form with melodious, elegant lines, he creates a truly perfect image of grace and harmony. "Advertising" recedes, and the beauty captured by Utamaro remains timeless.

Screen "Irises" by Ogata Korin, 1710s

Wikimedia Commons / Nezu Museum, Tokyo

A pair of six-panel iris screens - now a national treasure of Japan - were created by Ogata Korin (1658-1716) around 1710 for the Nishi Hongan-ji temple in Kyoto.

Since the 16th century, painting on wall panels and paper screens has become one of the leading genres of decorative art in Japan, and Ogata Korin, the founder of the Rinpa art school, was one of its greatest masters.

Screens in the Japanese interior played an important role. The spacious palace premises were structurally no different from the dwellings of a simple Japanese: they had almost no internal walls, and the space was zoned with folding screens. Just a little over one and a half meters high, the screens were designed for the common Japanese tradition of all classes to live on the floor. In Japan, high chairs and tables were not used until the 19th century, and the height of the screen, as well as the composition of its painting, is designed for the view of a person sitting on his knees. It is with this point of view that an amazing effect arises: the irises seem to surround the seated person - and a person can feel himself on the banks of the river, surrounded by flowers.

Irises are painted in a non-contour manner - almost impressionistic, wide strokes of dark blue, lilac and purple tempera convey the lush magnificence of this flower. The picturesque effect is enhanced by the dull shimmer of gold, against which irises are depicted. The screens depict nothing but flowers, but their angular line of growth suggests that the flowers bend around the winding course of the river or the zigzags of wooden bridges. It would be natural for the Japanese to see a bridge missing from the screen, a special "bridge of eight planks" ( yatsuhashi listen)), associated with irises in classical Japanese literature. The novel Ise Monogatari (9th century) describes the sad journey of a hero expelled from the capital. Having settled down with his retinue to rest on the river bank near the Yatsuhashi bridge, the hero, seeing irises, remembers his beloved and composes poems:

my beloved in clothes
Graceful there, in the capital,
Love left...
And I think with longing how much
I'm far from her... Translation by N.I. Konrad.

“So he folded, and everyone shed tears on their dried rice, so that it swelled with moisture,” adds the author and lyric hero of the story, Arivara no Narihira.

For an educated Japanese, the connection between irises by the bridge and Ise monogatari, irises and the theme of parted love was clear, and Ogata Korin avoids verbosity and illustrativeness. With the help of decorative painting, he only creates an ideal space filled with light, color and literary connotations.

Kinkakuji Golden Pavilion, Kyoto, 1397

Yevgen Pogoryelov / flickr.com, 2006

The Golden Temple is one of the symbols of Japan, which, ironically, was glorified more by its destruction than by its construction. In 1950, a mentally unstable monk of the Rokuonji Monastery, to which this building belongs, set fire to a pond standing on the surface of the
pavilion During a fire in 1950, the temple was almost destroyed. Restoration work in Kinkaku-ji began in 1955, by 1987 the reconstruction as a whole was completed, but the replacement of the completely lost interior decoration continued until 2003.. The true motives of his act remained unclear, but in the interpretation of the writer Yukio Mishima, the unattainable, almost mystical beauty of this temple was to blame. Indeed, for several centuries, Kinkakuji was considered the epitome of Japanese beauty.

In 1394, Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1358-1408), who subjugated almost all of Japan to his will, formally retired and settled in a purpose-built villa in northern Kyoto. The three-tiered building on the artificial lake Kyokoti ("lake-mirror") played the role of a kind of hermitage, a secluded pavilion for relaxation, reading and prayer. It contained a collection of paintings by the shogun, a library and a collection of Buddhist relics. Located on the water near the shore, Kinkakuji had only boat communication with the shore and was the same island as the artificial islands with stones and pine trees scattered around Kyokoti. The idea of ​​the "island of the celestials" was borrowed from Chinese mythology, in which the island of Penglai, the island of the immortals, served as the image of the heavenly abode. The reflection of the pavilion in the water already evokes Buddhist associations with ideas about the illusory nature of the mortal world, which is only a pale reflection of the splendor of the world of Buddhist truth.

Although all these mythological overtones are speculative, the location of the pavilion gives it an amazing harmony and harmony. Reflection hides the squatness of the building, making it taller and slimmer; at the same time, it is the height of the pavilion that makes it possible to see it from any bank of the pond, always against a dark background of greenery.

It remains, however, not entirely clear how golden this pavilion was in original form. Probably, under Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, it was indeed covered with gold leaf and a protective layer of varnish. But if you believe the photographs of the 19th - early 20th century and Yukio Mishima, then by the middle of the 20th century the gilding had almost peeled off and its remains were visible only on the upper tier of the building. At this time, he rather touched the soul with the charm of desolation, the traces of time, inexorable even to the most beautiful things. This melancholy charm corresponded to the aesthetic principle sabi highly revered in Japanese culture.

One way or another, the splendor of this building was not at all in gold. The exquisite severity of Kinkakuji's forms and its impeccable harmony with the landscape make it one of the masterpieces of Japanese architecture.

Bowl "Iris" in the style of karatsu, XVI-XVII centuries

Diane Martineau /pinterest.com/The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The word meibutsu- a thing with a name. Only the name of this cup really survived, since neither the exact time and place of its creation, nor the name of the master have been preserved. Nevertheless, it is classified as a national treasure of Japan and is one of clear examples ceramics in the national style.

At the end of the 16th century, the tea ceremony cha-no-yu abandoned the sophisticated Chinese porcelain and ceramics with glazes reminiscent of precious materials. Their spectacular beauty seemed too artificial and frank to the tea masters. Perfect and expensive items - bowls, water vessels and tea caddies - did not correspond to the almost ascetic spiritual canons of Zen Buddhism, in the spirit of which the tea ceremony developed. A real revolution in tea action was the appeal to Japanese ceramics, much simpler and artless at a time when the workshops of Japan had just begun to master the technologies of continental pottery.

The shape of the Iris bowl is simple and irregular. The slight curvature of the walls, the potter's dents visible all over the body give the bowl an almost naive ease. The clay shard is covered with light glaze with a network of cracks - craquelure. On the front side, which addresses the guest during the tea ceremony, an image of an iris is applied under the glaze: the drawing is naive, but executed with an energetic brush, exactly, as if in one movement, in the spirit of Zen calligraphy. It seems that both the form and the decor could have been made spontaneously and without the application of special forces.

This spontaneity reflects the ideal wabi- simplicity and artlessness, giving rise to a sense of spiritual freedom and harmony. Any person or even an inanimate object in the views of Japanese followers of Zen Buddhism has the enlightened nature of the Buddha, and the adept's efforts are aimed at discovering this nature in himself and the world around him. The things used in the tea ceremony, for all their clumsiness, should have evoked a deep experience of the truth, the relevance of every moment, forced to peer into the most ordinary forms and see true beauty in them.

The contrast to the rough texture of the bowl and its simplicity is the restoration with a small chipped gold lacquer (this technique is called kintsugi). The restoration was carried out in the 18th century and demonstrates the reverence with which Japanese tea masters treated utensils for the tea ceremony. So the tea ceremony provides the participants with a "way" to discover the true beauty of things, such as the Iris bowl. Implicity, secrecy has become the basis of the aesthetic concept of wabi and an important part of the Japanese worldview.

Portrait of Monk Gandzin, Nara, 763

Toshodaiji, 2015

In the VIII century, sculpture became the main form of artistic expression of the era, the Nara era (710-794), associated with the formation of Japanese statehood and the strengthening of Buddhism. Japanese masters have already passed the stage of apprenticeship and blind imitation of continental techniques and images and began to freely and vividly express the spirit of their time in sculpture. The spread and growth of the authority of Buddhism caused the appearance of a Buddhist sculptural portrait.

One of the masterpieces of this genre is the portrait of Gandzin, created in 763. Made in the technique of dry lacquer (by building up layers of lacquer on a wooden frame covered with fabric), the sculpture is almost life size was realistically painted, and in the semi-darkness of the temple, Ganjin sat in a pose of meditation "as if alive." This lifelikeness was the main cult function of such portraits: the teacher had to always be within the walls of the Todaiji monastery in the city of Nara and be present at the most important divine services.

Later, in the 11th-13th centuries, sculptural portraits reached an almost merciless illusionism, depicting the senile infirmity of venerable teachers, their sunken mouths, sagging cheeks and deep wrinkles. These portraits look at the adherents of Buddhism with living eyes, inlaid with rock crystal and wood. But Gandzin's face seems blurry, there are no clear contours and clear forms in it. Eyelids of half-closed and unencrusted eyes appear swollen; the tense mouth and deep nasolabial folds express habitual caution rather than the concentration of meditation.

All these features reveal the dramatic biography of this monk, the story of amazing asceticism and tragedies. Ganjin, a Chinese Buddhist monk, was invited to Japan for the consecration ceremony of Nara's largest monastery, Todaiji. The ship was captured by pirates, priceless scrolls and Buddhist sculptures that were intended for a distant Japanese temple were lost in the fire, Ganjin burned his face and lost his sight. But he did not leave the desire to preach on the far outskirts of civilization - namely, how Japan was perceived by the continent at that time.

Several more attempts to cross the sea ended in the same unsuccessful way, and only on the fifth attempt, the already middle-aged, blind and sickly Ganjin reaches the Japanese capital of Nara.

In Japan, Ganjin did not teach Buddhist law for long: the dramatic events of his life undermined his health. But his authority was so high that, probably, even before his death, it was decided to create his sculpture. Undoubtedly, the artist-monks sought to give the sculpture as much resemblance to the model as possible. But this was not done to save appearance of a person, but to capture his individual spiritual experience, that difficult path that Ganjin went through and to which the Buddhist teaching called.

Daibutsu - Big Buddha of Todaiji Temple, Nara, mid-8th century

Todd/flickr.com

In the middle of the 8th century, Japan suffered from natural disasters and epidemics, and the intrigues of the influential Fujiwara family and the rebellion they raised forced Emperor Shomu to flee the capital, the city of Nara. In exile, he vowed to follow the path of Buddhist teachings and in 743 ordered the construction of the main temple of the country and the casting of a colossal bronze statue of the Buddha Vairochana (Buddha Great Sun or All Illuminating Light). This deity was considered the universal incarnation of Buddha Shakyamuni, the founder of Buddhist teachings, and was supposed to become the guarantor of the protection of the emperor and the whole country during the period of unrest and rebellion.

Work began in 745 and was modeled on the giant Buddha statue in the Longmen cave temples near the Chinese capital Luoyang. The statue in Nara, like any image of the Buddha, was supposed to show "great and small signs of the Buddha." This iconographic canon included elongated earlobes, reminiscent of the fact that Buddha Shakyamuni came from a princely family and from childhood wore heavy earrings, an elevation on the top of his head (ushnisha), a dot on his forehead (urn).

The height of the statue was 16 meters, the width of the face was 5 meters, the length of the outstretched palm was 3.7 meters, and the urn was larger than a human head. The construction took 444 tons of copper, 82 tons of tin and a huge amount of gold, the search for which was specially undertaken in the north of the country. A hall, the Daibutsuden, was erected around the statue to protect the shrine. In its small space, a slightly bowed seated Buddha figure fills the entire space, illustrating one of the main postulates of Buddhism - the idea that the deity is omnipresent and all-pervading, it embraces and fills everything. The transcendental calmness of the face and the gesture of the deity's hand (mudra, the gesture of granting protection) complement the feeling of the calm grandeur and power of the Buddha.

However, only a few fragments of the original statue remain today: fires and wars caused enormous damage to the statue in the 12th and 16th centuries, and the modern statue is mainly an 18th-century casting. During the restoration of the 18th century, the bronze figure was no longer covered with gold. The Buddhist zeal of Emperor Shomu in the 8th century practically emptied the treasury and bled the already shocked country, and the later rulers could no longer afford such immoderate spending.

Nevertheless, the significance of Daibutsu lies not in gold and not even in reliable authenticity - the very idea of ​​​​such a grandiose embodiment of Buddhist teachings is a monument to an era when Japanese monumental art experienced a genuine flowering, freed itself from blind copying of continental samples and achieved integrity and expressiveness, which were later lost.

The Japanese discovered the beauty hidden in things in the 9th-12th centuries, in the Heian era (794-1185) and even designated it with a special concept " mono no avare"(Japanese: 物の哀れ (もののあわれ)), which means "the sad charm of things." “The charm of things” is one of the earliest definitions of beauty in Japanese literature, it is associated with the Shinto belief that every thing has its own deity - kami - and its own unique charm. Avare is the inner essence of things, that which causes delight, excitement.

- Washi (wasi) or wagami (wagami).
Manual paper making. Medieval Japanese valued washi not only for its practical qualities, but also for its beauty. She was famous for her subtlety, almost transparency, which, however, did not deprive her of strength. Washi is made from the bark of the kozo (mulberry) tree and some other trees.
Washi paper has been preserved for centuries, evidence of this is the albums and volumes of ancient Japanese calligraphy, paintings, screens, engravings that have come down through the centuries to the present day.
Vasya's paper is fibrous, if you look through a microscope, you will see cracks through which air and sunlight penetrate. This quality is used in the manufacture of screens and traditional Japanese lanterns.
Washi souvenirs are very popular among Europeans. Many small and useful items are made from this paper: wallets, envelopes, fans. They are quite durable yet lightweight.

- Gohei.
Mascot from paper strips. Gohei - a ritual staff of a Shinto priest, to which paper zigzag strips are attached. The same strips of paper are hung at the entrance to a Shinto shrine. The role of paper in Shinto has traditionally been very great, and esoteric meaning has always been attached to products made from it. And the belief that every thing, every phenomenon, even words, contain a kami - a deity - explains the appearance of this kind applied arts like gohei. Shintoism is somewhat similar to our paganism. For Shintoists, the kami is especially willing to take up residence in anything that is out of the ordinary. For example, on paper. And even more so in a gohei twisted into an intricate zigzag, which hangs today in front of the entrance to Shinto shrines and indicates the presence of a deity in the temple. There are 20 ways to fold the gohei, and those that are especially unusually folded attract the kami. Gohei is predominantly white in color, but gold, silver, and many other shades are also found. Since the 9th century, there has been a custom in Japan to strengthen the gohei on the belts of sumo wrestlers before the start of the fight.

- Anesama.
This is the manufacture of paper dolls. In the 19th century, samurai wives made paper dolls that children played with, dressing them in different clothes. In times when there were no toys, anesama was the only interlocutor for children, "performing" the role of mother, elder sister, child and friend.
The doll is folded from Japanese washi paper, the hair is made from crinkled paper, dyed with ink and covered with glue, which gives it a sheen. Distinctive feature is a nice little nose on an elongated face. Today, this simple toy, requiring nothing but skillful hands, traditional in form, continues to be made in the same way as before.

- Origami.
The ancient art of paper folding (折り紙, lit.: "folded paper"). The art of origami has its roots in Ancient China where paper was invented. Initially, origami was used in religious ceremonies. For a long time, this type of art was available only to representatives of the upper classes, where a sign of good taste was the possession of paper folding techniques. Only after the Second World War, origami went beyond the East and came to America and Europe, where it immediately found its fans. Classic origami is folded from a square sheet of paper.
There is a certain set of conventional symbols necessary to sketch the folding scheme of even the most complex product. Most of the conventional signs were put into practice in the middle of the 20th century by the famous Japanese master Akira Yoshizawa.
Classical origami prescribes the use of one square evenly colored sheet of paper without glue and scissors. Contemporary art forms sometimes deviate from this canon.

- Kirigami.
Kirigami is the art of cutting various shapes from a sheet of paper folded several times with the help of scissors. A type of origami that allows the use of scissors and paper cutting in the process of making the model. This is the main difference between kirigami and other paper folding techniques, which is emphasized in the name: 切る (kiru) - cut, 紙 (gami) - paper. We all loved to cut snowflakes in childhood - a variant of kirigami, you can cut not only snowflakes, but also various figures, flowers, garlands and other cute paper things using this technique. These products can be used as stencils for prints, album decorations, postcards, photo frames, fashion design, interior design and other various decorations.

- Ikebana.
Ikebana, (jap 生け花 or いけばな) translated from Japanese language- ike” - life, “bana” - flowers, or “flowers that live”. The Japanese art of flower arranging is one of the most beautiful traditions of the Japanese people. When compiling ikebana, along with flowers, cut branches, leaves and shoots are used. The fundamental principle is exquisite simplicity, to achieve which they try to emphasize natural beauty plants. Ikebana is the creation of a new natural form, in which the beauty of a flower and the beauty of the soul of the master creating the composition are harmoniously combined.
Today in Japan there are 4 major schools of ikebana: Ikenobo (Ikenobo), Koryu (Koryu), Ohara (Ohara), Sogetsu (Sogetsu). In addition to them, there are about a thousand different directions and trends that adhere to one of these schools.

- Oribana.
In the middle of the 17th century, two schools of ohara (the main form of ikebana - oribana) and koryu (the main form - sek) departed from ikenobo. By the way, the ohara school still studies only oribanu. As the Japanese say, it is very important that origami does not turn into origami. Gomi means trash in Japanese. After all, as it happens, you folded a piece of paper, and then what to do with it? Oribana offers a lot of ideas for bouquets for decorating the interior. ORIBANA = ORIGAMI + IKEBANA

- Mistake.
A type of fine art born of floristry. Floristry appeared in our country eight years ago, although it has existed in Japan for more than six hundred years. Sometime in the Middle Ages, samurai comprehended the way of a warrior. And oshibana was part of that path, just like writing hieroglyphs and wielding a sword. The meaning of the mistake was that in the state of total presence in the moment (satori), the master created a picture of dried flowers (pressed flowers). Then this picture could serve as a key, a guide for those who were ready to enter silence and experience that same satori.
The essence of the art of "oshibana" is that, by collecting and drying flowers, herbs, leaves, bark under pressure and sticking them on the base, the author creates with the help of plants a truly work of "painting". In other words, wrong is painting with plants.
Artistic creativity florists is based on the preservation of the shape, color and texture of dried plant material. The Japanese have developed a technique for protecting "oshibana" paintings from fading and darkening. Its essence is that air is pumped out between the glass and the picture and a vacuum is created that prevents the plants from spoiling.
It attracts not only the unconventionality of this art, but also the opportunity to show imagination, taste, knowledge of the properties of plants. Florists create ornaments, landscapes, still lifes, portraits and story paintings.

- Bonsai.
Bonsai, as a phenomenon, appeared more than a thousand years ago in China, but this culture reached its peak of development only in Japan. (bonsai - Japanese 盆栽 lit. "plant in a pot") - the art of growing an exact copy of a real tree in miniature. These plants were grown by Buddhist monks several centuries before our era and subsequently became one of the activities of the local nobility.
Bonsai adorned Japanese homes and gardens. In the Tokugawa era, park design received a new impetus: the cultivation of azaleas and maples became a pastime for the wealthy. Dwarf crop production (hachi-no-ki - "tree in a pot") also developed, but the bonsai of that time were very large.
Now ordinary trees are used for bonsai, they become small due to constant pruning and various other methods. At the same time, the ratio of the sizes of the root system, limited by the volume of the bowl, and the ground part of the bonsai corresponds to the proportions of an adult tree in nature.

- Mizuhiki.
Macrame analogue. This is an ancient Japanese applied art of tying various knots from special cords and creating patterns from them. Such works of art had an extremely wide scope - from gift cards and letters to hairstyles and handbags. Currently, mizuhiki is extremely widely used in the gift industry - for every event in life, a gift is supposed to be wrapped and tied in a very specific way. There are extremely many knots and compositions in the art of mizuhiki, and not every Japanese knows them all by heart. Of course, there are the most common and simple knots that are used most often: for congratulations on the birth of a child, for a wedding or commemoration, a birthday or university admission.

- Kumihimo.
Kumihimo is a Japanese braided cord. When weaving threads, ribbons and laces are obtained. These laces are woven on special machines - Marudai and Takadai. The Marudai machine is used for weaving round laces, and Takadai for flat ones. Kumihimo in Japanese means "weaving ropes" (kumi - weaving, folding together, himo - rope, lace). Despite the fact that historians stubbornly insist that similar weaving can be found among the Scandinavians and the inhabitants of the Andes, the Japanese art of kumihimo is indeed one of the most ancient types of weaving. The first mention of it dates back to 550, when Buddhism spread throughout Japan and special ceremonies required special decorations. Later, kumihimo laces began to be used as a fixer for the obi belt on a women's kimono, as ropes for "packing" the entire samurai arsenal of weapons (samurai used kumihimo for decorative and functional purposes to tie their armor and horse armor) and also for tying heavy objects.
A variety of patterns of modern kumihimo are woven very easily on homemade cardboard looms.

- Komono.
What remains of a kimono after it has served its time? Do you think it's being thrown away? Nothing like this! The Japanese will never do that. Kimonos are expensive. It's unthinkable and impossible to just throw it away like that... Along with other types of kimono recycling, craftswomen made small souvenirs from small shreds. These are small toys for children, dolls, brooches, garlands, women's jewelry and other products, the old kimono is used in the manufacture of small cute things, which are collectively called "komono". Little things that will take on a life of their own, continuing the path of the kimono. This is what the word "komono" means.

- Kanzashi.
The art of decorating hair clips (most often decorated with flowers (butterflies, etc.) made of fabric (mainly silk). Japanese kanzashi (kanzashi) is a long hairpin for a traditional Japanese female hairstyle. They were made of wood, lacquer, silver, tortoise shell used in traditional Chinese and Japanese hairstyles.About 400 years ago, in Japan, the style of women's hairstyles changed: women stopped combing their hair in the traditional form - taregami (long straight hair) and began to style it in intricate and bizarre forms - nihongami. used various items - hairpins, sticks, combs.It was then that even a simple kushi comb-comb turns into an elegant accessory of extraordinary beauty, which becomes a real work of art.Japanese women's traditional costume did not allow wrist jewelry and necklaces, so hairstyles were main beauty and a field for self-expression - as well as demonstrating the taste and thickness of the owner's wallet. On the engravings you can see - if you look closely - how Japanese women easily hung up to twenty expensive kanzashi in their hairstyles.
There is now a resurgence in the tradition of using kanzashi among young Japanese women who wish to add sophistication and elegance to their hairstyles, modern barrettes can be adorned with just one or two dainty handmade flowers.

- Kinusaiga.
An amazing type of needlework from Japan. Kinusaiga (絹彩画) is a cross between batik and patchwork. The main idea is that new paintings are collected from old silk kimonos piece by piece - true works art.
First, the artist makes a sketch on paper. Then this drawing is transferred to a wooden board. The contour of the pattern is cut through with grooves, or grooves, and then small shreds, matching in color and tone, are cut from the old silk kimono, and the edges of these shreds fill the grooves. When you look at such a picture, you get the feeling that you are looking at a photograph, or even just watching the landscape outside the window, they are so realistic.

- Temari.
These are traditional Japanese geometric embroidered balls made with simple stitches that were once a children's toy and have now become an art form with many fans not only in Japan but throughout the world. It is believed that a long time ago these products were made by samurai wives for entertainment. At the very beginning, they were really used as a ball for a ball game, but gradually they began to acquire artistic elements, later turning into decorative ornaments. The delicate beauty of these balls is known throughout Japan. And today, colorful, carefully crafted products are one of the types of folk crafts in Japan.

- Yubinuki.
Japanese thimbles, when hand sewing or embroidering, they are put on the middle phalanx of the middle finger of the working hand, with the help of the fingertips the needle is given the desired direction, and the needle is pushed through the ring on the middle finger in work. Initially, Japanese yubinuki thimbles were made quite simply - a strip of dense fabric or leather about 1 cm wide in several layers was tightly wrapped around the finger and fastened together with a few simple decorative stitches. Since yubinuki were a necessary item in every home, they began to be decorated with geometric embroidery with silk threads. From the interlacing of stitches, colorful and intricate patterns. Yubinuki from a simple household item has also turned into an object for "admiring", decoration of everyday life.
Yubinuki are still used in sewing and embroidery, but they can also be found simply worn on the hands on any finger, like decorative rings. Yubinuki-style embroidery is used to decorate various objects in the form of a ring - napkin rings, bracelets, temari stands, decorated with yubinuki embroidery, and there are also embroidered needle beds in the same style. Yubinuki patterns can be a great inspiration for temari obi embroidery.

- Suibokuga or sumie.
Japanese ink painting. This chinese style painting was borrowed by Japanese artists in the 14th century, and by the end of the 15th century. became the mainstream of painting in Japan. Suibokuga is monochrome. It is characterized by the use of black ink (sumi), a solid form charcoal or made from the soot of Chinese ink, which is ground in an ink pot, diluted with water, and applied with a brush to paper or silk. Monochrome offers the master an endless choice of tonal options, which the Chinese long ago recognized as the “colors” of ink. Suibokuga sometimes allows the use of real colors, but limits it to thin, transparent strokes that always remain subordinate to the ink line. Ink painting shares with the art of calligraphy such essential characteristics as tightly controlled expression and technical mastery of form. The quality of ink painting comes down, as in calligraphy, to the integrity and resistance to tearing of the line drawn in ink, which, as it were, holds the work of art on itself, just as bones hold tissues on themselves.

- Etegami.
Drawn postcards (e - picture, tagged - letter). Do-it-yourself postcard making is generally a very popular activity in Japan, and before the holiday its popularity increases even more. The Japanese love to send postcards to their friends, and they love to receive them too. This is a type of quick letter on special blanks, it can be sent by mail without an envelope. Not in etegami special rules or a technician, it can be any person without special training. Etagami helps to accurately express the mood, impressions, this is a handmade postcard consisting of a picture and a short letter, conveying the emotions of the sender, such as warmth, passion, care, love, etc. They send these postcards for the holidays and just like that, depicting the seasons, activities, vegetables and fruits, people and animals. The simpler this picture is drawn, the more interesting it looks.

- Furoshiki.
Japanese wrapping technique or the art of cloth folding. Furoshiki entered the life of the Japanese for a long time. Ancient scrolls from the Kamakura-Muromachi period (1185 - 1573) have been preserved with images of women carrying bundles of clothes wrapped in cloth on their heads. This interesting technique originated as early as 710 - 794 AD in Japan. The word "furoshiki" literally translates to "bath rug" and is a square piece of cloth that was used to wrap and carry objects of all shapes and sizes.
In the old days, it was customary to walk in Japanese baths (furo) in light cotton kimonos, which visitors brought with them from home. The bather also brought a special rug (shiki) on which he stood while undressing. Having changed into a "bathing" kimono, the visitor wrapped his clothes in a rug, and after the bath wrapped a wet kimono in a rug to bring it home. Thus, the bath mat has become a multifunctional bag.
Furoshiki is very easy to use: the fabric takes the shape of the object that you wrap, and the handles make it easy to carry the load. In addition, a gift wrapped not in hard paper, but in a soft, multi-layered fabric, acquires a special expressiveness. There are many schemes for folding furoshiki for any occasion, everyday or festive.

- Amigurumi.
The Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and humanoid creatures. Amigurumi (編み包み, lit.: “knitted-wrapped”) are most often cute animals (such as bears, bunnies, cats, dogs, etc.), little men, but they can also be inanimate objects endowed with human properties. For example, cupcakes, hats, handbags and others. Amigurumi is knitted or knitted or crocheted. Recently, crochet amigurumi have become more popular and more common.
knitted from yarn in a simple knitting method - in a spiral and, unlike the European knitting method, the circles are usually not connected. They are also crocheted on a smaller size relative to the yarn thickness to create a very dense fabric without any gaps for stuffing to come out. Amigurumi are often made from parts and then put together, with the exception of some amigurumi, which do not have limbs, but only have a head and torso, which are one whole. The limbs are sometimes filled with plastic pieces to give them live weight, while the rest of the body is filled with fiberfill.
The spread of amigurumi aesthetics is facilitated by their cuteness (“kawaii”).

He created his paintings during the Taise period (1912-26) and early Showa. He was born in 1891
year in Tokyo, was the son of journalist Kishida Ginko. In 1908 he graduated from school, at the age of
At the age of 15 he became a Christian and devoted himself to church activities, then Kishida
Ryūsei studied Western art styles at the Hakubakai studio under
Seiki Kuroda (1866-1924), who was one of the founders of the Academy of Arts in Japan.
Already in 1910, the young artist began to exhibit his work at the annual
Banten State Exhibition. His early works, especially landscapes, were painted
heavily influenced and echo the style of his teacher Kuroda Seiki.

Reiko portrait

Later, the artist met and became friends with Musanoka Saneatsu (Mushanokoji Saneatsu),
who introduced the artist to Sirakaba (White Birch) society and introduced him to European
Fauvism and Cubism. The formation of Kishida Ryūsei as an artist happened in the first
decade of the twentieth century, when many Japanese young artists left to study
painting abroad, primarily to Paris. Kishida Ryūsei has never been to Europe and
did not study with European masters, but the influence of European post-impressionism on him
was enormous, especially the work of Van Gogh and Cezanne. From the end of 1911 to the beginning
1912 he was inspired by the work of contemporary French artists, with whose work
He met in Shirakaba magazine and through illustrated books. His early work is clearly
created under the influence of Henri Matisse and the Fauvists.

Self-portrait with hat, 1912
style: fauvism

In 1912, at the age of twenty-one, Kishida Ryūsei debuted as
professional artist, his first solo exhibition took place in
Rokando Art Gallery. In the same year, the artist organized his
Fyizankai Art Circle to study and promote
post-impressionism.

Garden of the President of the South Manchurian Railway Company 1929

The circle soon disbanded due to internal conflicts after two exhibitions.
From about 1914, the artist abandoned Fauvism, his early style. In 1915
year, Kishida Reisai created the Shodosa group, in which his main comrade, student
and the artist Michisai Kono was a follower.

Path in Early Summer 1917
style: yoga-ka

Since that time, he has developed his own unique style of a great master, in Japanese
in the language it is called "shajitsu" or "shasei", usually translated into Russian as realism.
The artist simplifies forms, finds a unique color, all this comes from art
Cezanne. Although Kishida Reisai highly appreciated the art of France, but in the later period he
considered oriental art far superior to western art.

Road Cut Through a Hill, 1915
style: yoga-ka

Portrait of Bernard Leach, 1913
style: fauvism

Self-portrait, 1915,
style: yoga-ka

Self-portrait, 1913,
style: yoga-ka

Self-portrait, 1917,
style: yoga-ka

Portrait of a man
style: yoga-ka

Starting around 1917, the artist moved to Kugenuma Fujisawa in the Kanagawa area. He started
study the styles and techniques of northern European renaissance artists such as
Dürer and Van Dyck. During this period he painted his famous series of paintings of Reiko's daughter,
which combine almost photographic realism with surreal
decorative elements. In the early 1920s, Kishida Ryūsei took an interest in
elements of oriental art, in particular, to the Chinese paintings "Songs" and
"Yuan Dynasty".

"Portrait of Sanada Hisakichi"

During the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923, the artist's home in Kugenum was
destroyed, Kishida Ryūsei moved to Kyoto for a short period, after which in February
1926 returned to live in Kamakura. In the 1920s, the artist painted numerous
articles on the aesthetics and history of Japanese painting.

Tea Cup Tea Bowl and Three Green Apples, 1917
style: sezannism

Still life, 1918,
style: sezannism

Two Red Apples, Tea-cup, Tea-bowl and a Bottle, 1918
style: sezannism

In 1929, with the assistance of the South Manchurian Railway, Kishida Ryūsei made
the only foreign trip in my life, visiting Dalian, Harbin and Fengtian
in Manchuria. On his way back home, he made a stop in the city of Tokuyama, a district
Yamaguchi, where he suddenly died from acute self-poisoning of the body. Kishida Ryusei
created his portraits, landscapes and still lifes until his early death at the age of
38 years. The artist's grave is located at the Tama Reien Cemetery in Tokyo. After death
Kishida Ryūsei to two of his paintings Japanese Government Agency for Cultural Affairs
awarded the title of "National cultural value". In December 2000, one of
his portrait of his daughter Reiko with a handkerchief on her shoulders was sold for 360 million yen, which
became the highest price at Japanese painting auctions.

The vast region, conventionally referred to as the Far East, includes China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia and Tibet - countries that have a number of similarities, but at the same time significant differences in culture.

All the countries of the Far East were influenced by the ancient civilizations of China and India, where as early as the 1st millennium BC, philosophical and religious teachings arose that laid the foundation for the concept of nature as a comprehensive Cosmos - a living and spiritualized organism that lives according to its own laws. Nature was at the center of the philosophical and artistic searches of the entire medieval period, and its laws were considered universal, determining the life and relationships of people. The inner world of man was compared with the diverse manifestations of nature. This influenced the development of the symbolic method in the visual arts, defining its allegorical poetic language. In China, Japan and Korea, under the influence of such an attitude to nature, types and genres of art were formed, architectural ensembles were built, closely related to the surrounding landscape, garden art and, finally, there was the dawn of landscape painting. Under the influence of ancient Indian civilization, Buddhism began to spread, and Hinduism also began to spread in Mongolia and Tibet. These religious systems brought not only new ideas to the countries of the Far East, but also had a direct impact on the development of art. Thanks to Buddhism, a previously unknown new artistic language of sculpture and painting appeared in all countries of the region, ensembles were created, the characteristic feature of which was the interaction of architecture and fine arts.

Features of the image of Buddhist deities in sculpture and painting evolved over many centuries as a special symbolic language that expressed ideas about the universe, moral laws and the destiny of man. Thus, the cultural experience and spiritual traditions of many peoples were consolidated and preserved. The images of Buddhist art embodied the ideas of the confrontation between good and evil, mercy, love and hope. All these qualities determined the originality and universal significance of the outstanding creations of the Far Eastern artistic culture.

Japan is located on the islands of the Pacific Ocean, stretching along the east coast of the Asian mainland from north to south. Japanese islands located in an area prone to frequent earthquakes and typhoons. The inhabitants of the islands are accustomed to constantly being on their guard, being content with a modest life, quickly restoring their homes and households after natural disasters. Despite the natural elements that constantly threaten the well-being of people, Japanese culture reflects the desire for harmony with the outside world, the ability to see the beauty of nature in big and small.

In Japanese mythology, the divine spouses, Izanagi and Izanami, were considered the ancestors of everything in the world. From them came a triad of great gods: Amaterasu - the goddess of the Sun, Tsukiyomi - the goddess of the Moon and Susanoo - the god of storm and wind. According to the ideas of the ancient Japanese, the deities did not have a visible appearance, but were embodied in nature itself - not only in the Sun and the Moon, but also in mountains and rocks, rivers and waterfalls, trees and grasses, which were revered as spirits-kami (slovaks in translation from Japanese means divine wind). This deification of nature persisted throughout the entire period of the Middle Ages and was called Shinto - the path of the gods, becoming the Japanese national religion; Europeans call it Shinto. The origins of Japanese culture are rooted in antiquity. The earliest works of art date back to the 4th...2nd millennium BC. The longest and most fruitful for Japanese art was the period of the Middle Ages (6...19th century).

The design of a traditional Japanese house developed by the 17th-18th centuries. It is a wooden frame with three movable walls and one fixed. The walls do not carry the functions of a support, so they can be moved apart or even removed, serving as a window at the same time. In the warm season, the walls were a lattice structure, pasted over with translucent paper that let the light through, and in the cold and rainy season they were covered or replaced with wooden panels. With high humidity in the Japanese climate, the house must be ventilated from below. Therefore, it is raised above ground level by 60 cm. To protect the support pillars from decay, they were installed on stone foundations.

The light wooden frame had the necessary flexibility, which reduced the destructive force of the push during frequent earthquakes in the country. The roof, tiled or reed, had large canopies that protected the paper walls of the house from rain and the scorching summer sun, but did not hold back low sunlight in winter, early spring and late autumn. Under the canopy of the roof was a veranda.

The floor of the living rooms was covered with mats - tatami mats, on which they mostly sat, not stood. Therefore, all the proportions of the house were focused on a seated person. Since there was no permanent furniture in the house, they slept on the floor, on special thick mattresses, which were put away in the closets during the day. They ate, sitting on mats, at low tables, they also served for various occupations. Sliding internal partitions, covered with paper or silk, could divide the internal premises depending on the needs, which made it possible to use it more diversely, however, it was impossible for each of its inhabitants to completely retire inside the house, which affected intra-family relations in the Japanese family, and in a more general sense - on the features of the national character of the Japanese. Important detail at home - a niche located near a fixed wall - tokonama, where a picture could hang or a composition of flowers - ikebana could stand. It was the spiritual center of the house. In the decoration of the niche, the individual qualities of the inhabitants of the house, their tastes and artistic inclinations were manifested.

A continuation of the traditional Japanese house was a garden. He played the role of a fence and at the same time connected the house with environment. When the outer walls of the house were moved apart, the boundary between the inner space of the house and the garden disappeared and a feeling of closeness to nature, direct communication with it was created. It was important feature national sentiment. However, the Japanese cities grew, the size of the garden decreased, often it was replaced by a small symbolic composition of flowers and plants, which served the same role of contact between the dwelling and the natural world. japanese mythology house ikebana netsuke

The art of arranging flowers in vases - ikebbna (the life of flowers) - dates back to the ancient custom of placing flowers on the altar of a deity, which spread to Japan with Buddhism in the 6th century. Most often, the composition in the style of that time - rikka (planted flowers) - consisted of a pine or cypress branch and lotuses, roses, daffodils, installed in ancient bronze vessels.

With development secular culture in the 10th...12th centuries, flower arrangements were installed in palaces and residential quarters of representatives of the aristocratic class. At the imperial court, special competitions in arranging bouquets became popular. In the second half of the 15th century, a new direction in the art of ikebana appeared, the founder of which was the master Ikenobo Sen'ei. The works of the Ikenobo school were distinguished by their special beauty and sophistication, they were installed at home altars and presented as gifts. In the 16th century, with the spread of tea ceremonies, a special type of ikebana was formed to decorate the tokonoma niche in the tea pavilion. The requirement of simplicity, harmony, restrained colors, presented to all objects of the tea cult, extended to the design of flowers - tyabana (ikebana for the tea ceremony). The famous tea master Senno Rikyu created a new, freer style - nageire (carelessly placed flowers), although it was in the seeming disorder that the special complexity and beauty of the images of this style consisted. One of the types of nageire was the so-called tsuribana, when the plants were placed in a suspended vessel in the shape of a boat. Such compositions were offered to a person who took office or graduated from school, as they symbolized “going out into the open sea of ​​life”. In the 17th...19th centuries, the art of ikebana became widespread, and a custom arose for the compulsory training of girls in the art of making bouquets. However, due to the popularity of ikebana, the compositions were simplified, and the strict rules of stylerikka had to be abandoned in favor of nageire, from which another new style of seika or shoka (living flowers) emerged. At the end of the 19th century, master Ohara Usin created the moribana style, the main innovation of which was that the flowers were placed in wide vessels.

In the composition of ikebana, as a rule, there are three obligatory elements, denoting the three principles: Heaven, Earth and Man. They can be embodied as a flower, branch and grass. Their relationship to each other and additional elements creates works of different style and content. The task of the artist is not only to create a beautiful composition, but also to most fully convey in it his own thoughts about a person’s life and his place in the world. The works of outstanding ikebana masters can express hope and sadness, spiritual harmony and sadness.

According to tradition in ikebana, the season is necessarily reproduced, and the combination of plants forms symbolic good wishes well-known in Japan: pine and rose - longevity; peony and bamboo - prosperity and peace; chrysanthemum and orchid - joy; magnolia - spiritual purity, etc.

Miniature sculpture - netsuke became widespread in the 18-19 centuries as one of the types of arts and crafts. Its appearance is due to the fact that the national Japanese costume - kimono - has no pockets and all the necessary small items (pipe, pouch, medicine box) are attached to the belt using a counterweight keychain. Netsuke, therefore, necessarily has a hole for a lace, with the help of which the desired object is attached to it. Keyrings in the form of sticks and buttons were used before, but since the end of the 18th century, well-known masters have already worked on the creation of netsuke, putting their signature on the works.

Netsuke is the art of the urban class, mass and democratic. According to the plots of netsuke, one can judge the spiritual needs, everyday interests, mores and customs of the townspeople. They believed in spirits and demons, which were often depicted in miniature sculpture. They loved the figurines of the "seven gods of happiness", among which the most popular were the god of wealth Daikoku and the god of happiness Fukuroku. The constant plots of the netsuke were the following: a cracked eggplant with many seeds inside - a wish for a large male offspring, two ducks - a symbol family happiness. A huge number of netsuke are dedicated to everyday topics and the daily life of the city. These are wandering actors and magicians, street vendors, women doing various activities, wandering monks, wrestlers, even the Dutch in their exotic, from the point of view of the Japanese, clothes - wide-brimmed hats, camisoles and trousers. Distinguished by thematic diversity, netsuke retained their original function of a key ring, and this purpose dictated to the craftsmen a compact shape without fragile protruding details, rounded, pleasant to the touch. The choice of material is also connected with this: not very heavy, durable, consisting of one piece. The most common materials were different types of wood, ivory, ceramics, lacquer and metal.

Japanese painting is very diverse not only in content, but also in form: these are wall paintings, screen paintings, vertical and horizontal scrolls, executed on silk and paper, album sheets and fans.

ABOUT ancient painting can only be judged by references in written documents. The earliest surviving outstanding works date back to the Heian period (794-1185). These are illustrations of the famous "The Tale of Prince Genji" by the writer Murasaki Shikibu. The illustrations were made on several horizontal scrolls and supplemented with text. They are attributed to the brush of the artist Fujiwara Takayoshi (first half of the 12th century).

A characteristic feature of the culture of that era, created by a rather narrow circle of the aristocratic class, was the cult of beauty, the desire to find in all manifestations of material and spiritual life their inherent charm, sometimes elusive and elusive. The painting of that time, later called yamato-e (literally Japanese painting), conveyed not an action, but a state of mind. When the harsh and courageous representatives of the military class came to power, the culture of the Heian era began to decline. In the painting on the scrolls, the narrative principle was established: these are legends about miracles full of dramatic episodes, biographies of preachers of the Buddhist faith, scenes of battles of warriors. In the 14-15 centuries, under the influence of the teachings of the Zen sect, with its special attention to nature, landscape painting began to develop (initially under the influence of Chinese models).

For a century and a half, Japanese artists mastered the Chinese art system, making monochrome landscape painting the property of national art. Its highest flowering is associated with the name of the outstanding master Toyo Oda (1420...1506), better known under the pseudonym Sesshu. In his landscapes, using only the finest shades of black ink, he managed to reflect all the multicoloredness of the natural world and its countless states: the moisture-saturated atmosphere of early spring, the invisible but felt wind and cold autumn rain, the motionless stillness of winter.

The 16th century opens the era of the so-called late Middle Ages lasting three and a half centuries. At this time, wall paintings became widespread, decorating the palaces of the rulers of the country and large feudal lords. One of the founders of the new direction in painting was the famous master Kano Eitoku, who lived in the second half of the 16th century. Wood engraving (xylography), which flourished in the 18-19 centuries, became another type of fine art of the Middle Ages. Engraving, like genre painting, was called ukiyo-e (pictures of the everyday world). In addition to the artist who created the drawing and wrote his name on the finished sheet, the engraving was created by a carver and a printer. At first, the engraving was monophonic, it was painted by hand by the artist himself or by the buyer. Then printing in two colors was invented, and in 1765 the artist Suzuki Harunobu (1725-1770) first used multi-color printing. To do this, the carver placed a tracing paper with a pattern on a specially prepared longitudinal sawn board (from pear, cherry or Japanese boxwood) and cut out the required number of printed boards, depending on the color scheme of the engraving. Sometimes there were more than 30 of them. After that, the printer, choosing the right shades, made prints on special paper. His skill was to achieve an exact match of the contours of each color, obtained from different wooden boards. All engravings were divided into two groups: theatrical, which depicted Japanese actors. classical theater Kabuki in various roles, and everyday life, dedicated to the image of beauties and scenes from their lives. The most famous master of theatrical prints was Toshushai Syaraku, who close-up portrayed the faces of the actors, emphasizing the features of the role they played, character traits a person reincarnated as a character in a play: anger, fear, cruelty, deceit.

Such outstanding artists as Suzuki Harunobu and Kitagawa Utamaro became famous in everyday life engraving. Utamaro was the creator female images embodying the national ideal of beauty. His heroines seem to have frozen for a moment and will now continue their smooth graceful movement. But this pause is the most expressive moment when the tilt of the head, the gesture of the hand, the silhouette of the figure convey the feelings they live in.

The most famous engraver was the brilliant artist Katsushika Hokusai (1776-1849). Hokusai's work is based on the centuries-old pictorial culture of Japan. Hokusai made over 30,000 drawings and illustrated about 500 books. Already seventy years old, Hokusai created one of the most significant works - a series of "36 Views of Fuji", which allows him to be put on a par with the most outstanding artists of world art. Showing Mount Fuji - the national symbol of Japan - from different places, Hokusai for the first time reveals the image of the motherland and the image of the people in their unity. The artist saw life as a single process in all its diversity of manifestations, ranging from the simple feelings of a person, his daily activities and ending with surrounding nature with its elements and beauty. The work of Hokusai, which absorbed the centuries-old experience of the art of his people, is the last peak in artistic culture medieval Japan, its remarkable result.

Japan has always been distinguished by its reverent attitude towards the preservation and reproduction of its ancient traditions, and this remarkable feature makes the Country rising sun a unique place where modern innovations are harmoniously combined with centuries-old cultural traditions in the life of ordinary Japanese people.

If you've been to Japan before, you've no doubt come across red and black soup bowls, trays, chopsticks, and more. lacquered objects(their rather low-quality counterparts can be found in our country). Lacquer art is one of the traditional Japanese crafts that originated in ancient times - the first products were discovered in Japan as early as the Jomon period (14,000-300 BC) - and have survived to this day. In modern times, Japanese lacquerware was actively exported and became a kind of "brand" of the country - it is no coincidence that in the Western world the word "japan" acquired a second meaning - "varnish, lacquerware, apply varnish."

Japanese lacquer is organic matter made from the sap of the urushi (漆) tree, which is extracted by scratching the tree. The resulting varnish is also called. It is believed that this word comes from two other Japanese words: uruwashii (麗しい), which means "beautiful, beautiful", and uruosu (潤す), which means "moisturize". The hieroglyph urushi itself, unlike other names of trees, which are written using the key "tree" [木] (桜 - sakura, 梅 - plum, 松 - pine, etc.), has the key "water" [氵], which emphasizes that this tree is more valued because of the water, that is, the juice contained in it. In Japanese, lacquerware is called shikki (漆器: 漆 "varnish, lacquer wood" + 器 "tool, accessories") or nurimono (塗物: 塗る "apply, paint" + 物 "thing, object").

The cured lacquer forms a protective coating that repels water and prevents the item from rotting, as well as making it less susceptible to attack by acids, alkalis, salts and alcohol. As a material for products, wood (the most common material), leather, paper, ceramics, glass, metal and even plastic are used. There are many ways to create and decorate lacquerware. Let's talk a little today about the most famous types of this Japanese craft.

Ouchi lacquerware

Ouchi lacquer art originated in Yamaguchi Prefecture (山口県) through the efforts of the warlord Ouchi Hiroyo (1325-1380). In an effort to turn his possessions into a kind of capital of that time, Kyoto (京都), he actively invited various masters and artisans, resulting in a combination of the skills and ideas of Kyoto craftsmen with local traditions spawned a new unique culture.

Kishu lacquerware

Approximately in the 14th-16th centuries. Buddhist monks in the Negoroji temple (in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe modern city of Iwade (岩出市), Wakayama Prefecture (和歌山県) began the production of utilitarian lacquerware - chopsticks, trays, bowls, as well as a religious cult - objects for prayers and mantras. Since their craftsmanship was not perfect, in some places there were spots on the finished items. special style products was named Negoro. In the 17th century, with the support of the authorities of the principality of Kishu, the monks' lacquerware became famous, and the name of this area was assigned to them.

Lacquered Wakasa Sticks

These lacquered kitchen utensils are made in Obama City (小浜市), Fukui Prefecture (福井県). More than 80% of all lacquered chopsticks in Japan are produced here. Such wands of extraordinary beauty and grace are a popular wedding gift in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Odawara lacquerware

Kanagawa Prefecture (神奈川県). This type of lacquer art dates back to the Kamakura period (1185-1333), when the strong and influential Hojo clan actively promoted the development of the craft, turning the city of Odawara (小田原市) into a center for the production of lacquer. In the Edo period (1603-1868), a large number of such products were exported to Edo (today's Tokyo) - bowls, trays and even lacquered armor.

Kagawa lacquerware

Kagawa Prefecture (香川県). In 1638, Daimyo Yorishige Matsudaira came to these places on the appointment of the shogunate. He was distinguished by his love for lacquerware and sculptures, so he began to develop these types of arts and crafts in his domain. Two centuries later, thanks to the work of master Tsukoku Tamakaji (1807-1869), Kagawa lacquerware became famous throughout the country. The use of special methods of grinding and polishing saturates the products with extraordinary brilliance.

Wajima lacquerware

Ishikawa Prefecture (石川県). The oldest surviving example of this type of art is the lacquered gate of Shigezo Temple in Wajima City (輪島市), built around 1397. During the Edo period (1603-1868), zinoko powder was invented, made from crushed baked clay, which made these lacquerware incredibly durable, which greatly influenced their demand among the population.

Aizu lacquerware

Aizu ware is one of the traditional arts of Fukushima Prefecture (福島県). The appearance of this craft dates back to 1590, when the local feudal lord Gamo Ujisato began to convene masters from his former possessions, then passing them latest technology crafts of that time. As a result, Aizu became one of the largest manufacturers of lacquerware. The expansion of production led to the possibility of exporting products to China and Holland, which glorified the region in other countries.

Tsugaru lacquerware

Tsugaru is the name of the western part of Aomori Prefecture (青森県). Tsugaru lacquer art originated in the 17th and 18th centuries, when industrial development was encouraged in the cities during the Edo period. The tsugaru style emerged from this upsurge, as the craftsmen and artisans of the area were given the impetus and opportunities to further develop their skills. When creating products, the method that was used more than 300 years ago is still used today.

We have looked at several of the main styles of Japanese lacquer art. Undoubtedly, there are many more of them, and many are supplemented with new techniques and improved.

The Japanese craft of creating lacquerware originated in ancient times and has survived to this day, being one of the most elegant, harmonious, spectacular types of arts and crafts in the world. This is one of the cultural traditions, without considering which we will be unable to fully perceive the vision of the world, the aesthetic principles and the character of the Japanese people.

It can be difficult for an inexperienced person to understand all types of lacquerware at first. Therefore, it is better to go around the shops where they are sold, look at them live, chat with the seller and, if you want to buy something for yourself and your friends as a gift, choose an item to your liking.

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