Heian Period (794-1185)

The Heian period covers nearly four centuries following the establishment of Japan's capital in Kyoto (originally called Heiankyo). During the 9th century, "esoteric" Buddhism began to flourish, and there appeared numerous diagrammatic paintings of mandalas. The nearly 300 years following the discontinuation in 894 of official cultural and diplomatic exchanges with China are often referred to as the "Fujiwara era, " which saw the development of new trends in painting and other pictorial arts. Because during this time there were no formal diplomatic relations with the Asian mainland, the influence of continental culture declined, and Japan turned to the work of integrating and modifying the foreign influences that it had accumulated up to then. In literature and the visual arts alike, artists endeavored to create Japan's own distinctive culture.

The latter part of the Heian period has given us some of the most exquisite, refined works in the history of Japanese painting. For example, the inside doors and walls of the Phoenix Hall (Hoodo) at the Byodoin, which depict the descending of Amida Nyorai from heaven to welcome departing souls to the Pure Land Paradise, have features not seen before, like the depiction of a purely Japanese natural landscape in the background. As Buddhist painting freed itself from earlier continental influences, faces of the Buddha and the bodhisattvas came to take on the gentle expressions that were suited to Japanese tastes, and we see the development of a brighter sense of color.

The portrait of the bodhisattva Fugen at the Tokyo National Museum is a well-known masterpiece of Buddhist painting from the Fujiwara era. This work achieves a new level of decorativeness while conveying a sort of sensual beauty. The name yamato-e (native-style Japanese painting) is given to non-Buddhist paintings which departed from Tang influences and relied on techniques that were more expressive of Japanese sensibilities. Perhaps the best-known masterpiece of this genre is the extant 12th-century Genji monogatari emaki. The men and women depicted on this narrative handscroll have the stereotypical faces - with lines for eyes and hooks for noses (hikime kagihana) - which were characteristic of the yamato-e of the time, yet the graphic scenes are full of emotion, making this handscroll a true masterpiece.

Other well-known handscrolls produced at about this same time are the Choju giga (Scroll of Frolicking Animals), the Shigisan engi emaki (Legends of Mt. Shigi Narrative Scroll), and the Ban Dainagon ekotoba (Scroll of the Courtier Ban Dainagon). Each has its own special characteristics and each was rendered by a master painter of the period. All show a high level of artistry that is not bound to a particular historical age.

(1) Painting of the Bodhisattva Fugen

The bodhisattva Fugen (Samantabhadra), who was a protector of believers in the Lotus Sutra (Hokekyo), is shown here seated on a white elephant with six tusks. The bodhisattva's skin and the elephant's body are basically white but show reddish tinges. The clothing and the lotus-leaf dais are brilliantly painted in shades of red, green, and blue, and decorated with tiny bits of gold leaf. The demeanor of the bodhisattva suggests a noble lady, reflecting no doubt the fact that the Lotus Sutra, which advocates the view that both women and men are eligible for salvation, attracted the faith of many women of the era. This work dates from the first half of the 12th century, the height of Heian-period Buddhist painting.

(2) Fan-Paper Album of Excerpts from the Lotus Sutra

In keeping with the late Heian-period notion of mappo (the belief that the world was falling into ruin with the approach of the end of a "cycle of the Buddhist Law"), there developed the popular practice of copying sutras to gain merit that would help secure one's salvation. Here we have an album of painted scenes with excerpts from the Lotus Sutra on the fan-shaped "pages." Before the application of the paintings and the writing, the pages had first been elaborately prepared with sprinklings of gold and silver leaf and channel-like patterns produced by streams of flowing ink. The illustrations are not directly related to the sutra but are for the most part genre paintings of the daily life of the nobility and the common people of the time. Several paintings of birds, flowers, and landscapes are also included. Both the calligraphy and the pictorial decorations are considered to be masterpieces of the art of the late Heian period.

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• Scroll Painting(Emaki)
• Screen and Partition Painting(Shoheiga)
• Buddhist Painting(Butsuga)
• Ink Painting(Suibokuga)
• Litearati Painting(Bunjiga)
• History of Painting