The Art of Japan

Utagawa Hiroshige’s "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo" was a great achievement in Ukiyo-e printmaking. The summer-blooming purple wisteria falling from a trellis in front of a taikobashi (drum bridge) is on the grounds of the Kameido Tenjin built in the 1660s. This is a first edition impression; the extension of the water into the sky was removed in later versions.

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858), Japan, No. 57, Grounds of Kameido Tenjin Shrine from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, 1856, color woodcut, Gift of Charles Elam in memory of Mabel McNenny Elam, 1954.378

Munakata Shikō executed his first woodcuts around 1930. A Zen Buddhist, the artist believed in the supremacy of the woodblock and nature’s inherent force and beauty. Furuna, from the Ten Great Disciples of Buddha series, provides a spiritual link to Buddhist woodcut origins. Renouncing his former life, Furana became Buddha’s primary teacher. Here, spanning the block, he gestures dramatically.

Munakata Shikō (1903–1975), Japan, Furuna from Ten Great Disciples of Buddha, 1939, woodcut, Museum Purchase, 1967.22

Yoshikawa Masamichi creates hand-built forms in the fragile medium of porcelain. These “effigies” frequently recall walled architectural spaces or ruins. The artist cloaks them in a glaze developed in China that Western culture refers to as celadon. Translated into Japanese, celadon is seihakukuji, or “blue-white glaze.” This glaze gives Yoshikawa’s works an icy sensibility.

Kayō (Gorgeous Effigy), 2018, Yoshikawa Masamichi (b. 1946), Japan, glazed porcelain, Courtesy of Carol and Jeffrey Horvitz, L9.2020:14, © Yoshikawa Masamichi. Photography by Richard Goodbody courtesy of Joan B Mirviss LTD.

To heighten awareness of the shape and the symbolism of her organically inspired wares, Shingu Sayaka works in black and white. She hopes that the absence of color might encourage viewers to see beyond these familiar forms. The delicate petals and stamens of each piece are hand-formed to capture a sense of life, growth, and movement.

Flower Sculpture, 2015, Shingu Sayaka (b. 1979), Japan (Kyoto), glazed stoneware, Gift of Carol and Jeffrey Horvitz, 2017.77, © Shingu Sayaka

In this painting, Utagawa Kōshū depicts the major Japanese festivals using colorful doll-like figures. The scenes painted over the entire scroll include the New Year’s parade with Shoki (the demon queller), the lantern festival, the doll festival, the mochi (rice cake) making ritual, and traditional drum playing and folk dancing.

Utagawa Kōshū 歌川珖舟 (active late 19th–early 20th century), Japan, Japanese Spring Festivals (detail), late 19th–early 20th century, hanging scroll, ink and colors on silk, Gift from the Howard and Caroline Porter Collection, 2019.290

Incense rituals played a vital role in the court life of the Japanese nobility during the Heian period (794–1185). In addition to its use in rituals and games, incense also perfumed rooms, clothes, and even the hair of the aristocratic class. This box and the incense utensil set are all decorated with the motif of plum blossoms, the fragrance of which inspired many incense blends.

Lacquer Box with Incense Utensils, Japan, 19th century, lacquer, wood, metal, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John J. Emery, 1964.719a–m