Nihonga

Not to be confused withNihongo.

Nihonga(Japanese:Nhật Bản họa) is a Japanese style of painting that uses mineral pigments, and occasionally ink, together with other organic pigments on silk or paper. The term was coined during theMeiji period(1868–1912) to differentiate it from its counterpart, known asYōga( dương họa ) or Western-style painting. The term literally translates to "pictures of Japan."

Enbu( viêm vũ, Dancing in the Flames) byGyoshū Hayami,1925,Important Cultural Property.Yamatane Museum.

Nihongabegan whenOkakura TenshinandErnest Fenollosasought to revive traditional Japanese painting in response to the rise of a new Western painting style,Yōga.Hashimoto Gahō,a painter of theKano School,was the founder of the practical side of this revival movement. He did not simply paint Japanese-style paintings using traditional techniques, but revolutionized traditional Japanese painting by incorporating theperspectiveofYōgaand set the direction for the laterNihongamovement. As the first professor at the Tokyo Fine Arts School (nowTokyo University of the Arts), he trained many painters who would later be consideredNihongamasters, includingYokoyama Taikan,Shimomura Kanzan,Hishida Shunsō,andKawai Gyokudō.

The term was already in use in the 1880s and a discussion of the context at the end of theEdo periodis traced in Foxwell'smonographonMaking Modern: Japanese-style Painting.Prior to then, from the early modern period on, paintings were classified by school: the Kanō school, the Maruyama-Shijō school, and theTosa schoolof theyamato-egenre, for example.

History

At about the time that the Tokyo Fine Arts School was founded, in 1887, art organizations began to form and to hold exhibitions. Through them, artists influenced each other, and the earlier schools merged and blended. With the additional influence of Western painting, today'snihongaemerged and developed.

Nihonga has gone through many phases of development since the Meiji period. The impetus for reinvigorating traditional painting by developing a more modern Japanese style came largely from many artist/educators, which includedShiokawa Bunrin,Kōno Bairei,Tomioka Tessaiandart criticsOkakura TenshinandErnest Fenollosa,who attempted to combatMeijiJapan's infatuation with Western culture by emphasizing to the Japanese the importance and beauty of native Japanese traditional arts. These two art critics, and in particular Tenshin who was called the father of modern Japanese art, championed the preservation of traditional art with innovation and synthesis with Western-style painting.Nihongawas thus not simply a continuation of older painting traditions viewed in this light. Moreover, stylistic and technical elements from several traditional schools, such as theKanō-ha,RinpaandMaruyama Ōkyowere blended together.

Some Western painting techniques were adopted, such asperspectiveand shading, in a bid to move away from the importance of the painted line from East Asian painting tradition. Because of this tendency to synthesize, it has become increasingly difficult to draw a distinct separation in either techniques or materials betweenNihongaandYōga.

The artistTenmyouya Hisashi(b. 1966) has developed a new art concept in 2001 called "Neo-Nihonga".

Development outside Japan

Nihongahas a following around the world; notableNihongaartists who are not based in Japan areHiroshi Senju,AmericanMakoto Fujimura,and CanadianMiyuki Tanobe.

Contemporary Nihonga was the mainstay of New York's Dillon Gallery between 1995 and 2015.The "golden age of post war Nihonga" from 1985 to 1993 produced global artists whose training in Nihonga has served as a foundation.Takashi Murakami,Hiroshi Senju,Norihiko Saito, Chen Wenguang, Keizaburo Okamura andMakoto Fujimuraall came out of the distinguished Doctorate level curriculum at Tokyo University of the Arts. Most recentlyPola Museumdid a seminal survey in an exhibit which includedMakoto Fujimura,Lee Ufan,Matazo Kayama,as well as Natsunosuke Mise, called "Shin Japanese Painting: Revolutionary Nihonga", curated by Hiroyuki Uchiro.

Materials

Kuroki Neko( hắc き miêu, Black Cat) byHishida Shunsō,1910,Important Cultural Property.Eisei Bunko Museum.

Nihongaare typically executed onwashi(Japanese paper) oreginu(silk), using brushes. The paintings can be either monochrome or polychrome. If monochrome, typicallysumi(Chinese ink) made fromsootmixed with a glue from fishbone or animal hide is used. If polychrome, thepigmentsare derived from natural ingredients:minerals,shells,corals,and evensemi-precious stoneslikemalachite,azuriteandcinnabar.The raw materials are powdered into 16 gradations from fine to sandy grain textures. Ahide gluesolution, callednikawa,is used as a binder for these powdered pigments. In both cases, water is used; hencenihongais actually awater-based medium.Gofun(powderedcalcium carbonatethat is made from curedoyster,clamorscallopshells) is an important material used innihonga.Different kinds ofgofunare utilized as a ground, for under-painting, and as a fine white top color.

Initially,nihongawere produced for hanging scrolls (kakemono), hand scrolls (emakimono), sliding doors (fusuma) or folding screens (byōbu). However, most are now produced on paper stretched onto wood panels, suitable for framing. Nihonga paintings do not need to be put under glass. They are archival for thousands of years.

Techniques

In monochromeNihonga,the technique depends on the modulation of ink tones from darker through lighter to obtain a variety of shadings from near white, through grey tones to black and occasionally into greenish tones to represent trees, water, mountains or foliage. In polychromeNihonga,great emphasis is placed on the presence or absence of outlines; typically outlines are not used for depictions of birds or plants. Occasionally,washesand layering of pigments are used to provide contrasting effects, and even more occasionally,goldorsilverleaf may also be incorporated into the painting.

Gallery

• 
  Left panel of theRyūkozu( long hổ đồ, Dragon and tiger) byHashimoto Gahō,1895.Important Cultural Property.Seikadō Bunko Art Museum.
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  Right panel of theRyūkozu( long hổ đồ, Dragon and tiger) by Hashimoto Gahō, 1895. Important Cultural Property. Seikadō Bunko Art Museum.

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  Left panel of theYorobōshi( nhược pháp sư, Scene fromNohplayYorobōshi) byShimomura Kanzan,1915. Important Cultural Property.Tokyo National Museum.
• 
  Right panel of theYorobōshi( nhược pháp sư, Scene from Noh playYorobōshi) by Shimomura Kanzan, 1915. Important Cultural Property. Tokyo National Museum.

• 
  Left panel of theYuku Haru( hành く xuân, Parting Spring) byKawai Gyokudō,1916. Important Cultural Property.National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.
• 
  Right panel of theYuku Haru( hành く xuân, Parting Spring) by Kawai Gyokudō, 1916. Important Cultural Property. National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.

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  Madaraneko( đốm miêu, Tabby Cat) byTakeuchi Seihō,1924. Important Cultural Property.Yamatane Museum.
• 
  Jo no Mai( tự の vũ, Noh Dance Prelude) byUemura Shōen,1936. Important Cultural Property.The University Art Museum.

Seisei ruten( sinh 々 lưu 転, Metempsychosis), byYokoyama Taikan;ink on silk; 55.3 by 4,070 cm (1 ft 9.8 in by 133 ft 6.4 in); the narrative unfurls from right to left. 1923. Important Cultural Property. National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.

See also

• List of Nihonga painters
• Nanga

References

• Briessen, Fritz van.The Way of the Brush: Painting Techniques of China and Japan.Tuttle (1999).ISBN0-8048-3194-7
• Conant, Ellen P., Rimer, J. Thomas, Owyoung, Stephen.Nihonga: Transcending the Past: Japanese-Style Painting, 1868–1968.Weatherhill (1996).ISBN0-8348-0363-1
• Setsuko Kagitani:Kagitani Setsuko Hanagashū,Tohōshuppan, Tokyo,ISBN978-4-88591-852-0
• Weston, Victoria.Japanese Painting and National Identity: Okakura Tenshin and His Circle.Center for Japanese Studies University of Michigan (2003).ISBN1-929280-17-3

External links

• Media related toNihongaat Wikimedia Commons