Oriental Scrolls :: Japanese Peace

All things have a story...

Japan has been populated for thousands of years with the island being subject to change from alien invasions and other contact with the outside world. Throughout it's history, the Japanese gradually assimilated, absorbed and imitated the attributes of foreign cultures that suited and complimented their lifestyle. One of those attributes was art, in which the Japanese used outside influence and their own indigenous ideas to produce the beautiful artwork which reached a refined state as much as 1000 years ago.

In the 7th century AD, Buddhism was brought to the islands and became increasingly popular. Its influence on life in Japan was strong and this can be seen in the change of Japanese artwork during that time. For the first time, Japanese artists were drawing and painting Buddhist figures, including Bohidhamra, the man who brought Buddhism from India to China. The Japanese government commissioned thousands of paintings and sculptures beginning in the 7th century and the production of Japanese Buddhist art was especially fruitful over the next 500 years, during the Nara, Heian and Kamakura Periods.

Many beautiful Buddhist temples were also built with hundreds of Buddhist statues placed in and around them. In the 12th and 13th centuries, masters Dogen and Eisai returned from China with the teachings of Zen. This inspired a new brand of Japanese Buddhist art, featuring original paintings “sumi-e” and poetry “haikus.” The new art created an impressionistic look with non-dualistic representations that attempted to express the essence of Zen. Many of these Zen works of art were made in black and white with watercolor or ink.

In Japan, the preferred mode of artistic expression is through painting. Up until the 20th century, Japanese people did not use a pen or pencil, but rather wrote with a brush. The techniques they learned using the brush made them keenly aware of painting aesthetics. Today, the Japanese produce a wide assortment of artwork, including lacquerware, pottery, paintings, ceramics, furniture and more.