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108-631: The Zuijin Teiki Emaki ( 随身庭騎絵巻 , "Illuminated Scroll of the Imperial Guards" or "Illuminated Scroll of the Imperial Guard Cavalry") , is an emakimono or emaki (painted narrative handscroll) from the 13th century, in the Kamakura period of Japanese history (1185–1333). An illuminated manuscript , it presents nine equestrian portraits of Imperial Guards , painted according to

216-604: A shogun died without a living heir, both the heads of gosanke (except Mito-Tokugawa family ) and gosankyō had priority to succeed his position. Many daimyōs descended from cadet branches of the clan, however, retained the surname Matsudaira ; examples include the Matsudaira of Fukui and Aizu . Members of the Tokugawa clan intermarried with prominent daimyo and the Imperial family. On November 9, 1867, Tokugawa Yoshinobu ,

324-529: A " mon ", the "triple hollyhock " (although commonly, but mistakenly identified as "hollyhock", the "aoi" actually belongs to the birthwort family and translates as " wild ginger "— Asarum ), has been a readily recognized icon in Japan, symbolizing in equal parts the Tokugawa clan and the last shogunate. The symbol derives from a mythical clan, the Kamo clan, which legendarily descended from Yatagarasu . Matsudaira village

432-477: A decorative appearance. The format of the emakimono , long scrolls of limited height, requires the solving of all kinds of composition problems: it is first necessary to make the transitions between the different scenes that accompany the story, to choose a point of view that reflects the narration, and to create a rhythm that best expresses the feelings and emotions of the moment. In general, there are thus two main categories of emakimono : those which alternate

540-672: A doctrine, or even as an act of faith, because copying illustrated sutras must allow communion with the deities (a theory even accredits the idea that the Kitano Tenjin Engi Emaki would have aimed to pacify evil spirits). Proselytising, favoured by the emergence of the Pure Land Buddhist sects during the Kamakura era, changed the methods of emakimono production, because works of proselytism were intended to be copied and disseminated widely in many associated temples, explaining

648-403: A key episode of the novel and is followed by a calligraphic extract on paper richly decorated with gold and silver powder. The Genji Monogatari Emaki already presents the composition techniques specific to the art of emakimono : an oblique point of view, the movement of the eyes guided by long diagonals from the top right to the bottom left, and even the removal of the roofs to represent

756-565: A monk, remains remarkable for its influences, so far rare, from the Song dynasty (via the wash technique ) and the Tang dynasty (the shan shui style), as well as by its very precise representations of forts in many Japanese landscapes. As for the Saigyō Monogatari Emaki  [ fr ] , it addresses the declining aristocracy in idealising the figure of the monk aesthete Saigyō by

864-610: A peak of Japanese civilization via the culture of the emperor's court, although intrigue and disinterest in things of the state resulted in the Genpei War . This perception arises from the aesthetics and the codified and refined art of living that developed at the Heian court, as well as a certain restraint and melancholy born from the feeling of the impermanence of things (a state of mind referred to as mono no aware in Japanese). Furthermore,

972-428: A renowned painter greatly appreciated for his portraits, perhaps with the help of his son Sen-amida-butsu for the last two portraits, the rendering of which differs significantly from that of the other guards. However, there is no certainty about these attributions; as the lines vary through the portraits, the work could have been carried out by several artists, or by one artist using changes of style. The portraits in

1080-625: A school he founded in honour of his father Fujiwara no Takanobu ). Among the temple workshops, it is known that the Kōzan-ji workshop was particularly prolific, under the leadership of the monk Myōe , a great scholar who brought in many works from Song dynasty China. Thus, the Jōnin brushstrokes on the Kegon Engi Emaki or the portrait of Myōe reveal the first Song influences in Japanese painting. However,

1188-497: A search for authenticity. The rendering of the nine portraits is based mainly on thin black lines drawn in India ink, the colour being limited to discreet touches for the faces and harnesses of the horses. The pictorial technique is therefore linked to the hakubyō tradition popular during the Kamakura period: monochrome drawing in ink on plain paper. Execution, however, varies within

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1296-445: A story or a succession of anecdotes (such as literary chronicles or Buddhist parables), combining pictorial and narrative elements, the combination of which characterises the dominant art movements in Japan between the 12th and 14th centuries. An emakimono is read, according to the traditional method, sitting on a mat with the scroll placed on a low table or on the floor. The reader then unwinds with one hand while rewinding it with

1404-586: A temple, and the religious scrolls do not refrain from representing popular things. So, for example, the Hōnen Shōnin Eden  [ fr ] presents a rich overview of medieval civilization. Colophons and comparative studies sometimes allow for the deduction of the name of the artist of an emakimono : for example, the monk En'i  [ fr ] signed the Ippen Shōnin Eden , historians designate Tokiwa Mitsunaga  [ fr ] as

1512-576: Is also a patrilineal descendant of Tokugawa Yorifusa , the youngest son of Tokugawa Ieyasu. In 2007, Tsunenari published a book entitled Edo no idenshi (江戸の遺伝子), released in English in 2009 as The Edo Inheritance, which seeks to counter the common belief among Japanese that the Edo period was like a Dark Age , when Japan, cut off from the world , fell behind. On the contrary, he argues, the roughly 250 years of peace and relative prosperity saw great economic reforms,

1620-406: Is an illustrated horizontal narration system of painted handscrolls that dates back to Nara-period (710–794 CE) Japan . Initially copying their much older Chinese counterparts in style, during the succeeding Heian (794–1185) and Kamakura periods (1185–1333), Japanese emakimono developed their own distinct style. The term therefore refers only to Japanese painted narrative scrolls. As in

1728-450: Is inscribed near his portrait, from right to left (Japanese reading direction): Hata Kanekiyo , Hata Kanetō , Nakatomi Suechika , Hata Hisanori , Hata Kanetoshi , Hata Kanmi , Hata Yorikata , Hata Hisayori and Hata Hirokata . The first three guards were active around 1152–1180 during the Heian , while the last six, painted in order of importance, were in office in 1247 during

1836-407: Is kept closed by a cord and stored alone or with other rolls in a box intended for this purpose, and which is sometimes decorated with elaborate patterns. An emakimono can consist of several successive scrolls as required of the story – the Hōnen Shōnin Eden  [ fr ] was made up of 48 scrolls, although the standard number typically falls between one and three. An emakimono

1944-466: Is made up of two elements: the sections of calligraphic text known as kotoba-gaki , and the sections of paintings referred to as e ; their size, arrangement and number vary greatly, depending on the period and the artist. In emakimono inspired by literature, the text occupies no less than two-thirds of the space, while other more popular works, such as the Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga , favour

2052-520: Is now held by the Okura Museum of Art in Tokyo. The Tokyo National Museum holds a copy made by Kanō Kazunobu (1816–1863), of the 19th century Kanō school . [REDACTED] Media related to Zuijin Teiki Emaki at Wikimedia Commons Emakimono Illustrated handscrolls , emakimono ( 絵巻物 , lit.   ' illustrated scroll ' , also emaki-mono ) , or emaki ( 絵巻 )

2160-600: Is that of the Yamato Monogatari , offered to the Empress between 872 and 907. However, the stylistic mastery of later works (from the 12th century) leads most experts to believe that the "classical" art of emakimono grew during this period from the 10th century, first appearing in illustrations in novels or diaries produced by the ladies of the court. In addition, the initial themes remained close to waka poetry (seasons, Buddhism, nature and other themes). Therefore,

2268-527: The Dōjō-ji Engi Emaki  [ fr ] (16th century). On the other hand, the innovative and more spiritual influences of Chinese Song art , deeply rooted in spirituality and Zen Buddhism, initiated the dominant artistic movement of wash (ink or monochromatic painting in water, sumi-e or suiboku-ga in Japanese) in the ensuing Muromachi period , guided by such famous artists as Tenshō Shūbun or Sesshū Tōyō . A professional current

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2376-705: The Ishiyama-dera Engi Emaki  [ fr ] (1497), the Seikō-ji Engi emaki  [ fr ] (1487) or a version of the Kitano Tenjin Engi Emaki (1503); he paid great attention to details and colours, despite a common composition. In a more general way, the illustration of novels in the classic yamato-e style (such as the many versions of the Genji Monogatari Emaki or The Tales of Ise Emaki ) persisted during late medieval times. If emakimono therefore ceased to be

2484-469: The Shigisan Engi Emaki . For example, the Kitano Tenjin Engi Emaki recounts the life and death of Sugawara no Michizane , Minister in the 9th century and tragic figure in Japanese history, revered in the manner of a god ( kami ). The rich colours, the tense contours, the search for movement and the very realistic details of the faces well illustrate this mixture of styles, especially as

2592-457: The Zuijin Teiki Emaki attributed to Fujiwara no Nobuzane , directly present portrait galleries according to the iconographic techniques of the time. A similar change was felt in religion as the esoteric Buddhist sects of the Heian era ( Tendai and Shingon ) gave way to Pure Land Buddhism ( Jōdo ), which primarily addressed the people by preaching simple practices of devotion to

2700-539: The nise-e technique. Originating in Japan in the sixth or seventh century through trade with the Chinese Empire , emakimono art spread widely among the aristocracy in the Heian period . An emakimono consists of one or more long scrolls of paper narrating a story through Yamato-e texts and paintings. The reader discovers the story by progressively unrolling the scroll with one hand while rewinding it with

2808-424: The yamato-e style, these Japanese works are above all an everyday art, centered on the human being and the sensations conveyed by the artist. Although the very first 8th-century emakimono were copies of Chinese works, emakimono of Japanese taste appeared from the 10th century in the Heian imperial court , especially among aristocratic ladies with refined and reclusive lives, who devoted themselves to

2916-640: The Kitano Tenjin Engi Emaki or the Ippen Shōnin Eden . As for the workshops of the court, they satisfied the orders of the palace, whether for the illustration of novels or historical chronicles, such as the Heiji Monogatari Emaki . A form of exploitation of the story could also motivate the sponsor: for example, Heiji Monogatari Emaki were produced for the Minamoto clan (winner of

3024-456: The Amida Buddha . These very active sects used emakimono intensively during the 13th and 14th centuries to illustrate and disseminate their doctrines. Several religious practices influenced the Kamakura emakimono : notably, public sermons and picture explaining sessions ( 絵解 , e-toki ) led the artists to use scrolls of larger size than usual, and to represent the protagonists of

3132-508: The Genpei War ), and the Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba was created to extol the deeds of a samurai in search of recognition from the shōgun . These works were, it seems, intended to be read by nobles. Nevertheless, Seckel and Hasé assert that the separation between the secular and the religious remains unclear and undoubtedly does not correspond to an explicit practice: thus, the aristocrats regularly ordered emakimono to offer them to

3240-472: The Kamakura period, as revealed by the vertical inscription present before this group. This period difference is faithfully transcribed in the equipment and clothing of the guards. The first three guards are dressed in the traditional costume known as the suikan and wear the tate-eboshi , a high black hat. The remaining seven guards wear the kare-ginu , a costume less ample than the suikan , with pants that are kept tucked inside heavy boots below

3348-550: The Matsudaira clan , after he pacified Mikawa . This decision was made after he counseled by his senior vassal Sakai Tadatsugu to abandon their allegiance with the Imagawa clan. He also strengthened his powerbase by creating a military government system of Tokugawa clan in Mikawa which based from his hereditary vassals Fudai daimyō . The system which called " Sanbi no gunsei " (三備の軍制) with

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3456-453: The Nara period , the Japanese were inspired by the Tang dynasty : administration, architecture, dress customs or ceremonies. The exchanges between China and Japan were also fruitful for the arts, mainly religious arts, and the artists of the Japanese archipelago were eager to copy and appropriate continental techniques. In that context, experts assume that the first Chinese painted scrolls arrived on

3564-503: The six realms (or destinies  [ fr ] ) Buddhist paintings ( rokudō-e ) – such as the Hell Scroll or the two versions of the Gaki Zōshi  [ fr ] , otoko-e paintings – aimed to frighten the faithful with horror scenes. Retracing the evolution of emakimono remains difficult, due to the few works that have survived. However, the obvious mastery of

3672-652: The 10th century Imperial Court. The beginnings of the Japanese-inspired Heian period painting technique, retrospectively named yamato-e , can be found initially in some aspects of Buddhist painting of the new esoteric Tendai and Shingon sects, then more strongly in Pure Land Buddhism ( Jodō ); after a phase when Chinese techniques were copied, the art of the Japanese archipelago became progressively more delicate, lyrical, decorative with less powerful but more colorful compositions. Nevertheless, it

3780-512: The 15th and the last shogun of Tokugawa, tendered his resignation to Emperor Meiji . He formally stepped down ten days later, returning governing power to the Emperor, marking the end of the ruling power of the Tokugawa shogunate . In 1868, Tokugawa Iesato (1863–1940, from Tayasu family) was chosen as the heir to Yoshinobu as the head of Tokugawa clan. On July 7, 1884, Iesato became a prince, just like

3888-659: The 3rd century CE under the Han dynasty and the 2nd century CE under the Zhou dynasty , the pottery of which was adorned with hunting scenes juxtaposed with movements. Paper was invented in China in about the 1st century CE, simplifying the writing on scrolls of laws or sutra, sometimes decorated. The first narrative scrolls arrived later; various masters showed interest in this medium, including Gu Kaizhi (345–406), who experimented with new techniques. Genre painting and Chinese characters, dominant in

3996-659: The 4th century CE. They were used for religious texts and entered China by the 1st century. Handscrolls were introduced to Japan centuries later through the spread of Buddhism. The earliest extant Japanese handscroll was created in the 8th century and focuses on the life of the Buddha. The origins of Japanese handscrolls can be found in China and, to a lesser extent, in Korea , the main sources of Japanese artistic inspiration until modern times. Narrative art forms in China can be traced back to between

4104-487: The Chinese and Korean scrolls, emakimono combine calligraphy and illustrations and are painted, drawn or stamped on long rolls of paper or silk sometimes measuring several metres. The reader unwinds each scroll little by little, revealing the story as seen fit. Emakimono are therefore a narrative genre similar to the book, developing romantic or epic stories, or illustrating religious texts and legends. Fully anchored in

4212-565: The Heian period onwards, emakimono came to be dissociated from China, mainly in their themes. Chinese scrolls were intended mainly to illustrate the transcendent principles of Buddhism and the serenity of the landscapes, suggesting the grandeur and the spirituality. The Japanese, on the other hand, had refocused their scrolls on everyday life and man, conveying drama, humour and feelings. Thus, emakimono began to be inspired by literature, poetry, nature and especially everyday life; in short, they formed an intimate art, sometimes in opposition to

4320-566: The Matsudaira clan, including Nobumitsu, took the surname Kamo no Ason (Kamo) , and the Matsudaira clan's hollyhock crest also suggests a connection to the Kamo clan, so some have pointed out that they were actually vassals of the Kamo clan. Tokugawa Ieyasu himself signed the letter of assurance to the Suganuma clan in 1561, shortly after independence from the Imagawa clan, as "Minamoto no Motoyasu" ("Suganuma Family Genealogy" and "Documents Possessed by Kunozan Toshogu Shrine") The clan rose to power at

4428-417: The Mikawa province. Nobumitsu's great-great-grandson Matsudaira Kiyoyasu made his clan strong, but was assassinated. In 1567, Matsudaira Motonobu—then known as Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542–1616)—grandson of Kiyoyasu, was recognized by Emperor Ōgimachi as a descendant of Seiwa Genji ; he also started the family name Tokugawa. According to historical documents from the same period, some of the three generations of

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4536-495: The art of emakimono . Under the impetus of the new warrior class in power, and the new Buddhist sects, production was indeed very sustained and the themes and techniques more varied than before. The emakimono style of the time was characterized by two aspects: the synthesis of the genres of yamato-e , and realism. Initially, the evolution marked previously by the Ban Dainagon Ekotoba (very late Heian era)

4644-431: The artistic tastes of the court in the 11th century, inclined to an emotional, melancholic and refined representation of relations within the palace, and formed a pictorial vector very suited to the narrative. Even though they are mentioned in the antique texts, no emakimono of the early Heian period (9th and 10th centuries) remains extant today; the oldest emakimono illustrating a novel mentioned in period sources

4752-471: The arts led to a more realistic and human representation (anger, pain or size). If the activity related to religion was prolific, then so too were the orders of the bushi (noble warriors). Several emakimono of historical or military chronicles are among the most famous, notably the Hōgen Monogatari Emaki  [ fr ] (no longer extant) and the Heiji Monogatari Emaki ; of

4860-442: The arts, poetry, painting, calligraphy and literature. However, no emakimono remain from the Heian period, and the oldest masterpieces date back to the "golden age" of emakimono in the 12th and 13th centuries. During this period, the techniques of composition became highly accomplished, and the subjects were even more varied than before, dealing with history, religion, romances, and other famous tales. The patrons who sponsored

4968-598: The author of the Ban Dainagon Ekotoba and the Nenjū Gyōji Emaki  [ fr ] , or Enichibō Jōnin  [ fr ] for part of the Kegon Engi Emaki . Nevertheless, the life of these artists remains poorly known, at most they seem to be of noble extraction. Such a background is particularly implied by the always very precise depictions in emakimono of the imperial palace (interior architecture, clothing and rituals) or official bodies (notably

5076-480: The beauty of its landscapes and its calligraphic poetry. Towards the middle of the Kamakura period, there was a revival of interest in the Heian court, which already appeared to be a peak of Japanese civilization, and its refined culture. Thus the Murasaki Shikibu Nikki Emaki , which traces the life and intrigues of Murasaki Shikibu , author of The Tale of Genji (10th century), largely reflects

5184-425: The calligraphy and the image, each new painting illustrating the preceding text, and those which present continuous paintings, not interrupted by the text, where various technical measures allow the fluid transitions between the scenes. Today, emakimono offer a unique historical glimpse into the life and customs of Japanese people, of all social classes and all ages, during the early part of medieval times. Few of

5292-585: The clan are partly administered by the Tokugawa Memorial Foundation . After the death of Ieyasu, in 1636, the heads of the gosanke (the three branches with fiefs in Owari , Kishū , and Mito ) also bore the Tokugawa surname, so did the three additional branches, known as the gosankyō : the Tayasu (1731), Hitotsubashi (1735), and Shimizu (1758) family, after the ascension of Tokugawa Yoshimune . Once

5400-441: The classical scrolls of the end of the Heian period testifies to at least a century of maturation and pictorial research. These foundations permitted the emakimono artists of the ensuing Kamakura period to engage in sustained production in all of the themes. The era covering the end of the Heian period and much of the Kamakura period , or the 12th and 13th centuries, is commonly described by art historians as "the golden age" of

5508-504: The construction of a story, so the composition must be based on the transitions from scene to scene until the final denouement. Emakimono were initially strongly influenced by China, as were the Japanese arts of the time; the Illustrated Sutra of Cause and Effect  [ fr ] incorporates many of the naive, simple styles of the Tang dynasty , although dissonances can be discerned, especially in relation to colours. From

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5616-428: The court. Monks were also able to produce paintings without any patronage. Secondly, in medieval Japan there were professional painters' workshops  [ fr ] ( 絵 所 , literally 'painting office' ) ; during the Kamakura period, professional production dominated greatly, and several categories of workshops were distinguished: those officially attached to the palace ( kyūtei edokoro ), those attached to

5724-416: The creation of these emakimono were above all the aristocrats and Buddhist temples. From the 14th century, the emakimono genre became more marginal, giving way to new movements born mainly from Zen Buddhism. Emakimono paintings mostly belong to the yamato-e style, characterized by its subjects from Japanese life and landscapes, the staging of the human, and an emphasis on rich colours and

5832-511: The creativity of classical scrolls is felt even less in otogi-zōshi , because even though the composition is similar, the lack of harmony of colors and the overloaded appearance are detrimental; it seems that the production is often the work of amateurs. However, a field of study of nara-ehon and the nara-e pictorial style exists on the fringes and stands out from the framework of emakimono . Various other artists, notably Tawaraya Sōtatsu and Yosa Buson , were still interested in

5940-568: The crucial lack of information and documents on these rare known artists leads Japanese art historians rather to identify styles, workshops, and schools of production. Tokugawa clan Minamoto no Yoshishige (1135–1202), grandson of Minamoto no Yoshiie (1041–1108), was the first to take the name of Nitta. He sided with his cousin Minamoto no Yoritomo against the Taira clan (1180) and accompanied him to Kamakura . Nitta Yoshisue, 4th son of Yoshishige, settled at Tokugawa (Kozuke province) and took

6048-420: The daily lives of the people, historical chronicles, and the biographies of famous monks; ultimately, a style of emakimono depicting matters outside the palace and called otoko-e ("men's painting"). The Shigisan Engi Emaki (middle of the 12th century), with dynamic and free lines, light colors and a decidedly popular and humorous tone, perfectly illustrate this movement, not hesitating to depict

6156-646: The dominant artistic media in Japan since the end of the Kamakura period, it is in the illustration movement of Otogi-zōshi ( otogi meaning "to tell stories") that emakimono developed a new popular vigour in the 15th and 16th centuries (the Muromachi period); the term nara-ehon (literally, "the book of illustrations of Nara ") sometimes designated them in a controversial way (because they were anachronistic and combined books with scrolls), or more precisely as otogi-zōshi emaki or nara-emaki . These are small, symbolic and funny tales, intended to pass

6264-489: The end of the Sengoku period . as their political influences and territories they controlled expanded during this period, they developed many new offices such as many magistrate official such as Kōriki Kiyonaga , Amano Yasukage , Honda Shigetsugu , and many others, to control their new territories and vassals. In 1566, as Ieyasu declared his independence from the Imagawa clan, he reformed the order of Mikawa province starting with

6372-591: The famous eponymous novel, narrates the political and amorous intrigues of Prince Hikaru Genji ; the rich and opaque colors affixed over the entire surface of the paper ( tsukuri-e method), the intimacy and melancholy of the composition and finally the illustration of the emotional peaks of the novel taking place only inside the Imperial Palace are characteristics of the onna-e subgenre of yamato-e , reserved for court narratives usually written by aristocratic ladies. In that scroll, each painting illustrates

6480-400: The great temples and shrines ( jiin edokoro ), or finally those hosted by a few senior figures. The study of certain colophons and period texts makes it possible to associate many emakimono with these professional workshops, and even sometimes to understand how they function. When produced by the temple workshops, emakimono were intended mainly as proselytism, or to disseminate

6588-488: The growth of a sophisticated urban culture, and the development of the most urbanized society on the planet. Tsunenari formed the Tokugawa Memorial Foundation in 2003 to preserve and administer the historical objects, art, armor and documents that have been passed down in the Tokugawa family over the generations, display them for the general public and provide assistance to academic research on topics concerning historical Japan. The Tokugawa's clan symbol, known in Japanese as

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6696-446: The heads of some of other notable Japanese noble families, known as Kazoku . The 1946 Constitution of Japan abolished the kazoku and the noble titles, making Iesato's son, Iemasa Tokugawa , no longer a prince. Iemasa had a son Iehide, who died young, so he was succeeded by one of his grandsons, Tsunenari . Tsunenari is the second son of Toyoko (eldest daughter of Iemasa) and Ichirō Matsudaira (son of Tsuneo Matsudaira ), and he

6804-511: The image, sometimes to the point of making the text disappear. The scrolls have a limited height (on average between 30 cm (12 in) and 39 cm (15 in)), compared with their length (on average 9 m (30 ft) to 12 m (39 ft)), meaning that emakimono are therefore limited to being read alone, historically by the aristocracy and members of the high clergy. Handscrolls are believed to have been invented in India before

6912-507: The imperial police ( 検非違使 , kebiishi ) ). The Shigisan Engi Emaki illustrates that point well, as the precision of both religious and aristocratic motifs suggests that the painter is close to those two worlds. Perhaps a more famous artist is Fujiwara no Nobuzane , aristocrat of the Fujiwara clan and author of the Zuijin Teiki Emaki , as well as various suites of realistic portraits ("likeness pictures" ( 似絵 , nise-e ) ,

7020-469: The individuality of the faces, the naturalistic rendering of the horses and the extensive use of fine lines. The history of the scroll remains largely unknown until the 17th century. An entry in the Sumiyoshi-ke Kantei-hikae reveals that in 1731, it was in possession of the Tokugawa clan , then the ruling dynasty of Japan. In 1953, the work was classified as a National Treasure of Japan . It

7128-525: The initiators of the classical emakimono , are to be found at the emperor's court in Heian, among the aristocrats versed in the various arts. Period sources mention in particular painting competitions ( e-awase ) where the nobles competed around a common theme from a poem, as described by Murasaki Shikibu in The Tale of Genji . Their work seems to focus more on the illustration of novels ( monogatari ) and diaries ( nikki ), rather feminine literature of

7236-641: The interior of buildings ( fukinuki yatai ). A second notable example of the onna-e paintings in the Heian period is the Nezame Monogatari Emaki , which appears to be very similar to the Genji Monogatari Emaki , but presents softer and more decorative paintings giving pride of place to the representation of nature subtly emphasising the feelings of the characters. In contrast with court paintings inspired by women's novels ( onna-e ) there are other scrolls inspired by themes such as

7344-604: The islands around the 6th century CE, and probably correspond to illustrated sutra. Thus, the oldest known Japanese narrative painted scroll (or emakimono ) dates from the 7th century to the Nara period: the Illustrated Sutra of Cause and Effect  [ fr ] , which traces the life of the Gautama Buddha , founder of the Buddhist religion, until his Illumination. Still naive in style ( Six Dynasties and early Tang dynasty) with

7452-404: The knee, and each one also wears a quiver filled with arrows on his back. An inscription located ahead of the fourth guard mentions the month of October 1247, and the emakimono could therefore have been created during or close to that month. A widespread hypothesis among art historians attributes the work to Fujiwara no Nobuzane (born c.  1176 and died c.  1266 ),

7560-413: The large number of more or less similar copies on the lives of great monks and the founding of the important temples. Various historians emphasise the use of emakimono in sessions of picture explaining ( 絵 解 , e-toki ) , during which a learned monk detailed the contents of the scrolls to a popular audience. Specialists thus explicate the unusually large dimensions of the different versions of

7668-482: The late Heian period (second half of the 12th century) were already very mature. If almost all emakimono belong to the genre of yamato-e , several sub-genres stand out within this style, including in the Heian period onna-e ("women's painting") and otoko-e ("men's painting"). Several classic scrolls of each genre perfectly represent these pictorial movements. First, the Genji Monogatari Emaki (designed between around 1120 and 1140), illustrating

7776-456: The latter, the scroll kept at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston remains highly regarded for its mastery of composition (which reaches a crescendo at the dramatic climax of the scroll, i.e. the burning of the palace and the bloody battle between foot soldiers), and for its contribution to present day understanding of Japanese medieval weapons and armour. Akiyama Terukazu describes it as "a masterpiece on

7884-422: The life of the Japanese people in its most insignificant details. Here, the color is applied only in light touches that leave the paper bare, as the supple and free line dominates the composition, unlike the constructed paintings of the court. In addition, the text occupies very limited space, the artist painting rather long scenes without fixed limits. Two other masterpieces emerged into the light of day during

7992-434: The men, who studied Chinese writing from a young age, the women adopted a new syllabary , hiragana , which was simpler and more consistent with the phonetics of Japanese. Heian period novels ( monogatari ) and diaries ( nikki ) recorded intimate details about life, love affairs and intrigues at court as they developed; the best known of these is the radical Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu , lady-in-waiting of

8100-514: The name of that place. Their provincial history book did not mention Minamoto clan or Nitta clan. The nominal originator of the Matsudaira clan was reportedly Matsudaira Chikauji , who was originally a poor Buddhist monk. He reportedly descended from Nitta Yoshisue in the 8th generation and witnessed the ruin of the Nitta in their war against the Ashikaga . He settled at Matsudaira (Mikawa province) and

8208-434: The names of the "masters" of emakimono . Moreover, a scroll can be the fruit of collaboration by several artists; some techniques such as tsukuri-e even naturally incline to such collaboration. Art historians are more interested in determining the social and artistic environment of painters: amateurs or professionals, at court or in temples, aristocrats or of modest birth. In the first place, amateur painters, perhaps

8316-412: The narrative scroll until around the 17th century. The Kanō school used narrative scrolls in the same way; Kanō Tan'yū realised several scrolls on the Tokugawa battles, particularly that of Sekigahara in his Tōshō Daigongen Engi , where he was inspired in places by the Heiji Monogatari Emaki (13th century). In essence, an emakimono is a narrative system (like a book) that requires

8424-431: The nobles, especially the ladies interested in the illustration of novels, and seems to have become prevalent early in the 10th century. As with religious painting, the themes of Japanese life, appreciated by the nobles, did not fit well with painting of Chinese sensibility, so much so that court artists developed to a certain extent a new national technique which appeared to be fashionable in the 11th century, for example in

8532-493: The one hand, emakimono had become less inspired, marked by an extreme aesthetic mannerism (such as the exaggerated use of gold and silver powder) with a composition more technical than creative; the tendency to multiply the scenes in a fixed style can be seen in the Hōnen Shōnin Eden  [ fr ] (the longest known emakimono , with 48 scrolls, completed in 1307), the Kasuga Gongen Genki E (1309) and

8640-399: The other hand, from right to left (according to the then horizontal writing direction of Japanese script ), so that only a portion of text or image of about 60 cm (24 in) is visible. The Kamakura period (1185–1333), the advent of which followed a period of political turmoil and civil wars, was marked by the coming to power of the warrior class (the samurai ). Artistic production

8748-403: The other hand, from right to left (according to the writing direction of Japanese). In this way, only part of the story can be seen – about 60 centimetres (24 in), though more can be unrolled – and the artist creates a succession of images to construct the story. Once the emakimono has been read, the reader must rewind the scroll again in its original reading direction. The emakimono

8856-511: The painting techniques of the time, notably the tsukuri-e , but in a more decorative and extroverted style. Other works followed that trend, such as Ise Monogatari Emaki , the Makura no Sōshi Emaki  [ fr ] or the Sumiyoshi Monogatari Emaki . By the end of the Kamakura period, the art of emakimono was already losing its importance. Experts note that, on

8964-402: The paintings arranged in friezes above the text, it is very likely a copy of an older Chinese model, several versions of which have been identified. Although subsequent classical emakimono feature a very different style from that of this work, it foreshadows the golden age of the movement that came four centuries later, from the 12th century CE onwards. The Heian period appears today as

9072-417: The paintings drew their inspiration from both Buddhism and Shinto . The realistic trends that were in vogue in Kamakura art, perfectly embodied by sculpture , were exposed in the majority of the Kamakura emakimono ; indeed, the bakufu shogunate system held power over Japan, and the refined and codified art of the court gave way to more fluidity and dynamism. The greater simplicity advocated in

9180-405: The rupture of relations with China until the 9th century, due to disorders related to the collapse of the glorious Tang dynasty , promoted what Miyeko Murase has described as the "emergence of national taste" as a truly Japanese culture departed for the first time from Chinese influence since the early Kofun period . This development was first observed in the literature of the Heian women: unlike

9288-511: The scrolls have survived intact, and around 20 are protected as National Treasures of Japan . The term emakimono or e-makimono , often abbreviated as emaki , is made up of the kanji e ( 絵 , "painting") , maki ( 巻 , "scroll" or "book") and mono ( 物 , "thing") . The term refers to long scrolls of painted paper or silk, which range in length from under a metre to several metres long; some are reported as measuring up to 12 metres (40 ft) in length. The scrolls tell

9396-411: The scrolls up to the 10th century CE, remain little known to this day, because they were overshadowed by the famous landscape scrolls of the Song dynasty . Relations with East Asia (mainly China and Korea) brought Chinese writing ( kanji ) to Japan by the 4th century, and Buddhism in the 6th century, together with interest in the apparently very effective bureaucracy of the mighty Chinese Empire . In

9504-422: The search for Chinese spiritual greatness. The first Japanese themes in the Heian period were very closely linked to waka literature and poetry: paintings of the seasons, the annual calendar of ceremonies, the countryside and finally the famous landscapes of the Japanese archipelago ( meisho-e  [ fr ] ). Subsequently, the Kamakura warriors and the new Pure Land Buddhist sects diversified

9612-537: The seasonal landscapes of the panel paintings in the Phoenix Hall ( 鳳凰堂 , Hōō-dō ) or Amida Hall at the Byōdō-in temple, a masterpiece of primitive yamato-e of the early 11th century. Experts believe that yamato-e illustrations of novels and painted narrative scrolls, or emakimono , developed in the vein of this secular art, linked to literature and poetry. The painting technique lent itself fully to

9720-486: The second half of the 12th century. First, the Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga forms a monochrome sketch in ink gently caricaturing the customs of Buddhist monks, where the spontaneity of touch stands out. Secondly, the Ban Dainagon Ekotoba tells of a political conspiracy in the year 866 by offering a surprising mixture of the two genres onna-e and otoko-e , with free lines and sometimes light, sometimes rich and opaque colors; this meeting of genres foreshadows

9828-448: The series. The first three portraits show guards from the second half of the 12th century: the lines are very free and expressive, without much recourse to preparatory sketches. As these guards belonged to an older era, it is possible that their portraits were copied from an older scroll. The next four guards (from the fourth to the seventh in the scroll) have a relatively similar stroke, but are based on an initial sketch with fine lines that

9936-415: The slow maturation of the movement of emakimono was closely linked to the emergence of Japanese culture and literature, as well as to the interest of ladies soon joined by professional painters from palace workshops ( e-dokoro ) or temples, who created a more "professional" and successful technique. The art historians consider that the composition and painting techniques they see in the masterpieces of

10044-434: The story in a somewhat disproportionate way compared with emakimono of the standard sizes, to enable those protagonists to be seen from a distance, in a typically Japanese non-realistic perspective (such as the Ippen Shōnin Eden ). The religious emakimono of the Kamakura period focus on the foundation of the temples, or the lives of famous monks. During that period, many of the religious institutions commissioned

10152-645: The structure divide the governance into three sections: To the end of the Edo period they ruled Japan as shoguns . During the Edo period There were fifteen Tokugawa shoguns . Their dominance was so strong that some history books use the term "Tokugawa era" instead of "Edo period". Their principal family shrine is the Tōshō-gū in Nikkō , and their principal temples ( bodaiji ) are Kan'ei-ji and Zōjō-ji , both in Tokyo . Heirlooms of

10260-429: The style that dominated a few decades later, during the Kamakura period . While the authority of the court rapidly declined, the end of the Heian period (in 1185) was marked by the advent of the provincial lords (in particular, the Taira and the Minamoto ), who acquired great power at the top of the state. Exploiting the unrest associated with the Genpei War , which provided fertile ground for religious proselytism,

10368-525: The subject of the world's military." In the same spirit, a noble warrior had the Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba designed to recount his military exploits during the Mongol invasions of Japan . Kamakura art particularly flourished in relation to realistic portraiture ( nise-e ); if the characters in the emakimono therefore evolved towards greater pictorial realism, some, such as the Sanjūrokkasen emaki , or

10476-610: The subjects even more widely. Despite the wide range of emakimono themes, specialists like to categorise them, both in substance and in form. An effective method of differentiating emakimono comes back to the study of the subjects by referring to the canons of the time. The categorisation proposed by Okudaira and Fukui thus distinguishes between secular and religious paintings: A third category covers more heterogeneous works, mixing religion and narration or religion and popular humour. The authors of emakimono are most often unknown nowadays and it remains risky to speculate as to

10584-538: The supernatural (a number of otogi-zōshi emaki depict all sorts of yōkai and folk creatures), as well as social caricatures and popular novels. Among the preserved examples are genre paintings such as Buncho no sasshi and Sazare-ichi , or supernatural Buddhist tales such as the Tsuchigumo Sōshi or the Hyakki Yagyō Emaki  [ fr ] . From the point of view of art historians,

10692-435: The time focusing on mythology, folklore, legends, religious beliefs or even contemporary society. This particular form of emakimono dates back to Heian times, but it was under Muromachi that it gained real popularity. The relative popularity of otogi-zōshi seems to have stemmed from a burgeoning lack of enthusiasm for hectic or religious stories; the people had become more responsive to themes of dreams, laughter and

10800-484: The work are perfectly representative of works created at the end of the 12th century according to the nise-e technique, a current of the Yamato-e painting style that can be defined as the art of realistic portraits of the Kamakura period. Nise-e was part of the search for realism in painting initiated at that time, in opposition to older pictorial movements under which the faces were stylised or idealised, without

10908-506: The workshops of painters (often monk-painters) to create emakimono recounting their foundation, or the biography of the founding monk. Among the best-known works on such themes are the illustrated biographies of Ippen , Hōnen  [ fr ] , Shinran  [ fr ] and Xuanzang , as well as the Kegon Engi Emaki and the Taima Mandara Engi Emaki  [ fr ] . The Ippen biography, painted by

11016-402: Was adopted by his wife's family. Their provincial history book claimed that this original clan was Ariwara clan. Because this place is said to have been reclaimed by Ariwara Nobumori, one theory holds that Matsudaira clan was related to Ariwara no Narihira . Matsudaira Nobumitsu (15th century), son of Chikauji, was in charge of Okazaki Castle , and strengthened the authority of his family in

11124-503: Was especially in secular art that the nascent yamato-e was felt most strongly; its origins went back to the sliding partitions and screens of the Heian Imperial Palace , covered with paintings on paper or silk, the themes of which were chosen from waka court poetry, annual rites, seasons or the famous lives and landscapes of the archipelago ( meisho-e  [ fr ] ). This secular art then spread among

11232-532: Was located in Higashikamo District , Aichi Prefecture . Although Emperor Go-Yōzei offered a new symbol, Ieyasu continued to use the symbol, which was not related to Minamoto clan . In jidaigeki , the symbol is often shown to locate the story in the Edo period. In works set in during the Meiji Restoration movement, the symbol is used to show the bearer's allegiance to the shogunate—as opposed to

11340-512: Was nevertheless maintained by the Tosa school : the only one still to claim the yamato-e , it produced many emakimono to the order of the court or the temples (this school of painters led the imperial edokoro until the 18th century). Tosa Mitsunobu notably produced several works on the foundation of temples: the Kiyomizu-dera Engi Emaki  [ fr ] (1517), a scroll of

11448-402: Was spreading very widely due to the importance given both to the freedom of brush strokes and the lightness of the tones ( otoko-e ), as well as bright colors rendered by thick pigments for certain elements of the scenes ( onna-e ). However, the very refined appearance of the court paintings later gave way to more dynamic and popular works, at least in relation to the theme, in the manner of

11556-471: Was then supplemented by thicker brush strokes. In addition, the details of the faces, and especially the nostrils, in these four portraits are more marked than in the first three. The last two portraits are distinguished by the more vigorous use of the brush, as well as a more restrained line scrupulously following the preparatory lines, giving an impression of lower quality. Despite their stylistic differences, all portraits also share recurring elements, including

11664-489: Was very strong, exploring even more varied themes and techniques than before, and signalling the "golden age" of emakimono (the 12th and 13th centuries). The emakimono consists of a scroll of paper 28.7 cm (11.3 in) high by 237.5 cm (93.5 in) long, on which is painted a series of nine equestrian portraits of Imperial Guards stationed near the Daijō Tennō (retired emperor). The name of each guard

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