Art in Tokyo

Tokyo, the capital of the Land of the Rising Sun or Japan and one of the world’s most modern cities and a leading center of contemporary culture and art. Art was one of the ways the Japanese found to preserve their cultural uniqueness. This city is home to some of the world’s greatest collections of Japanese art housed in major museums and is thus a fitting place to get an overview of Japanese cultural history. The city is a mix of ancient Japanese culture and modern technological innovation. An integral part of Tokyo, its art, culture and entertainment reflect the unique artistic creativity and rich traditional heritage of its indigenous inhabitants. The residents of Tokyo have acquired worldwide popularity for their wide range of artistic creations. Japanese art covers a wide range of art styles and media, including ancient pottery, sculpture in wood and bronze, ink painting on silk and paper and more recently manga, cartoon, along with a myriad of other types of works of art. One of the major influences on ancient Japanese Culture was Zen Buddhism. The contribution of Zen to Ancient Japanese Art is seen in a Japanese Rock garden, the Japanese style garden, flower arrangement (Ikebana), architecture, Haiku or poetry, ceramics, calligraphy and other Japanese crafts. Just as an example – according to Zen emptiness is a key element. That's why the landscape in Japanese paintings is brought to life with just a few strokes of the brush. Japanese poetry - Haiku, also influenced by Zen, believes in simplicity. Zen also believes in making minimal changes to nature and emphasizes natural materials when it comes to architecture and design. You will never see a Japanese flower garden for instance. No flower beds. The elements used are rocks, water, sand and trees. The gardener takes care of the Japanese style garden helping the landscape to stay as it is. Each tree is taken care of meticulously.

 

Museums

Visitors to Tokyo can get a feel of its art and culture with a trip to its galleries and museums. The Edo Tokyo museum focuses on the city’s history as a rural village to becoming the seat of the empire. Travelling through 400 years of history has never been more interesting. The Tokyo National Museum houses 5 exhibition galleries all focusing on specific areas of Japanese and Asian culture and art. It houses a vast collection of Japanese from pre-history to the pre-modern period. By looking at this historical progression through the art works we will be able to orient ourselves to Japanese art history. This is the oldest and largest museum in the country and open to public since 1872. Japan is also well known for its leadership in technological advances. The National Museum of Nature & Science is a splendid place to begin this scientific journey. Its facilities include the Institute for Nature Study, the Tsukuba Botanical Garden, the Collection Center and the Shinjuku District, which has an annual open lab for the general public.

 

Performing Arts

Modern meets traditional in Bunkamura. This is the foremost cultural center and includes Orchard Hall, which has been the venue for performances by the NHK Symphony Orchestra, the Tokyo Ballet and the Moscow Stanislavsky Ballet. Its Theatre Cocoon is the best place for dramas and musicals. The Traditional Performing Arts Program is one that provides an opportunity for anyone to enjoy live performances as well as the opportunity to get hands on experience of singing, story telling, shamisen – a 3 stringed musical instrument, koto – another stringed instrument and is the national instrument of Japan, shakuhachi – a Japanese end blown flute made of bamboo , biwa – a short necked fretted flute, and hand drums etc. free of charge. Professional musicians teach participants how to sing and dance in introductory workshops. The is a program for children as well. More and more parents want their children to explore the Japanese tradition of performing arts. The program for children has been designed to train children by professional artists in various fields for 7 months and then present a concert. The main aim of this program is to help children and their families rediscover and deepen the cultural aspects of Tokyo.

 

Japanese Painting

Japanese painting is one of the oldest and most highly refined of the Japanese arts, encompassing a wide variety of genre and styles. The art of Japanese painting is full of mesmerizing Asian charm when you look at it from a purely decorative view. But it is also a subject that can be a bit confusing for novices when you want to learn more about it. Different painting schools and styles, a variety of different media, the deep roots in Zen Buddhism and the use of specific terms from the Japanese language make this art form not always easily accessible for Westerners. Japanese paintings, especially those of the pre-modern era, tended to share several general characteristics. They were painted with water-soluble colours and ink using animal-hair brushes. Colours were applied to a fine mulberry paper or silk surface. Formats included hanging scrolls and hand scrolls, screens, door panels, and albums. Hanging scrolls could be rolled up between viewings to keep out light, dust, and insects.

 

Japanese Pottery

Japanese pottery can be divided in to 4 main categories - earthenware, porcelain, glazed and un-glazed stoneware. These 4 kinds of pottery have been made in Japan since prehistoric times, but it is more recently that it has become so widespread. Japanese pottery and porcelain, one of the country’s oldest art forms, dates back to the Neolithic period. Most pottery that has been made in Japan is used for practical purposes, such as bowls, vases or plates. Although this fact is true, the decoration of the pottery pieces has always been of the highest quality. As with many other Japanese customs and rituals, the art of making pottery and porcelain has been refined and mastered over hundreds of years. It is difficult to proclaim any particular religious influence on ceramic styles, but the Zen taste for directness, simplicity, earthiness, and irregular shapes is prominent in the work of many modern Japanese potters. Nonetheless, Japanese pottery did not develop in a vacuum. Perhaps the greatest influence on Japanese pottery during Japan’s feudal period came from Korea. The Korean influence on Japanese pottery is profound. For example, Japan’s famous Hagi ware originated when Korean potters were brought back to Japan during the "pottery wars" of 1592 AD and 1597 -1598 AD.

Satsuma Pottery
One of the most popular kinds is called Satsuma and was made around 400 years ago from a brown clay found in the Satsuma region. Some say that it is a cross between pottery and porcelain, due to the fact that it is fired at a very low temperature.

Arita Pottery
Around the same time that Satsuma pottery was created, the blue and white porcelain called Arita was also being made. These pieces are white in color with an ink like blue under glaze.

Imari Pottery
The word Imari, which is actually the name of a port near the town of Arita, is often given as a term to describe all pottery coming from Japan from 1600 onwards. The name was given due to the fact that the port was used to export pottery all over the world and therefore the term Imari pottery was born.

Made In Occupied Japan
In 1945, Japan was occupied by the Allied forces as part of World War 2. During the 7 year occupation, any porcelain or pottery that was being exported out of the country had to be marked as being from Occupied Japan. The idea was that the mass export of these kinds of goods would help build Japan's economy and stabilize the country after the war.

 

Japanese Woodblock Prints

Woodblock printing in Japan is a technique best known for its use in the ukiyo-e artistic genre, which is its main genre, however, it was also used very widely for printing books in the same period. It mainly features motifs of landscapes, tales from history, the theatre, and pleasure quarters.  Ukiyo literally means floating world in English, referring to a conception of an evanescent world, impermanent, fleeting beauty and a realm of entertainments (kabuki, courtesans, geisha) divorced from the responsibilities of the mundane, everyday world, "pictures of the floating world", i.e.ukiyo-e, are considered a genre unto themselves. Ukiyo-e were affordable because they could be mass-produced. They were mainly meant for townsmen, who were generally not wealthy enough to afford an original painting. The original subject of ukiyo-e was city life, in particular activities and scenes from the entertainment district. Later on landscapes also became popular.

 

Japanese Bonsai

Bonsai is a Japanese art form using miniature trees grown in containers. The tree and the pot form a single harmonious unit where the shape, texture and colour of one, compliments the other. Then the tree must be shaped. It is not enough just to plant a tree in a pot and allow nature to take its course - the result would look nothing like a tree and would look very short-lived. Every branch and twig of a bonsai is shaped or eliminated until the chosen image is achieved. From then on, the image is maintained and improved by a constant regime of pruning and trimming. It is the art of dwarfing trees or plants and developing them into an aesthetically appealing shape. Gardening in many forms has been enjoying something of a boom in Japan in recent years and those with limited space have been rediscovering the charms and challenges of this part of their native culture.

 

Calligraphy

Calligraphy in the Chinese tradition was introduced to Japan about 600 AD. Known as shodo, calligraphy is taught to all Japanese schoolchildren, but the gorgeous brushstrokes are recognizable to everyone. Japanese calligraphy was influenced by, and influenced, Zen thought. For any particular piece of paper, the calligrapher has but one chance to create with the brush. The brush strokes cannot be corrected and even a lack of confidence will show up in the work. The calligrapher must concentrate and be fluid in execution.The beauty of the writing is an essential part of the message, with wispy lines and broad strokes expressing the personality of the author. Calligraphy can be seen on the menus of Japanese restaurants and on the signs of traditional businesses throughout Tokyo. Stop by and see the collection at the Japan Calligraphy Museum in ltabashi Ward.

 

Ikebana

Like much of Japanese art, Ikebana flower arranging has its origin in ritual - in this spirits of the dead. Ikebana means living flowers and is also known as Kado, meaning way with flowers. The spiritual aspect of Ikebana is considered very important to its practitioners. Silence is a must during practices of Ikebana. It is a time to appreciate things in nature that people often overlook because of their busy lives.The lovely, dramatic displays feature delicate blooms in spring, radiant flowers in summer, vivid leaves in autumn, and bare shoots and branches in winter. Expect to see Ikebana in public spaces throughout Tokyo, including train stations, hotels and shrines. Or visit the Ohara School of Ikebana in Aoyama, which offers English - language flower - arranging lessons.

 

Kabuki

Kabuki is a highly stylized classical dance drama. The actors wear elaborate makeup and perform dramatic dances to express the feelings of their characters. At Ginza's Kabuki-za playhouse, visitors can rent headphones to hear part of a performance in English. However, with a platform reaching out into the crowd, audience members shouting at their favourite actors, and performances that feature singing and acrobatics, you don't need to understand the words to appreciate the show. Kabuki originated in the Edo era as an entertainment for the common people, and it still has the power to delight modern audiences today.

 

Sumo Wrestling

At first glance, Japanese Sumo wrestling appears on the surface to be quite simplistic and straightforward, but like so many things in Japanese culture, the sport actually consists of multiple levels of depth and complexity. Sumo is a form of wrestling in which two ample-sized wrestlers, called rikishi, dressed only in a thick, doughnut-shaped belt called a mawashi, face off inside an elevated dirt ring, called a dohyo, and attempt to either drive their opponent out of the ring or cause him to touch the ground inside the ring with a part of the body other than the feet. The earliest form of Japan sumo wrestling originated as part of in Shinto religion, and many Shinto rituals remain intact to this day. Sumo wrestling as a professional sport dates back to Japan's Edo Period (1603 - 1868). Don't miss the opportunity to see a traditional Sumo tournament when you're in Tokyo. You'll take the subway with fellow Sumo fans to the Kokugikan (Sumo Amphitheater) and enjoy a traditional Sumo wrestling tournament. You'll also visit the fascinating Sumo Museum to see Sumo-related objects from the Edo period to the present.