India, China and Korea have all failed to stem the tides of foreign aggression, their national existence has been destroyed or threatened, and their old civilizations have been wiped out. The result is that it is impossible to admire their ancient glory or to recover their old treasures among the crumbling ruins. Japan, on the contrary, having remained im mune from any of these disasters, her oldest productions are still extant, and even foreign objects of artistic and historic interest may be found within her boundaries. And since every step of the development of her art may be distinctly traced, its study will afford an insight into the artistic history of the foreign nations with whom she has been in contact. Indeed it is no exaggeration to say that the cream and essence of Oriental art has been preserved nowhere but in Japan, and by its people it will be worked to perfection.
Would it be possible to name the characteris tics of Japanese art—the features underlying all its branches: painting, sculpture, architec ture, industry, etc.? We may mention the fol lowing three. The first is mildness and pure simplicity. Coloring is for the most part sober and plain, and very seldom gorgeous. Japanese art prefers moderation and genial ease to ex cessive grandeur ; sobriety and chastity to pro fundity, intensity and vulgarity. Even such horror-inspiring subjects as the pictures of hell are not thrilling in effect. The statue of Buddha at Nara is grand, but it is only the high-water mark of continental influence and does not represent the pure Japanese disposition.
The second characteristic of Japanese art is its exquisite lightness or delicacy. This is due to the joyful frame of the people's mind and to the wonderful dexterity of their hands. There is no artistic product but is marked by charm ing workmanship.
The third feature is its idealism in repre sentation. Japanese art is not realistic, it does not aim at photographic accuracy, but by the free and bold exercise of imagination it tries to abstract the essential aspect of objects and to give expression to the artist's sentiments by its portrayal. It is for this reason that form is comparatively little regarded, while idea is considered all important; that it is weak in realistic delineation and strong in decorative design. These three points underlie all Japanese art and distinguish it from the art of other Oriental nations.
With regard to the division of the history of Japanese art the opinions of scholars vary a great deal, so much so that it is an utter im possibility to settle the question definitely once for all, marking the beginning and the end of each period with absolute certainty and pre cision. Yet, in following out its development,
it will be both convenient, and in some measure be justifiable, to divide the whole period into 12 portions, characterized by special features. It is to be remembered, however, that the treat ment of the subject is necessarily short and summary owing to the limitations of space. And again, the title of each epoch is given for prac tical convenience and is not always identical with its namesake in the classification of politi cal history.
(1) The Age of the Empress Suiko (540-644 A.D.). (2) The Age of the Emperor Tenchi (645-723 A.D.). (3) The Age of the Emperor Shomu (724-81 A.D.). (4) The Age of the Emperor Kwanunu (782-888 A.D.). (5) The Age of the Fujiwara's regency (889-1086 A.D.). (6) The Age of the Ex-Emperors' regency (1087-1183 A.D.). (7) The Age of the Kama kura Shogunate (1186-1392 A.D.). (8) The Age of the Ashikaga Shogunate (1393-1573 A.D.). (9) The Age of the Toyotomi's Supremacy (1574-1614 A.D.). (10) The First Age of the Tokugawa Shogunate (1615-1744 A.D.). (11) The Second Age of the Tokugawa Shogunate (1745-1867 A.D.). (12) The Age of the Grand National Metamorphosis (1868- A.D.).
The Era of the Empress Suiko (540-644 A.D.).—The esthetic sense inherent in the Jap anese race long remained latent and undevel oped. Not until the middle of the 6th century did the artistic endowment, or rather art-loving potentialities, of the people begin to reveal themselves in the land of the Rising Sun. The beginnings of the study of pictorial and glyptic art — the first page, as it were, of the history of Japanese art, must be dated from the time of the Emperor Kimmei when the civilization of the Dynasties" of China (265 to 617 A.D.) was intro uced through Korea and with it Buddhist images and sacred books were brought over to the country. Later, in the reign of the Empress Suiko, the empress herself became a devout believer in Buddhism, Prince Shotoku being no less enthusiastic a votary. With the object of propagating the religion through the land they invited famous priests and Buddhist sculptors frqm Korea, and by their order many images were made and temples and pagodas built in large numbers. Thus, under the Im perial patronage Buddhist art made rapid and signal progress.