In architecture the first work that calls for special notice was the construction of a monas tery consisting of seven buildings (Shichido garan), part of which grand work is still to be seen in the Kondo (Golden Hall) of the Monastery of Horyuji, Nara.
The native artist who crowned the first great progress of Japanese sculpture was Kuratsukuri-no Tori. One of his greatest works, the bronze statues of Sakyamuni and two attendant disciples (Shaka-Sanzon; Vol. I; Vol. CLXIX) are still preserved in the Kondo of the Horyuji. The wooden image representing a goddess of mercy (Kwannon, i.e., Avalokites'vara; consult Vol. X ; Vol. CLXXIV; (Shobi Siryo,) Vol. IV, 4) in the Yumedono (uDream hall))) of the same monas tery, attributed to the chisel of Prince Shotoku, is of the same style of homeliness and sim plicity. Pictorial art had not yet been fully developed. Many families of painters had sprung up, however, and were engaged in the work of decorating Buddhist images and shrines. The so-called picture (a picture painted with several pigments mixed with the juice of a plant called emitsuda,D which grows in India and other tropical coun tries) of the Tamamushi shrine in the Horyuji (consult (Shirnbi Vol. II; Vol. CLXXXII) and reputed to be the oldest surviving specimen of the kind in the East, is fantastical in design, being a sort of pattern, and is, besides, plain in delineation and simple in coloring.
Of applied art the most advanced were bronze casting, sculpture on metal and metal tempering; while textile fabric and embroidery had not attained a high degree of excellence; decorative arts, on the other hand, achieved a great development. In fine, the art of this period is traceable to the Buddhist art of India introduced through China and Korea; and there is evidence that not a few of the works belong ing to this era were produced by Chinese and Korean immigrants.
The Era of the Emperor Tenchi (645-723 A.D.).— During this period, busy intercourse having been established between Japan and China, the latter's civilization found its way direct into the former without passing through Korea as had hitherto been the case; most of Japan's institutions, laws, literature and religion were accordingly remodeled on those of China; and this, in no small degree, helped the de velopment of various branches of art. Besides, as native artists had in the course of time acquired great dexterity in their workmanship the works produced during this period are char acterized by grandeur and magnificence, and are deeply instinct with a serene and noble spirit. The famous sculptors, Yamalcuchi-no
atai Oguchi and Yakushi Tokuho, flourished in the reign of the Emperor Kotolcu. One of his greatest works, the images of the Shitenno (the guardian gods of the four regions; consult 'Shimbi Taikwan,' Vol. IV; (Kokkwa,> Vol. CLXV), is now in the Kondo of the Horyuji, and though the work does not emerge from the stage of plainness and simplicity, yet the features are mild and graceful. The images of Amitabha and two dependent Bodhisattvas (Amida-sanzon; consult (Shimbi Taikwan,' Vol. III; 'Kokkwa,> Vol. CX; 'Shobi Siryo,' Vol. II, 6), a relic of the era of the Emperor Tenchi, and said to have been worshiped by Lady Tachibana, are distinguished by the fine workmanship of their halo and backscreen as well as by the gracefulness of their form and features, bearing testimony to the refinement and elaborateness attained by the fine arts of the epoch.
During this era the style of the T'ang dynasty rapidly gained ground, and influenced things in general, and art objects in particular, with the result that great works stamped with solemnity and elegance were produced, the images of Sho-kwannon (Arya Avalokites'vara; consult 'Shimbi Taikwan,' Vol. III; 'Kokkwa,' Vol. LV) in the aToinde (East Hall) of the Yakushiji, and the aYakushi-sanzon" (Bheshaj yaguril and two dependents; consult (Shimbi Taikwan,' Vol. V; 'Kokkwa,> Vols. XV and CLXXXIII) in the eKondoD of the same temple being among the best.
Toward the end of this period the art of modeling in clay increased with rapid strides, having produced Keimonye and Keishukun, famous sculptors in this period. Among the specimens of pictorial art is the mural picture in the Kondo of the Horyuji, representing the ('Shibutsu-jodo" (the Paradises of Four Buddhas; consult (Shimbi Taikwan,' Vols. II and XV; 'Kokkwa,> Vols. XXIV and CXCII; Siryod Vols. I and II) and famous for bearing resemblance to the old picture found in the temple of Ajanta Cave, in India. In its pattern is visible, in no small degree, a mixture of the Indian and the Greek style. Showing, as it does, traces of great power of line, color and composition, the picture is, indeed, a rare treasure of Oriental art.