Non-Western Art: The Nihonga Movement

   Nihonga

    Nihonga is a Japanese art movement that developed in 1882 and continues to this day. During the Meiji period (1868-1912) “Japan had opened up its trade borders for the first time in over two centuries” (The Art Story) causing a push in the direction of more modern and western styles of art. Nihonga artists wanted to preserve the heritage and traditions of classical Japanese paintings, resulting in a refurbished form of this classic style. One of the main characteristics of Nihonga is remaining tied to the ancestral roots. This can be seen by how artists will use all natural materials, such as natural stones and silk, wood, or washi paper.  Another major characteristic is the mixing of natural mineral pigments with animal glue, this remains unchanged through the years as it is central to the Japanese tradition. Three fantastic artists within this movement are Hashimoto Gahō, Hishida Shunsō, and Gyoshū Hayami. Nihonga honored the classical style of Japanese painting while also adopting a more modern style that rejected Japan’s welcoming of Western artistic styles and techniques

    Hashimoto Gahō was born August 21, 1835, and was a very gifted artist. He “became a studio director and at the age of twenty-two [he] was placed in charge of his master’s school” (Britannica). Hashimoto became famous by winning twice at government-sponsored picture exhibitions. Hashimoto played a key role in the revival of Japanese-style paintings, by molding modern western art styles into traditional Japanese art. In the piece titled Dragon Against Tiger painted in 1899, Hashimoto focuses on the contrast between the elements of earth and air. The tiger is very powerfully portrayed standing on a jagged rock while the dragon takes form with energy - mighty energy born of the clouds. These two creatures are drawn from Japanese culture: the tiger is often associated with earthly kings, while the dragon associates with the Emperor of Heaven. This painting has such symmetry and is equally divided between the two creatures, the waves provide a split between the two, suggesting the primacy of heaven. This piece is magnificent to admire as I can feel the two creatures exhibiting their heritage and statuses within the Japanese culture. Hashimoto does a great job of preserving the beautiful Japanese heritage and culture in this painting.

Gahō, Hashimoto. Dragon Against Tiger, Color on Silk. Museum of the Imperial Collections, Tokyo, Japan, 1899.

    

    Hishida Shunsō mastered the art of reconciling traditional Japanese line drawing with a Western Impressionistic style. Hishida studied in Tokyo “first with a painter of the Kanō school (which emphasized the use of Chinese subject matter and technique) and then at the Tokyo Fine Arts School with Hashimoto Gahō” (Britannica).  One of his most well-known pieces is titled Ochiba (Fallen Leaves), painted in 1909. This painting is a six-paneled byobu, or folding screen, which is a traditional Japanese format for landscape painting. Beginning with the top image, a small pine stands to the left of the seemingly curved trunks and branches within a small grove. The bottom image depicts a sapling topped with gold and brown leaves on the left amidst a grove with spaced trees in the background. Hishida draws the viewer's eyes to the space that opens in the distance, by the russet and gold leaves that have fallen in the foreground, creating a “horizontal movement around the base of the trees” (The Art Story). Both images have a glowing light which creates an atmosphere of the autumn season. When viewing this traditional landscape painting, I felt transported into the scene, I can smell the crisp air hitting my nostrils and the sound of snow crunching with each step. Both images to me feel so still and quaint - just the faint sounds of animals in the grove. 

Shunsō, Hishida. Ochiba (Fallen Leaves), Ink and color on paper, pair of six panel folding screens. Eisei Bunko Museum, Tokyo, Japan, 1909.

    Gyoshū Hayami was a brilliant artist of the Nihonga movement, his talent was discovered at any early age as he apprenticed under artist to learn traditional Japanese painting techniques. He would later become a founding member of the Japan Fine Art Academy, accompanied by his several years working in many schools and studying new styles of Japanese paintings. Gyoshū died at any early age of forty due to typhoid fever. One of his most popular paintings titled Enbu (Dancing in the Flames) painted in 1925, was later selected for the Japanese commemorative stamp in 1979. This piece depicts multiple brightly colored moths dancing in the swirling, glowing flames of a rising fire. Gyoshū blurs the moths’ wings to give an affect of them dancing around. This painting symbolizes the “Buddha’s well-known Fire Sermon that states, “all is burning... burning with birth, aging and death, with sorrows, with lamentations, with pains, with griefs, with despairs”” (The Art Story). This piece is poetic and beautiful, he depicts with such accuracy the glowing of the flames as well as it’s spontaneous movements.

Hayami, Gyoshū. Enbu (Dancing in the Flames), Color on Silk. Yamatane Museum, Tokyo, Japan, 1925.

 

    The Nihonga movement is a remarkable adoption of the traditional Japanese culture and heritage. With each of these paintings, the artists draw on their ancestral roots in order to produce these beautiful pieces. While artists tapped into their roots, they also allowed a more modern style to become intertwined in these art works. This gives the new edge to classical paintings and reminds the Japanese people to appreciate and preserve their beautiful culture.

References

Seiferle, Rebecca. “Nihonga Movement Overview.” The Art Story, 08 Mar. 2018, https://www.theartstory.org/movement/nihonga/.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Hashimoto Gahō". Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 Aug. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hashimoto-Gaho.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Hishida Shunsō". Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 Sep. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hishida-Shunso.