Scrapbook of Japanese Art

Scrapbook of Japanese Art This is a collection of various clippings that have to do with Japanese art and history. Clicking on the images will open a larger one in a new window.
	Kochou by Kiyoshi Nakajima 1995 This depicts a scene from The Tale of Genji, a classic novel set in Japan's Heian Period, roughly one thousand years ago.
	Agemaki by Kiyoshi Nakajima 1998 This is also from The Tale of Genji.
	Yadorigi by Kiyoshi Nakajima 1998 This is also from The Tale of Genji.
	Parakeets This is part of an ancient stringed instrument at Shousou Temple in Nara, inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Parakeets is just what I call it until I can find the proper name.
	Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion) Kyoto A night shot of the famous temple.
	Tokugawa Tsunayoshi Zou Tokugawa Museum of Art Tsunayoshi was infamous for passing a law protecting all animals — from dogs to mosquitos — resulting in major problems.
	Kasuga Gongen Kenki Tokyo National Museum Dogs were seen around more and more as the sport of falconing gained in popularity.
	Hikone Folding Screen Early 17th Century Hikone Castle Museum This is just a small section of the folding screen which shows the fashion trends of the period, including a pet dog.
	Choujuu Jinbutsu 12th Century National Treasure Takayama Temple This is only a section, the most famous scene from this work.
	Meichou by the late Empress Dowager Nagako
	Wind God and Thunder God Folding Screen Early 17th Century National Treasure Kennin Temple, Kyoto
	Karajishi Folding Screen by Eitoku Kano Late 16th Century 223.3 x 453.2 cm The Imperial Household Agency
	Kyokujitsu Yukei by Jyakuchu Ito 1755 109.2 x 48.5 cm Los Angeles County Museum of Art
	These three were done by different artists or writers of, incredibly, the same person: Commodore Matthew C. Perry, who was sent to Japan in 1853 to open it up to foreign trade. Although Commodore Perry was not the first American to visit Japan, he was the first American to become known to the Japanese as an individual with a name. The people of Japan became uneasy as to how this new contact would affect them, and the newswriters of the period took full advantage of this fact in order to sell their news articles (kind of like today, right?), often embellished with drawings — from the comical to the grotesque — of the strange foreigner. These were all done around 1853, and are on display in the Black Fleet Museum.
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