Growth of Japanese Culture
Distinctive Japanese Arts- Summarized by Emma DeFreeuw
Essential Question: What themes are reflected in Japanese arts?
Calligraphy and Painting
The Japanese, like the Chinese, used brushes with ink on paper for writing calligraphy. Calligraphy is a way to express beauty and is an art. Every symbol, called a character, are made by using a set order of strokes with the brush. Writing calligraphy takes lots of time, practice, and patience.
Another Japanese art is painting. You use ink on scrolls or silk when making a Japanese painting and they are very detailed.
Most Japanese art is a painting of:
-landscapes
-historical events
-or daily life
Sometimes they will have a caption or description on the painting that says what is happening in the picture.
Flower Arranging and Gardening
Flower arranging was an art that was brought from Buddhists in China to Japan. They where mostly simple arrangements because simplicity is one thing that is expressed in the Japanese beliefs. One art is bonsai, in which you grow small shrub-like trees in small pots. Bonsai trees need lots of attention.
There are also Zen gardens which capture the beauty of nature. These Zen gardens are made to help people relax and think quietly.
Zen gardens are arranged with these things:
-rocks and pathways
-a few flowers and trees
-maybe a Buddha statue
The gardens where simple because Zen is a simple lifestyle.