All areas of the world give unique contributions to the arts. The Japanese, taking much of their original inspiration from China, began developing their own painting trends as early as the 8th century C.E. These forms grew to incorporate eloquent textures of religious sensibility, culture and narrative development. Japanese painting reflects not only the infusion of religious tradition, but the historical favor of imperial courts, evolution of technique and sophisticated philosophy of its parent culture.
Subjectivity
Beginning during the Renaissance, Western painters became more concerned with realism in perspective and dimensionality. While these trends did emerge in Japan, especially in the 18th century, Japanese painting is generally given to a more subjective interpretation of the physical world. This is not to say that many periods in Western art have not been, but Japanese painting shows a consistent concern for the layers of meaning and relevance found within the artist's subjectivity and for how this is displayed through the piece. This is especially true for representations of landscapes.
Symbolism
While the West has also seen artistic movements devoted to forms of symbolism, this is a consistent trait in Japanese art and painting. This involves a series of motifs or storytelling devices that may be used either independently or in conjunction with one another. Religion, particularly Buddhism, supplies one of the most common themes. History is another consistent source of inspiration. In the 9th century alone, many Buddhist-inspired art works were actually painted by monks. Eventually symbolic works were transferred into the format of picture scrolls which truly separated or made unique Japanese pictorial aesthetics from their most predominant formative influence, the Chinese.
"The Living Principle"
No understanding of the Japanese appreciation of aesthetics would be complete without referencing early spiritual tradition. This has everything to do with Shinto and its later merging or cohabitation with Buddhism. Shinto holds a profound sense of animism in its general philosophy. This animated quality is found within every living thing, and thus establishes the spiritual connection between all beings and phenomenon within the natural world, something Juppo Araki refers to as the "Living Principle." Much Japanese painting thus should be seen as an attempt, through form, color, presentation and other criteria, to visually capture this dynamic in action.
Considerations
The aforementioned facets are only a few of the elements that define Japanese painting style and, taken alone, reduce this subject far too much. Any accounting of Japanese painting and its compositional intent must be examined through the lens of different venues of production as well as the sensibilities and trends found within different periods of Japanese history. There is also a profoundly intricate philosophy behind the aesthetics of Japanese paintings, one that melds a desire for the simple representation to illustrate many other layers of being, metaphysics and spiritual balance. Japanese painting, for the enthusiast, should prove a point of continued interest and reflection.
