A History of Japanese Art: From Prehistory to the Taisho Period

A History of Japanese Art offers readers a comprehensive view of Japanese art through Japanese eyes - a view, in a word, that is the most revealing of all perspectives. At the same time, it provides readers with a guide to the places in Japan where the best and most representative creations of Japanese art are to be seen. It surveys the full range of achievement in painting, sculpture, architecture, ceramics, lacquerware, woodblock printmaking, metalwork, textiles, garden making, and other artistic fields.The approach is chronological, and the art of each historical period is introduced by the categories in which it found its most significant expression during that period. Here, for example, are the strikingly 'modern' creations of the prehistoric potters, the Buddhist paintings of early historical times, the dramatic sculpture of the Kamakura period, the ink painting of the Muromachi age, and the woodblock prints and porcelains of late feudal times. All these and many other treasures are illustrated in an abundant selection of photographs.