ABE / J apan
Edo Period
The Edo period of history and art began when Tokugawa Ieyasu abandoned Kyoto, the current capital of the time, and moved to Edo (modern day Tokyo). The Tokugawa wanted to monitor the social and cultural change in Japan in order to stop the oncoming globalization across the world. The new regime created many new orders in order to limit and pace this change. The Tokugawa rulers banned Christianity and transformed Confucian ideas. However, due to the constant spread of literacy, expansion in urban centers, and a constant push for more knowledge, it became very hard to limit this very lively popular culture.
Cuckoo Flying over New Verdure:
Done by Yosa Buson, this is an example of one of his mature Chinese literai paintings. The cukoo is specific to Japanese literai painting and poetry, however. This piece has a combination of rounding landscapes, fine brush strokes, and dense foliage patterns.
The Great Wave off Kanagawa:
This piece is an icon of world art. The artist, Hokusai, played with the viewers perspective by creating Japans largest mountain to only look like a small mound in the background of this large wave. He became famous for his use of indigo and imported Prussian blue.