ABE / J apan
Muromachi Period
The beginning of the Muromachi Period began when the Ashikaga clan became the new imperially recognized shogun. During the Muromachi Period, Zen Buddhism came to its peak. Centering its religion on personal responsibility and rigorous discipline, it drew in the attention of most Zen monks and highly placed warriors. The Zen temples became a place where people could study art, literature, and learning. Zen monks began to create their artworks based on the Zen ideals and can be seen in their subjects as wells as the expression behind their pieces.
Sweeping with a broom:
In this scroll made by Motonobu, a Zen patraraich is shown expieriencing enlightenment. He uses dark outlines to define the forms by using thicker brush strokes by holding the brush perpendicular to the paper. The sound of the swepping broom is thought to send the patriach in the piece into an awakening.
Splashed-ink (haboku) landscape:
This piece uses no outlines, but completley relies on the splashed ink to create dimension within the work. This is a very significant early work by Sesshu and involves a difficult type of brush stroke refered to as haboku (broken ink).