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Resources Organized by Country/Region: Japan



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Art of the Samurai: Japanese Arms and Armor, 1156–1868
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Online presentation of a 2009-2010 exhibition, the "first comprehensive exhibition devoted to the arts of the samurai" and "the first exhibition ever devoted to the subject of Japanese arms and armor conservation." With images of 27 objects.

Go to Museum Resource: https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2009/art-of-the-samurai/photo-ga...
 
Arts of the Samurai [PDF]
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
"The term samurai is derived from the word saburau, or “one who serves.” The evolution of the samurai from mounted guards to the nobility (during the twelfth century) and their subsequent ascent to military leaders of Japan (until imperial restoration during the nineteenth century) is chronicled in distinctive warrior arts and literary tradition. This packet examines the samurai through precious art objects from the museum’s collection. These include authentic military equipment (arms and armor), paintings depicting famed conflicts, ceremonial attire, and objects created for religious and cultural pursuits strongly connected with the samurai class."

Go to Museum Resource: https://education.asianart.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2019/12/ArtsofSamurai...
 
The Asian Art Digital Teaching Project: Japan
Columbia University, Media Center for Art History
A module for "classroom presentation or student study" of two important scrolls from the Kamakura Period – Illustrated Legends of the Kitano Shrine (Kitano Tenjin Engi) and Illustrated Sutra of the Miracles of Kannon.

Go to Museum Resource: http://www.learn.columbia.edu/nehasian/html/neh_geo_con_japan.html
 
A Brief History of Samurai Armor
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
Learn about samurai armor in this video by exploring artworks in the Asian Art Museum’s collection.

Go to Museum Resource: https://education.asianart.org/resources/a-brief-history-of-samurai-armor/
 
Bu and Bun: The Arts of War and Peace
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
In addition to superior strategic and military ability, most elite samurai were expected to be versed in the cultural arts. The warrior’s ideal balance of military and artistic skill is captured well in this description of the sixteenth century daimyo Hosokawa Yusai (1534–1610): “Renowned for his elegant pursuits, he is a complete man combining arts [bun] and arms [bu]. A man of nobility, a descendant of the sixth grandson of the emperor Seiwa, he was a ruler endowed with awesome dignity and inspiring decorum…He built a splendid castle, which was majestic, beautiful and high…He discussed Chinese poetic styles and recited by heart the secret teachings of Japanese poetry…" See also Archery Practice.

Go to Museum Resource: https://education.asianart.org/resources/bu-and-bun-the-arts-of-war-and-peace/
 
Chado: The Japanese Tea Ceremony
The Cleveland Museum of Art
This lesson introduces students to the Japanese tea ceremony to consider the art and the tradition of the tea ceremony and study the serving pieces used in the ceremony by participating in a tea ceremony. Students will learn the importance of the performance of tea ceremony through the history of how it became what it is today.

Go to Museum Resource: http://www.clevelandart.org/lesson-plan-packet/chado-japanese-tea-ceremony
 
Courtship and Calligraphy in “The Tale of Genji”
The Cleveland Museum of Art
The purpose of this lesson is to discover through an examination of The Tale of Genji and other Japanese literature, the importance of calligraphy to courtship rituals in the Japanese court culture of the late Heian period (794-1185).

Go to Museum Resource: http://www.clevelandart.org/lesson-plan-packet/courtship-and-calligraphy-tale-g...
 
Getting Started with Zazen (Seated Meditation)
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
In Zen Buddhism, zazen (pronounced: zah-zen) is a sitting meditation. Zazen is not focusing on a specific object or thought. Instead, it is the liberating of one’s mind of all thought into a state of emptiness (a complete emptiness that is also complete fullness) from which the practitioner hopes to experience spontaneous awakening to the inner self (enlightenment). Download Includes a glossary.

Go to Museum Resource: https://education.asianart.org/resources/getting-started-with-zazen-seated-medi...
 
Heian Period (794–1185)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
A brief overview of political and cultural developments in Japan during the Heian period. With 4 related artworks.

Go to Museum Resource: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/heia/hd_heia.htm
 
Heian Period, 794-1185
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
"With the transferal of the capital from Nara to Heian-kyo (modern Kyoto) in 794, a new era began." A brief one-paragraph overview, with one object representative of the period.

Go to Museum Resource: http://archive.artsmia.org/art-of-asia/history/japan-heian-period.cfm
 
Heiji Monogatari Emaki (Tale of the Heiji Rebellion) Scrolls with A Night Attack on the Sanjo Palace
Princeton University Art Museum
The Heiji disturbance, which occurred late in 1159, represents a brief armed skirmish in the capital. ...The Heiji scrolls date from the thirteenth century and represent a masterpiece of "Yamato" style painting. The scene appearing here, entitled "A Night Attack on the Sanjo Palace," is the property of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, provides an excellent introduction to the genre of picture scrolls. The scrolls read from right to left, and all action flows to the left. They can be documented as being treasured artifacts in the fifteenth century, when nobles mention viewing them, but they now only survive in fragmentary form.

Go to Museum Resource: http://digital.princeton.edu/heijiscroll/
 
History and Traditions of the Samurai
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
Students will use images of samurai armor and weaponry to learn related vocabulary. They will describe the functional and aesthetic aspects of armor through focused viewing and reading, and they will draw conclusions about the changing code of the samurai over the course of 800 years. Download includes a lesson plan, a number of guides, and slideshows.

Go to Museum Resource: https://education.asianart.org/resources/history-and-traditions-of-the-samurai/
 
An Introduction to Japanese Buddhism
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
Buddhism was officially transmitted to Japan in 525, when the monarch of the Korean kingdom of Baekje sent a mission to Japan with gifts, including an image of the Buddha, several ritual objects, and sacred texts. Buddhism’s journey from India to China, Korea, and Japan had taken about a thousand years. See also An Introduction to Japanese Buddhism video with Professor Robert Sharf, University of California, Berkeley, discusses Japanese Buddhism at the Medieval Japan Teacher Institute at the Asian Art Museum.

Go to Museum Resource: https://education.asianart.org/resources/an-introduction-to-buddhism-in-japan/
 
Japanese Mandalas: Emanations and Avatars
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Online presentation of a 2009 exhibition on the mandalas of Japanese Esoteric Buddhism. With images of 25 artworks, mostly from the 12th to the 14th century.

Go to Museum Resource: http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2009/japanese-mandalas
 
Kamakura and Nanbokucho Periods (1185–1392)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
A brief introduction to the Kamakura and Nanbokucho periods, with a focus on political developments and the shift that occurred in the Japanese aesthetic during this time. With 5 related artworks.

Go to Museum Resource: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/kana/hd_kana.htm
 
Kamakura Period, 1185-1333
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
"In 1185, Minamoto no Yorimoto proclaimed himself the Shogun (military dictator) of the country and moved the seat of government to Kamakura, a small village in Eastern Japan that gives its name to this historical period." A brief one-paragraph overview, with two objects representative of the period.

Go to Museum Resource: http://archive.artsmia.org/art-of-asia/history/japan-kamakura-period.cfm
 
The Kitano Tenjin Engi Emaki
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
A multimedia learning website about a 13th-century Japanese handscroll that illustrates the legends of the Kitano Shrine (Kitano Tenjin Engi). Included are a short introduction to the Kitano Tenjin Engi Emaki and audio introduction to the pieces.

Go to Museum Resource: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/45428
 
Look for the Symbol in the Sculpture
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Uses a 12th-century wooden sculpture of the Japanese Buddhist deity Fudô Myô-ô to demonstrate the role of symbolism in art.

Go to Museum Resource: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1975.268.163
 
Muromachi Period (1392–1573)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
A brief overview of cultural and artistic developments during the Muromachi period, when members of the Ashikaga family occupied the position of shogun. The Muromachi era was characterized by social and political upheaval, but it was also a time of economic and artistic innovation. With 6 related artworks.

Go to Museum Resource: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/muro/hd_muro.htm
 
Muromachi Period, 1392-1573
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
"Following the fall of the Kamakura military government, the Ashikaga family established a new military a regime in Kyoto." A brief one-paragraph overview, with three objects representative of the period.

Go to Museum Resource: http://archive.artsmia.org/art-of-asia/history/japan-muromachi-period.cfm
 
Samurai
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
A brief introduction to the bushi or samurai of Japan. With 3 related artworks.

Go to Museum Resource: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/samu/hd_samu.htm
 
The Samurai (Vocabulary)
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
A guide to Medieval Japan and Samurai terms both online and as a download Word Doc.

Go to Museum Resource: https://education.asianart.org/resources/the-samurai-vocabulary/
 
Samurai Warrior Codes: Comparing Perspectives from the Kamakura, Muromachi, and Edo Periods
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
The term, bushido, is often used to describe the samurai warrior code during medieval and modern times. The definition refers to a late 19th century description and was actually quite different than codes from earlier times. Compare warrior codes from different times with the modern definition of bushido. Then, choose which code you think matches the samurai in the screen painting, the Battles at Ichi-no-tani and Yashima, from The Tale of the Heike. Downloads include a Lesson Plan, slide show, and Student Handout.

Go to Museum Resource: https://education.asianart.org/resources/samurai-warrior-codes-comparing-perspe...
 
Samurai War Tales: Battle of Awazugahara, from The Tale of the Heike
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
Based on real events from the 900s to 1600s and then embellished over time to create powerful narratives full of good storytelling, sympathetic characters, and poignant and stirring events, War Tales provide information and insights into the lives of Japans warriors. The Tale of the Heike is among Japan’s most celebrated war tales. It traces the rise, brief glory, and fall of the Taira clan (also known as the Heike clan). “This scene illustrates an episode from the chapter 'The End of the Life of Kiso Yoshinaka' in The Tale of the Heike, a thirteenth-century recounting of the wars between two powerful clans, the Heike and the Genji (also called the Taira and the Minamoto).” Also see the video “The Samurai and the Storyteller” and Battles at Ichi-no-tani and Yashima.

Go to Museum Resource: https://education.asianart.org/resources/battle-of-awazugahara-from-the-tale-of...
 
Scrolls of the Mongol Invasions Annotated
Princeton University Art Museum
This site allows you to view individual scenes depicting the Mongol Invasions of Japan. Takezaki Suenaga, a warrior who fought against the Mongols in both 1274 and 1281, commissioned scrolls recounting his actions. This unique record of the invasions, and important eyewitness account, was heavily damaged in the ensuing centuries – according to lore they were even once dropped into the ocean! By the time of their rediscovery in the eighteenth century, the scenes and text of the scrolls were scattered into separate sheets. See also the partner site: Mongol Invasions of Japan - 1274 and 1281.

Go to Museum Resource: http://digital.princeton.edu/annotatedscrolls/
 
Shoguns and Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
A discussion of shoguns and their role in the artistic and cultural history of Japan from the late 12th century until the end of the Edo period (1868). With 9 related artworks.

Go to Museum Resource: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/shga/hd_shga.htm
 
The Spiritual Life of a Samurai: Meditation and Brushpainting
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
Students will discuss the ways in which spiritual belief supported and enhanced the military func¬tion and cultural values of the samurai. They will experience this practice through an ink painting activity. Downloads include lesson plan, slide show, and glossary. See also Code of the Samurai in Art and Literature.

Go to Museum Resource: https://education.asianart.org/resources/the-spiritual-life-of-the-samurai-medi...
 
Takezaki Suenaga's Scrolls of the Mongol Invasions of Japan
Bowdoin College
This excellent interactive website is now hosted on Princeton University.

Go to Museum Resource: http://digital.princeton.edu/annotatedscrolls/
 
Timeline of Art History: Japan, 1000–1400 A.D.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
"While enjoying a lifestyle of material wealth and cultural elegance in the capital Heian-kyo, the imperial court's political authority enters a period of decline." With a period overview, list of key events, and 10 related artworks. Also has links to additional information about the Heian (794-1185), Kamakura (1185-1333), Nambokucho (1336-1392), and Muromachi (1392-1573) periods, an abridged list of rulers in Japan, and timelines of China and Korea during this time.

Go to Museum Resource: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/?period=07®ion=eaj
 
Timeline of Art History: Japan, 1400–1600 A.D.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
"The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries are the most turbulent period in Japanese history, as military warlords clash violently and frequently in attempts to increase their own power and territory." With a period overview, list of key events, and 9 related artworks. Also has links to additional information about the Muromachi (1392-1573) and Momoyama (1573-1615) periods, an abridged list of rulers in Japan, and timelines of China and Korea during this time.

Go to Museum Resource: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/?period=08®ion=eaj
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