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Resources Organized by Country/Region: Japan



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Artist Profile: Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849)
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
Learn about the Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849).

Go to Museum Resource: https://education.asianart.org/resources/artist-profile-katsushika-hokusai/
 
Artist Profile: Utagawa (Ando) Hiroshige (1797–1858)
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
Learn about the Japanese artist Utagawa (Ando) Hiroshige (1797–1858). Download a map of "Tokaido Road in Japan."

Go to Museum Resource: https://education.asianart.org/resources/artist-profile-utagawa-ando-hiroshige/
 
Art of the Edo Period Lesson Plan - Chawan Tea Bowl
Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas
See site for lesson plans on this museum object.

Go to Museum Resource: https://spencerartapps.ku.edu/k12-lesson-plans#/k12/30723
 
Art of the Edo Period Lesson Plan - Inro Case with Fox Wedding Scene
Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas
See site for lesson plans on this museum object.

Go to Museum Resource: https://spencerartapps.ku.edu/k12-lesson-plans#/k12/3162
 
Art of the Edo Period Lesson Plan - Mitsukuni Defying the Skeleton Spectre Woodcut
Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas
See site for lesson plans on this museum object.

Go to Museum Resource: https://spencerartapps.ku.edu/k12-lesson-plans#/k12/15198
 
Asia Rising: Japanese Postcards of the Russo-Japanese War (1904-5)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Visualizing Cultures
"Imperial Japan’s 1904–05 war against Tsarist Russia changed the global balance of power. The first war to be widely illustrated in postcards, the Japanese view of the conflict is presented in images from the Leonard A. Lauder Collection of Japanese Postcards at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston." See the ESSAY section for an in-depth, illustrated reading of the images from the historical record. See the VISUAL NARRATIVES section for a shorthand view of the unit's primary themes and images. A CURRICULUM section for teachers and students can be found under the "Asia Rising" menu at the top of the page.

Go to Museum Resource: http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027/asia_rising/index.html
 
Black Ships & Samurai: Commodore Perry and the Opening of Japan (1853-1854)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Visualizing Cultures
"On July 8, 1853, residents of feudal Japan beheld an astonishing sight—foreign warships entering their harbor under a cloud of black smoke. Commodore Matthew Perry had arrived to force the long-secluded country to open its doors." The ESSAY section "examines graphics from the American and Japanese sides of the momentous encounter"; the VISUAL NARRATIVES section "retells topics or stories from the encounter." A CURRICULUM section for teachers and students can be found under the "Black Ships & Samurai" menu at the top of the page.

Go to Museum Resource: http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027/black_ships_and_samurai/index.html
 
Chanoyu: The Japanese Art of Tea
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
The Japanese phrase Chanoyu, translated literally as “hot water for tea,” refers to the tradition of preparing and serving powdered green tea in a highly stylized manner. Learn more about this tradition. Download PDF on Japanese Tea Ceremony. See also Muromachi Period Tea (1338-1573) and Experience Chanoyu: The Japanese Art of Tea [PDF]

Go to Museum Resource: https://education.asianart.org/resources/chanoyu-the-japanese-art-of-tea/
 
Create a Miniature Collagraph Screen Inspired by the Japanese Screens Crows in Early Winter
Santa Barbara Museum of Art
Create a 2-dimensional design for a 3-dimensional structure in the form of a miniature tri-fold screen. Experiment with a collagraphy printmaking technique. Create a dynamic composition using only two colors.

Go to Museum Resource: https://content.sbma.net/education/lessonPlans/pdf/Miniature%20Collagraph%20Scr...
 
Create a Simulated Woodblock Print
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
Students will be able to identify, compare and contrast images of traditional Japanese woodblock prints. They will then create their own simulated woodblock prints. Downloads include activities, slideshow and guides.

Go to Museum Resource: https://education.asianart.org/resources/create-a-simulated-woodblock-print/
 
Edo Period, 1615-1868
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
"With the decisive battle of Sekigahara, Tokugawa Ieyasu effectively usurped control of the country. In 1603 he assumed the title of Shogun and established his seat of power in the small fishing village of Edo (modern-day Tokyo)." A brief one-paragraph overview, with 34 objects from the period.

Go to Museum Resource: http://archive.artsmia.org/art-of-asia/history/japan-edo-period.cfm
 
Gyotaku
Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College
"Gyotaku (guh-yo-tah-koo) is the Japanese art of fish painting. It was developed more than a century ago as a fisherman's method of recording the size and species of his catch, and is now accepted as an art form worldwide. Students will study the history of fish printing and make their own prints." For grades 1 & 2.

Go to Museum Resource: http://www.oberlin.edu/amam/asia/gyotaku/Default.html
 
Hokusai and Hiroshige: Great Japanese Prints [PDF]
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
A historical and cultural overview of Edo period (1615–1868) Japan as a context for examining Japanese woodblock prints. See also 11 min Video.

Go to Museum Resource: https://education.asianart.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2019/12/Hokusai_and_H...
 
Hokusai and Slow Looking [PDF]
National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution
Students will experience “slow looking,” an observation technique that encourages students to slow down, select one artwork, and observe it deeply for a prolonged period in order to gain appreciation and insights. Refers this worksheet.

Go to Museum Resource: https://asia.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/edu-resources-lp-EVE202103-LP-Ho...
 
How to Read a Woodblock Print
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
Learn how to read a woodblock print. Download visual guides.

Go to Museum Resource: https://education.asianart.org/resources/how-to-read-a-woodblock-print/
 
The Influence of East Asian Lacquer on European Furniture
Victoria and Albert Museum
When lacquered objects made in East Asia first reached Europe in about the early 16th century, they were highly prized for their flawless finish and light-reflecting qualities. Lacquer became available to European elites, along with other luxury items including silk and porcelain, once Portuguese explorers discovered a sea route to the East around the southern tip of Africa and across the Indian Ocean. The flow of goods increased in the early 17th century when the Dutch and English East India Companies began to bring goods to markets in Amsterdam and London. By 1700 many European country houses and palaces contained examples of East Asian export lacquer. Asian lacquer was admired as a precious and mysterious material.

Go to Museum Resource: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/east-asian-lacquer-influence
 
Japanese and French Art [PDF]
Santa Barbara Museum of Art
Hokusai’s artwork was an inspiration to Henri Rivière and many other European artists including Pierre Bonnard, Claude Monet, Mary Cassatt, and Vincent Van Gogh. They admired the bold designs, intense colors, and flat areas of pure color, as well as the elegant and simple lines of the Japanese prints. Lesson plan - See Also: Connecting the Art of Hokusai and Henri Rivière to Local Landscapes [PDF] and Three-Plate Landscapes Inspired by the Woodblock Prints of Katsushika Hokusai and Henri Rivière [PDF].

Go to Museum Resource: https://content.sbma.net/education/lessonPlans/pdf/23%20Hokusai%20and%20Riviere...
 
Japanese Woodblock Prints (9-12)
The Kennedy Center, ArtsEdge
Explore the history, evolution, and techniques of Ukiyo-e prints.

Go to Museum Resource: https://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/educators/lessons/grade-9-12/Japanese_Woodb...
 
Make a Temple Book or Japanese Screen
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
Students will create their own books and stamps, and can inscribe poetry or good wishes on each others books. They will then take their books with them on a pilgrimage to the Asian Art Museum, the Japanese tea garden, or the beach, and record their impressions. Downloads include instructions and visual guides.

Go to Museum Resource: https://education.asianart.org/resources/make-a-temple-book-or-japanese-screen/
 
Meiji: Tradition in Transition
Virtual Museum Canada
This website for younger students introduces Meiji Japan from the perspectives of three generations of a fictional family, the Nakamuras, who are depicted as manga characters. The following topics are covered: 1) The Go Game (The Emperor, The Samurai, Politics, Industry, Religions); 2) The Western Parlor (Furniture, Education, Wedding Ceremony); 3) The Japanese Parlor (Decorative Arts, Tea Ceremony, etc.); 4) Ginza (Architecture, Transportation, Fashion, etc.); 5) Sumo. With images of related artworks throughout.

Go to Museum Resource: http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/edu/ViewLoitCollection.do;jsessionid=4207067E8DBC83...
 
Nature of the Beast: Animals in Japanese Paintings and Prints
Pacific Asia Museum of USC
Paintings and prints from the Edo period to the late 20th century. The inclusion of characters such as Godjira (Godzilla), Doraemon, and the Forest Spirit from Princess Mononoke makes this an especially fun unit for students. Text essays with images on the following topics: 1) Tradition; 2) Reality; 3) Imagination. With an Edo-period timeline, glossary of related terms, lesson plans for teachers, and a "Random Monster Generator" activity for students.

Go to Museum Resource: https://pacificasiamuseum.usc.edu/exhibitions/past/online-exhibition-nature-of-...
 
A Picture of Change for a World in Constant Motion
New York Times
An animated and annotated walk through of a woodblock print by Katsushika Hokusai: “Ejiri in Suruga Province,” from his renowned cycle “Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji.” Written in 2020 by Jason Farago, an art critic for the New York Times, the charming and informative annotation and enlarged images provide excellent historical background for this period in Tokugawa history and examples of artistic exchange between Japanese and other Western traditions of the time.

Go to Museum Resource: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/08/07/arts/design/hokusai-fuji.html?fb...
 
The Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95 in Woodblock Prints from China and Japan
The British Library
Produced in conjunction with theJapan Center for Asian Historical Records (JACAR), this web exhibition “The Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895: as seen in prints and archives” has been produced as a collaboration between the Japan Center for Asian Historical Records (JACAR) and the British Library. Its aim is to bring together the collection of prints of the Sino-Japanese War held by the British Library and documents made public by JACAR to show how the events of the Sino-Japanese War were depicted and recorded by the people of the time. Both the Japanese and the Chinese prints included in this special web exhibition were produced at the time of the Sino-Japanese War to show the people of their respective countries what the war was like, a role played nowadays by news photographs. Therefore each country had a tendency to portray its own soldiers as strong and brave, but those of the opposing country as weak and small. Moreover many of the depictions seem to be based not on actual observation of the locations or events but on hearsay. Indeed some of them show scenes which could not have happened. From this it is clearly evident that these works were intended as propaganda at the time.

Go to Museum Resource: https://www.jacar.go.jp/english/jacarbl-fsjwar-e/index.html
 
Steeped in History: The Art of Tea [PDF]
Fowler Museum at UCLA
"Throughout its history tea has been a prevalent theme in the visual arts—scenes of tea embellish ceramics and textiles and are the subject of paintings and drawings, and all manner of vessels have been fashioned for the preparation and presentation of tea. Steeped in History brings together rare Chinese ceramics and paintings, 18th- and 19th-century Japanese ceramics and prints, extraordinary English and Colonial American paintings, vintage photographs and historical documents, tea-serving paraphernalia and furniture from many countries, and much more —to tell the fascinating history of tea." This curriculum guide to the exhibition includes five lessons corresponding to the five themes of the exhibition: 1) China, Cradle of Tea Culture; 2) The Way of Tea in Japan; 3) Tea Craze in the West; 4) Tea and Empire; 5) Tea—Parties and Poetry.

Go to Museum Resource: http://www.international.ucla.edu/media/files/Fowler_tea_curriculum.pdf
 
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/
 
Theater in China and Japan
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Students will explore then compare and contrast the Chinese (Beijing Opera) and Japanese (Kabuki) forms of theater.

Go to Museum Resource: http://www.clevelandart.org/lesson-plan-packet/theater-china-and-japan
 
Throwing Off Asia II: Woodblock Prints of the Sino-Japanese War (1894-95)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Visualizing Cultures
"The 'Westernization' of Japan included strengthening the military and engaging in major wars against both China and Tsarist Russia. These remarkable propaganda prints illustrate Japan's startling victory in the Sino-Japanese War." See the ESSAY section for an in-depth, illustrated reading of the images from the historical record. See the VISUAL NARRATIVES section for a shorthand view of the unit's primary themes and images. A CURRICULUM section for teachers and students can be found under the "Throwing Off Asia II" menu at the top of the page.

Go to Museum Resource: http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027/throwing_off_asia_02/index.html
 
Throwing Off Asia I: Woodblock Prints of Domestic "Westernization" (1868-1912)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Visualizing Cultures
"The remarkably swift 'Westernization' of Japan in the late-19th and early-20th century was most vividly captured in popular woodblock prints. The images in this unit illustrate the great political, social, cultural, and industrial transformations that took place." See the ESSAY section for an in-depth, illustrated reading of the images from the historical record. See the VISUAL NARRATIVES section for a shorthand view of the unit's primary themes and images. A CURRICULUM section for teachers and students can be found under the "Throwing Off Asia I" menu at the top of the page.

Go to Museum Resource: http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027/throwing_off_asia_01/index.html
 
Throwing Off Asia lll: Woodblock Prints of the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Visualizing Cultures
"Meiji Japan’s 'Westernization' culminated in a titanic war against Tsarist Russia that stunned the world and established Japan as a major imperialist power with a firm foothold on the Asian mainland. This unit draws on photographs and rare war prints." See the ESSAY section for an in-depth, illustrated reading of the images from the historical record. See the VISUAL NARRATIVES section for a shorthand view of the unit's primary themes and images. A CURRICULUM section for teachers and students can be found under the "Throwing Off Asia III" menu at the top of the page.

Go to Museum Resource: http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027/throwing_off_asia_03/index.html
 
Ukiyo-E
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
"During the Edo Period (1615-1868), a uniquely Japanese art form developed known as ukiyo-e, or 'pictures of the floating world.' A Buddhist concept, ukiyo originally suggested the sadness (uki) of life (yo). But during the peace and prosperity of the 17th century, another ideograph, also pronounced uki but meaning "to float," emerged. Instead of connoting sadness, ukiyo came to be associated with the momentary, worldly pleasures of Japan's rising middle class." Brief introductory text and 362 prints from the MIA collection, plus a short video (Pictures of the Floating World) and two featured collections of images: 1) Images of Women by Kitagawa Utamaro; 2) Rain in Woodblock Prints.

Go to Museum Resource: http://archive.artsmia.org/art-of-asia/explore/explore-collection-ukiyo-e.cfm
 
Ukiyo-e: Japanese Prints Depicting the Floating World
The Cleveland Museum of Art
This lesson plan examines the significance and popularity of the ukiyo-e, Japanese woodblock prints during the Edo period (1615-1868).

Go to Museum Resource: http://www.clevelandart.org/lesson-plan-packet/ukiyo-e-japanese-prints-depictin...
 
Uses of Gold in Japanese Paintings
Kyoto National Museum
Gold has traditionally been a sacred color associated with deities and Buddhist beings. Gold also represents the bright rays of light that illuminate our world. Artists used either gold leaf or gold paint depending on the desired “light” effect, and employed many different techniques—such as kirikane (gold foil is cut into strips or other desired shapes and affixed to objects to be decorated)—for their application. Among the objects in the Kyoto National Museum’s collection are works demonstrating the fascinating and richly varied effect of gold on Japanese art. Museum content on Google Arts & Culture.

Go to Museum Resource: https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/use-of-gold-in-paintings-kyoto-nation...
 
Yellow Promise/Yellow Peril: Foreign Postcards of the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Visualizing Cultures
"Imperial Japan’s 1904-5 war against Tsarist Russia changed the global balance of power. The first war to be depicted internationally in postcards, it is captured here in these dramatic images." See the ESSAY section for an in-depth, illustrated reading of the images from the historical record. See the VISUAL NARRATIVES section for a shorthand view of the unit's primary themes and images. A CURRICULUM section for teachers and students can be found under the "Yellow Promise/Yellow Peril" menu at the top of the page.

Go to Museum Resource: http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027/yellow_promise_yellow_peril/index.html
 
Yokohama Boomtown: Foreigners in Treaty-Port Japan (1859-1872)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Visualizing Cultures
"This window on the imagined life of foreigners in Japan at the dawn of the modern era is based on the catalogue of the 1990 exhibition at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Yokohama: Prints from Nineteenth-Century Japan, by Ann Yonemura." The ESSAY section provides historical background and analysis; the VISUAL NARRATIVES section "enables the user to scroll through two sequences of Yokohama prints" -- one sequence telling the story of foreign settlement in Yokohama, the other surveying the scene through the work of woodblock artist Sadahide. A CURRICULUM section for teachers and students can be found under the "Yokohama Boomtown" menu at the top of the page.

Go to Museum Resource: http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027/yokohama/index.html
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