Design: Japan

[Music] the design history of japan this is a tiny island nation with an outsized impact on global graphic design why design from japan is admired around the world whether we're talking about gardens architecture fashion food or flower arranging we describe the japanese aesthetic with words like minimalist elegant and organic this didn't happen by accident the japanese arts are rooted in ancient principles that teach spiritual philosophical and artistic guidelines five of these concepts are wabi-sabi miyabi shibuy iki and eugene wabi-sabi means finding charm in things that are imperfect impermanent and incomplete for example repairing a broken pot with glue dusted with powdered gold so the cracks and the repairs are made visible and more dramatic [Music] when we talk about simple subtle and unobtrusive beauty we're speaking of shibuy the japanese aesthetic of shibuya draws upon silent subtle and unobtrusive qualities a person a performance or an object can be considered shibuy each are authentic and appealing without the need for decoration this is the shibuy ideal something shibuy although seemingly simplistic reveals the complex and intricate variables in nature that make our world unique the shibuya aesthetic uses understatement and by isolating individual objects opens our eyes to the beauty of real life and the everyday miracles of nature ikebana flower arrangements a doorway that frames a view of nature outside or even the marie condo practices of removing excess clutter from a home are all shibuy to employ shibuy wherever possible use handcrafted items items like a flower vase a knitted blanket or a wooden bowl spend time contemplating nature and take quiet time alone japanese influences in the western world seem to renew with every generation of creators and audiences the west periodically seizes upon japanese ideas and celebrates them with great fanfare from sushi to kimonos from futons to rock gardens we delight in the visual richness of stories about ancient spirits and the cool elegance of a runway show as we look at the history of japanese design think about the ways wabi-sabi mayabi shibuy iki and eugen repeat in patterns through the ages and touch our souls in the modern world [Music] according to a legend a god and goddess were strolling on the rainbow bridge that led from the sky to a dark sea below they dipped a jeweled spear into the ocean and shook it into the sky drops of sea spray became the first island of japan the goddess then gave birth to the rest of the islands four large and thousands of smaller ones in the japanese archipelago today these islands make up one of the most vital economies in the world but japan was not always so open to outsiders at various times in their history the japanese were deeply influenced by their near neighbors from korea and japan china but they shut their doors almost completely to europeans and americans between the 1600s and mid-1800s in the paleolithic era japan was inhabited by a hunter-gatherer culture which reached a considerable degree of sedentism and cultural complexity by 10 000 bc during the last glacial maximum about 20 000 years ago an ice age land bridge connected the north most islands with mainland china over which undoubtedly migratory tribes traveled [Music] these grounded polished stone tools from around 30 000 years ago are unusual because they're not chipped from rock like most paleolithic tools not much other evidence of culture remains from stone age japan multiple volcanic eruptions over the years have created an acidic soil that erodes natural materials like bone wood and leather leaving only stone remains [Music] dna and archaeological evidence points to the jomon ancestors migrating into the country from the north by way of china where the yayoi ancestors from a later period came in through the south at a later time through korea recently a team of adventurers paddled a dugout canoe across more than 200 kilometers of ocean to demonstrate how ancient humans may have reached the ryuko islands scattered between taiwan and japan the five-person crew set out from taiwan and paddled for a day and a half spent a second night at sea and then ocean currents pushed them onto the shores of japan [Music] however they got there the jomon people lived in small communities mainly in sunken pit dwellings situated near inland rivers or along the seacoast and subsisted primarily by hunting fishing and gathering excavations suggest that an early form of agriculture may also have been practiced by the end of the period these are recreated dwellings jomon pottery is the oldest recorded earthenware in the history of man dating back approximately 12 000 years from now jomon artist used coils of clay since the potter's wheel had not yet been invented these figurines called dogu demonstrated increasing technical and artistic skill and the rising importance of ritual practices they often surpassed the craftsmanship of other stone age cultures in the later yayoi period we'll see that the artifacts seem to show a degradation of the techniques and crafts from the previous age yayoi pottery is not as elaborate or decorative and not a single dogu or clay figurine is found in the yayoi these i don't know but these guys remind me of ancient aliens throughout much of their early history the japanese lived in social groups of families and friends called clans each clan had its own chief and also worshiped one god or god goddess as its ancestor the link to heaven in about 400 ce the yamoto clan which lived on the central island of honshu became the strongest of the clans the yamoto's identified themselves as descendants of the goddess amaterasu [Music] the yayoi period is named after the yayoi type of wheel turned pottery vessels produced during this age the yayoi people are believed to have come from the korean peninsula and later mixed with the jomon people and spread northward to honshu throughout all of the islands by 300 ce people had spread out over much of present-day japan and trade with the various kingdoms in korea brought the industrial arts of weaving metalworking tanning and shipbuilding to japan these are modern replicas of yayoi houses and a watchtower the rapid increase of roughly 4 million people in japan between the jomon and yayoi periods cannot be explained by migration alone they attribute the increase primarily to a shift from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to an agricultural diet on the islands with the introduction of rice shinto is japan's oldest religion dating back to the yayoi period with no founder or official sacred scriptures shinto is a flexible religion focused on purity and respect for nature and ancestry shinto emphasizes personal virtues such as loyalty and honesty and its followers aim to achieve a heart of truth the word shinto literally translates to the way of the kami the kami are central figures of japan's religion and they represent various aspects of nature including elements of the landscape living creatures and humans who have passed on kami can be good or evil and sometimes require the practice of purification rituals there are eight million kami in shinto religion a specific number that equates to infinity in japanese culture some familiar examples of kami can be found in many studio ghibli movies such as the river spirit and spirited away this torii monument marks the entrance to a shinto shrine and hiroshima prefecture tori are recognizable symbols of the religion found throughout japan [Music] kofan are burial mounds built for members of the ruling class from the 3rd to the 7th centuries in japan and the kofan period takes its name from the distinctive earthen mounds the mounds contain large stone burial chambers and some are surrounded by moats the increasing importance of warfare and cavalry is demonstrated by this haniwa horse statuette made out of clay and a coffin set of armor made out of bronze [Music] this is a satellite image of a kofun tomb showing the distinctive keyhole shape from above and clay tomb figures that were buried within japan's classical periods uh occurred from about 538 ce to ce and include the asuka period the nara period and the haiyan period [Music] the classical period began with the arrival of buddhism and the conversion of the ruling classes to the new religion during this era there was increasing trade and cultural influence with with the chinese and korean settlements on the mainland prince shotuko became regent and consolidated the buddhist position in japan in the early 600s aided by korean scholars he was a dedicated student of korean culture confucianism and buddhism the prince not only established buddhism as the state religion but also created civil legal codes based on confucian principles the nara period lasted from 710 to 794 ce during the 8th century nara period in japan more technology and culture from neighboring china spread to the country the establishment of a new capital for the imperial court in the city of nara greatly influenced the economy government government and society nara became a center of modernity religion and innovation the shrine of the great buddha shown here houses a giant cast bronze statue exemplifying the importance of buddhism to the society this clay sculpture also housed with the great buddha is an intimidating image of swirling power and force it was modeled on chinese statues of guardian generals because of a shortage of metal caused by the great amount of bronze used on the buddha statue artists innovated with both clay and the uniquely japanese art form of lacquer sculptures [Music] toku commissioned one million small wooden pagodas to distribute to temples around the country the prayers rolled inside the small shrines were printed in nara where the facilities craftsmen and skills existed to undertake such a large scale project the wooden pagodas indicate that they were produced on a hundred different lathes more than forty five thousand pagodas and almost four thousand printed dharana prayer scrolls still survive these are the earliest surviving examples of printing in japan and are among the world's oldest extent printed matter this work from the period is a section of the illustrated sutra of past and present karma a buddhist scripture that narrates the life of the buddha and serves as a moral instructive this fragment of the flower garland sutra was painted in silver ink on indigo dyed paper damaged by a fire the scripture's singed edges capturing the buddhist idea that everything is impermanent makes these remnants especially prized these represent some of the earliest surviving examples of the practice of transcribing buddhist text using precious materials which was done in great numbers during this period [Music] this document is known as the nihon shoki the first written history of japan dating from the year 720 this document the man yoshu literally collection of 10 000 leaves is the oldest existing collection of japanese classical poetry no full-fledged script for written japanese existed until the development of this script which appropriated chinese kanji symbols for their phonetic value it was initially used to record poetry as in this collection from which the writing system gets its name modern japanese kana characters are simplifications and systemizations of this earlier script the shinden gardens designed after chinese garden concepts featured large ponds and islands connected by arched bridges under which boats could pass a gravel covered plaza in front of the building was used for entertainment while one or more pavilions extended out over the water the design of beautiful gardens surrounding temples and residences was a mark of culture and sophistication in classical japan and the subject was a common theme for paintings and scrolls the high-end period from 794-1185 the central role of ritual in japanese buddhism led to a flourishing of the religious arts in the high-end period religious paintings mandalas and statues provided practitioners with ways to contemplate buddhist deities and concepts the kyoto nobility created a new form of buddha hall known as the amida hall which blends the secular with the religious and houses one or more buddha images within a structure resembling the mansions of the nobility a famous example of a classical japanese ritual mandala is the taizo kai wombworld mandala the painting is composed of 12 zones representing different dimensions of buddha nature the shingan sect believes that all beings have an innate buddha in the year 985 the theologian genshin described the six buddhist realms of existence possible for humans war animals hungry ghosts and hell the lowest realm or farthest from an enlightenment this particular section shows ananda a buddhist disciple teaching a prayer to a hungry ghost who continuously belches flames from his mouth this scroll shows one of the four sub-hells for those who commit murder theft adultery or some alcoholic related offenses this particular hell is the one for people who get others drunk and then make fun of them this painting was sprinkled with mica bits of shiny rocks and then painted in black ink and vermilion the scroll shows the specific hell for those who water down wine and sell it for profit this portrait done in a later period is of lady murasaki shikhibu she was a japanese novelist poet and lady in waiting at the imperial court during the heian period she's best known as the author of the tale of genji widely considered to be the world's first novel it was written in japanese around the year 10 10. murasaki shikibu is a descriptive name her personal name is unknown but she may have been fujiwara no takako who was mentioned in a 1007 uh court diary as an imperial lady in waiting within a decade of its completion the tale of genji was distributed throughout the provinces it was a huge hit within a century it was recognized as a classic of japanese literature that reflected high-end court society at its peak since the 13th century her works have been illustrated by japanese artists and well-known yukio a wood block masters and they're still produced in movies and video in the last century of the heian period the horizontal illustrated narrative hand scroll known as emaki came to the fore dating from about 11 30 this famous illustrated tale of gen g scroll represents the earliest surviving yamato a hen scroll and is considered one of the high points of japanese painting many works in the yamato a style were done on folding screens and paper sliding doors in the noble's houses by the end of the heian period around the 12th century yamato a reached full bloom with the appearance of the hand scrolls and a sub portrait genre called nisei the next era of japanese culture is named for feudal rulers this is the time of the shoguns and the samurais the feudal period was one of warrior power emperors had ruled in japan since ancient times but by the late 1100s powerful military leaders called shoguns challenged the imperial courts from the 1200s on japan was ruled with a dual government structure of military and imperial uh system the emperor retained the cultural and religious rule over the nation and the military elite assumed the political and economic leadership this system of governance remained in place until the late 1800s the camkera period was from 1185 to 1333. the new military class embraced the newly introduced zen buddhism the prevailing philosophies of the ruling class sifted from consumption and recreation to a more disciplined mindset zen buddhist concepts exerted a strong influence on garden design gardens were built attached to temple buildings to help monks in meditation and religious advancement rather than for recreational purposes gardens also became smaller simpler and more minimalist the most extreme development towards minimalism was the kara sansui dry garden which uses nothing but rocks gravel and sand to represent all the elements of a traditional garden for the japanese samurai dying well was the best revenge this elite warrior class began to play a central role in japan's history and culture around the 8th century and in time evolved into the ruling cast highly cultivated in arts like poetry monochrome ink painting and the tea ceremony this ruling class adhered to a strict code of honor built around loyalty self-discipline obligation and the shame of failure its most unbending principle was that a samurai's death should bring honor to his family and descendants and to the emperor or clan he served fighting heroically to the end while looking good was what it was all about the art of this period has a split personality at one extreme purity simplicity and the value of nature at the other the exhibition of wealth and status through into intricate craftsmanship and luxurious rare materials this portrait shows honda tarakatsu a powerful and seasoned warrior from about sixteen hundred late in his life wearing his favorite black laced armor with its famous deer horn helmet along with the armor he wears two swords at the waist thrust through his belt with a cutting edges face down over his right shoulder hangs a large rosary he's depicted sitting on a folding camp stool with his feet planted firmly and his eyes glimmering intently his shoulders are squared and he grips a white command baton in his right hand in the attitude of one who's prepared to step into the front line of battle battle at any moment futile japanese armor and helmets are among the world's most lavish works of multimedia art both these objects were shown at the metropolitan museum exhibit in the 2000s the shoguns spent lavishly supporting the arts they collected imported chinese artworks and ceremonial tea service utensils and supported painters calligraphers and no and kabuki theaters they conducted elaborate tea ceremonies and refined the art of ikebana flower arranging architectural remnants of this era include the golden pavilion built in 1397 where the shogun yoshimitsu lived during his retirement years covered in gold foil the two-story villa served as an elegant backdrop for the retired shogun's cultural and leisure activities tea gardens had appeared in previous periods but reached the height of their development during the azuki mamoyama period when the contemporary tea masters refined and perfected their design they exemplify the spirit of wabi or rustic simplicity for which they're recognized today the tea ceremony was an elite artistic pursuit that provided a forum for the rulers warrior elite and wealthy merchants to forge and reinforce social ties ancient ceramics from china that had been handed down in japan for generations were imbued with the potency of age and the glamour of ancient chinese civilization which the japanese had long revered as a source of a source of culture these tea masters began to incorporate rustic ceramic vessels from korea and japan and found beauty in unrefined natural or imperfect forms the leading t men of the time elevated these objects to the same level as the ancient chinese treasures this water pot is from 1625. the potter achieved the deformed asymmetrical shape of this water jar on purpose by altering the soft clay after forming a perfect bezel on a potter's wheel the lacquer lid was custom made for the oddly shaped vessel lacquer was a precious substance in japan and the contrast between the glossy black lid and the earthy body of the vessel would have been much appreciated within the context of the tea room this style of tea service was the first japanese pottery with pictorial designs here sprays of autumn grasses on the square surface of the dish are framed by an outer rim decorated with bands of abstract patterns this color combination in chino wear is known as mouse this portrait of a famous warlord shows him wearing a kataginu style robe the stiff fabric makes the shoulders stand up exaggerating their width and his strength [Music] lady oichi was the younger sister of the warlord oda nobunaga and a renowned beauty her husband was forced to commit ritual suicide following a military defeat in 1573. she then fled with her three daughters and was later remarried but ended her own turbulent life in a double suicide with the second husband after his castle also fell to the same forces that defeated her first husband a maki period from 1333 to 1568 had several highly accomplished artistic schools first we'll discuss the kano school the kano school were artists were professional artists patronized by the muromaki periods shoguns who greatly influenced later graphic design of modern japan the school was founded by kano masanobu who trained in traditional chinese ink painting this style had been practiced mainly by zen painter monks as a way to enlightenment the artists of the kano school drew monochrome ink paintings in the chinese style but often also used bright colors and depicted japan instead of china the paintings of nature feature many plants and animals with specific allegorical meanings the artist used a so-called chinese firm inc line and broad bright colors but introduced a japanese sensibility and choice of subjects including figures and landscapes and extensive glowing gold leaf the kano school had an equally profound effect on popular art forms particularly the wood block print this impact came from their rigorous training system in which students would copy pictures from official kano copy books after attaining a mastery of copying the official style students would be granted the right to use the name kano and allowed their own style books many of these students became town painters or matcha iche who painted genre scenes for wealthy commoners as well as for the samurai class many other artists who studied in kano schools became designers of woodblock prints their exported prints influenced modern western art which came back to the graphic arts of japan primarily through art nouveau as we move into early modern japan will discuss the ido period from 1600 to 1868 one of the most important and probably the most famous period of japanese art the school of art that exemplifies the ido period is the rimpa school the highly decorative style of rimpa painting taught in kyoto during the edo period embraced bold graphic renderings of natural motifs along with literary themes including fictional characters poets and writers some eye-catching compositions integrated calligraphy and image this beautifully composed screen featuring cranes facing each other is from the late edo area in the early 18th century another rimpa style screen of irises with a gold leaf background and this screen illustrates the mythical figures of the wind god and the thunder god the powerful design on the back of this 17th century vest depicts a stylized volcano outlined in green on bright yellow wool against a black wool background large black water droplets roll along the hem the swirl of smoke indicates that the volcano is a sacred one in this case mount fuji first used as a motif on craft objects during the ido period the high collar is finished with a gold briquette of flowering peony chrysanthemum and plum bowel motifs on this equally sumptuous robe scattered books evoke the aristocratic world of quartz and literary masterpieces during the previous heian period while at the same time reflecting the rise in publishing and literacy during the contemporary edo period with its solid gold ground this robe is especially splendid and it was likely worn by no actors playing upper class women within the patterns are waves with seashells flat bamboo baskets with cherry blossoms and the lucky nandina plant with colorful red and pink berries ah as graphic designers we worship these masters of printmaking from 1600 to 1868 during the edo period because the ido period was a time of relative peace run by military power society was segregated into four classes warriors farmers artisans and at the bottom of the heap merchants to control public behavior the shoguns set aside walled areas in all major cities for the establishment of brothels tea houses and theaters in these districts all classes co-mingled and money in style dominated newly rich townspeople mostly merchants and artisans found themselves in the paradox of being economically powerful but socially confined as a result they turned their attention and their assets to conspicuous consumption and the pursuit of pleasure in the entertainment districts images of women actors and actresses and visitors of these districts provided the subject matter of the highly popular yukio a novellas and yukio a paintings and prints the word yukio originally expressed a buddhist idea of the temporary nature of life but that idea was flipped during the edo period the character for floating was substituted for the uh same sound word meaning transitory to express instead an attitude of joyful abandonment to pleasure the culture of pleasure in the floating world was a perfect subject for woodblock prints anyone with a little extra cash could own a picture of seductive courtesans exciting kabuki actors or famous romantic vistas for the first time artists responded to the interests and preferences of the general public kabuki theater was performed in elaborate costumes and arresting makeup like shakespearean plays kabuki stories were drawn from traditional legends historical events and classical or popular stories it was introduced in kyoto by a female performer named okuni and eventually the government displeased by the highly profitable after hours pursuits of the actresses passed a series of prohibitions against female performers in 1629 the young boys who replaced them incurred a similar prohibition in 1652 and their roles on stage were taken over by mature men drawing on earlier painting genres that had focused on human figures the artist chose subjects increasingly engaged in the indoor delights of city life the most favored subjects of painting in the early 17th century were scenes of merrymaking at houses of pleasure actresses and the occasional alluring courtesans of yoshiwara were singled out for individual portrayal often at a scale larger than usual and garbed in opulent costumes portraits of famous cortisones and actors were made more accessible to a mass audience in the form of inexpensive wood block prints in an innovative use of a centuries-old technique in japan in the late 17th and early 18th century woodblock prints depicting courtesans and actors were much sought after by tourists to ido and came to be known as edo pictures as in other cultures the fluid non-binary gender roles that existed before western contact were often sublimated or eradicated after westerners came during the edo period there was no normative connection made between gender and sexual preference all men whether samurai priest or commoner were able to engage in both same and opposite sex affairs at the time men's same-sex relationships were governed by a code of ethics described as non-shoku or sudo the way of youths in the context of which elite men were able to pursue boys and young men who had not yet undergone their coming-of-age ceremonies as well as transgender males of all ages from the lower classes who worked as actors associated with the kabuki theater as well as being a conspicuous social reality these relationships were widely represented in the culture of the period in art literature and on the stage wakashu means beautiful youths a third gender occupying a distinct position in the social and sexual hierarchy of ido the wakashu aged 15 to 18 years old were the object of desire for both men and women kashu was were often indistinguishable from women except for the small shaved spot on top of their heads and wore no hair pins or decorative combs in their upsweat hairdos which is helpful when identifying the characters in prints the parallel term joshuaku made up of the characters for woman and eroticism actually referred to love relationships between men and women no concept existed at this time which referred in a general sense to women's same-sex love and consequently there was no way of cognitively linking both male and female homosexuality although although there are some literary and artistic references to sexual acts taking place between women during pre-modern times women's same-sex love was not accorded the same level of moral seriousness as that between men the dream of the fisherman's wife is the most famous image from an 1814 book of shunga erotic art within the yukio a genre the image depicts a woman evidently a shell diver enveloped in the tentacles of two octopuses in the text above the image the woman and the creatures expressed their mutual pleasure from the encounter during this era a new form of popular culture called manga or kibyoshi also known as yellow covers developed these were storybooks for adults narration and dialogue were placed in and around ink-brushed illustrations often in creative ways that consciously blurred the distinction between text and picture they dealt with a variety of subjects including humor drama fantasy and even pornography by the mid 19th century both kibayashi and gokhan had disappeared victims of both government censorship and the convenience and speed of movable type technology modern manga were introduced in the 1940s physically identifiable by their yellow backed covers kibyoshi were typically printed in 10 page volumes many spanning 2-3 volumes in length with the average number of total pages being thirty considered to be the first purely adult comic book in japanese literature a large picture spans each page with descriptive prose and dialogue filling the blank spaces in the image let's look at the printed masterpieces of two of the most print makers during the edo period katsushika hokusai was both a painter and a master of the woodblock print he called himself an old man mad with painting and in this self-portrait shows himself riding a giant carp because why not at this time the popularity of women and actors as subjects began to decline during the early 19th century hokusai and others helped bring the art of yukio a full circle back to landscape views often with a seasonal theme that are among the masterpieces of world print making scenes of everyday life such as these women working thread were published in pictorial books of hokusai's art and also serve as an intimate look inside the life of people of the period let's look at hokusai's classic 36 views of mount fuji made between 1830 and 1832 the first and best known print in the series is hokusai's the great wave off kanagawa the breathtaking composition of this wood block print is said to have inspired debussy's lamer the sea and rilka's der berg the mountain that ensures its reputation as an icon of world art hokusai cleverly played with perspective to make japan's grandest mountain appear as a small triangular mound within the hollow of the cresting wave the artist became famous for his landscapes created using a palette of indigo and imported prussian blue ink this print titled southwind clear dawn is also called red fuji and shows mount fuji struck by early morning light [Music] another close-up view of the mountain called lightnings below the summit [Music] this print frames the mountain within the center of the barrel being made by a shirtless artisan in this print you can practically feel the wind and hear the clatter of the horse's hoofs this print titled sea house at koishikawa shows the morning after a snowfall again we see the smallness of the humans in a natural world and my favorite artist ando hiroshige hiroshige is known for his brilliant compositions and the ability to capture the transient moments of the landscape and the lives of ordinary people his two most famous series are the 53 stages of the tokaido road and famous places in ido 100 views the walk along the coast called the 53 stations of the tokaido or the sea road was a classic uh journey on foot or horseback that was kind of like a vacation you know planned vacation for people in japan each of hiroshige's prints reads like a still frame from a movie they're perfectly composed and convey a suggestion of a story as well as evoking an emotional mood with a controlled color palette in each print he delivers a landscape architecture seasons and micro moments of weather frozen in time from a gust of wind to sunlight on shifting leaves also while somehow conveying a plotline and characters even the placement of the captions and the color palette echoed in the text fits with the harmony of the picture as a whole in this scene it's almost a comic evocation of a hot day with the pants rolled up and the sun creeping up over the horizon these fluttering banners are decorated with the emblems of the shops that they hang outside of here you can feel the cold clear air with stars coming out over the drum shaped bridge and here this bird of prey is caught just as he turns to swoop down possibly to that floating boy and catch a fish this last print by hiroshige is a collaboration with another artist mario kashiro who did the illustrated legend figures in the sky for over 200 years no foreigner was allowed to enter japan during the era of the shoguns in 1853 an american squadron under the command of commodore matthew perry arrived at edo bay in tokyo demanding that japan open its borders to foreign commerce this began a craze for all things japanese and europe and the united states and all things western in japan this modern steamship proudly flies a japanese flag as it sails past the site of commodore perry's 1853 landing the all-japanese crew is dressed in kimono and armed with the swords of samurai ten years after commodore perry's black ships burst into japanese history the artist saddahide expresses his pride in japan's mastery of the new technology in japan the emperor set up the institute for the study of barbarian documents to understand the colonial enemy which threatened them this print shows foreigners visiting tokyo from the five nations england the netherlands france russia and the united states they were restricted to living in yokohama a port city on tokyo bay their physical appearance apparel and ways of life were subjected to intense scrutiny and became a popular theme for so-called yokohama prince now look at the influence that the western world found when looking at japanese prince it wasn't long before the meiji government recognized the power of painting in the arts for japan in its new role as an international force japan's government set a deputation to the paris world fair of 1867 shown here to present arts and culture promoting cultural exports was a way to gain foreign currency to pay for the huge cost of modernization and to present herself to the world as a cultured and civilized nation affordable yukio a prints were widely available and sold to foreign tourists in this work we can see the influence of japanese prince on the american artist mary kasat an impressionist who visited paris in 1890 and saw the japanese exhibition her work clearly shows her interpretation of the line and form so indicative of yukio a prince [Music] and here we can see the distinctive rush work of vincent van gogh as he copies a courtesan by hiroshige this print by an unknown artist from a book about roses shows how pattern and representational dimensional drawing coexisted in japanese prints we see the strong line in flat areas of color that inspired western artists a parallel book by eugene grasse a parisian artist called plants and their application to ornament shows the japanese influence and now we enter the modern era in japan since western contact japan has had five different emperors and five different eras in 1867 the japanese military rule collapsed and a 15 year old emperor was taken to ido and reinstated as political leader with the democratic-style government there was participation through administrative channels a sense of reform fairness and a search for wisdom throughout the world this was called the miji period this painting shows the bodhisattva khannan with the infant inside of a spherical form and was exhibited at the paris salon in 1883. it's a famous example of early nahonga a word created in the miji era to denote the painting particular to japan as opposed to western models of painting its conventional buddhist theme combined with western elements of perspective are typical of what was to become the ideal of the tokyo school of fine arts war with china broke out over control of korea in 1894. in less than a year a swift victory was achieved for japan because of the massive modernization after the miji restoration the japanese troops were supported by the latest western weapon weapon technology and a wave of nationalistic enthusiasm china conceded taiwan and other territories and had to pay large indemnities to japan korea's independence was formally confirmed although in reality it operated under japanese control [Music] the communication design of this period represented by woodcut prince glorified the military might of japan and its dominant aggressive expansionism the chinese enemies are depicted as some kind of primitive barbarians and backwards people armed with spears while the fierce-looking japanese soldiers attack with modern rifles this print echoes the history of the floating world tradition the taisho era was the 14-year reign of emperor yoshihito shortly after he assumed the throne the world including japan was plunged into world war one a major theme through this period was the japanese struggle for modern cultural identity japanese women adopted the culture of cafe society where they could dance smooch and smoke cigarettes imitating the western fashion and stylish hair they took up outdoor activities and were seen on the summer beaches in form-fitting swimsuits with arms and legs exposed they took up flames by umura shellin is said to be a vision of a broken jealous heart in the tale of genji a princess becomes possessed by a revengeful spirit symbolized by the spiderweb pattern on her kimono shown was a woman artist who painted a number of pictures inspired by female characters in no theater such roles were usually performed by men but humera had when women recreate the poses for her works designed during the reign of emperor hirohito was directly related to modern trends in art during the pre-1945 period japan moved into political totalitarianism ultranationalism and fascism culminating in japan's invasion of china in 1937. this was part of an overall global period of social upheavals and conflicts including the great depression and the second world war this new year's card features a modern woman arranging her hair in front of a mirror graphic design evolved rapidly with industrialization the growth growth of modern cities and the commercial demand for advertisements the popular japanese print making traditions of dramatic compositions and scenes of both glamorous and ordinary lives translated seamlessly into commercial posters and ads with exposure to the new typography of the bauhaus and russian designers kanji characters took on graphic boldness as in this poster reading kite this magazine for the japan artists proletarian federation was clearly influenced by russian constructivist images as was this may first movie poster by hiromo hira from 1928 may 1st is the international communist workers holiday this modern style was carried into advertisements as well this poster for men's business clothing from 1931 uses some of the same modern typography these two posters for theatrical productions have a dramatic energy and synergy between type and image reminiscent of the glasgow school of poster artists in scotland think how different they are from the early floating world posters usaka kamakura was one of the pioneers of japanese graphic design his designs included a wide diversity of projects such as logos packages books and page layout but some of his most memorable achievements were in posters like this one from 1935 to 1938 kamakura studied architecture and the principles of constructivism at the institute for contemporary architecture and industrial arts in tokyo a private school founded with the aim of introducing the design theories of the bauhaus into japan kamakura was commissioned as a project manager to initiate the design project for the tokyo 1964 olympics together with some other designers they first created the basic concept and identified the essential parameters in order to make the designs internationally understandable and at the same time to represent the character of japanese culture the bauhaus influence is evident in the reduction of elements to basic forms and the precise use of mathematical grids after 1938 kamakura held the position of art director in a number of japanese magazines including nippon in 1951 he became a co-founder of the japan advertising arts club and he devoted himself to the social recognition of the profession of graphic designer another important designer iko tanaka's work is deeply rooted in japanese traditions while informed by the minimalism of the mid 1970s international style his work includes logos for expos and international expositions universities and other major clients he curated and designed exhibitions for the victorian albert museum in london and throughout japan tanaka is also credited with developing the muji brand together with kazuko koika a marketing consultant and takashi sugamoto an interior designer muji is characterized by its minimalist design emphasis on recycling avoidance of waste and production and packaging and no logo or no brand policy he worked as muji's art director until 2001. shigeo fukuda is one of those designers whose work is almost instantly recognizable his clever interplay of positive and negative forms and surprising juxtapositions often conveyed in the simplest color palettes this playful image is a dance troupe this dramatic poster entitled no more is a statement against nuclear weapons made in 1968 japanese artists were among the first to create powerful anti-war statements in the period after the devastating bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki in world war ii keichi tanami began working as an artist starting in the 1960s his practice centered on the anti-art group neo-data japan from the 60s through the 70s he was a central figure in the early days of the post-war japanese avant-garde and a standard bearer of the flourishing counter culture that reflected a turbulent historical period marked by the vietnam war the revision of the security treaty between japan and the us the cultural revolution in china and the oil shock at the height of psychedelic culture and pop art tanami's kitschy colorful illustrations and design work receive high acclaim in both japan and abroad in addition to his album cover art for legendary bands like the monkeys and jefferson airplane and other such works he left a major footprint on the path to introducing psychedelic and pop art to japan his work too is immediately recognizable and distinctly different than other pop artists from around the world [Music] masutera ioba is known for his ability to create bold posters with striking compositions he was a social activist and many of his works dealt with the themes of peace environment pollution and other social concerns he also called for for peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons let's take a look at a couple designers who were working in contemporary japan isuki tachakawa runs a firm called no signer the work of the company called no sign as in no design often uses forms inspired by nature these sake packages evoke raindrops and you may recognize the kirigami hang tag the studio's work is often minimalist and incorporates the principles of wabi-sabi iki and shibuy this is branding for a takeout chain called yakso box the identity system includes a custom font design that can cross over from latin to japanese characters as part of the identity they designed the interiors and exteriors of all the restaurants the principle of iki rich interiors under somber quiet exteriors is evoked in this packaging for a coffee company hiromu arakawa is the male pen name of hiromi harakawa a japanese manga artist she usually appears in social media as her avatar a glasses-wearing cow she's best known for the manga full metal alchemist which became a hit both domestically and internationally was adopted into two anime television series the manga has sold over 70 million volumes worldwide making it one of the best selling series ever the english release of the manga's first volume was the top selling graphic novel during 2005. in two web polls the anime was voted the most popular anime of all time in japan when she published her first authentic manga piece stray dog erica had used her now famous pen name instead of her real name because she didn't want to be pigeonholed by her female gender arakaw was inspired to write the manga silver spoon due to her own childhood as a dairy farmer and wanted to show her fans how difficult life working on a farm can be in both physical and mental terms arakawa included a theme of racial oppression and full mental alchemist due to her own her own ancestors being responsible for taking the land of the indigenous aboriginal ayunu people of japan and that brings us full circle back to the beginning of this island nation and world capital of design

Channel: Ann Lemon

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Id: qoOnY3X0-l4

Length: 52min 31sec (3151 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 30 2020