Paintings
This picture depicts the beauty of nature through a simple painting. Simplicity and a love of beauty were two themes that appeared often in Japanese art. Some Buddhist and Shinto paintings depicted the idea of gloomy opinions, invoked by the sense of passing time, loss, and disappointment. Artists depicted this through things like lovely, but short-lived blossoming cherry trees, They often referred seasonal change, which presented the Buddhist concept of the unavoidable change in life, but they also showed a fondness for the natural cycle.
Calligraphy
Calligraphy is the art of writing beautifully. Most children in Japan learn how to do this in elementary school. calligraphy had already been developing in China for many years when it arrived in Japan along with the Chinese writing system of Kanji. The Japanese considered calligraphy a way to express beauty. There are three forms of Japanese calligraphy. Kaisho, or the "correct way" is very similar to the writing you would see in a printed Japanese newspaper. Gyousho is a semi-cursive form of Japanese calligraphy. This is what people often use to jot down notes quickly. Sousho is the flowing cursive style of calligraphy. It is hard to read this type of writing for anyone except those trained in Sousho because the artist rarely picks her off the page, resulting in graceful swooping shapes.
Want to see someone write calligraphy?
| calligraphy_video_2.mov |
Bonsai and Ikebana
The tree to the right is a bonsai tree. Bonsai is the art of growing miniature trees or shrubs in small pots or trays. This originated in China and then the Japanese Buddhist monks adopted it. Next the nobles had these short trees in their houses because it was a sign of prestige and honor. Another gardening art is Ikebana. Ikebana is the Japanese art form of flower arranging. The art of flower arranging was brought to Japan through Buddhism. It was a Buddhist expression of the beauty of nature, with seven branches representing aspects of nature (mountains, rivers, etc.) in a formal manner.The flowers are arranged simply to highlight the natural beauty of flowers.
Zen Gardens
There are many types of Zen gardens, but the most famous one is the dry garden, called Karesansui. Rocks are designed in such a way that it looks like water. With this type of garden, it is believed that the stillness of the “water”, being the gravel is the peace and tranquility of the mind. Another type is lush and green, quite the opposite of the Karesansui. The Zen-inspired garden to the right has a simple design with rocks and few trees and flowers, This is designed to help people think quietly. It shows the beauty of nature as landscape gardeners aimed and aim to do. Even to this day, the ancient style of landscape gardening is very important in Japanese art.
