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Japan / China: 'Wu-Chinese Beauty'. Hanging scroll painting by Nagasawa Rosetsu (1754-1799), 18th century.<br/><br/> Nagasawa Rosetsu (1754-1799) was a Japanese painter of the Maruyama School, from a family of low-ranking samurai. He studied under famed artist Maruyama Okyo in Kyoto, until they had a falling out. He incorporated aspects of Western realism into his work.
Shigeru Aoki (1882-1911) was a Japanese painter famed for his combining of Japanese mythology and legends with the Western-style art movement that could be found in some late 19th and early 20th century Japanese paintings.<br/><br/> Aoki was born into an ex-samurai household in northern Kyushu. He left his home in 1899 to pursue artistic studies in Tokyo, and soon began to accumulate critical acclaim for his artwork and its use of Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood techniques mixed with Kojiki themes. He died in March 1911 from tuberculosis, aged only 28.
This set of paintings is the oldest and largest extant illustrated biography of Prince Regent Shotoku (574-622). It depicts places and events related to the traditional account of his life, stemming from the veneration of the prince that began in the Nara period (710-794).<br/><br/> These paintings were originally on fixed doors that adorned the Picture Hall in the East Precinct of Horyu-ji Temple. They were remounted as freestanding screens in the Edo period (1615-1868), and in recent times were again remounted on ten panels.<br/><br/> Records tell us that Hata no Chitei, an artist from Settsu Province (present-day Osaka Prefecture), painted them during the second to fifth month of Enkyu 1 (1069).
This set of paintings is the oldest and largest extant illustrated biography of Prince Regent Shotoku (574-622). It depicts places and events related to the traditional account of his life, stemming from the veneration of the prince that began in the Nara period (710-794).<br/><br/> These paintings were originally on fixed doors that adorned the Picture Hall in the East Precinct of Horyu-ji Temple. They were remounted as freestanding screens in the Edo period (1615-1868), and in recent times were again remounted on ten panels.<br/><br/> Records tell us that Hata no Chitei, an artist from Settsu Province (present-day Osaka Prefecture), painted them during the second to fifth month of Enkyu 1 (1069).
This set of paintings is the oldest and largest extant illustrated biography of Prince Regent Shotoku (574-622). It depicts places and events related to the traditional account of his life, stemming from the veneration of the prince that began in the Nara period (710-794).<br/><br/> These paintings were originally on fixed doors that adorned the Picture Hall in the East Precinct of Horyu-ji Temple. They were remounted as freestanding screens in the Edo period (1615-1868), and in recent times were again remounted on ten panels.<br/><br/> Records tell us that Hata no Chitei, an artist from Settsu Province (present-day Osaka Prefecture), painted them during the second to fifth month of Enkyu 1 (1069).
This set of paintings is the oldest and largest extant illustrated biography of Prince Regent Shotoku (574-622). It depicts places and events related to the traditional account of his life, stemming from the veneration of the prince that began in the Nara period (710-794).<br/><br/> These paintings were originally on fixed doors that adorned the Picture Hall in the East Precinct of Horyu-ji Temple. They were remounted as freestanding screens in the Edo period (1615-1868), and in recent times were again remounted on ten panels.<br/><br/> Records tell us that Hata no Chitei, an artist from Settsu Province (present-day Osaka Prefecture), painted them during the second to fifth month of Enkyu 1 (1069).
This set of paintings is the oldest and largest extant illustrated biography of Prince Regent Shotoku (574-622). It depicts places and events related to the traditional account of his life, stemming from the veneration of the prince that began in the Nara period (710-794).<br/><br/> These paintings were originally on fixed doors that adorned the Picture Hall in the East Precinct of Horyu-ji Temple. They were remounted as freestanding screens in the Edo period (1615-1868), and in recent times were again remounted on ten panels.<br/><br/> Records tell us that Hata no Chitei, an artist from Settsu Province (present-day Osaka Prefecture), painted them during the second to fifth month of Enkyu 1 (1069).
Akasagarbha Bodhisattva (Sanskrit: Chinese: Xukongzang Pusa; Japanese pronunciation: Kokuzo Bosatsu) is a bodhisattva who is associated with the great element (<i>mahabhuta</i>) of space (<i>akasa</i>).<br/><br/> Akasagarbha is considered one of the eight great bodhisattvas. His name can be translated as 'boundless space treasury' as his wisdom is said to be boundless as space itself.
Guanyin is an East Asian bodhisattva associated with compassion as venerated by Mahayana Buddhists.<br/><br/> It is generally accepted among East Asian adherents that Guanyin originated as the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. Commonly known in English as the Mercy Goddess or Goddess of Mercy but often depicted as both male and female to show this figure's limitless transcendence beyond gender.<br/><br/> Sahasrabhuja, the Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara, is a popular manifestation that 'sees and helps all'.
Mahamayuri (Chinese: Kongque Mingwang, Japanese: Kujaku Myoo), is one of the Wisdom Kings in the Buddhist Pantheon. Mahamayuri is a peaceful personification, in contrast to the wrathful attitudes of male personifications of the Wisdom Kings. Mahamayuri had the power to protect devotees from poisoning, either physical or spiritual.<br/><br/> In Vajrayana Buddhism, a Wisdom King (Sanskrit Vidyaraja, Chinese: Mingwang; Japanese pronunciation: Myoo) is the third type of deity after Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
Akasagarbha Bodhisattva (Sanskrit: Chinese: Xukongzang Pusa; Japanese pronunciation: Kokuzo Bosatsu) is a bodhisattva who is associated with the great element (<i>mahabhuta</i>) of space (<i>akasa</i>).<br/><br/> Akasagarbha is considered one of the eight great bodhisattvas. His name can be translated as 'boundless space treasury' as his wisdom is said to be boundless as space itself.
Kano Motonobu (1476-1559 CE) was a Japanese painter born in 1476, in the Kano district (modern-day Shizuoka Prefecture). Motonobu was a member of the Kano school of painting, which was founded by his father, Kano Masanobu, though it was Motonobu that established the distinctive techniques and styles the school would become famous for.<br/><br/> Motonobu's clients were primarily from the imperial court and merchant classes of Kyoto and Sakai, which gave him a lot of political pull and influence, and allowed the Kano school to grow and prosper. His most famous achievement was a new technique of painting known as <i>wa-kan</i>, a mixture of Chinese and Japanese painting styles.<br/><br/> The Kano family would go on to dominate the Japanese painting world from the end of the Muromachi Period all the way through to the end of the Edo Period, their creativity and flexibility allowing them to survive for centuries.
'Summer Airing'. Oil on canvas painting by Kawamura Kiyoo (1852-1934), c. 1890.<br/><br/> Kawamura Kiyoo (1852-1934) was a Japanese painter from Edo. He became a follower of the yōga (Western-style) of painting, and journeyed for a time through France and Italy. He aided in the formation of the Meiji Bijutsukai in 1889, the first art association in Japan championing western-style painting.
<i>Bugaku</i>, a court dance accompanied by <i>Gagaku</i> music, is a Japanese traditional dance blending Buddhist and Shinto elements that has been performed to select elites mostly in Japanese imperial courts for over twelve hundred years.<br/><br/> In this way it has been an upper class secret, although after World War II the dance was opened to the public and has even toured around the world in 1959. The dance is marked by its slow, precise and regal movements.<br/><br/> The dancers wear intricate traditional Buddhist costumes, which usually include equally beautiful masks. The music and dance pattern is often repeated several times. It is performed on a square platform, usually 6m by 6m.<br/><br/> Representing one of twenty standard characters that appear in Bugaku dance performance masks are a fine example of the exaggerated realism that captures a symbolic emotion or expression for dramatic stage effect. The earliest Bugaku masks were made by imperial craftsmen in dry lacquer.
Samantabhadra (Sanskrit, 'Universal Worthy') is a bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism associated with practice and meditation. Together with Gautama Buddha and his fellow bodhisattva Manjusri, he forms the Shakyamuni trinity in Buddhism. He is the patron of the Lotus Sutra and, according to the Avatamsaka Sutra, made the ten great vows which are the basis of a bodhisattva.<br/><br/> In Japan, this bodhisattva is often venerated by the Tendai and in Shingon Buddhism, and as the protector of the Lotus Sutra by Nichiren Buddhism. In the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, Samantabhadra is also the name of the Adi-Buddha – in indivisible Yab-Yum with his consort, Samantabhadri.
Kano Eitoku (February 16, 1543 - October 12, 1590) was a Japanese painter who lived during the Azuchi–Momoyama period (1568-1600) and is considered one of the most prominent patriarchs of the Kano school of Japanese painting.<br/><br/> The Kano school of painting was the dominant style of painting from the late 15th century until the Meiji period which began in 1868. The school began by reflecting a renewed influence from Chinese painting, but developed a brightly coloured and firmly outlined style for large panels decorating the castles of the nobility which reflected distinctively Japanese traditions, while continuing to produce monochrome brush paintings in Chinese styles.
Shigeru Aoki (1882-1911) was a Japanese painter famed for his combining of Japanese mythology and legends with the Western-style art movement that could be found in some late 19th and early 20th century Japanese paintings.<br/><br/> Aoki was born into an ex-samurai household in northern Kyushu. He left his home in 1899 to pursue artistic studies in Tokyo, and soon began to accumulate critical acclaim for his artwork and its use of Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood techniques mixed with Kojiki themes. He died in March 1911 from tuberculosis, aged only 28.
Ike no Taiga was a Japanese painter and calligrapher born in Kyoto during the Edo period. The majority of his works reflected his passion for classical Chinese culture and painting techniques, though he also incorporated revolutionary and modern techniques into his otherwise very traditional paintings.
<i>Bugaku</i>, a court dance accompanied by <i>Gagaku</i> music, is a Japanese traditional dance blending Buddhist and Shinto elements that has been performed to select elites mostly in Japanese imperial courts for over twelve hundred years.<br/><br/> In this way it has been an upper class secret, although after World War II the dance was opened to the public and has even toured around the world in 1959. The dance is marked by its slow, precise and regal movements.<br/><br/> The dancers wear intricate traditional Buddhist costumes, which usually include equally beautiful masks. The music and dance pattern is often repeated several times. It is performed on a square platform, usually 6m by 6m.<br/><br/> Representing one of twenty standard characters that appear in Bugaku dance performance masks are a fine example of the exaggerated realism that captures a symbolic emotion or expression for dramatic stage effect. The earliest Bugaku masks were made by imperial craftsmen in dry lacquer.
<i>Bugaku</i>, a court dance accompanied by <i>Gagaku</i> music, is a Japanese traditional dance blending Buddhist and Shinto elements that has been performed to select elites mostly in Japanese imperial courts for over twelve hundred years.<br/><br/> In this way it has been an upper class secret, although after World War II the dance was opened to the public and has even toured around the world in 1959. The dance is marked by its slow, precise and regal movements.<br/><br/> The dancers wear intricate traditional Buddhist costumes, which usually include equally beautiful masks. The music and dance pattern is often repeated several times. It is performed on a square platform, usually 6m by 6m.<br/><br/> Representing one of twenty standard characters that appear in Bugaku dance performance masks are a fine example of the exaggerated realism that captures a symbolic emotion or expression for dramatic stage effect. The earliest Bugaku masks were made by imperial craftsmen in dry lacquer.
<i>Bugaku</i>, a court dance accompanied by <i>Gagaku</i> music, is a Japanese traditional dance blending Buddhist and Shinto elements that has been performed to select elites mostly in Japanese imperial courts for over twelve hundred years.<br/><br/> In this way it has been an upper class secret, although after World War II the dance was opened to the public and has even toured around the world in 1959. The dance is marked by its slow, precise and regal movements.<br/><br/> The dancers wear intricate traditional Buddhist costumes, which usually include equally beautiful masks. The music and dance pattern is often repeated several times. It is performed on a square platform, usually 6m by 6m.<br/><br/> Representing one of twenty standard characters that appear in Bugaku dance performance masks are a fine example of the exaggerated realism that captures a symbolic emotion or expression for dramatic stage effect. The earliest Bugaku masks were made by imperial craftsmen in dry lacquer.
Hatra was an ancient city in the Ninawa Governorate and al-Jazira region of Iraq. It was known as al-Hadr, and was in the ancient Persian province of Khvarvaran. The city lies 290 km (180 mi) northwest of Baghdad and 110 km (68 mi) southwest of Mosul.<br/><br/> On 7 March 2015, various sources including Iraqi officials reported that the militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) had begun demolishing the ruins of Hatra. Video released by ISIL the next month showed destruction of the monuments.
<i>Bugaku</i>, a court dance accompanied by <i>Gagaku</i> music, is a Japanese traditional dance blending Buddhist and Shinto elements that has been performed to select elites mostly in Japanese imperial courts for over twelve hundred years.<br/><br/> In this way it has been an upper class secret, although after World War II the dance was opened to the public and has even toured around the world in 1959. The dance is marked by its slow, precise and regal movements.<br/><br/> The dancers wear intricate traditional Buddhist costumes, which usually include equally beautiful masks. The music and dance pattern is often repeated several times. It is performed on a square platform, usually 6m by 6m.<br/><br/> Representing one of twenty standard characters that appear in Bugaku dance performance masks are a fine example of the exaggerated realism that captures a symbolic emotion or expression for dramatic stage effect. The earliest Bugaku masks were made by imperial craftsmen in dry lacquer.
<i>Bugaku</i>, a court dance accompanied by <i>Gagaku</i> music, is a Japanese traditional dance blending Buddhist and Shinto elements that has been performed to select elites mostly in Japanese imperial courts for over twelve hundred years.<br/><br/> In this way it has been an upper class secret, although after World War II the dance was opened to the public and has even toured around the world in 1959. The dance is marked by its slow, precise and regal movements.<br/><br/> The dancers wear intricate traditional Buddhist costumes, which usually include equally beautiful masks. The music and dance pattern is often repeated several times. It is performed on a square platform, usually 6m by 6m.<br/><br/> Representing one of twenty standard characters that appear in Bugaku dance performance masks are a fine example of the exaggerated realism that captures a symbolic emotion or expression for dramatic stage effect. The earliest Bugaku masks were made by imperial craftsmen in dry lacquer.
<i>Bugaku</i>, a court dance accompanied by <i>Gagaku</i> music, is a Japanese traditional dance blending Buddhist and Shinto elements that has been performed to select elites mostly in Japanese imperial courts for over twelve hundred years.<br/><br/> In this way it has been an upper class secret, although after World War II the dance was opened to the public and has even toured around the world in 1959. The dance is marked by its slow, precise and regal movements.<br/><br/> The dancers wear intricate traditional Buddhist costumes, which usually include equally beautiful masks. The music and dance pattern is often repeated several times. It is performed on a square platform, usually 6m by 6m.<br/><br/> Representing one of twenty standard characters that appear in Bugaku dance performance masks are a fine example of the exaggerated realism that captures a symbolic emotion or expression for dramatic stage effect. The earliest Bugaku masks were made by imperial craftsmen in dry lacquer.
Ike no Taiga was a Japanese painter and calligrapher born in Kyoto during the Edo period. The majority of his works reflected his passion for classical Chinese culture and painting techniques, though he also incorporated revolutionary and modern techniques into his otherwise very traditional paintings.