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Region: Japan [X] Type: Background Information [X]
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Buddha triumphing over Mara, 900–1000
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An Introduction to Buddhism

Grade Level: 
Middle School (6-8), High School (9-12), College and Beyond
Resource Type: 
Background Information
Description: 

Buddhism has deeply influenced the character and evolution of Asian civilization over the past 2,500 years. It is based on the teachings of a historical figure, Siddhartha Gautama, who lived around the fifth century BCE. As it moved across Asia, Buddhism absorbed indigenous beliefs and incorporated a wide range of imagery, both local and foreign, into its art and religious practices. Buddhism continues to evolve as a religion in many parts of the world.

Seated Buddha Amitabha (Japanese: Amida)
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An Introduction to Buddhism in Japan

Grade Level: 
Middle School (6-8), High School (9-12), College and Beyond
Resource Type: 
Background Information
Description: 

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.

Geisha (Geigi) from Five Shades of Ink from the North Country (Hokkoku goshikizumi)
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An Introduction to Japanese Geisha

Grade Level: 
High School (9-12), College and Beyond
Resource Type: 
Background Information
Description: 

The first geisha were male entertainers, serving guests with music, lighthearted conversation, and comical play. The first female geisha appeared around 1750. They quickly outnumbered their male counterparts, and by 1780 the word geisha was mainly applied to women...

White phoenix on a pine tree
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Artists and Patrons of the Edo Period (1615–1868) in Japan

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Middle School (6-8), High School (9-12), College and Beyond
Resource Type: 
Background Information
Description: 

Prior to the Edo period (1615–1868), many painters and sculptors remained anonymous, occupying relatively equal status to carpenters and other artisans. The position of the artist during the Edo period changed, as artists became more successful financially, and better educated. Some of them began to be seen as celebrities, arbiters of taste with eccentric personalities. Although many still worked for low wages in obscurity, the Edo period marks the emergence of the artist as individual, as the genius creator in Japan. Learn more.

Noh Mask
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Bu and Bun: The Arts of War and Peace

Grade Level: 
Middle School (6-8), High School (9-12), College and Beyond
Resource Type: 
Background Information
Description: 

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] . . .” Learn more.

Tea Host Shozo Sato Prepares Tea
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Chanoyu: The Japanese Art of Tea

Grade Level: 
Middle School (6-8), High School (9-12), College and Beyond
Resource Type: 
Background Information
Description: 

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.

Microscopic cross section of Ritual object (zun), approx. 1600–1050
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Detection of Fakes and Copies

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Middle School (6-8), High School (9-12), College and Beyond
Resource Type: 
Background Information
Description: 

When we consider acquiring an object for the Asian Art Museum’s collection, our first step is to focus a trained eye on it...

A tea gathering at the Asian Art Museum
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Heian and Kamakura Period Tea (794–1338)

Grade Level: 
High School (9-12), College and Beyond
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Background Information
Description: 

The first record of tea drinking in Japan occurs early in the Heian period (794–1185) whenit was introduced to the Japanese aristocracy by scholar-monks returning from Tang dynasty China. Learn more.

Himeji Castle
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Himeji Castle

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Middle School (6-8), High School (9-12), College and Beyond
Resource Type: 
Background Information
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Himeji Castle is among the finest surviving examples of the defensive structures built in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries as samurai strongholds and symbols of power. Learn more.

Portrait of Toyotomi Hideyoshi
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Historical Background of the Edo Period (1615–1868)

Grade Level: 
Middle School (6-8), High School (9-12), College and Beyond
Resource Type: 
Background Information
Description: 

Japan’s Edo period dates from 1615, when Tokugawa Ieyasu defeated his enemies at Osaka Castle, to 1868, when the Shogun’s government collapsed and the Meiji emperor was reinstated as Japan’s main figurehead. This 250-year period takes its name from the city of Edo that started out as a small castle town and grew into one of the largest cities of the modern world, now called Tokyo.  Learn more.

Seated Buddha, 200–300
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How to Identify a Buddha

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Elementary School (4-5), Middle School (6-8), High School (9-12)
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Background Information
Description: 

The earliest surviving representations of the Buddha date from hundreds of years after his death, so they are not portraits in the usual sense. Buddha images vary greatly from place to place and period to period, but they almost always show these conventional features . . .

Mt. Fuji Viewed from the Imai Ferry on the Tone River, Shimosa Province
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Japan Encounters the West

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Middle School (6-8), High School (9-12), College and Beyond
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Background Information
Description: 

European art and culture had a significant impact in Japan, both before and during the period of self-imposed isolation . . .

Dancing geisha with a hand drum
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Japanese Geisha Dress and Accessories

Grade Level: 
High School (9-12), College and Beyond
Resource Type: 
Background Information
Description: 

The most characteristic element of geisha style is the elaborate coiffure. Developing from simple ponytails into elaborate arrangements, Japanese women’s hairstyles—not only of geisha but also of courtesans and nobles—became so complex by the eighteenth century that women could not arrange their own hair but had to rely on professional hairdressers who went from house to house...

Mt. Fuji and the beach at Miho
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Japanese Painting: Kano School

Grade Level: 
High School (9-12), College and Beyond
Resource Type: 
Background Information
Description: 

The Kano school, established by Kano Masanobu (1434–1530), primarily served the samurai class. Their bold designs of powerful animals and symbolic plants and trees, blending aspects of native Japanese with Chinese styles, were the perfect decoration for screens and sliding doors in the large official audience halls in samurai residences. Learn more

Scenes from The Tale of Genji, one of a pair
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Japanese Painting: Tosa School

Grade Level: 
High School (9-12), College and Beyond
Resource Type: 
Background Information
Description: 

The Tosa school, which originated in Kyoto during the Muromachi period (1392–1573), traditionally painted for the imperial family and nobility. They took as their subjects classical Japanese literature, such as the Tale of Genji and the Tales of Ise.  Learn more.

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