Campbell Wharton

6/2/2016

How did the societal differences between the Japanese cities of Edo and Kyoto establish the different forms and styles of art in the Edo period? How does this connection still relate in the 21st century?

Looking to Today - How things change and stay the same

In the past I compared the differences between the culture of Edo and Kyoto, specifically that Edo developed into a much more practical and class-neutral style of art and culture, while the art of Kyoto sought that of a more religious and aesthetic and perhaps relaxed worldview.

This genre of performance art goes by the name of rakugo, and it holds an important piece of Japan's history. Rakugo emerged originally in the Edo period for much of the reasons already mentioned. A greater middle class emergence in Edo led to the people being able to afford to support the arts and become more cultured themselves, a spreading of equality that was indicative of the Edo culture. Rakugo, however, is still practiced today. It involves the telling of fantastical stories, often of comedic value. The storyteller, or rakugoka, tells a long tale entirely by himself on a pillow with only 2 props, and without standing or moving. This performance art is difficult to master, and is still regarded as a sacred art form today, a living relic of the mentality of practicality and art with purpose of the Edo period.

http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/news/japanese_standup.htm (an ironic title considering the rakugoka never stands)

Vincent van Gogh, Pietà, after Delacroix (first version), 1889. Oil on canvas, 41,5 x 34 cm, Vatican Collection of Modern Religious Art

Looking to Today - Rome and Vatican City, Italy

While technically its own country, Vatican City exists as an example of this same separation of religion and actual contemporary values today. Vatican City gained independence from the rest of Italy for the first time in 1929, separating itself from the values of the contemporary Italy. Much like how Kyoto retained the religious values of Japan, Vatican City exists now as the same sort of area, a contained zone of religious influence, thanks to the country establishing its own set of rules. The fact that Vatican City exists as the center of Christianity in the world as it is separates itself from the rest of the more liberal and contemporary Italy, and mainly Rome. Rome's art scene today can be seen as far more modern and liberal than the religious center that is Vatican City.

1911, Rhythms of Objects (Ritmi d'oggetti), oil on canvas, 53 x 67 cm, Pinacoteca di Brera

Video - The History of Japan
This video discusses and summarizes the history of Japan from its early stages as a fledgling nation to a full empire. It gives a good overview in a comedic and easy to digest way. It should give context to the viewer as to how the history of Japan itself led to the same societal differences discussed in this post. Will give a wide view of the nation's immense past.

Warning: Does contain some crude language. Viewer discretion advised. The author's specific comedic style may come across as belittling to Japanese culture to some, but keep in mind his knowledge of the subject and the reverence he holds for it.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

"Art of the Edo Period (1615–1868) | Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art." The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. N.p., Oct. 2003. Web. 26 Apr. 2016. <http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/edop/hd_edop.htm>.

Stokstad, Marilyn, and Michael Cothren. Art History. 5th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008. Print.

Harrigan, Diane. "Rakugo and Japanese Culture | News | Baruch." Rakugo and Japanese Culture | News | Baruch. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2016. <http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/news/japanese_standup.htm>.

"East Asian Art." Collections. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, n.d. Web. 19 May 2016. <http://vmfa.museum/collections/east-asian-art/>.

Picton, John. “Edo Art, Dynastic Myth, and Intellectual Aporia”. African Arts 30.4 (1997): 18–93. Web...

11 Comments

Josie Ladle

6/8/2016 01:45:20 pm

I really like that your topic has some human geo aspects to it!! I've always liked looking at how different places' cultures/social scenes affect the who/what/when/where/why of their way of life (including art!), if that makes sense. So comparing the societal differences of 2 cities and seeing how that made their art different is a great topic, IMHO. :-)

In typical Josie fashion, I have a nifty link that kinda relates...
This is a forum discussion about the "cultural differences between VA & NC." There are a lot of different opinions, obviously, because lots of people are involved, but that makes it all the more interesting!!

http://www.city-data.com/forum/north-carolina/645255-cultural-differences-between-va-nc.html

Ben Widener

6/9/2016 09:09:51 am

I really enjoyed your video demonstrating the history of Japan and your contemporary connections from Rome and the Vatican City. Your illustrated the social change in Japan very well in this post and It would be cool to analyze social change in art through the entire course of Japanese history!

Lyla Rossi

6/9/2016 09:47:37 pm

I really liked the comparison points you made with the current connection with the Vatican City, and the works by van Gogh and di Brera. I also really enjoyed learning about the distinctions between these two Japanese regions. It goes to show two of the main motivations for artistic creation: religion and (more secular) social implications/standards. Due to the fact that these are displayed right next to each other within the Japan, which I think fundamentally reveals the dynamism of art, even in a place where you would expect to see the same. Also, love the slideshow, nice.

Ellie Kim

6/9/2016 10:41:05 pm

I love love love your connection to art from Vatican City! I think that it's so interesting that you can find such a similar pattern with the political movements in each Japan and then in Italy. I adore Rhythms of Objects, there is something so visually appealing about it, and it looks so much like Picasso's cubist work. So much big art history!!

Helena Trevor

6/9/2016 10:48:53 pm

It's very interesting how you address the subject of performance art and story telling - this may not be the case for Japan - but for underdeveloped countries like in Africa, oral histories are extremely important to pass down history to future generations. They even have people trained to be professional story-tellers so their history isn't lost. It is cool to think that we look at art and performance art as parts of history and that we sometimes think our ancestors wouldn't expect us to look at these and try to figure out how they lived, when in reality, they might be created to do just that.

Alex Norman

6/9/2016 11:23:16 pm

I agree with Helena's comment. I really love how you discussed the traditional performance art practice of rakugo in your post. In addition to being an important part of many African cultures, storytelling has also played a profound role in the preservation of history and societal values for many Native American tribes in North America. When researching totem poles for my own project, I learned that an important part of the presentation of the pole is to tell the story it represents. This task is usually left to the chief or an elder in the tribe, a person similar to the rakugoka you described.

Erin Paasch

6/10/2016 12:01:54 am

I feel like we in the United States often don't consider regional differences in other nations, and we simply whitewash them into all fitting into one mold. This helps the reader to see that differences between cities can be profound, and evident of contemporary culture wars. This is a super important topic and I'm glad you covered it so thoroughly!

Evelyn

6/10/2016 12:26:08 am

Jumping off Ellie's comment - awesome post and really cool connection between Japanese and Italian sister cities of sorts! In that comparison I see a view of aren't as Orangegrove part of cultural connections. We can explore one without exploring the other. That's really deep. You delved into an idea and cross bridges with it and it really paid off.

Ishani Pendse

6/10/2016 12:40:24 am

I think your topic is really interesting as it includes a lot of about social/political/cultural norms. Just as when we visited the VMFA to learn about the Middle Ages and the tour guide laid out some of the social norms that shaped the art of the time, I think your presentation does a good job of exploring the same topic.

Alix Elizabeth

6/10/2016 08:51:46 am

This is a really interesting project especially since it involves human geography with regards to Edo and Kyoto. People often don't consider regional differences when discussing non-western art, instead lumping all SE Asian art into a lumping category. So it's really good that in your project you delved more into the intricacies and nuances of Japanese art. It was also interesting that you made connexions to the Vatican City!

Sophia Mccrimmon

6/14/2016 02:33:14 pm

Like everyone else, I love the way you brought up all these nuances between the cultures of different Japanese cities! That's something we think about a lot in regards to American cities (Richmond and Baltimore are close together, but obviously have very different histories and cultural characteristics), but it's often hard to understand when it comes to foreign nations. Your video about the history of Japan also really helped bring this entire post together.

Campbell Wharton

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