the military, political, and economic expansion of the Buddhist sects in many ways. The impoverished peasants preferred to give their land to the church and act as tenants for smaller rent, rather than pay the enormous taxes levied on them. The power of the church was further increased by the shogunate's acceptance of its tenets. Shintoism allowed its clergy to marry, so that the abbots became hereditary. Again, emperors who were in conflict with the ruling shogunate became nominal monks and called powerful clans to help them. The church as well hired mercenaries. From an aesthetic point of view Buddhist art was represented mainly by adornment of temples with lacquer, large sculptures in wood, bronze and lacquered images of deities, and religious paintings. The early religious art forms reflected Buddhist-Chinese-Indian artistry but later reflected Japanese overtones with more lifelike individual faces combined with motion as expressed in muscle and bone configuration, position of the extremities, and more naturally flowing draperies. Even political expediency played a part in the development of the arts. During the time of their political dominance in the 10th and 11th centuries, the Fujiwara family had been inculcated with art appreciation to the neglect of rule by military power. Minamoto Yoritomo, emerging as shogun in 1192, realized this and maintained the center of power in Kamakura in order to isolate the military class from the weakening influence of art in Kyoto. On the other hand, the shogunate often encouraged the arts to distract the warlike clans and also for economic reasons in establishing trade relations with China, Korea, and Southeast Asia. However, the economic advantages of such trade were readily capitalized on by the local daimyo, who rapidly developed their own industries and patronized their own artists. Thus during the Kamakura (1185-1392) and Muromachi (1392-1573) periods the arts were also patronized to a great extent by the shogunate and the local daimyo. The taste of these new art patrons was reflected in the changing art motifs of these years. There was a predominance of Zen Buddhist art, since Zen was adopted mainly by the samurai class. Along with this religious art there developed, as previously mentioned, the tea ceremony, the art of flower arrangement, and the art of the Japanese garden. The daimyo, in spite of their militaristic spirit, were quick to emulate the nobility and the shogunate in their art appreciation. They competed in lavishing every possible artistic luxury on their castles, their taste often being somewhat gaudy and colorful and certainly less delicate than that of the Heian nobility. The metal arts, including the making of swords and sword furnishings, flourished under the military rule. The firm establishment of the Tokugawa regime early in the 17th century was responsible for radical changes in art forms. The political expediency of reducing the power of all but the shogunate resulted in the suppression of the Buddhist church and in the isolation of Japan from trade and political relations with the rest of the world. The result was the decline of religious art in deference to secular art, the rapid development of Japanese art techniques divorced from foreign influence, and the development of art in the local provinces.
The feudal system was also responsible for the propagation of art families. Thus as early as A.D. 905 Emperor Daigo ordered that official lacquer artists should not be permitted to change their occupation and that they were to train students to succeed them. The subsequent class distinctions (including prohibition of intermarriage) following the introduction of Confucian philosophy resulted in further isolation of the artisan class. These artists lived in homes set aside on the grounds and under the patronage of their local daimyo. Furthermore, the importance, according to the Shinto religion, of perpetuating the family name resulted in artists' adopting adept students and giving them the right to use part or all of their family name. Incidentally, this in turn, is in part responsible for the confusion of signatures in identifying Japanese works of art. Well-known artistic families were appreciated, often given honorary titles, and patronized, so that quality of work took complete precedence over quantity and commercialism. It was also the custom for the daimyo and the shogun to commission specific articles to be made for them by the lacquer artists. These commissioned articles, even when made by a very great artist, out of deference to the lord were never sighed..
The cycle became complete with the rise of the merchant class during the Edo period (1615-1868) and the almost total popularization and secularization of the arts among the common classes. Money, rather than produce, became the basis of exchange, and with the development of commerce and industry wholesale and retail dealers and moneychangers gained economic ascendancy. This nouveau riche merchant class began to patronize the arts. More schools were established, spreading education and culture among the common people. Poetry, the drama, and woodblock printing gained popularity among the masses. Art began to be mass-produced according to the tastes of its new patrons. Subject matter was expanded to appeal to the masses and to the wealthy merchants. Every aspect of everyday Japanese life became fit subject matter for Japanese art. Art objects became more photographically realistic and technically increasingly more detailed, ornate, and colorful, quite often at the expense of prior effective artistic strength and simplicity. By the end of the Edo period, along with commercialization of art, the military class was disbanded and the wearing of arms was forbidden, which ended the fine miniature metal art of sword furnishings. The modernization of Japan, including the wearing of Western dress, ended the need for inro. The daimyo were forced to return their fiefs in 1869. The decreased demand for and the loss of the feudal patronage of lacquer art, combined with the rising cost of living and labor, made it virtually economically impossible for an artist to devote the necessary time needed to create a superior piece of lacquer art.
Cultural Influences
Along with the political and economic reasons for art development under the Japanese feudal system was the basic love of art, "art for art's sake." Without this the natural outlets of artistic development under the nobility, imperial household, church, daimyo, shogunate, and merchant classes could not have been realized.
Art forms existed to a minor degree in the pre-Buddhist era. As soon as Japan became organized into provinces by settled tribes, governmental fostering of the fine arts was eagerly promulgated. As early as A.D. 701 the legal code provided for bureaus of lacquer artists and textile workers. The cultivation of lacquer trees was encouraged, and raw lac was accepted in lieu of taxes. Lacquer ware was even accepted instead of land grants. Meritorious deeds were often rewarded by the shogunate with gifts of lacquer ware. Artists were held in high esteem and were widely patronized by the wealthy and ruling classes and were given honorary titles, such as hogen and hokkyo. Even civil wars and campaigns against neighboring countries did not adversely affect the development of the arts. In fact the art-conscious Hideyoshi brought back potters during his war with Korea between 1592 and 1598. Similarly, local strife, such as the conflict between the Taira and Minamoto clans at the beginning of the 12th century, resulted in the rebuilding of temples which had been destroyed. The war of Onin (1467-78) resulted in the destruction of Kyoto, but the city was soon zealously and artistically rebuilt. What, then, formed the basis of this aestheticism of the Japanese people? We have seen that there were numerous factors responsible for the molding of the Japanese love of art. The intermittent close ties with China caused ready absorption of the already long-standing and well-established art forms of China. The simultaneous rise of Buddhist art and Buddhist philosophy also played a large part. The natural emulation of the shogunate, daimyo, and finally merchant class of the culture of the nobility also played a significant role. Finally there was the establishment of various artistic Japanese customs and modes of living thoroughly subconsciously indoctrinated into the Japanese mind, both young and old. The Japanese custom of applying art practically solely to utilitarian objects, no matter how insignificant, brought art within the reach of all social levels. Finally, the natural craftsmanship and technical ability of the Japanese artisan helped foster the handicrafts.
Appreciation of art and nature and antiquity is instilled into Japanese children at home and in school. Special excursions are taken into the countryside, to beauty spots, to famous temples, and to adjacent historical sites. Appreciation and observation of landscapes and of animal and insect life is inculcated into the students. The art of miniature landscape garden arrangement traces back as far as the reign of Empress Suiko (A.D. 593628), when stones of rare shape were presented to the court from China. Various forms of arrangement thus developed including bonseki (tray stone), bonkei (tray landscapes), bonsai (potted dwarf trees), bonga (tray pictures), etc. In some of these art forms dwarf trees are used; in others sand is used to symbolically represent water
