An Enduring Vision

The Edo period in Japan, from 1615 to 1858, witnessed an unprecedented flourishing of the arts. During these long years of peace and relative stability, Japanese culture attained new levels of refinement and distinction. Innovative painting styles such as Rinpa, nanga, Maruyama-Shijo, ukiyo-e, and zenga flourished along with the traditional painting lineages of the Kano, Tosa, and Hasegawa schools. With the fall of the shogunate in 1868 and the subsequent Meiji restoration, many painting styles current in Edo were practiced along with Western-style oil painting and types that assimilated both Eastern and Western traditions. In An Enduring Vision, twelve distinguished scholars examine Japanese painting in this vibrant period. The book opens with eminent guest curator Tadashi Kobayashi's overview of the exquisite paintings in the Gitter-Yelen collection. Stephen Addiss, Patricia J. Graham, Motoaki Kono, Johei Sasaki, and John T. Carpenter take up, respectively, Nanga, literati, and Rinpa painting, the Maruyama Shijo school,a and aspects of ukiyo-e painting during the Edo period. Patricia Fister, James T.
Ulak, and Masatomo Kawai examine, respectively, the influences of Yosa Buson; the Eccentrics Ito Jakuchu, Soga Shohaku, and Nasagawa Rosetsu; and the Zen painter Hakuin Ekaku. Paul Berry addresses the transformation of traditional painting practices in 19th- and 20th-century Japan, and Christine M. E. Guth takes up aspects of nanga and zenga painting in America. In addition, catalogue entries offer fresh commentary on the background and context in which the artworks were created. All these texts are generously illustrated in color. An Enduring Vision presents 138 exceptional artworks by the great masters of the Edo period as well as the paintings of their students, friends, and associates, whose relationships the authors explore and discuss. In addition to the artists mentioned above, the selection includes paintings by Ike Taiga, Sengai, and Tawaraya Sotatsu, among others. The catalogue offers a rare opportunity to appreciate in depth the ways in which these gifted individuals developed as artists. Tadashi Kobayashi is professor of art history, Gakushuin University; director of the Chiba Art Museum; and editor-in-chief of Kokka.
Lisa Rotondo-McCord is curator of Asian art, New Orleans Museum of Art. The essayists include Stephen Addiss, Paul Berry, John T. Carpenter, Patricia Fister, Patricia J. Graham, Christine M. E. Guth, Masatomo Kawai, Motoaki Kono, Johei Sasaki, and James T. Ulak.