Survey of Japanese Art

(4 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This course examines the vibrant visual culture of Japan from the Edo to the early Meiji period, focusing on prints and paintings. We will analyze major painting schools, such as Nanga, Y¿fuga, Rinpa, and Maruyama-Shij¿, as well as the development of Ukiyo-e prints. Students will learn about how these visual practices shaped the urban cultures of the Edo period and engaged with the everyday lives of different social classes. Topics to be discussed include, but are not limited to, the impact of foreign cultures, the commercialization of pictorial practices, the circulation of images across media, the culture of learning and reading, and representations of gender in the Edo society. Given this course's focus on the visual production surrounding urban spaces, especially Edo (present-day Tokyo), students will be expected to view Ukiyo-e prints and paintings in the collections of several museums.