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The Ashikaga of Japan had lost control over the country and as a result, a series of civil wars lasted for nearly 100 years. It came to an end when Oda Nobunaga broke the power of the feudal lords. His successor then united Japan. During this “long lasting peace”, trade with Europe expanded and a new wealthy class of merchants came to be. Like the European Renaissance period, this new class influenced and contributed to the development of art. This flourishing renaissance period happened at the time of the Azuchi Momoyama period(1573-1603). Painting had been under the influence of the Chinese culture, however, during this period new Japanese styles were developed in painting. Many schools were established and practiced their own style. However the Chinese and Buddhists influence remained strong.  Above: This painting is of birds and flowers of the four seasons by Kano Eitoku

**Media-** The typical medias used by traditional Japanese painters: Horizontal scrolls called emakimono. Emakimono were created by pasting single sheets together to form a long roll. The images were viewed from right to left. Vertical scrolls called kakemono. A kakemono is mounted on a roller on both ends. The roller on top has a string attached so that you can hang the scroll vertically. The roller on bottom is meant to straighten the image out by its weight. This idea started during the Momoyama period, however it did not become popular until the Edo period.

Folding screens, called byobu and Sliding doors, called fusuma were another form of art media.These were used as room separators, this idea of folding screens came from China. Paintings decorated on the interior walls of castles were also very popular, this term is shoheiga.

Fans, uchiwa, were also a popular medium to paint on.



The Picture on the Left: This piece is the Amida Myorai, by Jōchō. A wood covered with gold leaf on a polychrome wood lotus pedestal. // The right: This is called the Landscape of the Four Seasons //, also called // Longer Landscape Scroll, //by Sesshū. A hand scroll, ink and faint color on paper. Suibokuga is the term for painting in black ink. It was adopted from China and influenced by Zen Buddhism.



The Painting on the right: This a painting of the Bodhisattva, by the Amida Triad, This painting is one of a series of frescoes in the main hall of the H ō ry ū Temple. As you can see from these two paintings Buddhism played an important role in Japanese art, because of Chinese influence the Buddhist religion also came into Japan. Buddhist painting became fashionable among wealthy Japanese. The Amidas provided the basis for many artworks such as the on the right. 

Painting themes were very diverse as, each of the media listed above had its own main focus. Here are some popular subjects and themes: Shikie - Landscapes of the four seasons. Meishoe - Views of famous places. Monogatarie - Scenes from the life at the imperial court. Rakuchu rakugai zu - Views from Kyoto. Kabuki e - Images from the kabuki theater. Bijinga - Images of beautiful women, usually from the “pleasure quarters”. ** Overview- ** During the Azuchi-Momoyama period, painting gained particular importance. It was a time of great artistic change in Japan when, for the first time, a wealthy middle class began to arise and dominate. With wealth came the interest of surrounding ones self with beauty. During this period art was becoming more and more Japanese and more a part of everyone’s life.
 * Themes- **



===**Poetry ** === ===Monk Sogi ( 1421 - 1502 ) was a zen monk and a poet, a master of renga, the linked verse. The renga follows the 5-7-5-7-5 pattern of the waka, but it is divided in “two loosely coupled parts”. Sōgi is considered the greatest master of renga he left more than 90 works, anthologies, diaries, poetic criticisms, manuals, and many others. Before his death, he wrote "Sōgi Alone", a sum of all his memoirs. ===

sono wa kochou no yadori nite.
That man's life is but a dream - is what we now come to know. Its house abandoned, the garden has become home to butterflies.

Omoishiru is a compound verb from omou and shiru, "think-and-know". The ramu suffix added to the shuushikei stem shows a conjecture. From this we know that “man's life is but a dream”. Hito wo yume to, "thinking of man/person/self as a dream”, is a reference to the Chinese philospher Zhuang Zhi. This man had a dream of being a butterflythen when he woke up and wasn’t sure if he was a man that dreamt of being a butterly or a butterfly dreaming to be a man. suzushisa wa mizu yori fukashi aki no sora

Ah, for coolness, it rivals the water's depth - this automn sky.

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