CHAPTER TWELVE JAPANESE ART BEFORE 1333

1. Which characteristic of Japanese art was evident in haniwa figures of the Kofun period?

A. innovative glazing techniques

B. technical sophistication

C. a love of asymmetry

D. the preference for wooden sculpture

Answer: C

Learning Objective: 12.b Interpret the meaning of works of early Japanese art based on their themes, subjects, and symbols.

Topic: Kofun Period

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

2. What simple form was used to shape vessels of the haniwa figures that surrounded Kofun tombs?

A. triangular

B. cubic

C. circular

D. cylindrical

Answer: D

Learning Objective: 12.a Identify the visual hallmarks of early Japanese art for formal, technical, and expressive qualities.

Topic: Kofun Period

Difficulty Level: Easy

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

3. Which cultural development occurred during the Asuka period?

A. Buddhism became the state religion.

B. A system of writing was created.

C. Political ties with China were cut.

D. Ceramics were developed for ritual purposes.

Answer: A

Learning Objective: 12.c Relate early Japanese artists and art to their cultural, economic, and political contexts.

Topic: Asuka and Nara Periods

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

4. Which structure at Horyuji (Fig. 12-4) is not entered because of its reliquary function?

A. the kondo

B. the pagoda

C the repository

D. the stupa

Answer: B

Learning Objective: 12.d Apply the vocabulary and concepts relevant to early Japanese art, artists, and art history.

Topic: Horyuji

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

5. The Womb World Mandala (Fig. 12-8) is an example of paintings that helped teach practitioners the different gods and hierarchical interrelationships in

A. Esoteric Buddhism.

B. Pure Land Buddhism.

C. Zen Buddhism.

D. Mahayana Buddhism.

Answer: A

Learning Objective: 12.f Select visual and textual evidence in various media to support an argument or an interpretation of a work of early Japanese art.

Topic: Esoteric Buddhist Art

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It

6. How does art of the Heian period demonstrate Japan’s desire to be less culturally dependent on China?

A. the production of haniwa

B. the format of handscrolls

C. the use of kana

D. the mudras of the Buddha

Answer: C

Learning Objective: 12.e Interpret a work of early Japanese art using the art historical methods of observation, comparison, and inductive reasoning.

Topic: Secular Painting and Calligraphy

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It

7. How does the Hungry Tigress Jataka (Fig. 12-5) on the Tamamushi shrine reflect Chinese and Korean artistic influence?

A. the asymmetry of the design

B. the abstracted linear patterning

C. the repeated figure of Buddha

D. the stylized form of the landscape

Answer: D

Learning Objective: 12.e Interpret a work of early Japanese art using the art historical methods of observation, comparison, and inductive reasoning.

Topic: Horyuji

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It

8. What indicates the extensive international exchange that took place during the Nara period?

A. the introduction of Buddhism to Japan

B. the collection in the Shosoin Imperial Repository in Todoaiji

C. the use of imported materials in ritual objects

D. the capital cities’ diminishing populations

Answer: B

Learning Objective: 12.c Relate early Japanese artists and art to their cultural, economic, and political contexts.

Topic: Nara Period

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It

9. Which form of writing is classified as cursive script with graceful lines?

A. hiragana

B. kana

C. kanji

D. sutras

Answer: A

Learning Objective: 12.a Identify the visual hallmarks of early Japanese art for formal, technical, and expressive qualities.

Topic: Writing, Language, and Culture

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

10. What was the purpose of Five-Stringed Lute with Design of a Central Asian Man Playing a Biwa Atop a Camel (Fig. 12-7)?

A. samurai inductions

B. meditative rituals

C. courtly audiences

D. consecration ceremonies

Answer: D

Learning Objective: 12.b Interpret the meaning of works of early Japanese art based on their themes, subjects, and symbols.

Topic: Nara Period

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

11. Raigo paintings depicting Amida Buddha, accompanied by bodhisattvas who were coming to earth, were commonly

A. carried by samurai during the Kamakura period.

B. taken to the homes of dying people.

C. used in the practice of Esoteric Buddhism.

D. gifts from a Buddhist master to students.

Answer: B

Learning Objective: 12.d Apply the vocabulary and concepts relevant to early Japanese art, artists, and art history.

Topic: Kamakura Period, Pure Land Buddhist Art

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

12. How does the Descent of Amida and the Twenty-Five Bodhisattvas (Fig. 12-15) reflect indigenous Japanese beliefs?

A. the emphasis on the surrounding landscape

B. the use of gold and color on dark silk

C. its association with death and dying

D. its use of one-point, linear perspective

Answer: A

Learning Objective: 12.f Select visual and textual evidence in various media to support an argument or an interpretation of a work of early Japanese art.

Topic: Kamakura Period, Pure Land Buddhist Art

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

13. Zen Buddhism’s emphasis on individual enlightenment through meditation appealed to the self-disciplined nature of Japan’s

A. aristocrats.

B. samurai.

C. peasants.

D. merchants.

Answer: B

Learning Objective: 12.d Apply the vocabulary and concepts relevant to early Japanese art, artists, and art history.

Topic: Zen Buddhist Art

Difficulty Level: Easy

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

14. Which period is known for its coiled clay vessels that probably imitated reed baskets?

A. Asuka

B. Nara

C. Jomon

D. Heian

Answer: C

Learning Objective: 12.a Identify the visual hallmarks of early Japanese art for formal, technical, and expressive qualities.

Topic: Jomon Period

Difficulty Level: Easy

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

15. From which culture did the architects of the large imperial tombs of the Kofun period borrow?

A. Korean

B. Cambodian

C. Chinese

D. Indian

Answer: A

Learning Objective: 12.c Relate early Japanese artists and art to their cultural, economic, and political contexts.

Topic: Kofun Period

Difficulty Level: Easy

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

16. What were Shinto emanations of Buddhist deities, which demonstrate how the Japanese integrated Buddhist ideas into their indigenous belief systems?

A. haniwa

B. kami

C. kofun

D. nara

Answer: B

Learning Objective: 12.b Interpret the meaning of works of early Japanese art based on their themes, subjects, and symbols.

Topic: Chapter Introduction

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It

17. The main god worshiped at the Ise Shrine is the sun goddess Amaterasu-o-mi-kami, the legendary progenitor of Japan’s

A. shogun.

B. samarai.

C. emperor.

D. army.

Answer: C

Learning Objective: 12.d Apply the vocabulary and concepts relevant to early Japanese art, artists, and art history.

Topic: Shinto

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

18. Although Ise is a popular site for pilgrims, only the imperial family and Shinto priests are allowed into the

A. inner shrine.

B. outer shrine.

C. garden.

D. front gate.

Answer: A

Learning Objective: 12.d Apply the vocabulary and concepts relevant to early Japanese art, artists, and art history.

Topic: Shinto

Difficulty Level: Easy

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

19. Which influence at Nara led imperial advisors to move the capital to Kyoto near the end of the eighth century?

A. Islamic

B. Christian

C. Daoist

D. Buddhist

Answer: D

Learning Objective: 12.c Relate early Japanese artists and art to their cultural, economic, and political contexts.

Topic: Nara Period

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

20. What formal elements allow the viewer to understand the narrative in The Tale of Genji (Fig. 12-11)?

A. varying textures

B. contrasting colors

C. open roofs

D. diagonal lines

Answer: C

Learning Objective: 12.a Identify the visual hallmarks of early Japanese art for formal, technical, and expressive qualities.

Topic: Secular Painting and Calligraphy

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

21. What mythical Indian Buddhist sage was the founder of Zen monks’ lineage?

A. Daolong

B. Amida

C. Chan

D. Daruma

Answer: D

Learning Objective: 12.c Relate early Japanese artists and art to their cultural, economic, and political contexts.

Topic: Zen Buddhist Art

Difficulty Level: Easy

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

22. Who was the first shogun of the Kamakura period?

A. Yoritomo

B. Minamoto

C. Taira

D. Yining

Answer: A

Learning Objective: 12.c Relate early Japanese artists and art to their cultural, economic, and political contexts.

Topic: Kamakura Period

Difficulty Level: Easy

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

23. What do the animal antics and court activities depicted in the yamato-e handscroll Frolicking Animals (Fig. 12-13) represent?

A. deities

B. worshipers

C. warriors

D. emperors

Answer: B

Learning Objective: 12.b Interpret the meaning of works of early Japanese art based on their themes, subjects, and symbols.

Topic: Secular Painting and Calligraphy

Difficulty Level: Easy

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

24. The earliest form of samurai armor is known as

A. kamakura.

B. soji.

C. yoroi.

D. giga.

Answer: C

Learning Objective: 12.d Apply the vocabulary and concepts relevant to early Japanese art, artists, and art history.

Topic: A Battle Handscroll

Difficulty Level: Easy

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

25. Which period’s aesthetics are presented in the Amida Buddha (Fig. 12-10)?

A. Kamakura

B. Asuka

C. Nara

D. Heian

Answer: D

Learning Objective: 12.c Relate early Japanese artists and art to their cultural, economic, and political contexts.

Topic: Heian Period, Pure Land Buddhist Art

Difficulty Level: Easy

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

Short Answer

1. What social changes occurred in the Yayoi period?

Answer: The cultivation of rice, larger settlements, and metallurgy were developed during the Yayoi period.

Learning Objective: 12.c Relate early Japanese artists and art to their cultural, economic, and political contexts.

Topic: Yayoi Period

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

2. What cultural transformations occurred during the Asuka period?

Answer: Philosophy, Buddhism, medicine, music, food, clothing, agriculture, city planning, religion, art and architecture entered Japan from Korea and China.

Learning Objective: 12.c Relate early Japanese artists and art to their cultural, economic, and political contexts.

Topic: Asuka and Nara Periods

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

3. What is one of the jataka tales told by the paintings of Horyuji?

Answer: The Buddha sacrifices himself by throwing himself on rocks to break open his flesh to feed hungry tigers.

Learning Objective: 12.e Interpret a work of early Japanese art using the art historical methods of observation, comparison, and inductive reasoning.

Topic: Horyuji

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

4. What are some of the Buddhist symbols and what do they stand for?

Answer: The lotus flower symbolizes spiritual purity. The lotus throne symbolizes nirvana. The chakra symbolizes both the states of existence and the Buddhist doctrine.

Learning Objective: 12.b Interpret the meaning of works of early Japanese art based on their themes, subjects, and symbols.

Topic: Asuka and Nara Periods

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

5. What is Esoteric Buddhism, and how is the concept artistically interpreted?

Answer: It is a hierarchical form of Buddhism with a large number of deities, all of which have complex relationships with one another. The mandala is a cosmic diagram of the universe that portrays the schematic order of the deities.

Learning Objective: 12.f Select visual and textual evidence in various media to support an argument or an interpretation of a work of early Japanese art.

Topic: Esoteric Buddhist Art

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It

6. What are the teachings of Pure Land Buddhism?

Answer: Pure Land Buddhism teaches of a paradise filled with divine flowers and music. It offered a more immediate way to achieve salvation than Esoteric Buddhism did.

Learning Objective: 12.f Select visual and textual evidence in various media to support an argument or an interpretation of a work of early Japanese art.

Topic: Heian Period, Pure Land Buddhist Art

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It

7. Why did the Heian era end, and what period followed?

Answer: The Heian period ended when its rulers neglected their responsibilities for governing and samurai rose to take control. The Kamakura period followed.

Learning Objective: 12.c Relate early Japanese artists and art to their cultural, economic, and political contexts.

Topic: Kamakura Period

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

8. How do raigo paintings differ from mandalas?

Answer: Raigo paintings depicted the Amida Buddha and bodhisattvas to welcome the soul of the believer in an asymmetrical design. The mandala represents a reality beyond the visible world in a symmetrical composition.

Learning Objective: 12.e Interpret a work of early Japanese art using the art historical methods of observation, comparison, and inductive reasoning.

Topic: Esoteric Buddhist Art; Kamakura Period, Pure Land Buddhist Art

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It

9. How does Zen Buddhist art differ from that of Esoteric and Pure Land Buddhism?

Answer: Zen paintings were meditative tools that focused on the role and piety of the individual; Esoteric and Pure Land paintings focused on deities and the order of the universe.

Learning Objective: 12.e Interpret a work of early Japanese art using the art historical methods of observation, comparison, and inductive reasoning.

Topic: Zen Buddhist Art

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It

10. Describe the joined-block wood sculpture technique.

Answer: Four blocks were put together, two vertically and two horizontally, and the artists then hollowed out the interior.

Learning Objective: 12.a Identify the visual hallmarks of early Japanese art for formal, technical, and expressive qualities.

Topic: Heian Period, Pure-Land Buddhist Art

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

Essay

1. Compare the aesthetic and ritual characteristics of art made for different sects of Buddhism in Japan.

Answer:

1. The international style of early Buddhist art can be seen in the Shaka Triad (Fig. 12-6), which reflects the aesthetics of the Northern Wei dynasty.

2. The Pure Land Buddhist sculpture Amida Buddha (Fig. 12-10) shows the figure sitting on a lotus throne meant to simulate the appearance of paradise.

3. Esoteric Buddhist art emphasized the hierarchical relationship between deities, as seen in the symmetry of Womb World Mandala (Fig. 12-8).

4. Zen Buddhist art emphasized negative space and fine outline to encourage meditation, as seen in Daruma (Fig. 12-16).

Learning Objective: 12.e Interpret a work of early Japanese art using the art historical methods of observation, comparison, and inductive reasoning.

Topic: Horyuji; Esoteric Buddhist Art; Kamakura Period

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

2. Discuss the interplay of indigenous traditions and transmitted culture in Japanese art.

Answer:

1. Shintoism developed early in Japanese history and prized natural and asymmetrical characteristics.

2. Buddhism was transmitted to Japan, and the aesthetics of Shintoism were incorporated into the iconography.

3. Korean structures and Chinese structures, such as pagodas and palaces, were incorporated into the Japanese tradition.

4. Japanese painters were informed by Chinese landscape painting and Buddhism from the mainland.

Learning Objective: 12.f Select visual and textual evidence in various media to support an argument or an interpretation of a work of early Japanese art.

Topic: The Origins of Art in Japan; Heian Period; Kamakura Period

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It

3. Discuss how Japan’s changing relationship with China and Korea impacted its art and cultural development.

Answer:

1. During periods of exchange, Japan adopted many ideas and forms from China and Korea.

2. During periods of cultural isolation, Japan developed strictly Japanese aesthetics.

3. Philosophy and Buddhism from the mainland during the Yayoi, Asuka, and Kamakura periods influenced Japan’s arts and architecture.

4. City planning, palace complexes, Buddhist symbols, and iconography were all examples of traditions taken from China and Korea.

Learning Objective: 12.c Relate early Japanese artists and art to their cultural, economic, and political contexts.

Topic: Asuka and Nara Periods; Kamakura Period

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It

4. Japanese secular paintings are considered to be among the finest in the world. Explain what makes them so special, in terms of both form and style.

Answer:

1. Yamato-e scrolls, such as The Tale of Genji (Fig. 12-11), feature delicate lines, strong and muted mineral colors, and asymmetrical compositions.

2. Natural elements are used to increase the mood of the paintings.

3. The scene from Frolicking Animals (Fig. 12-13) highlights the courtly behaviors and Japanese style through the asymmetrical and monochromatic composition.

4. Calligraphy and poetry were incorporated into compositions, such as Book Page from the Ishiyamagire (Fig. 12-12).

Learning Objective: 12.e Interpret a work of early Japanese art using the art historical methods of observation, comparison, and inductive reasoning.

Topic: Secular Painting and Calligraphy

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

5. Compare and contrast paintings from the Heian period and the Kamakura period.

Answer:

1. The scene from The Tale of Genji and section of Night Attack on the Sanjo Palace both use the blown-off roof method to show the details of the narrative.

2. Subdued colors or monochromatic compositions are used for both periods, although more contrast appears in the Kamakura period.

3. Figure 12-14 has implied motion through brushwork that is not seen in Heian period paintings.

4. Both show political, courtly, and Buddhist subjects and figures.

Learning Objective: 12.e Interpret a work of early Japanese art using the art historical methods of observation, comparison, and inductive reasoning.

Topic: Heian Period; Kamakura Period

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It