Cracks of Gold: The Muromachi Period of Japan

 Muromachi Period

The Muromachi Period in Japan extends from 1392-1573. It is characterized by the first advancements in modern commercial and urban developments, which allowed for broad growth in the arts (MET Department of Asian Arts). Due to growth in transportation, ideals from China began to influence Japanese culture, one of the largest influences being Zen Buddhism. Buddhist ideals were adopted by many Japanese military forces slightly prior to the Muromachi Period. Zen influenced the creation of chanoyu (tea) aesthetic. Chanoyu included appreciation for "garden design, architecture, interior design, calligraphy, painting, flower arranging, the decorative arts, and the preparation and service of food," (MET Department of Asian Arts). These sorts of values within culture led to artwork that centered along natural elements like flowers and landscapes and included depictions of Zen Buddhism.

Natural Landscapes and Ink Painting


Landscape of the Four Seasons (Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers) by Soami, early 16th century, Japan

https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/muromachi-period-1392-1573


This painting was created in Japan by Soami during the early 1500's. Although it was painted in Japan, the landscape depicted is of two large Chinese rivers. This piece in particular stood out to me because it shows how deeply the Chinese culture was influencing culture and artwork within Japan at the time. It's also believed that Soami knew what the rivers looked like based off of a painting he had acquired from a Chinese Monk. Japanese artwork also had a focus on natural elements, so the depiction of two rivers with hills and mountains in the background, are fitting to the Muromachi Period (MET Department of Asian Arts) This is also and example of ink painting, a very popular artistic medium at the time. Ink painting involved using ink, like that used to write, as a way of painting, rather than thick pastes that are more like the paint we recognize best today (Sato).

Buddhist Influence


Scene from the Life of the Buddha by an unknown artist, early 15th century, Japan

https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/muromachi-period-1392-1573

The artist of this painting is unknown, but it originated in Japan during the early 1400's. It depicts a scene Queen Maya grasps a tree branch on one side and musicians celebrate the first steps of a newborn on the other. It's meant to represent the first steps of the Buddha within the Buddhist religion (MET Department of Asian Arts). Buddhism and the ideals of Zen were growing in prevalence within Japanese culture during the Muromachi Period, so it comes as no surprise that this would pave the way for Buddhism inspired art to emerge as well. This piece isn't done in the style of ink painting, but it does also include natural elements like trees and clouds. The people in the scene are placed outside, which is a valuable reflection of the values of nature within Buddhism and Japanese culture. A powerful character is being shown as taking their first steps outside rather than within some highly detailed and decorated palace or even in a well-furnished home.

Kintsugi


Bowl Repaired with Kintsugi by unknown artist, 16th century, Japan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kintsugi

Kintsugi was an artistic form of repairing broken objects, specifically pottery, with a gold powder. Kintsugi was influenced by a variety of aspects from Japanese culture. The first and most prevalent is the Japanese view on beauty and natural beauty. These mindsets were mostly created as a result of Buddhism and the principles of Zen. One particular view is that there is beauty in aging and enjoying beauty in imperfection. This is also exercised with stone statues of the Buddhist. They were still seen as beautiful and valuable, even as they started to chip away and grow moss. This helped foster the idea that broken things aren't less valuable because they are broken. That is why gold was used to repair pottery that had broken, as to display the beauty of the cracks rather than hiding them. One other reason for Kintsugi was that it added value to the object, both through the use of gold itself and the cost of repairing the object, but also the concept that only things truly important to you would be fixed. It was cheaper to replace the objects instead of having them fixed, so only important items would be repaired, while the rest would be thrown out. Having gold filled cracks was a display of that objects importance to the owner (Matano). Kintsugi is personally my favorite artistic concept to come from Japan and possibly one of my favorite forms of art from all the kinds of studied. The deep meaning behind it feels personal and I am drawn to the representation of imperfections being beautiful. It was far ahead from the art in Europe at the time, which sought to only show perfects and ideals (usually related to Christianity).


Sources:

    Matano, Yuki "The Philosophy of Kintsugi". The Philosophy of Kintsugi, https://kintsugi-kit.com/blogs/tsugu-tsugu-columns/philosophy-of-kintsugi#:~:text=The%20technique%20to%20make%20powder,broken%20vessels%20to%20decorate%20them. May 15, 2023. Accessed Apr 23, 2025.

   "Kintsugi" Kintsugi, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kintsugi. Accessed Apr 23, 2025.

   MET Department of Asian Art, "Muromachi Period (1392-1573)" Muromachi Period, https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/muromachi-period-1392-1573. Accessed Apr 23, 2025

    Sato, Shozo "Sumi-e: All You Need to Know About Japanese Ink Painting" Japanese Ink Painting, https://japanobjects.com/features/sumie. Accessed Apr 23, 2025.

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