Art Of Edo And Its Cultural Perspective - Book Report/Review Example

Art Of Edo And Its Cultural Perspective There are many cultural developments in Edo. The author tries to explain the ideology of culture in Edo. Edo was made the nations administrative center in the year 1603. Back then it was a swampy village and after around a hundred years later it was named to be the world’s largest city. The book is divided into two. There is the urban setting and the rural setting. The book consists of comparison of art in the urban and in the rural areas in terms of art. The political and economic state of the city would not be compared with any other country but then there was something that the city lacked. The city lacked a good cultural perspective and there was importation of cultural materials such as paintings and silk which were imported from Kyoto through the sea passing across Osaka. Segregation of Samurai started breaking down after a fire had destroyed two – thirds of the city in the year 1657. The fire had killed over a hundred thousand people. This had become a great loss for the city. After the fire many residents were encouraged to build residential homes and also temples. Despite the legislation that would ensure the segregation according to the class or the occupation and there was also differences between the classes. Edo was trying to challenge Kyoto and Osaka in the cultural Realm. They had come up with the Kano and Tosa schools. The cultural things they had come up with had laid much interest to the merchants and this was a very great challenge. Painting, lacquer and textile were the artistic life of Kyoto. Most of the designers in the Kano school lived in Shitamachi. The growth of the urban culture had created a great challenge to the social monopoly. Culture had become the thing that most of the people did compete for and it had become so much important to many people (Christine 78). Edo is currently known as Tokyo. Leyasu was appointed the paramount military leader by the emperor. All the Japanese artists began their tutorials in Kyoto in the earl sixteenth century. The city had become so popular and would attract people from different places in the region. Many people actually came here At Kyoto since it offered very good opportunities. This implied the political development of Edo. The author of the book who is Christine Guth helps the people or rather the leaders to understand the art and what it really meant. People who also read his book get to learn a lot about Edo. The author also tries to explain about the art in Nagasaki, Edo, Kyoto and Osaka which are all cities in Japan. He tries to explain about the differences between the art in the rural and in the urban. The book also talks about the economy of Japan. There is also the explanation on the importance of the commercial market economy. In the beginning of the book it tries to identify the urban development of Edo. He says that most of the urban artists belonged to the shokunin class. It is also explained that other artists were Samurai, Buddhist or Shinto priests. There is a lot to be learnt about the paintings made in Japan back then. There were many tourists who were going to Edo and there was so much that they a wanted to learn about Edo. In the fourth chapter of the book there is knowledge about the paintings in Nagasaki and Osaka. In this case the book says that there were so many styles from the artists of Osaka. Osaka was dominated merchant who were so much dedicated to living luxurious lives since they lay emphasis on achieving material things (Christine 132). In this book there are so many illustrations of art through the original paints that were there. One gets to learn and achieve the knowledge about the art industry and what it entails. The book touches on the techniques of production. We then come to realize the relationship of art in the Edo community and the significance that art had to the Edo city. Guth says that, “It takes as its principle that a sense of urban and regional character is one of the distinguishing features of Edo culture” the author also talks about the development of art in the world and the significance that it has had in the countries of the world. There is much discussion about different schools that were associated with art Maruyama-Shijo school of painting and he says that the school was the first one to recognize and put in places the western techniques and styles. There is also the discussion about the kyoto’s first art exhibition in the year 1792 (Christine 144). In the chapter three of the chapter three of the book the author talks more about Edo and he points out that inhabitant of this city were so much interested in the production of woodblock prints. The author deeply talks about the development and the u achievements of the Edo city. The last chapter of the book talks about the road network that ensured that the culture was flowing to the other cities. The author helps one learn about Japan and more so the city of Edo (Christine 174). Conclusions The book is very wide and has the review of the art in details. The book tries to compare different types of art in different places in Japan. The book is focused on the artistic nature of Japan and it explains how it came to be the way it is. The book helps the reader to be able to understand the traditional Japan better. It helps to relate the art in Japan and its origin and the major events that have taken place all through Japan and the inventions that have been made by different people in this field of art. The book explains the contributions that have been made by different people to make Japan’s art to be successful and the challenges that have been experienced all through. The book also specifies on the two cities that is Edo and Kyoto that the main cities that specifies on art in Japan Work Cited Christine, Guth. Art Of Edo Japan: The Artist and the City 1615-1868: New York, H.N. Abrams,1996. Print Read More