Ch 8 Lesson 2 Notes

Japanese Nobles Create Great Art

• In 794, the emperor and empress of Japan moved to Heian, a city now called Kyoto. Many nobles followed their rulers to the new city

• These nobles loved art and beauty and tried to make their new home a beautiful place

• In Heian, nobles created an imperial court- group of nobles who live near and serve or advise a ruler

Heian

Japanese Nobles Create Great Art

• Members of the noble court had little to do with the people of Heian. They lived apart from poorer citizens and seldom left the city. They enjoyed their lives of ease and privilege

• The nobles loved beauty and elegance and many supported the arts. Because of this, Heian became a great center of culture and learning.

• Early 800’s: Japanese ended their diplomatic (international) relations with China because they felt they had learned enough from the Chinese.

Japanese Nobles Create Great Art

• It was then that they began to develop their own cultural traditions; especially in literature.

• 794-1185: Golden Age of the arts in Japan

Imperial Court

Fashion• Nobles love of beauty began with their

appearances. They had magnificent wardrobes full of silk robes and gold jewelry. Outfits were elaborate and may have many layers of silk.

• They also carried decorative fans which they attached flowers and long silk cords to.

Fashion

Literature• Writing was popular among nobles, especially

women. Many women wrote diaries and journals about their lives at court. In the diaries, these women carefully chose their words to make writing beautiful

• Lady Murasaki Shikibu: one of Japan’s finest writers, who wrote The Tale of the Genji around 1000 about the life of a prince in imperial court.

• Genji was on the quest for love and he met women from many different social classes.

Lady Murasaki Shikibu

Literature• It was popular because it described very

colorful and real characters. The writing is simple and graceful at the same time, and it describes court life with great detail.

• The Tale of the Genji differed from books before it because it was a long realistic story focused on one individual. These characteristics make it the world’s first important novel.

The Tale

of the

Genji

Literature• In addition to longer works, both men and

women wrote poetry. Nobles loved to read and write poems and held parties where they took turns writing poetry and reading their poems aloud to each other

• Poems from this time only had five lines and followed a specific structure that outlined how many syllables each line had

• Most poems were about nature, but also described every day events

Literature• Haikus: another form of poetry popular

during this time that had just five syllables- three lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables

• Haikus were also about the beauty of nature or the sadness of rejected love.

The Arts in Heian• The wealthy nobles that lived in Japan over

the centuries were great supporters of the arts. With their support, literature, painting, calligraphy, and other arts flourished

Visual Art • Most popular art forms in Japan- paintings,

calligraphy, architecture• Nobles of Heain liked bright bold colors in

paintings that illustrated their stories. Some of the greatest paintings from this period illustrate scenes from literature like The Tale of the Genji

• Others show scenes from nature or from court life.

• Calligraphy or decorative writing was another form of art. Calligraphers spent hours carefully copying poems and wanted them to look as beautiful as they sounded

Haiku