Samurai Art

Introduction

For those of us living in the modern age, the so-called “Samurai”, or warriors of ancient Japan, have always attracted us with their spectacular exploits on the battlefield and their unique ideology of so called “Bushido”, however, the tools and amours they wear at the battle fields are also equally have something to keep on attracting us.

Japanese swords are highly appreciated in the antique market overseas, especially as “samurai artworks,” which are recognized as symbols of the “Samurai”, and by extension, the soul of the Japanese people.

 In this issue, we would like to introduce such artworks which are related to the “Samurai”.

What is a Samurai work of art?

Each of the famous feudal lords of warring state era wore unique and standing out armors to fight battles around the battlefield. The warriors have long been rewarded for their achievements in the battles and rose through the ranks, which is largely related to the reasons why they wore such standing out armors in the battlefields.

That’s why, the ancient Japanese warriors are necessary to have their presence kept outstanding in the battlefield, then became to elaborate designs on their armor to make their presence easily recognizable. It is said, they respectively for each warlord made his own distinctive uniquely designed armor due to their needs to protect himself basically, as well as for  making possible to show off effectively their activities to the people around him. As a result, the armor have become to be made in great design and appreciated highly as a craft or work of art that could be viewed as both armors and protective gears.

There were the continuous efforts exerted over the generations for improvement of the armors in performance applying techniques such as engraving, woodworking, leather crafts, etc., which resulted in the armors of strong, lightweight and make them easy to move around. It can be safely said without exaggeration that armor is a “treasure trove” of traditional craft techniques, because the armors include some of those techniques in many which already had been lost at present .

The armors made in such ways are not only of the elaborated in appearance, but also has an important functional beauty for fighting and getting win the battles.

Kabuto

Helmet is divided by its part to small parts which are respectively named  as “Maedate”, “Kabuto-bachi”, “Fukigaeshi”, “Shikoro”, “Mebisashi”, and “Menboo”.

The helmets are the most important protective gear for warlords of the Warring States period to protect their heads in the battle fields. Famous Warlord generals in the history of Japan decorated their helmet with unique ornaments so that their dignity and figure of fighting battle may easily be stood out at the battlefields.

Most famous historical helmets are those of owned and used by Masamune Date, Sanada Yukimura, Uesugi Kenshin, Oda Nobunaga. 

”As the motif of their helmet decoration, the Crescent, a deer horn with 6 old coins which is said to represent god’s messengers and peace after death, the Sun with the Crescent which represent Myoken-Buddhism, a bird’s nest, quince fruits, bamboo blind, are applied respectively for each helmet of Sanada Yukimura, Uesugi Kenshin, Oda Nobunaga, and Tokugawa Ieyasu’s helmet is characterized by the fern leaves arranged on the “Maedate

In this way, there are variety of meaning imbued in “Kuwagata (hoe shape) and “Maedate” (ornaments such as Kuwagata etc. put in front of helmets) arranged on warrior’s helmet. 

Katana

Japanese swords, made with delicate and advanced techniques unique to the Japanese, are truly works of art that embody the spirit of the Japanese people. Many of the Japanese swords that have been called “great swords” in history are both sharp and aesthetically pleasing, and there are many great swords that are regarded as top-of-the-line works of art but boast unparalleled sharpness.

The most famous ones among those “great swards” are the five swords of “Dojikiri-Yasutsuna,” “Mikazuki Munechika,” “Otodeta Mitsuyo,” “Onimaru Kunitsuna,” and “Sujumaru Tsuneji,” which were called as ”Tenka-go(5)-ken sward) “ which means “The world’s greatest 5 swards” during the Muromachi and Azuchi-Momoyama eras. 

When it comes to sword smiths wise, there are the works of “Awataguchi Yoshimitsu,” “Masamune,” and “Go Yoshihiro,” who were valued by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and called as “Tenka-san(3) -saku,”(The world’s best 3 swordsmiths) who remain highly appreciated today as “the best of the best swords”.

Kimono

It is “sode” which was a widely popular garment in the Warring States period and was originally warred as undergarment. It is Kosode which began to attract attention as a men’s fashion from the late Muromachi to the early Edo eras, which is largely related to the spread of “kata-ginu-bakama” as formal wear for “samurai.”

This “kata-ginu-bakama was a sleeveless upper garment, which stand out the “kosode” worn inside it. Therefore, they became concerned more about “kosode” which were originally only for underwear, which resulted in development of design and patterns etc., for “Kosode”.

As the clothing for the peoples of the “Samurai” clan became more and more simple and practical, the “kosode”, which had been inconspicuous, became attracting more attention of peoples. “Kosode“ is the origin of today’s kimono, but it was after the early modern Edo period (1603-1868) that they became to fasten “kosode” by “obi” (wide belt) behind the back, and it can be safely said that the “kimono culture” began during the Warring States era, when the kosode evolved.

Kimono was brought back to Europe by the Portuguese who came to Japan in the 16th century, and it is said that their morning dress is derived from “kimono”,  so, “kimono” culture is not only for Japan, but spreading over to the rest of the world. 

Ukiyo-e

Ukiyo-e is a painting style established in the Edo Era that depicts life, fashions, prostitutes, and actors in the Edo Era. As its features, Ukiyo-e created a lot of excitement among the public.

The word “ukiyo” is a pun from the word which originally means “melancholic”  societies, while “e” means painting, then Ukiyo-e should mean painting of melancholic societies. however, there might have been replacement sometime by homophone of “ukiyo for “Ukiyo-e” which means “cheerful”, which is said to have been made by people to the trend at that time, who were enjoying the cheerful societies of Edo.

Ukiyo-e is composed of two main techniques: hand-painting and woodblock prints which was first created by Hishikawa Shigenobu and later developed largely by applying the Niishiki-e (brocade picture) technique developed by Suzuki Harunobu and others.

Ukiyo-e then traveled to Europe, where the Ukiyo-e greatly influenced artists such as Van Gogh and Monet, as well as other impressionist painters, and had a major impact on the formation of impressionism in France. It is said that the   Debussy as a composer, have completed his “Symphonic Poem of the Sea” and Camille Claudel as a sculptor as her “Waves” , under the influence of Ukiyo-e,

Where can we see samurai art?

In fact, a considerable number of such works of art from the Japanese Warring States and Edo periods are kept outside of Japan, and in a sense, many of them are even more valuable than those have been kept remained in Japan.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of the world’s largest art museums in New York, U.S.A., includes many Japanese works, and is known for its many helmets, armor, and Ukiyo-e prints, including the Toshusai Sharaku armor of Ashikaga Takauji and the Shirouto Wei Shodori large armor.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston has a collection of paintings by Katsushika Hokusai and others, including the first scroll of Minister Kibi’s entry into Tang Dynasty China.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, which has a large collection of Buddhist paintings, picture scrolls, Ukiyo-e woodblock prints, swords, and other fine works of Japanese art, is known for its strong relationship with Japan and for its world-class collection of Ukiyo-e woodblock prints.

In addition to famous works such as Katsushika Hokusai’s “Minister Kibi’s Entry into Tang Dynasty” and Sumiyoshi Keion’s “Heiji Monogatari Emaki”, Utagawa Kunisada, Utagawa Hiroshige, and others, there are a variety of art works of

Japanese origin from different periods and types on display.

Why overseas and not in Ja?

The reason why there are so many of these Japanese national treasures overseas is due to the fact that the outflow of Japanese culture overseas occurred twice, once in the early Meiji period and once after World War II.

Ukiyo-e prints that were popular in the Edo period and preserved by enthusiasts were lost overseas due to the collapse of the shogunate and became the property of overseas museums. Ukiyo-e was also used as wrapping paper for exports to foreign countries, much like leaflets in modern times.

There is also the aspect of artistic value recognized abroad.

Another factor is that the temple’s treasures were disposed of after the Edo Shogunate eliminated Buddhism, which had been protected by the Edo Shogunate, resulting in the loss of valuable cultural assets.

Japanese Samurai Art Work Artist Tetsuya Noguchi

Now, such art works are related to samurai and warriors. There is an artist who, with his unique sensibility, questions the inner nature and diversity of human beings using armor and helmets as motifs.

Tetsuya Noguchi, as an artist is active in a wide range of activities, including holding exhibitions in Japan and abroad, including a traveling exhibition in 2021, and collaborating with foreign music brands. One of his works subjected “Cat-walk,” in which a warrior in a armor and helmet having cat’s ears is walking in two with a cat, was the talk of the internet for a while. As this work symbolizes the works of Noguchi which are usually created from the viewpoint of realism with armors, and people wearing those shown up  as the motifs of his works. His such way of approach is said to be originated in his childhood when he was so much interested in classic oil paintings as well as ancient arms and armors.

Generally, the image he of samurai he envisions is a stereotypical one, skewed by a sense of beauty and spirituality that differs from that of modern people, but the warriors in Noguchi’s work do not make a significant distinction between them and modern people. Noguchi’s desire is said to explore the realistic human figure rather than making realistic armor.

Another appealing aspect of Noguchi’s work is the meticulous attention to detail in the armor and armors produced by his extensive knowledge and superior technique, as well as the painstaking attention to detail in the deterioration of the painted screen. For Noguchi, who majored in oil painting as a student and learned realism techniques from classical paintings, the process of breaking down old colors and deterioration into colors and reconstructing them on canvas seems quite natural.

The unrealistic depiction of a cat-eared samurai walking a cat, yet so realistic that one would not notice it even if it were depicted in an actual picture scroll of the Warring States period, can be described as a unique worldview in which both “what seems to be” and “what seems to be” intersect.

Tetsuya Noguchi’s drawing of a helmet

According to Mr. Noguchi, the way in which the environment, materials, and techniques of armor and helmets change over time, changing their appearance, is fascinating, like an organic evolution applied by human hands. He began making armor because he believes that the type and design of armor changes depending on the wearer’s placement, economic status, and purpose, in the same way that modern clothing reflects a person’s tastes and personality. Noguchi’s sensibility to view the evolution of armor and helmets as an organic evolution by human hands in accordance with the format of warfare is certainly unique and keenly perceptive.

At first, Noguchi used clay for modeling, but then he wanted to make it more realistic, so he repeatedly experimented with smaller scales and combining them while referring to parts of real armor. However, in fact, he was in believe that the essence of modeling lies not in the material but in its formability, and he has come to believe that the true essence of armor and helmet can be achieved not with iron or lacquer but with resin or clay, just as an excellent oil painter can create a true depiction of a ceramic plate using oil paint. And so he creates his works using modern materials such as resin and synthetic fibers. This reflects Noguchi’s own irony in the fundamentalist adherence to the “way it should be” of armor made of iron and lacquer. This alone reveals Noguchi’s unique approach to his work and his way of thinking.

He will continue to create sculptures and paintings on the theme of armor and humans, and through his works that mix diverse cultures and emotions, Noguchi has been questioning the structure of contemporary society and what has been universally inherited in the history of mankind. Such a neutral style that does not impose emotions on the viewer has been widely accepted by people of all ages and nationalities.

Summary

The armor and Japanese swords that have supported and sometimes decorated the warriors and samurais who have been so active on the battlefield still have universal value, but we cannot help but be reminded of the historical and cultural significance of the warrior and samurai, including the fact that there are artists today who are able to shift these universal values slightly to create unique works of art. I cannot help but be reminded of the historical and cultural significance of the existence of the samurai and samurai.

We would like to keep an eye on the many forms of samurai art we are likely to see in the future, including Tetsuya Noguchi’s activities.