Buddhist Japan 219U
ntil the late Heian period, major artistic
commissions came almost exclusively
from the imperial court or the great temples.
As shogun warrior families gained wealth and
power, they too became great art patrons—in
many cases closely following the aristocrats’
precedents in subject and style.
Artists, for the most part, did not work
independently but rather were affiliated with
workshops. Indeed, until recently, hierarchi-
cally organized male workshops produced
most Japanese art. Membership in these work-
shops was often based on familial relation-
ships. Each workshop was dominated by a
master, and many of his main assistants and
apprentices were relatives. Outsiders of con-
siderable skill sometimes joined workshops,
often through marriage or adoption. The el-
dest son usually inherited the master’s posi-
tion, after rigorous training in the necessary
skills from a very young age. Therefore, one
meaning of the term “school of art” in Japan is
a network of workshops tracing their origins
back to the same master, a kind of artistic clan.
Inside the workshops, the master and senior
assistants handled the most important pro-
duction stages, but artists of lower rank
helped with the more routine work. The Ka-
makura portrait statue (FIG. 8-16) of Shun-
jobo Chogen, for example, is the creation of a
workshop based on familial ties.
Artistic cooperation also surfaced in court
bureaus, an alternative to family workshops.
These official bureaus, located at the imperial
palace, had emerged by the Heian period. The
painting bureau accrued particular fame.
Teams of court painters, led by the bureau di-
rector, produced pictures such as the scenes in
the Tale of Genji handscrolls (FIG. 8-14). This
system remained vital into the Kamakura pe-
riod and well beyond. Under the direction of a
patron or the patron’s representative, the mas-
ter painter laid out the composition by brush-
ing in the initial outlines and contours. Under
his supervision, junior painters applied the col-
ors. The master then completed the work by
brushing in fresh contours and details such as
facial features. Very junior assistants and apprentices assisted in the
process by preparing paper, ink, and pigments. Unlike mastership in
hereditarily run workshops, competition among several families de-
termined control of the court painting bureau during the Heian and
Kamakura periods.
Not all art was controlled by the bureaus or by family work-
shops. Priest-artists were trained in temple workshops to produce
Buddhist art objects for public viewing as well as images for private
priestly meditation. Amateur painting was common among aristo-
crats of all ranks. As they did for poetry composition and calligraphy,
aristocrats frequently held elegant competitions in painting. Both
women and men participated in these activities. In fact, court ladies
probably played a significant role in developing the painting style
seen in the Genji scrolls, and a few participated in public projects.Heian and Kamakura Artistic Workshops
ART AND SOCIETY8-16Portrait statue of the priest Shunjobo Chogen, Todaiji, Nara, Japan, Kamakura period,
early 13th century. Painted cypress wood, 2 8 –^38 high.
The Kei School’s interest in naturalism is seen in this moving portrait of a Kamakura priest.
The wooden statue is noteworthy for its finely painted details and powerful rendering of the
signs of aging.1 ft.