Arts of Japan

 This course will introduce the major artistic traditions of Japan, from the Neolithic period to the present, and teach the fundamental methods of the discipline of art history. Our approaches will be chronological, considering how the arts developed in and through history, and thematic, discussing how art and architecture were used for philosophical, religious, and material ends.  Special attention will be given to the places of Shinto, the impact of Buddhism, and their related architectures and sculptures; the principles of narrative illustration; the changing roles of aristocratic, monastic, shogunal and merchant patronage; the formation of the concept of the "artist" overtime; and the transformation of tradition in the modern age.