Art and palace politics in early modern Japan, 1580s-1680s / by Elizabeth Lillehoj.

• Superior document: Japanese visual culture ; v. 2
• Author: Lillehoj, Elizabeth.
• Year of Publication: 2011
• Language: English
• Series: Japanese visual culture ; v. 2.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (296 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

During the first century of Japan’s early modern era (1580's to 1680's), art and architecture created for the imperial court served as markers of social prestige, testifying to the enduring centrality of the palace to the cultural life of Kyoto. Emperors Go-Yōzei and Go-Mizunoo relied on financial support from ruling warlords—Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the Tokugawa shoguns—just as the warlords sought imperial sanction granting them legitimacy to rule. Taking advantage of this complex but oftentimes strained synergy, Go-Yōzei and Go-Mizunoo (and to an unprecedented exent his empress, Tōfukumon’in) enhanced the hereditary prerogatives of the imperial family. Among the works described in this volume are masterpieces commissioned for the residences and temples of the imperial family, which were painted by artists of the Kano, Tosa and Sumiyoshi ateliers, not to mention Tawaraya Sōtatsu. Anonymous but deluxe painting commissions depicting grand imperial processions are examined in detail. The court’s fascination with calligraphy and tea, arts that flourished in this age, is also discussed in this profusely illustrated volume.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- Introduction: State of the Field -- 1: Hideyoshi Restores Glory to the Palace -- 2: Go-Yōzei’s Imperial Imperative as Cultural Arbiter -- 3: Tokugawa Shoguns and Patronage for the Throne -- 4: Go-Mizunoo’s Ritual and Cultural Agenda -- 5: Art and Architecture for Empress Tōfukumon’in -- 6: Paintings of the Imperial Excursion to Nijō Castle -- 7: Emperor and Empress as Patrons of Kyoto Culture -- 8: Visual Documents of the Emperor-Warlord Relationship -- 9: Closing Comments -- Endnotes -- Appendix 1: Emperors and Reigning Empresses -- Appendix 2: Members of the Imperial Family -- Appendix 3: Imperial Palace Documents, Buildings, and Panel Paintings -- Appendix 4: List of Chinese Characters -- Bibliography -- Illustrations and Photo Credits -- Index.