is one of the major historical schools of

Japanese painting is one of the oldest and most highly refined of the Japanese visual arts, encompassing a wide variety of genres and styles. As with the history of Japanese arts in general, the long history of Japanese painting exhibits synthesis and competiti ...

. It was created in 17th century

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

by Hon'ami Kōetsu (1558–1637) and Tawaraya Sōtatsu (d. c.1643). Roughly fifty years later, the style was consolidated by brothers Ogata Kōrin (1658–1716) and Ogata Kenzan (1663–1743). The term "Rinpa" is an abbreviation consisting of the last syllable from "Kōrin" with the word for (with

rendaku is a pronunciation change seen in some compound words in Japanese. When rendaku occurs, a voiceless consonant (such as ) is replaced with a voiced consonant (such as ) at the start of the second (or later) part of the compound. For example, t ...

changing this to "pa"), coined in the

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

. Previously, the style was referred to variously as the , or , or the .

History

Hon'ami Kōetsu founded an artistic community of craftsmen supported by wealthy merchant patrons of the

Nichiren was a Japanese Buddhist priest and philosopher of the Kamakura period. His teachings form the basis of Nichiren Buddhism, a unique branch of Japanese Mahayana Buddhism based on the '' Lotus Sutra''. Nichiren declared that the '' Lotus Sutra ...

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

sect at Takagamine in northeastern Kyoto in 1615. Both the affluent merchant town elite and the old Kyoto aristocratic families favored arts which followed classical traditions, and Kōetsu obliged by producing numerous works of

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porce ...

calligraphy Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an e ...

and

lacquerware Lacquerware are objects decoratively covered with lacquer. Lacquerware includes small or large containers, tableware, a variety of small objects carried by people, and larger objects such as furniture and even coffins painted with lacquer. Before ...

. His collaborator, Tawaraya Sōtatsu, maintained an atelier in Kyoto and produced commercial paintings such as decorative fans and folding screens. Sōtatsu also specialized in making decorated paper with gold or silver backgrounds, to which Kōetsu assisted by adding calligraphy. Both artists came from families of cultural significance; Kōetsu came from a family of swordsmiths who had served the imperial court and the great warlords,

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demo ...

and

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...

, in addition to the Ashikaga shōguns. Kōetsu's father evaluated swords for the

Maeda clan The was a Japanese samurai clan who occupied most of the Hokuriku region of central Honshū from the end of the Sengoku period through the Meiji Restoration of 1868. The Maeda claimed descent from the Sugawara clan through Sugawara no Kiyotom ...

, as did Kōetsu himself. However, Kōetsu was less concerned with swords as opposed to painting, calligraphy, lacquerwork, and the

Japanese tea ceremony The Japanese tea ceremony (known as or lit. 'Hot water for tea') is a Culture of Japan, Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of , powdered green tea, the procedure of which is called . The term "Japa ...

(he created several ''

Raku ware is a type of Japanese pottery traditionally used in Japanese tea ceremonies, most often in the form of '' chawan'' tea bowls. It is traditionally characterised by being hand-shaped rather than thrown, fairly porous vessels, which result from lo ...

'' tea bowls.) His own painting style was flamboyant, recalling the aristocratic style of the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

. Sōtatsu also pursued the classical ''

Yamato-e is a style of Japanese painting inspired by Tang dynasty paintings and fully developed by the late Heian period. It is considered the classical Japanese style. From the Muromachi period (15th century), the term yamato-e has been used to disting ...

'' genre as Kōetsu, but pioneered a new technique with bold outlines and striking color schemes. One of his most famous works are the folding screens at

Kennin-ji is a historic Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan, and head temple of its associated branch of Rinzai Buddhism. It is considered to be one of the so-called Kyoto ''Gozan'' or "five most important Zen temples of Kyoto". History Kennin-ji was ...

temple in Kyoto and at the Freer Gallery.

Later development

The ''Rinpa'' school was revived in the ''

Genroku was a after Jōkyō and before Hōei. The Genroku period spanned the years from September 1688 to March 1704. The reigning emperor was .Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). ''Annales des empereurs du japon'', p. 415. The period was known for its peace and ...

'' era (1688–1704) by Ogata Kōrin and his younger brother Ogata Kenzan, sons of a prosperous Kyoto textile merchant. Kōrin's innovation was to depict nature as an abstract using numerous color and hue gradations, and mixing colors on the surface to achieve eccentric effects, as well as liberal use of precious substances like

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

and

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pear ...

. His masterpiece c. 1714–15, is now at the MOA Museum of Art in Atami, Shizuoka. A dramatic composition, it established the direction of ''Rinpa'' for the remainder of its history. Kōrin collaborated with Kenzan in painting designs and calligraphy on his brother's pottery. Kenzan remained as a potter in Kyoto until after Kōrin's death in 1716 when he began to paint professionally. Other Rinpa artists active in this period were Tatebayashi Kagei, Tawaraya Sori, Watanabe Shiko, Fukae Roshu and Nakamura Hochu.

Modern Rinpa

''Rinpa'' was revived in 19th century Edo by

Sakai Hōitsu was a Japanese painter of the Rinpa school. He is known for having revived the style and popularity of Ogata Kōrin, and for having created a number of reproductions of Kōrin's work. Biography Sakai Hōitsu was born on 1 August 1761 in ...

(1761–1828), a

Kanō school The is one of the most famous schools of Japanese painting. The Kanō school of painting was the dominant style of painting from the late 15th century until the Meiji era, Meiji period which began in 1868, by which time the school had divided i ...

artist whose family had been one of Ogata Kōrin’s sponsors. Sakai published a series of 100 woodcut prints based on paintings by Kōrin, and his painting painted on the back of Kōrin’s "Wind and Thunder Gods screen" is now at the

Tokyo National Museum The or TNM is an art museum in Ueno Park in the Taitō wards of Tokyo, ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the four museums operated by the , is considered the oldest national museum and the largest art museum in Japan. The museum collects, prese ...

. Paintings of the early ''Rinpa'' artists were anthologized in small paperback booklets such as the (The Korin Picture Album) by , first published in 1806. This was followed by an original work by Sakai Hoitsu called the , published in 1817. Sakai had numerous students who carried the movement forward into the late 19th century, when it was incorporated into the ''

Nihonga ''Nihonga'' () is a Japanese style of painting that typically uses mineral pigments, and occasionally ink, together with other organic pigments on silk or paper. The term was coined during the Meiji period (1868–1912) to differentiate it from ...

'' movement by

Okakura Kakuzō , also known as Okakura Tenshin , was a Japanese scholar and art critic who in the era of Meiji Restoration reform promoted a critical appreciation of traditional forms, customs and beliefs. Outside Japan, he is chiefly renowned for '' The Book ...

and other painters. The influence of ''Rinpa'' was strong throughout the early modern period, and even today ''Rinpa''-style designs are popular. One later artist of note is Kamisaka Sekka.

Style

''Rinpa'' artists worked in various formats, notably screens, fans and hanging scrolls, woodblock printed books, lacquerware, ceramics, and

kimono The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn Garment collars in hanfu#Youren (right lapel), left side wrapped over ri ...

textiles. Many ''Rinpa'' paintings were used on the sliding doors and walls ('' fusuma'') of noble homes. Subject matter and style were often borrowed from Heian period traditions of ''yamato-e'', with elements from Muromachi ink paintings, Chinese

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

flower-and-bird paintings, as well as Momoyama-period

developments. The stereotypical standard painting in the ''Rinpa'' style involves simple natural subjects such as birds, plants and flowers, with the background filled in with

gold leaf upA gold nugget of 5 mm (0.2 in) in diameter (bottom) can be expanded through hammering into a gold foil of about 0.5 m2 (5.4 sq ft). The Japan.html" ;"title="Toi gold mine museum, Japan">Toi gold mine museum, Japan. Gold leaf is gold that has ...

. This technique is known as

gold ground Gold ground (both a noun and adjective) or gold-ground (adjective) is a term in art history for a style of images with all or most of the background in a solid gold colour. Historically, real gold leaf has normally been used, giving a luxurious ...

. Emphasis on refined design and technique became more pronounced as the ''Rinpa'' style developed. The ''Rinpa'' style flourished in Kyōto, Nara, and Ōsaka, i.e., the political and cultural triangle of ancient Japan. Kyōto and Ōsaka were also two of the most important cities of the Nanga (南画 "Southern painting"), also known as Bunjinga (文人画 "literati painting") school's style; Nanga painting was therefore exposed to the influence of Rinpa painting and vice versa.Marco, Meccarelli. 2015.
''Chinese Painters in Nagasaki: Style and Artistic Contaminatio during the Tokugawa Period (1603–1868)''
Ming Qing Studies 2015, Pages 175–236.

Notable Rinpa artists

* Hon'ami Kōetsu * Tawaraya Sōtatsu * Ogata Kōrin * Ogata Kenzan *

Suzuki Kiitsu was a Japanese people, Japanese Painting, painter of the Rinpa school. A student of the famous painter Sakai Hoitsu (1761–1828), he was for a long time considered a minor member of Rinpa school of Japanese painting. In recent years his work h ...

* Kamisaka Sekka

Exhibitions

* Rimpa: Outstanding Works of the Korin School (1972, October 10 - December 3)

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

* Treasures by Rinpa Masters (2008, October 7 - November 16)

* Korin: National Treasure Irises of the Nezu Museum and Eight-Bridge of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (2012, April 21 - May 20)

Nezu Museum The , formerly known as the Nezu Institute of Fine Arts, is an art museum in the Minato, Tokyo, Minato district of Tokyo, Japan. The museum is home to the private collection of pre-modern Japanese and East Asian art assembled by Nezu Kaichirō (1 ...

* Designing Nature: The Rinpa Aesthetic in Japanese Art (2012-2013, May 26 - January 13)

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

* RINPA: The Aesthetics of the Capital (2015, October 10 - November 23)

Kyoto National Museum The is one of the major art museums in Japan. Located in Kyoto's Higashiyama ward, the museum focuses on pre-modern Japanese and Asian art. History The Kyoto National Museum, then the Imperial Museum of Kyoto, was proposed, along with the Imp ...

* Sōtatsu: Making Waves (2015-2016, October 24 - January 31)

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery is an art museum of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., focusing on Culture of Asia, Asian art. The Sackler Gallery and the Freer Gallery of Art together form the National Museum of Asian Art in the Uni ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

* Suzuki Kiitsu: Standard-bearer of the Edo Rimpa School (2016, September 10 - October 30)

Suntory Museum of Art The is an arts museum located in Tokyo Midtown, Roppongi, Tokyo. It is owned by the Suntory corporation. The collection theme of the art works is "Art in life" and they mainly have Japanese antiques. The museum houses more than 3,000 cultural ob ...

* The Art of Edo Rimpa (2017, September 16 - November 7) Idemitsu Museum of Arts,

References

*Leach, Bernard. ''Kenzan and his tradition: The lives and times of Koetsu, Sotatsu, Korin, and Kenzan''. Transatlantic Arts (1967). ASIN: B0006BPM10 *Mizuo, Hiroshi. ''Edo Painting: Sotatsu and Korin (Heibonsha Survey of Japanese Art)''. Art Media Resources (1972). *Saunders, Rachel. ''Le Japon Artistique: Japanese Floral Pattern Design of the Art Nouveau Era. From the Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston''. Chronicle Books (2010). *Stern, Harold P. ''Rinpa Masterworks of the Japanese Decorative School''. The Japan Society (1971). ASIN B0000EEBUB *Stanley-Baker, Joan (1984). ''Japanese Art''. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd.

External links

''Bridge of dreams: the Mary Griggs Burke collection of Japanese art''
a catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on this school (see index)
''Japanese Lacquer, 1600-1900: Selections from the Charles A. Greenfield collection''
a catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), for material on Rinpa see pages 55–84 {{Authority control Schools of Japanese art