East Asian Arts

Charmagne S. Cuenta
(Reporter)
Japan
Painting Subjects or Theme
1.Scenes from everyday life
2. Narrative scenes
crowded with figures and
details
 Japanese Ukiyo-e
The best known and most popular style of
Japanese art is ukiyo-e, which is Japanese for
“pictures of the floating world” and it is related to
the style of woodblock print making that shows
scenes of harmony and carefree everyday living.
Ukiyo-e art was produced in a diversity of an art
domain of the upper classes and royalty but later
was also produced by the common people.
 Did you know?
• Painting is indeed one of the highest forms
of arts in East Asia.
• Paintings in East Asia do not only apply on
paper, silk and wood. Performers of kabuki
in Japan and Peking opera in China use their
faces as the canvas for painting while mask
painting is done in Korea.
Kabuki Makeup of Japan
Kabuki makeup or kesho is already in it self an
interpretation of the actor’s own role through the medium
of the facial features. “On stage, this interpretation
becomes a temporalization of makeup in collaboration
with the audience. The result is a decoding of the drama
traced out in the graphic designs of the painted face.”---
Masao Yamaguchi (quoted in The Painted Body, 1984)
Kabuki makeup is also another way of face painting
which has two types:
1. Standard makeup- applied to most actors
2. Kumadori makeup – applied to villains and heroes
 It is composed of very dramatic lines and
shapes using colors the represent certain qualities.
• Dark red – passion or anger
• Dark blue – depression or sadness
• Pink – youth
• Light green – calm
• Black- fear
• Purple – nobility
 Some examples of face painting are the
mukimi-guma or suji-guma, whre the lines
are painted onto an actor’s face. Thaese are
then smudged to soften them.
 The makeup and perfume worn throughout performances were highly
significant to the stories that were being told.
 Origami
The term origami came from “ori” meaning
“folding” and “kami” meaning “paper.” It is the
traditional Japanese art of paper, which started in the
17th century AD and was popularized internationally
in the mid-1900s. It eventually evolved into a modern
art form.
The goal of this art is to transform a flat sheet of
paper into a finished sculpture through folding and
sculting techniques without cutting as mush as
possible.
 Origami butterflies were used during the
celebration of Shinto weddings to represent
the bride and groom, so paper folding had
already become a significant aspect of
Japanese ceremonies by the Heian period
(794-1185) in Japanese history.
Flowers, animals, birds, fish, geometric
shapes, and dolls are the common models used
in Japanese origami.
 Did you know?
• That the best known Japanese origami is the paper
crane?

An ancient Japanese legend promises the anyone who

folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by
a crane. Some stories say you are granted eternal good
luck, instead of just one wish, such as long life or recovery
from illness or injury and can be given as a gift to
anybody. They believe the the crane is a mystical or holy
creature and is said to live for a thousand years.
 Knot Tying
In Japan, knot tying is called hanamusubi. It
emphasizes on braids and focuses on individual
knots.
That’s all, thank you!