Colors in the waterMain MenuAna Drinovanaa7464d947287799e70e60041b3dd733413ebbe0
White
12017-04-14T07:05:22-07:00Ana Drinovanaa7464d947287799e70e60041b3dd733413ebbe01562228plain2017-04-29T13:51:28-07:00Ana Drinovanaa7464d947287799e70e60041b3dd733413ebbe0Its huelessness provides white with a special placement within the scope of color study in Japan, and yet it codes for many different culturally important aspects. For example, white holds special significance in Japan as a representative of sacredness, often used to denotate the province of the gods in Shinto. However, the absence of color in white materials also affords the opportunity for a break in the tumult of color in Japanese art history and thus a measure of elegant tranquility.
Contents of this annotation:
12017-04-20T19:37:03-07:00Ana Drinovanaa7464d947287799e70e60041b3dd733413ebbe0Edo period uchikake4Edo period uchikake (outer robe). 19th century. Gifted to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 1924. This robe is to be worn on the outside of other garments, in order to display to best advantage the gold embroidery on the white, green, and deep blue silk representing the sights of the city of Kyoto. The watery motif of the deep blue ground inspires a stillness of presence and is directly evocative of the cool waters surrounding Japan. White picks out sacred torii gates, whereas the green hills of Japan may be easily distinguished.media/Edo period uchikake.jpgplain2017-04-28T06:55:47-07:00Greg HeinsAna Drinovanaa7464d947287799e70e60041b3dd733413ebbe0
12017-04-27T17:38:23-07:00Ana Drinovanaa7464d947287799e70e60041b3dd733413ebbe0Funaki ware3Anonymous, undated. Ceramic. Mead Art Museum at Amherst College. The green leaf design at the bottom of this sushi tray is rich in color, providing a visual and naturalistic surface upon which the sushi can be arranged. The green leaf is painted atop a white base; the shape of the tray thus evokes the white of Japanese castle walls, all color and delicacy contained within.media/Funaki ware.jpgplain2017-04-29T13:37:03-07:002012073009355620120730093556Ana Drinovanaa7464d947287799e70e60041b3dd733413ebbe0
12017-04-14T04:40:18-07:00Ana Drinovanaa7464d947287799e70e60041b3dd733413ebbe0The Actor Danjûrô V in a Shibaraku Role3Katsukawa Shun-ei (1762-1819), ca. 1790. Color woodblock print on paper. Smith College Museum of Art. The kabuki actor pictured was actually made famous for the particular shade of brown that he favored, and so the shade came to be known as "Danjuro brown". Color has especial significance in kabuki, wherein it can be coded to the individual as well as to their symbolic associations.media/The Actor Danjuro V in a Shibaraku Role.jpgplain2017-04-29T13:48:55-07:00Ana Drinovanaa7464d947287799e70e60041b3dd733413ebbe0
12017-04-28T07:09:03-07:00Ana Drinovanaa7464d947287799e70e60041b3dd733413ebbe0Tea ceremony bowl2Tokugawa era, late 18th century. Ceramic. Mead Art Museum at Amherst College. The white used to make this vessel for the tea ceremony, lacking in hue, confers a gravity to the piece that is shared by the sacred white of Shinto--but beyond this, the importance of the white used here is to be found in its humble quality. No colors flash to catch the eye, and this is an ideal feature of a tea bowl: so unobtrusive as to emphasize the value of the moment of tea-drinking rather than the expense lavished on the vessels involved.media/Tea ceremony bowl.jpgplain2017-04-29T12:53:36-07:002012073115114320120731151143Ana Drinovanaa7464d947287799e70e60041b3dd733413ebbe0
12017-04-28T07:09:50-07:00Ana Drinovanaa7464d947287799e70e60041b3dd733413ebbe0Atsumori noh mask2Nomura Ran, mid-20th century. Painted and whitewashed wood with lacquer. Mead Art Museum at Amherst College. This mask is for use in noh, a traditional Japanese form of musical theater. The mask itself is made specifically for the depiction of the character named Atsumori, who features in an eponymous play as an exceedingly handsome youth; the stark whiteness of the face is reminiscent of the oshiroi makeup that was once used by actors, as it was codified as the paleness of the face long seen as a beautiful and desirable physical quality in Japan.media/Atsumori noh mask.jpgplain2017-04-29T13:06:40-07:00Ana Drinovanaa7464d947287799e70e60041b3dd733413ebbe0
12017-04-28T07:06:32-07:00Ana Drinovanaa7464d947287799e70e60041b3dd733413ebbe0Meiji period uchikake2Late 19th to early 20th century. Embroidered silk. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The Meiji period saw the beginnings of a wildly prosperous era in Japan's history, and this outer garment with its rich red dye and embroidered chrysanthemums would have given the impression of no expense spared.media/Meiji period uchikake.jpgplain2017-04-28T09:23:06-07:00Greg HeinsAna Drinovanaa7464d947287799e70e60041b3dd733413ebbe0