From the introduction of Buddhism to the adoption of its written characters, China has historically played a key role in shaping Japanese culture. Chinese visual culture also extensively influenced Japanese art. The classical Japanese aesthetic term kara-e designated “Chinese style” pictures, deliberately contrasted with the native yamato-e style, while Chinese ink painting inspired both Zen priest-painters and literati artists. This panel invites papers that go beyond basic stylistic and iconographic influences to investigate how Japanese artists conceived of China as a broader cultural entity, whether through overarching visual generalizations, representations of isolated aspects or practices of Chinese culture, or depictions of particular locations such as West Lake. Was “China” imagined as a monolithic cultural authority? An idealized utopia? A crumbling empire ripe for conquest? By considering the Japanese visualization of China across a broad range of media and time periods, this session seeks a greater understanding of the nuances and complications in the Sino-Japanese relationship and its visual manifestations in Japanese culture.
Please see the call for papers attachment for a session I am chairing at CAA in New York next winter (Feb 11-14, 2015). This panel is not affiliated with JAHF but I hope it will be of interest to members. The deadline for submissions is May 9, and entries should be sent directly to me at this email address. I have attached the official CAA instructions and documentation for anyone who wishes to submit an abstract.
China in the Japanese Visual Imagination
Sincerely,
Karen M. Fraser