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• Index

Yamato-e Painting

Roll over thumbnails for previews of related Museum works of art, organized in chronological order.

Related

Timelines (4)

• Japan, 1400–1600 A.D.
• Japan, 1600–1800 A.D.
• Japan, 500–1000 A.D.
• Japan, 1000–1400 A.D.

Thematic Essays (11)

• Art of the Edo Period (1615–1868 a.d.)
• Heian Period (794–1185)
• Japanese Incense
• Japanese Weddings in the Edo Period (1615–1868)
• The Kano School of Painting
• List of Rulers: Japan
• Painting Formats in East Asian Art
• Rinpa Painting Style
• Seasonal Imagery in Japanese Art
• Woodblock Prints in the Ukiyo–e Style
• Work and Leisure: 18th–Century Korean Genre Painting

Maps (5)

• East Asia, 1000–1400 a.d.
• East Asia, 1400–1600 a.d.
• East Asia, 1600–1800 a.d.
• World, 500–1000 a.d.
• World, 1600–1800 a.d.

Index Terms (17)

Geography/Place

• Asia, Japan

Material and Technique

• Drawing, Ink
• Drawing, Ink, East Asia
• Metalwork, Gold
• Metalwork, Gold, East Asia
• Painting, Ink on Paper
• Painting, Ink on Paper, East Asia
• Painting, Ink on Paper, East Asia, Japan
• Scroll, Paper

Object

• Religious Art, Buddhism, Scroll
• Religious Art, Shinto, Scroll
• Scroll

Subject Matter/Theme

• Floral Motif, Painting
• Literature and Literary Connections
• Literature and Literary Connections, Japanese Poetry
• Love
• Religious Art, Shinto

The term yamato-e, which means "Japanese pictures," was first used in the Heian period to distinguish works painted in a Japanese style from those executed in the Chinese manner, or kara-e. Traditional yamato-e is characterized by native subject matter, often taken from literature, and themes associated with famous places or the four seasons. Stylistically it features striking compositions, the frequent use of flat planes of rich color, and a number of codified pictorial devices such as fukinuki yatai ("room with roof blown away").

Department of Asian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Citation Department of Asian Art. "Yamato-e Painting". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/yama/hd_yama.htm (October 2003) Suggested Further Readings Akiyama, Terukazu. Japanese Painting. New York: Rizzoli, 1977. Kuroda, Taizo., et al. Worlds Seen and Imagined. New York: Asia Society Galleries, 1995. Mason, Penelope. History of Japanese Art. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004. Murase, Miyeko. Bridge of Dreams: The Mary Griggs Burke Collection of Japanese Art. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. Murase, Miyeko. Masterpieces of Japanese Screen Painting: The American Collections. New York: G. Braziller, 1990. Related information by department Asian Art: Features and Exhibitions; Collection Database; Books; Bibliography

These related Museum Bulletin or Journal articles may or may not represent the most current scholarship. Ford, Barbara Brennan. "The Arts of Japan." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 45, no. 1 (Summer, 1987). JSTOR | PDF