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History of Art 135B Spring 2003 Later Japanese Painting Professor Gregory P. Levine
Office: History of Art, 421 Doe Library Tel: 643-4029 Email: gplevine@uclink4.berkeley.edu Office Hours: T/Th 3:30-4:30 pm./by appointment. Lectures: T/Th 2:00-3:30 pm. 103 Moffitt Sections: Section 1: W 3-4 pm. 104 Moffitt Section 2: TH 11-12 pm. 104 Moffitt Section 3: W 12-1 pm. 11 California GSI: Sharon Yamamoto Email: sharonyamamoto@yahoo.com Office Hours: Tuesdays 12:30 1:30 at FSM Caf and by appointment

Course Description
This course surveys traditions and transformations of painting, and visual culture more broadly, in Japan from the early 16th to early 20th century. Beyond the identification of noted artists and the analysis of specific paintings, calligraphies, and prints, we will try to re-appraise the canon of pictorial art from this broad period by interogating representation and its reverberations across the shifting political and social topographies of late medieval, early modern, and modern Japan. Key topics include: technical and stylistic revolutions and the assimilation of European visual technology and culture; the coexistence of diverse visual traditions within and around the urban centers of Kyoto, Osaka, and Edo (present-day Tokyo); the revival of aristocratic themes and styles and the floating world tastes of affluent townspeople; the production of painting to promote religious practice and ethical values, legitimate political rule, and generate social criticism; the activities of painting schools and workshops, individualist artists, and itinerant painters; text and image relationships; gender and representation; and the emergence and creation of Japanese painting within an international context and in relation to the needs of the modern nation-state; and the competition amongs Japanese and foreign art collectors. We will likewise consider what art history has conjured up about the pictorial and calligraphic arts during this time period. Rather than rote memorization of painters and paintings, our energies will be devoted to the practice of art history itself, namely intensive analytical thinking about art and visual representation. You will be asked to discuss and write about particular works with clarity and precision, read assigned readings critically and thoughtfully, develop an informed grasp of the characteristics of Japanese paintings and prints, and engage the challenging problem of interpretation.

Reading
Penelope Mason, History of Japanese Art (New York: Abrams, 1992). Course Reader (available at Metro Publishing, Bancroft Ave.) Reading assignments are listed in the class schedule. I highly recommend that students new to art history read Sylvan Barnet, A Short Guide to Writing about Art 6th edition (New York : Longman, 2000). A more comprehensive selection of sources is found in the course bibliography and list of reserve books (Moffitt Library). Students without prior study or knowledge of Japanese history and

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culture should consult: Paul Varley, Japanese Culture (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1990); Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia (Tokyo: Kodansha, 1993).

Course Requirements
Prerequisites is no prerequisite for this course, and I welcome students without prior study : There of Japanese history, culture, and art history. Those who lack such preparation, however, will be faced with unfamiliar names, dates, places, and issues. I will do my best to situate the course historically and methodologically, but you should be prepared to do some outside reading on your own and to consult with myself and the GSI. Lectures : Attendance is mandatory. If you miss a lecture due to illness or an unpreventable conflict, ask a friend for notes and speak with myself and the GSI. Sections : Attendance is mandatory. Sections are opportunities for the informed exchange of ideas and creative thinking. This requires attentive and thoughtful preparation. To promote discussion in section, you will be asked to prepare and hand-in precis of specified readings or responses to questions announced ahead of time. Reading All required assigned readings should be completed in advance of lecture and section : meetings. Many readings will be quite accessible, but some will require you to consider detailed descriptions and sophisticated argumentation. You should allow yourself plenty of time to consider these texts for their content and rhetorical positions. Written Assignments and : Exams All exams and written work must be completed and submitted on time in order to receive full credit for the course even if you are taking it Pass/No Pass (there will be no exceptions to this rule). Late assignments will lose 1/2 a letter grade each day. Assignments must be handed in at section or lecture on the day they are due. An extension may be granted before the deadline if you are unable to meet a deadline for a satisfactory reason. Please discuss an extension with me or the GSI as far in advance of the deadline as possible. Grading Grades will be calculated using the following formula. Section attendance and : participation will determine border-line cases and improvement will be taken into account. Full descriptions of assignments will be provided at appropriate times during the course. Written work: 40% 1 Visual analysis exercise (5%). 1 Literature review (5%) 12-15 page final paper (30 %) Exams: 40 % Mid-term (20%): Take-home exam. Final (20% ): In-class exam on material from the second half of the course. Section (20%): Participation/preparation, precis, and quizzes. Photo Study and Moffitt/California Hall Reserves An essential part of your work for this course is study of reproductions of paintings discussed in class. Images will be available on the course website (information forthcoming) or will be posted on the first floor of Moffitt Library. The best available photographs are found in non-circulating sets of Japanese picture books on reserve at the East Asian Library Annex, basement of California Hall (Mon-Fri. 9 am.-5 pm.). These sets are in Japanese, but you can navigate through them by referring

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to the call numbers and plate numbers provided in class handouts. Browsing is encouraged; please treat these volumes with care. Additional Notes Japanese Names, Terms, etc.: You are not responsible for memorizing any of the Japanese characters that appear in readings and handouts. You will be responsible for names of historical periods, selected artists and historical figures, important sites, as well as key terms. If you have completed assigned readings and attended class, you will have a clear sense of which names and terms are important. You should be able to date paintings, sites, and historical figures at the very least to the century and historical period. Greater precision is, of course, welcome. Sharon and I are available to discuss any questions you may have concerning the class during office hours or by appointment.