Hakuhō period
Encyclopedia
The was an unofficial of Emperor Temmu
after Hakuchi
and before Suchō
. The duration
of this discrete non-nengō timespan lasted from 673 through 686.
The Hakuhō period is more often used as a general term which describe a wider range of years.
.
In general historical contexts, the Asuka period
is understood as overlapping the Hakuhō period; and the Hakuhō can be construed as having been followed by a Tempyō period in art history.
The Hakuhō period was marked by the rapid expansion of Buddhism
and its dissemination throughout Japan. Artistically the period was influenced directly by the Sui
and Tang
Dynasties, and influenced indirectly by Gupta art from India.
Beginning with the Taika Reforms, the period saw a shift towards more structured, more bureaucratic forms of government, based largely on Chinese models. The first "permanent" Imperial capital was established at Fujiwara-kyō
in 694. Though the capital was moved again only sixteen years later, this represented an important step in the development of the Yamato state, the seat of power of which had been quite transitory and nomadic up until this point.
The decades of the Hakuhō period also saw many other major developments in political structure and in culture, including the introduction of writing and development of calligraphy in Japan. Chinese characters had been seen and used in Japan for centuries prior, but it was during the 7th century that, as one scholar describes it, "writing and the art of its production — or calligraphy — has a sudden and spectacular flowering".
Hundreds of Buddhist temples
were built in the Hakuhō period, including Kawara-dera, Daikandai-ji and Yakushi-ji
in Fujiwara-kyō, in styles
showing considerable Tang Dynasty China
influence. Wakakusa-dera, which had burnt down in 670, was also rebuilt at this time as Hōryū-ji
, showing the same stylistic influences.When Baekje was ruined in 660, The refugee was naturalized in Japan. And they played a major role in designing and constructing these temples, and taught and trained their Japanese counterparts.
At the time, stone and bronze were the chief media used for Buddhist statues in Japan, and would remain so on the continent for quite some time to come; however, in Japan, the wood carved statues which would come to dominate in later centuries began to appear as early as the Hakuhō period.
China, and from the stylistic heritage of the Northern Qi
and Sui
Dynasties which came before. Another group of statues from the same temple show another important development, namely, the first use of lacquer not solely as a protective or decorative coating for statues, but as a material from which accessories, such as a bodhisattva
's jewellery, hair ornaments, and hair, might be made, to be attached onto the wooden sculpture.
A series of mural paintings on the walls of the kondō ("Golden Hall"; Main Hall) of Hōryū-ji, depicting various Buddhist figures, represent some of the best extant examples of Hakuhō period painting. Though a 1949 fire left most of the paintings blackened to the point of illegibility, the process can still be determined. Plaster was applied to the walls layer by layer, each layer increasingly fine. Once the plaster was dry, holes were punched in the preliminary sketches for the painting (known as a cartoon), and colored sand or powder was applied, passing through the holes and sticking to the surface of the wall, providing an outline or rough guideline for the painter to then follow. These Hōryū-ji murals represent two painting elements distinctive of this period: the use of red rather than black to outline the figures and, on other sections, a consistent line lacking calligraphic flourish and known as "iron wire" line.
A number of Buddhist statues at Yakushi-ji temple are counted among the finest extant examples of Hakuhō period sculpture, reflecting the influence of Tang Chinese styles more strongly than their counterparts in Hōryū-ji.
A noteworthy consists of three sculptures representing the Yakushi Buddha and two bodhisattvas Nikkō and Gakkō
) which are described as "full, fleshy figures conceived in the round and treated as completely natural forms". These three figures were cast in bronze; and they were replaced in the Edo period
after their destruction in earthquake or fire. The bodhisattvas are posed in the "hip-slung" (Sanskrit
: tribhanga) pose and other Chinese motifs including grape leaves and the Symbols of the Four Directions
are prevalent.
Emperor Temmu
was the 40th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Temmu's reign lasted from 672 until his death in 686.-Traditional narrative:...
after Hakuchi
Hakuchi
Hakuchi can refer to:* Hakuchi Adyghe, a minority dialect of Adyghe spoken in Turkey.* Hakuchi, a tribe of the Adyghe people.* The Idiot , a film directed by Akira Kurosawa....
and before Suchō
Sucho
Gedalia Suchowolski is an Israeli painter and sculptor known by his nickname Sucho.-Biography:Gedalia Suchowolski was born in Białystok, Poland...
. The duration
Duration
In music duration is an amount of time or a particular time interval. A duration is a property of a note that becomes one of the bases of rhythm.A tone may be sustained for varying lengths of time...
of this discrete non-nengō timespan lasted from 673 through 686.
The Hakuhō period is more often used as a general term which describe a wider range of years.
History of art
Hakuhō is conventionally used to identify a broad historical and artistic period of the late seventh century and early eighth century. The term is primarily used in art history and is thought to have been introduced at the 1910 Japan-British ExhibitionJapan-British Exhibition (1910)
The took place at White City, London in Great Britain from 14 May 1910 to 29 October 1910. It was the largest international exposition that the Empire of Japan had participated in to date, and was driven by a desire of Japan to develop a more favorable public image in Great Britain following the...
.
In general historical contexts, the Asuka period
Asuka period
The , was a period in the history of Japan lasting from 538 to 710 , although its beginning could be said to overlap with the preceding Kofun period...
is understood as overlapping the Hakuhō period; and the Hakuhō can be construed as having been followed by a Tempyō period in art history.
The Hakuhō period was marked by the rapid expansion of Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
and its dissemination throughout Japan. Artistically the period was influenced directly by the Sui
Sui Dynasty
The Sui Dynasty was a powerful, but short-lived Imperial Chinese dynasty. Preceded by the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it ended nearly four centuries of division between rival regimes. It was followed by the Tang Dynasty....
and Tang
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
Dynasties, and influenced indirectly by Gupta art from India.
Beginning with the Taika Reforms, the period saw a shift towards more structured, more bureaucratic forms of government, based largely on Chinese models. The first "permanent" Imperial capital was established at Fujiwara-kyō
Fujiwara-kyo
was the Imperial capital of Japan for sixteen years, between 694 and 710. It was located in Yamato Province , having been moved from nearby Asuka. However, in the Nihon Shoki, the name Fujiwara-kyō had never been used...
in 694. Though the capital was moved again only sixteen years later, this represented an important step in the development of the Yamato state, the seat of power of which had been quite transitory and nomadic up until this point.
The decades of the Hakuhō period also saw many other major developments in political structure and in culture, including the introduction of writing and development of calligraphy in Japan. Chinese characters had been seen and used in Japan for centuries prior, but it was during the 7th century that, as one scholar describes it, "writing and the art of its production — or calligraphy — has a sudden and spectacular flowering".
Art and architecture
The term "Hakuhō period" is chiefly applied in discussions of architecture, sculpture, and painting.Hundreds of Buddhist temples
Buddhist temples in Japan
Along with Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples are the most numerous, famous, and important religious buildings in Japan.The term "Shinto shrine" is used in opposition to "Buddhist temple" to mirror in English the distinction made in Japanese between Shinto and Buddhist religious structures. In...
were built in the Hakuhō period, including Kawara-dera, Daikandai-ji and Yakushi-ji
Yakushi-ji
is one of the most famous imperial and ancient Buddhist temples in Japan, located in Nara. The temple is the headquarters of the Hossō school of Japanese Buddhism...
in Fujiwara-kyō, in styles
Sangharama
Sangharama is a Sanskrit word meaning "temple" or "monastery", the place, including its garden or grove, where dwells the Buddhist monastic community . A famous sangharama was that of Kukkutarama in Pataliputra. The Kukkutura sangharama was later destroyed and its monks killed by Pusyamitra Sunga,...
showing considerable Tang Dynasty China
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
influence. Wakakusa-dera, which had burnt down in 670, was also rebuilt at this time as Hōryū-ji
Hōryū-ji
is a Buddhist temple in Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture, Japan. Its full name is Hōryū Gakumonji , or Learning Temple of the Flourishing Law, the complex serving as seminary and monastery both....
, showing the same stylistic influences.When Baekje was ruined in 660, The refugee was naturalized in Japan. And they played a major role in designing and constructing these temples, and taught and trained their Japanese counterparts.
At the time, stone and bronze were the chief media used for Buddhist statues in Japan, and would remain so on the continent for quite some time to come; however, in Japan, the wood carved statues which would come to dominate in later centuries began to appear as early as the Hakuhō period.
Hōryū-ji
The statues in Hōryū-ji serve as good examples of Hakuhō period sculpture; nearly all date to that period. Most are made of wood, with a single block used for the bodies, and separate blocks for secondary elements, such as demons upon which the deity treads, halos, and parts of the deities' skirts. All were originally painted and gilded, and bear rounder forms with a stronger impact of three-dimensionality than the Asuka period statues of earlier decades. In these aspects and others, they reflect strong stylistic influences from Korea of the Three Kingdoms Period, Tang DynastyTang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
China, and from the stylistic heritage of the Northern Qi
Northern Qi
The Northern Qi Dynasty was one of the Northern dynasties of Chinese history and ruled northern China from 550 to 577.-History:The Chinese state of Northern Qi was the successor state of the Chinese/Xianbei state of Eastern Wei and was founded by Emperor Wenxuan...
and Sui
Sui Dynasty
The Sui Dynasty was a powerful, but short-lived Imperial Chinese dynasty. Preceded by the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it ended nearly four centuries of division between rival regimes. It was followed by the Tang Dynasty....
Dynasties which came before. Another group of statues from the same temple show another important development, namely, the first use of lacquer not solely as a protective or decorative coating for statues, but as a material from which accessories, such as a bodhisattva
Bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is either an enlightened existence or an enlightenment-being or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one for enlightenment ." The Pali term has sometimes been translated as "wisdom-being," although in modern publications, and...
's jewellery, hair ornaments, and hair, might be made, to be attached onto the wooden sculpture.
A series of mural paintings on the walls of the kondō ("Golden Hall"; Main Hall) of Hōryū-ji, depicting various Buddhist figures, represent some of the best extant examples of Hakuhō period painting. Though a 1949 fire left most of the paintings blackened to the point of illegibility, the process can still be determined. Plaster was applied to the walls layer by layer, each layer increasingly fine. Once the plaster was dry, holes were punched in the preliminary sketches for the painting (known as a cartoon), and colored sand or powder was applied, passing through the holes and sticking to the surface of the wall, providing an outline or rough guideline for the painter to then follow. These Hōryū-ji murals represent two painting elements distinctive of this period: the use of red rather than black to outline the figures and, on other sections, a consistent line lacking calligraphic flourish and known as "iron wire" line.
Yakushi-ji
Yakushiji was founded in the Hakuhou period in 680.A number of Buddhist statues at Yakushi-ji temple are counted among the finest extant examples of Hakuhō period sculpture, reflecting the influence of Tang Chinese styles more strongly than their counterparts in Hōryū-ji.
A noteworthy consists of three sculptures representing the Yakushi Buddha and two bodhisattvas Nikkō and Gakkō
Candraprabha
Candraprabha Bodhisattva, or Gakkō Bosatsu in Japanese, is a bodhisattva often seen with Nikkō Bosatsu , as the two siblings serve Yakushi or the Medicine Buddha. Statues of Nikkō and Gakko closely resemble each other and are commonly found together, sometimes flanking temple doors...
) which are described as "full, fleshy figures conceived in the round and treated as completely natural forms". These three figures were cast in bronze; and they were replaced in the Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
after their destruction in earthquake or fire. The bodhisattvas are posed in the "hip-slung" (Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
: tribhanga) pose and other Chinese motifs including grape leaves and the Symbols of the Four Directions
Four Symbols (Chinese constellation)
The Four Symbols are four mythological creatures in the Chinese constellations. They are:*Azure Dragon of the East *Vermilion Bird of the South *White Tiger of the West *Black Tortoise of the North...
are prevalent.