After shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu vanished rival warlords, unified his country and restructured the governing bureaucracy, Japan experienced a relatively peaceful period when warring competitors transferred their attention from military exploits to acquiring mansions, art objects and clothing as signs of social prestige. The richly decorated screens, lacquerware and woodblock prints they collected to decorate their homes -- as well as the artistically embroidered kimonos they wore to decorate themselves -- during this prosperous time in Japanese history are on display in the Yale University Art Gallery's new exhibition, "Tastes and Traditions: Japanese Arts of the Edo Period, 1615-1868."
The period takes its name from the city of Edo -- modern-day Tokyo -- which was the seat of Ieyasu, who firmly established the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan. For many members of Japanese society, art objects and clothing served as proof of their aristocracy and education. Many of the decorative objects created during these three centuries were embellished with traditional themes and motifs from classical Chinese and Japanese literature, such as screens depicting scenes from the "Tale of Genji." The screens are among the items on view, which are all from the gallery's permanent collection of Asian art.
"The prosperity of Edo society is evoked in an intimate and human way in these objects," says Susan Vogel, the Henry J. Heinz II Director of the gallery. "We are astonished by the extraordinary artistry of the craftsmen, many of them anonymous, and enjoy the colorful glimpses of urban life during this long and stable era of Japanese history."
Included in the exhibit are 29 woodblock prints that were collected by urban artisans and merchants, who became rich during this period by supplying art objects. The prints depict famous courtesans, kabuki actors, street scenes, landscapes and the Edo equivalent of a soap-opera melodrama. The prints on view are grouped by subject matter.
The installation was organized by Laura Einstein, assistant curator of Asian art, and Melanie Drogin, a graduate intern in Asian art. The exhibition will run through Sept. 15. Ms. Drogin will present gallery talks on the show on Tuesday, June 18, at 2 p.m. and Thursday, June 20, at 1 p.m. Both are free and open to the public.
The Yale University Art Gallery, located at Chapel and York streets, is open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday, 2-5 p.m. Admission is free. An entrance for persons using wheelchairs is located at 201 York St. For more information about access, call 432- 0601. For general information, call 432-0600.