Namban Art

In this essay I will be discussing the rise and fall of Namban Art during the Christian century in the history of Japanese Art. I will concentrate on three essential elements in order to discuss this topic. Firstly, what is Namban art exactly? Secondly, I will briefly look at the history of the Christian century. Finally, I will relate the rise and fall of Namban Art to the rise and fall of Christianity during this period.

What is Namban Art. The word namban itself translates as "Southern Barbarians". The term relates to the type of art which was produced as a reaction to the arrival of foreigners on Japanese soil. In the discussion of Namban art I have broken it down into two categories. Firstly, there is the type of art which corresponds
This clearly shows the influence of western art on Japan. There is nothing of the Japanese style of art to be seen in this work. It could be confused with a European work however oftentimes with these types of works the artists lack the proper training of Western techniques: ‘the ambiguous and incorrect light sources in their works show they were unaware of the principles of chiaroscuro.' This type of art lacked any originality. Another example of this would be a four-panel screen entitled Foreign Princes on Horseback' (Fig 3). Again, it is difficult to pick out anything typically Japanese within this painting, except maybe the fact that it is a folding screen. The European princes are depicted in a stereotyped way with pointed noses and chins and in ceremonial
This helps to explain the similarities between many of the works. It is important to note that it was just these folding screens which constituted namban art. Decorative objects, especially lacquerware became increasingly popular due their portability. Just as before, lacquerware can be divided into catgories: ‘pieces made for popular consumption in the newly popular namban style, and pieces made for foreigners and the church authorities.' As has already been mentioned, items such as altarpieces and tabernacles were created in response to a demand for religious objects. Turning then to the objects created for popular consumption we can see a vast array of objects being decorated with namban motifs. These would include saddles, small cases, boxes – easily portable items. An excellent example of one of these objects is a gunpowder flask (Fig 7). This flask features namban figures and these figures are virtually identical to those that would be depicted on the folding screens. They are equally as delicately designed and executed as those on the Nanban