Crash Course: The Arts and Culture of Japan (Morning)

The class meets on four Wednesdays. Morning and evening sessions available!

Celebrate the rare showing of Hiroshige’s Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido Road with a deep dive into the development and pervasive influence of Japanese art.

The arts of Japan have long captivated artists, designers, architects, and other creative thinkers and makers around the world and over time. People from all walks of life have enjoyed Japanese-inspired objects and motifs throughout their homes.

But why are the arts from Japan so compelling and why do they continue to fascinate us today? Starting with the woodblock prints of master printmaker Utagawa (Andō) Hiroshige, travel backwards and forwards to more fully understand the development of art forms considered to be unique to Japan. Explore China’s early influences on aesthetics and styles, Japan’s interest in harmony and nature, and the impact of trade with the West in the 19th century.

Elizabeth Morrissey received her PhD from the University of Pittsburgh. Her dissertation, “Memorializing Imperial Power through Ritual in the Illustrated Legends of Ishiyama-dera Handscroll,” explores the relationship between the Japanese imperial family and the Buddhist temple Ishiyama-dera through analysis of paintings depicting secret rituals found in the fourteenth-century illustrated handscroll Ishiyama-dera engi e. Her research interests include Buddhist ritual, illustrated handscrolls, and female patronage in medieval Japan.