Picture handscrolls (emaki 絵巻): horizontal painting format in which the picture unfolds from right to left and scenes are developed within a space equal to a viewer's arm span.
Handscroll production: Produced through the collaborative efforts of patrons, painters and scribes overseen by an artistic director or editor.
- Bureau of Painting (edokoro 繪所): workshop of male professional painters at court
- Nyobo 女房 painters: elite women who lived in the inner quarters of the imperial palace and were accomplished painters
Narrative structures: handscrolls are generally composed of sections of text combined with paintings. The way in which texts and paintings are combined within a single scroll depends on the subject of the scroll, the date of production, and other factors. A number of text-image structures developed in Japanese narrative scroll paintings.
The Illustrated Sutra of Cause and Effect (E inga kyo 繪因果経). 8th century. [see Mason, fig. 124]. The scroll is structured in two parallel registers: on the top is a picture which runs from right to left and on the bottom is the text.
From the 10th century, non-Buddhist subjects such as novels and popular tales came into vogue and more complex handscroll compositions developed. The Illustrated Tale of Genji, for example, is comprised of a section of text followed by a picture.
Anonymous. The Illustrated Tale of Genji scrolls (Genji monogatari emaki 源氏絵). Late Heian period, early 12th century. 19 illustrations, 29 sections of text on decorated paper. Originally a set of handscrolls with alternating text and illustrations. Ink and color on paper; decorated paper sheets with gold and silver leaf. [Mason, figs. 140-141]
• The Tale of Genji was written by Murasaki Shikibu 紫式部 (c. 970-1014), a lady-in-waiting to Empress Shoshi, daughter of Fumiwara no Michinaga (966-1027)
• mono no aware: awareness of the fleeting quality of the present moment
• Built-up pictures (tsukuri e 作絵). Painting technique involving 3 stages of built-up layers to form the finished image: a) underdrawing of ink (i.e., a sketch); b) application of mineral pigments in opaque planes on top of the underdrawing; c) final execution of outlines, facial details, and contours of ink on top of the colors. The 3 stages may be carried out by different painters, reflecting a division of labor within a workshop context.
• Blown-away roof (fukinuki yatai 吹抜屋台)
• Dashes for eyes, hooks for noses (hikime-kagihana 引目鉤鼻)
Continuous pictorial narrative
Anonymous. The Miraculous Origins of Mount Shigi (Shigisan engi emaki 信貴山縁起絵巻). Late Heian period, ca. 1157-1180). Presently 3 handscrolls. Ink, color, paper. [Mason, fig. 145].
· Scroll 1: The Flying Storehouse
· Scroll 2: The Curing of the Emperor of the Engi Era
· Scroll 3: The Nun's Search for Myoren
Narrative devices: repeating figures (iji dozu 異時同図) , shifting viewpoint, direction of entry; movement and pause
Toba Sojo Kakuyu 鳥羽僧正覚猷 (1053-1140), attributed. Scrolls of Caricatures of Animals and People (choju jinbutsu giga 鳥獣人物戯画). Late Heian period, mid-12th century. Set of 4 scrolls. Ink on paper; H: 31.8 cm. Joins between paper sheeps impressed with a seal reading “Kozanji” 高山寺 [Mason, figs. 142-4]
• Kozanji is a Buddhist temple located in Togano, northwest of Kyoto. Established in the Nara to Heian period, revived by the monk Myoe in 1206.
• Scroll 1: “Frolicking Animals Scroll”