Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

• World Regions

  All regions

  Select a region

  • North America
  • Europe
  • Central and North Asia
  • East Asia
  • Central America
  • South America
  • Africa
  • West Asia
  • Oceania
  • South and Southeast Asia

  Select a time period

  • 8000–2000 B.C.
  • 2000–1000 B.C.
  • 1000 B.C.–1 A.D.
  • 1–500 A.D.
  • 500–1000 A.D.
  • 1000–1400 A.D.
  • 1400–1600 A.D.
  • 1600–1800 A.D.
  • 1800–1900 A.D.
  • 1900 A.D.–Present
• Timelines

  by Time Period 8,000–2,000 b.c. 2,000–1,000 b.c. 1,000 b.c.–1 a.d. 1–500 a.d. 500–1,000 a.d. 1,000–1400 a.d. 1400–1600 a.d. 1600–1800 a.d. 1800–1900 a.d. 1900 a.d.–present

  by Geographical Region Africa   Central America   Central and North Asia   East Asia   Europe   North America   Oceania   South America   South and Southeast Asia  West Asia

• Thematic Essays
  • Recent Additions  |  All Thematic Essays
  • 
    Select a Thematic Category African Art American Art Ancient Near Eastern Art Art of the Americas Asian Art Byzantine Art Egyptian Art European Art Greek and Roman Art Islamic Art Medieval Art Modern and Contemporary Art Oceanic/Pacific Art Prehistory Select a Department American Decorative Arts American Paintings and Sculpture Ancient Near Eastern Art Arms and Armor Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas Asian Art The Costume Institute Drawings and Prints Education Egyptian Art European Paintings European Sculpture and Decorative Arts Greek and Roman Art Islamic Art The Libraries Medieval Art and The Cloisters Musical Instruments Nineteenth-Century, Modern, and Contemporary Art Objects Conservation Paintings Conservation Paper Conservation Photographs Robert Lehman Collection Scientific Research Textile Conservation

    ---

  • Select a Geographical Region Africa Central America Central and North Asia East Asia Europe North America Oceania South America South and Southeast Asia West Asia All Geographical Regions Select a Time Period 20,000–8000 B.C. 8000–2000 B.C. 2000–1000 B.C. 1000 B.C.–1 A.D. 1–500 A.D. 500–1000 A.D. 1000–1400 A.D. 1400–1600 A.D. 1600–1800 A.D. 1800–1900 A.D. 1900 A.D.–Present All Time Periods
    
• Works of Art
  Recent Additions
  
  

  Title Description
  Artist
  Material and Technique
  Credit Line
  Accession Number

• Index

  Artist (A–Z) | All Artists

  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
  • J
  • K
  • L
  • M
  • N
  • O
  • P
  • Q
  • R
  • S
  • T
  • U
  • V
  • W
  • X
  • Y
  • Z

  ---

  Subject (A–Z)

  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
  • J
  • K
  • L
  • M
  • N
  • O
  • P
  • Q
  • R
  • S
  • T
  • U
  • V
  • W
  • X
  • Y
  • Z

Yamato-e Painting

• 
  Illustrated Legends of the Kitano Shrine (Kitano Tenjin Engi), Kamakura period (1185–1333), 13th century
  Unidentified artist
  Japan
  Handscroll; ink and color on paper

  11 3/4 in. x 28 ft. 3 3/4 in. (29.8 x 863 cm)
  Fletcher Fund, 1925 (25.224a–e)

• 
  Illustrated sutra of The Miracles of Kannon, Kamakura period (1185–1333), dated 1257
  Unidentified artist
  Japan
  Handscroll; ink, color, and gold on paper

  9 7/16 in. x 30 ft. 8 1/16 in. (23.9 x 934.9 cm)
  Purchase, Louisa Eldridge McBurney Gift, 1953 (53.7.3)

• 
  A Long Tale for an Autumn Night (Aki no yonaga monogatari), Nanbokucho period (1336–92), late 14th century
  Japan
  Scroll one from a set of three handscrolls; ink, color, and gold on paper
  

  12 1/8 in. x 41 ft. 2 1/8 in. (30.9 x 1,255.2 cm)
  Purchase, Funds from Various donors, by exchange, Fletcher Fund and Dodge Fund, 2002 (2002.459.1)

  A Long Tale for an Autumn Night (Aki no yonaga monogatari), Nanbokucho period (1336–92), late 14th century
  Japan
  Ink and color on paper
  

  12 x 18 1/4 in. (30.5 x 46.4 cm)
  Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2005 (2005.312)

View SlideshowView Thumbnails

Traditional yamato-e is characterized by native subject matter, often taken from literature

Related

Timelines (4)

• Japan, 1400–1600 A.D.
• Japan, 1600–1800 A.D.
• Japan, 500–1000 A.D.
• Japan, 1000–1400 A.D.

Primary Thematic Essays (3)

• Heian Period (794–1185)
• The Kano School of Painting
• Seasonal Imagery in Japanese Art

Other Thematic Essays (11)

• Art of the Edo Period (1615–1868 a.d.)
• Edo–Period Japanese Porcelain
• Japanese Incense
• The Japanese Tea Ceremony
• Japanese Weddings in the Edo Period (1615–1868)
• List of Rulers of Japan
• Netsuke: From Fashion Fobs to Coveted Collectibles
• Painting Formats in East Asian Art
• Rinpa Painting Style
• Woodblock Prints in the Ukiyo–e Style
• Work and Leisure: 18th–Century Korean Genre Painting

Maps (5)

• East Asia, 1000–1400 a.d.
• East Asia, 1400–1600 a.d.
• East Asia, 1600–1800 a.d.
• World, 500–1000 a.d.
• World, 1600–1800 a.d.

Index Terms (13)

Art Movement/Style

• Heian Period of Japan
• Yamato–e in Japanese Art

Geography/Place

• Japan

Material and Technique

• Drawing in Ink from East Asia
• Gold from East Asia
• Painting in Ink on Paper from East Asia
• Painting in Ink on Paper from Japan

Object

• Scroll on Paper

Subject Matter/Theme

• Buddhist Scroll
• Conservation
• Japanese Poetry
• Love
• Painting with Floral Motif
• Shinto Scroll

Share

| More

The term yamato-e, which means "Japanese pictures," was first used in the Heian period to distinguish works painted in a Japanese style from those executed in the Chinese manner, or kara-e. Traditional yamato-e is characterized by native subject matter, often taken from literature, and themes associated with famous places or the four seasons. Stylistically it features striking compositions, the frequent use of flat planes of rich color, and a number of codified pictorial devices such as fukinuki yatai ("room with roof blown away").

Department of Asian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Citation Department of Asian Art. "Yamato-e Painting". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/yama/hd_yama.htm (October 2003) Further Reading Akiyama, Terukazu. Japanese Painting. New York: Rizzoli, 1977. Kuroda, Taizo., et al. Worlds Seen and Imagined. New York: Asia Society Galleries, 1995. Mason, Penelope. History of Japanese Art. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004. Murase, Miyeko. Bridge of Dreams: The Mary Griggs Burke Collection of Japanese Art. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. Murase, Miyeko. Masterpieces of Japanese Screen Painting: The American Collections. New York: G. Braziller, 1990.

These related Museum Bulletin or Journal articles may or may not represent the most current scholarship. Ford, Barbara Brennan. "The Arts of Japan." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 45, no. 1 (Summer, 1987). JSTOR | PDF