Start here · Essential guide
A Cultural Timeline of Japan from Jomon to Today
A broad outline of Japanese artistic and cultural change, from the Jomon period through the court, warrior, Edo and modern eras, with the ideas that carried over.
History and Society
History Through the Periods
Cultural life from the Jomon to the present, period by period.
Edo Period Townspeople Culture and Its Popular Arts
How merchants, craftspeople and city dwellers in the Edo period became audiences and patrons, shaping prints, theatre, fiction and fashion for a wide public.
Heian Court Culture and the Rise of Native Taste
How aristocratic life in Heian-period Kyoto produced kana writing, court poetry, women's fiction and a distinct sense of design and seasonal refinement.
Japonisme: How Japanese Art Influenced the West
How Japanese prints, ceramics and objects reached Europe and America after the mid nineteenth century and influenced painters, designers and collectors.
Kamakura and Muromachi Culture: Warriors, Zen and Ink
How warrior government and Zen Buddhism shaped Japanese sculpture, ink painting, noh, gardens, architecture and tea from the Kamakura to the Muromachi period.
Meiji Modernization and the Reshaping of Traditional Arts
How Japan's opening to the world in the Meiji period changed the status of crafts and arts: exhibitions, export goods, new definitions of fine art and preservation.
Momoyama Splendor: Gold Screens and Bold Tea Taste
The Momoyama period, around the late sixteenth century, paired gold-leaf screens and castle interiors with rough, plain tea bowls and bold, contrasting tastes.
Nara Period Culture and the Arrival of Continental Ideas
How writing, Buddhism, city planning and temple architecture arrived from the continent and were adapted in the Nara period and the years just before it.
Postwar Design and the Birth of Modern Japanese Style
How architects and designers rebuilt Japan after the mid twentieth century, mixing new materials and global modernism with older ideas of space, craft and nature.