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Overview of the history of Japanese art : We begin in the prehistoric period called the Jomon period (c. 5000-200 B.C.E.) This earliest form of Japanese art, consisted of monochrome pottery in a cord pattern. This was replaced by bronze bells with simple designs, clay tomb figures (haniwa), and some painted burial chambers in the Yayoi Period (c. 200 B.C.E.-200 C.E.) With the introduction of Buddhism in the 6th century, and throughout its history, Japanese art relied on Chinese forms and techniques. The Nara period (710-784) saw traditional technical methods of Japanese painting being established. There were basically two kinds of paintings, hanging scrolls and horizontal scrolls. The work was executed on thin silk or soft paper with Chinese ink or watercolors and mounted on silk brocade or paper. The Jogan Period (794-897) witnessed the beginning of an indigenous style of art. The Fujiwara period (898-1185) was marked by the crystallization of the Yamato-e tradition of painting, based on national rather than Chinese taste. The Kamakura period (late 12th-14th century) restored realism. Unlike in Chinese painting, HUMANITY occupies the most important role in these scrolls. In the Momoyama period (1568-1615) architectural sculpture achieved unprecedented grandeur. The Kano family of artists succeeded in fusing Chinese ink-painting technique with Japanese decorative quality. During the Edo Period (1615-1867) miniature sculptures called netsuke became popular. In the 18th century, influenced by Dutch engravers, a new type of art arose in the form of woodblock prints known as ukiyo-e pictures of the fleeting or floating world. Ukiyo-e colour-print designers won worldwide renown, the best known being Harunobu and Hiroshige. Mid-19th-century contacts with European culture enervated Japanese art, and in the 20th century a great number of painters and sculptors have been strongly influenced by Western styles.
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