Sketches from Nature in the Early Edo Period

From long ago, people have observed and made faithful sketches of the things around them. In Japan, by the middle of the Edo period (1603–1868), the study of natural history flourished and it was considered important to make sketches of plants and animals as records. From around this time, a variety of plants and animals like those seen in natural history catalogues were painted on folding screens and in albums. This was a high point for sketches from nature and the paintings influenced by these sketches.

Edo-period sketches from nature can be traced back to the Kanbun era (1661–1673). Pioneering works include Sketches of Flowering Plants by Kano Tan’yu (1602–74) and Sketches of Flowering Plants, Fish, Shellfish, and Insects by Kano Tsunenobu (1636–1713). These two artists learned composition and sketching techniques for realistic depiction from Chinese painting as well as traditional Japanese flower and bird painting. Their works appear to have been influenced also by the sketches of plants that had been brought to Japan from the Netherlands in the preceding Manji era (1658–1661).

By focusing on the achievement of Tan’yu and Tsunenobu, prominent painters who belonged to the Kano school, the official school of painting for the shogunate, this exhibition sheds light on the period during which sketches added a vibrant charm to the culture of the Edo period.