Ink and Gold

The Kano lineage was founded by Kano Masanobu (1434–1530). Originally limited to successive generations of the Kano family, the lineage developed into an academy of professional artists patronized by the Tokugawa shogunate, the military rulers of Japan from 1615 to 1868. Kano painters gained prominence during a period that witnessed extensive building projects after nearly a century of civil wars, which had damaged or destroyed many temples and residences. Powerful military families rebuilt their dwellings as impressive castles and homes, which they then decorated with large-scale paintings by Kano artists. With oversize animals, figures, and landscapes set against a background of lustrous gold leaf, these works are symbolic of the ruling class's aspirations for power and grandeur. With the fall of the shogunate in 1868, Kano artists lost their official patrons. By the end of the century, Japan had emerged on the world stage after nearly three hundred years of self-imposed isolation. Among the ideas and influences introduced to the country were painting styles and formats from the West, which Kano-trained artists used to breathe new life into the tradition.

Among the favorite subjects of the Kano and their patrons were figures from Chinese stories, such as the Queen Mother of the West. Landscapes were also in great demand, both as expressions of nature's beauty and as a vehicle for favored subjects. As Japan is an island nation, it is not surprising that Kano artists also drew inspiration from the sea. Kano painters explored these themes in various styles and formats, including hanging scrolls, folding screens, sliding doors, handscrolls, and printed books.

Kano ink-and-gold screens and sliding doors served as visual symbols of the shoguns' power and wealth. The shoguns vied to make their supremacy tangible by building great castles and decorating them with elaborate Kano paintings. These monumental compositions often featured life-size lions, tigers, and eagles, as well as lavish use of gold leaf and rich pigments. They were usually displayed in the public spaces of castles, where visitors would be awed by the magnificence and grandeur of their surroundings.

In 1867 the Tokugawa shogunate came to an end, and with it, the major source of patronage for Kano artists. With the restoration of imperial rule under the Meiji emperor, the former shogunal capital of Edo was renamed Tokyo. Japan began to emerge from nearly 300 years of highly restricted diplomacy and trade that had largely isolated it from the rest of the world. Embarking on an ambitious modernization program, Japan's new government promoted the nation's industries and art at world's fairs, including the Philadelphia 1876 Centennial Exhibition.