Zen Buddhism Influence

1. Explain the influence of Zen Buddhism on Japanese culture.

Zen Buddhism is not the natural religion of the Japanese people. Yet, it has had important inspiration on the culture of this island’s country. For several years, Chinese announced many Buddhists groups to Japan, using some influence. However, the Zen group had a permanent position on the island. China carried the Zen group to Japan. Zen’s complicated models especially appealed to the followers of the military class Zen enjoyed greater approval worldwide. There are, nevertheless, a few leftovers of Zen in Japanese culture. Normally, burials are shown according to Buddhist custom, and many families have small tables in their households to honor their descendants.

2. How is Japanese painting connected to Chinese painting?

Japanese early painting has been under the influence of the Chinese culture. New and Japanese styles were established and painting schools were well-known. Each school trained their own style. But the Chinese influence continued strong until the beginning of the Edo period (1603-1867). Chinese culture had been influencing a lot, such as Buddhist spiritual image, an ink-wash canvas of landscape, and writing of ideographs. Japanese painting always absorbs them to re-form completely unique

Japan was closed to contact with Europe from the 17th to 19th century, which forced the Japanese to open trade with the west. When contact was made, Japanese arts became the impression of the later in Europe and the United States and were very significant in the growth of both fine arts and enhancing arts in Europe and America in the early 20th centuries. The remoteness of Japan re-established political and exchange relationships with the outside world during the last years of the shoguns. Japan was opened to an overwhelming flood of inspiration from the