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Japanese art tradition

In Japanese art: Calligraphy and painting
…the Senzui folding screens (byōbu), also reveal the development of indigenous painting styles within the original interpretive matrix of Chinese forms. Although the Chinese method of representing narrative in a landscape setting is honoured, with each narrative episode shown in a discrete topographic pocket, the topography and other telling…
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In Japanese architecture: The Azuchi-Momoyama period
…(fusuma) and folding screens (byōbu). These two elements provided the format, depending on the wealth and predilection of the patron daimyo, for extensive painting programs. While architectural and religious iconographic needs of previous eras required paintings of considerable scale, the quantity, stylistic bravura, and thematic innovations of the Azuchi-Momoyama…
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magatama

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magatama

jade ornament

Also known as: kogok

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

Korean:: kogok

Related Topics:: Japanese art; Korean art; pendant

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magatama, chiefly Japanese jade ornament shaped like a comma with a small perforation at the thick end; it was worn as a pendant, and its form may derive from prehistoric animal-tooth pendants. There are also examples with caps made of gold or silver. In Japan, magatamas have been made since the Neolithic Period, but they were particularly popular during the Tumulus (Japanese Kofun) period (3rd–6th century). Along with the sword and the mirror, the magatama became one of the three items of Japanese imperial regalia.

In Korea, jade magatamas are also sporadically found at prehistoric sites, but they were in greatest vogue during the old Silla kingdom, the period corresponding to the Tumulus period in Japan. They were used as attachments to royal crowns and worn as earrings, necklaces, and the like.

byōbu

Learn about this topic in these articles:

Japanese art tradition

magatama