Artifacts and Sculptures

This armor originates from the armory of Date Yoshimura (1703–1746), who became daimyo of Sendai at the age of 23, and retired at the age of 42. This particular armor was made by at least two different people, the helmet by Saotome Iyetada and the breastplate by Myōchin Munesuke. This is a higher class armor made for a higher class warrior, in this case the daimyo. This armor was created for ceremonial purposes, as noted by the gilt copper plating, silk, and lacquer on the armor. During the Edo period, the warring states of Japan had settled down, as Japan was now under control by one power only (Tokugawa regime) instead of multiple. The armor symbolizes the gender binary between males and females because only males were the ones who go to war and wore this armor breast plate. Furthermore, the gilt copper represented higher class that were played in the role of male dominance and that deem males to be more powerful and in control than the women. Similarly, on the front of the helmet, there is a dragon. The dragon mounted on the helmet represents the strong will and the powerful that categorizes males are these brave, courageous, and formidable warriors, while women were kept at home to take care of the house and the family.  The face mask is meant to look fearsome, and strike fear in one’s enemies, making the man look even more fearsome and formidable. Since armor is very strong and hard to cut through, it also symbolizes that males had the characteristics of sturdiness, tough, formidable, and withstanding. It shows how males are grown to become warriors and take on the will of fire to protect their villages and defend their people. To be a samurai was a great honor for the Japanese people, an honor that led to much violence and bloodshed over territory and redemption.

This female figure was a popular form of art that was exported from Japan to Europe. The porcelain figure depicts a slender woman dressed in a kimono, or the style of dress common for the time period of creation (1670-1690). Figure depicts what was considered in Japanese’s eyes a beautiful woman. The characteristic of a “beautiful Japanese women” derives from the smooth knit hair, graceful smile, and the aesthetic of the clothing that the women is wearing. Furthermore, the sculpturer presents this female figure as very traditional. Her clothes signifies the essences of the Japanese flowers that are blossoming and giving a vivid outlook of the artistic side of Japanese beauty. Similarly, the inside clothing shows many red stars which represents a motif of thoughtfulness and role model. Since stars shine at night to signal direction to people who are lost, the red stars on the women’s clothing represents care and guidance for younger generations of females to look up to or follow in the footsteps of an ideal Japanese women. Her smiles show warm hearted welcomes to her family members and even outside stranger. Her hand is placed near her waist and near her chest, which represents the discipline and respect for her elders and even to other people who she does not know. The color scheme of this sculpture are red, yellow, blue, green, and white. These colors are the vibrant colors that attracts the eye, which shows how the artist wants to attract the audience to view the differences of using the colors on the sculpture. These colors also represent words such as beauty, calm, thoughtfulness, aesthetic, care, and welcoming. The black clothing around her waist can also be interpreted as a way of “limitedness.” This limitedness is represented between the gender norms that exists between women and men. The women always has to be limited to wearing dresses and having this identity of thoughtfulness and always taking care of people/house. On the other hand, the men are prone to anything they want to do and they do not have this clothing on their waist because they are free to do whatever they want.

These two dresses were made in Japan, and have clear Western influence mixed into the design of the dress. These dressing gowns were produced during 1880 with silk.These dresses would be used for occasions that would not normally be held in Japan. These dresses held designs ranging from late-spring flowers, insects, and lotuses which evoked exotic origins for the western consumer. These dresses were made for the higher class woman. Since these dressing gowns were catering towards westerners, it had both styles that represented Japan as well as artistic values that were influenced by the west. Japanese women usually wear dresses that had traditional aesthetics of flowers, trees, cherry blossoms, and landscapes. These gowns definitely had those; however, to differentiate between high and low class status, the gowns has ropes, pockets, and collars that represented the higher class status. In a way, the gowns were worn more from queen and princesses in Europe and England. In this case, these gowns were customized for Japanese women with the influence from the western society. The ropes, pockets, and collar allow women to be looked at with class because men in Europe also had collars that represented a higher class. Similarly, the pockets and rope allowed the women to have items to put inside such as a male that were able to put money and business cards into their suits. The ropes also has a style that is almost the same as princesses. This represent the freeness for women to be able to wear things that are more comfortable or even consciously, say that women with a higher class were able to have more control of who they were. In contrast to a clothing that sealed and limited them from their traditional Japanese dresses, these gown were not tight and it symbolized the openness and space they have to become who compared to a low class tight fit gown that does not allow them to adjust their waist. The physical comparisons depicts these dressing gowns as high class that were more comfortable physically and also unconscious allows the women to be more free in terms of not conforming and not identifying as a low class women that are in the hands of males.

This Haniwa figure represents a female figure. The Haniwa were believed to have held the souls of the deceased inside of them. Other styles of Haniwa figures included warriors and animals. The animals were meant to represent a ceremonial send off for the deceased into the afterlife. The period produced was the 6th century during the Kofun Period. The medium includes the earthenware with traces of color with dimensions of 31.5cm. Since the it is hard to distinguish the differences between male and female haniwas, one of the way to distinguish them is through the hairstyles. Women are usually shown with their hair piled high upon their heads. This symbolizes the charm of the structure and also makes the figure very attractive. Furthermore, the face of the figure shows a distinct stylistic of realism within there. The facial representation of the figure depicts the emotion and the personality of the beholder. There is no angry face or even a sad face. The figure have rough cheeks, wearing a beaded necklace, and also have hairline that is long, straight, and painted red. Her left hands are raised, but is shown to be lost, similarly to her right hand. This may symbolize that women may have played a role in the portrayal of how women participated in the funeral attendance and also in society back then. Similarly, the women in society during this time also showed that they wore rouges, earrings, and necklaces as a participant of the funeral. On the other hand, during this time, even with these adornments, women had been chastised because these adornments were perceived that the women was a sorceress. Similarly, the women figure had face paint as well as a tattoo which had ceremonial significance as well as to an insight of what they wore.