Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 416

4th International Conference on Culture, Education and Economic Development

of Modern Society (ICCESE 2020)

Discussion on the Evolution Causes of Japanese

Ceramic Design Style

Ying Pan
Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute
Jingdezhen, China 330444
Guangxi Economic and Trade Vocational Institute
Nanning, China 530021

Abstract—The reason why Japanese ceramics is widely

known for its craftsmanship and characteristics is inseparable A. The aesthetic characteristics of advocating nature
from the geographical environment and traditional culture of The land of Japan is surrounded by sea all round. There
Japan. China, Korea and other countries have laid a good are distinct differences between seasons. It is for this reason
theoretical foundation for the development of Japanese that Japan extremely has biodiversity which provides a rich
ceramics, and provided a lot of model templates, making source of inspiration for potters. The natural resources
Japanese ceramics mature day by day. Taking Japanese contribute to the rustic Japanese culture which emphasizes
traditional culture as the starting point, this paper analyzes the the beauty of harmony between man and nature.
role and influence of Chinese culture on Japanese ceramic art,
and Japanese self-exploration and adjustment in the process of In addition, Japanese aesthetic consciousness is deeply
its ceramic art development, so as to demonstrate the influenced by Chinese Zen thought. Zen interprets human's
background conditions for the generation and formation of its natural life state with the concept of nature. It requires
ceramic style. observing Zen taste from the natural environment,
experiencing Zen joy from people's daily life, feeling the
Keywords: ceramic design, Japanese ceramic style, Chinese realization to truth, and further achieving spiritual freedom
culture and transcendence of life. The same is true of Japanese
aesthetics. Japanese art connects nature with life, and
I. INTRODUCTION generates emotional resonance in the combination of the two,
As Journalist Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904) wrote in his emitting a perception of fugitive life and a sigh of "flowers
article "A Glimpse of Unfamiliar Japan", "everything in don't wait for me", forming a lonely and indifferent
Japan is so exquisite, elegant, and amazing..." Even after a emotional color, and shaping a unique Japanese aesthetic
century, Japanese art still exudes unique charms which are consciousness in fusion with Japanese culture.
all derived from the unique cultural characteristics of the
Japanese nation. The sociology of art regards artistic practice B. Symbiosis and coexistence of practical aesthetics
as a "social phenomenon", and considers that artistic practice Japanese ceramic art is closely connected to life, so that
is the result of collective creation from generation to its ceramic art both has practical value and artistic value,
generation in the historical process. In this long historical achieving a unity between the two values. Combining art and
process, a "habitus" of art field is bound to form in the field life is one of the most important concepts in Japanese artistic
of society, and this kind of art habitus will affect all the thought.
artworks produced in the art field. Through the habitus in
Combining artwork and daily necessities is one of the
this art field, the art and audience generate an emotional
artistic characteristics of Japan. Japanese ceramic artists add
resonance, reaching a consensus on art products.
artistic elements to the design of ceramic articles, and make
articles in the nuances, making simple objects not simple,
II. JAPANESE AESTHETIC STYLE AND ART TASTE making art and life blended and interwoven, creating unique
The Japanese islands are located at the junction of the aesthetic value.
Eurasian Continental Plate, the Pacific Plate, the North
American Plate and the Philippine Plate. As a result, C. Pursuit for keeping improving the "technical beauty"
earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes are very active here. The spirit of Japanese craftsmanship is widely acclaimed.
Natural disasters occur at a high frequency. This makes The reason is that Japanese people are always striving for
Japanese people having a sense of inherent fear and excellence in design and manufacturing, and set high
admiration toward the nature, shaping the unique aesthetic standards for it. Each link and each step are required to be
and artistic style of Japanese people. very specific and rigorous, emphasizing the importance of
focus and the necessity for normative operation. Every

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Japanese designer regards the spirit of craftsmanship as his and ten volumes of "The Analects", making Confucianism
professional philosophy, and pursues high standards and high and Chinese characters begin to be spread in the upper noble
quality of products, reflecting his spiritual pursuit of society of Japan. Thereafter, Buddhism gradually spread to
"technical beauty". Japan and began to flourish. Chinese characters were
popularized and promoted in Japan, and Chinese calligraphy
III. THE INFLUENCE OF CHINESE CULTURE ON JAPANESE had also attracted widespread attention from Japanese writers.
ART CULTURE
In the era of Asuka, Goguryeo monk and painter Tan Zheng
went east to Japan, and taught coloring, inking, and water-
Chinese culture and Japanese culture are often powered trip-hammer manufacturing and using techniques in
intertwined; In Japanese culture, there are many traces of Japan, which laid a certain foundation for the development of
Chinese culture. Hence, it can be seen that the influence of Japanese calligraphy.
Chinese culture on Japanese culture is far-reaching and has
played a very important role. On the basis of Chinese calligraphy, Japanese has created
calligraphy fonts with its national characteristics and features.
A. Painting During the Edo period, calligraphy was used in the drawing
of ceramics.
Chinese painting has had a deep influence on Japanese
painting style, especially in the pattern design of ceramics.
C. Literature
During the 7th~9th centuries AD, the Chinese paintings
input into Japan were called Tang paintings. "Yamato-e", During the Nara period, Japan dispatched a large number
"Kano School", Japanese ink painting and literati paintings of ambassadors to the Tang Dynasty in the West, bringing
all absorbed the form and content of Tang paintings to back many documents, books, poetry books, and artworks
varying degrees. from China. Through a study and emulation on those works
of Tang Dynasty, Japan's politics and ideology, culture and
Nomura Hitoshi, a potter in Edo period, founded the other fields were affected to some extent. In the early Heian
"Kyo-yaki" genre. Its pottery painting has a very typical Period, Japanese learned the essence of the works brought
Japanese style, and is gorgeous and elegant at the same time. from Tang Dynasty while studying the culture of the Tang
His works attracted widespread attention once coming out Dynasty.
and were praised by people. Nomura Hitoshi was active all
round Kyoto, and went to many places to learn from relevant To sum up, Chinese artistic style and characteristics
masters in his early years. He was particularly good at color posed a far-reaching influence on Japanese artistic aesthetics.
painting. He applied color painting to ceramics and produced While drawing on Chinese artistic characteristics, Japanese
a variety of painted pottery. Most of his works were made in art and culture merged its national characteristics and
1648-1657. Most of the remained works have been features to form a unique Japanese art which is further
designated as national treasures, represented by "Wakamatsu applied to ceramic art and other artistic works, shaping into
ware pot" and "Maki-e pot". Japanese style.
Japanese ink painting was deeply influenced by the
painting style of the Song and Yuan Dynasties in China. IV. DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCE OF JAPANESE CERAMIC
CULTURE
Japanese ink and wash painters transformed the authentic
painting style of the Northern Song Dynasty into the
intentional style of the Southern Song Dynasty. They no A. Learning from foreign cultural nutrition
longer reproduced the beauty of landscapes by means of Although Japan started nearly 1,000 years later than
realistic painting. Instead, they added the aesthetic China in aspect of ceramics, Japanese people's hard-working
characteristics of Japan, and used the artistic style of the spirit and perseverance made Japan's ceramics gradually
Southern Song Dynasty the expression form, creating more flourish, possessing very outstanding artistic value. In the 5th
concise painting and ink paintings with richer levels. century AD, Korea introduced China's high-temperature
firing technology and wheeled molding to Japan, making
The last Chinese painting that influenced Japanese art Japanese successfully fired sueki and entered the pottery era
style was during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. In the Qing from the crockery era. In the 8th century AD, The production
Dynasty, Chinese painting was mainly composed of flower process and procedures of Tang tri-color glazed ceramics
and bird paintings and literati paintings. During the Edo was also introduced to Japan. Under the guidance of Chinese
period in Japan (during the same period), there were potters, Japan fired the first artificial glaze, Nara tri-color
"Nanping School" learning the flower and bird paintings in glazed ceramics. In the 12th century AD, as the
Ming Dynasty and "Literati Painting School" learning literati craftsmanship of Chinese celadon, while porcelain and iron-
paintings. glazed pottery became more and more mature, Japan also
fired the ancient Seto with special characteristics. In the 17th
B. Calligraphy century AD, taking the red glaze of China as an example, 日
According to the records in "Nihon Shoki", in 285 AD, 本 が 誇 る 有 田 焼 名 門 , a potter in Japan, created Japanese
the Korean Baekje commissioned an ambassador to Japan, painted porcelain. Looking at the development history of
and contributed a volume of "Thousand Character Classic" Japanese ceramic art, China can be regarded as its "good

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teacher". It is precisely under the continuous maturity and ceramic artworks reflect the multiplicity and complexity of
development of Chinese ceramic art that Japanese ceramic Japanese culture. And in the course of historical evolution,
art can make continuous progress and become increasingly the sociality of Japanese art has also been integrated into
perfect. Japanese social classes, religious beliefs, and political ideas,
and other characteristics, forming a unique Japanese ceramic
In addition, the development of Japanese pottery is also art design culture. China should learn from this idea for its
inseparable from Korean porcelain culture. Historically, own innovation and change, and maintain the fine traditions
China ruled the Korean peninsula, so that Chinese culture of Chinese nation to improve its culture and craftsmanship.
became quite common in Korea. Ceramic skills are also In the local ceramic design, China should incorporate more
well-known and mastered in Korea, forming a porcelain ideas, humanistic spirit and aesthetic connotation of
culture with Korean characteristics. From 1592 to 1598, traditional Chinese culture and take the road of ceramic
Japan started two invasion wars against Korea, taking away design development more in line with Chinese national
many Korean pottery artisans to make and manufacture characteristics.
ceramic crafts for Japan, so Japan ushered in the porcelain
era.

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V. CONCLUSION
Japanese ceramic art undergoes a relatively long
development course. From the early learning and drawing on,
to the later forming its unique style and characteristics, it has
undergone many stages of adjustment and change. But
anyhow, Japanese national culture and characteristics are
deeply rooted in such art and fused with ceramics. It can be
said that the characteristics of Japanese art presented in these

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