Explanation of the Aesthetic Components of Japanese Painting in Kamakura Period based on Zen Buddhism

Painting is one of the oldest forms of Japanese art and includes a wide variety of genres. The Kamakura period (1333-1192 AD) is very important due to the influence of Buddhism and Zen Buddhism in art. In this research, with the aim of explaining the aesthetic components of the form and content of the Japanese paintings of the Kamakura period in relation to Zen Buddhism, after stating the theoretical framework, 15 examples of paintings from this period are analyzed. In this research, data collection was done through library method along with observing the images and analysis is done by qualitative method.
The art of painting became popular in Japan when Buddhist monks and Korean and Chinese artists settled there. The supremacy of Zen religion over Shinto and Buddhism in the 14th century had an effect on Japanese painting. Zen monks brought examples of watercolor landscape paintings from the Song period of China to Japan and Chinese landscape painting gained lots of attentions. In general, the characteristics of Japanese painting can be summarized as follows:

Virginity and being under the least influence of other arts (except Chinese art)
The direct effect of mountains and sea on the art works
Lack of distinction between the real and the ideal
The dual atmosphere of peace and chaos

Japanese aesthetics were first noticed and introduced to non-Japanese audiences almost at the beginning of the 20th century. The most important principles of Japanese art include the five concepts of mono no aware, wabi, sabi, yugen and kirei, which are also used in Kamakura painting in connection with Zen Buddhism. In Zen thinking, the creation of a work of art is the result of the artist's inner connection with nature. The artist must have the ability to become unique and harmonize with nature. Nature is always an important source for inspiration and original creation, and everything in nature has beauty and noble spirit and deserves admiration and respect. In the Zen aesthetic tradition, art in its highest form is the expression of nature. Zen artists are trying to show the impermanence and constant change of nature and its constant movement. Buddhism, and especially Zen Buddhism, significantly influenced Japanese aesthetics; as far as we can say, the concepts whose primary expression was Shinto metaphysics were placed in their right place by the ideals and principles of Buddhism. The perception of Japanese art by people outside of Japan, as embodied and known by themes especially Buddhism, is a distinct understanding of its influences on the country's artistic tradition. Zen path and Zen art pursue a common goal, which is to find a way to escape from limitations, freedom and salvation. A path to mindlessness, which is possible through seeing one's own existential nature. The Zen artist is trying to show us the inner beauty and truth. The general characteristics of Zen art and Zen Buddhism in Japanese art can be summarized as follows:
Zen Buddhism: abundance of themes and narratives related to Buddha; the expression of religious ideas by the city; emphasis on narration; long and detailed folding scrolls to facilitate narration.
Zen: love of nature, appreciation of beauty and emotions; great emphasis on direct experience of the nature of things; the work of art is a diagram of the unity of soul and body, inside and outside of the artist; Zen art is the result of unity between spiritual energies and human practical experience; showing empty spaces, stillness and silence; abstract and unreal subjects while natural and normal at the same time.
The Kamakura period lasted from 1185 to 1332 AD. During this period, there were increasing and constructive contacts with China and brought emerging cultural developments. During this period of Japanese history, the official position of Shogun was granted by the emperor to the Yoritomo family. This caused the military to gain power. They obtained the power with the support of samurai warriors. The reflection of this social and political evolution appeared in the field of painting and sculpture in the form of patriarchal realism, and at the same time, Zen thought entered Japan and had a strong impact on Japanese culture and art. In terms of the art of painting, this period can be considered the middle age of Japanese art, which caused the art of painting to leave its previous artificial and elaborate state. Simplicity and realism, which were in balance with the spiritual aspect, are the characteristics of the works of this era. In this period, thin and fast pencraft, flat and bright colors, visualization of space from a high angle, naturalism and skillful decorations can be seen in the paintings. Passionate narration is one of the other characteristics of the painting of this era. These characteristics can be considered close to the artistic characteristics of Buddhism in Japanese culture. Combining warrior and samurai concepts with religious and philosophical foundations and components of Buddhism and Zen Buddhism is the basis for the formation of Japanese art in the artistic periods corresponding to these developments. Buddhism and Shinto have a strange relationship in Japanese culture. Kami, as a representation of the Buddha, was embodied and displayed in Buddhist art. In the field of art, the artist had the freedom to present a new interpretation of Japanese aesthetics as a way of meditating on Buddha nature and Dharma.
This research reveals that the most important features of Kamakura period painting include simplicity and realism in balance with the spiritual side, thin and fast pencraft, flat and bright colors, naturalism and skillful decorations, visualization of space from a high perspective, passionate narration and patriarchal realism. Based on the cases studied from the Kamakura period, it can be said that in this period, most subjects (80%) are religious. This shows the deep influence of religion on cultural and social approaches, including the art of painting in the Kamakura period. This aspect of the works has a direct connection with Zen Buddhism in representing its teachings directly or symbolically. After religious topics, fictional topics (60 percent) have the most used topics in the sample of works. This brings the tendency to narrative in the paintings of this period, which is somehow related to Zen Buddhism, because Zen art is the result of the unity between spiritual energies and the practical experience of man, and the representation of life and man in the form of Zen symbols can display this unity. Another characteristic of the painting of this era is the use of religious characters (66%) and ordinary characters (73%). This topic can be related to the abundance of religious topics and the tendency to narrate in the paintings of this period. The large number of characters in the paintings also shows the tendency to narrative in these works; in such a way that only 13% of the studied works are single characters. Examining the shape characteristics of these works, in terms of composition and color, does not establish a meaningful relationship with the religious approach. The high angle of view, which is observed in most of these works (80%), is due to the desire for narration. The importance of religious and fictional narratives in this period can be related to the formal features of these works in the choice of the top view angle. These works of art are very similar to the art of Zen Buddhism. As a future research, it is suggested to conduct research on the differences between art influenced by Shinto compared to art influenced by Buddhism and Zen Buddhism. Also, this requires an investigation of the relationship between the artistic developments of Japan in the new era and the emergence of Japanese prints, which later influenced the modern art of the West, with religious and worldview developments at the level of the aristocracy or common people.