ENVISIONING ASIA THE SHOGUN'S PAINTED CULTURE Fear and Creativity in the Japanese States n6o--r8 9 2 TIMON SC REECH The Shogun’s Painted Culture ENVISIONING ASIA Series Editors:Homi Bhabha, Norman Bryson, Wu Hung In the same series Fruitful Sites Garden Culture in Ming Dynasty China Craig Clunas Camera Indica The Social Life of Indian Photographs Christopher Pinney In the Image of Tibet Tibetan Painting after 1959 Clare Harris China into Film Frames of Reference in Contemporary Chinese Cinema Jerome Silbergeld THE SHOGUN’S PAINTED CULTURE Fear and Creativity in the Japanese States, 1760–1829 TIMON SCREECH REAKTION BOOKS This book is dedicated to Zoo: . . . iro o mo ka o mo shiru hito zo shiru Published by Reaktion Books Ltd 79Farringdon Road London EC1M3JU, UK www.reaktionbooks.co.uk First published 2000 Copyright © Timon Screech 2000 The Shogun’s Painted Culturewas published with the assistance of The Japan Foundation. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers. Colour printed by BAS printers Ltd, Over Wallop, Hampshire Printed and bound in Great Britain by Biddles Ltd, Guildford and King’s Lynn British Library Cataloguing in Publishing Data Screech, Timon The Shogun’s painted culture: fear and creativity in the Japanese states, 1760–1829 1.Sadanobu, Matsudaira – Influence 2.Art, Japanese – Edo period, 1600–1868 3.Art, Political aspects – Japan – History – 18th century 4.Art and state – Japan – History – 18th century 5.Japan – Civilisation – 18th century – 1600–1868 I. Title 709.5'2'09033 isbn 1 86189 064 8 Contents Acknowledgements, 6 Chronology, 7 Introduction, 9 1Matsudaira Sadanobu and the Domestic Dilemma, 17 2Sugita Genpaku and the Dismemberment of the Present, 56 3Image Management for Royal Power, 111 4O¯kyo’s ‘New Concept’, 167 5Boundaries for a Centre, 208 References, 267 Select Bibliography, 296 Photographic Acknowledgements, 306 Index, 307 Acknowledgements My first debt is one of thanks. The research necessary for writing this book was undertaken during the academic year 1994–5 at Keio University, where I was a guest of the Department of Art History. Kawai Masatomo ensured that I had every facility there and I am profoundly grateful to him. I was financially supported during that period by an Asahi Fellowship. Development of the ideas presented here and completion of the manuscript that became this book were immensely aided by discus- sions with Chino Kaori, Timothy Clark, Stephen Dodd, Kasuya Hiroki, Kobayashi Tadashi, John Rosenfield, Henry Smith, Takayama Hiroshi, Tanaka Yu¯ko and others too numerous to mention. Inception, gesta- tion and fruition were assured by Kazuhiro Murayama and Nicole Rousmaniere, and the small measure of success here attained is due to them. I would also like to thank Andrea Belloli and all at Reaktion Books. All errors remain my own. 6 Chronology 1603 Investiture of Tokugawa Ieyasu as first shogun 1616 Death and deification of Ieyasu 1617 Kano Tan’yu¯ nominated first shogunal artist-in-waiting 1629 Shujo Kotohito (posthum. Go-Mizunoo) resigns in favour of daugh- ter Okiko (posthum. Meisho¯) 1657 Great Fire of Edo 1689 Matsuo Basho¯ embarks on ‘narrow road to deep north’ 1704 Invention of ‘Prussian Blue’ pigment 1716 Birth of boy later known as Ito¯ Jakuchu¯ 1727 Engelbert Kaempfer’s History of Japanpublished (London) 1730 Birth of boy later known as Kano Eisen-in 1731 Qing-period painter Shen Nanpin arrives in Japan 1733 Birth of boy later known as Maruyama O¯kyo 1743 Closing of Dutch station in Siam 1745 Birth of boy later known as Shimazu Shigehide, daimyo of Satsuma 1748 Choso˘n embassy arrives 1753 Birth of boy later known as Kano Korenobu 1754 Birth of boy later known as Sumiyoshi Hiroyuki 1758 Birth of boy later known as Matsudaira Sadanobu 1760 Investiture of Tokugawa Ieharu as tenth shogun; George III crowned King of England; second Great Fire of Edo 1763 Kano Eisen-in made ‘inner painter’; birth of boy later known as Tani Buncho¯ 1764 Choso˘n embassy arrives; Dutch threaten cancellation of embassy 1765 Maruyama O¯kyo meets the prince–abbot Yu¯jo¯ 1774 Matsudaira Sadanobu adopted by daimyo of Shirakawa; publication ofKaitai shinsho (New Anatomical Atlas) 1775 Carl Peter Thunberg arrives 1778 Appearance of malevolent star; Kubota Castle burns; Hendrik Duurkoop dies en route to Japan 1779 Investiture of Tomohito as shujo (posthum. Ko¯kaku); Tokugawa Iemoto dies falling from horse 1780 Fourth Anglo-Dutch War (to 1784); Akizato Rito¯ publishes Miyako meisho zue (Complete Illustrated Places of the Capital); Isaac Titsingh gives Tokugawa Ienari a mouth-organ 1781 Promulgation of the Tenmei (‘heavenly brilliance’) era 1782 Both Dutch ships fail to arrive 7 1783 Matsudaira Sadanobu becomes daimyo of Shirakawa; Shiba Ko¯kan produces first copperplate print; eruption of Mt Asama; Daikoku- ya Ko¯dayu¯ shipwrecked; death of Yosa Buson 1786 Assassination of Tanuma Okitomo; death of Tokugawa Ieharu 1787 Investiture of Tokugawa Ienari as eleventh shogun; Matsudaira Sadanobu becomes chief councillor 1788 Matsudaira Sadanobu becomes regent; Shibano Ritsuzan nomi- nated shogunal Confucian expert; Great Fire of Keishi (Kyoto) 1789 Promulgation of the Kansei (‘lenient government’) era 1790 Death of Kano Eisen-in; Tomohito returns to the new Dairi 1791 Matsudaira Sadanobu holds poetry test; English word ‘panorama’ neologized 1793 Matsudaira Sadanobu resigns principal posts; Daikoku-ya Ko¯dayu¯ repatriated; Tani Buncho¯ produces ‘realistic’ coastal views 1794 Tani Buncho¯ made attendant to Matsudaira Sadanobu; Cho¯busai Eishi begins study with Kano Korenobu 1795 Death of Maruyama O¯kyo; French invasion of Netherlands; Carl Peter Thunberg’s Travelspublished (London) 1796 Choso˘n embassy mooted 1797 Air pump manufactured in Japan; Matsudaira Sadanobu commands survey of Mt Fuji 1798 Burning of Great Buddha; death of Gijsbert Hemmij; promulgation of Kansei Calendar 1799 Motoori Norinaga writes E no koto (On Pictures); Shu¯ko jusshu¯ (Collected Antiquities in Ten Categories)completed 1800 Females allowed on to Mt Fuji; death of Ito¯ Jakuchu¯ 1802 Jippensha Ikku publishes first instalment of To¯kaido¯chü hiza- kurige (Down the To¯kaido¯ on Shank’s Pony) 1805 Doi Tsudayu¯ repatriated by Nicolai Rezanov 1807 Eitai Bridge disaster 1808 Death of Kano Korenobu; arrival of HMS Phaeton 1810 Death of Sumiyoshi Hiroyuki 1811 Choso˘n embassy arrives 1812 Matsudaira Sadanobu retires from daimiate of Shirakawa 1822 Isaac Titsingh’s Illustrations of Japanpublished (London) 1823 Death of O¯ta Nanpo 1829 Death of Matsudaira Sadanobu 1833 Death of Shimazu Shigehide 1837 Death of Tokugawa Ienari 1840 Death of Tani Buncho¯ 1845 Death of Tomohito (posthum. Ko¯kaku) 1854 Burning of Dairi 8