Higashiyama Culture and Quintessential Japanese Aesthetics
By: Kevin Shau
Tags: Wabi Sabi, Aesthetics, Japan, Japanese Culture, Art

Ink and Wash Painting

Splashed-ink Landscape by Sesshū Tōyō (1495)

Sesshū Tōyō (1420–1506) was a Japanese Old Master of the highest quality. His often minimalist paintings display a master of technique and suggestion, enough to render additional lines unnecessary. Born to a samurai family, Sesshū was brought up to become a Rinzai Zen priest. He studied painting techniques and even traveled to Ming China. Five centuries later, his masterpieces are listed as Japanese National Treasures, such as the one below.

Landscapes of autumn and winter by Sesshū Tōyō (c.1500) — currently in Tokyo National Museum

Ashikaga Yoshimasa

Ashikaga Yoshimasa had little interest in political and military affairs. He abdicated as shogun and decided to focus full time on his aesthetic pursuits. In the 1480s, he oversaw the construction of a pavilion he had been planning since the 1460s — the Silver Pavilion (Ginkakuji).

Historian Donald Keene provided a fair account of the man Ashikaga Yoshimasa, not marginalizing his role in the outbreak of the Onin War, nor his incompetence in political and military affairs. He did focus, though, on Yoshimasa’s contributions to Japanese culture. Among the most important for posterity was his ability to recognize other people’s talents. “He is not known today as a master of painting, calligraphy, and poetry, though he was highly competent in the latter two arts. Rather, Yoshimasa’s greatest gift was his exceptional ability to detect talent in other people and his readiness to employ them, regardless of their social station” (Yoshimasa and the Silver Pavilion, p.72). Something similar could be said for the many of the greatest entrepreneurs of recent years. Apple’s early success depended, in large part, to Steve Jobs’ ability to recognize talented individuals and bring them together.

“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things.” -Steve Jobs

While Steve Jobs may not have known the specifics of Higashiyama Culture, he certainly knew many elements. His love of Kyoto is mentioned in Walter Isaacson’s biography.

The Higashiyama period was a cultural apex, one which emerged in the midst of political turmoil. Yoshimasa was a key patron. Despite his many personal failings, his patronage kept the arts and art appreciation alive at a time when the political order was crumbling. The Ashikaga Shogunate would continue on as a weak shadow of a government until the 1570s (overthrown by Oda Nobunaga). “The Highashiyama era was one of the most brilliant periods of Japanese cultural history, and the guiding spirit of was the same Yoshimasa who had been a failure in everything else he did. Of course, not every cultural development of the Higashiyama era can be credited to this one man, but Yoshimasa’s taste was reflected in many of the distinctive artistic developments of the time. His cultural legacy to the Japanese people has been immense” (Yoshimasa and the Silver Pavilion, p.98). When you think of traditional Japanese culture, see ink paintings or a sparsely decorated room of tatami mats, or perhaps a Zen rock garden — think of the Higashiyama period.