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Shokunin Zukushi-e, "Pictures of People of Various Occupations in Their Workshops"

in Early Modern Japan

Introduction

Shokunin zukushi-e , "Pictures of People of Various Occupations in Their Workshops." is a theme in painting that became popular in early modern Japan. These pictures were mounted in various formats, such as gajo— , "albums," handscrolls or printed books, and were often painted by the artists of the Tosa and Kano Schools. The activities of people inside each workshop are shown using a bird’s-eye perspective that is a conventional technique in classical narrative picture scrolls. Not only have Shokunin zukushi-e been highly esteemed for their artistic values, but these images also convey important records of the lives of early modern urban dwellers. This essay considers a set of twenty-four pictures (fig. 1 a, b) at Kaikodo painted in 1735 by an anonymous artist in ink and color on paper and then pasted on a pair of six-panel byo—bu, "folding screens." This set of pictures follows the media convention of oshi-e bari byo—bu , in which two pictures are vertically pasted on each of twelve panels.

The term shokunin means "craftsmen" in modern Japanese, but it implies virtually any member of the urban population as opposed to the aristocrats or peasants in medieval Japan. Although the term shokunin was invented around the sixteenth century, even earlier there had

Fig. 1a. Anonymous, Shokunin zukushi-e byo—bu, ink and color on paper, a pair of six-panel byo—bu, right screen, Kaikodo version.

Fig. 1b. Anonymous, Shokunin zukushi-e byo—bu, ink and color on paper, a pair of six-panel byo—bu, left screen, Kaikodo version.

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been strong interest and curiosity among aristocrats regarding the people who engaged in specific occupations using their extraordinary talents. Amino Yoshihiko has noted that these people, called shokuno— , "talented professionals," were perceived as mediators between the kami "spirits" and people because their extraordinary talents were held to have descended from the spiritual world.1 Since medieval times, such people were respected and sometimes even feared. Activities of shokunin have been depicted in other genres in the Japanese visual tradition, such as Senmen Hokkekyo— Sasshi , "Lotus Sutra Booklet on a Fan, and Rakuchu— rakugai-zu , "Scenes In and Around the Capital" (fig. 2).2 In contrast to paintings that included shokunin as a part of a larger scene, a shokunin zukushi-e focuses on shokunin as the main subject of the pictorial composition.

Prior to the development of shokunin zukushi-e in early modern times, shokunin uta-awase-e , " Pictures of a Poetry Contest among People of Various Occupations" constituted

an artistic tradition that placed the shokunin at the center of attention, and existed already during the Kamakura (1185-1333) and Muromachi (1336-1573) periods. "Uta-awase" "poetry contest," is a term that generally refers to imaginary poetry contests. In the case of shokunin uta-aware, the competing poets were depicted with costumes and tools of various occupations to suggest that they are shokunin. A series of paintings, usually in handscroll format, are arranged as if in a poetry contest, where poems composed on assigned topics by members of two opposing teams are judged. These poetry contests originated in the late ninth century at the imperial court and became very popular among aristocrats during the twelfth century.

The oldest extant example of this tradition is entitled To—boku-in shokunin uta-awase emaki "Illustrated Handscroll of the To—boku-in Poetry Contest among People

of Various Occupations," (fig. 3) produced in the fourteenth century and now housed in the Tokyo National Museum.3 It depicts a group of shokunin, who gathered for a prayer meeting in the fall of 1214 and conducted a poetry contest following the example of poetry contests held by aristocrats. With a sutra transcriber as judge, a total of ten shokunin were divided into two groups; i-shi "physician," kaji "blacksmith,"togi "swordsmith," miko "shaman priestess," and an amato "fisherman," in the group on the left, and onmyo—-ji

"diviner," banjo— "carpenter," imono-shi "metal caster," bakuchi-uchi "gambler," and kojin "merchant," in the group on the right. Each shokunin composed two poems on the given themes of "the moon" and "love" and the two groups competed in the quality of poetry inscribed on the handscroll.

Uta-awase-e, "pictures of poetry contests," are roughly divided into the three types; kasen-e

"pictures of immortal poets," meisho-e "pictures of famous places," and shiki-e "pictures of the four seasons." Fujikake

Shizuya pointed out that the triangular shape of the seated figures in Shokunin uta-awase was

Fig. 2. Anonymous, Rakuchu rakugai-zu, Funaki version, ink and color on paper, detail of Gojo Avenue, Tokyo National Museum. Ishida Hisatoyo, ed., Shokunin zukushi-e, Nihon no bijutsu Vol. 132, Shibundo—, 1977, 13.

Fig. 3. Anonymous, Toboku-in Shokunin uta-awase-emaki, ink and color on paper, detail of a shaman priestess and a gambler, Tokyo National Museum. Ishida Hisatoyo, ed., Shokunin zukushi-e, Nihon no bijutsu Vol. 132, Shibundo—, 1977, 2-3.

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inspired by that of the Sanju— rokkasen emaki "Thirty-six Immortal Poets." The number of competing poets increased when the production of shokunin uta-awase-e continued to evolve. Only ten poets are represented in the To—boku-in uta-awase but there are thirty-two poets in the Sanju—-ni ban shokunin uta-awase "Thirty-two Shokunin Poetry Contests," in 1494, and seventy-one poets in the Shichiju—-ichi ban shokunin uta-awase "Seventy-one Shokunin Poetry Contests" in 1500.

Formation of Early Modern Shokunin zukushi-e

In a strict sense, however, shokunin zukushi-e is applied only to paintings without literary content that began to be produced during the Momoyama (1568-1600) and early Edo (1615-1868) periods. In contrast to the people in shokunin uta-awase, which depicted only the costumes and tools to suggest his or her occupation, those in shokunin zukushi-e show people in their working environment with careful details. The early seventeenth century was a time when the long term Warring-States period had finally ended with the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate. While rebuilding the city of Kyoto, which was burned down due to the continuous civil wars, the skilled shokunin were highly appreciated and admired. Therefore, unlike the images of shokunin that were only imagined by aristocrats in the medieval shokunin uta-awase, they were now proudly observed in reality and thus are represented in a far more faithful fashion in the early modern shokunin zukushi-e. This corresponds with the time when the images of shokunin were frequently included in Rakuchu— rakugai-zu byo—bu, as mentioned earlier.

The most famous example of this category is arguably shokunin zukushi-e (fig. 4 a, b) painted by Kano Yoshinobu (1552-1640) in ink and color on twenty-four papers pasted on a pair of six-panel byo—bu. This painting is owned by the Kita-in a Tendai sect Buddhist Temple in Kawagoe present-day Saitama prefecture. According to the Koga biko— "Expanded research on ancient painting," Yoshinobu was a son of a younger brother of Kano Motonobu the second generation Kano leader.4 Born in Kyoto, he studied painting under Kano Mitsunobu and his son, Sadanobu . Yoshinobu was appointed to the rank of official painter to the imperial court in Kyoto and received the Buddhist-artist rank of Ho—gen, "Eye of the Law."

There are the twenty-five occupations represented on the twenty-four pictures of the Kita-in version. Similar to the Kaikodo version, two pictures are arranged vertically on each of the twelve panels. On the right side of this byo—bu, people engage in thirteen distinct occupations: busshi "Buddhist sculptor;" kasa-shi "umbrella maker;" yazaiku-shi "fletcher;" kacchu—-shi "armor maker;" fude-shi "brush maker;" kyo—ji "sutra transcriber;"

Fig. 4a. Kano Yoshinobu, Shokunin zukushi-e byo—bu, ink and color on paper, a pair of six-panel byo—bu, right screen, Kita-in, Kawagoe. KoEdo Kawagoe Edo kaiga—shokunin zukushi-e to sanju— roku kasen gaku, Kawagoe Municipal Museum, 2012.

Fig. 4b. Kano Yoshinobu, Shokunin zukushi-e byo—bu, ink and color on paper, a pair of six-panel byo—bu, left screen, Kita-in, Kawagoe. KoEdo Kawagoe Edo kaiga–shokunin zukushi-e to sanju— roku kasen gaku, Kawagoe Municipal Museum, 2012.

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ito-shi "yarn maker;" kawa-shi "leather maker;" o—gi-shi "fan maker;" himono-shi "cypress crafter;" togi-shi "polisher;" oke-shi "cooper;" and tatami-shi "tatami stretcher." Each picture represents a different occupation save for the last picture, which is shared by two occupations—the coopers and tatami stretchers.

On the left screen, the occupations represented are: yumi-shi "bow master"; katana-shi "sword craftsman;" juzu-shi "rosary maker"; banjo—

"carpenter;" mukabaki-shi "furred-leg-protector maker;" makie-shi "lacquerer;" nuitori-shi "seamstress;" ko—kechi-shi "tie-dyer;" kataoki-shi "stencil printer;" kaji-shi "blacksmith;" hataori-shi "weaver;" and raden-shi "mother-of-pearl artist." Some of the artisans are producing military implements, such as katana swords, armor, and bows and arrows—suggesting a military background for patron of this work.

There are several known examples closely related to the Kita-in version. In 1935, Fujikake Shizuya recorded three copies that derived from the same original work as had the Kita-in version. One is the Maekawa version which is probably the older production since its composition is more complicated than the Kita-in version.5 While the Kita-in version is known to have been painted by Kano Yoshinobu through his seals and other documentary evidence, the Maekawa version reflects the hand of a Tosa School painter.6 The Sumida variation is another variety that consists of twelve pictures, while the Matsuda version consists of only six surviving images. These examples suggest that the Kita-in version is not the earliest production, and there must have been an earlier matrix from which all the others originated.

The catalogue of a more recent exhibition includes the two sets of byo—bu that relate to the Kita-in version, both now housed in the Suntory Museum in Tokyo.7 One of them presents the twenty-four images (fig. 5) that correspond to all of the Kita-in pictures (fig. 6). Judging from its stylistic character, this set was copied slightly later than the Kita-in version. The other Suntory version (fig. 7), of which six pictures survive, is also copied from the same source as the

Fig. 6. Shokunin zukushi-e byo—bu, ink and color on paper, detail of armor shop, Kita-in version.

Fig. 5 Anonymous, Shokunin zukushi-e byo—bu, ink and color on paper, detail of armor shop, Suntory Museum, KoEdo Kawagoe Edo kaiga–shokunin zukushi-e to sanju— roku kasen gaku, Kawagoe Municipal Museum, 2012.

Fig. 7. Anonymous, Shokunin zukushi-e, ink and color on paper, detail of armor shop, Suntory Museum, KoEdo Kawagoe Edo kaiga–shokunin zukushi-e to sanju— roku kasen gaku, Kawagoe Municipal Museum, 2012.

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Kita-in version; however the Kano style is not found in this work. It was probably painted by an anonymous town painter trained in the Tosa or Sumiyoshi School during the late seventeenth century. These six pictures are framed today but were previously mounted in byo—bu form. Their long vertical form with blank space at the top indicates that the intention of the producer was to inscribe a poem at the top of the compositions. There has been a debate as to whether the shokunin zukushi-e byo—bu might have been originally formatted as album leaves. Nevertheless, the existence of this vertical image supports the idea that they were mounted as oshie-bari byo—bu from the beginning of their formulation.8

Specialization of Various Occupations

The Kaikodo version is similar to the Kita-in version in its content and format—it is focused on depictions of people engaged in various occupations without any poetry contest, so this is certainly to be categorized as a shokunin zukushi-e. However, its motifs and compositions are completely unrelated to the Kita-in version. This means that the Kaikodo version was based on a different model that was unrelated to the Kita-in version, indicating that that there must have been several different matrixes for this subject. The various occupations depicted in the Kaikodo version are highly specialized and were selected to manifest the development of the social structure and market economy during the mid-Edo period.

Over thirty distinct occupations are depicted on the twenty-four pictures in the Kaikodo screens. The right side of this pair of six-panel screens includes: togi-shi "polisher" and O—hara-me "O

—hara peddler;" banjo— "carpenter;" hyogu-shi "mounter;" kawa-

shi "leather maker;" o—gi-shi "fan maker and musicians;" benizome-shi "crimson dyer," sekizoro "seasonal mendicant" and sirakawa-me "Shirakawa peddler;" himono-shi "cypress crafter", kasa-shi "umbrella maker" and biwa-ho—shi "lute player-blind monk;" makie-shi "lacquer artist;" kyo—ji "book binders" and gyo—sho— "peddler;" nuitori-shi "seamstress;" kyo—-ji "sutra transcriber;" nu-shi "lacquerer" and kanjin-so— "mendicant".

The left screen represents: yumi-shi "bow-master" and yazaiku-shi "fletcher;" ko—kechi-shi "tie-dyer," kataoki-shi "stencil dyer" and warazaiku-shi "straw crafter;" sakan "plasterer;" oke-shi "cooper" and juzu-shi "rosary maker;" kacchu—-shi "armor maker" and komu-so— "mendicant Zen monk;" watashi-mori "ferryman;" shishu—-shi "embroider;" hakari-shi "scale maker" and kanjin-so— "mendicant;" busshi "Buddhist sculptor;" kaji-shi "blacksmith" and katsura-me "Katsura peddler;" himon-shi "roofer;" and ito-shi "yarn maker."

Some selections of the occupations overlap with the Kita-in version but other occupations, such as the ferryman (fig. 8) and a plasterer, are added while others, such as the furred-leg-protector maker (fig. 9) are eliminated. Although often depicting the same occupations, these

Fig. 8. Shokunin zukushi-e byo—bu, detail of ferryman, Kaikodo version.

Fig. 9. Shokunin zukushi-e byo—bu, detail of furred-leg-protector maker, Kita-in version.

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represent more distinct motifs in greater detai l than in the Kita-in version. Unlike the one .occupation presented within each picture format (except the coopers and tatami stretcher sharing a scene in the Kita-in version) (fig. 10), more than one occupation is not always but often presented within a picture in the Kaikodo version. In front of the rosary shop (fig. 11), there is a cooper producing his buckets while being watched by a beggar on the left in the Kaikodo version, while the rosary shop stands by itself in the Kita-in version (fig. 12). As another example, an umbrella shop (fig. 13) is combined with a hinoki wood crafter, visited by two lute playing-blind monks in the Kaikodo version, while the umbrella shop stands alone in the Kita-in version (fig. 14).

There is an obvious effort to create interesting and humorous visual narration in the Kaikodo version. In many pictures, the peddlers, monks or entertainers are passing by and

Fig. 11. Shokunin zukushi-e byo—bu, detail of rosary makers, a cooper, and a beggar, Kaikodo version.

Fig. 10. Shokunin zukushi-e byo—bu, detail of coopers and a tatami stretcher, Kita-in version.

Fig. 12. Shokunin zukushi-e byo—bu, detail of rosary makers, Kita-in version.

Fig. 13. Shokunin zukushi-e byo—bu, detail of an umbrella maker, a hinoki crafter, and lute player-blind monk, Kaikodo version

Fig. 14. Shokunin zukushi-e byo—bu, detail of umbrella makers, Kita-in version.

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communicating with the workers in their workshops. The armor shop (fig. 15) is visited by a komu-so—, a travelling mendicant priest with a shakuhachi f lute. Komu-so— belonged to Fuke sect of Zen Buddhism. There was no strict religious obligation in this sect, so there were samurai who committed crimes while disguised as komu-so— as they walked from region to region. In 1614, the Tokugawa Shogun Ieyasu bestowed the Keicho— Regulation on the Fuke sect practitioners in order to restrict their privilege of travelling. In this picture, a komu-so— is accompanied by a boy who is holding a large chicken.

There are depictions of three different types of Kyoto female peddlers included in the Kaikodo version. Two O— hara-me (fig.16), who tie their hair in Shimada topknot covered by white towels and dressed in indigo cylinder-shaped sleeve kimonos, carrying firewood on their head for sale, pass by a polisher. Crimson dyers are visited by two sirakawa-me (fig. 17), who cover their faces with white towels and carry flowers or green sakaki branches for sale. They lived in the Kita Shirakawa district of Kyoto and brought their merchandise to the inner city. Two katsura-me (fig. 18) encounter blacksmiths in their workshop. Katsura-me also covered their hair with white towels and carried ayu "sweet fish" in bamboo buckets to sell. Besides being peddlers, they were perceived as shaman diviners during the Heian period, and were introduced in the Thirty-two Shokunin Poetry Contests in the Muromachi period. During the Edo period, katsura-me commercialized their ritual services and sold their prayers for easy labor at birth-giving and visited houses in Kyoto.

The Kaikodo paintings are closely related to the twelve surviving pictures showing a fan shop, rosary makers, yarn shop, sutra inscribers, blacksmith, stencil printers, umbrella

Fig. 15. Shokunin zukushi-e byo—bu, detail of armor shop and a mendicant Zen monk, Kaikodo version.

Fig. 16. Shokunin zukushi-e byo—bu, detail of polishers and O—hara-me, Kaikodo

version.

Fig. 17. Shokunin zukushi-e byo—bu, detail of crimson dyers and shirakawa-me, Kaikodo version.

Fig. 18. Shokunin zukushi-e byo—bu, detail of blacksmiths and katsura-me, Kaikodo version.

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makers, brush shop, carpenters, plasterers, polishers, and armor makers in the Matsuki version introduced by Fujikake Shizuya in 1935.9 Since the Matsuki version shows more details than the Kaikodo version, that version may have been painted earlier. For instance, a singer with bow-shaped drum and a shamisen stringed instrument player are performing in front of the fan shop (fig. 19). In the Kaikodo painting this composition is almost identical to the Matsuki version (fig. 20). In the scene of the book binder’s workshop, there is a saru-mawashi "man with a circus monkey" and a peddler included in the Matsuki version (fig. 21) but the monkey disappears and only a peddler remains in the Kaikodo version (fig. 22).

The Kaikodo version also represents a clearly different stylistic expression—geometrically oriented compositions, spatial concerns, and systematic application of gold cloud patterns to decorate the top of each picture—these are characteristics different from the Kita-in version painted in Kano style. This stylistic preference indicates that this painting was produced probably by machi-eshi "town painter" trained in either the Tosa or Sumiyoshi School in 1735, about a century after production of the Kita-in version.

Kazuko Kameda-Madar, HonoluluJanuary, 2015

1. Amino Yoshihiko, Shokunin Uta’awase, Heibonsha Library 763, 2012.2. Images of people engaged in labor are especially noteworthy in the Funaki version of Rakuchu— rakugai-zu byo—bu housed

in the Tokyo National Museum. 3. http://www.emuseum.jp/detail/100272/000/000?mode=detail&d_lang=ja&s_lang=ja&class=1&title=&c_e=&region=

&era=&century=&cptype=&owner=&pos=97&num=5Tokyo National Museum, e-kokuho. Retrieved on Dec. 20, 2014.

Fig. 19. Shokunin zukushi-e byo—bu, detail of a fan shop and musicians, Kaikodo version.

Fig. 20. Shokunin zukushi-e byo—bu, detail of a fan shop and musicians, Matsuki version.

Fig. 22. Shokunin zukushi-e byo—bu, detail of book binders, Kaikodo version.

Fig. 21. Shokunin zukushi-e byo—bu, detail of book binders and circus monkey, Matsuki version.

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4. Asaoka Okisada, Koga biko–, first published in 1904, revised and expanded by O—

ta Kin in 1912. Reprinted in Kyoto: Shibunkaku, 1970.

5. Fujikake Shizuya, "Shokunin-e ni tsuite" Kokka Vols. 533 and 534, 1935.6. Ibid.7. KoEdo Kawagoe Edo kaiga—shokunin zukushi-e to sanju roku Kasen gaku, (exhibition catalogue) Kawagoe Municipal

Museum, 2012.8. Ibid. 115.9. Fujikake, "Shokunin-e ni tsuite" Kokka Vols. 533 and 534, 1935. The location of this work is unknown today.

References:Amino Yoshihiko, Shokunin Uta’awase, Heibonsha Library 763, 2012. Asaoka Okisada, Koga biko—, first published in 1904, revised and expanded by O— ta Kin in 1912. Reprinted in Kyoto:

Shibunkaku, 1970.Fjikake Shizuya, "Shokunin-e ni tsuite," Kokka Vols. 533 and 534, 1935. Fjikake Shizuya, "Shokunin zukushi-e ni tsuite," Kokka Vols. 291 and 295, 1914.Ishida Hisatoyo, ed., Shokunin zukushi-e, Nihon no bijutsu Vol. 132, Shibundo—, 1977.Ishiyama Hiroshi, Shichiju—-ichi ban shokunin uta-awase/Shokunin zukushi-e/ Saiga shokunin burui, Edo kagaku koten so—sho Vol. 6.

Tokyo: Ko—wa Press, 1977. KoEdo Kawagoe Edo kaiga—shokunin zukushi-e to sanju— roku kasen gaku, Kawagoe Municipal Museum, 2012.Kuroda Taizo—, "Shokunin zukushi-e byo—bu ni tsuite" Kokka, Vol1256, 2000.