Edo period art

Japanese: 江戸時代美術 - えどじだいびじゅつ

In art history, the Edo period generally refers to the period from 1615, when the Toyotomi clan was destroyed, to 1867, when the government was restored to the Emperor. The Tokugawa Shogunate's civil government policy, which lasted for two and a half centuries, brought about a variety of developments and prosperity in various fields of art. The development of Edo period art was clearly oriented in the Momoyama period, and can be seen as a process in which the realistic, secular character of Momoyama art was strengthened on a more popular level. The greatest characteristic of Edo period art is that, instead of the ruling class of nobles and samurai who had played the main role of art production until then, the ruled class, the townspeople of the cities, displayed their creativity in their daily lives and achieved the democratization of art.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

美術史における江戸時代は，ふつう豊臣氏滅亡の1615年から1867年の大政奉還までの間を扱う。2世紀半にわたる徳川幕府の文治政策は，美術の各分野に多彩な展開と繁栄をもたらした。江戸時代美術の展開は，桃山時代においてはっきりと方向づけられており，桃山美術の現実的，世俗的性格が，より民衆的な次元で強められてゆく過程としてとらえることができる。これまで，美術生産の主体としての役割を果たしてきた公家や武家ら支配階層に代わって，被支配階層である都市の町人が，彼らの日常生活の場で創造性を発揮し，美術の民衆化をなしとげた点に，江戸時代美術の最大の特色があろう。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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