Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 7.djvu/52

RV 32 existence of a native school, and called it Yamato-riu, or Waga-riu, synonyms for "Japanese style." The reported founder of the school was Kasuga Motomitsu, but from what has been related here it will be seen that his genius represented the outcome of a tendency rather than its origin. He did not suggest the new route, but showed rather what could be achieved by following the route that Kawanari and Kanaoka had already indicated. Artists are necessarily swayed in their choice of motives by the circumstances of their era. As the city of Kyōtō grew in wealth and luxury, its social life gradually ceased to be overshadowed by religious influences, and for the decoration of screens and sliding doors in palaces and mansions people began to desire representations of natural scenery, of festivals, of flowery landscapes, and of such other subjects as might reflect and harmonise with the refined and voluptuous habits of their existence. It is thus in the direction of motives, not of technique, that the new departure can be traced most clearly, the artist no longer seeking inspiration in the field of sacred mythology, but turning rather to the realm of every-day life,—court ceremonials, legendary lore, incidents in the biographies of celebrated men, episodes suggested by poetry or history, and scenic gems. In short, decorative beauty had to be considered by the Yamato artists at least as much as pictorial excellence, one consequence of which necessity was that they gradually began to use fuller-bodied tints, and to contrive that a picture should produce a general effect as well as a special; in other words, that when seen from a distance too great to distinguish details, it should still be delightful as a scheme of harmonised colours. In the hands of great masters