Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 13.djvu/620

 592 J A P J A P liad from the imperial looms ; some of these, a gift from the shogun on a minister taking leave of his court, were to be seen in the London exhibition of 1862. But in many of the more common textile fabrics the best evi dence perhaps may be found of the artistic feeling of the nation, and the universality of art work. Towels and dusters of the least expensive material often display very choice designs as do also the Turkish and Syrian fabrics of the same quality. A piece of bamboo, a broken branch of blossoms, or a flight of birds in counter-changed colours, suffices in their hands to produce the most charming effect, in the most perfect taste. Their embroidery has never been excelled in beauty of design, assortment of colours, and perfection of needlework. This summary of the leading characteristics of Japanese art, and the industries to which it has been applied with such unequalled success, is much too brief to be otherwise than imperfect. The art works and the art thought of a people so truly artistic as the Japanese have proved themselves to be form a subject of wide scope and great complexity. The reports issued by the Japanese commissioners at the great exhibitions held successively in Paris in 1867 and 1878, in Vienna in 1875, and in Philadelphia in 1876; and the report written by direction of the Japanese Government for the South Kensington Museum, and now embodied in the valuable Art Handbook on Japanese Pottery, by Mr A. &quot;W. Franks, its editor, afford the best evidence of the extent and variety of art work for which as a nation they have now a world-wide reputation. It is true, and strange as true, that the Japanese have apparently never sought to overstep the limits of a purely decorative art, and have thus stopped short of the art development of other nations. Whether this limitation may be from some organic defect,or is merely a result of their neglect to study the human figure and master the difficulties of rendering the fine harmony of line and proportion seen in greatest perfection there, it is difficult to determine. Certain it is, they have never advanced so far. They have always been content to treat the human figure in a conventional style, not much in advance of the Egyptian rendering, and quite incompat ible with good drawing. (R. AL. ) bibliography. For its knowledge of Japan Europe was for a long time in debted mainly to the members of the Dutch colony ; but since the restoration of intercourse between Japan and the Western nations a very extensive literature de rebut japonicis has grown up in-the chief European languages. The following works are among the more important : F. Caron, Beschrijvinge van het macht- igh Koninckrijke Japan, Amst., 1049 ; R. Mauley s English version of Caron, London, 1063; A. Montanus, Qeiantschappen. . . aan de Kaisaren ran Japan, Amst., 1G(!9; Kaempfer, History of Japan, Loud., 1728, a translation by J. G. Schcuchzer; Titsingh, Me moires, &amp;lt;&amp;lt;., Paris, 1820; Thunberg, Voy.au Ja pon, Paris, 1795; G. F. Meylan, Japan vooryesteld in Schetsen, Amst., 1830; Fischer, Bijdraye tot de tennis van hct Japansc/ieJtijk, Amst, 1833 ; Pistol ius, Bijdruge tot de geschiedenis van Japan, Amst., 1849; Francis L. Hawks, Narrative, of the American Expedition by Commodore I erry, New York, 1850; Fraissinet, Lc Japan Contemporain, Paris, 1857 ; Luhdorf, AM Monate in Japan nach dem Absch/uss des Vertrages von Kanagawa, Bremen, 1857 ; Cornwallis, Tico Journeys to Japan, Lond., 1859 ; Furet. Lettres a if. Leon de Rosny sur I arc/iipel juponait tt la Tartarie orientate, Paris, 1800 ; Vankattendljke, Uittreksel nit liet daybock van . . . gedurende zijn verb/ijf in Japan 1857-1859. Hague, 1800; Heine, Japan und seine Bewohner, Leipsic, 1800 (new edition, 1880) ; De Lynden, Souvenir da Japan, vues d apres nature. The Hague, 1800 ; Ldon de Rosny, La civilisation japonaise, Paris, 1800 ; Rob. Fortune. Yi do and Peking, Lond., 1863 ; Alcock, The Capital of the Tycoon, Lond., 1803; Lindau, Un Voy. autoiirdu Japan, Paris, 1804 ; Paupe van Meerdewoort, Vijfjaren in Japan 1857-63, Leyden, 1807 ; Leon Pages, Ifistoire de la religion Chretienm ait Japan 1598-1051, Paris, 1807 ; The Official Report of the Prussian Novara E.rped. in East Asia, Berlin, 1804, Ate. ; Henry Sehliemann, La Chine et Le Japan, Paris, 18C7 ; Aimd Humbert, Le Japon illustr^, Paris, 1870 (English transl., Lond., 1873); Griffis, The Mikado s Empire, New York, 1870-1874; Mitford, Tales of Old Japan, Lond., 1871; Bayard Taylor, Japan in Our Day, New York, 1872 ; Adams, History of Japan from the Earliest Times to the Present Day, Lond., 1874-75; Savio, II Giapponeal giorno d oggi, Milan, 1875; Metchnikoff, L Empire japonais, Geneva, 1878; LeGendrc, Progressive Japan, a Study of the Political and Social Needs of the Empire, New York, 1879; I. L. Bird, Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, Lond., 18SO; Sir Edward J. Reed, Japan, its History, Traditions, and Religion, Lond., 1880; J. J. Rein, Japan nach lieisen und Studien in Auftrage der K. Preuss. Regierung dargeslellt, vol. i., &quot; Natur und Volk des Mikadoreiches,&quot; Leipsic, 1881. In Feb. 1881 ap peared vol. i. of an elaborate and valuable Handbook for Travellers in Japan, by E. Satow and A. G. S. Hawes, arranged on the model of Murray s Hand books. See further L. Page s Bibliographie japonaise ou catalogue des ourrayes relatifs au Japon qui out ete public s depuis le XV. siecle jusqu&quot; a nos jours, Paris, 1859; R. Gosche s Japanese bibliography up to 1862 in Zeitschrift der Deiitschen Aforgenl. Gesellsch. vol. xx., Supplement; and Bibliotheca japonica, Verzeichniss einer Sammlung japanischer ISucher in 1408 Btinden, Vienna, 1875. Much in teresting information on Japanese matters will be found in Annates de I extreme Orient ; Mittheil. der Deutschen Ges. fur Natur- u. Volkerkunde Ostasiens (Yoko hama and Berlin), as well as in the Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan and the Annuaire de la Sac. des Etudes japonaises, chinoises, &,c., for 1873, &c., published with assistance of Em. Burnouf and other Orientalists of note. JAPANNING ia the art of coating surfaces of metal, wood, &c., with a variety of varnishes, which are dried and hardened on, by means of a high temperature, in stoves or hot chambers, which drying processes constitute the main distinguishing features of the art. The trade owes its name to the fact that it is an imitation of the famous lacquering of Japan, although the latter is prepared with entirely different materials and processes, and is in all respects much more brilliant, durable, and beautiful than any ordinary japan work. Japanning is done in clear transparent varnishes, in black, and in body colours ; but black japan is the most characteristic and common style of work. The varnish for black japan consists essentially of pure natural asphaltum with a proportion of gum animd dissolved in linseed oil and thinned with turpentine ;. but there are numerous receipts given for the varnish, and manufacturers generally conceal the composition of their own ] reparations. In thin layers such a japan has a rich dark brown colour, and only shows a brilliant black in thicker coatings. For fine work, which has to be smoothed and polished, several coats of black are applied in succession, each being separately dried in the stove at a heat which may rise to near 300 Fahr. Body colours consist of a basis of transparent varnish mixed with the special mineral paints of the desired colours or with bronze powders. The transparent varnish used by japanners is a copal varnish which contains less drying oil and more turpentine than is contained in ordinary painter s oil varnish. By japan ning a very brilliant polished surface may be secured which is much more durable and less easily affected by heat, moisture, or other influences than any ordinary painted and varnished work. Japanning may be regarded as a process intermediate between ordinary painting and enamelling. It is very extensively applied in the finishing of ordinary ironmongery goods, and domestic iron work, deed boxes, clock dials, and papier mach6 articles. The process is also applied to blocks of slate for making imita tion of black and other marbles for chimney pieces, &c., and a modified form of japanning is employed for prepared enamelled, japan, or patent leather. The beautiful lacquer work of Japan owes its hardness and durable qualities solely to the natural varnish which forms the basis of the lacquer. That varnish is simply an exudation from a tree (Rhus vernicifera) cultivated for the sake of this product throughout a wide area in Japan. The varnish is obtained by making incisions in the bark of the tree, from which a mingled clear and milky juice flows abundantly, which on exposure quickly darkens and blackens in colour. After resting in tubs for some time the juice becomes thick and viscuous, the thicker portions settle at the bottom of the vessel, and from it the thinner top stratum is separated by decanting. Both qualities are strained to free them from impurities, and when ready for use they have a rich brown-black appearance, which, how ever, in thin layers presents a yellow transparent aspect. This varnish when applied to any object becomes exceedingly hard and unalterable, and with it as a basis all the coloured lacquers of Japan are prepared. The black variety of the lacquer is prepared by stirring the crude varnish for a day or two in the open air, by which it becomes a deep brownish black. Towards the completion of the process a quantity of highly ferruginous water, or of an infusion of gall nuts darkened with iron, is mixed with the varnish, and the stirring and exposure are continued till the added water has entirely evaporated, leaving a rich jet black varnish of proper consistence. In preparing the fine qualities of Japanese lacquer, the material receives numerous coats, a:id between each coating the surface is carefully ground and smoothed. The final coating is highly polished by rubbing, and the manner in which such lacquered work is finished and ornamented presents endless variations. The durability of Japanese lacquer work is such that it can be used for vessels to contain hot tea and other food, and it is even unaffected by highly heated spirituous liquors.