6 Field Museum of Natural History 



The two currents of influence which have left the 

 deepest marks in the character of the Japanese nation 

 are her military history and her intercourse with 

 China. 



In a.d. 552 Japan received the Indian doctrine of 

 Buddhism from Korea, which, on its part, had adopted 

 it from China. With the incoming of this novel 

 philosophy and religion, there was added to the long list 

 of gods and goddesses of the old Shinto creed (mainly 

 based on the worship of nature deities and ancient 

 national heroes) the Buddhist pantheon. At the same 

 time and during the succeeding centuries, Japan, with 

 her remarkable power for assimilating new ideas, 

 introduced from both China and Korea artisans adept 

 in every branch of art. These brought into the country 

 not only their skill, but also the customs, ideas, and 

 literature of the continent. Up until the sixth century, 

 Japan had no system of writing; and the adoption of 

 Chinese script resulted in the introduction of the folk- 

 lore of China, evidence of which may be traced in many 

 of the legends spoken of as Japanese. In a.d. 645 the 

 Japanese court was organized on the lines of that of 

 China. In the seventh century, Buddhist temples were 

 built and filled with Chinese and native sculptures of 

 Buddhist deities. Painting in the tenth century took 

 on a distinctly Japanese style; for the national spirit 

 was rising, and the people was determined to develop 

 a school of art, that would be a characteristic expres- 

 sion of its own ideas. This school was known as the 

 Yamato Ryu ("Japanese school") , and later became the 

 Tosa school. However, a revival of Chinese influence 

 and a refreshment of Chinese inspiration swept over 

 the artistic world of the country in the fifteenth cen- 

 tury; and from this movement emerged such masters 

 of landscape as Sesshu and the Kano artists, and such 

 exquisite customs as the tea ceremony, which was 



[6] 



