STUDIES IN JAPANESE ART 255 



Of all natural objects quadrupeds are less fre- 

 quently represented. This is probably due to the 

 fact that wild animals are not numerous in Japan, 

 and the artists have seldom any favourable op- 

 portunities for actual study of them from the life. 

 Of all quadrupeds, perhaps the Horse is most 

 frequently depicted, and often with great skill and 

 knowledge of foreshortening. Other animals re- 

 presented with much artistic power in carvings and 

 metal work are Oxen, Deer, Bears, Dogs, Cats, 

 and Rats ; while in humorous ivory carvings no 

 -animal is so frequently met with as the Monkey or 

 Ape, which especially lends itself to the treatment 

 of the grotesque. 



Of Fishes and Crustacea the Japanese seas yield 

 a great variety, many of them remarkable for their 

 brilliant colouring ; and these are everywhere to 

 be met with in Japanese art work, depicted with 

 considerable skill. A favourite subject is a Carp 

 in the act of ascending a waterfall ; and in grotesque 

 carvings the Octopus, or Devil-fish, is often very 

 cleverly introduced. Shells are great favourites in 

 ornamentation, particularly in that of lacquer work, 

 where, executed in richly raised gold and tinted 

 lacs, they produce very pleasing effects. Coral 

 and seaweed are likewise introduced, sometimes 

 along with shells, at other times alone, but always 

 with marked success. 



Both Reptiles and Insects are pressed into 

 the service of the artificer, and are truthfully re- 

 presented wherever they are introduced. Insects, 

 indeed, are almost as frequently figured as birds 



