The Art of War, the Arts of Peace: patronage and production of luxury crafts for the samurai

Gregory Irvine, Honorary Senior Research Fellow, Research Department, V&A

Twelfth century Japan was riven by civil war but in 1185 the samurai warlord Minamoto Yoritomo defeated his rivals and established his military government at Kamakura. In 1192 Yoritomo was appointed Shōgun by the Emperor Go-Toba, thereby beginning nearly 700 years of military rule of Japan.

By 1615 the Tokugawa clan had unified warring Japan and art and culture flourished under their shōgunate. They formed courts where leisurely accomplishments such as calligraphy were deemed appropriate, and they adopted courtly rituals and styles of clothing far removed from their military past.

The peaceful Edo period (1615-1868) saw developments in the production of porcelain, lacquer, metalwork, and textiles which found a ready market amongst the samurai elite who had become significant patrons. It also created an environment in which the merchant classes prospered, and they would increasingly become the new patrons of the arts.

The lecture will look at the exquisite objects created for these patrons.