Copyleft | Musings

Copyleft and Copyright is the common umbrella term to refer to whether a user or interacting user owns a piece of (usually) media/abstract concept. In the spirit of Copyleft, all of this is CC accredited material apart from this text.

Queen Anne (1685, PD) Jan van der Vaart, Willem Wissing, Scottish National Portrait Gallery

Public Domain

"The public domain is a range of creative works whose copyright has expired or was never established, as well as ideas and facts[note 1] which are ineligible for copyright. A public domain work is a work whose author has either relinquished to the public or no longer can claim control over, the distribution and usage of the work. As such, any person may manipulate, distribute, or otherwise use the work, without legal ramifications. A work in the public domain or released under a permissive license may be referred to as "copycenter"."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_content

"In the early decades of computing, particularly from the 1950s through the 1970s, software development was largely collaborative. Programs were commonly shared in source code form among academics, researchers, and corporate developers. Most companies at the time made their revenue from hardware sales, and software—including source code—was distributed freely alongside it, often as public-domain software. By the late 1960s and 1970s, a distinct software industry began to emerge. Companies started selling software as a separate product, leading to the use of restrictive licenses and technical measures—such as distributing only binary executables—to limit user access and control. This shift was driven by growing competition and the U.S. government's antitrust scrutiny of bundled software, exemplified by the 1969 antitrust case United States v. IBM. A key turning point came in 1980 when U.S. copyright law was formally extended to cover computer software. This enabled companies like IBM to further enforce closed-source distribution models. In 1983, IBM introduced its "object code only" policy, ceasing the distribution of source code for its system software. [...] The historical precursor to FOSS was the hobbyist and academic public domain software ecosystem of the 1960s to 1980s. Free and open-source operating systems such as Linux distributions and descendants of BSD are widely used, powering millions of servers, desktops, smartphones, and other devices. Free-software licenses and open-source licenses have been adopted by many software packages. Reasons for using FOSS include decreased software costs, increased security against malware, stability, privacy, opportunities for educational usage, and giving users more control over their own hardware. [...These were socially droven projects like] the GNU Project in 1983 [... where the] goal was to develop a complete Free software operating system and restore user freedom. The Free Software Foundation (FSF) was established in 1985 to support this mission. Stallman's GNU Manifesto and the Four Essential Freedoms outlined the movement's ethical stance, emphasizing user control over software. The release of the Linux kernel by Linus Torvalds in 1991, and its relicense under the GNU General Public License (GPL) in 1992, marked a major step toward a fully Free operating system. Other Free software projects like FreeBSD, NetBSD, and OpenBSD also gained traction following the resolution of the USL v. BSDi lawsuit in 1993. In 1997, Eric Raymond’s essay *The Cathedral and the Bazaar* explored the development model of Free software, influencing Netscape’s decision in 1998 to release the source code for its browser suite. This code base became Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird. To broaden business adoption, a group of developers including Raymond, Bruce Perens, Tim O’Reilly, and Linus Torvalds rebranded the Free software movement as “Open Source.” The Open Source Initiative (OSI) was founded in 1998 to promote this new term and emphasize collaborative development benefits over ideology. Despite initial resistance—such as Microsoft's 2001 claim that "Open-source is an intellectual property destroyer"—FOSS eventually gained widespread acceptance in the corporate world. Companies like Red Hat proved that commercial success and Free software principles could coexist. [...] The free software movement and the open-source software movement are online social movements behind widespread production, adoption and promotion of FOSS, with the former preferring to use the equivalent term free/libre and open-source software (FLOSS). FOSS is supported by a loosely associated movement of multiple organizations, foundations, communities and individuals who share basic philosophical perspectives and collaborate practically, but may diverge in detail questions. [...] By defying ownership regulations in the construction and use of information—a key area of contemporary growth—the Free/Open Source Software (FOSS) movement counters neoliberalism and privatization in general. By realizing the historical potential of an "economy of abundance" for the new digital world, FOSS may lay down a plan for political resistance or show the way towards a potential transformation of capitalism. According to Yochai Benkler, Jack N. and Lillian R. Berkman Professor for Entrepreneurial Legal Studies at Harvard Law School, free software is the most visible part of a new economy of commons-based peer production of information, knowledge, and culture. As examples, he cites a variety of FOSS projects, including both free software and open-source."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_and_open-source_software

Copyleft

"Copyleft is the legal technique of granting certain freedoms over copies of copyrighted works with the requirement that the same rights be preserved in derivative works. In this sense, freedoms refers to the use of the work for any purpose, and the ability to modify, copy, share, and redistribute the work, with or without a fee. Licenses which implement copyleft can be used to maintain copyright conditions for works ranging from computer software, to documents, art, and scientific discoveries, and similar approaches have even been applied to certain patents.

The origin of the term comes from "Li-Chen Wang's Palo Alto Tiny BASIC for the Intel 8080 [first] appeared in Dr. Dobb's Journal in May 1976. The listing begins with the title, author's name, and date, but also has "@COPYLEFT ALL WRONGS RESERVED"."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyleft

"There have been several attempts to define open source and free software. Amongst the earliest was Free Software Foundation's Free Software Definition, which then defined as the three freedoms of Free Software (Freedom Zero was added later). Published versions of FSF's Free Software Definition existed as early as 1986, having been published in the first edition of the (now defunct) GNU's Bulletin. [...] The Debian Free Software Guidelines (DFSG) was [then] first published together with the first version of the Debian Social Contract in July 1997."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Open_Source_Definition

"Debian GNU/Linux (/ˈdɛbiən/),[7][8] or simply Debian, is a free and open source[b] Linux distribution, developed by the Debian Project, which was established by Ian Murdock in August 1993. Debian is one of the oldest operating systems based on the Linux kernel, and is the basis of many other Linux distributions. As of September 2023, Debian is the second-oldest Linux distribution still in active development: only Slackware is older."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debian

"The concept of applying free software licenses to content was introduced by Michael Stutz, who in 1997 wrote the paper "Applying Copyleft to Non-Software Information" for the GNU Project. The term "open content" was coined by David A. Wiley in 1998 and evangelized via the Open Content Project, describing works licensed under the Open Content License (a non-free share-alike license, see 'Free content' below) and other works licensed under similar terms. The website of the Open Content Project once defined open content as 'freely available for modification, use and redistribution under a license similar to those used by the open-source / free software community'. However, such a definition would exclude the Open Content License because that license forbids charging for content; a right required by free and open-source software licenses. [...] Unlike free content and content under open-source licenses, there is no clear threshold that a work must reach to qualify as 'open content'. The 5Rs are put forward on the Open Content Project website as a framework for assessing the extent to which content is open:

Retain – the right to make, own, and control copies of the content (e.g., download, duplicate, store, and manage)

Reuse – the right to use the content in a wide range of ways (e.g., in a class, in a study group, on a website, in a video)

Revise – the right to adapt, adjust, modify, or alter the content itself (e.g., translate the content into another language)

Remix – the right to combine the original or revised content with other open content to create something new (e.g., incorporate the content into a mashup)

Redistribute – the right to share copies of the original content, your revisions, or your remixes with others (e.g., give a copy of the content to a friend). 

This broader definition distinguishes open content from open-source software, since the latter must be available for commercial use by the public. However, it is similar to several definitions for open educational resources, which include resources under noncommercial and verbatim licenses. [...] In 2006, a Creative Commons' successor project, the Definition of Free Cultural Works, was introduced for free content. It was put forth by Erik Möller, Richard Stallman, Lawrence Lessig, Benjamin Mako Hill, Angela Beesley, and others. The Definition of Free Cultural Works is used by the Wikimedia Foundation. In 2009, the Attribution and Attribution-ShareAlike Creative Commons licenses were marked as Approved for Free Cultural Works."

So in theory, copyleft operates under the assumption that offering open content freely and publicly as a social community resource will lead to an economy of abundance in a postscarcity economic model of the means of production. (seize the means! lmao)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-scarcity

"Technology has reduced the cost of publication and reduced the entry barrier sufficiently to allow for the production of widely disseminated materials by individuals or small groups. Projects to provide free literature and multimedia content have become increasingly prominent owing to the ease of dissemination of materials that are associated with the development of computer technology. [...] Free and open-source software, which is often referred to as open source software and free software, is a maturing technology with companies using them to provide services and technology to both end-users and technical consumers. The ease of dissemination increases modularity, which allows for smaller groups to contribute to projects as well as simplifying collaboration. Some claim that open source development models offer similar peer-recognition and collaborative benefit incentive as in more classical fields such as scientific research, with the social structures that result leading to decreased production costs. Given sufficient interest in a software component, by using peer-to-peer distribution methods, distribution costs may be reduced, easing the burden of infrastructure maintenance on developers. As distribution is simultaneously provided by consumers, these software distribution models are scalable; that is, the method is feasible regardless of the number of consumers. In some cases, free software vendors may use peer-to-peer technology as a method of dissemination. Project hosting and code distribution is not a problem for most free projects as a number of providers offer these source-code-hosting provider provider free of charge."

For instance, the Open Knowledge Foundation's Open Definition describes "open" as synonymous with the definition of free in the "Definition of Free Cultural Works" (as also in the Open Source Definition and Free Software Definition).[5] For such free/open content both movements recommend the same three Creative Commons licenses, the CC BY, CC BY-SA, and CC0. [...] Any country has its own law and legal system, sustained by its legislation, which consists of documents. In a democratic country, laws are published as open content, in principle free content; but in general, there are no explicit licenses attributed for the text of each law, so the license must be assumed as an implied license. Only a few countries have explicit licenses in their law-documents, as the UK's Open Government Licence (a CC BY compatible license). In the other countries, the implied license comes from its proper rules (general laws and rules about copyright in government works). The automatic protection provided by the Berne Convention does not apply to the texts of laws: Article 2.4 excludes the official texts from the automatic protection. It is also possible to "inherit" the license from context. The set of country's law-documents is made available through national repositories. Examples of law-document open repositories: LexML Brazil, Legislation.gov.uk, and N-Lex. In general, a law-document is offered in more than one (open) official version, but the main one is that published by a government gazette. So, law-documents can eventually inherit license expressed by the repository or by the gazette that contains it."

"In academic work, the majority of works are not free, although the percentage of works that are open access is growing. Open access refers to online research outputs that are free of all restrictions to access and free of many restrictions on use (e.g. certain copyright and license restrictions).[24] Authors may see open access publishing as a way of expanding the audience that is able to access their work to allow for greater impact, or support it for ideological reasons.[25][26] Open access publishers such as PLOS and BioMed Central provide capacity for review and publishing of free works; such publications are currently more common in science than humanities. Various funding institutions and governing research bodies have mandated that academics must produce their works to be open-access, in order to qualify for funding, such as the US National Institutes of Health, Research Councils UK (effective 2016) and the European Union (effective 2020). [...[ For teaching purposes, some universities, including MIT, provide freely available course content, such as lecture notes, video resources and tutorials. This content is distributed via Internet to the general public. [...] Open content publication has been seen as a method of reducing costs associated with information retrieval in research, as universities typically pay to subscribe for access to content that is published through traditional means.[9][34] Subscriptions for non-free content journals may be expensive for universities to purchase, though the articles are written and peer-reviewed by academics themselves at no cost to the publisher. [...] Free and open content has been used to develop alternative routes towards higher education. Open content is a free way of obtaining higher education that is focused on collective knowledge and the sharing and reuse of learning and scholarly content. There are multiple projects and organizations that promote learning through open content, including OpenCourseWare and Khan Academy. Some universities, like MIT, Yale, and Tufts are making their courses freely available on the internet. There are also a number of organizations promoting the creation of openly licensed textbooks such as the University of Minnesota's Open Textbook Library, Connexions, OpenStax College, the Saylor Academy, Open Textbook Challenge, and Wikibooks."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_content

Copyright

"In most countries, the Berne Convention grants copyright holders control over their creations by default. Therefore, copyrighted content must be explicitly declared free by the authors, which is usually accomplished by referencing or including licensing statements from within the work. The right to reuse such a work is granted by the authors in a license known as a free license, a free distribution license, or an open license, depending on the rights assigned. These freedoms given to users in the reuse of works (that is, the right to freely use, study, modify or distribute these works, possibly also for commercial purposes) are often associated with obligations (to cite the original author, to maintain the original license of the reused content) or restrictions (excluding commercial use, banning certain media) chosen by the author. [...] Copyright is a legal concept, which gives the author or creator of a work legal control over the duplication and public performance of their work. In many jurisdictions, this is limited by a time period after which the works then enter the public domain. Copyright laws are a balance between the rights of creators of intellectual and artistic works and the rights of others to build upon those works. During the time period of copyright the author's work may only be copied, modified, or publicly performed with the consent of the author, unless the use is a fair use. Traditional copyright control limits the use of the work of the author to those who either pay royalties to the author for usage of the author's content or limit their use to fair use. Secondly, it limits the use of content whose author cannot be found.[10] Finally, it creates a perceived barrier between authors by limiting derivative works, such as mashups and collaborative content."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_content

"The concept of copyright developed after the printing press came into use in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. It was associated with a common law and rooted in the civil law system. The printing press made it much cheaper to produce works, but as there was initially no copyright law, anyone could buy or rent a press and print any text. Popular new works were immediately re-set and re-published by competitors, so printers needed a constant stream of new material. Fees paid to authors for new works were high and significantly supplemented the incomes of many academics. Printing brought profound social changes. The rise in literacy across Europe led to a dramatic increase in the demand for reading matter. Prices of reprints were low, so publications could be bought by poorer people, creating a mass audience. In German-language markets before the advent of copyright, technical materials, like popular fiction, were inexpensive and widely available; it has been suggested this contributed to Germany's industrial and economic success.

The concept of copyright first developed in England. In reaction to the printing of "scandalous books and pamphlets", the English Parliament passed the Licensing of the Press Act 1662, which required all intended publications to be registered with the government-approved Stationers' Company, giving the Stationers the right to regulate what material could be printed. The Statute of Anne, enacted in 1710 in England and Scotland, provided the first legislation to protect [publisher] copyrights [rights to copy the text] (but not authors' rights). The Copyright Act 1814 extended more rights for authors but did not protect British publications from being reprinted in the US. The Berne International Copyright Convention of 1886 finally provided protection for authors among the countries who signed the agreement, although the US did not join the Berne Convention until 1989. [...] Copyright laws allow products of creative human activities, such as literary and artistic production, to be preferentially exploited and thus incentivized. Different cultural attitudes, social organizations, economic models and legal frameworks are seen to account for why copyright emerged in Europe and not, for example, in Asia. In the Middle Ages in Europe, there was generally a lack of any concept of literary property due to the general relations of production, the specific organization of literary production and the role of culture in society. The latter refers to the tendency of oral societies, such as that of Europe in the medieval period, to view knowledge as the product and expression of the collective, rather than to see it as individual property. However, with copyright laws, intellectual production comes to be seen as a product of an individual, with attendant rights. The most significant point is that patent and copyright laws support the expansion of the range of creative human activities that can be commodified. This parallels the ways in which capitalism led to the commodification of many aspects of social life that earlier had no monetary or economic value per se. Copyright has developed into a concept that has a significant effect on nearly every modern industry, including not just literary work, but also forms of creative work such as sound recordings, films, photographs, software, and architecture."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright

GNU template definition https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.en.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_and_open-source_software FOSS

くぼたと辻が花 | Kubota to Tsujigahana | Kubota and Tsujigahana | Patterns #23

This patternseries I would like to try something a little different, and discuss the process behind the revival of the pattern tsujigahana, by its revivalist, Itchiku Kubota (1917-2003) in 1937. Itchiku Kubota was the artisan or Komin who was behind the work of recreating the arguably lost art of creating Tsujigahana ( 辻が花 | Flowers at the Crossroad ), which became his lifes work.[1] Kubota was a great crasftman outside of this feat, but his work and what inspired I thought might be of interest to people into what motivates people to preserve, relish and continue creating these 'traditional' crafts.

Kubota was born in 1917. He was the son of an antique dealer that resided in the traditional part of his neighbourhood. This would have been during the Taisho era (1912-1926) when a burgeoning domestic and foreign set of markets had opened up to the Japanese industries and on the tail-end of adopting Western customs, manners and attires. which destroyed much of traditional Japanese Arts and Crafts.[1] It may not have escaped his inquisitive eyes that much of this was particularly disappearing around him as he grew into his teenage years into a family of artisanally inclined people. Many of his neighbours were dye workshops, and we can presumably assume that this was were he first began to mix his family social capital inheritance of old artforms with his neighbourhood ties.[1]

In 1931 Kubota began an apprenticeship to Kobayashi Kiyoshi, whose workshop was known for its handmade Yuzen dye work. There Kubota began learning how to paint, dye and the traditional and perhaps contemporary Japanese design aesthetics such as landscape painting, portraiture and other traditional Kimono painting techniques. By 1936 he was considered good enough to establish and build his own dye studio.[1]

Presumably by this time as an established Kimono Komin and Designer, and with his family background in antiques began to search out inspiration and influences from centuries gone by. This took him to the Tokyo National Musuem where he first witnessed the then considered lost technique of design, Tsujigahana which was extant from the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1568-1600).[1] At that time of 1937, Kubota was 20. This moment of witnessing such a beautiful moment frozen in time and interaction with the world external to the Museum inspired him to relaim the design into the modern day and age to be enjoyed once again, rather than to be locked away in a case as a lost relic of another time.

The design element of Tsujigahana was created in the time of the Muromachi period (1336-1573). The design of that time were heavily dependent on a kind of conservative tendency towards an almost Iki reading of Ashida-E, Onna-E types of artistic lineages of Art which were heavily image and symbol heavy. These resist dyes thus were able to evoke a heavy sense of narrative and storyworlds in their decoration and in a time which was heavily restrictive in literacy towards women and the lower classes, these textiles were lavishly and painstakingly created most likely by the affiliated workshops and Machi-Eshi Komin capable of working on these unique Tanmono wealthy families could afford, this being the wealthiest Sengoku Daimyo and the urban Chonin. By 1690 with the almost complete decline of Za guilds and the rise of Miyazaki Yuzen's moyo Tsujigahana fell into decline.

This is to my knowledge the most likely explanation as to why Tsujigahana fell out of favour by the later part of the Edo period and completely 'forgotten' by the Meiji (1868-1912). That being that the production of such a textile would have been a trade or workshop secret and therefore died out with its lineage creators, as otherwise a legacy form would still exist in the realm somewhere, in one form or another. This is pretty guaranteed due to the amount of decorative elements, a time-consuming and expensive dyes, metals and embroidery used in the creation of these garments which makes it unlikely that farmers would have been making and wearing these textiles to go rice farming in.[1] Almost as likely as wearing ballgowns to pick maize.

Returning to our protaganist, Kubota was fascinated the mystery of where and how this original technique had been lost. He was under its spell from that point on, making it his life's work to figure out the mystery of that lost technique.[1] Another layer to the fun, was that the silk to create the work was Nerinuki, an archaic textile no longer woven at the time. It would be this step to technique revival which would take decades of work for Kubota, presumably somewhat interrupted by the second world war. Evil Japanese officials ruined the progression of his work by drafting him, where he spent 3 years as POW from 1945-1948. Given the dates, it is most likely he was rather weak and unfit for military service, but at the time Japanese army officials were not particularly picky, sending children and the elderly to fight what was for them another rich mans war. Indeed, it was during this time that Japan's new Constitution declared Japan to be unable to go to war unless in self-defence resulting in the modern article 9 which 'renounced war forever'. 

However not one to let a stupid war stop him, he returned to Tokyo and set up shop once more, mostly in Yuzen kimono. By 1955 aged 38, he had decided to fully devote his down (presumably, the  early 1950s was a difficult time in Japan, especially Tokyo) time to Tsujigahana revival. In a bid to get it done within his lifetime, Nerinuki was released back to the misty, shrouded hills of Folklore Studies once more and modern silk was deemed good enough. Instead, the technique was the focus, a mix of resist-dyeing and hand painted ink painting.[1] Using chirimen as a base, Kubota dyed each bolt independently and stitched. This formed the basis of Kubota's technique. Whilst this may seem revolutionary for some and a copout for others, this work is symbolic of what an appreciation for the worlds before our own is. An understanding that what we see is but a fleeting (in this case) material remnant, which we build upon in transforming the work to modern needs. This is a more honest understanding of KTC and whilst not a literal remaking, it is indeed a revival of the vision of what a Daimyo or Chonin may have felt upon recieving the same material. A reboot if you will that saw in 1977, Kubota first exhibit his take on Tsujigahana.[1]

This is evident in the series Kubota created for 1979, which presented panoramic views of sunsets and landscapes for example. This was displayed that year, and included 80 painstakingly handmade Kimono. True to his artisanal and nitpicky roots, this series was developed and continued until Kubotas passing onto the next life. It is this spell however which is almost a translation of the glamour of times gone by, a fae tale which has been spun into the gold leaf covered T-shaped works of Art which wealthy patrons swanned around in, a world which archivists, librarians, curators, re-constructionists and art historians have in their everyday. It is the job of the modern designer to translate this to bring these facets of history to a wider audience and it is this message and elements which make us consider Kubota as an archival liberator, that is one who works with firsthand artefacts in the archives left to us to create magic.

Bibliography

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itchiku_Kubota

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塩沢おめし | Shiozawa Omeshi | Shiozawa Twist Dye Ikat | Fabrics #23

Shiozawa is a type of Omeshi made around Niigata prefecture. It is designated as Juji Gasuri ( じゅじがすり｜crossed splash patterns ) which denotes the specific cross styles found across the tanimono.  Threads were first tye-dyed.[1] The weft is tightly wound before being spun and then placed onto a Takahata loom which leaves these distinctive cross patterns.[2] All bolts are to this day made by hand on these looms.[1] Warp threads are then dyed using tye-dye, stencils dyes or paper stencils.[3] These patterns can also be used to make different layers and levels of the work to leave a distinctive fabric gradient type effect on the final bolt. A type of silk crepe, Shiozawa uses these effects to leave a light textile crimp, much like linen.[2] Afterwards the cloth is washed in hot water and left to dry leaving the crosses exposed to the eye.[2]

Shiozawa Town (2016, CC4.0) Tariqsheikh

The murky proto history of Shiozawa Omeshi emerges from a Ramie sample known as Echigo Jofu found in the Shosoin, around 794 CE.[3] Shiozawa Hon emerged around 1750, after the Komin Masatoshi Hori created the modern hard-twist thread method used to make Shiozawa Omeshi by 1679 CE.[2][3] These were artisanal works though and are mostly thought to have been workshop specific pieces until the 20th century.[3] Modern Shiozawa Omeshi arose out of a need to create a new market for fabric in the area when industrialisation took root in the Taisho period (1912-1926). Shiozawa bolts were mostly created in masculine coded colours such as brown, blue, black and white. As time has gone on and the methods of production have turned to more fashion oriented needs rather than as everyday items, more variety has become available since the 1960s when presumably Shufu were targeted and has been made in more bold colours like reds.[1] 

Bibliography

[1] http://www.kimono.or.jp/dictionary/eng/honshiozawa.html

[2] https://kougeihin.jp/en/craft/0114/

[3] https://kogeijapan.com/locale/en_US/honshiozawa/

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ひらがな | Hiragana | Text | Pattern series #20

Hiragana whilst a seemingly unlikely contender has been a motif used on kimono for centuries. Text on Kimono is used often to add poetical effect to an image, in imitation of the Heian period motif of Ashida-E. Most motifs which include this in 17th century Kimono are very large often draped across the shoulder expressively on what at the time was the new silhouette of furisode, whilst modern Kimono only use this motif in smaller fonts and styles a stylistic motif to marry images and texts.[1] For example, having a waka or haiku across the front of a masters craftsmen work are some I have seen used myself, but this is an exceedingly rare and unique motif in Kimono generally speaking. Different stylsitic writing styles are used to get across different aesthetics and meanings within the space they use, as will all graphic design processes.

Hinagata-Bon showing Hiragana on Kimono design (c.1667, PD) Japan  

Historically, Ashida-E (reed writing) were a sort of insider message to those who knew the reference which the text and image correlated with during the Peace Epoch. Distinctive and 'gaudy' Kimono became the rage by the 1670s among the middle classes of Edo and Osaka due to the side effects of Tokugawa Sumptuary Legislation which saw a rise in coinage, leading to urbanisation and local industry, whose more profitable industry leaders desired exciting new ways to show their wealth due to the sumptuary legislation of their day increasingly curtailing their spending and extravagances. They got around this by buying their Distinctive gaudy Kosode made by local Machi-Eshi (Town artists) like Yuezen Hiinakatta who imitated Kakemono scrolls by writing on Kimono, a now vital trend of Genroku KTC.[2][3] This trend continued until the 18th century, but fell out of favour with new money as it was regarded as tacky, becoming instead a smaller variation by 1800 and falling out of use by 1900. Some modern kimono may use it as an advertising motif or for poetical connotation, but this is rare.

Bibliography

[1] See Bijin series #15

[2] See Essay series #8

[3] See The Bijin has Arrived in Bijin #15

Apologies that this is up a day before it should be, but honestly, I am frazzled with stress at the moment between juggling my current schedule and switching over to a new one which has been frustrating to say the least as most of the stuff that is affecting my life is out of my hands. On the plus side, it means I have more control over my schedule in the future and that I will be reopening the shop at some point in the near future, somewhere between applying for my first real career role, volunteering, part time work. full time studying, learning Japanese and slowly going absolutely insane over the absolute hair pulling out exercise that is trying to get people in cushy offices to actually answer their GODDAMN EMAILS. Either way, I am getting rather burned out and need a day off before I have to start making more phone calls, emails and frustrated page scrolling to do these peoples jobs for them and apparently also everything else that involves which is *testing* my soul. Either way, heres to the future! Sorry about the rant, I just like to be organized and this has been the month from hell for me. Toodaloo~!

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町絵師 | Machi-Eshi | 1200 - 1850 | Bijin #15

The Machi Eshi (town painter) are a social group of Artisans who appear on the historical record after the societal changes that arose with the rise of the Shogunate system in the 1190s.[1] Later they reformed themselves as court affiliated specialist artisans in fields like metalwork forming medieval guilds, whilst Komin independents joined E-ya (picture shops).[4] During the Muromachi period, the Komin turned to the traditional Yamato-E style, drawing folktales and Classical novels in illustrated handscrolls sold and bought in local and regional art markets. During the Sengoku period, they evolved into highly flexible workers who commonly operated in workshops or trade bodies known as So, and if successful enough becoming by the 16th century celebrity Komin who made art for the elites. By the 17th century however, they reached their zenith and replaced the established art establishment by around 1640, defining the new Japanese beauty standards by 1675. Their influence waned after 1685 when they began to be clamped down by the Shogunate, a shadow of their former glory by 1750 and a trickle by 1850.

A sexy Nun (c1650, PD) Museum of Art

Nara Reforms

During the early Japanese history, heavy land reforms took place modelled on the Chinese system of governance. During the Nara period, this saw the implementation of a new capital (Kyoto), new tax reforms, and wide-sweeping changes based on the Chinese systems then in use. These new Taika reforms (645 CE) gave rise to decentralized systems which allowed art to become a viable career option and fields to operate within, such as woodwork, textiles and pottery.[2] Most of these being made for the new imperial court lifestyle or for religious purposes, in extant examples and being made by independents, the predecessor of the Machi-Eshi. It is their and state work which made the Nara period a high-period for Japanese art and culture.

The peaceful Time

When the Heian period began only 100 years later, these reforms lead to what has been called the Golden age of Japanese culture.[2] By the late Heian period, networks of independents and collaborators in workshops created Art for the elites, equivalent to the Benin Bronzes (c.1500) of Nigeria or Opus Anglicum (c.1100-1300) of England.

Baekje (PD) WC

The Heian period saw a turning in towards culturing a unique Japanese identity, distinct from Chinese and Buddhist influences. This started as a result of the collapse of Japan's ally, the Baekje kingdom (18BCE-660CE), resulting in a decline of trade between Japan and the Eurasian continent, with the last delegation returning from the continent in 838. This consolidated inner loyalties and saw the consolidation of power by the Fujiwara family by 858 and a total dismissal of maritime trade by 900 CE. In the arts, this differential reaction saw the creation of Yamato-E and Fuzokuga, mostly in the form of the famous Emakimono.[3][6][7] The scrolls made for other ranks like the Bushi and Samurai however, would have perhaps sought out more purse-friendly Fuzokuga painters for paintings.[7]

These many painters are mostly today unknown, but flourished in the Heian period as Art became a key tool of the Fujiwara clan and others for cementing their legitimacy to rule and display their wealth to others. Particularly in sculpture, this Fujiwara dominance resulted in the Fujiwara style, crafted by artists like the schulptor Jouchou (act. 1020-1057) in his Yosegi-zaiku (a kind of marquetry) who as with many others was taught in Kyoto and often worked on art for temples and the homes of his patrons like Fujiwara no Michinaga (藤原 道長, 966 – January 3, 1028).[7]  

When the fire nation Minamoto attacked the imperial court adjacent clans, in the late Heian period, this kicked off around 400 years (1200-1600CE) of intermittent civil wars, mostly affecting the nobility's ability to keep their heads attached to their shoulders. At the late stages of the Heian period however, these disputes saw a reduced capacity and imperial court coffer to make Art commissions and saw a decline in patronage of independents by the court. Other more prolific Kugonin ( Court-appointed Workshop Artisans | 供御人 ) making objects such as cast metal lanterns.[4] These Kugonin eventually became by 1100 CE collectives known as the Za ( Artisan Guilds | 座 ) who often operated in the capital.[4] Many Za workshops were also affiliated with temples creating iconographical, ritual and religious materials such as Buddhist sculptures, textiles, ceramics etc. to display in temples for the benefit of their patrons relationship with that temple.

The rise of the Independent Artisan

With the effective use of the Shouen ( Tax exempt land | 荘園 ) land reforms by Heimin farmers due to increased harvest yeild, many agricultural workers turned to artisanal work.[4] In 1275 a greater number of Za workshops began to be opened. These workshops were known as E-ya ( Picture shops | 絵屋 ), whose anonymous artisans operated mostly in cities like Kyoto and Osaka. An example of one kind being the Ogiya or fan shop.[8] From 1250 to 1350, the elites gave kickbacks such as land rights, tax and toll free status and the capacity to pay tax as goods for kind.[4] During this time, it became more common for the Heimin and Chonin groups to interact with art, that is art where they worked, or art they owned or had made for consumption in their livelihoods and homes, on fans, books, scrolls, screens, and doors. 

Tale of the Monkeys, late Otogi-Zoshi format (c.1560, CC4.0) British Museum

These Muromachi period (1336-1573) proto-Machi-Eshi artworks were often Fuzokuga, Sumi-E, Classical Chinese scenes ( Kara-E |  虚絵 ), and pictures depicting seasonal beauty (see Kano Motonobu for example) copied from Heian period novels.[6][23] Some of these included folk tales recorded on Otogizoshi Emakimono ( Prose narrative scrolls | 御伽草子絵巻物) included the tales of Independent Heimin Artisans, capturing rare glimpses of local medieval provincial folklore.[6]

Sengoku Politics

By 1350 on, the court influence diminished as outsider Samurai began to gain sociopolitical clout and as the Art industries broadened allowing for wider dispersal of Artisans across the country to choose Art as a career. Soukan ( General Supervisors of the Court | 惣官 ) limped on in their influence of advising the up and coming military class elites on art matters. They were then though superseded by the title hereditary Shugo ( Han Domain/Provinicial/Regional military administrators | 守護) who appointed their own advisors of Daiku ( Head Artisan | 大工 ) using new Shogunate approved tax rebates, a role previously overseen by the court approved Soukan, whom managed that areas Za.[4] This lead to areas developing their own highly specialized niches such as Nishijin weavers who specialized in Nishijin-ori used in Noh plays for example which were supported by the local Daimyou.[4][5] Even restorative work on older Emakimono took place at the time.[6]

By the 1400s, this new system of the increased wealth of the Shogu in their fiefs, lead to even greater opportunity for further class divides to open up as the men below them also became relatively richer than in the previous century. With this wider dispersal of wealth first from the capital, then to provincial leaders and to the Kokujin ( Countryside literally confusing as 'Provincial Men' | 国人 ) who receiving the backing of the Shogunate and Shugo came to power simultaneously as the Shugo. This led to more infighting between the Shugo and Kokujin, as had the succession and alliance disputes of the earlier Minamoto (Shogunate) and Taira (Established Court Family).[4]

Sengoku Jidai Art Markets

After the Onin War (1467), the greater number of Daimyo were former Kokujin victorious in their infighting fief wars.[4] These times become what is known today as the Sengoku Jidai, which fixed the Kokujin as the legitimate rulers of their fiefdoms. This in turn was coagulated by further alliances being made between established Kokujin who created vassal frameworks for neighbouring Kokujin to ally themselves to greater Kokujin Daimyo. Kokujin Daimyo created local trade networks to govern their fiefs more effectively to get ahead of neighbouring Daimyou by controlling local resources and infrastructure, creating new markets under the control and facilitating a greater need for Art to legitimise their power in the process, as the Fujiwara had before them.[4]

"[Daimyo] invested in and competed [...] with various merchant and artisan groups to assure a steady flow of supplies and financial support. [Kokujin in the] Sengoku period [did] this by sponsoring local trade centers and artisans in and around their residential mansions and defensive castle towns, both of which served as bases of production, market exchange, and consumption. [... This enabled] the aristocracy [... who] maintain[ed their former] prestige as a vessel of political and cultural legitimacy. This role enabled them to compete with [shugo] [...] through patronage of [local] artisanal groups."[4] 

Despite all the civil wars however, the population increased steadily and networks steadily built up between these bigger groups of So (Co-operative Bodies) to develop new markets and art industries.  Indeed, many So and Za groups lead concerted efforts to have their trades patronised by local Daimyou, therefore reaping benefits for their communities by returning these investments back into their communities.[4]

Kano Motonobu (c1520, PD) WC

During this time, the early industries were relatively grassroots, with markets often being small in scale, held weekly to hawk their wares, often held at temple grounds to allow a slice of the tax pie to return to the shrinking temple coffers.[4] From 1450-1550 a complex mix of provincial, regional and courtier infighting lead to a complex map of patrons for Anonymous Artisans. Kokujin and Shugo did this by investing in local and neighbouring Za and merchant guilds (think Silk farmers) to build their own bases and resource networks, creating their own local economies. Some Artists such as Kano Motonobu (1476-1559) reacted by leveraging patronage in these turbulent times to create their own schools.

By the 1530s Motonobu had married the daughter of the head of the Tosa School [...] and lead a small Kanō sect in northern Kyoto. The workshop contains roughly ten people containing Motonobu, his three sons, [his ...] brother Yukinobu (1513–1575), and some assistants that might have not been blood related. Since Motonobu was the head or chief architect of these paintings he took on the contracting, production, and organization of the projects while still being very involved with the marketing of his work and his studio. Known for his charm and intellect, Motonobu became a fierce businessman, and frequently petitioned to the shogun for a vast amount of varied commissions with his fellow merchant, Hasuike Hideaki. Motonobu [...] survived the turbulent world of the Warring States period while receiving the patronage of the influential people of the time, such as the shogunate, the imperial court, Ishiyama Hongan-ji, and the influential [Machi-Shuu. ...] Motonobu trained his workshop which was full of members of his family and other apprentices to execute his many designs. The workshop trained [outside] artists by watching the master painter work and emphasised recreating their master's style.[14]

Courtiers and elites continued to mantain the facade of wealth and prestige by patronising these merchants, although what they ordered was markedly different from what and why the new money was ordering for. During the Sengoku Jidai, a great amount of this commoner oriented folk art (Yamato-E and childrens stories) was lost in the upheaval of civil war, but gradually by 1550 was remade again as the succession disputes became less.[6]

The Town Painter

This warring period carried on until 1573 when Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582) overthrew the ruling Shogunate, and the politicking of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598) and the maneuvering of Ieyasu Tokugawa (1543-1616) led to the establishment of the new capital at Edo. The vogue at that time in the elite circles favoured Bunjinga (Literati Chinese painting), a favourite of the Kano school which had established itself as a sort of Za with the elites. These collaborative workshops of many anonymous artists continued to create Yamato-E and Fuzokuga works, usually today wrongly attributed to the Tosa school, when celebrity Machi Eshi began to emerge from the workshops on a tidal wave of prestigious commissions from Kyoto and Osaka, and crucially for recorded history, signed their names on works which set a trend for schools to begin signing their work, as in the Kano school after 1575.[4][6][8][19] These prestige commissions were undoubtedly the beginning of the Machi Eshi golden era of influence.

Momoyama Fuzokuga Byobu (c.1575, PD) Anonymous 

With a wider demand and broader access, the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1568-1600) saw a rise in the wealth of Chonin, Heimin and Machi-Shu ( Wealthy Townspeople | 町衆 ) around the artistic hubs of Kyoto, Osaka and Sakai. The Machi-Shu populations were created primarily as a result of early Tokugawa Sankin Kotai policies which moved lords and their retinues between Edo and their home fief every 6 months.[9][23] Machi-Shuu often comprised of the Artisans and Chonin who by this time had well established historical trade networks. Early Department stores for examples operated at this time run by families who made the switch to artisanal trades during the 16th century and made their homes their workshops, selling their handmade goods direct to the consumer. Their works often included many different goods, including wood, ceramics, painting, furniture, textiles, goldwork, metalwork, paper and many more skilled art trades.

Pastimes and Pleasures | Meisho Yamato-E Byobu (c.1610,PD) Anonymous

With the emergence of the Chonin as Machi-Eshi patron by 1610, overriding the Samurai position as tastemaker, Byobu made for these wealthy merchants began to reflect a shift towards the everyday landscape of the city and the pilgrimage trail, instead of Classical settings and imagined paradises.[19] The rather more patriotic; than Samurai that is; Chonin had a propensity for Yamato-E, Fuzokuga and Tosa (particularly the Heian Yamato-E) traditional styles rather than the Chinese Kara-E by the 17th century.[19] This originated from the Heian period when Tosa artists were patronised by the Japanese government bodies in the Byobu medium through to the fifteenth century (1150-1450). These Byobu (and Muromachi Yamato-E) in turn influenced the Kano style in the 16th century of adapting Fuzokuga scenes which most often had Japanese literary or historical figures in them creating the desire to depict Japanese rather the more popular elite images of Chinese derived depictions.[6][8]

Genna and Kanei styles adopted tropes and established narrative styles known from Yamato-E. From Fuzokuga, they adapted detailed, intricate scenes containing thousands of individual faces and scenes.[23] They adapted the Fukinuki Yatai style originally found in Heian Emakimono, and interspersed the scenes of daily urban life with goldworked clouds. These clouds allowed the viewer to draw out small scenes in the life of the Urban dweller. This may have been a holdover of Muromachi Emakimono which depicted folklore and commoner based perspectives. Intermingled with Shinto, which like Animistic Britonnic Celts, this may show how common folk understood the natural world as one and the same, as simultaneously 'sacred and profane'.[20] In this sense Byobu scenes carry on the tradition of pointing out how humans are part of natures ecosystem, rather than above it (forgive the pun).

One the sacred and profane note, commoners may have better understood how they fitted into the world around them due to their interactions with nature to sustain their lifestyle, ie weavers relying on 'natural dyes'. It is an elite idea (Roman in the West) that nature must be conquered and was a singular 'resource' to maintain the position of the wealthy. Common folk may have better understand that to destroy and 'conquer' the environment for wealth was an act of greed and insult to the Kami who lived wherever. Instead I hypothesise that particularly in the warring ages, people understood their relation to nature more clearly as they were more reliant on nature then than urban infrastructure. With a greater exposure they understood that in 'mastering' nature, they were to kill their own way of life and it is this understanding which allowed Ukiyo-E to flourish later on as commoners better understood their relation to Dukkha and the natural world than the majority of perpetually warring elites.

Matyrdom of Nagasaki (1622, PD) Kirishitan painter

This saw an increase in Byobu which by 1625 had turned Byobu in particular into a selection of Chonin vignette scenes which was the groundwork for the establishment of the Chonin lifestyle as the new socially acceptable norm in Artwork. Gone were the pretentions to religious Buddhist pilgrimages in these new, Animistic (Shinto) influenced screens which depicted scenes of Machi-Shuu swanning their way around the Yuukaku, townhouses and shops. By 1635, this pretention to 'fine art' is clearly not even thought of as it has become the expected norm that secular contemporary beauties are to be celebrated alongside an Urban culture which increasingly became codified on its own merits as spiritual in itself. By 1640, Machi-Shuu were the new elite, and they decided that the Machi-Eshi was to be their chronicler of the Kanei, in a life removed from the High Art of the Momoyama, elevating anonymous painters to fine art status and prestige.[23]

The Hikone Screen (c1635) Anonymous Machi Eshi

With the expansion of the art Industry with the establishment of the Machi-Shuu demographic, recognisably celebrity Machi-Eshi worked on many mediums such as Tawaraya Sōtatsu (act.1570-1640) a furniture designer and painter mostly remembered for his Rinpa Byobu.[10] Inspired by the Heian period, these artists both dependent and independent of the Taira family worked on gold heavy pieces which used sprinkled gold leaf and heavy reliance on nature motifs such as Uta-E ( Poetry Images* ) derived from the Heian period to establish a new Japanese canon of their own for the newly minted Machi-Shu and aristocrats in the Genna period (1615-1624). Tawaraya was also hired by the Taira family (an Imperial adjacent) to restore the Heike Nokyo ( Heike illuminated sutra manuscript | 平家納経 | c.1164) in 1602. In addition to his forbearer the art collectivist Hon-nami Koetsu (1578-1635), both worked in goldwork on paper, lacquer and painting, and it is in this vein which the Rinpa school was founded, and some of the earlier celebrity 'outsider' artists began their careers.

Trees Byobu (c.1640, PD) Tawaraya Sotatsu

Farming Family enjoy pleasant Evening Byobu (c1650-1670, PD) Kusumi Morikage

Kusumi Morikage (1620-1690) was also a Machi-Eshi known for working to his own realpolitik morals. During his early years, he initally painted under the Kano school style, under the incredibly stringent Kano Tan-yu (1602-1674) who by 1640 was artist to the Shogun, establishing the Kano school as the high art of its day. During this time, Morikage ran afoul of Tan-yu who prized politically correct authority over individuality in the spirit of his patrons stabilization policy. By the time Morikage became older however and taught his daughter Kiyohara Yukinobu (1643-1682) he began to work on his own terms outside the established canon of acceptable painting by depicting agriculture and the lives of the Heimin as the official Maeda clan painter. In this way, Machi-Eshi like Morikage questioned, challenged and won over the Academic painters of their day in the early half of the 17th century.[12] 

Hanami and Bijin Viewing at Kiyomizudeira (1640, PD) Anonymous

This must also be viewed in the sense of what sources are relayed to us by the male dominated art world, from the Genna to the present period. In this sense, we are missing out what contributions women made or did not to Heian 'Onna-E', Muromachi period Fuzokuga, and Momoyama Byobu in the self creation of female beauty standards. There does seem to prevail among Japanese women though in the desirability of androgynous young men certainly by the time Kabuki rolled around, greatly accelerated by the banning of female Kabuki performers, a style originated by women no less. In this sense, when we look at Machi-Eshi painters like the creator of Viewing Cherry Blossoms at Kiyomizu Temple Byobu (c.1640),[20] what we see is really half of the picture.[20] Yes retrospectively Bijin are present in the screen, but we do not wholly get the history of female influence on the creation of beauty standards. In this sense, we simply see the Bijin-ga as a product of male desirability for beautiful figures. This is not to say the female gaze of the Asobi is not present, it certainly was.

Also to consider is that the modern Machi-Eshi literature (1970-2020) is full of holes, skewed in favour of patriarchal linearity. Early 17th century Byobu also depict a dynamic society of women who carry greater agency than history gives them credit in their varied dress and activities at the very least. In the sense to which contemporary scholarship understand Kanei (1624-1644) Machi-Eshi Byobu, Bijin-ga emerged from the Kano and Machi Byobu which merged secular life with high art.[8] In this way however popular formats inherited from narrative Muromachi Yamato-E (in turn from Heian Emakimono) such as depicting the Four Seasons (Shiki) and seeing famous tourist spots (Meisho) merged with Edo sensibilities, creating with the rise of the new middle class (the Chonin) by anonymous and established artists such as Tawaraya Sotatsu, Kusumi Morikage and Iwasa Matabei depicted a secular view of the beauty of the natural, contemporary world around them.[20][21][22] Most often Byobu, these are the distinct precusor to Ukiyo-zoshi which allowed for the incubation of the Bijin-ga to become socially acceptable as high art, and later on, profitable.[23]

Matsuura Byobu (c1630-1650) Anonymous Machi Eshi

The Bijin has Arrived

What makes the Machi Eshi interesting in the 1650s,  is that there enough resources circulating to be able to start a career solely around making art by then, which allowed Independents who previously relied on patrons in the Gennei era like temples to become Machi Eshi who sold work they liked to make, not just becuase it was commissioned for a workshop.

Uta Bikuni (c1650, PD) Museum of Art

The Uta Bikuni or Singing (Sexy) Nun examples illustrates how Fuzokuga became infilitrated by the lean towards Ukiyo activities. This previously being an image of piety and religious sanctity, now imbues the idea of a sex worker ready with the red underslip, slight quirk of the mouth and loosely fitting kimono. Also note Katsuyama the 'Pilgrim', a story about the pilgramage of a famous Yoshiwara worker.[6][11] These stories showed the Machi-Shuu sensibility that arose by the 1630s prospered as it broke out as socially acceptable to admire Sexy Nuns with your Chonin buddies over a Sake.

Machi-Eshi moved from samurai clientele to Chonin patronage with portrayals of worldly subjects becoming more common place by this time in Japanese Art. Scenes from the everyday were included wholesale by the 1670s, including pictures of Bijin, under the influence of the rising middle classes or Chonin tastes. With the rise of the Ukiyo lifestyle of some artists, this saw classical correctness fall away to the slightly low brow Ukiyo-zoshi genre (1666-1750) and the rise of new beauty standards for women, that of what I refer to as the Asobi (playgirl), which came along with the rise of the Bijin-ga genre. Women more than likely were doing risque things long before, it is just that what we have as established canon certainly reflects a change in the canon at this time of what society deemed societally permissive for the feminine figure. (Heimin) Licentiousness was in vogue.

With the introduction of the Sakoku period artisans began to become more Japan focused. Artists like Kano Eino (1631–1697CE) was also the first to  reflects the inwards turn to the Wamono away from China of the early Sakoku policies designed to boost and focus on the Japanese domestic economy, beginning his career in 1651, 10 years into the Sakoku edicts. He finished the first Japanese focused Art History work in 1678, the Honcho Gashi ( Japanese painting history | 本朝畫史 | published 1693 ), which showed how well along the Arts were considered to be recieved by the Art communities in Japan, perhaps we can also consider abroad as the imitation of some Japanese goods exported into SouthEast Asia can attest.[14]

Ashida and Uta-E (c.1110CE) 36 Immortal Poets Collection

During the late 17th century, early 18th century, the Sumptuary legislations (1604-1685)[9] reflected the change back to conservative ideas of acceptability within pre-existing class structures as the Chonin sought to establish themselves within pre-existing hierarchical and prestige structures as stability and thus stagnation of diversity (changes to established norms) took hold. By the 1690s, this consolidated into the top-down imposed notion of Iki, which was an attempt by the elites to render the creativity of the Genroku period to a more subtle colourway and less bold lifestyle for the plebians and dirty merchants. This did win over some wealthier Chonin ( social climbers ) who in trying to climb the social ladder began to take on the message behind the curbing of Genroku extravagance (for example, Ashida-E on Kosode was in, but giant Kana was tacky). 

Seven Gods of Fortune (1700, PD) Hanabusa Itchou

This saw a return in the end to the scholarly Bunjinga styles, sort of the watercolours of Japan, away from explicit Wamono and towards the acceptable and established Classical Chinese Tang models. Machi-Eshi who unlike their forebearers in also rejecting the established norms and going their own way, fell into the Iki acceptability trap. Herein, successful Machi Eshi would follow the model of what the hoity-toity Samurai-likey genres. Artisans like Hanabusa Itcho ( 1652-1724 ) would learn the ways of the Kano, but rather than go their own way and create the new everyday, they turned to the imaginary Bunjinga genre, away from the Muromachi Yamato-E.[16] This may be to do with the fact that by this time with the implementation of the study of these art histories that Yamato-E, along with Onna-E, were seen as an offshoot of the 'womans' painting genres, that is painting made primarily by feminine painters, which was unfortunately by the bourgeois seen as a bad thing (see the Onna Daigaku for more information on this wonderful aspect of Japanese medieval patriarchy).[8]

Red and White Plum Blossoms (c1714, PD) Ogata Korin

Uraschimatro (c1897, PD) Henry Justice Ford

Ogata Korin was one of the more established Machi Eshi, reviving the Rinpa school in the Genroku period. His later work such as Red and White plum blossoms (c1714) has had countless copies and variations made from its snaking curvilinear stream which inspired a great amount of Kosode pattern designers and those of the West from 1862 onwards. Those inspired after the fact included the Rinpa painter (a style thankfully allowed to continue due to its connotations with China and flower paintings; a very masculine activity of course) Watanabe Shiko ( 1683-1755 ) whose Byobu have something of a whiff of originality to them.[17]  In the 19th century, the Ogata copycats went by the name of Sakai Hoitsu ( 1761-1829 ), testamount to the amount of Iki still around in the air by 1830.[18] The 19th century is arguably the slow death period of the Machi-Eshi who increasingly benefitted less and had less influence over the Japanese painting circles they were a part of. 

The Town Beauty

In context based art, we see how the high art Byobu of (the Kano and) Anonymous high end Machi-Eshi painters in the Momoyama Byobu became progressively more influenced by Wamono painting styles such as Fuzokuga & Yamato-E. These became by the 1610s a more recognisably urban style developed by the incumbent Machi-Eshi whose art patrons quickly began overtaking the Samurai in number. By the 1620s temple patronage began to reflect this more Chonin orientated shift, encouraging the previously lowbrow art markets of the Heimin of the Sengoku period in order to retain their waning institutional influence.[4] These Art Markets provided key intersections for the meeting of conservative and urban life creating an acceptance by the 1630s of the secularisation and blurring of acceptable beauty standards. That is to say, a Yuukaku was now perfectly acceptable to be found in more Byobu. The 1640s saw the rise of the worldly beauty favoured by the Chonin who wished to see their lives reflected in Art. By the 1650s this became codified in the increasing vanity projects of the wealthy nouveau riche, and by the 1660s, the emergence of the Kambun Bijin-ga figures and by the 1670s the idea that Moronobu could make a living on selling his softcore erotica figures was solidified.

Machi Eshi facilitated the rise of the Bijin genre therefore by leaning into the wishes of their patrons, the new middle classes of Chonin who fueled these new 'base' desires and revamped the wider cultural understanding of how beauty standards could be publicly and privately presented in Art. The basis of the secular beauty, that is to say worldly beauty, was first born from the daring of anonymous Machi-Eshi painters in the Genna period who dared to paint their own more secular and increasingly urban worlds, than the imaginary worlds of the Momoyama elites whose tastes revolved around a Buddhist worldview which emphasised art as a tool to establish control over local economies and resources.[4][8] Art thus became for the masses by facilitating the rise of the relatable Town beauty, a beautiful figure who could be found stalking the streets of Sakai, Osaka, Kyoto or Edo rather than the pavements of a Jinja whose ethereal beauty only served to praise its patrons vast ego or good deeds in preparation for the next life cycle of the Tosa Emakimono. 

It is in this context we see how from conservative Momoyama religious painting, we arrive at the secular beauty standards of the Kambun era to form Ukiyo-E and Bijin as genres by 1665; being a product of Machi-Eshi and Machi-Shuu beauty standards of the late Kanei period (1635-1644). The Town or perhaps Urban beauty is the democratisation of beauty standards in Japan, a turning point born from Tokugawa Stabilisation policies which saw out the slow demise of elite art patronage (Samurai, Aristocracy and Temples) which facilitated the rise of the Chonin worldview during the Kanei as Fine Art, enabling the Machi Eshi, Moronobus and Sukenobus to make a living from softcore gravure by revamping the tradition of Yamato-E and Tang beauties.[21][23] During the 1710s, the Bijin-ga became an establlished Academic genre which is were I shall end the influence of town painters as tastemakers.

Hanami Picnic Byobu (c1624-1644, PD) Anonymous

Bibliography

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_Japan#Kamakura_period_(1185%E2%80%931333)

[2] Heian Period (794–1185), Metropolitan Musuem of Arts, 2002, Online | https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/heia/hd_heia.htm

[3] See section underneath Fujiwara no Tsunetsugu in Fabrics #3

[4] Purveyors of Power: Artisans and Political Relations in Japan‘s Late Medieval Age, Paula Renée Curtis, 2011, pp.33-50 | https://etd.ohiolink.edu/apexprod/rws_etd/send_file/send?accession=osu1306860342&disposition=inline

[5] See Fabrics #9

[6] Genre Painting: Evoking the Charm and Cheer of the Commoners, Morita Tohru, Burritt Saben, Jane Whalley, Yoshikawa Shigehisa, Nomura Shoji, Watanabe Minako, Masaki Yoko, October 1991, Vol.28, No.4, pp.31-37, The East, Singapore National Printers Ltd. | https://archive.org/details/sim_east_november-december-1992_28_4/page/34/mode/1up?q=%22machi-eshi%22&view=theater 

[7] https://www.britannica.com/art/Fujiwara-style

[8] Worlds seen and imagined : Japanese screens from the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Taizo Kuroda,     Melinda Takeuchi, Yuzo Yamane 1995, pp.36-53 | https://archive.org/details/worldsseenimagin0000kuro/page/37/mode/1up?q=%22machi-eshi%22&view=theater

[9] See Stabilisation Policy 1590-1615 and Sumptuary Laws 1604-1685 in Bijin #3 & A Gay Old Time in Bijin #1

[10] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tawaraya_S%C5%8Dtatsu

[11] https://www.moaart.or.jp/en/collections/066/

[12] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kusumi_Morikage

[14] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kan%C5%8D_Motonobu

[15] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kan%C5%8D_Ein%C5%8D

[16] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanabusa_Itch%C5%8D

[17] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watanabe_Shik%C5%8D

[18] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakai_H%C5%8Ditsu

[19] Byōbu: The Art of the Japanese Screen, Michael R. Cunningham, September 1984, Vol. 71, No. 7, pp.223-224, The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art | https://www.jstor.org/stable/25159871?searchText=%22machi-eshi%22&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3D%2522machi-eshi%2522%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_phrase_search%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A1590105ae019ce969bc9bbc38dc80178&seq=4#metadata_info_tab_contents

[20] Reflections on the Floating World, Rossella Menegazzo, 2020, pp.10-17 | https://rfacdn.nz/artgallery/assets/media/2020-reflections-on-the-floating-world-gallery-publication.pdf

[21] For more on the revolutionary Iwasa Matabei, see Bijin #6

[22] https://manga.fandom.com/wiki/Yamato-e | If you are a snob: https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/yama/hd_yama.htm

[23] Japanese painting, Terukazu Akiyama, 1977, pp.162-165 | https://archive.org/details/japanesepainting00akiy/page/165/mode/2up

*Uta-E refer to Heian period symbols which a reader had to decode, usually from poetry anthologies like the Manyou-Shuu (c.759CE) which told a familiar story from those anthologies. They often depicted the events of only one line or story and were found in the background of texts.

Bijin Series Timeline

11th century BCE

- The Ruqun becomes a formal garment in China (1000 BCE) [Coming Soon]

8th century BCE

- Chinese clothing becomes highly hierarchical (771 BCE) [Coming Soon]

0000 Current Era

7th century

Asuka Bijin (c.699); The Wa Bijin

8th century

- Introduction of Chinese Tang Dynasty clothing (710)

- Sumizuri-e (710)

- Classical Chinese Art ; Zhou Fang (active 766-805) ; Qiyun Bijin

- Emakimono Golden Age (799-1400)

15th century 

- Fuzokuga Painting schools; Kano (1450-1868) and Tosa (1330-1690) 

- Machi- Eshi painters; 1336-1650? [Coming Soon] 

16 century 

- Nanbanjin Art (1550-1630) 

- Wamono style begins under Chanoyu teachings (c1550-1580)

- Byobu Screens (1580-1670)

 - End of Sengoku Jidai brings Stabilisation policy (1590-1615)  

17th century  

- Land to Currency based Economy Shift (1601-1655)

- Early Kabuki Culture (1603-1673) ; Yakusha-e or Actor Prints

- Machi-Eshi Art ( 1610 - 1710) ; The Town Beauty

- Sumptuary legislation in reaction to the wealth of the merchant classes (1604-1685) 

- Regulation of export and imports of foreign trade in silk and cotton (1615-1685)  

Iwasa Matabei (active 1617-1650) ; Yamato-e Bijin  

The Hikone Screen (c.1624-1644) [Coming Soon]

- Sankin-Kotai (1635-1642) creates mass Urbanisation  

- Popular culture and print media production moves from Kyoto to Edo (1635-1650); Kiyohara Yukinobu (1650-1682) ; Manji Classical Beauty

- Shikomi-e (1650-1670) and Kakemono-e which promote Androgynous Beauties;

 Iwasa Katsushige (active 1650-1673) ; Kojin Bijin

- Mass Urbanisation instigates the rise of Chonin Cottage Industry Printing (1660-1690) ; rise of the Kabunakama Guilds and decline of the Samurai

- Kanazoshi Books (1660-1700); Koshokubon Genre (1659?-1661)

- Shunga (1660-1722); Abuna-e

Kanbun Master/School (active during 1661-1673) ; Maiko Bijin 

- Hinagata Bon (1666 - 1850) 

- Ukiyo Monogatari is published by Asai Ryoi (1666) 

Yoshida Hanbei (active 1664-1689) ; Toned-Down Bijin

- Asobi/Suijin Dress Manuals (1660-1700)

- Ukiyo-e Art (1670-1900)

Hishikawa Moronobu (active 1672-1694) ; Wakashu Bijin

- Early Bijin-ga begin to appear as Kakemono (c.1672)  

- Rise of the Komin-Chonin Relationship (1675-1725)

- The transit point from Kosode to modern Kimono (1680); Furisode, Wider Obi 

- The Genroku Osaka Bijin (1680 - 1700) ; Yuezen Hiinakata

Sugimura Jihei (active 1681-1703) ; Technicolour Bijin 

- The Amorous Tales are published by Ihara Saikaku (1682-1687)

Hishikawa Morofusa (active 1684-1704) [Coming Soon]

- The Beginning of the Genroku Era (1688-1704)

- The rise of the Komin and Yuujo as mainstream popular culture (1688-1880) 

- The consolidation of the Bijinga genre as mainstream pop culture 

- The rise of the Torii school (1688-1799) 

- Tan-E (1688-1710)   

Miyazaki Yuzen (active 1688-1736) ; Genroku Komin and Wamono Bijin 

Torii Kiyonobu (active 1688 - 1729) : Commercial Bijin

Furuyama Moromasa (active 1695-1748)

18th century

Nishikawa Sukenobu (active 1700-1750) [Coming Soon]

Kaigetsudo Ando (active 1700-1736) ; Broadstroke Bijin

Okumura Masanobu (active 1701-1764)

Kaigetsudo Doshin (active 1704-1716) [Coming Soon]

Baioken Eishun (active 1710-1755) [Coming Soon]

Kaigetsudo Anchi (active 1714-1716) [Coming Soon]

Yamazaki Joryu (active 1716-1744) [Coming Soon]

1717 Kyoho Reforms

Miyagawa Choshun (active 1718-1753) [Coming Soon]

Miyagawa Issho (active 1718-1780) [Coming Soon]

Nishimura Shigenaga (active 1719-1756) [Coming Soon]

Matsuno Chikanobu (active 1720-1729) [Coming Soon]

- Beni-E (1720-1743)

Torii Kiyonobu II (active 1725-1760) [Coming Soon]

- Uki-E (1735-1760)

Kawamata Tsuneyuki (active 1736-1744) [Coming Soon]

Kitao Shigemasa (1739-1820)

Miyagawa Shunsui (active from 1740-1769) [Coming Soon]

Benizuri-E (1744-1760)

Ishikawa Toyonobu (active 1745-1785) [Coming Soon]

Tsukioka Settei (active 1753-1787) [Coming Soon]

Torii Kiyonaga (active 1756-1787) [Coming Soon]

Shunsho Katsukawa (active 1760-1793) [Coming Soon]

Utagawa Toyoharu (active 1763-1814) [Coming Soon]

Suzuki Harunobu (active 1764-1770) [Coming Soon]

- Nishiki-E (1765-1850)

Torii Kiyonaga (active 1765-1815) [Coming Soon]

Kitao Shigemasa (active 1765-1820) [Coming Soon]

Maruyama Okyo (active 1766-1795) [Coming Soon]

Kitagawa Utamaro (active 1770-1806) [Coming Soon]

Kubo Shunman (active 1774-1820) [Coming Soon]

Tsutaya Juzaburo (active 1774-1797) [Coming Soon]

Utagawa Kunimasa (active from 1780-1810) [Coming Soon]

Tanehiko Takitei (active 1783-1842) [Coming Soon]

Katsukawa Shuncho (active 1783-1795) [Coming Soon]

Choubunsai Eishi (active 1784-1829) [Coming Soon]

Eishosai Choki (active 1786-1808) [Coming Soon]

Rekisentei Eiri (active 1789-1801) [Coming Soon] [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Ukiyo-e_paintings#/media/File:Rekisentei_Eiri_-_'800),_Beauty_in_a_White_Kimono',_c._1800.jpg]

Chokosai Eisho (active 1792-1799) [Coming Soon]

Kunimaru Utagawa (active 1794-1829) [Coming Soon]

Utagawa Toyokuni II (active 1794 - 1835) [Coming Soon]

Ryūryūkyo Shinsai (active 1799-1823) [Coming Soon]

19th century

Teisai Hokuba (active 1800-1844) [Coming Soon]

Totoya Hokkei (active 1800-1850) [Coming Soon]

Utagawa Kunisada Toyokuni III (active 1800-1865) [Coming Soon]

Urakusai Nagahide (active from 1804) [Coming Soon]

Kitagawa Tsukimaro (active 1804 - 1836)

Kikukawa Eizan (active 1806-1867) [Coming Soon]

Keisai Eisen (active 1808-1848) [Coming Soon]

Utagawa Kuniyoshi (active 1810-1861) [Coming Soon]

Utagawa Hiroshige (active 1811-1858) [Coming Soon]

Yanagawa Shigenobu (active 1818-1832) [Coming Soon]

Utagawa Kunisada II (active 1844-1880) [Coming Soon]

Toyohara Kunichika (active 1847-1900) [Coming Soon]

Kano Hogai (active 1848-1888) [Coming Soon]

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (active 1850-1892) [Coming Soon]

Toyohara Chikanobu (active 1875-1912) [Coming Soon]

Kiyokata Kaburaki (active 1891-1972) [Coming Soon]

Goyo Hashiguchi (active 1899-1921) [Coming Soon]

20th century

Yumeji Takehisa (active 1905-1934) [Coming Soon]

Torii Kotondo (active 1915-1976) [Coming Soon]

Yamakawa Shūhō (active 1927-1944) [Coming Soon]

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