Bunjinga

(adjective)

A school of Japanese painting that flourished in the late Edo period among artists who considered themselves literati, or intellectuals; also known as Nanga.

Related Terms

Examples of Bunjinga in the following topics:

  • Japanese Literati Painting in the Edo Period

    • An important art trend during the Edo period was the bunjinga or Nanga School, a kind of literati painting highly influenced by China literati.
    • An important trend in the Edo period was the rise of the bunjinga genre, a kind of literati painting, also known as the Nanga School or Southern Painting school.
    • Later bunjinga artists considerably modified both the techniques and the subject matter of this genre to create a blending of Japanese and Chinese styles.
    • Bunjinga was also shaped by the great differences in culture and environment of the Japanese literati as compared to their Chinese counterparts.
    • Bunjinga paintings most often depicted traditional Chinese subjects.

  • Ukiyo-e Woodblock Prints in the Edo Period

    • Ukiyo-e was closely linked to the bunjinga, or literati, style of painting that emerged during the same period.
    • Just as ukiyo-e artists chose to depict figures from life outside of the strictures of the Tokugawa shogunate, bunjinga artists turned to Chinese culture and based their paintings on those of Chinese scholar-painters.