Souvenir of Kyoto's Entertainment: The Shiomi Rakuchu-Rakugaizu Screens in the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art

• Main Author: Hanson, Heather, 1984-
• Language: en_US
• Published: University of Oregon 2010
• Subjects: Screens > Japan; Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1794/10152

ix, 95 p. : ill., maps. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. === This thesis examines an unstudied pair of eight-paneled Japanese rakuchurakugaizu screens donated by Dr. Robert H. Shiomi to the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (JSMA). Rakuchu-rakugaizu (Scenes in and Out of the Capital) was a popular painting genre that developed over the late sixteenth to seventeenth centuries. In contrast to most accepted scholarly views of this genre, I believe the Shiomi screens are void of political intentions and function as souvenirs. Closely comparing the visual traits to other known examples and contemporary travel guides demonstrates the shift in focus to entertainment and famous sites in the capital available to Kyoto's citizens and visitors alike. Kyoto's history, the prevalence of travel that came with a reunified Japan during the Tokugawa hegemony, and the identification of activities, temples, and shrines within the screens solidifies this argument. This facilitates a nuanced understanding of this painting genre and demonstrates alternative approaches for its study. === Committee in Charge: Akiko Walley, Chair; Charles Lachman; Andrew Edmund Goble