shouji-e　障子絵

KEY WORD :　art history / paintings

Lit. paintings on screens *shouji 障子. Shoji-e is a term used before the 12-13c in reference to paintings on fusuma shouji 襖障子 (see *fusuma 襖), sliding doors and screens, and *tsuitate shouji 衝立障子, free-standing single-paneled screens. Today the word *fusuma-e 襖絵 is commonly used for shouji-e. Shouji (now called fusuma) were constructed of a light wooden frame covered with paper batting on to which paper or silk was pasted and decorated. Documents demonstrate that shouji were used as room dividers in *shinden-zukuri 寝殿造 residences of the nobility from at least the 8c. An early appearance of the term occurs in SAIDAIJI SHIZAI RUKICHOU 西大寺資材流記帳 of 780, which refers to paintings on both tsuitate and fusuma shouji. Although there are no extant shouji-e examples from before 14c, there are a number of literary references to shouji-e in domestic buildings. Illustrated handscrolls *emaki 絵巻 also include scenes of room interiors with shouji-e. Painted shouji screens were used in the Imperial Palace since 9c. For example, *Konmeichi-no-shouji 昆明池障子 was a type of standing screen seen in depictions in the illustrated scrolls of The Courtier Ban Dainagon, Ban Dainagon ekotoba 伴大納言絵詞 (late 12c, Idemitsu 出光 Museum of Art, Tokyo). After the 11c, the term shouji-e refers more often to paintings on sliding doors which had become more popular than free-standing screens. 15c panel paintings were almost exclusively executed on a paper (not silk). Some shouji-e were created with ink alone (see *kanga 漢画), while the others employed extensive gold backgrounds and bright pigments rendering bold, and vigorous motifs.

REFERENCES:

*shouheiga 障屏画, *shohekiga 障壁画, *byoubu-e 屏風絵, *kinpeki shouhekiga 金碧障壁画

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