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Ningyo. Alan Scott Pate
Читать онлайн.Название Ningyo
Год выпуска 0
isbn 9781462907205
Автор произведения Alan Scott Pate
Издательство Ingram
Chirimen is a silk crepe employed in many of the ningyō presented in this volume, whether as an outer fabric on the primary garment, employed in inner layers, or used as an accent element.
The highly textured surface of the silk crepe is achieved through the extreme twisting of either the warp or the weft threads. Chirimen is a version of crepe with a particular variation in the twists of the weft. Like kinran, it was initially imported from China until Japanese weavers mastered its production, becoming particularly popular as a base material for dyeing in the early part of the Edo period. Frequently dyed red from benibana (safflower), chirimen textiles dominate certain genres of ningyō and were used most extensively on the bibs of gosho-ningyō and in the decorated sleeves of many ishō-ningyō and Takeda-ningyō.
The final textile element that deserves special mention is birōdo (velvet). Like kinran and chirimen, velvet was originally an imported textile, but rather than originating from Chinese weaving traditions, birōdo came to Japan via Portuguese traders in the sixteenth century. The term itself is a corruption of the Spanish word for velvet, velludo. It was also known as betchin or velveteen. Birōdo was considered a decidedly luxurious fabric and in ningyō was used primarily as an accent element. It is found most consistently on Takeda-ningyō of the nineteenth century where it is used on the long eri (collars) of jackets, on sleeves, and on decorative panels running down the fronts of inner garments. Rather than being left plain, these birōdo elements frequently received additional embroidered treatments, or were embossed with metal appliqués. The iron mordant used to achieve the black color generally accelerated the deterioration of the material. As a consequence, birōdo fabrics often exhibit more wear than surrounding fabrics on the same piece.
Gofun
Like Buddhist sculptures, the bodies of ningyō were rarely left in a raw wood state but received various decorative treatments. The lustrous white found on the faces, hands, and bodies of many Japanese dolls is created from a material known as gofun. It is considered to be perhaps one of the most singularly defining characteristics of ningyō, one with no equivalent in any other culture. Gofun is a white composite paste made from crushed oyster shells and animal based glue (nikawa) mixed with water. When applied flat, it functions as a simple white pigment. When applied to hard surfaces and burnished, it creates a resilient, lacquer-like surface, very smooth, with a lustrous sheen. The glue element in the gofun mixture also gives it a plastic quality which allows it to be worked and molded to a small degree, creating raised lines and surfaces, and even minimal amounts of carving. Gofun has been used in Buddhist sculpture since the Kamakura period (1185-1333), where it was applied to the bodies of certain deities and used extensively on their carved garments. The makers of Noh masks have used gofun since the Muromachi period (1392-1573) to provide the lustrous white faces of many characters. Artists working on surfaces such as folding screens (byōbu), sliding door panels (fusuma), and architectural painting employed gofun as a matte pigment as well as using its plastic qualities to create raised design elements within the paintings in a technique called moriage. Lacquer artists valued these same properties and used gofun to create many of the raised design elements that graced a wide variety of utilitarian and decorative objects. Ningyō artists also utilized gofun extensively, burnishing it to a high sheen on the bodies, hands, and faces, giving these figures a heightened sense of beauty and mystery as well as greatly enhancing their appeal. In the construction of faces and hands on ningyō, gofun proved to be an excellent material to help create the finer detail elements of the face, including eyes, nose, and mouth. Rather than fully carving these aspects in the core wood, the artist could use the gofun much the way lacquer artists did to create the subtly raised lines demarcating the eyelids or lips, and building it up even higher to create the nose. Additional red and black pigments were added to further refine and delineate the feature.
Traces of white pigment have been found on certain haniwa figures dating from the sixth century, indicating the presence of native white pigments from at least the Kofun period. One of the earliest documented white pigments employed by Japanese artists and artisans was a lead-based pigment called impaku, introduced from China during the Nara period. Impaku was used extensively in all manner of applications, from architectural painting to sculpture, to devotional painting. However, the lead-based impaku tended to oxidize over time in Japans humid climate, limiting its appeal. The exact date of the introduction of gofun into Japan is unknown, but by the Kamakura period it began to replace impaku as a preferred source for white pigment in many media. Its plastic qualities gave gofun a wider range of applications than traditional white impaku. The "go" in gofun means "barbarian" and implies that the technique of manufacturing gofun was imported through China from points further west along the Silk Road.
Gofun is produced from oysters, particularly a variety known as itabogaki. The oysters are harvested and the shells left to dry in the sun in order to help leach out sodium and any remaining organic matter. Over time the hard surface of the shell softens and becomes chalky The upper and lower segments are then separated. Working with only the outside of the shell, the softened shell is then partially ground using a tool called a kai garuma (shell wheel), which further removes impurities. The remaining shells are then crushed and water is used to sluice and separate the elements. The ground shell fragments are then passed through a series of screens and left to dry in the sun. The result is a fine powder that when mixed with an animal-based paste forms an applicable white pigment. In doll and mask manufacture, a series of layers is applied, and each layer is burnished. The shell element in the gofun responds to the burnishing, yielding a lustrous quality not found in impaku. Repeated applications and burnishing result in a surface that is surprisingly durable, with a bright procelaneous sheen. Yet, it remains entirely water soluble and can be easily removed with a wet rag. During the Edo period, gofun production was centered in the Edokawachi section of Kyoto. Today, it is centered in Uji.
This brief discussion of materials is far from exhaustive. The interior structure of many ningyō forms reveals the use of bamboo dowels, metal pins, and cotton or silk wadding. Exterior elements include lacquered paper for armor, thin and thick metal bosses, and appliqués. Beginning in the eighteenth century, silk fiber or actual human hair was generally employed as well in the depiction of the various ningyō hairstyles. Silk fiber was also used to simulate fur-covered boots as well as the fur of animals. Core materials other than wood include ivory, clay, papier mâché, and a wood composite known as toso. Even plant materials such as rape seed (nanohana) were used to create hina-ningyō in certain communities. In the descriptions of the figures included in this volume, the appearance of these and other elements are noted to help create a greater understanding not only of the visual meaning and cultural symbolism represented by ningyō, but also the nuts and bolts that went into the creation of these marvelous works of art
Gosho-style ishō-ningyō: Jurōjin
Edo period, 19th century
Height 14 inches
Ayervais Collection
Standing gosho-ningyō holding infant
Edo period, 19th century
Height 7 inches
Rosen Collection
A CELEBRATION OF YOUTH
Dolls the world over are largely seen to be the province of children, toys to be played with, forms to be dressed and preened, and endowed with imaginary lives re-enacted in imitation of the adult world. Following a seemingly universal impulse, children mimic the society around them through the use of dolls cobbled together from found materials: wood, clay, stone, string, and cloth. Such is the basic nature of the doll and even play—an imitation of life, a parody of the larger world, a socialization process developing the skills and aptitudes required for functioning in general society. But in a striking inversion of this pattern, a certain category