Artistic Endeavors

                  Artistic Endeavors such as art, music literature, theater and architecture play a large role in a civilization. Art can be used to display great victories in battle, record the building of a momentous palace, display the fashions of the day and much more. In my readings for class on November 12th, 2013 I read about the Japanese culture. Art for the Japanese, like in many other cultures, was used to display the peoples different myths and origin stories. Such as the Japanese Buddhist monks pilgrimage across the vast ocean riding upon a dragon. Visual expression of oral traditions is a value that artistic endeavors possess.


As mentioned previously artistic endeavors can be used to display important times/periods during a cultures history. For instance with the Japanese culture the use of the "Red Seal" ships. By 1952 the shogun Hideyoski licensed foreign traders ventures by Japanese ships, under the "Red Seal" This type of trade was abolished in the 1630s. This picture and others like it symbolize an important period in Japanese trade.




Art can show  cultural immersion and assimilation as well. The process of exchange of ideas and their influence on cultures across the world can be seen and heard through artistic means. Take for instance this image at the right. This image depicts global exchange of ideas in the 18th century. This piece of artwork depicts how three different cultures, Chinese, Japanese, and Dutch view each other and how they felt about the others technology. Spatial relation is used to show societal relationships. The Japanese man on the right is closest to the Dutch man while the Chinese man is more distant and closed off. The fact that the Dutch man's anatomy books is open showcases a respect and admiration for the Dutch cultures prowess in that field.


On page 800 in the text book there is a print that is part of the "Famous Places on Tokaido: A Record of the Process of Reform." that depicts the Tokyo-Yokohama railway line built in 1872. Artistic Endeavors can also be a remembrance of famous places that are in Japan and the important historical factors that played a part. In 1868 the Meiji Restoration opened Japan to foreign trade and ideas and by 1872 the railway depicted in the print was built with the help of foreign engineers something that would not have been possible without the Meiji Restoration.

Culture can be spread through artistic endeavors as well. Take for instance the image at the left. This image depicts a western woman in a traditional Japanese Kimono. The fashion for Japanese art and taste in the late nineteenth century West extended to women's clothing. Paintings of Westerners in Japanese kimonos like this image on left and on page 840 in the text books demonstrate the fashionable appeal of Japan. Iconic images are typically found in the background of these paintings including Mount Fuji in the text book image.






Artistic endeavors can harm a civilization too. Controversial artwork can hinder a country acceptance and images such as the swastika and the dioramas that we read about for class can reveal a part of a civilizations past that they don't want people to know about or wish would be forgotten. Art in its purest form makes people think more deeply then they sometimes would like to really see the world for what it is.

In the prompt for this blog post we are asked to answer "What role does, "culture", broadly defined, play in the game?" I would have to say that culture does have a large role in the game but that it is somewhat hidden. If you have not learned about these cultures in class and the history behind the way they built their civilization I would feel that you might be lost in the game at times. The back and forth between trusting and not trusting a certain civilization could have a lot to do with how that civilization acted historically. I did not know much about Japanese history but learned in class by Tiffany telling that the female Japanese leader should not be trusted. Historically she was a ruthless ruler and this is helpful to know in the game in which she displays that she is ruthless.