Sculpture and the ceramic industry made progress not less remarkable than that of painting during the Muromachi epoch. Muneyasu of the Myochin family stood at the head of workers in metal. He made for the Shōgun Yoshimitsu a helmet of extraordinary beauty. Another helmet equally remarkable for the grace and fineness of its workmanship was forged for Takeda Shingen by Nobuiye, also a Myochin. The era was also rich in swordsmiths of note. Of these Gotō Sukenori was the most famous. A short sword made by him for Yoshimasa was considered a marvel of skilled forging. Glyptic work in various metals found masters of the highest craft in the representatives of the Gotō family. They took their decorative designs from pictures painted by the artists of the Kano school, and reproduced these charming conceptions on sword fittings with extraordinary fidelity, using the chisel as though it were a painter's brush. Aoki Kanaiye and Myochin Nobuiye were specially celebrated as makers of sword-guards, a part of the warrior's equipment on which much manufacturing care was lavished.

The vogue attained by the cha-no-yu (tea ceremonial) cult under the Ashikaga shōguns and owing to the efforts of Sen-no-Rikiu, a celebrated dilettante of Hideyoshi's time, had a marked influence in encouraging the development of ceramics, and several experts of the craft made their appearance. During the reign of Gokashiwabara, a potter named Shozui traveled to China to study the processes of his art, and on his return established a kiln in Hizen, where the first Japanese translucent porcelain was produced. Shozui adapted his methods to the canons of the cha-no-yu cult, making simplicity and purity of style his chief objects.

The lacquerer's art also made great progress in this era. Its experts found munificent patronage owing to the luxurious and costly tastes which prevailed at the time in obedience to the example set by the Ashikaga rulers. Objects of extraordinary richness and delicacy were produced, especially in the line of gold lacquer, where the Japanese workers developed unique skill. Their chefs-d'œuvre were not more valued in Japan than in China, where they were known as "Yatpun T'sat-ki." Two other famous varieties of lacquer work had their origin in this era, namely, tsuishu, or red lacquer, chiseled in high relief, and tsuikoku, or lacquer laid on in alternate layers of red and black and carved deeply, the edges of the design being sloped so as to show the gradation of layers. Despite the continued warfare and unceasing disturbance of the Muromachi epoch, the shōguns and the great nobles and generals affected a most luxurious and refined manner of life, and it consequently resulted that the blackest era of Japanese history, so far as concerned the preservation of public peace and order and the security of life and property, was nevertheless a time of marked artistic development.

FOOTNOTES:

[1]

100. Emperor Gokomatsu, 1383-1413.
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101. Emperor Shōkō, 1413-1429.
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102. Emperor Gohanazono, 1429-1465.
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103. Emperor Gotsuchimikado, 1465-1501.

[2] The following is the list of the emperors of this period:

103. Emperor Gotsuchimikado, 1465-1501.
104. Emperor Gokashiwabara, 1501-1527.
105. Emperor Gonara, 1527-1558.
106. Emperor Ogimachi, 1558-1587.
107. Emperor Goyōzei, 1587-1612.

[3] The shōguns of the Ashikaga family and the years of their rule were as follows:

1. Ashikaga Takauji, 1335-1358.8. Ashikaga Yoshimasa, 1449-1473.
2. Ashikaga Yoshiakira, 1358-1367.9. Ashikaga Yoshihisa, 1473-1489.
3. Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, 1367-1394.10. Ashikaga Yoshimura, 1489-1493 and 1508-1521.
4. Ashikaga Yoshimochi, 1394-1423 and 1425-1428. 11. Ashikaga Yoshizumi, 1493-1508.
5. Ashikaga Yoshikazu, 1423-1425.12. Ashikaga Yoshiharu, 1521-1545.
6. Ashikaga Yoshinori, 1428-1441.13. Ashikaga Yoshiteru, 1545-1565.
7. Ashikaga Yoshikatsu, 1441-1449.14. Ashikaga Yoshinaga, 1565-1568.
15. Ashikaga Yoshiaki, 1568-1573.