Capitalscapes

Chapter Six: The Azuchi Screens and Images of Castles

chapter฀six The Azuchi Screens and Images of Castles T he fourth quarter of the sixteenth century and beginning of the seventeenth century saw the unification of Japan’s warring provinces through the military conquests of three great military hegemons: Oda Nobunaga , Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu. This era, called Azuchi-Momoyama after the sites of the fortresses of Nobunaga and Hideyoshi, also witnessed dazzling innovations in the visual arts, most notably in paintings on the surfaces of fusuma and folding screens that decorated the new palatial sites of power. No rakuch≥ rakugai zu—in the strict sense of screens of Kyoto— remain from this period, but written documents and other paintings show that not only were panoramic city views still produced on screens, but that they also continued to operate within the arenas of political power and influence. Whether or not Oda Nobunaga had commissioned and sent the rakuch≥ rakugai zu by Kano Eitoku to Uesugi Terutora, at some point he evidently discovered the power of the folding-screen image of the urban landscape. In 1581 Nobunaga gave Visitor to the Jesuit Missions in the Orient Alessandro Valignano (1539– 1606) a pair of screens depicting Azuchi Castle and its adjoining town. These screens eventually found their way to Rome with the Tensh† “Boys” Embassy of 1582–1592 and were presented to Pope Gregory XIII. Their whereabouts today are unknown and their appearance can only be imagined, but they must have been pivotal works in the development of rakuch≥ rakugai zu as a genre, a rare case in which their political import is made explicit in contemporary documentation.1 The Portuguese introduction of firearms to Japan in the midsixteenth century is credited with revolutionizing Japanese warfare in the Warring States era. Besides changes in armor and battle field strategy, the development of castles from hilltop wooden forts into impregnable fortresses with moats, sheer stone foundations , mazes of thick masonry walls, and multistory donjons is generally understood as responding to the new needs of defense against more powerful long-range explosive projectiles. Azuchi Castle, built for Oda Nobunaga in 1576, was unprecedented in its scale. Its construction also marked a transition in the castle’s role from purely defensive to incorporating residential and symbolic functions as well. At the core of its complex of moats, enormous gates, and walls were social spaces decorated with paintings on gold-emblazoned panels.2 Situated at the summit of a large hill on the major route between Kyoto and eastern Japan, Azuchi was visible for miles, an architectural symbol both more imposing and visible than the enclosed residential halls of the shogun or emperor in Kyoto. From the sparse description that remains, the Azuchi screens that went to Rome appear to have captured the grandeur of this breathtaking new edifice. After the Azuchi screens of 1580–1581, castles become a prominent compositional element in rakuch≥ rakugai zu that artists in the genre would never abandon. Screens of Hideyoshi’s grand for- Azuchi Screens and Images of Castles 165 tified palaces—the Jurakutei, Fushimi Castle, Osaka Castle, and his castle in Hizen Province in Ky≥sh≥—survive in extant paintings , fragments, and in the form of later copies. Several extant and lost rakuch≥ rakugai zu can be associated with the Tokugawa clan. Most of these depict Nij† Castle. Almost all of these paintings were produced by prominent members of the Kano atelier, demonstrating the strong link of rakuch≥ rakugai (term used inclusively) screens to high levels of commission. In all these paintings castles serve as a focal point in the composition, and offset the natural balance of the paired screen format. In this chapter, I look at how the compositional problem presented by a single focal monument was dealt with and how these new compositions were designed and reformulated to serve the particular desires of patrons. The Azuchi Screens The 1581 Azuchi screens have become almost legendary among scholars of rakuch≥ rakugai zu and Momoyama-era culture in general , primarily because of the tantalizing possibility that they might still exist. If they are ever found, they would be invaluable both as an example of a painting by Kano Eitoku and as a singular visual representation—and best documentation—of Nobunaga’s castle. Known accounts of the Azuchi screens come from two primary sources: Oyudono no ue no nikki and the Jesuit missionary Luis Frois’s History of Japan. That the screens are mentioned in these two documents is significant. Oyudono...