Studio: international art (5.1895)

/apanese Wood-Carving

history and art of these delightful trifles, as well as
of many other branches of Japanese art, told us
something about them in his paper in The Studio
for January 1894. We can imagine the delight
with which our own Grinling Gibbons would have
gazed at some of these marvellous imitations of
fungi, of rats, of frogs, carved by his own contem-
poraries in far-off Japan. But even in the common
articles of trade which are produced to-day in that
country, the beauty and delicacy of handwork and
the masterful use of the chisel at times astound us.
But it is not until we visit Japan and gaze upon the
great works of the great masters in situ that we
fully realise the perfection to which the wood-
carver's art has there attained. We see massive
gateways, heavy roof bracketings, panels and
friezes on a grand scale, carved with a force of
sculpturesque expression never exceeded in artistic
power by any chiseller of stone in any age. As we
look at these boldly conceived wood sculptures, it

FIG. I.—CHISELS FOR CARVING STRAIGHT LINES

FIG. 2.—CHISELS FOR CARVING CURVED LINES

FIG- 3-—CHISELS FOR CARVING INTERVENING SPACES

seems to us that the material, instead of detracting
from the artistic value of the work, was in itself an
advantage to the worker, who could obtain from it
effects with far greater freedom than would be pos-
sible with stone. The delight we feel in their
contemplation is, in fact, exactly akin to the plea-
sure we take in those direct touches of the great
painter which express so much with such little
apparent effort.

It is impossible for us to thoroughly examine
much of the wood-carving of the Japanese without
marvelling at the remarkable facility with which it
appears to have been executed. And this is
noticeable, not only in the great work of the
great carvers, but also in all that we see, however
common. The carved decoration on the penny
paper-knife, although perhaps of the slightest,
always has the appearance of having been done by
an adept in his craft—one who could do better
work if required of him.

From whence comes this facility ? Does it
arrive from some intuitive power, denied to us in
the West, which enables the Japanese to draw and
to carve with the same ease that we learn to walk?
Or does it arrive from some more perfect method
of education than we are accustomed to ? We
reject the first suggestion as improbable. What
are the facts about the latter ?

While upon a visit to Japan a few years ago, the
writer had the good fortune to visit the University
College in Tokio, where he was shown a series of
practical object lessons prepared by the master of
the School of Wood-carving for the use of the
students. Block after block was attentively in-
spected, and as the lessons progressed, one follow-
ing in a natural sequence upon the preceding one,
a system was revealed so practical, so full of care-
ful thought, so perfect, as to impress him more
than ever with the thoroughness of the people—a
thoroughness shown alike in all they attempt,
whether in the arts of peace or of war. The
opportunities which the old masters of wood-
carving enjoyed for learning their craft were, in all
probability, of a different nature to those which
young Japan has now at hand. The crafts were
learnt in the workshop in the old times very much
in the same way as they were in Europe, and it is
possible that each master had his own especial
way of instructing his apprentices. Of these
methods we know little, and probably never shall
be fully acquainted with them. But of the system
now adopted at the Tokio University it is the good
fortune of the writer to be able to give to readers
of The Studio some outline. It is one of such

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