The Medieval World, C. 400–1300

Japanese Art Until C. 1400

Did samurai culture influence Japanese art?

As samurai culture grew stronger during the Kamakura Period (1185–1392), it did indeed have an influence on the arts, including sculpture and painting. One of the most powerful handscroll paintings from the thirteenth century is Night Attack on the Sanjo Palace, which depicts swirling flames in deep orange hues as armored warriors on horseback attack one another in a battle between the Minamoto and Taira clans. The surprise attack was a significant historical event in Japan’s military history, and though the handscroll was painted nearly one hundred years after the battle took place, it serves as a historical record of the period.



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