The Japanese have inspired many forms of art, from their wood block prints and fashion to their landscape and animation. In this article, I attempt to explore the ways in which Japanese culture and art have affected art and style outsidse of Japan, and present examples of this such art work from the artists among us here on deviantART.

I recently attended a Japanese wood block print exhibition at my local art gallery with my boyfriend and one of his brothers. In between laughing very immaturely at the faces they were depicted making, I realised just how uncommon it is to see traditional Japanese art recreated and inspiring other pieces. It seems that these days if you mention Japanese art, half of the people within earshot, if not more, will start yabbering about Naruto or Death Note whilst peeing their pants with excitement. If one looked at the larger picture, behind the anime and manga, then they would see the architecture, the vegetation, the animals and the technology. Not just pokéballs. But now it's time to get down to the point of the article: The effect.

Take digital art, for example. Often the media most artists use to creative skillful anime pieces, but also the media used to recreate the beautiful, traditional landscapes and monumental buildings and structures, like Himeji Castle and the gate leading to the Shrine on Miyajima Island. Half of these pieces tend to be in black and white, with the occasional splash of red, like the country's flag which represents a rising sun, while others are full colour, capturing more realism than symbolism.
Photography is another popular media on deviantART, and is used to often capture the cherry blossoms at close range, or the landscape, buildings included. Those of us who will probably never visit such a place, unfortunately, can relish in the fact that these beautiful photographs have captured enough beauty from a single spot to keep the futile yearn to visit the island at bay, however it is, of course, not the same thing. The media also shows a more human-natured side of the culture as well. The Japanese are reknowned for the extremeties of their youthful fashion, and photography can capture the bustling cityscapes of the land in just as much industrial beauty as the natural landscape, the attire worn by the young adding a necessary blast of colour to make pieces more eyepopping than your average cityscape photography.
There is also, inevitably, fashion. This has been touched by the Japanese, if not outright copied. Kimonoes with a personal touch are the popular direction to go in, and looking in some stores and online there are some very flattering Japanese-inspired dresses made from satin with a very tight fit (from Lipservice, anyone who is interested). Then there come the pieces inspired by the youthful fashions of Japan. Pieces of metal and lace with corset-style features adorn the dresses and outfits, giving them a touch of insanity that take a daring person to walk the streets in a place far from Japan while wearing them. It has brought the styles of Dir en Grey and others over to our pebbley shores and forced us to pay attention, and despite some turning their noses up at it rather than opening their minds, it has been successful.
Calligraphy is a dying art from the Oriental lands, using ink to create attractive and sophisticated lettering that is often seen on wedding invitations. Japanese calligraphy is the most famous, with brushes used to print Kanji and the like onto fabrics and paper in confident strokes and elegance. There are many pieces on deviantART of this type of calligraphy, though only a few individual artists. I myself have given calligraphy a go and find it to be enjoyable, especially if the outcome is tidy yet confident.
Japan has influenced a great amount of traditional art, even amongst the more well-known artists like Edgar Degas (19.07.1834 to 27.09.1917), who was attracted to and absorbed the colours and lines of the Japanese art into his own, rather than "staging japoneries that featured models dressed in kimonos and the conspicuous display of oriental props" [1]. However, among the artists here on deviantART, traditional artwork tends to take in the lines and colours as well: similar to digital work, the use of black and white is popular and the hint of red, sometimes displaying a sun and rays, extending the Japanese flag, Nisshōki.
Although there are few to no architectural pieces influenced by Japan made by deviantART artists, it cannot be forgotten that Japan (namely Tokyo) is a highly modernised and technical Island with advanced building structures, for example the Sumida Culture Factory in Tokyo. However, this article, being focused on Japanese influence outside of Japan, an example of a structure influenced by the similar style would be Millenium Square, Bristol in England. The buildings often have sloping walls and rooves, and in some cases, no rooves at all, merely sloping walls meeting in a point some way or another, such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA, US. The buildings are often made up of reflective mirror-like panels that reflects the sky giving a more invisible appearance and allowing one to feel slightly less as though they're in the middle of a huge city. Then, to contrast, there is the traditional architecturalstyle, along with Japanese Gardens, which have been constructed all over the world, Eastern as well as Western.

All in all, Japan and its culture have influenced a lot of things outside of the country, from buildings and fashion down to strokes and colours of paint. From the earliest wood block prints to the modern day architecture, it has all inspired one person or another to do something that is different, that stands out from French Impressionism and Spanish Cubism. Below I have collected thumbnails of pieces from deviant artists among dA, to produce an example of the influence this has had upon the artists around us on this online art community.


Photography:






Traditional:







Digital Art:






Calligraphy:






Textiles:



Other:





"While studying TKD and Korean Language/History I noticed a immense influence from Japanese culture, more so than Chinese. I believe Korean culture, language, and art are more influenced by japan than any one else." ~ ~Telekenisis


[1] MetMuseum.org


Additional thanks to *MlleDinkley for tips on the research