Japanese Arts logo

architecture
calligraphy
ceramics
clothing
comics
gardens
lacquerwork
literature
movies
music
painting
poetry
sculpture
tea ceremony
television
theatre
weaponry
thematic routes
timeline
the site
Gibbon Hanging From A Branch, by Hakuin Ekaku

Welcome

Our dear friend Martin Skidmore passed away, after complications arising from cancer, at University College London Hospital, on the evening of 27 July 2011. He was 52.

This site is testament to the breadth of his knowledge and the directness and generosity of his critical approach, and we plan to maintain and curate it as we believe he would have. In accordance with his wishes, and in fond memory, we will keep the site as a living, growing entity, quietly expanding it as and when appropriate material emerges.

—Cecily Nowell-Smith, Mark Sinker

Note that this site is released before many of the links lead anywhere (live sections are brighter on the menu), so I apologise for that. It will grow. Current page count: about 620.

There are two types of guided route - by artforms, or by other themes, cutting across the forms. Or feel free to wander at will, obviously.

One important point is that since this will never be finished, you may want to know what's new since the last time you came here, so:

Update Log

And you may want to find a particular person, so here is an index to people with full pages about them:

Person Index

Or you may want an overview of everything on the site:

Contents

I explain Japanese terms when I use them, or at least link to the glossary, but just in case:

Glossary