Overview
(1) Unlike static paintings, Night Attack on Sanjo Palace requires the viewer to engage in a different way. How was this object meant to be viewed? How is this experience different from the works of art we have previously examined in this course?
(2) Based on the lecture and outside reading, what role do you think text plays in viewing/reading the Night Attack on Sanjo Palace? Why do you think the text was considered an essential introduction to the imagery? How does the unique style of Yamato-e painting factor into this?
(3) Finally, this work seems to show both crucial moments from actual historical events and salacious and violent details. It isn't purely a work of political propaganda because it doesn't depict either side as particularly heroic. This has led some scholars to suggest that it was primarily intended as a spectacle for entertainment. What are your personal thoughts on this issue? Where is the line between violence as education in the visual arts and violence as a spectacle?