Abstract
Mural paintings are one of the most significant elements of interior designs in Japanese residenses. The extent of painted walls, however, made a great change in Edo Period. Walls were articulated by uchinori-nageshi (something like architrave), and up to Edo Period, paintings were applied only on the section under uchinori-nageshi. The narrow walls between uchinori-nageshi and ceiling (called kokabe), which were plastered with white clay, were never decorated bisides that. In Edo Period, as we could find examples of painted kokabe, we would note that there was a change in the extent of painted walls. I will discuss in thischapter, the changes of arranging painting on kokabe, exclusively in the edifices of the Imperial Palace in KYOTO which were built on after another in Edo Period. The summary is as follows : Imperial Palace were constructed eight times during about 260 years of Edo Period. Among these edifices, kokabe was decorated by paintings only in the Empress's Palace which was completed in 1619 (the fifth year of Genna). Kokabe in other edifices were plastered with white clay as it had been since the Middle Age. As the empress came from the Shogunate family, I believe, the only example of the painted kokabe was also influenced by the interior designs of Shogunate residences. It leads me to think that, in the palace for the emperor, who headed somewhat conservative aristocrats, the new design of painting kokabe was not accepted after all.
