ABSTRACT
Some art historians and critics have argued that the Japanese artistic tradition dates only from the sixth century, that is, after the introduction of Buddhism to Japan. Japan has enjoyed an older tradition of folk arts and crafts, predominantly secular and expressive of the tastes of ordinary Japanese. Japanese art is certainly the major, possibly the only form of the nation's culture that has directly influenced the West. Archaeological finds were subjected to critical examination by art experts. Continental influence on Nara can be seen primarily in the art inspired by Buddhism. Just as economic wealth and power in the late twelfth century shifted away from stiflingly confined Kyoto to the provincial vigor of Kamakura, so too Japanese art reflected changing social patterns, local influences, and new tastes and values. The great strain of the Mongol invasions in the late thirteenth century eventually brought about the collapse of the Kamakura system.
