Japanese painting tended to be both more abstract and more naturalistic than Chinese painting, depending on the artist and the subject. Japanese style allowed for greater spontaneity and individuality. Although Japanese landscapes and panoramic scroll painting featured shifting perspective, like Chinese painting, many works focussed on more intimate and limited subjects, permitting more explicit perspective and lighting effects.
Individual portraits, scenes of daily life, studies of plants and animals were done, and these images were handled with spontaneity and individualism. In contrast to the more decorative Chinese aesthetics, Japanese style tends toward a paring down to essentials, an attempt to capture the basic form and characteristics of a specific subject.
Also a style of painting called Ukiyo-e, which became known to Westerners mainly through woodcut prints in the 19th century, developed very distinctive, dramatic ways of using line and color in landscape, portraiture, and other subjects. Ukiyo-e prints had an important effect on the work of Western artists.
