The Royal National Theatre Nihonga is Japanese style painting. Nihon meaning Japan and ga painting. The term came into being in the later half of the nineteenth century, making a deliberate choice of traditional Japanese themes for paintings, whilst simultaneously absorbing certain European and Chinese influences. Using techniques of ten over thousand years old, the paint used is a mixture of natural pigments made from minerals and vegetable dyes. and special glue: nikawa made from animal protein, is used as a fixative. The works are on silk or paper, and usually placed on the floor on an easel when worked upon, thus giving a different perspective.