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Japan
Organized Panel Session
This paper seeks to shed light on the early dissemination of, and market for, modern Japanese-style painting (nihonga), a term coined around 1880 in a surge of nationalist sentiment. Nihonga’s exposure in Japan, and its appreciation among the general public, are considered in conjunction with the development of new distribution channels, including department stores and travelling exhibitions. An exploration of these distribution channels reveals the increasing dynamic role of middle-class collectors as contributors in setting the value of nihonga.
The paper focuses on the nihonga artist Hishida Shunsō (1874 – 1911) – a painter who suffered severe criticism during his career, but whom later generations considered to be a national icon – and his colleagues at the Japan Art Institute, which was founded by Okakura Tenshin, and their journal illustrations (kuchi-e), against the backdrop of a growing middle-class readership through analyzing the historical narrative, such as his letters and various contemporary media. In addition, this paper evaluates the reason for the myth that Shunsō’s artistic career was mired in misfortune, and indeed, what this story tells us about the indispensable relationship between the new-risen middle-class collector and the fame of the painter in the art market of Japan.
Eriko Tomizawa-Kay
University of East Anglia, United Kingdom