Nihon geijutsu no sōseki: The history of artistic creation in Japan

Uittreksel

"170 years ago, in 1853, the Edo Shogunate released the country from its isolation that had lasted for more than 200 years. In 1854, it began to open the country to the West, and the influx of Western culture into Japan began. Meanwhile, as Japan started participating in world expositions, many Japanese crafts and artworks were brought to Europe, and interest in Japan began to spread among people overseas. The French printmaker, Félix Bracquemond, caught sight of Katsushika Hokusai's Hokusai Manga which was being used as cushioning material for ceramics. Conveying the fascination of ukiyo-e to his fellow artists led to Japonism ('Japanese style'), a boom in Japanese art also considered an art movement, in Europe. In the late 19th century, when Japan and Western civilization encountered each other, world expositions became an element that further invigorated Japonism. Japan's first involvement in an exposition was at the International Exhibition held in London in 1862. It is recorded that Fukuzawa Yukichi and other members of the First Japanese Embassy to Europe made an inspection tour, and one theory has it that Fukuzawa coined the translation 'hakurankai' for the word 'exhibition'. In an era when information and transportation were not as well developed as they are today, a gathering of cultures from around the world, such as a world exposition, was a valuable opportunity for cultural exchange. Among the diverse art forms that gathered there, it was Japanese expression that most astonished the people of Europe. To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Vienna International Exposition of 1873, in which Japan participated officially for the first time, this book introduces the history from the first Great Exhibition, London in 1851 to the end of the century with the Paris International Exposition of 1900, and features the artists involved in Japonism"-- Page 344.