To exhibit or not to exhibit: The Ministry of the Interior and Japanese woodblock prints at the World's Fairs of 1876 and 1878

Art policymaking in early Meiji Japan actively protected ancient art – such as paintings and sculptures – and promoted handicrafts – primarily ceramics, cloisonné, and lacquer ware – as industrial goods for export. Executed through serial events such as international and domestic art exhibitions, the Meiji government created a concept of art based on Western values. Within this state-made category of art, the popular art form of ukiyo-e, the Japanese traditional genre of woodblock printing, was excluded. While the Meiji government did not recognize the artistic and commercial value of ukiyo-e, woodblock prints, specifically of the Edo period, were being exported in great quantities to Europe due to international demand. In contrast, prints by Meiji period artists were not in vogue due to the common (mis)conception that all Meiji prints revealed strident coloration and non-traditional topics. Recent studies on Meiji prints remain cursory, as they fail to address this contrasting sociopolitical aspect of the production of Meiji prints. Similarly, research that attempts to reinstate Meiji artists into the history of ukiyo-e, devotes little to no attention to this aspect. Therefore, this paper aims to improve the understanding of Meiji prints through conducting a literary study on official documents related to the international exhibitions, clarifying why government officials ignored their current domestic production. Moreover, it intends to clarify the seemingly paradoxical production of woodblock prints for more than 30 years. In this case, the paradox refers to the contrasting viewpoints in the literature, in which the Meiji government did not recognize woodblock prints as art, whereas the international standards to which they aspired, revered Edo prints as art.

Jaar van publicatie:2020

Toegankelijkheid:Closed