Kingdom of Beauty

Brandt Kim Brandt

Description

A Study of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia UniversityKingdom of Beauty shows that the discovery of mingei (folk art) by Japanese intellectuals in the 1920s and 1930s was central to the complex process by which Japan became both a modern nation and an imperial world power. Kim Brandt's account of the mingei movement locates its origins in colonial Korea, where middle-class Japanese artists and collectors discovered that imperialism offered them special opportunities to amass art objects and gain social, cultural, and even political influence. Later, mingei enthusiasts worked with (and against) other groups-such as state officials, fascist ideologues, rival folk art organizations, local artisans, newspaper and magazine editors, and department store managers-to promote their own vision of beautiful prosperity for Japan, Asia, and indeed the world. In tracing the history of mingei activism, Brandt considers not only Yanagi Muneyoshi, Hamada Shoji, Kawai Kanjiro, and other well-known leaders of the folk art movement but also the often overlooked networks of provincial intellectuals, craftspeople, marketers, and shoppers who were just as important to its success. The result of their collective efforts, she makes clear, was the transformation of a once-obscure category of pre-industrial rural artifacts into an icon of modern national style.

Sujets

• Histoire
• Folk art
• History of Asia
• Japan

Informations

• Publié par: Duke University Press
• Date de parution: 20 juillet 2007
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780822389545
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

japanese history / asian art

Kingdom of Beautyshows that the discovery ofmingei(folk art) asia-pacific: by Japanese intellectuals in the 1920s and 1930s was central to a series edited the complex process by which Japan became both a modern by rey chow, nation and an imperial world power. Kim Brandt’s account of the mingei movement locates its origins in colonial Korea, h. d. harootunian, where middle-class Japanese artists and collectors discovered and masao miyoshi that imperialism offered them special opportunities to amass art objects and gain social, cultural, and even political inu- a study of ence. Later, mingei enthusiasts worked with (and against) oth- the weatherhead er groups—such as state ofîcials, fascist ideologues, rival folk east asian institute, art organizations, local artisans, newspaper and magazine ed- columbia university itors, and department store managers—to promote their own vision of beautiful co-prosperity for Japan, Asia, and indeed the world. In tracing the history of mingei activism, Brandt considers not only Yanagi Muneyo- shi,HamadaSho¯ji,KawaiKanjir¯o,andotherwell-knownleadersofthefolkartmovementbut also the often overlooked networks of provincial intellectuals, craftspeople, marketers, and shoppers who were just as important to its success. The result of their collective efforts, she makes clear, was the transformation of a once-obscure category of pre-industrial rural artifacts into an icon of modern national style.

“A richly textured, beautifully written, and provocatively argued analysis of the Japanese folk-craft movement, this study sheds light on empire, middle-class material culture, the aesthetics of fascism, and much else common to twenti- eth-century societies in the throes of dislocating change. A beguiling book on important themes.” — carol gluck , George Sansom Professor of History, Columbia University

“Kingdom of Beautyis îrst-rate. Kim Brandt’s analysis is sharp, her organization supple, her writing graceful. Moreover, her synthesis of the imperial with the domestic—and of the ideological with the material—makes the book a model of cultural history.” — kären wigen , author ofThe Making of a Japanese Periphery, 1750–1920

Kim Brandt is Associate Professor of Japanese history at Columbia University.

Duke University Press Box 90660 Durham, NC 27708-0660 www.dukeupress.edu Cover illustration: Stencil-dyed kimono fabric by Serizawa Keisuke, 1943. Courtesy of the Shizuoka Municipal Serizawa Keisuke Art Museum.

brandt

Kingdom

Beauty of

duke

Kingdom of Beauty

mingei and the politics of folk art in imperial japan

kim brandt

KingdomofBeauty

asia-pacific:

culture, politics, and society

SeriesEditors:Rey Chow,

H. D. Harootunian,

and Masao Miyoshi

a study of

the weatherhead

east asian institute,

columbia university

KingdomofBeauty

mingei and the politics of

folk art in imperial japan

kim brandt

Duke University PressodnonahrmuaDLdn2007

∫2007 duke university press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper$ Designed by Amy Ruth Buchanan Typeset in Quadraat by Keystone Typesetting, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in- Publication Data and republication acknowledgments appear on the last printed pages of this book.

ForVincentandHiKyungBrandt

Bibliography

Epilogue

Renovating Greater East Asia

two

38

New Mingei in the 1930s

83

124

Mingei and the Wartime State, 1937–1945

1

229

277

223

293

ix

Acknowledgments

Introduction

The Beauty of Sorrow

7

173

Contents

one

Index

Notes

five

The Discovery of Mingei

four

three

Acknowledgments

A great many people have helped me to write this book. I am delighted to be able to acknowledge my debt to them. First, I thank Carol Gluck. Her pas- sionate commitment to the art and science of Japanese history writing and the generosity and integrity of her teaching have shaped my scholarship—as indeed she has shaped the entire field of Japanese studies. It is a privilege to be her student. I have also learned much from Henry Smith, whose encyclo- pedic knowledge about the Japanese past and rigorous standards of scholar- ship and writing continue to inspire me and many others to ever renewed e√orts. At Columbia I was also aided by Betsy Blackmar, Barbara Brooks, Victoria de Grazia, and Nancy Stepan. Among the dozens of fellow graduate students who buoyed me and this project in its early years, I owe special thanks to the members of my dissertation writing group: Kristine Harris, Charles Laughlin, Hiroshi Ohta, Andre Schmid, Kris Torgeson, and Mar- garita Zanasi. During two periods of research in Japan I received extraordinary kindness, guidance, and support from the modern Japan historians at Waseda Univer- sity, particularly from Kano Masanao, Yui Masaomi, Anzai Kunio, Kitagawa Kenz¯o,andOkamotoK¯oichi.Iamalsodeeplyindebtedtothesta√ofthe Nihon Mingeikan, especially Sugiyama Takashi, Mimura Kyoko, and Utsumi Teiko. Sugiyama-san, in particular, was unstintingly helpful, friendly, and generous as a guide to the world of folk art (and good food) in Tokyo and beyond. While he and his colleagues may not agree with all of the arguments presented here, I hope they will tolerate them as an earnest e√ort to make my