Carolyn Brown: Well, good afternoon. I am Carolyn Brown. I am director of the Office of Scholarly Programs and the John W. Kluge Center here at the Library of Congress. And it gives me great pleasure to welcome you here today for a lecture by Shigemi Inaga, who will be talking about how the West transformed art in Japan during the first half of the 20th century -- no. This is the 19th century. Well, 19th, goes with the 20th century, looking at the specific subject of a painter, Asai Chu, and a ceramicist and teacher, Yagi Kazuo. Dr. Inaga has been here at the Kluge Center with us since October, when he hasn't been pulled away to many other things. But he's basically been here since October. He is a professor at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies in Kyoto, where he specializes in comparative literature and culture and the history of cultural exchange. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Tokyo, and his doctorate from the University of Paris, VII. He served as associate professor at the University Museum at the University of Tokyo, and then later as associate professor at Mie University in Japan. One of the things that interests me especially about today's talk is the issue of cultural encounter and exchange, because in Washington -- and I think in the textbooks probably that most of us have read, when we talk about cultural encounter exchange -- Washington, we certainly talk politics. We hear all about the political side, or the hard side. You hear about military exchange or religious exchange. Or if it's soft, you get a little sociology thrown in. But so often missing is a serious encounter with aesthetics. And aesthetic interchanges, both aesthetics for their own intrinsic interest, but also -- maybe this just reflects my own bias; there is a way in which understanding the perceptions and the misperceptions as expressed visually or in literature or in some other culture is highly illuminating. And if you go deeper, even the whole issue of the kinds of premises in the way people see the world can help you just understand in ways that often you can't even express, or are not easily expressed in words. But there's a kind of understanding which is so often overlooked in the very kind of political, historically focused world we tend to live in, at least certainly here in Washington. Maybe some of you are from other places, and you live in worlds that are a little bit broader. But that's sort of not so here. Dr. Inaga, at the Kluge Center, came with this wonderful project to finish the third volume in a trilogy that he is working on, on cross-cultural exchange. I don't know how much work he's been able to do, because the longer he stays, the more people find out he's here, and the more invitations he gets and the more distractions, even though we do our best to provide a safe space. But I can tell certainly it's been fruitful and productive. And I'm very glad, Shigemi, that you'll be here several more months. So, where other people have been pulling you in various directions, this is our opportunity to pull you in our direction and hear about a slice of the work you have been doing. Please welcome Dr. Inaga. [ applause ] Shigemi Inaga: I'm going to talk about one hour, and no more. And I would really want to welcome your questions. Is everything all right here? You can hear me? Uh-huh. Yes. And after that, there is a refreshment and -- yeah, we are quite very solve [ spelled phonetically ] . So I don't want to ask you too much patience before moving to the reception. So I beg your patience for about one hour. So for introduction, I have shown two photos of the Japanese artists; one is Asai Chu on the left, and Yagi Kazuo on the right. And I hope that you can remember these two names, which I think is quite important through the end of my lecture. I am searching for this. Wait. And mainly, I am going to be talking about Kyoto. How many of you have ever been there? Oh, there are many. So I think some of you know much better than I that ancient chapter; I am the outsider. So if I make a silly mistake, please make necessary corrections. This way or not? This way or this way? As you know, the Japanese arts and crafts were quite famous, and already from the 19th century onward there are many foreigners who made a study. One example is Edward Sylvester Morris, who made the extended investigation of the kirins in Japan. And here is a map he made. And last edition, I'm not quite sure if you can see; here is Biwa, Lake Bi-wako. And here is Kyoto. And during his survey, Edward Sylvester Morris was making so many indications. And as you see, he has really a difficulty to pinpoint the name of the kirins on the map in such a way that, you know, there is such a density in his record. And here is a very simplified one. But to have a very global and simplified view of what Japanese potters and pottery are is already a very difficult task, and you need very [ unintelligible ] knowledge about it. And by the way, in my presentation, I largely depend on the screen. So if you have some difficulty for visibility, probably it's better to -- feel free to move in a better position. Up. I am making the opposite side. All right? Yes. So now I am entering in my text. Here are two books written by Rutherford Alcock; he was the first British consul in Japan. And he stated in The Capital of the Tycoon, on the left side, that, "Nothing exists in the archipelago in Japan which may be classified in the category of fine arts." And this fact implies the inferiority of Japanese art. That was his statement. But 15 years later, in his art and art industry in Japan in '78, which is on your right, Alcock drastically changed his opinion. Borrowing the idea from William Morris, medievalism, Alcock recognized the lack of distinction between craftsmen and artists in Japan as a distinctive feature, and even a merit. In this book the former British diplomat clearly states his view, which was the antithesis to the French classical idea, according to which the so-called bourgeois fine arts were occupying the superior position to the upright and decorative art. But Rutherford Alcock, after his 10 years of experience, tried to -- how to say, make upside-down of that caricature and aesthetic judgment. And here, I can probably ask one question. In fine art school, what you learn at first and what even nowadays is regarded as the best and most important curriculum -- in fine arts educations even nowadays, the learning of linear perspective, chiaroscuro or anatomy, are very important. And also for design and decoration, the idea of symmetry is still quite predominant. But what is interesting is that during that period, one of the reasons why the Japanese art was so popular among the French and European and later American public was that the Japanese art was not respecting the basic criterium, the norm of Western academic learning. Oops, I am always making the opposite side. And here is one example by Felix Bracquemond in the so-called Service Rousseau. And this one testifies to the Western interest in kind of dissymmetry. There is intentional lack of respect of the idea of symmetry which was so important in the Western tradition of decorative art, and through which the Japanese motifs of the pheasant is whimsically thrown into a dish in an irregular position. And that word, "irregularity," is a key term. And here is the model. And you can see how the pheasant motif was put in an irregular position, not in the center of the dish. And here is another example taken from Hiroshige. And once again, the French artist put the motif in a rather deviatory, free way. It was a kind of interpretation of the French artist. But at the same time, the service was so popular among that people and especially -- the right side is exploitation product by Miyakawa. And people in the second half of the 19th century, both in Europe and in the United States, could see, quite often, these kinds of specimens. Even nowadays, in the museum collections around Connecticut, you can find the same kind of specimen. And this kind of irregularity and the strange combination was quite attractive to the Western public. And one other example is -- can you see? This is a drawing by Paul Gauguin, which is not quite well-known. And what is the source here? Can't find it? Here are some more [ unintelligible ] taking baths and preparing, you know, the clothes or something like. And here is one fat man, more [ unintelligible ] who is bringing water. And right side, left side. And Gauguin quite faithfully copied it. And why he copied it? Because he wanted to make a caricature of the Tahitian governor named Yustov Gallais [ spelled phonetically ] . So he wanted to put it as a kind of satire, political satire. And to make it, he made use of the joke, size caricature. And these -- once again, the proportion and the correct anatomy is not respected. But for the caricature it was much better, much effective. And here, one of the phases of the so-called Japonisme in the second half of the 19th century. And ironically, after the main restoration the Japanese government found it indispensable to accommodate the Japanese product to Western artistic criteria, and tried harder to implement the Western current art education which contemporary Western artists has begun to repudiate. You see there are kind of mutual cross-purposes which occurred between Western demand for export and the Japanese supply in a domestic market. And here is the nature condition. And I want to ask today, what happened in this, you know, negotiation between the West and Japan? And from the outset there is a source of misunderstanding between both of them. And now I am moving to Kyoto, because Kyoto is one of the capitals of traditional arts and crafts. And how Kyoto people tried to accommodate themselves to the Western export and new demand from the Western world and how they had to struggle is my subject matter. And leave it to myself, 50 years, from 1900 to 1954. And as you see, even nowadays, people, foreigners and Japanese alike, want to find out some very authentic Kyoto Japanese tradition or something like that. But the Japanese tradition, as we perceive it, is rather a product, a new product in the last century, which is corroborated in response to the exterior demand, both domestic and international. And here I begin my discussion with Pierre Bonnard, And Pierre Bonnard, the Nabis painter, is known to have collaborated for the Studio of Art Nouveau, and he was promoted since the Exposition Universale in Paris in 1900. And here is one example. And this one synthesizes clearly the lessons of Japonisme. If you have a close look at that, and human figures are rendered without chiaroscuro or modeling. And the application of opaque pigment and anatomy is sacrificed for the benefit of free drawing, and especially in the depiction of "Black Dog" -- if you have, on the right side here, in the foreground. And the composition does not respect linear perspective at all. But the relationship between near and far is articulated in terms of low and high, which is faithful to the Oriental vertical format. And finally, the four decorative detachable panels which constitute the scene no longer belong to the Western tradition of canvas painting. But this combination revered the affinity with Oriental folding screens, as you know, in the Freer Gallery, for example. So the work partakes of interior decoration and refuses to be categorized as a painting. In short, half a century of Japanese influence resulted in the idea of gizant konsperk [ spelled phonetically ] in German tongue. And here is one example. And Asai Chu, as I mentioned, went to Paris for the Parisian Fair in 1900. And I think he had the occasion to see this kind of production. And he really met Samuel Bing, who was first a promoter of Japanese art, then he invented the idea of art nouveau. And here is Juan Rayer [ spelled phonetically ] , a photographer, somewhere being on the left and dressed Japanese. And many of his friends are there. Among them there is Louis Gonse, who is the first author on Japanese art, which was published in 1883. So you can see there is a close relationship between Japonisme and the art nouveau movement. And as you know, has set up a pavilion for the 1900 Parisian World Fair. And here is the interior of his studio in Paris. And there are the studios in his Parisian boutique. And Asai Chu, the Japanese painter, visited there, and he was very enthusiastic about how Samuel Bing earned money so easily with the most interesting kind of things in which Asai himself was interested. And I am quite sure that Asai himself had a chance to see this piece by Pierre Bonnard that I have just explained. Here is one example that Asai executed after his return to Japan on the left side. Can you see a kind of similarity? There is a dog in both of the screens, and there is a vertical format. And, you know, the background -- these are decorative elements which give the notion of the space, but which is not faithful to the tradition of linear perspective. And the depiction itself is no longer like in the oil paintings, but rather as a Chinese ink painting. And Bonnard was trying to imitate the same kind of effect in a less sophisticated way, I'm sorry to say. But if you make the comparison of both of them, I think that you are convinced that what Asai learned when he was in Paris was not to imitate the European tradition, but just to return to the Japanese tradition, because that Japanese tradition was the last vogue in Paris. So, Asai during his stay in Paris rediscovered the lost tradition of Japanese self. And after his return to Japan, Asai himself wanted to re-establish that Japanese tradition. So there is the aspect of return of Japonisme into Japan, which is the introductory part of my talk. And by the way, in my handout, for your clarity, I summarize the presentation in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. So if you're lost in any way, please have a look. Yeah. I am quite convinced that my presentation today is not quite in American style, so I prefer doing things in Japanese fashion. And I am not quite sure if it has some effect on you as it was the case on Japonisme. But anyway, we will see. Here is another example. So, Asai, after his return to Japan, moved to Kyoto. And he taught design -- for a newly founded school for design. And here is a copy and prototype for the tapestry which he made. And as you see, Asai was a very faithful practitioner of the oil painting. And he belongs to the first generation of Western-style painters in Japan. But in this case, I think he is not spontaneous enough. And as among his paintings, this is not really a successful one because there are several technical constraints, because the tapestry was to be made after his design. So he had to prepare the original in a very meticulous way, which was not the quality in which Asai excelled. And this tapestry was exhibited to the British-Japanese exhibition in London in 1910, and the dexterity and high quality of the textile was highly appreciated by the organizers of the exhibition. But as far as Asai's endeavor is concerned, I think his efforts to implement the European tradition of oil painting and make it a reproduction on tapestry and so on and so forth was not very successful. And one of his rivals, Kuroda Seiki -- he was teaching in Tokyo at the Tokyo Fine Arts School -- was also trying to implement the Western-style history painting, as you see in this case. But these kind of implementations with meticulous studies and preparations which this one is based on, the Hayatimana Vatari [ spelled phonetically ] , a kind of Medieval romance, and was not very successful for two reasons; probably because, one, the Japanese are not very well attuned to that European oil painting tradition. And second, in the West itself, that tradition of so-called grand decoration, the huge composition of caricature was in decline. So it was at the period of decline of the European tradition that the Japanese tried to implement that technique into Japonisme. So once again, there is kind of a chasm which occurred. And Asai himself excelled in rather this kind of caricature-like design which is his proposal for dishes. And these caricatures are based more or less on the popular tradition of so-called Otsu-e. Otsu is located in a nearby place from Kyoto. And he was trying to innovate that kind of Japanese popular tradition at the beginning of the 20th century. And this is not a mere coincidence, because Asai was caricature -- creating the effect to the Western audience. One proof is the case of Louis Gonse. As I explained, he published his book, L'Art Japonais in 1883. And this is the first book on Japanese art history. And in this book, he highly praised and appreciated the so-called Rimpa school of lacquer wares. And there is a revival of Rimpa lacquer tradition which was transmitted to Japan. And in Kyoto at the beginning of the 20th century, people wanted to rehabilitate that tradition. And here is one example of Tawaraya Sotatsu. He is closely connected with the Rimpa school. And this is an example from the 17th century. And the same kind of copy was reutilized by Kamisaka Sekka. He is the modern 20th century designer of Kyoto school. And he made this kind of reproduction for the design. And you can see a kind of continuity and revival of the Rimpa school in the 20th century. And in reality, between Kamisaka Sekka on your left and Asai on the right, there is a kind of rivalry, because when Asai came from Tokyo, he was kind of a stranger, while Kamisaka Sekka was deeply rooted in the family tradition in Kyoto. And apparently there was some conflict between these two painters. And I can show some of these examples. And here is a writing box by Hon'ami Koetsu, from the 17th century with a local insertion motif of a woodcutter. And here is one new reinterpretation of this tradition by Asai Chu. And this is very experimental and interesting work. But as far as technique is concerned, Asai was not so successful, and especially in the way he treated the carving of the box. He had some technical difficulties. While in Kamisaka Sekka's case, you can see that the technique is much more elaborate. And he is very careful and tactful in the treatment of the three-dimensional box structure. And usually it's quite interesting. If I make this kind of comparison and ask the Japanese students in a fine arts school, "Which do you prefer?" artist-oriented people, students, prefer Asai's experimental work, while those Kyoto people who are elevated in a deep Kyoto tradition prefer this kind of perfection. So even among the Japanese, there is a difference of taste, and there is some conflict. And it's quite interesting. But anyway, this example is just to show the continuing tradition. And another example is a case of Oharame. Oharame is -- how do you explain it? A lady who is carrying this merchandise, and even nowadays, in a touristic way it survives. And this motif was already quite popular, and this kind of lacquered box, the motif was quite frequently utilized. And this was transmitted to the painting, modern painting. Here is an example of Zitda Boxen [ spelled phonetically ] . And you can see from the clothes that these are typical Oharame style, but they are depicted in a rather Western style composition. And I wonder if you can have some idea about the possible source on which Zitda was referring. I think he was referring to Edward Manet. And Zitda went to Paris in 1920, and by that time, Edward Manet's very famous work was already a kind of classical one. And at the same time Zitda was trying to renovate the Kyoto tradition, which was not very recognized by the authorities. So he himself was felt to be a kind of dissident and independent artist. And in this sense, he also followed Manet and impressionists, because modern impressionists up until the 1920s were not very recognized as official painters. But it was only in the 1910s, 1920s that Manet's social status as a representative European artist was established. So it was at that period that Zitda went to Europe. And here is another example. You can see what costume it is; it is the Korean one. So after using the motif from Oharame, from Kyoto tradition, now in the authorities, Zitda went to the Korean peninsula so as to borrow some of the Korean traditions. And once again, this is based on Edward Manet. I am quite sure of that. So by using these Oriental motifs, Zitda was trying to establish the social status of painting something autonomous and something recognized in society. And at the same time, to use the Korean motif was also a highly ideological choice, because, as you know, from 1910 the Korean peninsula was annexed to Japan. And depicting the Korean costume was part of the practice that many Japanese male painters were doing. It was a kind of symbolic act of dominating the newly integrated territory. And here is one example by Kozima Torajido [ spelled phonetically ] . This one was exhibited in a Parisian salon, and now it's kept at the Pompidou Center. So I think this is one example of the colonial painting in Japanese modern art history. And Zitda himself was involved in that currency. And now we can come back to the arts and the crafts. Many painters wanted to establish their social status even in Kyoto, and I tried to explain it very briefly. Not only painting, but also arts and crafts was in search of their social status in modern Japanese society. And here is one example by Yamaga Saika. I am sorry for these complicated names. And this is an example of the tapestry. And who can say what it is on the background? Nobody has been there? It's in China. Oops. Here is the depiction of the same place by a famous painter who is also from Kyoto, Yasi Esoturo [ spelled phonetically ] . And there is a La Miss Temple Enchandu [ spelled phonetically ] . Nobody has been there? It's a lovely place. I request you to be there once. And this was a summer villa for the Chin dynasty imperial family. And that place belonged to the puppet monarchy of Manchuco, which was established in 1936. And many Japanese artists went there. And Yamagog was no exception. Here is the La Miss Temple in the background with some cameras on the foreground. And I want to make some analysis of this work. The famous Nisigan [ spelled phonetically ] weaver and a disciple of Kamisaka Sekka, Yamaga Seka has obtained a Grand Prix in Parisian Exposition Universale, saw Descartes of the so-called decorative art exhibition in 1925. And it was 12 years later that he executed this work. And this shows his direct involvement in the Japanese political decision-making. As I have already mentioned, the place is very famous, Chin dynasty family place. There is a huge garden there, though nowadays it's a tourist spot. And some of the Japanese archeologists were trying to make the investigation of these historical sites. Here is Secino's [ spelled phonetically ] map, which he established shortly before his death. And there is also cinema made by the Manchuria Cinema Company on this secret place in Nekai [ spelled phonetically ] , in Japanese pronunciation. And almost in the same period, a friend artist, Ume Haradiziablo [ spelled phonetically ] was himself in Beijing, and he was executing this kind of landscape. And these paintings are quite often reproduced nowadays in Japanese history textbooks. And what's wrong with that? In reality, this is a very peaceful and a very beautiful watercolor, like a landscape in the Fall, of Beijing. But in reality, at that period the city of Beijing was occupied by the Japanese military. So it was under military occupation that Ume Hara had the privilege to depict the apparently peaceful landscape of the Chinese ancient capital. And on the right side there is a photo of Ume Hara working, because you can see this is kind of a fake. Because on the background, what is it? There is the Temple of the Sky, isn't it? And he is making the painting on this building, but he is in the opposite direction. So it's a kind of fake made specifically for the portrait. So we must be very careful of these kind of so-called historical documents. And especially in the Library, from time to time, we have to deal with that kind of documentation. So we must very careful of that. And also, Yaso Isotorotu returned; the other artist who is also from Kyoto almost in the same period. He was executing women's portrait with Chinese dress. And why Chinese dress? So, depiction of women wearing the costumes of the subjugated territory, and a pictorial rendering of the cultural heritage of the occupied land. And such were the constituent elements of the political unconscious of the artists who contributed to the glory and illustration of the hegemony of the great Japanese empire. And for better or worse, the wartime paintings of these two artists represent the culminating point of the institutional maturity of oil painting in Japan. And here I can return to Yamaga Seka. And arts and crafts would not fall into that context. And now I want to ask the second question, why are there camels? There are many camels among the contemporary creation in Japanese paintings. Here, one other example by Fujis Imatakaji [ spelled phonetically ] , the sunrise from the Mongolian desert. And, of course, sunrise -- I'll use to the rising sun, the Japanese empire. So it's [ unintelligible ] talk about the glory of the Japanese empire, and its glory is spreading on the Mongolian desert. This is the reason why Fujis Imatakaji made that painting. And this is another example which is funny, much more funny. Those Japanese students would know who Minamot Yoshino [ spelled phonetically ] is. He is one of the most popular tragic heroes in Japanese military history. And because of his contemporaneity somebody imagined that after his defeat he fled to the continent, and he became Genghis Kahn himself. And this was a very spread mythology in that period, during the Japanese military expansion in the 1930s. And here Caba Tiyoshi [ spelled phonetically ] was depicting that Japanese hero, boy hero on the back of a camel. So this is also a kind of very explicit explanation, a justification of Japanese occupation and expansion in Asia. And Karabata [ spelled phonetically ] was quite serious when he executed this work. And if you have seen this example, you can now have the key to decipher these apparently innocent animals. And for camels, I won't repeat the explanation. But to create a statue with a camel motif had a very strong and a very explicit connotation at that period. And how about the cow with the [ unintelligible ] here? And this is also justification for Japan's expansion here toward the southern country. One example is here by a painter Yamaguchi [ spelled phonetically ] , whose retrospective was here last year. And the reason why this specific cow was used for the motif is now quite evident for you, I think. So even in art and crafts, these contemporary situations reflect on their creation. And from time to time, some artists try to keep their critical distance and want not to be involved directly in that kind of current political situation. Here is one example by Yagi Eso [ spelled phonetically ] . And I talk about him because I am going to talk about his son at the final phase of my talk today. And here is also a very representative contemporary Japanese artist in Kyoto, on the top, Shimizu Lokwe [ spelled phonetically ] . This is a very inventive kind of thing, as -- yeah. It's a simple ornament. But still he was trying to re-establish and recreate the Tong Dynasty three-colored [ unintelligible ] . And so in the '30s and the '40s, this apparently traditional kind of ceramic wares are still surviving, and contemporary artists were trying to innovate this tradition in their own context. And I was talking of Yagi -- I am going to talk of Yagi Kazuo, who is the main figure in the final part of my talk. And if you compare these works with Yagi's own, you can see that Yagi is a little bit different. On the right side there are these kind of so-called statues made by [ unintelligible ] , and the cat or a monkey or a bear are not directly connected with the political situation, but they are more or less a kind of ornament. Whereas on the left side there are two examples of young Yagi's creation in his late teens, and the very deformed figure of a cat or a rabbit who is trying to jump. In these expressions you can see a kind of wheel to create a plastic dynamism, which is quite different from other artists. And indeed, Yagi is becoming the most important vanguard artist in the post-war context. And I am going to talk about it now. So in Yagi's creation, he was the son of a potter. So he faithfully imitated and learned the basic techniques as a potter. And here is one example immediately after the war. And the motif here is quite self-evidently borrowed from Vincent Van Gogh. And you can see there is an eye which is looking at us, and it's a mystical conviction of Vincent Van Gogh; t's not we who are looking at paintings, paintings are looking at us. And the same obsession was present in Yagi's motif, choice of the motif. And apparently, otherwise it's quite difficult why there is an eye at the center of the sunflower. And in this kind of creation, Yagi was trying to overcome the tradition at the same time. I want to return to my disk. I have to find it. Yagi himself was challenging to the Kyoto tradition. He was the son of the Kyoto people, and to make his own creation he had to struggle with that Kyoto tradition which is so heavy. And especially, he showed his antagonism to a very famous potter and painter, Tomimoto Kenkichi. In this challenge to the conventional rule of ceramic wares, we may certainly read Yagi's feeling on rivality towards Tomimoto Kenkichi, who was a representative, classical ceramic artist in Kyoto. And [ unintelligible ] in his treatment of the wheel, as you see on the left side. Tomimoto was extremely strict when it comes to the painting of motifs or the ceramic wares. He invented many interesting motifs, as you see on the right. And Yagi remarked that Tomimoto's brush handling exhibited a kind of "physiologic ecstasy." And according to Yagi's objective interpretation, Tomimoto did not see the ceramic surfaces as anything more than replacement for white canvases for the painter. However, as a beginning potter himself, Yagi could not bear to see Tomimoto behaving like a painter on ceramic ware. So there is a kind of antagonism between the status of painter and the status of potter. Of course, in the European tradition a painter is highly regarded as an artist, while potters are a kind of artisan who are not very recognized as full-fledged artists, and not enjoying that status socially. For Yagi, the ceramic surface should not be reduced to a simple support, toile du foe [ spelled phonetically ] in French, of drawing or painting. But the ceramic ware has to manifest its own ontological dimension at the risk of destroying itself in its conflict with incisive drawing, and so forth. And now I come to the rather philosophical part of my paper. So please have a look at my handout to help your understanding. Now, we are on the fourth point, so wait until the end. And I mentioned plastic autonomy in ceramic art with a question mark. Please have a look there. So, modernism I am questioning; what modernists can be in ceramic arts, and arts and crafts in general, in that general context. Modernism in formal language aims at the purification of self-expression for the sake of autonomous aesthetic experiences, and trying to realize this aim by way of obstruction of what could be regarded as secondary functions. Now, for number one, it rejects the idea of three-dimensional plastic work serving as a support for pictorial representation, as I explained in Yagi's antagonism to Tomimoto. So, first, the ceramic ware should no longer be regarded as the ground for painting. And by painting, I mean either by the figurative, expressionistic paintings of Van Gogh or abstracts, pictograms or signs of a won mereo [ spelled phonetically ] , from which Yagi was borrowing. And secondary, it was not acceptable for ceramic ware to serve as a material, to model an external form. And by external form, I show that, whether it's a camel or a cow, which was ideologically highly charged, or a dog or a rabbit, or Yagi himself, as tried. And here is one example by Yagi himself. And of course, here you cannot see what he is. And the title is given as blindness, loss of sight, sightlessness, or something. And here he no longer wants to use clay so as to represent something exterior, but try to stick to the clay and the nature of clay itself, which was the basis for vases or dishes. But of course you cannot use this object for your supper. And it's no longer a question for him to have any utilitarian purposes. So third, the modernism liquidates all dependence on practical functionality. Now, ceramics should not serve as a vase to contain liquid or any kind of utensils for utilitarian purposes. And here one practitioner of tea ceremony -- I'm not quite sure if some of you know him personally, in Kyoto. But here is a tea ceremony. And there is this kind of post reign wares. But for Yagi, it was necessary as a modernist to refuse that kind of usage as far as his ware creation work is concerned. So by definition, serving poses the purpose of modernism consistent in a self-realization, of an abstract concept through the inherent nature of the modernized materials. And now I come to the fourth point. And we know that people active in the domain of arts and crafts have actually been searching for modernism since the early '20s. Here are some examples. However, their former imitation of the latest Western modern designers revealed their fundamental deviation from the spirit of modernism. In fact, it was theoretically self-contradictory to put a seemingly functional outlook on modernist attire, on pieces of arts and crafts which were by definition deprived of autonomous function. Indeed, what would be the merit of fabricating machine-like shaped metal tubes, as the flower vase on the left side, were it not for ostentatiously demonstrating the fabricator's wish to catch up with the latest industrial designs coming from the West? So Yagi, once again, had to refuse this option. So now I am coming to the end of my talk. So, how to liberate the wheel? On which wheel -- by "wheel," I mean wheel of the potter. And by using the wheel, the potters are making vases, as you know; some of you have already purchased it. And for Yagi it was a fundamental problem; that is, how to liberate the wheel from the yolk of practical usage. This was one of the main concerns of Yagi Kazuo. And to liberate himself from the yolk of the wheel, he really had to struggle. And this example is shortly before his breakthrough. And I want to explain this piece a little bit. Can I ask you what it is? The title is "Spring Sea." But in reality, what is it? A kind of wish? What kind of wish? Shellfish, puffy or something? Puffy, you said? So this spring sea contains in it all the dilemmas and contradictions of ceramic ware struggling to become an autonomous work of fine art. Here, a flower bowl, which is this safflower bowl, rendered in the guise of a blowfish. And another version of the same series, Yagi depicts traditional motifs of butterflies on the swelling abundance of the puffer. And the conflict between the abstract round form made by the potter's ware and the temptation of the model form into a realistic but caricature-like shellfish, or the confrontation between figurative plasticity of the fish and pictorial representation on the surface of the ware. Such incompatible interests are forced to converge and cohabit in this piece, which defies classification. We are not quite sure if it's a kind of object or it's a kind of piece modeled after a fish, or is it a vase to put the flower? We are not quite sure. And Yagi himself was not quite sure at all. So, how to liberate the ware from the yolk of practical usage -- once again, I come back to this question. This was one of the main concerns of Yagi Kazuo. And here is the break. The wake of Mr. Sumza [ spelled phonetically ] , which was executed in 1954, seems to have provided the ceramist with the answer. As a born ceramic ware craftsman, Yagi clings to the potter's wheel as if it were the key to his identity. Ware was wearing his identity. Yet he had to deprive the wheel of its practical functionality so as to let the wheel run recklessly out of the normal course. The wheel is now destined to work as a generator of autonomous plastic thinking, in order to realize this liberation of the wheel from the practical purposes. Yagi cut the low ceramic cylinder into round slices, as is here, of circular bands in such a way that they are no longer capable of containing liquid. Of course, it's impossible to put water in it. Then, contrary to the usual horizontal position of the wheel like this, Yagi arranged a circle vertically so that it can freely roll around like an imaginary caterpillar. To this monocycle, or like motorcycle, the ceramicist added like a parasite, [ unintelligible ] open holes which, again, no longer play any practical role, though the holes derive from the open mouth of a vase which permits the display of flowers, or the chimney of an incense burner which funnels smoke away. The holes here implanted on Yanagi's wheel-like piece of work refuse any rational explanation of [ unintelligible ] in utilitarian terms. And such was, in brief, the absurd metamorphosis which Yagi whimsically named after wise Samsa, Mr. Samsa. It's named after Franz Kafka's short story. And a translation of Franz Kafka's short story from that of Mr. Samsa was quite popular at that period in the middle of the '50s in Japan. Of course, there is some influence from the contemporary existentialism. And Yagi was imbued in that modern thought, of course. And here is his interpretation of how to respond to the existentialism through his plastic endeavor. So, Yagi's leap to uselessness -- and I use the term "uselessness" in contrast to the [ unintelligible ] idea of disinterestedness -- so this leap to uselessness implies his refusal to the conventional usage of the wheel. Yagi remarks that, I quote, "In sophisticated craftsmanship" -- and as he put it in his typical irony, so sophisticated is not a good term at all, but he uses it as an irony -- and he continues, I quote -- "the whole tend to search for a perfect harmony between human hands and clay material in such a way that their cooperation realizes a [ unintelligible ] necessity, as if the clay were treated as a water current which runs without any sense of resistance." So if you really learn how to handle the hole, or the potter the awl, what you do becomes so smooth, so automatic that any critical consciousness is lost during your work. But Yagi wanted to resist that kind of automatism in his work. So then, fully understanding the affinity between the material and employing the technique, Yagi refused to accept the typically artisan working ethics of reducing oneself in such a predestined perfection. So, damage is intentionally inflicted upon such a euphoric relationship when the material permits the creator, Yagi, to contemplate his own working condition. And this moment of contemplation seemed to lead Yagi to an unprecedented venture, into new creation. And I think in this sense, this work is, in my sense, kind of a historical piece to commemorate this breakthrough. And this work has indeed been interpreted in this context in a major publication in Japanese art history. So probably I can resume what Yagi -- in his own words, what Yagi was doing. So, Yagi's choice does not consist of adhering to Western-style sculpture by giving up the specificity of the ceramic work. Indeed, he insists upon a vacuum which the ceramic work contains in its heart. You can clearly see that there is a vacuum under the surface, under the surface of the post reign, and that vacuum was quite important for him. So the vacuum is contained in the center or in the heart of the ceramic work. But at the same time he deprives from this emptiness the fitness to the purposes. I have some difficulty in English. But in German, we have a very good term of swetz mesi kite [ spelled phonetically ] . And he is refusing such kind of swetz mesi kite. In other words, Yagi's modernism consists in looking constantly into the creative fissure between the Western concept of sculpture and Eastern practice of ceramic wares. And it is in the forms which are deprived of functional rationality for practical use that Yagi inspires new life. And here a comparison with Lucci Fontana [ spelled phonetically ] will be quite helpful, because Lucci Fontana almost in the same period was trying to destruct the fundamental condition of painting as a surface. And in the same way, Yagi was trying to destruct the three-dimensional structure of the post reign work. But by doing so, he was asking for the fundamental condition of post reign work itself. And as you see on the left side, this is a kind of chair. But of course you cannot sit on that. So there is no practical purpose at all. So there is a kind of double negation on the one side, of the arts and crafts tradition as practical utensils, and on the other side, a kind of questioning of the artistic condition. But at the same time, it's in reaction to the Western contemporary challenges to the end of the painting, for example. And in this context, I think Yagi is much more important, if I dare say, than, for example, Jasper Jones or Marshal Juicen [ spelled phonetically ] , because both Jasper Jones and Marshal Juicen are working on the condition of Western tradition, whereas with Yagi, the question was how to confront the Japanese tradition, and at the same time confront the West's latest inventions. So for him the challenge was much more important, and from that dimension I think Yagi's artist [ unintelligible ] . So, Yagi does not stop resisting on the one hand to create a kind of work which tries to establish plasticity by the creative ware of the artist without taking into account the specificities of the utilized material. So in this sense Yagi was still sticking to the idea of arts and crafts. I mean, in Western tradition the material is only chosen so as to create the hoped form. And so to stick to the materiality of the material is a secondary concern for the Western artist, while Yagi sticks to his own tradition as a ceramic artist. So, ceramics as a material was so important for him. A photo taken here is in 1954. And this photo shows Yagi carrying his work with Mr. Samsa at the foot of the Gojozacha [ spelled phonetically ] slope in front of the Kiyomi's [ spelled phonetically ] Temple. You have seen the same pagoda at the beginning of my talk; a retreat by the mountain pass -- I mean, into this path to his own house, put there to metaphorically signal an escape into the conventional world of arts and crafts. And descent here on the right to the downtown would announce the beginning of an unprecedented venture. So he was on the crossroad in 1954, with the piece on the right. And for your interest, I show you the map. You see here is Kyoto. So you can see Lake Biwa and Osaka Bay. And Kyoto is located here. And here is the enlarged photo. And here is Kamogo River, which crossed the ancient capital. And Kiyomi's Temple is located here. And he was just standing at this position. Is he going to Gojodory [ spelled phonetically ] , or is he climbing back to the Kiyomi's Temple? It was a question for him. And it was also a kind of existence, or choice for his career. So I finish my talk with this photo and with some commentaries. So, are the arts and crafts predestined to yield to the temptation of materiality, as I have already explained? Or on the contrary, are they able to usurp the territory of fine art by transgressing the conventional boundary which has excluded Ozen Micha [ spelled phonetically ] for such a long time? So, this was a choice that Yagi was confronting at the middle of the 20th century. So, looking back at the crossroad which Yagi passed half a century ago, I would like to conclude my retrospective overview and critical observation of the modernity of the Kyoto arts and crafts in the first half of the 20th century. My thanks for your patience, and sorry for some technical problems. And as you have already noticed, this is only the first half part of my talk, and for Yagi's own creation. I still have so many things to say. But it's left open as a hole for the time being. Here is a catalog opening page, and I want to penetrate into that hole which remains still mysterious for you. And thanks so much for your patience, and I welcome your questions. So thanks very much. [ applause ] May I conduct questions by myself? Yeah. First and second, yes, please. Male Speaker: Thank you for an extremely rich presentation. I am sorry to do this, because I have the sense from the latter half of the talk and your conclusions that you really want to talk about Yagi Kazuo. But I want to drag you back to the earlier portion of your presentation and ask you about the oil painters, Asai Chu and his contemporaries, because you dropped along the way that when they encountered and began to work with this tradition of the large salon oil painting, the historical subject paintings and so on, it was in decline in the West. And I thought, "Oh, that's right. That's an interesting way to think about it." Can you talk a little bit about how Asai Chu and his contemporaries coped with that, that they were just beginning to develop their own interpretations of a tradition that it soon turned out was in decline in the West? Shigemi Inaga: Yes. Thanks very much for this relevant question. Yeah. To reply to it in a very short term, already most of the Western painters in the 20th century learned that their own tradition was in decline, and especially in the 1920s, if you read a treatise of painting made and published by Western painters, they are very conscious of that. And also the Japanese in the 20th century keenly felt that the tradition of oil painting was in decline. And as far as Asai is concerned, as I said, he belongs to the first generation of the oil painting training. And he was very proud of that, and he really honestly learned it. But in the 1900s, [ unintelligible ] experience was very decisive for him. And he was convinced that however he made efforts as an Oriental, there is a limit, and he cannot overcome it. So, usually the art history in Japan interprets Asai's return to Japan and the conversion arts and crafts as a kind of defeat. But I myself do not agree with that interpretation, because Asai had a chance to see the decorative art flourishing in Paris. He wanted to pick up that context in Japan and justify his endeavor in his final years in Kyoto, to rehabilitate the decorative art, because not only in Japan but especially in the Western context that kind of aspect of Japanese art was much more popular and more contemporary than the oil painting that he had just learned. And in addition to that, I mentioned briefly a colonial painting by Yaso Isotoro [ spelled phonetically ] and Ume Harauzablo [ spelled phonetically ] . We have to know that both Yaso and Ume Hara were the best disciples that Asai had in Kyoto. And without Asai as teacher, neither Ume Hara nor Yaso could make their career as painter. And this is a culminating point of the tradition, and transplantation of oil painting tradition in Japan, because both of them are later rewarded as [ unintelligible ] show; rewarded with the prizes of culture honor. And later it was a point of maturity of the Japanese efforts to implement and to implant the oil painting tradition. But I say this was the culminating point simply because even in Europe that criteria could not survive, especially after the war. And when we think about the status of oil painting and oil painters, the modern and contemporary Japanese art scene, I think in a larger scale I can say that the predominance of oil painting as the most important aspect of Western art tradition is already ended. So it is in this context I try to rehabilitate arts and crafts. I hope I answered, more or less, your question. Female Speaker: I was really fascinated by the connection between politics and art. I am quite aware of the political history of the World War II period, and the literature. And the government controlled the publication of the literature. And something like that happened to the art? Because -- so the control by the government to the art, you know, because it was maybe too left wing, or -- because you showed something, more the propaganda type of the art. And there is the other side of the artist that existed? Shigemi Inaga: Yeah. There are several layers which must be taken into account. And you must be very punctual about the chronology. In the 1930s the Japanese young students, young artists, became more and more nationalistic, true. And around 1936 when the Japanese invasion to China began, they wanted to consolidate their position. And of course, some of the younger generation artists positively tried to collaborate with the government's decision making. And most of the faithful nations are more or less obliged to be faithful to the decision making made by the government, of course. But at the same time, especially from the 1940s, the material shortage became a serious problem for the artists. And they have to really collaborate with the government so as to get the necessary material to make the creation, especially for arts and crafts and for metallic works, because metallics are so important for warfare, and there is a severe restriction on that. And many craftsmen were forced to melt down all the historical works made by their fathers, grandfathers, and it was a pity. And with the loss of these works, the tradition was very lost for all because the children could not recreate the same quality of things. So there are many personal tragedies connected with those things. And at the same time, if we look at Manchuria and the so-called puppet monarchy of Manchu [ spelled phonetically ] , once again, the financial program must be a very crucial aspect in all the policies. During 1936 the Manchurian government, sustained by the Japanese, wanted to promote the protection of cultural heritage. But from 1938 onward, they really had suffered from material difficulties. So I think if we make the history of the Manchu government, this financial and economic aspect needs to be carefully studied. It's my opinion. Thanks very much. Yes. Please go ahead. Male Speaker: I got the sense from your lecture that both Asai Chu and Yagi Kazuo were very affluent, because of their travels that they made to France and to China during that time period. I get the sense that they were very rich or very affluent, or of a high class. Was the influence in Japanese art throughout the artistic world, or was it just among those that were high class in the beginning years? Shigemi Inaga: Which influence? Male Speaker: Like the way that the artistic world in Japan tried to emulate or absorb the Western art styles or themes. Did that carry into the art that was being done in the smaller villages, or even like lower class within Tokyo and Kyoto? Shigemi Inaga: Uh-huh. This is also a very good question. And I avoided entering this theater because it's so complicated. But the part that I left in today's talk is the upper part of my handout. And there I summarize the institutional changes of the public training for painting and arts and crafts. And from this you can see quite clearly that Western-style institutions for art teaching were introduced in Japan in the late 19th century, and also in Kyoto from 1891. But the problem in Kyoto was that the people were so conscious of their own tradition, which they wanted to rehabilitate in connection with the exportation. So the simple importation of Western technique was not easy at all. So, how to combine, you know -- institutionally, it's Westernized. And the Japanese traditional way of mastery and disciple was not maintained in the public institutions. But still, informally, that tradition existed. And as far as technique is concerned, the apprenticeship takes such a long time. So, introduced simply, the Western style or Western technique was not very relevant in the Kyoto context. So I think your question is very interesting. And I may answer by saying that the comparison between what happened in Tokyo and what happened in Kyoto would be quite interesting, to see how the Japanese tried to accept or refuse the Western impact. Anyway, Western impact was so dominant, it's true. But still you can see, especially in Kyoto, the way local people tried to resist some of the aspects while absorbing the institutional aspect. So it's very complicated, but it's quite interesting. And if I dare say, not only the comparison between Tokyo and Kyoto, but also, for example, say, between Japan and India in Calcutta, for example, will be very fascinating. And yeah, I had a chance to give a lecture on that in New York two weeks ago. And I think probably for the audience here, it will be much more interesting. And I wanted to really have the reaction from people who are not from Japan, from other Asian countries, because in confrontation with the West, for [ unintelligible ] , Western country has a similar problem. And how to react is a very interesting issue. But we haven't yet developed that real scale comparison. So I think it's a task that we have to do. And I would be quite happy if in the future, in the Library of Congress, somebody can cooperate with us and make a huge project on that. And it's not only in art, but you know, in literature, in every aspect of culture, and probably including the way of negotiating the [ unintelligible ] issues, and so on and so forth. We can, you know, march by the same kind of problems. And I think it's quite an important thing, essential for the future of the humanity. Carolyn Brown: Now that Dr. Inaga has told us, I guess he's mapped out a 25-year project of research for all of us to take on. And I think with that said, we probably should close the program. Thank Dr. Inaga, and proceed to the reception. Thank you very much. [ applause ] [ end of transcript ]