Just like that! Ukiyo-e and Chinese prints The surprising relationship is 17:40 on February 5

Ukiyo-e is one of Japan's leading arts. The results of research that put a stone in the process of its establishment have become clear. The key is the “Chinese prints” that were being produced in Qing, China at the same time. Using the unknown collection as a clue, researchers from Japan and abroad have conducted three years of research and have found a deep connection.
(Reporter Ryo Tomita, Science and Culture Department)

A large group of works that experts are also surprised

The Umi-no-Mori Art Museum is located on a hill overlooking the Seto Inland Sea in Hatsukaichi City, Hiroshima Prefecture. A study group was held here for four days, and about 50 researchers from Japan and abroad gathered.

Look for the Chinese prints owned by this museum.

Here, there are some 1000 of the world's largest collections, created during the Qing era (17th-20th centuries), of which about 270 were open to researchers.

Many of them were premiered, and researchers looked at each piece of work to spare time.

Chinese prints are prints for the common people who printed landscapes and people in vivid colors. The works spread throughout the world, including Japan, and are believed to have influenced artists in various countries.

However, there are few surviving works, and little research has been done on the relationship with world art.

Therefore, Mori Art Museum with a view of the sea launched a study group made up of domestic and foreign experts three years ago, and has been conducting full-scale research and research.

Chinese prints are a model for Ukiyo-e! ?

One of the things that I learned was the connection with Japanese ukiyo-e.

According to the museum, some experts pointed out that Chinese prints could have influenced Ukiyo-e, but no evidence was given that could be conclusive. That was the result of a study conducted by the study group, and found several Chinese prints that had a deep connection with Ukiyo-e.

For example, Kikukawa Eizan's "Manjikichicho". The lucky lotus flowers and coins are drawn around the two gods.

If you line it up with a Chinese print with the same title, you'll see exactly two. Comparing the production periods, we found that Yingshan's work was newer and more likely to have imitated a Chinese print.

In addition, a Chinese print that was thought to have been the basis of the Ukiyo-e "Wagojinnozu" by Utamaro Kitagawa (the second generation) was also found. This is exactly the same, but if you look closely, the Ukiyo-e is depicted more precisely. This suggests that the Chinese prints were not simply imitated, but rather developed as works.

Is the influence of Chinese prints on the "techniques" of Ukiyo-e?

The influence of Chinese prints can also be seen in techniques.

"Multi-color printing" in which multiple colors are superimposed, and "Kazuri", which prints without adding color to create an uneven pattern, are both common techniques used in Ukiyo-e. As we went, it became clear that it had been used earlier in Chinese prints.

It may seem surprising that Ukiyo-e was not an art developed independently in Japan. However, Chinese artists are a good example for artists at the time, studying the works brought into Japan enthusiastically, repeating trial and error on how to reproduce them, and as a result, new techniques and ingenuity learned Was developed independently.

Mr. Takayuki Aoki, curator at the Museum of the Sea with a View of the Sea``Similar to letters and religion, in Japan at the time, there was no resistance to adopting excellent Chinese culture and technology, and ukiyo-e painters were able to share the good parts of Chinese prints. I guess they took it aggressively and used it in their work. ''

Conversely, Ukiyo-e may have influenced Chinese prints

On the other hand, looking at the works around the Meiji era, it became clear that Ukiyo-e could have influenced Chinese prints.

In the Meiji era, Japanese ukiyo-e paintings with the theme of current affairs began to be made, and in the Southwest War, ukiyo-e paintings showing the state of the battle were made every day.

It is only after that that the current works can be seen in Chinese prints. For this reason, the idea of ​​producing prints as an information medium like newspapers may have been transmitted from Japan to China.

According to Professor Emeritus Hiromitsu Kobayashi of Sophia University, chairman of the study group, China has become one of the few pipes to know the world for Japan in the Edo era, which continued to be isolated from Japan. On the other hand, China also said that it was inspired by Japan, which is developing its own unique technology by utilizing technology imported from other countries.

Professor Emeritus Hiromitsu Kobayashi "It is clear that the origin of Japanese ukiyo-e is in Chinese prints, and it can be said that it is a relationship like a sibling. To think about art exchange between Japan and China through prints that have been rarely studied until now, It's very significant in understanding each other's culture. ''

Chinese prints influenced by western art

What is the relationship between Chinese prints and other regions? The study group has been examining the relationship with art in other parts of Asia and Europe.

For example, the cityscape is expressed using the perspective used in this Chinese print and European work.

It is probable that Chinese artists who touched Western art incorporated that technique into their works. These techniques were later spread in Japan, but were pioneered in Chinese prints.

Traditionally, it was thought that it was transmitted directly from the West to Japan, but it was also possible that it was gradually being introduced from the West to China and then to Japan.

Hope for further discovery

Only 30% of the works in the museum have been confirmed by the study group. Members of the study group are also looking forward to discovering what remains in the remaining works. The museum will open its works to the public again next year, taking into account future research and research.

It is said that more than millions of Chinese prints have been distributed, but research has only begun. Whether it will be reshaping the history of art, we will keep watching.

Ryo Tomita, Reporter, Science and Culture Department

Joined the station in 2013. After working at the Kanazawa Bureau, he worked at the Nagasaki Bureau in 2016, focusing on the atomic bomb and other issues related to war and issues related to cultural properties. In charge of literature and science at the Ministry of Science and Culture from August 1st