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Modern Art Patronage and Democratic Citizenship in Japan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 June 2010

Laura Hein
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Abstract

Wakimura Yoshitarō, a prominent Japanese economics professor and art collector, helped establish or sustain at least eight art museums in postwar Japan. He did so to create important institutions of democratic empowerment rather than nationalist displays of power. The crucial context was defeat in World War II, which left many Japanese, including Wakimura, committed to taming capitalism. Wakimura was particularly interested in creating new practices of art appreciation that could mediate relations between potentially antagonistic groups of Japanese, and in building museums as fresh spaces to house these newly egalitarian relationships. He emphasized the value to society created when individuals developed their aesthetic and thus political judgment. His efforts help explain the proliferation of both public and private art museums in postwar Japan as well as the nature of postwar political culture.

Type
Research Article
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The Journal of Asian Studies , Volume 69 , Issue 3 , August 2010 , pp. 821 - 841
Copyright
Copyright © The Association for Asian Studies, Inc. 2010

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References

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Interviews with the Author:

Mitani Wataru, Tanabe City Museum of Art, Tanabe City, March 10, 2009.Google Scholar
Sakai Tadayasu, Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo, May 19, 2006.Google Scholar
Wakimura Tomō, Tokyo, April 13, 2005, and May 17, 2006.Google Scholar
Yonekura Mamoru, Asahi Marion Building, Tokyo, May 24, 2006.Google Scholar
Yui Tsunehiko, Institute for Social Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, May 26, 2009.Google Scholar