The Sumitomo Collection of modern Japanese paintings donated by Sumitomo Head Office is one of the treasures of Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts. Ms. Kumiko Doi, a curator at the museum, discusses the destiny of this impressive collection of modern paintings in the Nihonga tradition. (Interviewed by Teruaki Sueoka, Deputy Director of Sumitomo Historical Archives)
(Affiliations and titles are of the persons mentioned in the article are as of the time of publication.)
Sueoka :
About 10 years ago, Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts loaned the Sumitomo Collection to us for an exhibition at SEN-OKU HAKUKOKAN MUSEUM, Tokyo. This is the first time I have laid eyes on these wonderful paintings since then.
Doi :
I vividly remember that exhibition. The Sumitomo Collection comprises paintings commissioned for the Japanese Paintings from Kansai exhibition held during the war. Although Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts retained the works constituting the Sumitomo Collection in its holdings, they had not been displayed as a collection for decades. So, the exhibition at SEN-OKU HAKUKOKAN MUSEUM attracted great interest, as this was the first Japanese Paintings from Kansai exhibition in 60 years.
Sueoka :
The list of the artists whose works were featured at this exhibition is impressive.
Doi :
Indeed. It includes Uemura Shoen, Hashimoto Kansetsu, Yamaguchi Kayo, and other stars in the firmament of Nihonga painters working in Kansai in those days. Most of the works are among the finest these distinguished artists ever painted. With every passing year, they become more sought after and more valuable.
Sueoka :
When was the original Japanese Paintings from Kansai exhibition held?
Doi :
The exhibition was held in September 1943 at Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts and subsequently at Kyoto Enthronement Memorial Museum of Art (present-day Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art) and at Nihombashi Mitsukoshi department store in Tokyo. The Asahi Shimbun Company, a newspaper publisher, conceived the plan for an exhibition in 1942, selected 20 artists, all practitioners of Nihonga, and requested Sumitomo for sponsorship. Since this was in the middle of the Pacific War, not only were commissions scarce but artists were finding it difficult to lay their hands on paints, Japanese paper and other prerequisites for their work. The artists must have been delighted to receive the commissions for the forthcoming exhibition, particularly so since Sumitomo undertook to provide all the materials and pay a handsome fee for the paintings.
Sueoka :
The more absorbed one becomes in the paintings of the Sumitomo Collection, the more evident is the distinctive atmosphere common to these works.
Doi :
Exactly. The recurrent theme of these works is solitude. For example, this landscape by Nishiyama Suikyo is a scenic stretch of Horai Valley near Arima Spring in Hyogo Prefecture. The evening moon is a solitary witness to the sequestered scene.
Sueoka :
I see. This work by Yano Kyoson depicts Nachi Waterfall in Wakayama Prefecture.
Doi :
Legend has it that Emperor Jimmu prayed for divine favor amid the uncertainties of war at this waterfall. According to a note found among Yano’s papers, as the war cast an increasingly somber pall over everything, he made a pilgrimage to this waterfall and the painting embodies his hope that the clouds of despondency will eventually dissipate. This hope, though not made explicit by any particular motif in the painting, is implicit in every brushstroke.
Doi :
Cherry blossom viewing at night by Kitano Tsunetomi is another fine work. Given that the subject is cherry blossom, which lends itself to gorgeous depictions, the work is notable for its restraint. Kitano had apparently heard a rumor that maiko would be abolished because of the war. This prospect filled him with sadness that may well account for the mood of this painting.
Sueoka :
The artists seem to have sensed the contemporary atmosphere of pessimism in Japan.
Doi :
I think so. As originally conceived the Japanese Paintings from Kansai exhibition was supposed to present to the public a body of work capturing the Japan of those days, which would eventually be bequeathed to succeeding generations. This intention was made clear by the rallying cry “To raise culture during the war” immediately following the exhibition’s title. No doubt the exhibition planners communicated their intention to the artists. But the resulting works are anything but propagandist or militaristic in tone or subject. In no way do they whip up war sentiment.
Sueoka :
During the Russo-Japanese War, many works were produced depicting the victory of the Japanese navy. But the works produced for the Japanese Paintings from Kansai exhibition are quite unlike those produced during the Russo-Japanese War.
Doi :
The temper of the times was so different. From the perspective of Japan, the situation was already bad in 1942 when the artists started to paint their works. But in 1943 Japan’s grim situation became starkly apparent to anyone paying attention to how the war was developing. For instance, Isoroku Yamamoto, Marshal Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy, perished in April 1943, and Japan’s defeat in the Battle of Attu in May was reported. Such events symptomatic of Japan’s worsening situation must have affected artistic sensibilities.
Sueoka :
I see.
Doi :
Yamaguchi Kayo was originally going to paint a black panther but abandoned this subject and painted this willow instead. The willow symbolizes tenacity capable of enduring the raging tempest. In this painting, the artist has his finger on the pulse of contemporary Japan.
Sueoka :
If the artists had received their commissions six months earlier and if the exhibition had been held in April 1943, a very different atmosphere might have pervaded the paintings.
Doi :
Maybe. I did not plunge quite so deeply into the world conjured up by these painting when I met you for the first time 20 years ago. But in the intervening years, I have deepened my knowledge of the history underlying these works and their genesis. Such knowledge deepens one’s impressions, affording one insights into the relationship between artists’ feelings and the finished paintings.
Sueoka :
You are the one who discovered this collection originally displayed at the Japanese Paintings from Kansai exhibition.
Doi :
Discovery is somewhat of an exaggeration. In fact, Late Autumn is considered Uemura Shoen’s masterpiece and museums throughout Japan want the museum to loan it to them. But about 20 years ago, what I found when checking the catalogue detailing the paintings in the museum’s holdings prompted some questions. Such a catalogue typically provides information on the provenance of a work—the name of the work, the name of the person who donated the painting, when it became part of the museum’s holding, and so forth. But I found that many pages were missing from the catalogue. Perhaps, amid the confusion of war, it was not possible to perform a proper inventory. The Japanese Imperial Army requisitioned the museum building in November 1942. Although the museum was able to hold the Japanese Paintings from Kansai exhibition in one wing of the building, the overall situation was chaotic. Moreover, the U.S. Army requisitioned the museum building from October 1945 to 1948. The museum was unable to operate normally during these years. Consequently, the paintings featured in the Japanese Paintings from Kansai exhibition languished largely unseen for 50 years.
Sueoka :
I recall that you visited us at the Sumitomo Historical Archives to examine documents about 20 years ago.
Doi :
Yes. You informed me that the Sumitomo Historical Archives had some documents I was seeking, which was wonderful news. I hate having lacunae in the records!
Sueoka :
I remember you struck me as a person who enjoys investigating the byways of a subject rather than just keeping to the well-trodden highway. And it is a valuable attribute for a curator. The first time we met was at a meeting whose objective was to encourage museums in Japan to pay greater attention to contemporary craftsmanship and artisanal artifacts, a long-neglected theme.
Doi :
Yes. I may have a tendency to shun the limelight and instead seek to illuminate whatever is concealed. A close look at art history reveals that many works hardly ever see the light of day. Since museums want to attract as many visitors as possible, their exhibitions tend to be rather predictable in conception. As a result, art history tends to run along a predetermined track. Since the Meiji era, the Western traditions of watercolor painting and oil painting have been so dominant in the teaching of fine art and art history that children have little exposure to Nihonga or Japanese pottery. Reared on this diet, visitors have a seemingly insatiable appetite for oil paintings. This is frustrating for curators as we have so many other works of art to offer.
Suoeka :
So this collection of Nihonga produced by renowned Japanese artists during wartime is valuable in that sense, too.
Doi :
Yes, indeed. It is a miracle that the museum retained the Sumitomo Collection in all its glory. How tragic it would have been had the collection been scattered and lost during the confusion that prevailed during wartime and in the aftermath of war. After the Japanese Paintings from Kansai exhibition, the paintings exhibited were stored in the museum’s basement stockroom. Similar exhibitions were held in Tokyo and other cities but the paintings exhibited at those exhibitions were sold and no collections comparable to the Sumitomo Collection exist. In a way it was lucky that the museum was requisitioned and the existence of the collection was forgotten. The likelihood of Japan’s defeat increased day by day, excluding other considerations.
Sueoka :
I hope as many people as possible will enjoy the Sumitomo Collection.
Doi :
Yes, I hope so, too. Usually we can exhibit only a few paintings from the Sumitomo Collection. But I want to organize an exhibition to simultaneously display all the paintings of the Sumitomo Collection again in all their glory.
Sueoka :
Thank you sharing your fascinating insights.
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