While on a trip to tokyo in the summer i managed to visit this gallery, surprisingly it was really easy to find as it was right next to the Imperial Palace and hosts a number of stunning sculptures outside of it. At first glance they looked like wooden archways that you could sit under yet they provided no shade or cover and then with closer inspection I could see that they were meant to (or what I think they were meant) to look like dinosaurs as the reached up to the balcony yet they were without heads or features.
Once inside I realised it was a fairly small gallery (in comparison to the size of tokyo) and we were unable to take pictures inside which was a shame because the first room was of stunning paintings and sculptures from the Meiji (1868-1912) and Taisho (1912-1926) periods and gave me an interesting insight into the Japanese art of that time. 1907 saw the launch of the annual Bunten in Japan (or the Ministry of Education Exhibition). It was established as a part of the Meiji Government’s educational policy the government-sponsored painting and sculpture competition had a great influence on subsequent developments in the Japanese art world. The art from these periods is unlike any other and is now recognised as traditional Japanese art. At the time this style broke from the conventionalities in various aspects including shading, perspective, and colour composition, establishing itself as it’s own genre of arts.
There was one particular painting that caught my eye, it was so stunning and interesting and some what different to all the other paintings in the collection. It features Kannon a Buddhist Goddess described as the Lord of compassion, goddess of Mercy who is riding a dragon with a willow branch in one hand and a water cup in the other. Having later researched into the painting I found that the Artist Harada Naojiro had studied in Germany and made this piece by referring to European paintings of religious figures and at the same time referred to Japanese pieces featuring Kannon. He utilzed his references by applying realistic representation of oil painting to a traditional Japanese subject. After further research it seems to have caused quite a stir and generated fierce debates about his work. Overall to look at the piece is really striking yet breathtaking and due to the size of the piece it really would take over any room no matter how big or small.
Progressing through the gallery was a progression through time getting more and more modern and innovative nearer the end. There was a striking difference to the first and final pieces in the collection. The next piece that really caught my eye was in the Art of Pre War Showa Period. The pieces in this area related to the mostly to the feelings that were floating around Japan at the time. For instance one piece that really grabbed me was a globe made of blackboard material by the Artist Kawayguchi Tatsuo. By making a globe from blackboard material the artist is suggesting that national borders are as trivial and erasable as lines on a blackboard. I did however wonder why this Artist had such a view yet I didn’t have much knowledge about Japan’s History but after researching the Japan Time’s said that “This attitude may have something to do with Kawaguchi’s experience as a child in wartime Japan, then growing up as part of a generation disillusioned with nationalism. So, then, what does he place his faith in?” Cultivating a way for egoless Art, by Marius Gombrich, Japan Times 6/11/09.
Going through the gallery and looking at the more recent pieces of art I didn’t find them as interesting as the earlier pieces I had seen this was mainly because a number of these pieces were by already famous artists and spoke nothing of the art scene or art movement within Japan which was really quite disheartening. However what I had already seen made up for the anti-climax of the final rooms. They gave me a great insight into Japanese Art history and I got to see original drawings and paintings at first hand.