Edo Animals : A Comprehensive Study of Period Imagery

2001 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 11610062
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Fine art history
• Research Institution: Gakushuin Women's College
• Principal Investigator: IMAHASHI Riko Gakushuin Women's College, Faculty of Intercultural Studies, Associate Professor, 国際文化交流学部, 助教授 (70266352)
• Project Period (FY): 1999 – 2001
• Keywords: Edo-period drawings / Flower-and-Bird pictures / Representation of Animals / Iconology of Japanese paintings / the Maruyama school / painting and literature / Natural-History drawings / 博物図譜

Research Abstract

This study was conducted over a period of 3 years. 1999 and 2000 were spent on identifying the locations of examples of animal art of the Edo period that exist all over Japan, and in gathering a vast quantity of photographs, as well as information about these works. During this process, it became evident that many animal paintings of the Edo period have a "distinctive" meaning that clearly differentiate them from the context of traditional "Bird and Flower paintings" that are a shared feature of the cultures of East Asia. "Bird and Flower paintings" usually depict motifs of good omen, such as "longevity" or "wealth and prosperity". Animal art of the Edo period, however, often include examples of "social caricature" and "popular beliefs" of the day, which were unrelated to these motifs. These discoveries provide an opportunity to establish a new perspective for theentire body of study of Bird and Flower paintings of the Edo period. It was proven that a new interpretation was possible th rough a new reading of some of these works. This process was more complex than anticipated, as it involved the identification and reconstruction of "discourse", "language", "customs", and "lifestyles" that are now forgotten. The study of folklore and literature also seemed to be relevant, so 2000 and 2001 included additional research and information gathering regarding representations of animals in other fields. Some of the findings have been published in "Rabbit as the Moon : A Study of Animal Art of Edo Period, Vol. 1" (Bulletin of Gakushuin Women's College, Volumes 1 and 2, March 2001 and March 2002). This considered the meanings of the various images of the rabbit in Japanese culture, looking at examples from literature, art, and religion since the middle ages. Further study is being conducted on dog, hawk, monkey, and insect imagery. The collected results are to be published as Animal Representation in the Edo Period (working title) from The University of Tokyo Press by the end of fiscal year 2003.