Research on the role of Japanese students in US-Japan cultural and artistic exchange

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K02312
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Fine art history
• Research Institution: Shinshu University
• Principal Investigator: ONO AYAKO 信州大学, 学術研究院教育学系, 准教授 (10377616)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 東西異文化交流 / ジャポニスム / 留学創成期 / チャールズ・ランマン / ハドソン・リヴァー派 / トーナリズム

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The debate on new forms of expression in modern era have been discussed within the framework of ‘Western art’ and ‘Japanese art’ in the history of art. Since the spread of diverse artistic perspectives resulting from exchange between East and West, this research investigates the role of Japanese students who studied in the United States from the end of the Edo period to the middle of the Meiji period (1860s~1880s) in addressing the issues of new forms of artistic expression in the modern era. The result of this research shows that during the early years of study in the United States, from the late 1860s to the 1870s, Charles Lanman, an artist, writer and secretary of the Japanese legation in the capital city of Washington, D.C., and Addison Van Naim, a librarian of Yale University in Connecticut, were involved with Japanese students. And their dialogue promotes mutual cultural understanding and helped to promote understanding of Japanese culture in the United States.

Free Research Field

美術史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

これまで19世紀末から20世紀初頭にかけて、アメリカ合衆国における日本美術コレクションやジャポニスムという文化、芸術における現象が、ボストンを中心に研究が行われてきた。そこで、本研究では、留学創成期における日本人留学生の現地における生活を追い、日米交流の初期の段階で、ワシントンD.C.やコネチカット州において、その後のアメリカ合衆国における日本理解を下支える素地を作り上げたことを明らかにした。