Study of Illustrations in University Bulletins during the Meiji Era

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K22997
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0101:Philosophy, art, and related fields
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Sakaguchi Aiko (藏田愛子) 東京大学, 総合研究博物館, 特任研究員 (40843024)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-08-30 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 大学紀要図版 / 画工

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Of the bulletins that were published at the University of Tokyo during the Meiji era, this study examined the illustrations in the Memoirs of the Science Department, University of Tokyo, Japan, the Rikakaisui, the Journal of the College of Science, Imperial University, Japan, and the Journal of the College of Medicine, Imperial University, Japan. By gaining an understanding of such aspects as the use of illustrations and the presence or absence of signatures in each bulletin, it became clear that the original illustrations in the bulletins were drawn by not only university-employed illustrators who specialized in drawing but also the authors of the bulletins themselves. Along with the bulletins, illustrations that visually conveyed the content of studies are thought to have played an important role in the domestic and global dissemination of academic findings from the University of Tokyo during the Meiji era.

Free Research Field

日本近代美術史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

東京大学初期の大学紀要の図版調査によって、当時の理学系や医学系の論文には、優れた描写能力と印刷技術によって作り出された図版が挿し込まれる傾向を看取することができた。大学紀要の図版に着目した本研究は、日本近代美術史において学問の視覚的表現を扱う研究の可能性を示す学術的意義があると考える。