Study of Iwasa Matabei's Works and Biography

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K23003
• 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: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: Tsutsui Tadahito 京都大学, 文学研究科, 准教授 (20851322)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-08-30 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 岩佐又兵衛 / 松平忠直 / 浮世絵 / 洛中洛外図 / 風俗画

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this research, I carefully examined the traditions of the Edo period regarding Iwasa Matabei and Matsudaira Tadanao, and carefully traced the history of research after the Meiji period, trying to carefully distinguish between tradition and historical facts. Next, I observed the motifs of each work, analyzed the artist's intentions contained therein, and tried to decipher the background of the artist's production, which is different from the artist's upbringing. In addition, I reviewed the production period of the works from the analysis of the style, and worked to connect the trends of the times and the works. The result of my research is that, I have been able to present a different understanding of the work and point out various objective facts that will serve as the basis for future discussions.

Free Research Field

日本美術史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究では、かつて浮世絵の祖と言われた岩佐又兵衛の伝記と作品を総合的に検証した。その結果、又兵衛と浮世絵とは、複雑な経路を辿って結びついており、単純に祖であるとは言えないが、無関係でもないことが明らかとなった。また、岩佐又兵衛が、雅なものを卑俗なものに変換するという、絵画史上における美学的な転換において重要な役割を果たしていることも判明した。江戸文化の特徴である雅俗融和の源流を探る上で、岩佐又兵衛が果たした重要な役割を明らかにした点で、本研究は学術上の意義を持つ。