A Study on the Influence of the Development of Anatomy on Artistic Expression During the Edo Period

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K21937
• 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: Waseda University
• Principal Investigator: Yamada Maria 早稲田大学, 會津八一記念博物館, その他(招聘研究員) (60884038)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-09-11 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 美術史学 / 解剖学 / 解剖図 / 骸骨 / 円山派 / 銅版画

Outline of Final Research Achievements

First, this study proceeded with the organizational work on anatomical drawings, anatomical books, and the artists who painted them, and based on this data, a survey of them was conducted. As a result, this study examined the process by which they were repeatedly copied by physicians and disseminated as academic books and illustrations. In terms of expressive techniques, this study also revealed that the Maruyama School painters and copperplate painters were heavily employed in the production of anatomical drawings and anatomical books.
In addition, a comparative study of anatomical drawings and anatomical books and skeletal drawings was conducted regarding the growing anatomical interest in the 18th and 19th centuries and the increasing anatomical accuracy of skeletal drawings of the same period. As a result, this study examined the possibility that osteopathy and the production of wooden skeletal models, which flourished after the 19th century, were utilized in the drawing process.

Free Research Field

美術史学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

医学の発展は、私たちの生活に深く関わる問題である。現代よりも技術や情報が大きく制限された江戸時代の日本において、医者たちがどのように医学を発展させてきたのか、そしてその過程に画家を含めた様々な人々がどのように関わっていたのかを取り上げた本研究は、現代人が日々のなかで当たり前のように享受している医学の発展に対して、改めてその重要性を認識する機会になるだろう。過去の医者たちと、それを支えた人々の弛まない努力と成果によって、現代の私たちの生活があることを意識し、今後の医学の発展に貢献できることを期待したい。