International studio (25.1905)

YAPANESE ART AT THE ST.
] LOUIS EXHIBITION. BY MAUDE
ij I. G. OLIVER.
IN the study of the progress of any people one
encounters certain tendencies which serve as indi-
cations revealing the characteristic temperament of
the race. In a nation which is essentially aesthetic the
art sense manifests itself in innumerable directions,
and subtly declares its elevating principles in every
department, whether the subject be along the line
of the simply ornamental or that more vital one of
utility. While the eyes of Christendom are turned
with wonder and admiration to that little country,
Japan, whose prowess in time of conflict has never
been excelled, we practical Occidentals observe with
surprise that even in her industrial life an ever-
present feature is a consistent application of good
taste, which always understands exactly how to
blend the beautiful with the common-place, and
lift the latter out of the domain of the ordinary.
During a time of strenuous privation at home, the
marvellous evidences of Japanese progress, as out-
lined by her exhibits at St. Louis, were a constant
astonishment to visitors from other countries. The
general impression was that Japan excelled in every
sort of exhibit, and through them all appeared

that underlying thread of art, concerning which no
other nation has a truer idea. The national pavi-
lion, for instance, instead of being, as in other
cases, a single building, presented a bower of fairy
enchantment, encircled round about by numerous
dainty structures. Tne little dwarf trees, charm-
ing bridges, series of stepping stone-, garden
statuary, and, to complete the scene, the pictur-
esque people of the country, combined in producing
a harmonious effect of Oriental loveliness seldom
surpassed.
The display given in the Palace of Fine Arts was
thoroughly comprehensive in its scope and repre-
sentative in its importance. It occupied four large
and two small galleries, and was put in place by
Mr H. Shugio, who enjoys a world-wide reputation
as a manager of national exhibits. The display
comprised paintings which included about two
dozen oils and a few water-colour drawings in
European style, sculpture, architecture, and original
objects of art workmanship of various classes.
Of printings on silk and paper there was a
large and attractive collection. The imperial court
artist, Gaho Hashimoto, in his soft luminous mists,
seems to have effectively united the essentials of
the Eastern school with those of the West. All
that was symbolic, all that was decorative in the


"NEAR CAKE MACDONALD, ROCKY MOUNTAINS"
242

BY HOKKAI TAKASHIMA"