Studio: international art (58.1913)

Studio-Talk

with independent means and ideas to explore the
realms of life and art. G. E. (Paris).

TOKYO.—Though Japan is justly reputed
to be the treasure house of the Far
East, students experience great difficulty
in studying her treasures, because of the
laok of proper facilities for seeing them. To be
sure, Japan is not without art museums, but they
are entirely inadequate both in size and in number.
Apropos of museums, we are proud of possessing
the oldest museum in the world—the Shosoin of
Nara, the ancient capital of Japan. The Shosoin
has a wonderful collection of the arts and crafts of
some twelve centuries ago preserved intact to the
present day. It is infinitely valuable to artists as
well as to archaeologists, and serves as a touchstone
concerning the art of certain periods in Japanese
history. But it is only open during a brief period
of a fortnight or so in the year for the purpose of
airing the treasures, and then only to a privileged
few, and as the articles are kept in rooms without
a single window the light as never good.

The Hyokeikan, the only public art museum in
Tokyo, was built a few years ago as an addition to
the Imperial Household Museum in Uyeno Park
in commemoration of the wedding of the present
Emperor when he was Crown Prince. Its upper
floor is devoted to Japanese paintings and drawings,
which are changed every three weeks, and the
lower floor mainly to old Chinese porcelain and
jade. The Imperial Household Museum at Kyoto
has, among other things, some excellent paintings,
also changed from time to time, and there is an
admirable collection of ancient Japanese wood
sculpture in the Imperial Household Museum at
Nara. The small art museum of Osaka and the
new Archaeological Museum at Yamada are also
very valuable for art students. But these few are
the only public art museums in the Empire, and
urgent appeals are made for more. Many cities
are seriously thinking of following the example of
Kyoto, which has recently taken definite steps to
establish a museum.

The Okura Art Museum at Aoyezaka, Tokyo, is
the only private institution of the kind. When
Mr. Okura started his extensive collection some
thirty-five years ago, he saw to his horror and
astonishment a great number of richly decorated
temples and mausoleums being pulled down and
an enormous quantity of Buddhistic images and
national art treasures being sold to foreigners in a

reckless manner. He collected as far as his private
means allowed him, and finally erected a suitable
building to exhibit his collection. At the time of
the Boxer rising in 1900, when the precious art
treasures of China were plundered by unruly
intruders, he bought an extensive collection of
porcelain, bronze, jade, and lacquer—a valuable
addition of Chinese and Siamese art to his museum,
which now contains some splendid specimens of
Buddhistic sculpture and a rare collection of carved
red lacquer ware. The exhibits are now being
carefully examined and properly catalogued with a
view to the museum being donated in its entirety
to the nation.

Although there are no other private museums,
the country has many large private collections,

"a cock" by ito jakuchu

(Marquis Inouye's Collection)

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