4.5 Yoga and Nihonga

Study Notes

Yōga and Nihonga: The Evolution of Japanese Art in the Meiji Period

In the early Meiji period, Japan aimed to modernize and emulate the West in various aspects, including the art world.
Yōga and Nihonga were born in this historical context, with Yōga representing Japan's more diverse artistic side, gravitating towards Western techniques and materials.
Japanese artists in the Yōga style used European art techniques such as oil paint on canvas, ink, pastels, and watercolor to create realistic 2-dimensional pictures.
Even before Japan opened to the world in 1854, some artists were already studying Western pictorial representations, as seen in Japanese woodblock prints by Katsushika Hokusai.
The government in the Meiji era was eager to adopt Western practices, leading to the establishment of art academies and technical schools to teach Western art and design techniques.
A backlash against intense westernization in the 1880s led to the revival of Japanese traditions in art, resulting in Nihonga, and a decline in the popularity of Yōga.
Kuroda Seiki, considered the father of Yōga, played a crucial role in revitalizing the style by infusing Japanese elements into Western-style oil paintings.
Kuroda's approach signaled the liberation of artistic freedom for Yōga artists, going beyond simply transplanting foreign formal elements.
Kuroda's famous painting "Lakeside" features a traditional beauty in a kimono, resonating with the Japanese tradition of Bijin-ga, which depicts images of beautiful women in Japanese art history.
"Lakeside" was a far cry from Kuroda's more experimental pieces, but its harmonious blue tonality and traditional subject matter conveyed a completely Japanese feeling, theme, and mood.
Kuroda's successful infusion of Japanese aesthetics into Western-style paintings inspired many influential Yōga artists of his generation and beyond.
The establishment of Yōga and Nihonga reflects the duality in Japanese painting, showcasing a fluctuation between Japanese tradition and Westernization in search of its modern identity.