Three Japanese Artists Re-examine Imperialism Through Historical Entanglements with the West
Artists from Japan, including Hikaru Fujii, Yu Araki, and Tatsuma Takeda, produce modern works that investigate Japan's historical interactions with Western nations, particularly regarding identity politics and blended belief systems. Fujii's 2017 video, Southern Barbarian Screens, showcases Peter Golightly's engagement with 16th-century Nanban byōbu screens. In Araki's 2014 video, Angelo Lives, the narrative centers on Anjirō, the first Japanese Christian convert. Takeda's installations, memory (2013) and The Eye of the Needle (2021), delve into his family's ties to Hidden Christians. Fujii's Playing Japanese (2017) revisits the 1903 Human Pavilion, while Araki's NEW HORIZON (2023) highlights Ranald MacDonald, prompting a reevaluation of colonial language. The artists challenge viewers to confront the connections between trade, religion, and empire.
Key facts
- Hikaru Fujii's Southern Barbarian Screens (2017) examines 16th-century Nanban byōbu screens depicting Portuguese arrivals in Nagasaki.
- Yu Araki's Angelo Lives (2014) explores the story of Anjirō, the first Japanese Christian convert who mistranslated God's name.
- Tatsuma Takeda's memory (2013) uses Maria Kannon icons to address family history with Hidden Christians in Amakusa and Nagasaki.
- European arrival in Japan in 1543 introduced Christianity and the arquebus, altering the country's religious and political landscape.
- Japan's period of national isolation began in 1633 after persecution of Christians and expulsion of European nations.
- American warships arrived in Edo Bay in 1853, forcing Japan's reopening and leading to renewed Western missionary activity.
- The 1903 Osaka National Industrial Exhibition included a Human Pavilion displaying colonized peoples, imitating Western racist practices.
- The term bijutsu (art) was coined during the 1873 Vienna World's Fair, leading to the founding of the Tokyo National Museum.
Entities
Artists
- Hikaru Fujii
- Yu Araki
- Tatsuma Takeda
- Peter Golightly
- Narahara Ikkō
- Kano Domi
- Francis Xavier
- Toyotomi Hideyoshi
- Oda Nobunaga
- Ranald MacDonald
- Fushine Yasutaro
- Tyler Coburn
- Haruka Ueda
Institutions
- Dumb Type
- JET Program
- Tokyo National Museum
- Exposition Bureau
- National Industrial Exhibitions
- Osaka exhibition
- Tennōji Zoo
- Human Pavilion
- Qing envoy
- The Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant
- ArtReview Asia
Locations
- Japan
- Nagasaki
- Tanegashima
- Edo Bay
- Amakusa
- Yushima Island
- Goto Islands
- Harinomendo
- Portuguese Malacca
- Portugal
- North America
- Yamagata City
- Osaka
- Malaysia
- Zanzibar
- Turkey
- Okinawa
- Korea
- New York
- Singapore
- Vienna
- Austria