The formation of the Japanese Art Collection at the Art Gallery of South Australia 1904-1940 : tangible evidence of Bunmei Kaika.
type: CreativeWork
description: The momentous signing of the Treaty of Kanagawa in 1854 marked the turning point to end Japan’s long seclusion from the West. Its subsequent ‘opening’ unveiled the refreshingly different aesthetic canon of Japanese art which was enthusiastically hailed by nineteenth century Western artists and designers. As a much sought after commodity, Japanese art was collected in unprecedented quantities throughout Europe, the British Empire and the United States. The mania for things Japanese also reached the far-flung colonies in Australia and New Zealand. This phenomenon, referred to in the English-speaking world as ‘Mikado Mania’ or the ‘Cult of Japan’, coincided with the establishment of public museums, the proliferation of international exhibitions and ease of global travel. These innovations fostered and facilitated the formation of Japanese art collections internationally. A survey of Australian and New Zealand collections and a particular examination of the Art Gallery of South Australia’s collection formed between the years 1904-1940 reveal the circumstances and personalities that shaped the nature and content of the collections. It is argued in this thesis that while nascent colonial public museums and private collectors such as those in South Australia were guided by British tastes, the genesis of which predated the nineteenth century ‘opening’ of Japan, the collecting of Japanese art in nineteenth-century Australia and New Zealand served as a signifier of international discourse and modernity. For Japan, its art became a tool to fend off foreign hegemony. Driven by the slogan bunmei kaika ‘civilisation and enlightenment’, Japan throughout the Meiji era (1868-1912) exploited the mania for its art in order to achieve status and recognition as a world power. It will be further argued that the spirit of bunmei kaika also encapsulated the cultural aspirations of the fledgling colonies in Australia and New Zealand which, by the late nineteenth century, were endeavouring t…
abstract: The momentous signing of the Treaty of Kanagawa in 1854 marked the turning point to end Japan’s long seclusion from the West. Its subsequent ‘opening’ unveiled the refreshingly different aesthetic canon of Japanese art which was enthusiastically hailed by nineteenth century Western artists and designers. As a much sought after commodity, Japanese art was collected in unprecedented quantities throughout Europe, the British Empire and the United States. The mania for things Japanese also reached the far-flung colonies in Australia and New Zealand. This phenomenon, referred to in the English-speaking world as ‘Mikado Mania’ or the ‘Cult of Japan’, coincided with the establishment of public museums, the proliferation of international exhibitions and ease of global travel. These innovations fostered and facilitated the formation of Japanese art collections internationally. A survey of Australian and New Zealand collections and a particular examination of the Art Gallery of South Australia’s collection formed between the years 1904-1940 reveal the circumstances and personalities that shaped the nature and content of the collections. It is argued in this thesis that while nascent colonial public museums and private collectors such as those in South Australia were guided by British tastes, the genesis of which predated the nineteenth century ‘opening’ of Japan, the collecting of Japanese art in nineteenth-century Australia and New Zealand served as a signifier of international discourse and modernity. For Japan, its art became a tool to fend off foreign hegemony. Driven by the slogan bunmei kaika ‘civilisation and enlightenment’, Japan throughout the Meiji era (1868-1912) exploited the mania for its art in order to achieve status and recognition as a world power. It will be further argued that the spirit of bunmei kaika also encapsulated the cultural aspirations of the fledgling colonies in Australia and New Zealand which, by the late nineteenth century, were endeavouring t…
author: Harris, Jennifer Anne
keywords: Japanese art; collections; Australia and New Zealand; Meiji era; exhibitions; bunmei kaika; civilisation and enlightenment
date published: 2012
date modified: 2026-07-24T00:51:02Z
provider: University of Adelaide
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Adelaide

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/2440/84054