Modern Art Patronage and Democratic Citizenship in Japan

Bibliographic Data

ID3628274
AuthorsLaura Hein (0000-0002-4651-2875, Northwestern University, corresponding author)
Year2010
Volume69
Issue3
Pages821-841
Publication date2010-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Journal of Asian Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-9118 • E-ISSN: 1752-0401
PublisherDuke University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1017/s002191181000149x
OpenAlexW2074598766
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited14

Wakimura Yoshitarō, a prominent Japanese economics professor and art collector, helped establish or sustain at least eight art museums in postwar Japan. He did so to create important institutions of democratic empowerment rather than nationalist displays of power. The crucial context was defeat in World War II, which left many Japanese, including Wakimura, committed to taming capitalism. Wakimura was particularly interested in creating new practices of art appreciation that could mediate relations between potentially antagonistic groups of Japanese, and in building museums as fresh spaces to house these newly egalitarian relationships. He emphasized the value to society created when individuals developed their aesthetic and thus political judgment. His efforts help explain the proliferation of both public and private art museums in postwar Japan as well as the nature of postwar political culture

Aesthetics · Art · Capitalism · Citizenship · Context (archaeology) · Democracy · Empowerment · Nationalism · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Power (physics) · Sociology · Value (mathematics) · Art History and Market Analysis · Cultural Industries and Urban Development · History · Japanese History and Culture · Law

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub