This article first appeared in the Winter 2024 issue of Antiques to Vintage Magazine. Written by Elizabeth Cheung and edited by Julie Carter.
Sydney dealer Billy Robertson and his Social Media director and research partner, Elizabeth Cheung, continue with their look at the intrigue behind some masterworks of Meiji.
After facing foreign incursions throughout the 19th century, Japan had finally begun its own Industrial Revolution under the auspices of the Meiji Emperor, instigating an era of technological innovation unprecedented in its history. After the tumult of the bakufu period, the Meiji government announced initiatives encouraging local craftsmen to produce goods not only for domestic consumption, but for foreign export. This was met with relief among the merchant and craftsmen classes, whose fortunes had plummeted along with that of samurai, their hitherto largest customer base.
For silversmiths this was particularly timely. In medieval times, mines in Japan had produced much of the world’s silver; during the 1600s, mines such as the Iwami-Ginzan mine produced up to 200 tons of silver annually, almost one third of the world’s total production. Despite Japan’s long history of silver production, the high cost of extracting the metal meant that silver items were generally worn by those of the samurai class and up. Now, with financial and government impetus, the Japanese silversmiths were able to experiment with new styles that suited the export market as well as a modernised Japan.
An excellent example can be seen with the kashibakko pictured, which bears the Jungin mark as well as the artisan’s mark of Hattori Kintaro, exemplifying how even the smallest of details were elevated to works of art in cha-no-yu [tea ceremony]. It also shows the changing tastes of the Meiji period and how craftsmen were quick to adapt to it.
The tea ceremony is a foundation of Japanese art and culture. Utensils associated with this ritual took on a ceremonial aspect, becoming ever more exquisite during the Meiji period. During the Edo to Meiji transition period, Japanese sweets rapidly developed.
One example would be wagashi, delicate desserts that emphasised traditional Japanese flavours. Presentation was of paramount importance, whether presenting wagashi as gifts or during a tea ceremony, which meant that kashibako- miniature sweet containers - also became increasingly elaborate.
Hattori Kintaro was a talented and influential figure during the Meiji period. Born to a merchant family, in 1881 he established his own company, K Hattori & Co., which was no small feat particularly considering his age then at 21. By 1885 he had made his name by specialising in timepieces, trading with foreign firms in the Yokohama settlement area; he would go on to found the iconic watch brand Seiko. Hattori was a major retailer of fine jewellery and silver before WWII, and early pieces such as the sweet box shown are rare and desirable.
The Jungin mark, which means ‘Pure Silver’, was used primarily during the Meiji period 1868-1912 to denote silver of .950 silver purity and above. Working in silver of such purity
requires great skill, such that many silver workshops of that time were run by former samurai.
In general, Japanese silversmiths who produced items for the samurai class were used to working with silver of a high purity due to the close proximity of silver mines in Japan.
Traditionally, the use of silver was restricted to items that would suit the samurai class, such as sword ornaments, hilt ornamentation and small personal items that denoted their rank.
In particular, due to the low quality of Japanese iron ore, techniques that were historically used to produce quality blades such as katanas for samurai would be used by the later generations in the Meiji period to help them produce silver items of surpassing quality. Having passed down forging techniques for generations, they were able to create beautiful pieces of art for the export trade despite the difficulty of working with silver of such high purity.
This rising tide was slightly slowed after the Satsuma Rebellion. With the powerful lords of the Satsuma domain led by Saigo Takamori, their defeat marked the downfall of the samurai class. When Japan’s national debt more than doubled, the Meiji government was forced to halt many of its craftsmen initiatives and turn over unprofitable enterprises to politically connected businesses, leading to the emergence of the zaibatsu conglomerates.
Many areas of Japan were affected by lordless samurai. Subsequently, farsighted people would choose to establish businesses in the relatively more stable foreign settlement areas, where they could access the overseas markets. Due to Yokohama’s nature as a treaty port, many Japanese export silver pieces originated from here during the Meiji period, produced by Yokohama-based silversmiths and retail silversmith firms as the pieces were often made for export.
A rare silver creamer jug with bamboo motifs made
by the Yokohama silversmith Konoike, c.1900s. 5.5cm
x 6cm x 11.5cm, 90g, $2000.
One such example is the pictured silver creamer jug with bamboo motifs, made by the great Yokohama silversmith Konoike 鴻池 c.1900s. Beautifully engraved to the sides aretraditional Japanese symbols such as the crane and turtle, which symbolise longevity, as well as botanical motifs for the four seasons. Little is known about this maker’s life; however, nearly all of his works (including this one) bore the Jungin mark, indicating .950 silver purity. In London, his pieces, particularly the tea and coffee services for which he is known, were retailed by Liberty & Co. Konoike’s works are extremely rare, and much of his surviving work is in museums around the world such as the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
Another field of art that saw rapid changes was that of ivory carving. Perhaps the most influential person of the Meiji period was Ishikawa Komei (1852-1913), who was instrumental in setting up the Chokoku Kyogikai (The Carvers' Foundation Committee) in 1881, which was later renamed the Tokyo Chokokai (The Tokyo Carvers' Association) in 1887.
Like many influential figures of the time, Komei welcomed foreign trade while feeling a sense of unease that this massive increase in demand might slowly erode traditional culture and craftsmanship in Japan. Komei thus founded the Chokoku Kyogikai with other influential artists, seeking to increase a sense of Japanese identity and aesthetics within the younger generation, as well as openly share and develop new carving techniques and skills. Komei’s efforts were rewarded as he would later be appointed Professor in the Sculpture Department at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts in 1891, as well the prestigious appointment of Artist of the Imperial Household (Teishitsu Gigein) in 1890.
Large and highly important late Meiji period Tokyo School ivory duck okimono by Miura Kōfū (Mitsukaze), disciple and successor of Ishikawa Kōmei. Price marked at $18,000 AUD.
His teaching proved highly influential, inspiring a new generation of sculptors even as domestic demand for traditional ivory items waned. In part due to imperial edicts promoting Western fashion, wearable items (sagemono) such as netsuke and inro, which traditionally used ivory, slowly declined. The new generation of ivory artists thus began to focus on okimono.
These larger ivory items had previously been used predominantly for religious purposes and were now carved purely for decorative rather than practical purposes. These pieces not only displayed excellent craftsmanship, but also exemplified elements of realism and sculptural detail influenced by the Western classical tradition. What emerged was no less than a Meiji modernisation of Japanese sculpture and the term ‘Tokyo School’ to denote the very best of these okimono.
Japanese ivory
okimono depicting a
toad upon a leaf,
late 19th century.
Unsigned, 1.4cm
x 6.3cm, $1500.
Several pieces in our collection, such as the okimono of a toad upon a leaf as well as one of a man holding a calabash gourd, show the naturalistic elements of this period as well as the intricate carving techniques that make Tokyo School ivory pieces extremely desirable.
Meiji period okimono of a man in
traditional clothing carrying a
calabash gourd, with finely
articulated head and joints: the
head, arms and legs were carved
separately and then the piece put
together. 18.5cm, $4000.
Another example of how ivory carvers adapted to changing times can be seen in this beautiful Shibayama ivory whist counter, a rare and unusual piece. Shibayama pieces are highly collectable and this particular piece was produced with the export trade in mind, hence its interesting East meets West aesthetics.
A 19th century Meiji period Shibayama ivory on ivory whist counter featuring insect and beetle motifs. 5.2cm x 9.5cm, $1200.
Shibayama is an art form distinguished by its inlay pieces being small, intricately carved noble materials such as coral, ivory and semi-precious stone that sit in high relief above the lacquer, creating a three-dimensional profile. The exquisiteness of Shibayama inlay ware made it hugely popular in Victorian England, with whist counters being a beautiful and practical way of adding oriental artwork to one’s home. The example pictured is quite unusual in its ivory-on-ivory style of inlay, lending an almost minimalist look. The markers have lovely insect and beetle motifs, which melds the naturalism of Japanese art with the whimsical nature of Victorian gaming pieces. Shibayama whist counters not only demonstrate the ingenuity of craftsmen in being able to adapt to the foreign markets’ insatiable curiosity for oriental novelties, but also show how Japanese craftsmen could create new techniques and art forms when exposed to raw materials coming in through the treaty ports that were hitherto rare in Japan.
But perhaps no art form displays the changing landscape of Japan more vividly than the ukiyo-e, or woodblock print. From the 17th to 19th century, the ukiyo-e genre expressed how artists viewed the gorgeous yet transient ‘floating world’ of the Yoshiwara pleasure district, and later to a broader view of Edo’s entertainment scene, various natural landscapes of Japan and the rapidly changing landscape of Japan.
As an example, contrast Hiroshige’s famous landscape Full Moon at Takanawa c.1831 (shown overleaf courtesy the Metropolitan Museum of Art) with a landscape produced in the 1870s by Kuniteru III Utagawa (1877-96 below), also shown courtesy the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Hiroshige’s dynamic use of perspective and brilliant framing of the birds in flight creates a fresh take on the tranquil scene over Takanawa Bay, while Kuniteru’s use of bold red hues adds a sense of vibrancy to the scene. By 1872 a steam railway had been built in Takanawa, and various artists at the time depicted this exciting scene in woodblock prints; Japan was now considered in the eyes of the West as a quite modern nation, with Yokohama immortalised as a vibrant port city in Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days.
Thus by the late Meiji period, the Japanese landscape in ukiyo-e prints would depict steam trains, streetlamps and arcades. Another fine example would be the ukiyo-e woodblock print depicting a battle between two samurai by Toyohara Kunichika, a student of Utagawa Kunisada and one of the last great ukiyo-e artists in his own right.
Meiji period uchiwa-e
woodblock print
depicting a battle
between two samurai
by Toyohara Kunichika,
a student of Utagawa
Kunisada and one of
the last great ukiyo-e
artists in his own right.
43cm x 60cm, $450.
He was renowned for bijin-ga and his bold depictions and groundbreaking use of foreign dyes, signalling his innovation in the ukiyo-e genre.
In order to capture these city sights, stronger colours were necessary; in the 1860s, dyes such as magenta (aniline) and carmine (an insect-based cochineal dye) were introduced to Japan, rapidly becoming popular in clothing and art alike. These dyes were seen as ‘kakushin no iro’ (革新の色) or ‘colours of progress’. In particular, carmine rapidly became the colour of choice for many artists, not just due to its bold red hue but also its ease and relative cheapness compared to the traditional safflower-based dye which was highly labour-intensive and costly to make.
In the hands of skilled artists such as Kunichika, these dyes were used to great effect. Overall, however, the tension between old and new in Japan was vividly expressed by its artists. The ‘floating world’ of the Edo period would go through great changes during the Meiji period, captured in painstaking detail by these artists. In later years, after the turmoil of WWII, this would lead to the Showa period sosaku- hanga movement, of which Junichiro Sekino was one of the last great modern masters.
A disciple of the Meiji period master Kōshirō Onchi, in his vivid woodblock prints there was a return to ‘art for art’s sake’. Sosaku-hanga, founded by Onchi, emphasised designing, printing and carving, with the artist’s input in each step of the process. Sekino’s Bunraku series depicted the slowly dying art form of traditional puppetry in meticulous detail, of which ‘Eizo and Matsu-o-maru Bunraku’ is considered one of his masterpieces.
Showa period ukiyo-e woodblock print by Sekino Jun’ichiro (1914-1988)
c.1950. ‘Eizo and Matsu-o-maru – Bunraku.’ Considered to be one of his
masterpieces, he produced editions of this woodblock print between 1948 to
1958, with this particular edition being Number 12 of 50. Each edition would
be hand-printed and published by Sekino, and each piece subtly different.
Framed measurements: 84.5cm x 69cm, $2500.
Created in the Showa period, this could be considered a meditation on various philosophies that arose during the Meiji period, using Western expressionist techniques in this traditional Japanese art to express the painstaking efforts underlying traditional Bunraku. Sekino and his predecessors such as Kuniteru Utagawa, Ishikawa Komei and Toyohara Kunichika expressed through their art the beauty of an ever-changing world, balancing the charm of traditional culture with their fascination with new technology; a tension that exists in Japanese culture to this day.
All items illustrated courtesy Cache Antiques, Sydney with the exception of Full Moon at Takanawa and landscape by Kuniteru III Utagawa, both shown courtesy the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art.
Cache Antiques is at 101 Parramatta Rd, Annandale NSW 2038.
Tel: 0424 404 791.
www.cacheantiques.com.au
References: https://www.bonhams.com/press_release/11605/
https://www.viewingjapaneseprints.net/texts/topics_faq/anilinedyes.html
https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/51876
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/55513