Making Modern Japanese-Style Painting

The Western discovery of Japanese paintings at nineteenth-century world’s fairs and export shops catapulted Japanese art to new levels of international popularity. With that popularity, however, came criticism, as Western writers began to lament a perceived end to pure Japanese art and a rise in westernized cultural hybrids. The Japanese response: nihonga , a traditional style of painting that reframed existing techniques to distinguish them from Western artistic conventions. Making Modern Japan