Fenollosas Legacy in Late Nineteenth-Century Japan

Fenollosas Legacy in Late Nineteenth Century Japan: An American Scholars Role in Resurrecting the Art of Japan makes a critical assessment of American art theorist Ernest F. Fenollosas work in Meiji Japan. Ernest F. Fenollosa was first hired as a Tokyo University professor of political philosophy in 1878 but became an art theorist and policymaker for Japans Education Ministry. His illustrious career as an art administrator began with the 1882 Bijutsu shinsetsu speech that cemented the reputation of his work. Working closely with Okakura Kakuz (Tenshin), Fenollosa became the lightning rod in defining the course of modern painting as well as in establishing the first national art school. He is widely credited with resurrecting moribund traditional Japanese painting to health. The author shows this assessment of Fenollosa as the savior of Japanese traditional painting work may not have been deserved by examining the historical context in which he made the 1882 speech. The book offers the first English translation of Fenollosas 1882 Bijutsu shinsetsu speech that had been previously unavailable to the non-Japanese reading audience.