[Feature: Jiji Shinpo and Japanese Journalism] Hiroto Kanno: Meiji-era "Jiji Shinpo" Art Supplements and Keio University

2025/04/07

From the list of Meiji-era "Jiji Shinpo" art supplements*1, one can see how deeply Yukichi Fukuzawa and "Jiji Shinpo" were involved in the development of modern Japanese art. There is likely no falsehood in the following words of Shotaro Koyama, one of the representative Western-style painters of the Meiji era (punctuation by the author).

"What we Western-style painters especially appreciate is that Jiji Shinpo always took the lead in exerting efforts to introduce Western-style painting. Regardless of the skill of the drawings in the supplements or cartoons issued from time to time, I do not hesitate to welcome the path taken by Jiji Shinpo, which maintains the brilliant insight of Yukichi Fukuzawa in being one step ahead of others*2."

From the late 1880s, various newspapers began to issue art supplements. Among them, those from "Jiji Shinpo" starting in the late 1890s overwhelmed other papers with their luxury and novelty.

Originally, newspaper art supplements were intended for sales promotion and reader acquisition. Readers enjoyed displaying these art supplements in their homes, much like modern posters or calendars. While the New Year's art supplements, for which various papers competed, often featured paintings by past masters such as Okyo and Hokusai, "Jiji Shinpo" frequently entrusted the creation of original works to active Western-style painters. In the midst of the nationalism and anti-Western painting movement that occurred almost simultaneously with the "Political Crisis of 1881," Meiji-era "Jiji Shinpo," which dared to adopt Western-style painting, also played a role as a patron for Western-style painters.

Here, we will first look at three characteristics of such Meiji-era "Jiji Shinpo" art supplements: reader participation, series by Western-style painters, and commemorations of New Year's and the founding of "Jiji Shinpo."

From April 1 to July 31, 1890 (Meiji 23), the 3rd National Industrial Exhibition was held in Ueno Park. To liven up the exhibition, Jiji Shinpo-sha launched a project to select the best work through reader voting. This involved attaching a ballot to the April 1 issue of the main paper during the exhibition period, with the results to be announced on July 1. This reader-participation project gained popularity, and the voting deadline was changed to July 31, the final day of the exhibition*3. The result was that the richly colored lithograph "Fujin Soraku no Zu" (Ladies Playing Music), exhibited by the lithography studio Shinyodo, was selected and won the gold medal. Shinyodo was a printing office established by Takeshiro Okamura, a graduate of Keio University, along with his wife Masako, a Western-style painter, and it was a studio that Fukuzawa kept an eye on. Masako also painted the original for the award-winning work. Consequently, a new version in two colors, purple and black, titled "Jiji Shinpo Kinpai o Etaru Fujin Soraku no Zu" (Ladies Playing Music, Which Won the Jiji Shinpo Gold Medal), became the art supplement for the September 5 issue.

In the June 8, 1891 (Meiji 24) issue, "Itagaki Haku no Shozo" (Portrait of Count Itagaki) became an art supplement through voting. However, for Jiji Shinpo-sha, which did not align with any political party, it was problematic that Taisuke Itagaki, then president of the Liberal Party, was selected. Therefore, a proviso stating "excluding politicians" was added to the next recruitment article. As a result, Yukichi Fukuzawa was selected for the August 2 issue, and Lieutenant General Motoharu Yamaji for the September 20 issue. The first "Itagaki Haku no Shozo" was sold by a person named Fukuma Tanaka as "Jiyuto Sori Itagaki Taisuke-kun Shozo" (Portrait of Liberal Party President Taisuke Itagaki) on August 25 of the same year, suggesting it was highly regarded.

Furthermore, reflecting Fukuzawa's love for Kabuki, there was a popularity vote for Kabuki actors in 1893 (Meiji 26), and the result became the June 30 art supplement "Sanro-yu narabi ni Tosen Haiyu Shozo" (Portraits of Three Veteran Actors and Winning Actors).

The instance where "Jiji Shinpo" most clearly demonstrated its stance of supporting Western-style painting was the art supplement series "Twelve Months of Western Paintings by Famous Artists," issued from April 1894 (Meiji 27) to March of the following year.

The following advertisement appeared in the March 9, 1894 (Meiji 27) issue of the main paper (punctuation by the author).

"Twelve Months of Western Paintings by Famous Artists", "Recently, those who study Western painting are not few. Although they have reached the path and mastered the skill, producing works quite worth seeing, the public does not widely know the progress of this art. This is a matter of regret for the sake of this path. Therefore, Jiji Shinpo-sha, in order to widely introduce the progress of this art to the public and to provide a part of its encouragement, has now selected twelve famous artists in Tokyo Prefecture and assigned them to the twelve months. According to their specialties, we have requested them to paint Western-style paintings related to each month, which will be printed in beautiful color lithography and distributed to our regular readers as a supplement to Jiji Shinpo at the beginning of each month. Starting this coming April and ending in March of next year, these twelve months of Western paintings are all works by famous artists. They should greatly delight the hearts and eyes of readers as indoor decorations for the four seasons and serve as a means to observe the progress of this art in our country."

The Technical Fine Arts School, Japan's first government-established Western-style art education institution, had already closed in 1883 (Meiji 16), and the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, which lacked a Western-style painting department, had opened in 1889 (Meiji 22). In the same year, the Meiji Fine Arts Society, Japan's first art organization by Western-style painters, was formed, but opportunities for Western-style painting to be known were scarce. Therefore, Jiji Shinpo-sha appealed its charm to the world through this project.

The breakdown of the 12 installments is as follows:

1st (April 5, Meiji 27): Chu Asai "Sakuragari" (Cherry Blossom Viewing); 2nd (May 9): Hisashi Matsuoka "Tau-e" (Rice Planting); 3rd (June 8): Horyu Goseda (II) "Kakitsubata" (Iris); 4th (July 13): Bunzaburo Watanabe "Fuji"; 5th (August 3): Matate Indo "Yusuzumi" (Enjoying the Evening Cool); 6th (September 5): Shiichi Kamei "Bijin" (Beautiful Woman); 7th (October 10): Yoshimatsu Goseda "Zangetsu" (Morning Moon); 8th (November 15): Noboru Matsui "Momiji" (Autumn Leaves); 9th (December 20): Katsuzo Takahashi "Yuki" (Snow); 10th (January 1, Meiji 28): Masako Okamura "Temari" (Handball); 11th (February 27): Shotaro Koyama (Design) and Mokutaro Nagao (Painting) "Henjo no Yuki" (Snow at the Border Castle); 12th (March 26): Tameshige Koshirou "Tsukigusa" (Picking Herbs).

In the midst of the national crisis of the First Sino-Japanese War, while naturally issuing art supplements related to the war, "Jiji Shinpo" completed this "Twelve Months of Western Paintings by Famous Artists." Among them, the brilliance of the 10th installment for the New Year, Masako Okamura's "Temari" (Fig. 1), is outstanding. New Year's decorations are visible in the upper right of the screen. The innocence of the young girl sewing a handball under the gentle sunlight of early spring and the tranquility drifting there. The detailed depiction of the patterns on the kimono and handball and the broad differentiation of the background garden are also superb.

As for New Year's art supplements in newspapers, the wood-engravings by Seikokan for the "Tokyo Asahi Shimbun" in the 1890s are well known. Other papers had color-printed New Year's art supplements from the late 1890s. Jiji Shinpo-sha participated in this New Year's art supplement battle with the aforementioned 1895 (Meiji 28) work "Temari" by Masako Okamura, although there was no issue the following year.

The 1904 (Meiji 37) work "Kodama" (Echo) (Fig. 2) is a work indicating Eisaku Wada's triumphant return from studying in France, and the subject is Echo, a nymph from Greek mythology*4 (the original is in the Sen-oku Hakuko Kan). However, even today, one might hesitate to display this painting, which depicts a young woman with an exposed upper body—even if she is not human—in a general household with children. The art supplements of Jiji Shinpo-sha were that bold.

From 1907 (Meiji 40) to the following year, Jiji Shinpo-sha hosted the domestic competition for the World Beauty Contest organized by the Chicago Tribune. The work "Yubiwa" (The Ring) (Fig. 3) at that time was issued with the aim of stirring reader interest as Japan's first beauty contest for amateurs. The original was painted by Saburosuke Okada, who was famous for paintings of beautiful women and served as a judge. A young woman in Japanese clothing is enchanted while wearing a diamond ring made by Tenshodo, which was to be awarded to the first-place winner.

Outside of the New Year, one can cite Masako Okamura's "Bijin Shinbun o Yomu Zu" (Beautiful Woman Reading a Newspaper) (Fig. 4), which commemorated the 5,000th issue on September 1, 1897 (Meiji 30). From the woman's expression, which stands out by leaving the background unpainted, one can see that she is reading something from the "Jiji Shinpo" she holds. This art supplement, which would suit a catchphrase like "'Jiji Shinpo' read by women too," is a true demonstration of the feminist Yukichi Fukuzawa's character.

In light of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance concluded on January 30, 1902 (Meiji 35), on June 26 of the same year, when the coronation of Edward VII was scheduled to be held, "Yamato-hime to Buritaniya" (Princess Yamato and Britannia) (Fig. 5), based on an original by Jiji Shinpo-sha's exclusive cartoonist Rakuten Kitazawa, became an art supplement (however, the coronation was postponed to August 9 because Edward VII contracted appendicitis). This design became popular and was used for posters and packages of "Happy" cigarettes, match labels, and even the linings of haori coats.

The "Jiji Shinpo 25th Anniversary Commemorative Art Album" dated March 1, 1907 (Meiji 40) consists of four lithographs. The originals are divided between two members of the then "Old School" Taiheiyo-ga-kai, Chu Asai and Shinya Watanabe, and two members of the "New School" Hakuba-kai, Eisaku Wada and Saburosuke Okada. One can see Jiji Shinpo-sha's consideration for the Western art world of that time.

Even from the above overview, it is clear that the Meiji-era "Jiji Shinpo" art supplements had content sufficient to trace the history of Western-style painting from the 1890s onwards. In particular, a clear change can be pointed out using 1901 (Meiji 34), the year Yukichi Fukuzawa died, as a turning point.

Going back to 1876 (Meiji 9), the Technical Fine Arts School, the first "government" art school, opened. In its painting department, Italian painter Antonio Fontanesi taught, and painters including six from the "Twelve Months of Western Paintings by Famous Artists"—Masako Okamura, Chu Asai, Hisashi Matsuoka, Matate Indo, Yoshimatsu Goseda, and Shotaro Koyama—studied there. However, due to his own illness and the government's financial difficulties, Fontanesi returned home. Many of the painting students withdrew in protest and lost the opportunity to study at a "government" institution. The school closed in 1883 (Meiji 16), seemingly pressured by Confucianism and nationalism following the "Political Crisis of 1881." During the same period, Ernest Fenollosa, who had come to Japan from the United States, Kakuzo (Tenshin) Okakura, who would later become central to the establishment of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, and Ryuichi Kuki, a Keio University graduate who remained in officialdom after the "Political Crisis of 1881," were developing a movement for cultural property protection and the exclusion of Western-style painting. In the midst of this, Fukuzawa's "Jiji Shinpo" was founded in 1882 (Meiji 15).

When the "government" Tokyo School of Fine Arts opened in 1889 (Meiji 22) without a Western-style painting department, the Meiji Fine Arts Society was formed as a "private" organization centered on Western-style painters who had already been excluded from the "government" Technical Fine Arts School. Here, one can see one of the reasons why "Jiji Shinpo," as a "private" newspaper not aligned with any political party since its founding, supported Western-style painters. It may have also been a counter-response to Kuki and other "government" figures.

No writings by Fukuzawa regarding the anti-Western painting movement or the Meiji Fine Arts Society have been confirmed. However, many people associated with Keio University were involved in the Meiji Fine Arts Society. For example, its first president was Koki Watanabe, and its supporting members included Fumio (Ryukei) Yano, who had left officialdom after the "Political Crisis of 1881." Yano exhibited his own collection of European paintings at the society for reference and gave lectures explaining the necessity of Western-style painting. Rintaro Mori (Ogai), who later lectured on aesthetics at Keio University, was a lifelong friend of Naojiro Harada, one of the heavyweights of the Meiji Fine Arts Society, since they met in Munich where they studied. Also, within Jiji Shinpo-sha was the illustrator Hidetaro (Ippyo) Imaizumi, who had studied lithography and photography in the United States. A son of Fukuzawa's sister-in-law, he argued that Western-style painting was best suited for realism and effective for drawing education*5. The presence of such influential figures supporting the Meiji Fine Arts Society and Western-style painters around Fukuzawa is also thought to have led to "Jiji Shinpo's" support for Western-style painting.

In 1895 (Meiji 28), Seiki Kuroda and Keiichiro Kume, who had returned from studying in France two years earlier, along with their disciples after their return, exhibited at the Meiji Fine Arts Society, including works from their stay in Europe. The public began to call those works, which had bright outdoor light expressions different from the painters of the "Twelve Months of Western Paintings by Famous Artists" that ended that year, the "New School" or "Purple School," and the dark paintings of others the "Old School" or "Resin School." The following year, a Western-style painting department was newly established at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, and the "government" newly recognized Western-style painting. Seiki Kuroda, who was entrusted as its head, welcomed his disciples Eisaku Wada and Saburosuke Okada as assistant professors. Here, one can see the birth of Western-style academicism in Japan. In the same year, Kuroda and other members of the "New School" left the Meiji Fine Arts Society at that timing and formed the Hakuba-kai.

Regarding New Year's art supplements, even after Western-style painting was recognized by the "government," "Jiji Shinpo" continued to employ Masako Okamura and Chu Asai of the "Old School" (Masako soon left the field). However, in 1901 (Meiji 34), the year Fukuzawa died, perhaps partly because Asai was in France and could not paint the original, the supplement became "The Young Bull" by Dutch animal painter Paulus Potter. The Meiji Fine Arts Society, weakened by the rise of the Hakuba-kai, disbanded in the same year (reforming as the Taiheiyo-ga-kai the following year). And in 1902 (Meiji 35), the year after Fukuzawa died, Seiki Kuroda painted the original. From then on, the originals would be painted by Hakuba-kai painters, except for Shinya Watanabe and Rakuten Kitazawa, who were exclusive to Jiji Shinpo-sha. For the "Jiji Shinpo" New Year's art supplements, Fukuzawa's death coincidentally became the turning point from the "Old School" to the "New School." It also indicated that the trend of the art world had become centered on the "New School."

The relationship between the surging Hakuba-kai and Keio University also deepened. The original of the art supplement "Yubiwa" painted by Saburosuke Okada for the beauty contest was owned by Sutajiro Fukuzawa (Yukichi's second son), who served as president of both Jiji Shinpo-sha and Osaka Jiji Shinpo-sha*6 (currently in the collection of the Taro Fukutomi Collection Materials Room). Toru Iwamura, a graduate of Keio Yochisha Elementary School who had been lecturing on Western art history at Keio University since 1910 (Meiji 43) upon the recommendation of the aforementioned Ogai Mori, was deeply involved in the design of the Mita Media Center (Keio University Library) which opened two years later*7; he was also among the founders of the Hakuba-kai as an art critic. And Eisaku Wada painted the original for the stained glass of that library (in the collection of the Mita Media Center (Keio University Library)) and later painted a full-length portrait of Fukuzawa (destroyed by fire). A full-length portrait of Fukuzawa was also painted by Kuroda's disciple Hiromitsu Nakazawa (on permanent display at the Keio History Museum).

In 1907 (Meiji 40), the 1st Ministry of Education Art Exhibition sponsored by the "government" was held. In response, the Hakuba-kai disbanded in 1911 (Meiji 44) (volunteers formed the Kofu-kai the following year), and the era changed to Taisho. By that time, the difference between the "Old School" and "New School" was no longer discussed by the public, but "Jiji Shinpo" art supplements used originals by Hakuba-kai-affiliated artists such as Ikunosuke Shirataki, Takeo Hirai, and Gonpachiro Hiraoka, as well as Raphael Collin, who was the teacher of Kuroda, Wada, and Okada in France. And when they also began to employ Japanese-style painters, which had never happened before except for nishiki-e, the "Jiji Shinpo" art supplements lost their distinctive characteristics.

(Acknowledgments: I received many suggestions regarding the relationship between Keio University and the Old University Library from Professor Takeyuki Tokura of the Keio University Fukuzawa Memorial Center for Modern Japanese Studies. I would like to express my gratitude here.)

*5 Junko Yamaguchi, "Yukichi Fukuzawa and Cartoonists," Weekly Asahi Encyclopedia: History of Japan 92 (New Revised and Enlarged Edition), Asahi Shimbun Publications, 2004. Hidetaro Imaizumi, Ippyo Zawwa, Seishido, 1901 (Meiji 34), p. 30 (National Diet Library Digital Collections (Accessed 2025-03-06)).

*7 Atsuko Ishiguro, "A Brief Encyclopedia of Keio University: The Grand Clock of the Library," Mita-hyoron (official monthly journal published by Keio University Press), No. 1291, Keio University, 2024.

Shigeru Aoki, "Yukichi Fukuzawa as Seen in a Few Pieces of Material: 'Eisai Shinshi,' Ginko's Diary, 'Jiji Shinpo,' etc.," Keio University Art Center (KUAC) / Booklet 17: Yukichi Fukuzawa and Modern Art, 2009.