History of Japanese Art after 1945

English edition of key essays on Japanese art history
History of Japanese Art after 1945 surveys the development of art in Japan since WWII. The original Japanese work, which has become essential reading for those with an interest in modern and contemporary Japanese art and is a foundational resource for students and researchers, spans a period of 150 years, from the 1850s to the 2010s. Each chapter is dedicated to a specific period and written by a specialist.

The English edition first discusses the formation and evolution of Japanese contemporary art from 1945 to the late 1970s, subsequently deals with the rise of the fine-art museum from the late 1970s to the 1990s, and concludes with an overview of contemporary Japanese art dating from the 1990s to the 2010s.

These three parts are preceded by a new introduction that contextualizes both the original Japanese and the English editions and introduces the reader to the emergence of the concept of art (bijutsu) in modern Japan. This English-language edition provides valuable reading material that offers a deeper insight into contemporary Japanese art.

With an introduction by Kajiya Kenji.

Contributors: Kitazawa Noriaki (editor), Mori Hitoshi (editor), Sato Doushin (editor), Tom Kain (translation editor), Alice Kiwako Ashiwa (translator), Kenneth Masaki Shima (translator), Ariel Acosta (translator), and Sara Sumpter (translator)

Translated from the original Japanese edition published with Tokyo Bijutsu, 2014

In cooperation with Art Platform Japan / The Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan
Art Platform Japan is an initiative by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan, to maintain the sustainable development of the contemporary art scene in Japan.

Erratum:
p. 28, l. 18‒21

→In 2018, the University of Tokyo Cooperative Association (Co-op) was found to have disposed of Kizuna [Bonds], a painting by Usami Kenji that had hung in the Central Cafeteria of the Hongo Campus for more than forty years, during repairs the previous year.
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TRANSLATION CREDITS
NOTES ON THE TRANSLATION
INTRODUCTION TO THE ENGLISH EDITION KAJIYA KENJI
CHAPTER 1.THE FORMATION AND EVOLUTION OF JAPANESE CONTEMPORARY ART [GENDAI BIJUTSU]: 1945 TO THE EARLY 1970S MITSUDA YURI Introduction: The Formation and Evolution of Japanese Contemporary Art Section 1. The Inception of “Contemporary Art”: The 1955 System of Art (1945–54) Section 2. The Era of “Contemporary Art”: Anti-Art (1955–64) Section 3. The Evolution of “Contemporary Art”: Dismantlement and Reincarnation (1965–74) Notes
CHAPTER 2.THE AGE OF THE FINE-ART MUSEUM: THE LATE 1970S TO THE 1990S KITAZAWA NORIAKI Introduction: Institutions and Alternatives Section 1. Fine Art’s “Conservative Revolution” and the New Wave: The Mid-1970s to the Early 1990s Section 2. The Rise of Neo-Pop: The “Modern Art” of the 1990s
CHAPTER 3.THE END OF “ART”: THE 1990S TO THE 2010S KURESAWA TAKEMI Introduction: After the Postmodern—Art after the 1990s Section 1. Formation of New Spaces [Genba] and Institutions [Seido]—The 1990s Section 2. After “Art”: The 2000s to the 2010s Notes
BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEXES

Kitazawa Noriaki

Kitazawa Noriaki is guest professor at Musashino Art University in Tokyo.

Kuresawa Takemi

Kuresawa Takemi is professor at Tokyo University of Technology.

Mitsuda Yuri

Mitsuda Yuri is professor at Tama Art University in Tokyo.

Kajiya Kenji

Kajiya Kenji is professor at The University of Tokyo, and a committee member of Art Platform Japan.