Bijutsu Sekai / The World of Art

The Manggha Museum is offering insights into an aspect of Meiji Era Japanese art that is practically unknown to the Polish public: the art magazine Bijutsu Sekai (The World of Art), edited and largely illustrated by Watanabe Seitei (1852–1918), as well as masterly kuchi-e and sashi-e for various publications.

Kuchi-e, or frontispieces designed between 1890 and 1910 for Japanese romance novels and literary magazines, primarily targetted a female audience. Placed in the front matter of a book, they served as an introduction to its content; some were also used in wide circulation magazines, such as Bungai Kurabu (the Literary Club). They were usually colour woodblock prints of high artistic quality, mostly depictions of beautiful women (bijin), and played a key promotional role in the publishers’ strategies. They drove the sales and consequently boosted the printruns of the publications. This is why new means of expression were sought, ones that would prove appropriate for the Meiji world, and new artists – Watanabe Seitei among them.

In addition to kuchi-e, magazines included illustrations (sashi-e), and Bijutsu Sekai was no exception, given that new and old art was its focus. A number of woodblock prints that were detached from its issues continued as stand-alone works of art.

The exhibition shows 24 issues of the magazine (the only copies in Poland) and illustrations from the Japanese Illustrated Journal of National History, in addition to sashi-e and kuchi-e. These are accompanied by selected issues of Chimera, the Polish art magazine published in Warsaw between 1901 and 1907 by Zenon ‘Miriam’ Przesmycki.

All the exhibits come from the collection of the Manggha Museum, mostly from the gift of Raymond Milewski. They provide context for the work of Mizuno Toshikata, also showcased at the museum at this time.