Kiyoshi Kobayakawa, Horoyoi (Tipsy), 1930, woodblock print, 51.3x30.5cm

Courtesy of Honolulu Academy of Arts Collection

When looking at Japan’s long history, it’s easy to consider the brief 14 years of the Taisho period (1912-26) as a mere footnote. The emperor, Yoshihito, did not play an active role due to a lifetime of ill health. Yet during his brief reign, he sat as figurehead of a country reeling between the onslaught of foreign influences during the Meiji period and the radical conservatism and patriotic fervor that grew before World War II. In fact, the Taisho period was a fascinating and pivotal time,
an amalgam of contradictory social forces of East and West that saw the Japanese question their self-identity. Much of this was poignantly reflected in the lifestyles, fashion and arts of the time.

The “Taisho Chic” exhibition offers an intriguing and entertaining look at that contradictory time, largely through the images of women. The nihonga paintings, shin-hanga (woodblock) prints, decorative crafts and kimono were borrowed from the Honolulu Academy of Art, originally part of a collection acquired from the American collector and art dealer Patricia Salmon.
Expatriate long-timers here may remember Pat Salmon, the ex-Pan Am stewardess who opened Tokyo’s first foreign modeling agency in the early-’60s and a successful Asian art and antiques business in the ’70s. Her personal collection—largely Japanese works from the ’20s and ’30s—was particularly interesting because the pieces are so hard to find and there are so few collectors of the genre.

One of the most striking examples of art from this period is the woodblock print titled Horoyoi (Tipsy). With seductive eyes, crimson red lips, a cigarette perched between fingers and another full martini ready to be sipped, we see a slightly drunk Western-style temptress. And yet, she is far from the classic ’30s-style vamps like Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich, whose striking angular looks defined the realm of chic. Like many of the classic beauties found in traditional Japanese art, her face is full and round with a soft, almost bulbous nose. Her hair, slightly unkempt and decorated with a loosened comb, also reveals a classic Japanese sensuality. At first blush, the print says Western, but the underlying sensibility is Japanese.

Artist unknown, Round Fan Advertising Jintan with Photos of Irie Takako and Hamaguchi Fujiko, c. early 1930s, paper and wood

Courtesy of Honolulu Academy of Arts Collection

Two more pieces depict film star Takako Irie. In the byobu (folding screen) titled Fujo (Woman), the 18-year-old strikes an unusual relaxed pose on a chaise lounge while wearing a bold solid red kimono. Red was traditionally reserved for ladies in the “entertainment” business and is rarely seen in Japanese painting in this form. Again, the bold colors, relaxed pose and furniture say foreign, but the roots are clearly Japanese. Irie also appears with fellow actress Fujiko Hamaguchi dressed in Western-style swimwear in an advertisement printed on a traditional Japanese uchiwa fan.

At the time, this foreign aesthetic was far removed from the daily lives of most Japanese, but its exoticism was appealing, especially for the wealthy who could afford its indulgences. In the byobu titled, Sannin no Shimai (Three Sisters), the daughters of ’30s-era mining magnate and political fixer Fusanosuke Kuhara pose with the family Packard limousine. Interestingly, an accompanying photograph of the girls with the artist in front of the car show them wearing boldly striped kimono. Artist Shuho Yamakawa obviously preferred to paint the girls in the subtle colors of gray and pink, matching with the chic gray of the imported American-made automobile.

An exhibition showing this visual mix-and-match of foreign and Japanese aesthetics during the Taisho period could not be better placed than at the Teien Art Museum. The Art Deco-style mansion, built in 1933, was the former residence of Prince and Princess Asaka and contains original interior work by period greats like Henri Rapin and glass designer Rene Lalique.

Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum through July 1. See exhibition listings (other areas) for details.

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