"Japan: a Land of Beautiful Things", talk in Edinburgh on Monday, 9 January 2017

Dr Ian Rapley, Daiwa Scholarship alumnus and Lecturer in East Asian History, Cardiff University will be giving a lecture (free) at the Hawthornden Lecture Theatre (Scottish National Gallery) from 12:45pm to 1.30pm on Monday, 9 January 2017, tracing something of the history of Japan’s reputation (at home and abroad) of a country of aesthetic material culture. 

Almost since its rediscovery by the West in the mid-nineteenth century, Japan has been perceived as a culture rich in artistic values and high aesthetics. Victorian travellers collected almost anything they could get their hands on, from massive statuary and bronze work to Netsuke, tiny carved items which fit in the palm of the hand, whilst the flow of Japanese painting and prints helped inspire a generation of artists such as Monet, Degas, Van Gogh and Whistler. What is more, as much as high art, ordinary Japanese things such as fans, clothes, plates and bowls have been appreciated as beautiful, handmade objects as well as functional items, embedding the aesthetic into everyday life. The high regard for Japanese material culture has persisted throughout the twentieth century, and indeed has been as important to Japan’s self-perception as it has to its wider international reputation.

The lecture complements the Karla Black and Kishio Suga exhibition – A New Order which runs until 19 February 2017.

More information can be found via the National Galleries of Scotland website below:

Japan, a Land of Beautiful Things, website