On Koropokkuru no Mura (“The Village of Koropokkur”) by OTA Tōu – The 5th Seminar Held by the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems
The watercolor painting Koropokkuru no Mura (“The Village of Koropokkur”) (1907, Tokyo National Museum) by OTA Tōu was created based on the latest findings of anthropology at the time. On September 6, a study session was held at the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TOBUNKEN) on this work, which was on display in a thematic exhibition, “A Centennial Memorial: Kuroda Seiki and the Pioneers of Modern Japanese Painting” (August 20 – October 20) at Tokyo National Museum. The panelists were Ms. YOSHIDA Akiko (a researcher of the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems, in charge of the exhibition), KURATA Aiko (University of Tokyo), Mr. SHINAGAWA Yoshiya (Tokyo National Museum), and Ms. SASAKURA Irumi (Hokkaido Museum of Northern Peoples), who discussed the work in turn from the perspectives of art history, cultural resources studies, archaeology, and cultural anthropology.
Koropokkuru no Mura was painted as a depiction of the living conditions of “prehistoric people” set in Japan 3,000 years ago, as stated on the reverse side of the painting. It is known that OTA relied on the theories of anthropologist TSUBOI Shogoro, referred to archaeological artifacts and other materials available at the time, and carefully sketched the area around Omori Kaizuka (a shell mound) to prepare the painting. OTA intended to exhibit this work in the “Fine Arts” category of the Tokyo Industrial Exposition in 1907, but was denied entry in that category, and the work was exhibited as “Educational and Academic” material in the end.
In a respective presentation, Ms. YOSHIDA first introduced an overview of this work, and after analyzing the trend of award-winning paintings in the art category at the Tokyo Industrial Exposition, she inferred why Koropokkuru no Mura was not recognized as a work of art at the time. Next, Ms. KURATA, who discussed Koropokkuru no Mura in her recent book Gako no Kindai (“Professional Painters in the Modern Era”) (University of Tokyo Press, 2024), in Chapter 8, “‘Japanese Antiquity’ in the 40’s of the Meiji Era (1907-1912)” (pp. 309-331) discussed relationships between this painting and theories of TSUBOI Shogoro, and the position of the painting at the Tokyo Industrial Exposition. Next, Mr. SHINAGAWA analyzed the scene in the painting from an archaeological perspective, as a reproduction of an actual ancient site. He also introduced how the work was collected by the Tokyo National Museum. Next, Ms. SASAKURA pointed out that the tools, clothes, and dwellings depicted in the work have elements in common with those of the northern peoples, and pointed out possible sites and materials that OTA may have referred to through the work of TSUBOI. Finally, a discussion ensued with questions and comments from the audience.
This session was a new attempt to examine this painting, which has been marginalized between artworks and academic materials, from cross-disciplinary perspectives that received a great response from the audience. reports on the results by each presenter will be published in “The Bijutsu Kenkyu (The Journal of Art Studies)” in a future edition.