Public Access of Materials from the Former Collection of Teizo Suganuma
Mr. SUGANUMA Teizō (1900–1993) worked at the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (TOBUNKEN) before becoming a professor at Keio University, where he devoted himself to the study of early modern Japanese painting, particularly literati painting, and authored numerous papers and books. The materials he collected during his tenure at the university were long kept in a research room at Keio University, and were donated to TOBUNKEN in 2023 by Mr. KAWAI Masatomo (Professor Emeritus, Keio University), who took over the Keio laboratory. Most of the materials consist of mounted paper prints; in addition to early modern paintings—primarily literati paintings—the collection includes photographic materials of screen paintings, architecture, and sculpture gathered by Mr. NISHIKAWA Shinji (1920–1999), a leading authority on the history of Japanese sculpture and a former professor at Keio University.
With the cooperation of Mr. YASUNAGA Takuyo (Seijō University), the Department of Art Research, Archives and Information Systems has been working to organize and catalog the materials in its collection, and has now made catalogs for all materials and digital images of the microfilms available on the TOBUNKEN website: https://www.tobunken.go.jp/materials/suganuma_print. In particular, the collection of literati paintings and screen paintings includes works of which the current whereabouts are unknown, as well as works that have changed hands since their original creation; as such, this collection is an invaluable resource for contemporary research on these works. The actual materials are stored in cabinets in the TOBUNKEN Library and are available for viewing on-site. Please click here for information on how to use the Library.