Britannica
Sources used in this answer
How did the Meiji Restoration change patronage for Japanese artists and Buddhist art?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Japanese art
The Breaking Wave off Kanagawa, woodblock colour print by Hokusai, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, 1826–33.
The Meiji Restoration (1868) brought significant upheaval to the status of traditional Japanese artists and the landscape of Buddhist art patronage. As the government pursued a policy of Westernization and modernization, it systematically separated Buddhism from Shintō, which had previously maintained a syncretic relationship.
Key changes included:
- Decline of Buddhist Patronage: The government stripped Buddhism of many tax privileges. Coupled with strong nativist sentiments that led to occasional persecution, the patronage for artists creating Buddhist iconography was severely curtailed.1
- Market Disruption: Temples were forced to divest their holdings to support themselves, flooding the market with Buddhist art. Simultaneously, a trend toward idealizing Western culture led to vast amounts of traditional Japanese art, particularly wood-block prints, being sold to Western collections.1
- Shift in Artistic Status: The cultural mainstream shifted toward the assimilation of Western painting, sculpture, and architecture. Traditional artists faced a period of instability as the government prioritized Western industrial and cultural standards.1
This trend began to reverse in the 1880s, largely through the efforts of Ernest Fenollosa and Okakura Kakuzō, who encouraged the Japanese to reclaim and adapt their cultural heritage.1