Art and Calligraphy Venues in Edo and Meiji Japan

江户和明治时期的书法艺术场所可以被视为现代博物馆展览的先驱：公众聚集在特定的地点和时间，观看和批评新旧书画。赞助或参与这些活动的文人们将努力阐明(从而证明)他们的艺术血统，并将自己置于显眼的位置。这些场馆向现代学生展示了古典和现代艺术是如何被感知的，以及更高层次的流行文化是如何慢慢被商品化的。在本研究中，我试图尽可能具体地充实从18世纪末到19世纪日本各地发生的场馆的实际内容-什么在何时、何地、如何以及由谁展示。最基本的事实可以通过两个原始来源追溯：活动的单页邀请函(Hikifuda)和详细的目录(Tengan Mokuroku)。通过这个项目，我能够识别、调查和复制近200个目录以供研究。我从这些作品中挑选了50个有代表性的例子，并将内容转录到一个数据库中，数据库按标题、艺术家、所有者/参展商、尺寸/材料和音标排列。结果是一份超过10,000件实际在18世纪和19世纪日本展出的艺术品的清单。我计划继续增加这份名单，并最终将其与我在拨款期间开始编写的江户和明治艺术场馆综合年表一起出版。

Art and calligraphy venues in the Edo and Meiji periods can be thought of as forerunners to the modern museum exhibition : a public gathered at a specific place and time, to view and criticize old and new paintings and calligraphy. The literati who sponsored or were involved in these events would strive to articulate (and thereby justify) their artistic lineages, and place themselves conspicuously within. These venues show the modern student how classic and modern art were perceived, and how popular culture at the higher levels slowly came to be commodified.I have attempted in the present research to flesh out as concretely as possible the actual contents - what was shown when, where, how, and by whom - of venues taking place all across Japan from the late 18th through the 19th centuries. The bare facts can be traced through two original sources : single sheet invitations (hikifuda) to the events, and detailed catalogues (tengan mokuroku) thereof.Through the present project I was able to identify, survey and reproduce for study nearly 200 of the catalogues. I selected 50 representative examples from these and have transcribed the contents into a database arranged by title, artist, owner/exhibitor, size/material and colophon. The result is a list over approximately 10,000 works of art actually exhibited in 18th and 19th century Japan. I plan to continue adding on to this list, and eventual publish it together with the Comprehensive Chronology of Edo and Meiji Art Venues which I also began during the term of my grant.