ACAA - Japan Christian Art 25th Exhibition

A Quarter Century of Art as Confession of Faith in Japan
by Fumio Tanaka
Professor Emeritus, International Christian University

(06/28/2001) Christian Art today scarcely fills a small portion of the vast sphere of contemporary art. Earlier when I investigated the approximate ratio of paintings with Christian subjects compared to those with secular subjects in the same period, I discovered that in the case of the 15th century Renaissance period, the ratio shows more than 85%, whereas in the 20th century it is less than 2%.

During the days when Christianity was the controlling influence over society as a whole and art performed the function of recording and transmitting information, it was inevitable that most art served the purposes of religion. But nowadays, when information is recorded and transmitted by other means, there is unquestionably another reason to explain the continuation of Christian art, even in a time when it is in such a minority.

This reason can be seen in the individual artist's use of artistic means to express their "confession of faith." It can also be rephrased as the artist's use of his gifts as a "response to God." Even though artists' personal confessions were contained in Christian art works of the past, these have become much clearer in modern times. In religious art works of the early 20th century by painters such as Nolde and Rouault and the sculptor Barlach, their use of lines, colors and shapes cry out with their joys and pains that come out of each artist's faith.

The earliest modem Christian arts in Japan after the lifting of the centuries long ban on Christianity in the early Meiji period were the works by a woman icon painter, Rin Yamashita, who was specially trained at the nunnery of the Russian Orthodox Church in St. Petersburg, returning to Japan in 1883. Unfortunately, she was not given even a chance to do creative works. Due to the negative or indifferent attitude towards the use of religious art in both the Protestant and Roman Catholic churches in the modem Meiji and Taisho periods (1868-1925), it was quite rare for artists of the time to engage in Christian subjects outside of such exceptions as the noted painter, Takejiro Hayashi, who painted "The Morning Prayer" in 1906.

During the decade before and after World War D, information on the western art world did not reach Japan. It was in 1949 that Tadao Tanaka made his first attempt to paint Biblical themes, gaining certain results by 1959 when he cooperated in the events celebrating the "Centennial Anniversary of Protestant Mission in Japan." By that time, information on the modem Christian art of the west had reached Japan through various journals on church art introducing new trends of modern Christian arts, such as expressions of personal confession including experimental abstract modes.
By the late 1950's, Tanaka was successful in getting the cooperation of fellow Christian artists such as the painter Masami Nakayama and the sculptors Yasutake Funakoshi and Wakahiko Yamamoto to plan an exhibit of contemporary Christian art. Finding a space for the exhibit was difficult, but in the early sixties they finally started to organize the exhibition on an irregular basis, using spaces of the former Waseda Hoshien building and the basement of St. Ignatius Catholic Church in Yotsuya. Some time later, when they made an extensive call for works from lay people in general, they received many amateur works which lowered the artistic level of the exhibition. Afterwards, the quality was maintained by employing an invitational rule.

The irregular exhibition was suspended for a while when it become entangled in the great turmoil surrounding the participation of the United Church of Christ in Japan, one of the major supporters, in building the Christian Pavilion at the Expo '70 in Osaka. After setting up a formal artists organization, the first annual "Christian Art Exhibition" was held in the basement of St. Ignatius Church in June of 1973. But it was the second show that opened at the Nichido Gallery in Ginza, Tokyo, that made the exhibition well known. The owner of the gallery as well as the top Japanese dealer of oil paintings, Mr. Hitoshi Hasegawa, was a theological seminary graduate and had once served as an ordained pastor. When he expanded his gallery space, he generously let the Christian artists use the exhibition hall without rent. Having been given an ideal space, the organizers were in high spirits to invite gifted artists, and naturally the annual exhibitions were successful with plenty of visitors under the sponsorship of major Church bodies in Japan. With many situational changes after Mr. Hasegawa passed away, the exhibit was held first at the Art Center Hall in Ginza and then moved to the Tokyo YMCA where it continues to the present. The details of the history can be seen in the chronological chart.

A quarter of a century may seem either long or short. In any event, it is quite an unusual thing for artists of such different thoughts, experiences, and gifts to be united in carrying out these Christian art exhibits based on the common objective of the unity of faith and art throughout such a long period while exposing their works to such a wide audience. Without obliviating the accumulated efforts of the organizers and participants in the past, we cannot help but see the unsurpassed support and guidance of divine favor.

Now, what will evolve in the future? Many of the founders have already passed away, although Mr. Ueno, who participated from the first show, is still hale and hearty. The leadership role is being passed on to a new generation. As a supporter from behind, this writer heartily wishes the continual development of this exhibition into the future. It is my hope and prayer that all the exhibitions will seek not only the improvement of their own skills and powers of conception but also make every effort to evoke a deep spiritual impression on the visitors through the visual confession of their own personal faith. (taken from "The History of 25th Art Exhibitions", The Christian Art Association in Japan, 2001)