Okakura KakuzÅ
Okakura Kakuzo (Japanese冈 仓 覚 三, also known as冈 仓 天 心Okakura Tenshin, born February 14, 1862 in Yokohama, † September 2, 1913 ) was a Japanese art scholars and sponsors. Outside of Japan, he has become known for his Book of Tea.
Life
Okakura was born in Yokohama, where his father ran a Kan'emon silk business for the fief Fukui. With seven years, he began to learn English at an American missionary school. 1873 the family moved to Tokyo, where he gaikokugo Gakko further learned English at the Tōkyō. As of 1875, the Tōkyō kaisei Gakko (from 1877 in University of Tōkyō renamed) attended, where he studied political science and economics. There he met Ernest Fenollosa know, philosophy and political economy taught.
After completing his studies in 1880 he joined the Ministry of Culture. He supported Fenollosa as an interpreter and translator in his journey in art matters. Okakura adopted in 1886 along with Fenollosa in an event organized by the Ministry of Education study tour to the USA and Europe in part.
After his return, he sought the restoration of an art college, then in 1889 as Tōkyō bijutsu Gakko ( Tokyo School of Fine Arts, now Tōkyō Daigaku Geijutsu ) was able to resume their work. In 1891 he became director, but stepped back in 1898 due to disputes over the aim of the school from his post and founded, followed by Hashimoto Gaho, Yokoyama Taikan and other teachers to private Nihon bijutsu - in (Japanese Art Institute ).
The end of 1901 Okakura traveled to India where he met early in 1902 Rabindranath Tagore. In 1904 he was invited with Nihonga painters Yokoyama, Hishida and Shimomura from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Okakura impressed by his knowledge of Chinese and Japanese art, learned the patron Isabella Stewart Gardner know. In 1905 he was appointed director of the department set up by Fenollosa Asian Art Museum of Boston. He lived from now on, alternately in the U.S. and in Japan.
1910 took over Okakura a teaching position at the University of Tokyo. In 1911 he traveled to Europe ( in Berlin, he saw not only the art museums, but was also interested in the Museum of Ethnology ), Harvard University awarded him in the year the MA End of the year, his health began to deteriorate. 1913, the story "The White Fox" was finished, which he dedicated to Mrs. Gardener. In the same year he died during a stay in Japan. His grave is located on the Somei Cemetery in the district of Toshima, Tokyo.
Work
Okakura was standing in the public city dwellers, who already possessed an international self-understanding in the Meiji period. His main works he wrote in English. Okakura researched the traditional arts of Japan, toured Europe, the United States, China and India. In the face of a massive onslaught of Western culture, he presented to the world an image of Japan as a member of " the East".
His book, The Ideals of the East (Eng. The ideals of the East) from 1904, which he published shortly before the outbreak of the Russo -Japanese War, is famous for its input words Asia is One ( "Asia is one / one unit " ). He continues, even the Himalayas could not separate the interaction of Chinese and Indian culture. This was an early expression of Pan - Asianism and was in contrast to the opinion advocated in Japan "Get out of ( the remaining ) Asia " (脱 亜).
In Japan, Okakura - attributed the merit of the Nihonga to have the painting with traditional Japanese techniques continue because this art direction saw threatened by Yōga, art western style, the most important supporter Kuroda Seiki was - in communion with Fenollosa. In addition, he was, as he had understood the need to preserve the Japanese cultural heritage, with the modernization of Japanese aesthetics and was in this way one of the major reformers of the Meiji period.
Outside of Japan, Okakura had directly or indirectly, significant influence on important figures such as the philosopher Martin Heidegger, the poet Ezra Pound, and particularly the poet Tagore and Mrs. Gardener, with whom he formed a close friendship.
Comments
Works
- The Ideals of the East ( London: J. Murray, 1903); The ideals of the East German transmitted by Marguerite Steinsdorff. Insel-Verlag Leipzig, 1923.
- German Ideals of the East ( Kristkeitz Verlag, Heidelberg 2009, ISBN 978-3-932337-10-9 )
- Dt The book transferred from Marguerite and Ulrich Steinsdorff, island library No. 274 of the island -Verlag Leipzig in 1922 by tea.
- German Transfer the Book of Tea, and with an afterword by Horst Hammitzsch and an essay by IRMTRAUD Schaarschmidt Judge, Insel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2002 ISBN 3-458-34655-4.