On The Laws Of Japanese Painting

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ON THE LAWS OF JAPANESE PAINTING AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF THE ART OF JAPAN BY HENRY P. JBOWIE WITH PREFATORY REMARKS BY IWAYA SAZANAMI AND HIRAI KINZA ILLUSTRATED PAUL ELDER AND COMPANY PUBLISHERS SAN FRANCISCO COPYRIGHT, 1911 By HENRY P. BOWIE ENTERED AT STATIONERS HALL, LONDON DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF KUBOTA BEISEN A GREAT ARTIST AND A KINDLY MAN, WHOSE HAPPINESS WAS IN HELPING OTHERS AND WHOSE TRIUMPHANT CAREER HAS SHED ENDURING LUSTRE UPON THE ART OF JAPANESE PAINTING Introduction THIRST of all, I should state that in the year 1909 I accompanied the Honorable Japanese Commercial Commissioners in their visit to the various American capitals and other cities of the United States where we were met with the heartiest welcome, and for which we all felt the most profound gratitude. We were all so happy, but I was especially so indeed, it would be impossible to be more happy than I felt, and particularly was this true of one day, namely y the twenty-seventh of November of the year named, when Henry jP. Bowie, Esq., invited us to his residence in San Mateo, where we found erected by him, a Memorial Gate to commemorate our victories in the Japanese - Russian War and its dedication had been reserved for this day of our visit Suspended above the portals was a bronze tablet inscribed with letters written by my late father, Ichi Roku. The evening of that same day we were invited by our host to a reception extended to us in San Francisco by the Japan Society of America, where I had the honor of delivering a short address on Japanese folk-lore. In adjoining halls was exhibited a large collection of Japanese writings and paintings, the latter chiefly the work of the artist, KitbotaIBeisen, while the writings were from the brush of my deceased father, between whom and Mr. Bowie there existed the relations of the warmest friendship and mutual esteem. Two years or more have passed and I am now in receipt of information from Mr. Shimada Sekko that Mr. Bowie is about to publish a work upon the laws of Japanese painting and I am requested to write a preface to the same. I am well aware how unfitted I am for such an undertaking f but in view of all I have here related I feel I am not permitted to refuse. Indeed, it seems to me that the art of our country has for many years past been introduced to the public of Europe and America in all sorts of ways f and hundreds of books about Japanese art have appeared in several foreign languages but I have been privately alarmed for the reason that a great many such books contain either superficial observations made during sightseeing sojourns of six months or a year in our country or are but hasty commentaries 9 compilations f extracts or references f chosen here and therefrom other Introduction volumes. A II work of this kind must be considered extremely super jlcial. But Mr. Bowie has resided many years in Japan. He thoroughly understands our institutions and national life he is accustomed to our ways, and is Jully conversant with our language and literature, and he understands both our arts of ivriting and painting. Indeed I feel he knows about such matters more than many of my own countrymen added to this, his taste is instinctively well adapted to the Oriental atmosphere of thought and is in har mony with Japanese ideals. And it is he who is the author of the present volume. To others a labor of the kind would be very greatto Mr. Bowie it is a work of no such difficulty, and it must surely prove a source of priceless instruction not only to Europeans and Americans, but to my own countrymen, who will learn not a little from it. Ah, how fortunate do we feel it to be that such a book will appear in lands so far removed from our native shores. Nozv that I learn that Mr. Bowie has written this book the happiness of two years ago is again renewed, and from this far-off country I offer him. my warmest congratulations, with the confident hope that his work will prove fruitfully effective...