Kakuzo Okakura

The Complete Kakuzo Okakura

Born in Yokohama, Okakura learned English while attending a school operated by Christian missionary. At 15, he entered Tokyo Imperial University. In 1889, Okakura co-founded the periodical Kokka. In 1887 he was one of the principal founders of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, and a year later became its head. Later, he also founded the Japan Art Institute. He was invited to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 1904 and became the first head of the Asian art division in 1910. Okakura was a high-profile urbanite who had an international sense of self. In the Meiji period he was the first dean of the Tokyo Fine Arts School. He wrote all of his main works in English. Okakura researched Japan's traditional art and traveled to Europe, the United States, China and India. He emphasized the importance to the modern world of Asian culture, attempting to bring its influence to realms of art and literature that, in his day, were largely dominated by Western culture. In Japan, Okakura is credited with "saving" Nihonga, or painting done with traditional Japanese technique, as it was threatened with replacement by Western-style painting. Okakura was certainly instrumental in modernizing Japanese aesthetics, having recognized the need to preserve Japan's cultural heritage, and thus was one of the major reformers during Japan's period of modernization beginning with the Meiji Restoration. This Reader's Digital Edition of The Complete Okakura Kakuzo is based on public domain texts. This text has been thoroughly spellchecked and proofread to correct errors that appear in the public domain edition. The formatting has also been altered to provide a cleaner, more readable experience. Introductions and footnotes have been removed to avoid interruptions to and distractions from the text. Many readers find that this allows them a greater ability to focus on the text itself. It is our hope that this Reader's Digital Edition will provide you with the best possible reading experience of this classic text. Our mission is to breathe new life into the pages of the past by removing barriers between the reader and the text.