Ichimatsu Tanaka

The Smithsonian Institution honors Ichimatsu Tanaka by awarding the Fourth Charles Lang Freer medal in a ceremony in Washington, D.C. on May 2, 1973.

Ichimatsu Tanaka (田中一松 Tanaka Ichimatsu, 12.23.1895-4.19.1983) was a prominent Japanese academic, an art historian, curator, editor, and sometime public servant who specialized in the history of Japanese art. He was born in Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture (山形県鶴岡市).

Education

Tanaka attended Shōnai Middle School (庄内中学校) and Tsuruoka High School #1 (鶴岡第一高等学校), both in Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture, before entering Tokyo Imperial University (東京帝國大學) (presently, University of Tokyo) in 1918. He received an undergraduate degree from the Department of Aesthetics and Art History (美学美術史学科) at the same institution in 1923.[1]

Professional career

From 1924-1926 Tanaka served on the staff of the Tokyo Imperial Household Museum (東京皇室博物館) (presently, Tokyo National Museum).[1] From 1952-1953, he served as Chairman of the Department of Fine Arts at the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (東京国立文化財研究所美術部長), and from 1953–1965, as 9th Director General (所長) of the same institute. After resigning as Director General, from 1965-1977 he was Editor in Chief (主幹) of the prominent art historical journal Kokka (國華).[2] From 1977 until his death in 1983, he served as Editorial Advisor for the same journal.

Tanaka was also an assiduous public servant and active researcher. In 1926, he served on the Committee for the Preservation of Ancient Temples and Shrines (古社寺保存計画調査). In 1935, he participated in an investigate inquiry into the preservation of National Treasures (国宝). In 1936, he served as an ad-hoc member of the Investigative Committee on Important Art Objects (重要美術品等調査委員会). In 1945, he participated in an inquiry into the preservation of National Treasures for the Social Education Bureau (社会教育局) of the Ministry of Education (文部省). In 1947, the Ministry of Education appointed him as a Technical Officer. Beginning in 1950, he worked in the Applied Arts Section of the Conservation Division of the Committee for the Preservation of Cultural Properties (文化財保護委員会保存部美術工芸課), an external bureau of the Ministry of Education that was established this same year. From 1950 to 1966, he served as an Expert Advisor on the Council of Experts on Cultural Properties for the Ministry of Education (文化財専門審議会). In 1958-1959, the Ministry of Education named him Chief Delegate of an official government delegation sent to Europe to facilitate exhibitions of ancient Japanese art in the UK, France, Italy, and the Netherlands.[3] From 1966-1977, he served as a member of the Ministry of Education's Committee for the Preservation of Cultural Properties (文化財保護委員会). From 1972-1973, he served as Vice-Chairman (副会長) of the Comprehensive Scientific Research Committee on the Takamatsuzuka Tomb (高松塚古墳総合学術調査会).[1]

In his later years, while serving as Editor in Chief and later Editorial Advisor at Kokka, he lectured at the following academic institutions: Joshibi University of Art and Design; Nihon University; Tōhoku University; Waseda University; Kanazawa College of Art; and the University of Tokyo.[1]

He also served in various capacities at the following institutions: Japan-China Cultural Exchange Association; Central Art School (中央美術学園 "Chūō Bijutsu Gakuen"); Tochigi Prefectural Museum of Fine Arts; Nezu Institute of Fine Arts (presently, Nezu Museum); Hatakeyama Museum of Art; Idemitsu Museum of Arts; Egawa Museum of Art; Yamatane Museum; Chidō Museum; Museum Meijimura; and Homma Museum of Art, among others.[1]

As a prolific scholar, Tanaka's published writings exhibit extensive range within the field of Japanese art history, including Buddhist art, narrative handscrolls, Yamato-e, ink painting, Rimpa, and Nanga, in addition to Song and Yuan Dynasty Chinese painting and calligraphy. In addition to many book-length works and edited volumes, he also regularly published articles in academic journals. The majority of these articles were republished in three later publications: Nihon kaiga shi no tenbō, Nihon kaiga ronshū, and the two-volume Tanaka Ichimatsu kaiga shi ronshū (see "Selected Works" below).[4]

Honors

Legacy

During his long career, Tanaka conducted research and in-depth investigations of a wide range of works of art, primarily Japanese and Chinese paintings. In 2008, twenty-five years after his death, Tanaka's personal research notes, written records, and photographic materials were donated to the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties by a surviving family member and the Idemitsu Museum of Arts. Much of this research was carried out prior to World War II, and his personal records include valuable information on many works of art that were subsequently lost during the war. These materials are administered by the Department of Research Programming at the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties.[6]

Selected works

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Book-length Works, Edited Volumes, Compendia, and Exhibition Catalogues:

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Obituary of Tanaka Ichimatsu, National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, 田中一松. 1983.
  2. ↑ Nihon jinmei daijiten plus dejitaru-han
  3. ↑ "国会会議録検索システム". Kokkai.ndl.go.jp. Retrieved 2011-01-17.
  4. ↑ Tanaka Ichimatsu, Nihon kaiga shi no tenbō (Tokyo: Tokyo Bijutsu Shuppansha, 1958); Tanaka Ichimatsu, Nihon kaiga shi ronshū (Tokyo: Chūō Kōron Bijutsu Shuppan, 1966); Tanaka Ichimatsu and Tanaka Ichimatsu Sensei Koki Kinenkai, eds., Tanaka Ichimatsu kaiga shi ronshū, 2 vols (Tokyo: Chūō Kōron Bijutsu Shuppan, 1985-1986)
  5. ↑ "The Freer, at 50, Sets Special Show," New York Times. April 17, 1973; Freer Gallery of Art. (1973). Fourth presentation of the Charles Lang Freer Medal, May 2, 1973.
  6. ↑ Yamanashi, Emiko. "Donation of Research Materials of Tanaka Ichimatsu," NRI Monthly Report, March 2008.
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