The Legacy of Okakura Kakuzo (Tenshin) at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston : Based on the Display of “Tea Instruments” (Spring 2011)

ボストン　ビジュツカン　ニミル　オカクラ　カクゾウ　テンシン　ザンゾウ　2011ネン　ハル　ノ　サドウグ　テン　テンジ　ヲ　モトニ

オオワダ, ノリコ

Ohwada, Noriko

オオサカ ダイガク ダイガクイン ニンゲン カガク ケンキュウカ シャカイガク ニンゲンガク ジンルイガク ケンキュウシツ

Sociology, Anthropology and Philosophy, Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University

ボストン美術館

展示

茶の湯

異文化交流

Okakura Kakuzo

MFA

display

tea ceremony

cross-cultural exchange

The aim of this research is to explore the legacy of Okakura Kakuzo based on the display of “Tea Instruments” at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (=MFA) in spring 2011. In order to understand Okakura’s legacy, I looked into the display of the statue of Buddha which he designed for the MFA’s Department of Chinese and Japanese Art in 1909. The display of the Buddha statue was a very important way to emphasize the excellent Japanese culture in a Western context, especially in light of the Russo-Japanese War. Furthermore, I analyze the display of the “Tea Instruments,” however, it is dif cult to see in what directions Okakura’s intentions have been developing in this eld. As the next step, I compare the in uence of Okakura with other displays –– i.e. “Fresh Ink” by a Chinese artist –– and discuss a lecture during a “Tea Symposium” in the MFA. This article is based on data I collected during a two-month stay at the MFA, and shows how in uential Okakura Kakuzo was for the visual representation of artifacts in the Department of Chinese and Japanese Art.