Paper short abstract:

As calligraphy became increasingly professional in the early 20th century, how did artists from other disciplines challenge established rules to create an aesthetic breakthrough?

Paper long abstract:

Towards the turn of the 20th century, Japanese calligraphy became professionally structured around societies, and the competitive exhibitions they organized. This resulted in an increasingly uniform production, to fit the very strict rules of the competitions.

One might have expected the system to be questioned by the calligraphers it marginalized, for instance those failing to distinguish themselves in the competitive field (somewhat along the lines of the "Salon des Refusés" in France).

But instead, the challenge came from artists active in other disciplines, mostly the newly established 'fine arts' (painting and sculpture). These artists developed a calligraphic production whose audacity sometimes exceeded even that of the post-WWII Avant-Garde movement.

In this paper, we will focus on two cases: the oil painters Nakamura Fusetsu (1866-1943) and Umehara Ryûzaburô (1888-1986), who sketched two very different paths of contest. Whereas Nakamura Fusetsu chose to challenge the system from within by creating his own maverick calligraphy society, Umehara Ryûzaburô used his experience as an oil painter to experiment with new modes of calligraphic creation.

But were these new voices heard or not at the time?