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Paper short abstract

This presentation examines the various expressions surrounding “manga” in the magazine Hosun, situating them within the broader trends of art in late Meiji period. This shed light on a facet of the history of "manga" and confront the universal question of what constituted “art” in modern Japan.

Paper long abstract

The magazine Hosun was launched in May 1907 and published a total of 35 issues until its final issue in July 1911. It was a magazine of literature and art. Hosun was published by Ishii Hakutei as editor and publisher, attracting many painters from the Taiheiyo Gakai (Pacific Art Society), such as Yamamoto Kanae and Morita Tsunetomo. Hosun demonstrated a strong commitment to expressing the group's clearly defined artistic direction through the medium of “printmaking.” This concept was embodied in the expressive technique of “creative printmaking,” where the artist personally handled all three processes—drawing, carving, and printing—unlike traditional printmaking, which relied on a division of labor. It was inevitable that such a focus on the genre of "manga" emerged within the pages of Hosun. However, the issue of “manga” in this magazine remains insufficiently examined. This presentation examines in detail the various pictorial and textual expressions surrounding “manga” in the magazine Hosun, situating them within the trends of art in late Meiji period. This shed light on a facet of the history of "manga" since the modern era and confront the universal question of what constituted “art” in modern Japan.

Specifically, this presentation examines the various expressions of pictorial writing in the “Special Manga Issue” (February 1909) of Hosun vol. 3-2. First, this presentation examines the connections to the French literary magazine Cocorico, previously noted as an influence on Hosun, while also considering broader trends in European art and literature. Furthermore, drawing on statements by contributors in other issues of Hosun, this presentation reaffirms the significance of “manga” within Hosun. It then situates Hosun's orientation toward “manga” within the broader artistic trends of the late Meiji period, marked by the establishment of the Ministry of Education Art Exhibition. The conclusion argues that Hosun's "manga" was unique in its pursuit of an alternative expressive space at the level of subject matter and form, emerging at a time when “art” as an institution was being formed alongside the founding of the Ministry of Education Art Exhibition.