My research question is How did Western influence affect Japanese graphic design? As a student interested in pursuing an art degree focusing mainly on graphic design, I was drawn to this topic and wanted to relate this topic to my own interests.
For my visual materials, I chose to use an advertisement poster, covers from a children’s periodical, and covers from a multilingual magazine periodical. I chose these visuals because they all are made through Western influence, whether through the artists who studied Western-style art or visuals that cater to international audiences. The periodicals are all from the same period of the 1920s-40s when Japanese designers were starting to become inspired by Western modern movements. I thought it was interesting that some of my visuals, although made in Japan and by Japanese artists, did not look Japanese or even have text in Japanese text. The visuals together as a group are very interesting and thought-provoking because they were all made around the same time, but each visual served a different purpose and was made for different audiences.
I was searching for books on Japanese graphic design and found Japanese Modern: Graphic Design between Wars, by James Fraser. This book aims to examine an often-overlooked period in Japanese graphic design. From the 1920s-30s, Japan had a growing consumer culture that relied heavily on commercial art to promote and sell products. Fraser added that while Japanese graphic design had its own artistic traditions, it was nonetheless heavily influenced by Western styles and trends(for instance art Modern and art deco). Japanese graphic designers and art directors drew inspiration from Europe’s poster artists and typographers – more specifically those in France. Graphic artists, architects, and photographers traveled as well, beginning shortly after the turn of the century, and returned with artwork, books, posters, periodicals, and consumer goods acquired in Berlin, Paris, London, and New York. In the mid-and late 1920s, many booksellers carried an international stock, including works on different design trends from different countries. This book not only gives a background as to how Japanese Modern originated but also gives examples of works of art from many artists, showing us the reader how different artists incorporated Western styles and trends in their work.
My second academic source is a journal article titled, Text as Image in Japanese Advertising Typography Design by Ory Bartal. Bartel emphasizes advertisements as a functional communication system, specifically how text serves as a visual image in contemporary Japanese advertising. He uses examples of advertisements to convey how Japanese designers used text and fonts to create visual imagery that captures the audience’s attention. Through this source, I was able to find one of my visual sources and learn how text and images work together to create meaning.
“Hōmu de Concon” is an advertisement poster from 1979. This advertisement states the hours smoking is forbidden on the train station platform. The main center of focus is a man who appears to be smoking but the smoke is formed into the shape of figures. These figures are meant to be cancan dancers. Above the dancers is a bolded text reading “Hōmu de Concon”, which are Latin letters that translate to “Cough on the platform”. The slogan can also be read as “Cough at home”. This poster is meant to make a play on the words concon(making a coughing sound) and cancan(a French chorus line dance). This double-coded slogan is open to interpretation but it cannot be understood without the image of the smoking man and the dancers. This poster is inspired by a famous poster for the Moulin Rouge nightclub in Paris, and the Latin letters are in a similar style as the other poster. This advertisement is captivating in that the images and the text work together to convey the message. This poster also shows a Western influence, being that this poster was inspired by the Parison one.
These two works are covers from Kodomo no Kuni, in english known as Children’s Land. Children’s Land was a themed literary magazine created broadly for children. Its primary audience was children. Each issue was printed on large, 26 x 18.5 cm (10.3 x 7.3 in) extra-thick paper that was durable enough for children. Many of the remaining copies of Kodomo no Kuni still feature the bright, bold colors as they were printed nearly one hundred years ago because of the publication’s use of very durable paper.
The main goal of Kodomo no Kuni was to share art of all kinds with children of all ages in Japan. The creators had a strong understanding of the importance of early engagement in the arts and strived to encourage children to experiment and explore creatively. Each issue featured contributions from both amateur and professional painters, composers, illustrators, writers, and other artists.
Kodomo no Kuni was established during the Taisho period (1912–26), a time when educators advocated a focus on a child’s individuality and growth. The magazine brought forth a new genre of artistic publishing made for children. Japanese artists experimented with modernist styles, and Kodomo no kuni became a platform through which illustrators could present some of their most creative works.
Kawakami Shirō, the artist of the first cover, attended Tokyo art school where he studied Western-style painting, and then went on to teach art in middle schools for a while. Then he moved from teaching to working for magazine publishers where he got to design covers and illustrations for many journals whose target audience was children, which made sense from his passion for teaching. This cover contains two birds holding wagasas which are Japanese umbrellas. There is an abundance of color used in this cover which is important because the cover was meant to draw the children’s eye in and make them want to pick it up. Although Kawakami studied mainly Western-style painting, he was still able to include aspects of Japanese culture in his works.
Okamoto Keiichi, the artist of the second cover, was the most popular illustrator for children in Japan in the 1920s due to his ability to capture facial expressions that bring his illustrations to life. His talent is evident in this cover also with the color pallet he uses. Both artists use a bright color pallet, making the covers very captivating to the eye which is the ultimate intention of the periodical. This cover shows a boy climbing a tree with a joyful expression on his face. Keiichi does a wonderful job of capturing a child’s curiosity and imagination, which is the ultimate goal of the periodical.
These last two pieces are covers from Nippon, a multilingual magazine that aimed to introduce Japanese culture to international readers. Nippon published its first magazine in 1934 and released issues quarterly up until 1944. The magazine included photography, graphics, and text that aimed to tell stories of Japan. Nippon was also described as a propaganda magazine, used to strengthen Japan’s image among overseas audiences.
The first cover was made by Ayao Yamana and it was the first ever cover of Nippon, made in 1934. The cover presents a doll in traditional Japanese clothing, placed in front of a photograph of a modern building in black and white. This cover shows a contrast between tradition and modernity which makes sense due to the Western influence in Japan. The use of color really stands out in this cover; the use of traditional Japanese colors like red and blue/turquoise draws the attention of the readers and makes you want to pick up the magazine.
This second cover was made by Kono Takashi in 1938. This cover is different from the last due to having a solid black background, but both still have a repeating element; This cover also contains women wearing traditional Japanese clothing and there is also the incorporation of a bright red. This cover contains Japanese elements which are used to entice people to pick up the magazine. This cover, along with the rest illustrates the influence that Japanese Modern had on these magazines/periodicals, with the need to cater to an international audience and with the use of Western design elements.
Bibliography:
Bartal, Ory. “Text as Image in Japanese Advertising Typography Design.” Design Issues, vol. 29, no. 1, 2013, pp. 51–66. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24267102. Accessed 27 Oct. 2023.
Collie, F. (2018, March 3). Graphic Design — Nippon Kobo — Ayao Yamana 1934 – FGD1 The Archive – Medium. Medium. https://medium.com/fgd1-the-archive/nippon-kobo-ayao-yamana-1934-993a99d8683e
Fraser, James, Steven. Heller, and Seymour. Chwast. Japanese Modern : Graphic Design between the Wars. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 1996.
Kawakami Shiro – 50 watts. (n.d.). https://50watts.com/Kawakami-Shiro
The Guardian. (2020, March 1). Vibrant, progressive and bold: graphic designs of Japanese modernism – in pictures. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2020/feb/28/vibrant-progressive-and-bold-graphic-designs-of-japanese-modernism-in-pictures
Wikipedia contributors. (2023, April 28). Kiichi Okamoto. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiichi_Okamoto
Wikipedia contributors. (2022, November 26). Kodomo no kuni (children’s magazine). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodomo_no_kuni_(children%27s_magazine)
