The Japanese Society for Aesthetics

Aesthetics No.20 (2016): 15-25

Visualizing National History in Meiji Japan:
The Komaba Museum Collection, University of Tokyo
IDO MisatoInstitute for Advanced Studies on Asia, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo

Introduction
The category of ‘history painting’ did not exist in Japan until the Meiji era (1868–1912).
Following the introduction of the concept of the fine arts into Japan from the West, the Japanese
adopted the category of history painting and began depicting their own history. In this paper, I
would like to examine the very early stages of this development during the Meiji era when Ernest
Fenollosa and Okakura Kakuzo (Tenshin) fostered the study of Japanese art history in Japanand founded the Tokyo School of Fine Arts 東京美術学校. I will introduce a series of history
paintings produced by painters who were working with Okakura at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts.
These paintings were purchased in the 1890s by the First Higher School 第一高等学校 (一高),the top educational institution in the country prior to the establishment of the University ofTokyo, and are now in the collection of the Komaba Museum. Considering the fact that thesepaintings were commissioned by the First Higher School around the time when the Imperial
Rescript on Education was issued, it is highly possible that these paintings were expected to play
an important role in the education of future national leaders. These paintings allow us to see how
Japanese painters endeavored to depict the Western concept of “national history” in Japanesestyle paintings.
This paper first offers an overview of the collection at the Komaba Museum, University ofTokyo. I then move to an examination of the social and political context of the last decade of thenineteenth century when the history paintings were commissioned by the First Higher School,
paying particular attention to the educational philosophy of the school. I use this context as the
background against which I present an iconographical study of these history paintings,
comparing them with illustrations published in contemporary history textbooks. I conclude witha consideration of the meaning of ‘history painting’ in Meiji period Japan.

1. The Komaba Museum Collection
The collection of the Komaba Museum at the University of Tokyo includes a number of Meiji
period Japanese-style (Nihonga) paintings. The works were executed by painters who wereassociated with the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, including professors such as Hashimoto Gahō 橋
本雅邦. Students at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts including Yokoyama Taikan 横山大観 andShimomura Kanzan 下村観山 also seem to have been involved in the project. Shortly after the
dissolution of the First Higher School the paintings were stored at one of the University libraries
where they remained for an extended period before being transferred to the Museum. Although

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the collection was dormant during these years, fortunately some records remaining at the museum demonstrate that the paintings were purchased by the First Higher School in the 1890s.[1]In terms of format, the works are classified into four groups. The first category is Western
style framed paintings. The second is large-scale hanging scrolls, some of which, unusually,
exceed a hundred inches in height. The third is the small-scale hanging scroll, and the fourth is
the hand scroll.[2]Interestingly, all the paintings in the collection depict similar subject matter relating tofamous figures or events in pre-modern Japanese history. Some depict famous battle scenes suchas the Mongol invasions of the thirteenth century. Others show heroic figures including previous
emperors, warriors, and courtiers. Considering that ‘history painting’ was a completely new
genre for the Japanese painters as well as for Japanese audiences, it is important to ask why theFirst Higher School commissioned such history paintings during the 1890s. The aim of thispaper is to clarify the function of the paintings vis a vis the social and political context of the First
Higher School, Japan’s pre-eminent educational institution.
The First Higher School was established in 1874 as the Tokyo School of English andbecame a prep school for the University of Tokyo in 1877. It operated as an independent highschool from 1886 on. The purchase of the paintings was made shortly after 1886. It is important
to note that the establishment of the First Higher School coincided with a period of sweeping
educational reform in Japan during the 1890s. The Tokyo School of Fine Arts was alsoestablished in 1887.

2. Political Context of the 1890s: First Higher School and Its Educational Philosophy
The Constitution of the Empire of Japan (also known as the Meiji Constitution) came into
force in 1890. The Imperial Rescript on Education 教育勅語 was issued the following year, as
was the Imperial edict for the establishment of primary schools 小学校令. Both the Meiji
Constitution and the Imperial Rescript on Education were produced by and were in turnintended to develop an overhauled system of ethics based on Western models of modernity.
As already noted, the Tokyo School of Fine Arts was established in 1887 and opened in 1889.
In addition, a bureau for the inspection of national treasures was set up within the Imperial
Household Agency in 1888. It is well known that the Japanese government was concerned about
the detrimental effects on traditional Japanese culture of the wholesale adoption of Westerncustoms following the Meiji Restoration. The Monbusho 文部省 (Ministry of Education, Science
and Culture) delegated the inspection of cultural properties in temple collections to Okakura in1884 out of just such concerns. This led to the establishment of a Provisional Bureau for the
Inspection of National Treasures 臨時全国宝物取調局 four years later in 1888. In 1889 theinaugural edition of the journal Kokka 国華 was issued at the initiative of Okakura. Today
Kokka remains the oldest and most prestigious journal dedicated to Japanese art history.
2.1. The Educational Philosophy of the First Higher School: The Ethics Auditorium and the History
Reference Room
A document collected in a publication entitled “A Sixtieth Anniversary History of the FirstVisualizing National History in Meiji Japan

17

Higher School,” says: “We were privileged toreceive the Imperial Rescript on Education,
which was handwritten by His Majesty theEmperor, on the February 25th of 1890.[3]We ordered the portraits of General Tamura

fig. 1 At the ceremony for the entering a dorm

fig. 2 General Tamura 田村将軍図 (left) and
Sugawara no Michizane 菅 公 図 (right) by
Kobori Tomoto 小堀鞆音

田 村 将 軍 （ 坂 上 田 村 麻 呂 , Sakanoue no
Tamuramaro）and Sugawara no Michizane
菅原道真, which were hung at the front of the
Ethics auditorium 倫 理 講 堂 in order tocontribute to students’ moral education.”
General Tamura was a general in the eighth
century, and Sugawara no Michizane was ascholar and politician in the ninth century,
long revered in Japan as a god of learning.
These two portraits had been hung in theauditorium of the University of Tokyo for long
until they were removed and placed instorage at the Komaba Museum. [fig.1-2]
What is interesting is that the two images,
which together symbolized the power of arms
and letters, were chosen for the purpose ofencouraging moral education in the schoolover the more common pre-existing pairingof Confucius and Michizane.[4]Kinoshita Hiroji 木下広次 was the president of the First Higher School during the 1890s.
Kinoshia introduced student self-government at the school, as well as the concept of the student
dormitory in Japan. He also worked for the Ministry of Culture, Science and Education andserved as the president of Kyoto University.[5] In his inauguration speech at the First Higher
School, he pointed out the importance of ‘ethics education’ based on the samurai spirit 武士道
in order to repair the morality of the nation which had been negatively affected by Westernization.
The First Higher School curriculum seems to have placed particular emphasis on ethics andnational history following Kinoshita’s inauguration. Documentary records exist which indicatethat Kinoshita established a history reference room at the school and ordered history paintings
to be hung in the room.

3. Paintings as History Text Books
As described thus far, the history paintings commissioned by the First Higher School wereintended to be displayed for educational purposes at the school. This section will clarify the
iconographic sources for the paintings and examine how they were incorporated into history text
books.
Almost all the images of the First Higher School collection are portraits of historical figures.

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IDO Misato

fig. 3 Ancient Wisdom and Old
Customs 前 賢 故 実 (left),
Kotoshogaku rekishi 高等小
学歴史 (right)

The portraits of General Tamura and Sugawara no Michizane seem to have been composed basedon the illustrations contained in the Zenken Kojitsu 前 賢 故 実 (Ancient Wisdom and Old
Customs), compiled by Kikuchi Yōsai 菊池容斎 in 1825.[6] [fig.3] This book depicts more than
five hundred figures from ancient and medieval history with detailed commentaries on eachfigure. Although it was published long before the First Higher School paintings were executed,
many artists active during the early Meiji era relied on the book for rendering history paintings
since neither history paintings nor historical portraits were commonly practiced prior to the
Meiji era. It is unsurprising then to find that the painters involved in the execution of the history
paintings at the First Higher School were also using this publication as a resource for their work.
3.1. Comparison with History Text Book Illustrations
Although some of these early history paintings borrowed their iconography from printed
books such as Zenken Kojitsu, it became clear that some of the other paintings were almost
identical to the images published in contemporary history textbooks. The painting Minamoto no
Yoshiie 源義家 who were regarded as a heroic ancestor of the warrior family and Imperial
Prince Moriyoshi 護良親王 is one such, and the aforementioned paintings of Sugawara no
Michizne and Sakanoue no Tamuramaro also appear as illustrations for history textbooks.
Many of the smaller scale hanging scrolls in the collection include the selector’s name
Fukuchi Mataichi 福地復一 beside the signature of the painter. This could indicate that thesehanging scrolls were selected by Fukuchi before purchased by the First Higher School. Although
now a somewhat obscure figure, Fukuchi worked with Okakura at the Tokyo Imperial Museum
and the Tokyo School of Arts during the 1890s. It is interesting to note that Fukuchi also seems
to have been involved in publishing history textbooks before he began working at the Tokyo
School of Fine Arts. The textbook published between 1887 and 1891 includes many figures
which bear a striking similarity to the compositions of the First Higher School paintings.[7][fig.4-7] It is not easy to say whether the paintings the school purchased were originalcompositions, or whether they were depicted based on existing iconographical sources andconstitute copies made for the First Higher School. Whichever the case, it is clear that these
history paintings commissioned by the First Higher School were deeply connected to the national
history education movement of the early Meiji era.

Visualizing National History in Meiji Japan

fig. 4 Emperor Gosanjō 後 三 条 天 皇 ,Wearing Court Dress 大礼服着御図 by
Ishimoto shōen 石本秋園(left)
Nihon shōrekishi 日本小歴史 (right)

fig. 5 The Ceremony of Choga 朝賀図 by
大石真虎 Ōishi Matora (above)
Shōgaku nihon rekishi 小学日本史
published by Kinkōdo 金港堂 (below)

fig. 6 Ōto no Miya (Prince Moriyoshi)
大塔宮図 by Kose Shōseki 巨勢小石
(left)
Koto shogaku rekishi 高等小学歴
史 (right)

fig. 7 Hachiman Taro zu (Minamoto no Yoshiie)
八幡太郎図 by Kawabata Gyokushō 川端玉章
(left)
Shogaku nihonshi 小学日本史 published by
Kinkōdo 金港堂 (right)

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IDO Misato

3.2. From Hanging Scroll to the Textbook
History education in Japan after the Meiji Restoration is often said to have beencharacterized by an emphasis on Western over Japanese history, taught using translated text
books which had originally been written in the West. While the modernization was the main aimof the early Meiji era, traditional East Asian values such as loyalty and filial piety, which arederived from Confucianism, were brought back into the spotlight with the issue of the Imperial
Rescript on Education 教育勅語 and the Imperial edict for primary schools 小学校令 in 1890.
In the following year, ‘Fundamental Principles of Elementary School Rules’ issued by the
Monbusho directed teachers to explain Japanese history with the use of images to facilitate
understanding and allow students to imagine important historical events and figures more
vividly.[8] It was in fact common to use illustrated hanging scrolls rather than textbooks until
the early 1890s.
In a letter from Kinoshita, the president of the First Higher School, to the Monbusho, heclearly indicates that the school did not use any specific textbooks in teaching ethics classes in
1892, around the period when the history paintings were purchased.[9] Instead, Kinoshita
writes that teachers were expected to give lectures using excerpts from classics such as Recordof the Legitimate Succession of the Divine Emperors (Jinno shotoki 神皇正統記) for history
classes, and from the Four Books and Five Classics of Confucianism for ethics classes. Moreover,he also added that the department of Letters at the University of Tokyo had begun the work ofediting these texts for use in national history textbooks. The beginning of this work could
coincide with the commissioning of the history paintings. In 1893 Hamao Arata 濱尾新 becamepresident of the University of Tokyo. Interestingly, Hamao had worked at the Monbusho as wellas with Okakura at the newly established Tokyo School of Fine Arts.
These four figures—Kinoshita at the First Higher School, Okakura and Fukuchi at the Tokyo
School of Fine Arts and Hamao at the University of Tokyo—were at the forefront of theconstruction of Japan’s “national history” in the late nineteenth century. To put it more precisely,
the higher educational institutions such as First Higher School and Tokyo School of Fine Arts
explored Japanese history which could represents the national ideology of Meiji Japan in pacewith the government.
In 1891 Inoue Tetsujiro 井上哲次郎 who taught philosophy at the University of Tokyo
published The Rescript Explicated (Chokugo Engi 勅語衍義), which provided a comprehensive
explanation of the Imperial Rescript on Education and played an important role in theintellectual life of faculty and students at the First Higher School and the University ofTokyo.[10] Inoue emphasized the importance of research on Asian literature and history andexpected it to be basics of education for the people during this period of fervent acquisition ofWestern scholarship. In addition, he clearly states that Japanese art should contribute to thewell-being of the Japanese people and enhance the public sentiment.

4. The Necessity of the History Paintings
As we have seen, the concept of national history was strongly encouraged by leading
educators in early Meiji Japan. I would now like to return to the question of ‘history painting’ inVisualizing National History in Meiji Japan

21

Meiji era. As previously mentioned, ‘history painting,’ or rekishiga 歴史画 in Japanese, wascompletely a new genre in Japan, in contrast with the situation in the West where it had long
been regarded as one of the most important genres. In pre-modern Japan, ‘history’ was certainly
depicted – there are many examples of historical scenes taken from war chronicles in handscrolls,
for example.[11] However, these depictions were produced for radically different social
functions in that handscrolls were generally for private consumption and not charged with the
public representation of a national ideology.
When the concept of ‘history painting’ was introduced into Japan, there was confusion about
what it meant. Contemporary Japanese painters found themselves in the difficult situation of
being asked to complete paintings in a completely new genre without models from which to work.
During the early Meiji era this led to the wholesale copying by painters of examples from Ancient
Wisdom and Old Customs (Zenken Kojitsu 前賢故実), compiled by Kikuchi Yōsai. A morenuanced understanding of the situation could be gained by closely examining the contemporary
discourse on history painting evident in documentary sources recording the many discussions
on the nature of history painting and of what its role should be not only in the artistic sphere,
but also in the political arena. Therefore, the following sections will reveal the nature of history
painting by examining how the discourse on ‘history painting’ was developed both in the artistic
and political sphere.
4.1. Discourse on ‘history painting’Okakura’s inaugural editorial statement on the launch of the journal Kokka, the first journal
dedicated to Japanese art in 1889 included an endorsement of history painting in which he called
for the promotion of history paintings at this time of national character formation.[12] As
Okakaura’s statement demonstrates, history paintings were clearly identified as the genre ofpainting with the closest connection to the generation of a national philosophy and character 国
体思想.
1889 was remarkable year for history painting in Japan.[13] The Meiji Constitution cameinto effect, followed shortly afterwards by issue of the Rescript on Education. Another important
event for history painting was the organization of a prize show by a major newspaper company.
Certain themes based on Japanese history were given to the painters in advance, including the‘Enthronement of the Emperor Jinmu’ 神武天皇即位図, ‘Yamatotakeru’s Easter Expedition’ 日
本武尊東征図, and ‘The Defeat of Mongolian Troops’ 蒙古敗軍ノ図. There was also a sculpturecompetition in which the subjects were Emperor Jinmu and Prince Moriyoshi 護良親王 and thefourteenth century warrior Kusunoki Masashige 楠木正成. Thus, the pictorial imagination ofthese historical events and figures should have been developed through these public
competitions, which could result in taking these pictorial sources into history textbooks.
The history paintings commissioned by the First Higher School should be considered in thiscontext of enthusiasm for history paintings in both the art world and in the political arena. The
themes given for the prize show are extremely close to the subjects of the First Higher School’s
history paintings – the collection also included paintings depicting Moriyoshi 護良親王 [fig.6],
Kusunoki Masashige 楠木正成 and the Mongolian Invasion 蒙古襲来図. [fig.8]
The subjects of Imperial Prince Moriyoshi 護良親王 and Kusunoki Masashige 楠木正成 are

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IDO Misato

based on emperor-centered historiography.
Moriyoshi was the son of Emperor Godaigo
後 醍 醐 天 皇 who brought about the antiKamakura bakufu movement, Genko no Ran
元 弘 の 乱 , and Kusunoki Masashige andPrince Moriyoshi supported the emperor’sside and fought against the shogunate.
Kusunoki in particular was worshiped as aparagon of fidelity following the Meiji
Restoration.
In 1890, a year after the prize show, thefig. 8 Mongol Invasion 蒙古襲来之図
by Shimomura Kanzan 下村観山

third domestic industrial exhibition 第三回
内国勧業博覧会 was held. Unlike previous
national exhibitions, many painters sub-mitted ‘history paintings’ for this exhibition. It is thought that the Summer Siege of Osaka 大阪
後役図 by Kobori Tomoto was displayed there and was purchased by the First Higher School
after this exhibition.[14]4.2. The artists and ‘history painting’To conclude, I would like to explore ‘history paintings’ by comparing actual works from theFirst Higher School collection with the wider discourse regarding ‘history painting’ in early Meiji
Japan. As previous studies have demonstrated, there was much discussion of the genre. Toyama
Masakazu 外 山 正 一 who became the first Japanese professor at the University of Tokyo
delivered a lecture titled “The Future of Japanese Painting” 日本絵画未来 in 1890.[15] In thislecture, he expressed concern over Japanese painting, and commenting that by comparison with
Western painting, the Japanese tradition had produced very few paintings that expressed any
sense of philosophy. He also criticized Japanese painting unfavorably with the Western
categories of history and religious painting, concluding that Japanese paintings focused only onform and lacked the expression of refined thought.
Inoue Tetsujiro also gave a lecture on history painting titled “Address to Japanese Artists
日本ノ美術家ニ告グ.[16] Inoue criticized Japanese painting for its small scale and emphasized
the necessity of elevation and refinement in order to promote Eastern art. He also said thathuman affairs, including history paintings, were a suitable means of expressing refined thought.
He also encouraged painters to depict the human body because of its potential to integrate thebeauty of ‘form’ and ‘mind.’
How, then, did Japanese painters interpret these lectures and create a new genre of history
paintings in Japan? The First Higher School history paintings are useful indicators here.
Not to mention, a battle-piece would be one of those history paintings which functioned asa refined thought that could sustain the thought for fundamental character of the nation 国体.
History paintings were to take a role as war propaganda. In fact, almost all the large-scale
paintings depict critical war scenes in which the fate of the nation is at stake. These include thedepictions of the Mongolian invasion, the Later Three Year’s War, 後三年の役, the Battle ofVisualizing National History in Meiji Japan

23

Kinugasa Castle 衣笠城合戦, and the Summer Siege of Osaka 大阪後役図. Loyalty to theemperor and nation and the bond for brotherhood are the overriding themes of these history
paintings.[17]In Inoue’s Rescript Explicated he uses the example of the late thirteenth century Mongolian
invasion of Japan of which he said: “in a national emergency such as foreign invasion, people
vigorously push forward without fear of immolation.” As the Mongolian invasion was the firstJapanese victory over a foreign country, there could scarcely have been a more suitable topic
than the Mongolian invasion for a history painting produced around the time of Sino-Japanese
war in 1894. Mongolian Invasion by Shimomura Kanzan is in fact thought to have beencommissioned by the First Higher School to commemorate the victory of the Japanese troops
over the Chinese in 1895.[18] [fig.8] Artists at that time must have endeavored to depict suitable
themes and got involved in creating war propaganda which responded to the demands of thetimes in which they were working, regardless consciously or not. In Mongolian Invasion, forexample, Shimomura Kanzan seems to attempt the expression of “refined thought” as definedby Toyama and Inoue by capturing the tense atmosphere of the attack on the Mongolian troops,
presented in Western style aerial perspective.
Emperor Moriyoshi (Ōto no Miya 大塔宮) [fig.6] by Kose Shōseki 巨勢小石 is a remarkable
example of a Japanese artist departing from the traditional norms of human depiction and using
the conventions of Western painting to depict the human body. When compared to traditional
Japanese depictions of emperors, it is clear that Kose depicted the ‘beauty of the body’ byemphasizing masculinity of the emperor. Historically, feminized features were used to convey
the elegance of courtiers. In this painting by contrast theEmperor’s body is exaggerated, but augmented with features
such as musculature and facial hair depicted in a more
realistic mode.
Finally, I would like to conclude with the portrait ofSaigyo by Hashimoto Gahō. [fig.9] In the painting Saigyō 西行 is facing towards the river and reading a poem. His bodyand facial expression are depicted with chiaroscuro inmarked contrast to the conventional use of line in Japanesepaintings.[19] Although the depiction may be executed in a
Western style technique, the subject of this history painting,the Monk Poet Saigyō, is quintessentially Japanese. The
scene depicts Saigyō reading a poem on sorrow あわれ atfig. 9 Saigyō 西行図
dusk in the autumn. Hashimoto Gahō on the other hand
by Hashimoto Gahō 橋本雅邦
adopted naturalistic Western style techniques of depicting
figures and nature, evoking a peculiar sense of hybridity. In
fusing traditional Japanese themes into history paintings with their Western origins, Gahō may
have been trying to meet the demand for the expression of “refined thought” by transcending
mere “form.”

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Conclusion
No artist in the early Meiji era could escape the demands of ideology. This was especially inthe case of the history paintings executed for the First Higher School, which were commissioned
expressly for the purpose of teaching national history. Creating such history paintings without
the existence of any clear models presented a huge challenge for contemporary painters. The
introduction of Western art brought about the transformation not only of painting techniquesand subjects in Japan, but also radically altered ideas about the function of Japanese paintings,
co-opting them to support the political project of the construction of Japan’s national identity asa modern nation. Amidst such pressures, early Meiji era painters nevertheless sought
appropriate themes and techniques to produce history paintings which could convey “refinedthought” and bear comparison with Western history paintings.

Notes
[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

Most of the pieces were purchased in 1892 and 1893, but some were added over the following
decade. For more on the Komaba Museum, see: Kamei Takayoshi 亀井高孝. Iroha no kuzukago
葦蘆葉の屑籠. Jijitsūshin, 1969., Kobori Keiichirō 小堀桂一郎. “Kyūichikō syozo no rekishi-ga ni
tsuite” 旧一高所蔵の歴史画に就て. Hikaku bunka kenkyū 比較文化研究 vol. 14 (1974)., Ishiwata
Mie 石渡美江. “Reimeiki no daigakufuzoku hakubutsukan II: Daiichi Kōtōchūgakkō no Rekishisankōshitsu ni tsuite” 黎明期の大学付属博物館（II）―第一高等中学校の歴史参考室について―.
MUSEUM STUDY (Meijidaigaku gakugeiin kyōyōkatei kiyō) vol. 5 (1993). For more on the historyof the First Higher School, see Sixty Year’s History of the First Higher School 第一高等学校六十年史. Daiichikōtōgakkō, 1939. For more on the history of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, see: Tokyo
geijyutsu daigaku hyakunenshi: Tokyo bijyutsu gakko vol. 1 東京芸術大学百年史 東京美術学校
第一巻. Geijyutsu kenkyu shinko zaidan, 1987., Okakura Tenshin: Geijyutsu kyōiku no ayumi 岡
倉天心―芸術教育の歩み. Tokyo geijyutsu daigaku Okakura Tenshin-ten jikkō iinkai, 2007.
The collection includes a copy of medieval handscroll entitled Eshi-zoshi with a Yokoyama Taikan(Hidemaro) signature. Space precludes discussion here of the copying project, which was initiatedby Okakura and other members of the Imperial Museum, but it is possible that this scroll might
have been created as the part of the project. For details, see: Emi Chizuko 恵美千鶴子. “Senmen
hokekyō sasshi mohon: Okakura Tenshin, Kobori Tomoto to Teikokuhakubutsukan no mosha jigyo
扇面法華経冊子模本―岡倉天心・小堀鞆音と帝国博物館の模写事業―. Tōhaku zasshi 東博雑誌
621 (2009).
The famous Lese Majesty Incident involving Uchimura Kanzo 内村鑑三 took place during theceremony at the First Higher School to commemorate the Imperial Rescript on Education in 1891.
Uchimura was condemned for disrespect to the emperor.
Previously, the combination of Confucius and Sugawara no Michizane had been more common as
it was considered to represent the spirit of the education offered at private elementary schools anddomain schools.
Tomioka Masaru 富岡勝. Kyuseikōkō ni okeru kishukusha to “kōyūkai” no keisei: Kinoshita Hiroji(Ichikō kōchō) wo chūshin ni 旧制高校における寄宿舎と「校友会」の形成―木下広次（一高校長）
を中心に―. Kyoto daigaku kyōikugakubu kiyō 京都大学教育学部紀要 vol. 40 (1994).
Shioya Jun 塩谷純. “Kikuchi Yōsai to rekishiga” 菊池容斎と歴史画. Kokka 国華 1183 (1994).,
Shioya Jun 塩谷純. “Rekishi-ga no tsukurikata: Kikuchi Yōsai no Zenkenkojitsu” 歴史画のつくりVisualizing National History in Meiji Japan25

かた 菊池容斎の『前賢故実』. IS vol. 85 (2001)., Kikuchi Yōsai to Meiji no bijyutsu 菊池容斎と明治の美術. Nerima Art Museum, 1999.
[7] For example: Tsuji Keishi 辻敬之 and Fukuchi Mataichi 福地復一. Shōgakkō-yō rekishi 小学校
用 歴史. 1887.
[8] 日本歴史ヲ授クルニハナルヘク図画等ヲ示シ児童ヲシテ当時ノ実状ヲ想像シ易カラシメ人物ノ言
行等ニ就テハ之ヲ修身ニ於テ授ケタル格言等ニ照ラシメテ正邪是非ヲ弁別セシメンコトヲ要ス（明治二十四年十一月十七日 文部省令第十一号）For detailed research on history textbooks in the
Meiji period see: Uehara Izumi 上原いづみ. “Meijiki rekishikyōiku ni okeru “rekishi-ga” no kenkyū
明治期歴史教育における『歴史画』の研究. Tsukuba shakaikagaku kenkyū 筑波社会科研究 vol.
21 (2002).
[9] See pages 95-96 at Sixty Years’ History of First Higher School.
[10] Inoue Tetsujiro 井上哲次郎 Chokugo engi 勅語衍義. Tokyo: Keigyōsha, 1891.
[11] Some historical events, such as Mongol invasion and the Later Three Year’s War, were depicted inhandscrolls.
[12] Kitazawa Noriaki points out the profusion of articles which proclaimed the necessity of history
painting around the period. See Kitazawa Noriaki 北澤憲昭. Kyōkai no bijyutsushi: “bijyutsu”
keiseishi nōto 境界の美術史―「美術」形成史ノート. Tokyo: Brücke, 2000.
[13] Yamanashi Toshio 山梨俊夫. Egakareta rekishi: Nihon kindai to rekishi-ga no jiba 描かれた歴史―日本近代と「歴史画」の磁場. Tokyo: Brücke, 2005.
[14] Besides Kobori Tomoto, notable painters including Hashimoto Gaho 橋本雅邦, Kose Shōseki 巨勢
小石 and some other painters also presented their work at the exhibition, although the First Higher
School did not purchase their paintings at the exhibition.
[15] Meiji bijyutsukai hōkoku 明治美術会報告 vol. 1. Tokyo : Yumani Shobō, 1991.
[16] Meiji bijyutsukai hōkoku 明治美術会報告 vol. 3. Tokyo : Yumani Shobō, 1991.
[17] See Ishiwata (1993).
[18] See Shimomura Hidetoki 下村英時. Shimomura Kanzan den 下村観山伝. Tokyo: Dainihon Kaiga,
1981.
[19] Shioya Jun 塩谷純. “Hashimoto Gahō hitsu Saigyō hōshizu” 橋本雅邦筆 西行法師図. Kokka 国華1370 (2009).

Acknoledgement: This research project was supported by the Ishibashi Fundation grant.
“The Ichiko Collection of the ‘History Paintings’: Embodying the Educational Philosophy of the Ichiko,”Bi, vol. 7, 2014（「一高絵画コレクションの概要――一高の教育理念と「歴史画」をめぐって」，『Bi』
vol. 7，2014 年 2 月）．