論文の英文要旨
論文題目

Kazuya Sakai and Latin American “New Art”:Migrations and Expressions of a Kikoku Nisei artist

氏名Kana Takaki

Kazuya Sakai (1927–2001), a distinguished “kikoku nisei,” was a painter andtranslator in Argentina, Mexico, and the USA. “Kikoku” means returning to one’s
country and “nisei” means children of Japanese immigrants. In Argentina, people likeSakai, who were born in Argentina, grew up in Japan, and then returned to theircountry of birth, are called “Kikoku nisei.” Sakai was born in Buenos Aires and thenstudied in Japan from 1938 to 1950. After he returned to Argentina, he began to paintand translate. As a painter, he was so successful his works were exhibited not only inLatin America but also in Europe and the USA. As a translator, he translated many
important Japanese classic and contemporary literary works into Spanish. In 1963,
Sakai emigrated to Mexico and began teaching Japanese literature at several
universities including El Colegio de México. At the same time, he was appointed chief
editor of the magazine Plural, helmed by Octavio Paz. In 1974, he moved to Texas toteach art at the University of Texas. He was a versatile artist who created remarkable
works as a graphic designer, an art and music critic, and a radio personality.
Although many reviewers have referred to Sakai’s adolescent life in Japan,
little is known or studied about how these early experiences influenced his work. This
investigation analyzes Sakai’s paintings and activities from two aspects; Japaneseimmigrant history and Latin American cultural studies. In this way, this study reviews
the reception of Sakai, who belonged to an ethnic minority in Latin America.
To date, there has been no comprehensive, interdisciplinary research on Sakaiand the relationships between his diverse activities. This thesis, therefore, examines
the notion of “New Art” to explore the commonalities between his paintings and literarytranslations. “New Art” is a term comprising the following concepts together in thisstudy: “new painting,” which was an artistic movement in which Sakai participated,and “new literature,” which was an approach that Sakai applied to present modern
Japanese literature. The primary purposes of this thesis were to discover what “NewArt” was and how Sakai had pursued it. Through an exploration of Sakai’s life andwork, this thesis intends to reconsider Latin American culture from the 1950s to the1970s.
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The first part examines Sakai’s life, family, and adolescence in Japan.
Although he identified as both Japanese and Argentinian, he received his education
during the “Japanization” of the Great Empire of Japan during WWII; an experiencethat caused him to always ask himself who he was. After returning to Argentina, hebegan translating Japanese literature so as to explore his cultural roots, and began
painting to express these emotions about himself. During his life, he moved several
times to extend and cultivate his talents, first from Argentina to Mexico, and then toTexas.
In the second part, an analysis of Sakai’s paintings from his debut to his later
years is given. In the background of Sakai’s success, there was the discussion about theoriginality and the origin of the Latin American culture. The artists questioned what
Latin American culture was and opposed each other between the native and Europeanpositions. To address this issue, Sakai pursued “new painting,” adopting andtransforming various cultures and created his own expression. His early works wereinspired by Japanese calligraphy and have been regarded as the precursor to theArgentine Art Informal movement. In Mexico, Sakai is considered one of the “Rupture”
generation, who were the pursuers of a “new painting” in opposition to the dominant
and nationalistic Muralism. At that time, Sakai was painting geometric abstractions
that incorporated the curves of the Rinpa school and the rhythms of Jazz andcontemporary music. These works made him one of the most important artists of the“Geometrismo” movement in Mexico. In 1968, Sakai participated in “SalónIndependiente” exhibitions against the Cultural Olympics of Mexico to assert theliberty of the artists.
Finally, various introductions, comments, and selections of Sakai’s translations
are examined. He considered modern Japanese literature to be a mixture of theseemingly opposing elements of the Orient and the Occident and tradition andmodernity as can be seen in the literary works he translated: historical novels of
Ryunosuke Akutagawa, written by techniques of European literature; the postwar
literature that appeared during the U.S. occupation and “democratization” of Japan;
the Noh dramas of Yukio Mishima set in modern Japan; Kobo Abe’s avant-garde
fictions, whose abstract expression embraces his own experience in Manchuria. The“new literature” gave Sakai, a “kikoku nisei,” an outlet to reconcile his conflicts between
two different cultures. Sakai contributed significantly to the diffusion of Japanese
literature, which had been almost unknown in the Hispanophone world when he began
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translating. Determined to show the diversity of Japanese culture and to fightOrientalism, he translated Akutagawa’s “Spinning Gears” in 1959 into Spanish before
the English translation appeared because he considered it important to study thisnovelist.
In addition to these analyses, Sakai’s art and literary works, including
up-to-date and newly discovered resources, are classified. This thesis also includes
interviews with Jorge Sakai (Sakai’s brother), Donald Keene (scholar of Japanese
literature), Vicente Rojo (painter), and Masateru Ito (diplomat).

Sakai pursued “New Art” as his life’s work, both in his paintings and histranslations, to overcome various binary oppositions, bringing in diverse cultures suchas Japanese, European, North American and Latin American to create his own style.
This was his response to Latin American art, which at that time was mired in thenative and European dichotomy associated with cultural origins. His works ofGeometrismo that are very abstract but also recall the Rinpa school cross the border
between abstract and figurative. Sakai introduced Japanese literature as “newliterature,” in which the Orient and the Occident and tradition and modernity
coexisted. Sakai, who felt Japanese and Argentinian at the same time, demonstrated
that it was a benefit rather than a contradiction to be of two different cultures. It ispossible to say that his use of various techniques that crossed the disciplines of art,literature, and music, was also an expression of the “New Art.”
Sakai, a multi-talented artist with an exceptional personality, demonstrated
how it was possible to be successful in the Latin American culture as a member of anethnic minority. This thesis reviews the history of Japanese immigrants and thedynamism of Latin American culture in the 20th century through the life and works ofKazuya Sakai, who formed a cultural bridge between Japan and Latin America.

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