Exhibition Outlines

Man has created various three dimensional figures of human and living beings from ancient times. These are now considered as either sculptures or dolls.

However, the term “sculpture” is a new term used widely since the Meiji era, and in the early Meiji period, almost all three dimensional figures other than dolls were referred to as “okimono”. We know that almost all of the three dimensional figures in the Sannomaru Shozokan collection had the term “okimono” in its title, which is the result of the concept of three dimensional figures during the early Meiji period.

However, since around the middle of the Meiji era, “okimono” and sculpture were divided within the Japanese art world along with the reception of western art ideas.

If so, what is the difference between Modern Japanese “okimono” and western sculpture? Furthermore, just why was the idea formulated to discriminate the two? Indeed, there are many objects within modern Japanese sculpture that are difficult to distinguish between what is referred to as “okimono”, and how should these be treated?

This exhibition is an attempt to reconsider the historical significance and features of the modern Japanese traditional sculpture works, starting from matters of okimono and sculpture, and also modern dolls, which overlaps with these divisions.