THE POWER OF SOFT POWER

 

Through the medium of the Arts, expressing the confluence of the heart, mind & spirit, of Japan and India, is the aim of this exhibition. Appreciation of the richness and beauty of the interwoven heritage, history, past and present culture of the two nations, highlights the power of soft power, fostering collaborative work in multiple areas, beneficial to both nations. Artworks in a variety of media, related to the historical and present friendship, interactions and partnerships, are presented in digital format, from collections of Art Museums, Art Galleries and Organizations, and by individuals and groups.

 

Japan and India have a history of shared cultural values and exchanges which goes back a long way. Buddhism tied the two nations indelibly. At the turn of the 20th century the Japan-India Association was formed in 1903. The Art school at Santiniketan in West Bengal in India became a hub for Indian and Japanese artists to interact, exchange ideas and work towards a shared goal, spurred by the interactions of Japanese art historian and professor Okakura Tenshin and Indian poet, and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, both emphasizing the imperative need of returning to ones roots. Many Japanese artists came to practise their art at Santiniketan like Hishida Shunsō, Nanpu Katayama, Yokoyama Taikan, Kampo Arai and Akino Fuku. Likewise Indian artists like Mukul Dey went to Japan. More recently Japanese printmaker Hiroshi Yoshida made a series of woodcut prints on sights of India, and Nishida Shun’ei painted Indian scenes after his India visit.

 

Post the second world war, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru visited Japan with his daughter Indira and presented a baby elephant, which was housed at the Ueno Zoo, bringing much cheer into the hearts of the Japanese especially the children. In recent times Japanese Prime Minister Abe and Indian Prime Minister Modi formed a deep bond. The continuing work is seen in many spheres such as the forming of the partner cities agreement e.g Kyoto-Varanasi were declared sister cities, to employ Japanese expertise in implementing practical solutions, Japanese practices in conservation of rich heritage of Varanasi as well as foster exchanges between Kyoto University and Banaras Hindu University.

Since its inauguration in India in 1992, the Japan Foundation has been doing sterling work in bringing the culture of Japan to India and in encouraging exchanges through support and grants. The Vivekananda Centre in Tokyo has been bringing Indian culture to the Japanese.

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Private collector Masanori Fukuoka started collecting contemporary Indian art in the 1990s housing them in the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum and the Glenbarra Art Museum. A recent sale of a Gaitonde painting from his collection fetched a phenomenal price.

 

The mutual admiration of the two great film directors Japanese Akira Kurosawa and the Indian Satyajit Ray, if reflected in the public. Japanese manga and anime is a huge favourite of all Indians especially children, while Indian actor Rajnikanth’s movies to the latest Indian movie “RRR” find many viewers in Japan. The song “Naatu Naatu” from “RRR” which won an award at the 80th Golden Globe in January 2023, has young Japanese dancing enthusiastically to its tune.

 

“Ikigai – Japan-India Dialogues in Arts” is divided into two sections – works from India and works from Japan. Symbolic of the sentiment expressed in this show is the first exhibit - a photograph featuring Crown Prince Akihito of Japan, later the Emperor of Japan, on the occasion when he laid the cornerstone for the superstructure of India International Centre (IIC), New Delhi. The Japanese doll, “Ichimatsu Ningyou” displayed in IIC’s reception area has charmed viewers.

 

Japanese artist Kozo Mio’s work was displayed in the Third Triennale in India, organized by the Lalit Kala Akademi (National Art Academy) in New Delhi in 1975. Mio’s work featured in this show, is a dreamlike abstraction, from the collection of the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi. NGMA has a rich collection of the repertoire of artists of the Bengal School genre from Santiniketan, including artworks inspired by Japanese ethos and techniques, represented here through the Zen-like minimal sumi-e style ink painting by Nandalal Bose.

 

The Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad, India has a sizeable, varied and distinctive collection of Japanese artefacts ranging from paintings on silk and paper, woodcut prints, lacquer work, embroideries, porcelain, enamel, furniture and screens.  The earliest pieces in the museum’s collection are the blue and white porcelain of Arita datable to the 17th century. The museum has very kindly contributed eleven artefacts representing its varied collection to this exhibition, affording high degree of aesthetic enjoyment for the viewers. The hanging scroll of an embroidered waterfall scene is rendered in such meticulous, minute stitches that it appears to be a painting. The two ukiyo-e are important prints of this genre, while the wooden folding screen is a fine product that combines wood carving with paintings of the four seasons. From the Allahabad Museum in Prayagraj, India is a singular artefact, an exquisite, ivory sculpture of “Japanese Queen Uma” wearing a traditional Japanese Kimono and gazing into a mirror.

 

Delving into another form of creative expression is the image of a commemorative stamp by the Government of India’s Department of post, issued on the occasion of 50 Years of India-Japan Diplomatic Ties, featuring an Indian Kathakali dancer and a Kabuki actor. Likewise the Japanese postal department has also issued stamps featuring India subjects (not displayed in this show). The Niranjana School, near Bodhgaya in the Indian state of Bihar, gets transformed at the time of the annual art festival for social messaging of the need for alleviation of poverty, with the walls being painted by Japanese volunteers and the school children.

 

Rounding of the Indian section of the exhibition are an ukiyo-e or woodcut print from a private collection in India, two paintings and an etching inspired by Japanese aesthetic and subjects by this author, and a sample and experience of Japanese techniques of conservation of paintings.

 

The gallery of works from Japan begins with Indian Artworks in different media from the collection of the Tokyo National Museum. The exquisite Head of Boddhisattva, from the 3rd century Kushan dynasty, rendered in spotted red sandstone, the hallmark of Mathura art, conveys serenity and spirituality. Iridescent gold paint, brings alive the shimmering scene of Gopis being obeisance to Lord Krishna in the pichavai painting. The embroidery from Gujarat reminds one of the red and white colours of the Japanese flag.

 

From the stupendous collection of Masanori Fukuoka, housed in the Glenbarra Art Museum, in Himeji, Japan, come an eclectic mix of Modern and Contemporary Indian Art, highlighting the breadth of the collection. Among the five paintings in this exhibition, Tyeb Mehta’s expansive oil on canvas evokes memories of Picasso’s Guernica, however the tone here is of Celebration not pain as in Picasso’s work. With broad areas of colour, deft linearity and angular spaces Mehta’s superlative expression draws the viewer’s eye horizontally from the sides of the canvas into the middle ground, and the dynamic figures. The veritable feast from Glenbarra art Museum includes paintings by Bal Chhabda, V.S. Gaitonde, Jogen Chowdhury and Nasreen Mohemadi. “Jogen Chowdhury’s Couple Life 2 (1976), had travelled to Japan as part of the Government of India’s Festival of India exhibition in 1988. This painting has since travelled to four cities in India for an exhibition dedicated to works of Jogen Chowdhury from the museum’s collection in 2019-2020” (source: Glenbarra Art Museum).

 

“Ramayana’ - The Legend of Prince Rama”, the anime rendition of the Indian epic, produced and directed by Yugo Sako, was recently drawn attention to by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The immense popularity of Japanese manga and anime in Indian OTT platforms is seen through the much loved characters of Shinchan, Doraemon, Pikachu, just to name a few. Testimony to this is “Ramayana” replete with the Japanese genius for creating animation, with delightful renditions of the narration, created by a team of Japanese, also involving Indian professionals from the film industry. Another Indian epic the “Shrimad Bhagavadgita”, translated into Japanese by Prof Hiroyuki Sato, aiming to facilitate common Japanese people to garner knowledge of Sanskrit language, Indian philosophy, religion and culture, is presented in this exhibition through the book’s cover.

 

Through drawing attention to invaluable exchanges and achievements in the Arts, this exhibition emphasizes the power of soft power in building up strong relationships between Japan and India, and envisages the positive furtherance of this sentiment in the future.

 

Dr Anu JINDAL

Curator, “Ikigai – Japan-India Dialogues in Art”

New Delhi, January 2023

 

This exhibition has been made possible, courtesy the following, to whom deep thanks are expressed:

Mr K. N. Shrivastava, Director, India International Centre, New Delhi

Embassy of Japan in India

Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad, India

Allahabad Museum, Prayagraj, India

Glenbarra Art Museum, Himeji, Japan

Tokyo National Museum, Japan

The makers of the animation film “Ramayana-The Legend of Prince Ram”

Website of Government of India on Indian Culture

Organizations and individuals who have contributed to this exhibition.

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Thanks are also due to the participants of the inaugural webinar, for their expert views and support:

Mr K. N. Shrivastava, Director, India International Centre, New Delhi

Mr YOSHIDA, Koji, Counsellor (PR & Culture) Embassy of Japan

Mr Adwaita Gadnayak, Director-General, National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi.

Dr Hiroyuki Sato, Professor, Musashino University, Japan.

Mr Kojiro Morikawa, historian & author

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Note: Titles and descriptions in the Gallery, are by the Museums, Organisations, websites and Individuals who have kindly contributed the Images of Artworks