Shōwa Period

Japanese Art of the Shōwa Period

A tea bowl in black raku, a lady in kimono painted on silk, a Kannon in unglazed Bizen clay: the Shōwa period renewed Japan’s old craft traditions – one-of-a-kind pieces direct from Japan.

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In brief

The Shōwa period (昭和, 1926–1989) is the reign of Emperor Hirohito and, at more than sixty years, the longest era of modern Japan. Its name means “enlightened peace”; it spans militarism and war as well as reconstruction and the economic miracle. For craft, the postwar years in particular brought a revival: the Mingei movement and the honoring of “Living National Treasures” preserved old techniques. At Densho you will find kakemono, tea ceramics, sake vessels and figures from the Shōwa period as one-of-a-kind pieces direct from Japan.

826 works

48 of 826 items shown

The longest era of modern Japan

The Shōwa period began in 1926 with the accession of Hirohito, whose reign name means “enlightened peace,” and ended with his death in 1989. Measured by the reign of a single emperor, it is the longest era in modern Japanese history. It is usually divided into an early Shōwa period up to 1945 and a later Shōwa period afterwards – separated by the deep rupture of the Second World War.

Early Shōwa: years of restriction

The first two decades were marked by an increasingly nationalist and militarist course that led to Japan’s involvement in the Second World War. For art and craft it was a time of severe restrictions: resources went into the war economy, and many workshops, including numerous pottery kilns, had to cut production drastically or stop altogether.

Reconstruction, economic miracle and new collectors

After 1945, Japan became a constitutional monarchy with a democratic order under a new constitution. The economic miracle followed, visible in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and the Shinkansen. Exhibitions of Japanese ceramics and painting found an enthusiastic public in Europe and the United States. Growing prosperity gave a wide population access to ceramics, painting and calligraphy, while emerging mass production sharpened the distinction between industrial goods and genuine craft.

Mingei and “Living National Treasures”

The philosopher Yanagi Sōetsu founded the Mingei movement together with potters such as Hamada Shōji; it found beauty in simple objects of daily use and, through Bernard Leach, influenced Western studio pottery. With the Ningen Kokuhō system the state created an honor for holders of important craft techniques, awarded to many ceramic masters from traditions such as Bizen, Shino and Hagi. Arakawa Toyozō reconstructed the Shino glaze, and Kaneshige Tōyō developed the hidasuki firing of Bizen further.

Painting, ceramics and figures of the period

The hanging scrolls include bird-and-flower paintings, landscapes with waterfalls, bijinga – pictures of beautiful women in kimono – Daruma portraits and Zen calligraphy from temples such as Myōshin-ji, as well as unmounted makuri and shikishi. The ceramics range from chawan in raku, Ōhi, Shino, Hagi or Kyoto style to sake flasks (tokkuri) and sake cups (guinomi) from Bizen, Karatsu, Seto or Tanba, through to vases and Kutani porcelain. There are also tea caddies (natsume) in maki-e lacquer and figures, such as a Kannon in Bizen ceramic or an iron Buddha.

Dating within a long era

More than sixty years cover very different pieces. The period given describes the object – material, condition, signs of age – and is independent of signature or seal. A scroll whose condition points to the later Shōwa period may therefore carry the seals of older Kanō masters: the painter was paying them respect. For ceramics, the wooden box with signature, seal and sometimes the generation number of a potter family helps to place a piece.

Use: tea room, tokonoma, living space

A chawan and a natsume belong to the tea ceremony, but can just as well be used and displayed every day; tokkuri and guinomi are made for sake. A kakemono is shown for a few weeks in the tokonoma or on a quiet wall and then stored in its wooden box. Buddhist figures were traditionally set up as devotional objects and today are equally at home as sculptures with a spiritual presence.

Caring for ceramics and scrolls

Tea ceramics are cleaned only with hot water and a soft sponge, without detergent, never in the dishwasher or microwave, and then left to air-dry completely. Otherwise porous bodies such as Hagi absorb soap and fragrances. The brownish coloring in the crackle is intended ageing. Scrolls need indirect light and about 50 to 60 percent humidity, and are dusted only dry with a soft brush.

What collectors look for

The tomobako, the paulownia wood box with the artist’s signature and seal, attests to origin and authenticity; a box separated from its piece lowers the value in collectors’ eyes. With scrolls, what counts above all is whether the work was painted by hand – among the kakemono of this period there are also prints and silkscreens, which we label as such. Read the condition notes carefully as well.

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