Cultural Diplomacy in Japan and Japanese Taste

From 1946 to 1948 Sherman E. Lee worked in Tokyo for the Arts and Monuments Department of the Supreme Commander Allied Forces in the Pacific. Lee’s work for the department contributed to the establishment of the Japanese Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties regulated by a government agency called the Bunkacho. According to this regulatory system—still in effect today—works of art designated as “National Treasures” and “Important Cultural Properties” are permitted only temporary export for exhibition; other artworks may be exported, although this might require special permission from the Bunkacho. While at the Arts and Monuments department, Lee helped inventory the major Japanese collections of art, many of which included works from China and Korea held in high esteem by Japanese collectors. He also formed relationships with influential Japanese art historians and art dealers. This experience profoundly influenced his taste, and ultimately the character of the collections that he helped build.

Experience in Japan after the war also had a profound impact on John D. Rockefeller 3rd (JDR 3rd). While in Japan in 1951 with the Dulles peace mission, he too had the opportunity to view important Japanese collections of art, and his diplomatic work only strengthened his beliefs in the importance of promoting the art and culture of Asia. The same year as the peace mission to Japan, an exhibition of Japanese art was held in San Francisco in conjunction with the San Francisco Peace Conference. The positive response to this exhibition demonstrated the power of art as a tool for positively influencing public opinion. In 1953, JDR 3rd and Sherman E. Lee, along with other major Asian art scholars and curators, as well as the United States Navy (who transported the works), coordinated an influential exhibition of Japanese art, which travelled to major art museums across America. Over 420,000 people are said to have visited the exhibition.

Zen’en (Japanese, active first half of the 13th century)
Jizo Bosatsu (Bodhisattva Kshitigarbha)
Japan
Kamakura period (1185–1333), 1223–1226
Cypress wood with cut gold leaf and traces of pigment; staff with metal attachments
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.202a–e

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Jizo Bosatsu is worshiped as a savior bodhisattva who will help the devoted during the age of the decay of Buddhist teachings (mappo), before the coming of Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future. The name of the sculptor Zen’en and the names of two successive abbots at the Kōfuku-ji, a temple in Nara, Japan, are inscribed on the interior of the sculpture, which suggest that it was made for that temple. This sculpture dates to the Kamakura period, which is considered to be, as Sherman E. Lee notes in his 1964 edition of A History of Far Eastern Art, part of the pinnacle of “the great Japanese tradition of Buddhist art.”
Attributed to Odawara Kanō school
The Four Seasons (detail)
Japan
Muromachi (1392–1573) or Momoyama (1568–1615) period, mid- to late 16th century
Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink and light color on paper
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.216.1–2

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Attributed to Odawara Kanō school
The Four Seasons (detail)
Japan
Muromachi (1392–1573) or Momoyama (1568–1615) period, mid- to late 16th century
Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink and light color on paper
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.216.1–2

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This pair of folding screens, which depicts a landscape of the four seasons, illustrates the influence of Kanō Motonobu (1476–1559), the founder of the Kanō school in Japan. This hereditary school of painters was employed by the Tokugawa shoguns and dominated Japanese painting from the 16th through 19th century. Reading from right to left, the screens depict the changes in foliage and atmosphere from spring to winter. When John D. Rockefeller 3rd purchased the screens in 1973, following the recommendation of his advisor Sherman E. Lee, they were attributed to Kanō Motonobu himself.
Drum-Shaped Pillow
Japan, Saga Prefecture
Edo period (1615–1868), late 18th–early 19th century
Porcelain painted with overglaze enamels and gold (Arita ware, Imari style)
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.233

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The deep colors and dense patterning of small white cherry blossoms on this pillow are characteristic of enameled Imari ware. For fashionable women of the time, including high-ranking courtesans, pillows like this made for the domestic market would have protected elaborately coiffed hair. Correspondence between John D. Rockefeller 3rd (JDR 3rd) and the dealer who sold him this pillow in 1972 indicates that Sherman E. Lee recommended that JDR 3rd examine the piece. After seeing it in person, JDR 3rd purchased it for his collection.
Mirror
North China, reportedly found in Henan province
Tang period (618–906), ca. 8th century
Bronze with gold and silver inlays in lacquer
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.119

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The decoration on the back of this mirror illustrates the exquisite gold and silver craftsmanship of the Tang period. To create the exquisite design, thin sheets of precious metals were cut into delicate patterns and set in a layer of wet lacquer. When dry, the surface was polished, and the inlaid metals were detailed with a small chisel. Chinese Tang period artworks were a major source of inspiration for Japanese artists and have been highly valued in Japan since the eighth century. Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd purchased this mirror from a Japanese art dealer in 1973 after the dealer obtained an export permission from the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs, the Bunkacho. A comparable mirror was acquired in the same year by the Cleveland Museum of Art under the recommendation of Sherman E. Lee.
Nonomura Ninsei (Japanese, ca. 1574–1660/66)
Tea Leaf Jar
Japan, Kyoto Prefecture
Edo period (1615–1868), mid-17th century
Stoneware painted with overglaze enamels and silver (Kyoto ware)
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.251

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One of only a handful of seventeenth-century potters whose name is recognized today, Ninsei operated an extremely successful kiln in Kyoto called Omuro that catered primarily to important patrons in Edo (present-day Tokyo). His seal is imprinted on the unglazed base of this jar. John D. Rockefeller 3rd purchased this jar from a Japanese dealer in 1973. The exportation of the piece required special permission from the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs, the Bunkacho, who ultimately deemed it good policy for a first-class Japanese ceramic to exist outside of Japan.
Storage Jar
Korea
Joseon period (1392–1910), ca. mid-18th century
Porcelain painted with underglaze cobalt blue
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.196

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Made at the court-patronized kilns near the capital of Korea (present-day Seoul), this jar may have been intended for the wealthy Korean literati class rather than for the imperial court itself. The user would have especially appreciated the auspicious decorative motif: the pine tree, crane, and moon are traditional symbols of longevity. Japanese practitioners of the ritual art of preparing and drinking tea (chanoyu) prized Korean ceramics like this one for their qualities of imperfect beauty and irregular shapes.