Woman with a Basket of Flowers - Kakuoka Akimitsu, Japan 1930-40

Woman with a Basket of Flowers, Kakuoka Akimitsu, Carved Wood, Japan circa 1930-40
This majestic sculpture, carved from a single piece of cerused wood by Kakuoka Akimitsu around 1930-1940, depicts a standing woman delicately holding with her left hand, a basket of flowers resting on her hip. The light subtly plays on the multiple facets left by the chisel, highlighting the refined details of the surface. The garment, with its flowing drapes, contrasts with the hieratic posture of the figure, emphasizing both fluidity and stillness.
Although Japanese, this work reveals a strong Western classical influence.
Beyond the international Art Deco movement, philhellenism, or admiration for Greek culture, significantly influenced Japanese sculpture between 1920 and 1945. This phenomenon, still little known in the West, contrasts with the well-known Buddhist sculptures and Japanese okimonos.
To understand this movement, the research of Michael Lucken, Director of the Center for Japanese Studies at Inalco, is essential. Lucken demonstrates that this Greek influence was not merely superficial admiration but a profound assimilation of an ancient culture during a period of Japanese ultranationalism. Unlike a circumstantial emulation of German neoclassicism, this adoption of Greek aesthetics aimed to distance itself from Chinese influence and align Japanese culture directly with ancient Greece.
The opening of Japan during the Meiji era marked an intensive learning of Western artistic techniques and themes. The first art school, created in 1876 by the Ministry of Industry, aimed to train young people capable of supporting the nascent industry. Italian artists, such as the sculptor Vincenzo Ragusa, were invited to teach and introduced plaster casts as study models. This training, based on the study of classical sculpture, has endured, making plaster collections a standard in Japanese art schools.
Since the 1890s, each art school in Japan has accumulated plaster collections, and students had to master these models before entering prestigious institutions through competitive exams. Japanese artists of the 1930s-40s, who created works in a neoclassical vein, all underwent this rigorous training.
This Greek influence allowed Japanese artists to break away from Chinese heritage, redirecting their culture towards a direct connection with the ancient Greek world. Aizu Yaichi, a professor of art history, wrote in 1922 : "Nara in the world's art history is the last blaze of magnificent Greek sculpture."
The works produced during this period are rare and practically absent from Western collections. Their production was limited due to the tumultuous war period and the subsequent desire for renewal.
This sculpture, made in paulownia wood, measuring 130 x 60 x 30 cm, is a precious testimony of this unique period in Japanese art history.