安本亀八の風俗人形 : 欧米博物館への作品寄贈と財界人 <査読論文>

In the late 19th century, Japanese collections housed at ethnographic museums in Europe and the USA included life-sized figures exhibiting aspects of Japanese life, in particular, kimonos. Most of these figures were purchased by people visiting Japan at around that time. Six figures can be attributed to Kamehachi Yasumoto III, who learnt realistic representation and simple structure in creating Iki-ningyo from his father. Around 1900, he modified the masks he created to have a neutral, delicate expression and refined the body structure to one that would look better in kimonos. His acknowledgement of contemporary demands provided him a platform to display his figures in international expositions and department stores.
The donation of Yasumoto’s figures to Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow, UK, and Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, USA, indicates that Japanese entrepreneurs were committed to improving the figures representing Japan to correct the false perceptions about their country. Yasumoto was commissioned the figures because of his elegant style and reputation established at the time his father was active in the field. The reserved expression on the faces of his models were perceived positively, resulting in the figures being accepted as museum displays for over 60 years.