N E W LIT E RATI : F U K U DA K ODO J I N A N D E ARL Y 2 0 T H C E N T U R Y N A N G A – TAASA Review June 2012

Rhiannon Paget J apanese literati painting or nanga from the early 20th century has been long neglected by studies of both literati and modern painting.

Surveys of nanga tend to conclude with the mid-19th century, suggesting that what followed represents the movement’s decline.

The antiquarian and independent tendencies of nanga have meant that it has been similarly marginalised by the preference for linear progression and academic painting among scholars of modern art. The liminal position of modern nanga, between China and Japan, ancient and modern, however, makes it a rewarding subject of inquiry for those seeking to understand Japanese painting...