John Ruskin and Kenji Miyazawa

An Idea of Nomin-Geijutsu (Peasant Art) and its European Legacy

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Abstract

My paper concerns an aspect of Ruskin’s influence on modern Japan, focusing on the life and work of Kenji Miyazawa (1896-1933), poet and author of children’s stories, who organised Rasu Chijin Kyōkai (Rasu Farmers Association) in the poverty-stricken farming communities of northern Japan, Hanamaki, Iwate prefecture, in 1926. The association was arguably influenced by Ruskin’s Guild of St George, as well as by his commitment to the Working Men’s College. Ruskin’s work had been introduced into Japan during the Taishō Era (1912-1926), with quite a few works translated into Japanese, including Unto This Last and Modern Painters.


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Published Dec. 15, 2020 | Language: en

Keywords Guild of St George • Modern Japan • Rasu Chijin Kyōkai (Rasu Farmers Association) • Working Men’s College • Kenji Miyazawa • Taishō Era • John Ruskin • Nōmin-Geijutsu (Peasant Art)

Copyright © 2020 Yasuo Kawabata. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-487-5/021


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