The Rediscovery of Japan: The Critical Reception of Japanese Architecture in Portugal after the Opening of Japan to the West

The opening of Japanese ports to the West in 1854 enabled the rediscovery by the rest of the world of Japan as a country, which, until then and throughout the more than two centuries of the Sakoku or closed country period, had maintained an isolationist policy in relation to the outside world. This...

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Main Author: João Miguel Couto Duarte
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Athens Institute for Education and Research 2023-01-01
Series:Athens Journal of Architecture
Online Access:https://www.athensjournals.gr/architecture/2023-9-1-3-Duarte.pdf
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author João Miguel Couto Duarte
author_facet João Miguel Couto Duarte
author_sort João Miguel Couto Duarte
collection DOAJ
description The opening of Japanese ports to the West in 1854 enabled the rediscovery by the rest of the world of Japan as a country, which, until then and throughout the more than two centuries of the Sakoku or closed country period, had maintained an isolationist policy in relation to the outside world. This opening up allowed for contact with Japanese art, including architecture, which was progressively absorbed by Western art, giving rise to Japonisme. Portugal was receptive to Japonisme, even if that receptiveness was motivated more by a taste for the exotic than genuine interest in the values of Japanese art. Even though its influence on Portuguese architecture was practically zero, Japanese architecture was divulged in Portugal. The aim of this paper is to determine an initial understanding of the reception of Japanese architecture in Portuguese books and architecture-related magazines published in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The investigation is sustained in interpretative-historical research, and seeks to assess how the contact with Japanese architecture unfolded and also examine the reasons behind its dissemination in Portuguese publications. This assessment is preceded by a contextualisation that sets out to clarify the reception given to Japonisme in the Portuguese art scene.
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spelling doaj.art-fe2f56a17cdc42819c8da5594f259fc32023-01-09T10:58:43ZengAthens Institute for Education and ResearchAthens Journal of Architecture2407-94722023-01-0191558210.30958/aja.9-1-3The Rediscovery of Japan: The Critical Reception of Japanese Architecture in Portugal after the Opening of Japan to the West João Miguel Couto Duarte0Assistant Professor/Research Fellow, Lusíada University/CITAD – Centre for Research in Territory, Architecture and Design, PortugalThe opening of Japanese ports to the West in 1854 enabled the rediscovery by the rest of the world of Japan as a country, which, until then and throughout the more than two centuries of the Sakoku or closed country period, had maintained an isolationist policy in relation to the outside world. This opening up allowed for contact with Japanese art, including architecture, which was progressively absorbed by Western art, giving rise to Japonisme. Portugal was receptive to Japonisme, even if that receptiveness was motivated more by a taste for the exotic than genuine interest in the values of Japanese art. Even though its influence on Portuguese architecture was practically zero, Japanese architecture was divulged in Portugal. The aim of this paper is to determine an initial understanding of the reception of Japanese architecture in Portuguese books and architecture-related magazines published in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The investigation is sustained in interpretative-historical research, and seeks to assess how the contact with Japanese architecture unfolded and also examine the reasons behind its dissemination in Portuguese publications. This assessment is preceded by a contextualisation that sets out to clarify the reception given to Japonisme in the Portuguese art scene. https://www.athensjournals.gr/architecture/2023-9-1-3-Duarte.pdf
spellingShingle João Miguel Couto Duarte
The Rediscovery of Japan: The Critical Reception of Japanese Architecture in Portugal after the Opening of Japan to the West
Athens Journal of Architecture
title The Rediscovery of Japan: The Critical Reception of Japanese Architecture in Portugal after the Opening of Japan to the West
title_full The Rediscovery of Japan: The Critical Reception of Japanese Architecture in Portugal after the Opening of Japan to the West
title_fullStr The Rediscovery of Japan: The Critical Reception of Japanese Architecture in Portugal after the Opening of Japan to the West
title_full_unstemmed The Rediscovery of Japan: The Critical Reception of Japanese Architecture in Portugal after the Opening of Japan to the West
title_short The Rediscovery of Japan: The Critical Reception of Japanese Architecture in Portugal after the Opening of Japan to the West
title_sort rediscovery of japan the critical reception of japanese architecture in portugal after the opening of japan to the west
url https://www.athensjournals.gr/architecture/2023-9-1-3-Duarte.pdf
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