Abstract
This paper sheds new light on Japanese perceptions of Persia and, from a broader perspective, Oriental art and archaeology in the early 20th century. Previous studies exploring Japan’s shaping of the “Orient” in the field of art during this period, primarily focused on Japanese relations with East Asia. In contrast, this study considers how the notion of the “Orient” was expanded to include not only China, Korea, and India, but also Persia, and examines the broader meaning of “Persia” and how “Persian art” became part of the Japanese drive to reconstruct the “greatest Oriental museum.” It addresses these questions by focusing on the travels of Kuroita Katsumi (1874–1946), a professor of Japanese history at Tokyo Imperial University, through Persia, and his cultural activities after he returned to Japan in 1928. Specifically, it explores his participation in the Keimeikai 10th Anniversary Exhibition of Oriental art and the Committee to Support the Imperial Household Museum’s Restoration (Teishitsu Hakubutsukan Fukkō Yokusankai). This paper concludes by arguing that Persian art, with its historical connection to Japan substantiated by Kuroita’s journey, played a key role in expanding the “Orient” to encompass the entire region of West Asia and Egypt.
