A Consideration of the Relationship between Sculpture and Craft in Takamura Koun's Old Monkey

Abstract

Takamura Koun's Old Monkey, exhibited at the World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893, was heralded by American critics not only for the exoticism, but also for the work's realistic, volumetric sculptural rendering of the figure. Standing 119 cm high, Old Monkey attests to Koun's appreciation of the monumentality of Western sculpture. At the same time, the artist sculpted the rock upon which the monkey is perched to resemble a common okimono-an ornament placed in the traditional Japanese alcove-which is evidence of his continuing interest in Japanese craft traditions. For Koun, "sculpture" was not defined in terms of Greek conceptions of form, but rather was based on the Japanese traditions of Buddhist sculpture and okimono crafts. The origins of modern Japanese sculpture are rooted in Japanese craft traditions. Thus, even Koun's son, Kotaro, who was an admirer of Rodin and found the conception and execution of Old Monkey to be crude, sculpted small, craft-like works in wood such as Lotus Root and Pomegranate.