Art of the Japanese Postcard

The Leonard A. Lauder Collection at the MFA, Boston

Exhibition: March 10–June 6, 2004
Curator: Anne Nishimura Morse

During the first decades of the twentieth century, the new medium of the postcard quickly replaced the traditional woodblock print as the favored tableau for contemporary Japanese images. Hundreds of millions of postcards were produced to meet the demands of a public eager to acquire pictures of their rapidly modernizing nation. Many of the first cards were distributed by the government in connection with the Russo-Japanese War (1904–5), to promote the war effort. Almost immediately, however, many of Japan’s leading artists—attracted by the informality and intimacy of the postcard medium—began to create stunning designs. For these painters and graphic designers postcards also provided exciting opportunities to experiment with the latest European styles, such as Art Nouveau and Art Deco.

Between 1900 and 1940, Japan was transformed into an international, industrial, and urban society. Postcards—both a fresh form of visual expression and an important means of advertising—reveal much about the dramatically changing values of Japanese society at the time.

In March 2002 Leonard A. Lauder donated his collection of more than twenty thousand Japanese postcards to the Museum of Fine Arts. These works largely date from the early twentieth century to the years just before World War Two and represent an astonishing array of subjects and styles.

Anne Nishimura Morse is curator of Japanese Art.

The media sponsor for the exhibition was Classical 102.5 WCRB.

Themes in Japanese Postcards

Select a category to thematically browse a selection of the works in this collection:

Postcard History

The craze for postcards in the early twentieth century, the development of the postal service, the growth of the printing industry, and the appearance of shops specializing in the sale of cards.

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Artists

Postcards created by many of the leading artists of the early twentieth century.

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Art Nouveau

Japanese artists were excited by the fluid, curving lines of this sumptuous European style, which they integrated into their own designs.

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Art Deco

The style associated with the cosmopolitan urban culture that blossomed in Japan during the 1920s and 1930s. Known for geometric patterns, linear stylization, and saturated colors, Art Deco was embraced by graphic designers creating advertisements and New Year’s cards.

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Advertising

Diverse images produced by large and small companies in response to Japan’s growing consumer society.

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Ehagaki sekai (World of Picture Postcards)

Humorous designs produced for the supplement to the satirical magazine Kokkei shinbun.

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New Year’s Cards

Designs created to communicate traditional greetings at the advent of the year.

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Russo-Japanese War (1904–5)

Images of military engagements as well as of celebrations on the home front at the conclusion of the conflict, when Japan established itself as a major international power.

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