ON THE LAWS OF JAPANESE PAINTING AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF
THE ART OF JAPAN BY HENRY P. JBOWIE WITH PREFATORY REMARKS BY IWAYA
SAZANAMI AND HIRAI KINZA ILLUSTRATED PAUL ELDER AND COMPANY
PUBLISHERS SAN FRANCISCO COPYRIGHT, 1911 By HENRY P. BOWIE ENTERED
AT STATIONERS HALL, LONDON DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF KUBOTA BEISEN
A GREAT ARTIST AND A KINDLY MAN, WHOSE HAPPINESS WAS IN HELPING
OTHERS AND WHOSE TRIUMPHANT CAREER HAS SHED ENDURING LUSTRE UPON
THE ART OF JAPANESE PAINTING Introduction THIRST of all, I should
state that in the year 1909 I accompanied the Honorable Japanese
Commercial Commissioners in their visit to the various American
capitals and other cities of the United States where we were met
with the heartiest welcome, and for which we all felt the most
profound gratitude. We were all so happy, but I was especially so
indeed, it would be impossible to be more happy than I felt, and
particularly was this true of one day, namely y the twenty-seventh
of November of the year named, when Henry jP. Bowie, Esq., invited
us to his residence in San Mateo, where we found erected by him, a
Memorial Gate to commemorate our victories in the Japanese -
Russian War and its dedication had been reserved for this day of
our visit Suspended above the portals was a bronze tablet inscribed
with letters written by my late father, Ichi Roku. The evening of
that same day we were invited by our host to a reception extended
to us in San Francisco by the Japan Society of America, where I had
the honor of delivering a short address on Japanese folk-lore. In
adjoining halls was exhibited a large collection of Japanese
writings and paintings, the latter chiefly the work of the artist,
KitbotaIBeisen, while the writings were from the brush of my
deceased father, between whom and Mr. Bowie there existed the
relations of the warmest friendship and mutual esteem. Two years or
more have passed and I am now in receipt of information from Mr.
Shimada Sekko that Mr. Bowie is about to publish a work upon the
laws of Japanese painting and I am requested to write a preface to
the same. I am well aware how unfitted I am for such an undertaking
f but in view of all I have here related I feel I am not permitted
to refuse. Indeed, it seems to me that the art of our country has
for many years past been introduced to the public of Europe and
America in all sorts of ways f and hundreds of books about Japanese
art have appeared in several foreign languages but I have been
privately alarmed for the reason that a great many such books
contain either superficial observations made during sightseeing
sojourns of six months or a year in our country or are but hasty
commentaries 9 compilations f extracts or references f chosen here
and therefrom other Introduction volumes. A II work of this kind
must be considered extremely super jlcial. But Mr. Bowie has
resided many years in Japan. He thoroughly understands our
institutions and national life he is accustomed to our ways, and is
Jully conversant with our language and literature, and he
understands both our arts of ivriting and painting. Indeed I feel
he knows about such matters more than many of my own countrymen
added to this, his taste is instinctively well adapted to the
Oriental atmosphere of thought and is in har mony with Japanese
ideals. And it is he who is the author of the present volume. To
others a labor of the kind would be very greatto Mr. Bowie it is a
work of no such difficulty, and it must surely prove a source of
priceless instruction not only to Europeans and Americans, but to
my own countrymen, who will learn not a little from it. Ah, how
fortunate do we feel it to be that such a book will appear in lands
so far removed from our native shores. Nozv that I learn that Mr.
Bowie has written this book the happiness of two years ago is again
renewed, and from this far-off country I offer him. my warmest
congratulations, with the confident hope that his work will prove
fruitfully effective...
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