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Toru Haga

はが とおる

Haga Toru

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1931-05-09 （Tokyo Prefecture (now Tokyo)）
Died
2020-02-20 （Tokyo, Japan） age 88
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese, French
Residence History
Yamagata Prefecture (childhood) → Tokyo (birthplace and education) → France (study abroad) → Okazaki (museum director) → Shizuoka Prefecture (museum director) → Kyoto (Kyoto University of Art and Design)

Career

Occupations
Literary scholar, Comparative literature scholar, University professor, Museum director, University president, Researcher
Active Years
1953-2020
Affiliations
University of Tokyo, International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken), Taisho University, Okazaki City Museum of Art, Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art, Kyoto University of Art and Design
Memberships
Japan Art Academy
Influenced By
Kinji Shimada, French poets / French culture
Influenced
Masato Fukuda, Hideaki Sugita

Education

University of Tokyo, College of Arts and Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences, French Studies / College of Arts and Sciences
Degree: 学士
Period: 1949-1953
Year of Graduation: 1953
Country: Japan
One of the first cohort in French studies
University of Tokyo Graduate School, Comparative Literature and Culture
Comparative Literature and Culture
Country: Japan
Studied comparative literature under Kinji Shimada
University of Tokyo
Graduate School / Comparative Literature and Culture
Degree: 文学博士
Period: 1985
Year of Graduation: 1985
Country: Japan
Doctoral thesis 'The Domain of Painting: Studies in Modern Japanese Comparative Cultural History'
Study in France
Period: 1950年代
Country: France
Studied in France to engage with French poetry and art

Awards

Suntory Academic Prize
1981
Work: Hiraga Gennai
Organization: Suntory (Suntory Foundation / Suntory)
Result: recipient
Osaragi Jiro Prize
1984
Work: The Domain of Painting
Organization: Osaragi Jiro Prize Committee
Result: recipient
Meiji-mura Museum Prize
1993
Organization: Meiji-mura (Meiji Village Museum)
Result: recipient
Medal with Purple Ribbon
1997
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: recipient
Kyoto Shimbun Culture and Academic Prize
2000
Organization: Kyoto Shimbun
Result: recipient
Order of the Sacred Treasure (middle class)
2006
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: recipient
Rennyo Prize
2011
Work: Art Nation Japan: Symphony of Painting and Text
Organization: Rennyo Prize Committee
Result: recipient
Contemporary Haiku Grand Prize
2012
Organization: Contemporary Haiku Grand Prize Committee
Result: recipient
Kyoto City Cultural Merit
2012
Organization: Kyoto City
Result: recipient
Inoue Yasushi Memorial Cultural Prize
2017
Organization: Asahikawa City (sponsor)
Result: recipient
Japan Art Academy Prize & Imperial Award
2018
Organization: Japan Art Academy
Result: recipient
Senior Fourth Rank (posthumous)
2020
Organization: Government of Japan (official gazette)
Result: posthumous conferment

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Envoys of the Great Lord

1968 History / Comparative Culture

An early major study that examines Japan's encounters with Europe and America from a comparative cultural perspective, including discussions of the Iwakura Mission and related sources.

East–West cultural exchangeModernizationDiplomatic history

Hiraga Gennai

1981 Biography

A biographical study of the Edo-period polymath Hiraga Gennai, interweaving his life with the cultural context of his time.

Edo cultureBiographical historyImages of intellectuals

The Domain of Painting: Studies in Modern Japanese Comparative Cultural History

1984 Art history / Comparative cultural history

A study that reexamines modern Japanese cultural reception through the lens of painting, using comparative cultural approaches; part of the work that formed his doctoral thesis.

Painting and cultural receptionComparative cultural historyModern Japan

Art Nation Japan: Symphony of Painting and Text

2010 Art criticism / Cultural studies

A later major work that treats the intersection of Japanese art and literature as an exchange of image and text, presenting an integrated analysis.

Intersection of art and literatureComprehensive study of Japanese culture

Tokugawa Japan as a Civilization

2017 Cultural history / Comparative culture

A reevaluation of Tokugawa-period culture and society from the viewpoint of civilization studies, introducing ideas such as 'Pax Tokugawana' to propose new perspectives.

Reassessment of Tokugawa culturePax TokugawanaComparative civilization studies

Writings of Diplomats: Another Modern Japanese Comparative Cultural History

2020 Comparative cultural history / Essays

A posthumous collection of essays that reexamines modern Japan through diplomatic writings; published in 2020 (posthumous work).

Diplomatic historyText and cultureReexamination of modern Japan

Bibliography

  • The Envoys of the Great Lord
  • Watanabe Kazan: The Gentle Traveler
  • The Lineage of 'Midaregami'
  • Hiraga Gennai
  • The Domain of Painting: Studies in Modern Japanese Comparative Cultural History
  • The Small World of Yosa Buson
  • Circulation of Culture: The Pleasure of Comparative Culture
  • Western Observations of the Iwakura Mission: Reading 'Beikoku Kairan Jikki'
  • Country of Poetry, Country of Poets
  • Into the Forest of Poetry: An Invitation to Japanese Poetry
  • Art Nation Japan: Symphony of Painting and Text
  • Tokugawa Japan as a Civilization
  • Streams of the Utopia: A Comparative Cultural History of East Asian Poetry and Painting
  • Writings of Diplomats: Another Modern Japanese Comparative Cultural History

Translations by Author

  • The Western World and Japan (translated with others; George Sansom)
  • The Japanese Discovery of the West (translated with Donald Keene)
  • The Art of Japan (translated with Samuel Bing)

Translations of Works

  • Tokugawa Japan as a Civilization — English translation 'PAX TOKUGAWANA'

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Comparative-cultural argumentationScholarly prose spanning history and artDescriptions informed by a sensitive response to poetry
Recurring Motifs
Reexamination of Tokugawa / Edo cultureVarious aspects of East–West cultural exchangeIntersection of painting and poetryModernization and cultural reception

Health

  • gallbladder cancer
    2019-2020
    Underwent treatment and passed away in 2020 (age 88)

Legacy

A scholar who approached modern Japanese art and literature from comparative-literary and comparative-cultural perspectives. He trained many students at universities and research institutions, served as museum director and university president, and continued writing and lecturing into his later years. Widely recognized domestically and internationally, his reputation is multifaceted, including controversy over his support for the 'Textbook Reform' movement.

Museums

  • Okazaki City Museum of Art Okazaki, Aichi, Japan
  • Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan

Academic Societies

  • Japan Art Academy

Archives

  • International Research Center for Japanese Studies (possible repository of research materials)

Quotes

  • Pax Tokugawana
    Source: Mentioned in writings and lectures (coined term)

Trivia

  • Was a supporter and officer of the 'Association for Creating New History Textbooks' (Tsukuru-kai)
  • His father was the historian Koshirō Haga
  • Received the Contemporary Haiku Grand Prize in 2012
  • Elected a member of the Japan Art Academy in 2018