Toshi Yoshida’s Sacred Grove in Twentieth-Century Japanese Visual Culture

We examine the personal, historical, and political contexts of Toshi Yoshida’s woodblock print, Kami no Mori (“Sacred Grove”), 1941, and argue that it is best understood and appreciated from the perspective of romantic nationalism. During this period, many Japanese artists were co-opted by the state to produce saikan hokoku, or “art in the service of the war.” At the same time, the Japanese Romantic School was emphasizing the renunciation of modernity and a return to classical Japan by attempting to resurrect cultural and ethnic foundations on which to build a new Japanese national identity. Sacred Grove, we argue, was part of that effort. This can be shown by juxtaposing it with Hokusai Katsushika’s iconic Kanagawa-oki Nami Ura (“The Great Wave off Kanagawa”), 1831. The Great Wave published shortly before Japan was forced to open itself to the outside world, and includes a massive wave appearing to tower over and frame Mt. Fuji. The wave has been asserted to represent the irresistible force of foreigners and foreign influence on Japan, threatening to inundate and wash away traditional Japanese society and culture. In contrast, Sacred Grove published shortly after Japan began forcing itself on the outside world. The viewpoint of the image is looking into sacred and secluded core space, and the shrine among the towering trees is a metaphor for the endurance and solidity of traditional Japanese culture in the face of external influence. In that light, Yoshida’s print reflects a radical shift in the Japanese self-image in that it conveys a message of strength and inspiration from the ancient, enduring, unifying, and immovable object of divine origin and blessing supporting and defending Nihon and the “Children of the Sun.” However, whether Yoshida’s effort to advance romantic nationalism was meant to support or repudiate the imperialistic state is unclear.