Moga: Modern Women & Daughters in 1930s Japan

The "modern girl" (modan gāru or moga) captured the public imagination in 1920s Japan prioritizing an independent lifestyle and challenging the traditional state-sanctioned ideal of the "good wife, wise mother" (ryosai kenbo). Nonetheless, the ideal role of women in Japanese society was not one-dimensional and continued to diversify during the 1930s. Moga: Modern Women & Daughters in 1930s Japan brings paintings of mothers and daughters back into the conversation about moga, exhibiting them beside other, more popular imagery of the "modern girl."

Drawn from a private collection, many of the paintings in the exhibition originated in the noted Meguro Gajoen 目黒雅叙園 (currently Hotel Gojoen Tokyo ホテル雅叙園東京), a massive entertainment complex that first opened in 1931, filled with artworks from various periods. The founder of the Meguro Gajoen, Hosokawa Rikizō 細川力蔵 (1889-1945), was a great patron of Japanese-style paintings (nihonga) which blended Western motifs and perspective techniques with traditional Japanese painting materials and methods. He collected many notable artists from the early Shōwa period (1926-1989), selecting works that would appeal to his middle- and upper-class customers.

Almost all of the paintings in the Meguro Gajoen collection featured women. The vast majority were classical depictions, as well as reinterpretations of the traditional Japanese beauty (bijin). Yet, among these traditional artworks were also many paintings of contemporary women. Both modern in appearance and traditional in values, these works from the walls of the Meguro Gajoen featured women and children engaged in scenes from everyday life. Paintings of mothers and children have received less attention than those of the typical, progressive moga, which have tended to be the primary focus of past museum exhibitions and academic narratives. Moga: Modern Women & Daughters in 1930s Japan is a nuanced exploration of feminine representation during a period of dramatic change.