Shaping the Image of Japan: Nation Branding in the Early 20th Century

Friday 6 and Saturday 7 February, 2026

This winter, the Japan Museum SieboldHuis in Leiden hosts a solo exhibition dedicated to Kawase Hasui, master of the 20th-century landscape print — marking the first exhibition of its kind in Europe. Following an exclusive SJA viewing of the exhibition on Friday, the symposium will continue on Saturday with four lectures in the Wereldmuseum. The event concludes with a cocktail party and optional dinner.

We are delighted to announce an exciting list of speakers: Gennifer Weisenfeld, Alicia Volk, Kendall Brown and Monika Hinkel. Their lectures will explore how Japanese artists such as Hasui navigated the turbulent first half of the twentieth century.

To sign up, please use the form at the bottom of this page.

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Programme:

Friday 6 February - Japan Museum SieboldHuis, Leiden

17:00–18:30 - collective visit to the exhibition Kawase Hasui: Capturing the Soul of Japan
- from 17:30 until 18:30 drinks are offered on the ground floor of the SieboldHuis

Saturday 7 February - Wereldmuseum, Leiden

10:00–10:30 - coffee/tea
10:30–11:15 - Monika Hinkel (School of Oriental and Asian Studies)
- Branding Japan: Late Meiji Visual Culture and the Construction of National Identity
- 11:15–11:30 - Q&A
11:30–12:15 - Gennifer Weisenfeld (Duke University)
- Selling Japan: Tourism and The Fine Art of Persuasion
- 12:15–12:30 - Q&A
12:30–14:00 - Lunch break
14:00–14:45 - Alica Volk (University of Maryland)
- A Nation of Art and Culture: Soft Power, Democracy, and Contested Visions for Printmaking in Occupied Japan
- 14:45–15:00 - Q&A
15:00–15:45 - Kendall Brown (California State University, Long Beach)
- Echoes of Nature and Culture: A Proposed Exhibition of the Landscape Prints of Henri Rivière & Kawase Hasui
- 15:45–16:00 - Q&A
16:15–17:45 - drinks
18:00 – dinner at the Prentenkabinet (optional)

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Participation

For members of the Society For Japanese Art the participation fee is €45 (students: €12,50; non-members: €75).
The fee includes:

Coffee/tea and lunch on Saturday 7 February
Drinks after each symposium day
One free-access voucher to the SieboldHuis exhibition if you cannot attend on Friday
NOT included: symposium dinner on Saturday (optional, €65).

The maximum number of participants is 80 persons. Registration is on first-come, first-served basis.

You can sign up using the form below (if you are a member, please make sure to log in to pay the member's fee). If you are eligible for a student discount, please email the secretary with a copy of your student ID: secretary@societyforjapaneseart.org.

We hope to see you there!

Sign up for the symposium below