This presentation examines Japanese woodblock-printed painting manuals from the mid-17th to early 20th centuries through a focused study of Hokusai Manga. Preserved in Belgian collections at UCLouvain (Louvain-la-Neuve) and the Royal Museum of Art and History (Brussels), the work exemplifies manuals that transmitted artistic lineages, techniques, and visual knowledge. The paper contrasts two collection histories: a post–World War I Japanese governmental donation and private collecting during the height of Japonisme. By tracing Hokusai Manga’s shifting functions—from self-instruction in Japan to a curated cultural object in Belgium—the study highlights contrasts between cultural diplomacy and Western fascination.
Terryn et al. (Wed,) studied this question.