Allen After Hours / The Dragon in Japan: Rainmaker, Decorator, Ambassador

Dragons—controllers of weather, bringers of life-giving rain, and symbols of imperial majesty—have played a leading role in the Chinese imagination for many millennia. Dragon-like creatures play a role in Japan’s foundation myths, but it was not until the medieval period that the Chinese version of this fabulous beast established itself as a subject for Japanese painting. Dragons entered the mainstream of Japanese pictorial and decorative art during the Edo period (1615–1868) and enjoyed a significant revival during the Meiji era (1868–1912) contributing to the symbolism of an assertive nation, active in global trade, identity-building, and imperial endeavor. Joe Earle, independent arts consultant and former Director of the Japan Society Gallery in New York, will trace the history of the dragon in China and Japan and then, drawing on contemporary sources and design manuals, focus on the scaly monster’s predominance during the expansive decades around 1900 when the Oberlin bronze dragon was made—and speculate as to its likely designer.