How-to-paint books
CHECK RECENT ARTICLE IN JAPAN FORUM ON GEOGRAPHY TEXTBOOKS IN COLONIAL TAIWAN
The selection of traditional painting manuals (consisting primarily of images to be used for copying practice, gafū) and more recent largely text based how-to-paint books at the Taiwan Government General Library is speaks to the educational aspirations of the library. The subsection of the 812 Japanese and Chinese Painting dedicated to painting techniques had 13 books in 1917, and by 1927 acquired additional 15. Among them were two Japanese translations of the widely renowned Chinese painting manual from the early Qing dynasty, Kaishien gaden (En. Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden, Ch. Jieziyuan Huazhuan), as well as three different "How to paint nihonga" books by contemporary Japanese artists (ADD REF).
Similarly, the 814 Western Painting section had a total of 13 technique-related books in 1917, and acquired additional 23 by 1927. Their subject matter ranged from how to paint in oils, watercolor, pencil drawing, and crayon, to how to handle composition, human figure, and landscape. The library owned Yamamoto Kanae's extremely popular Aburae no egakikata (How to paint in oil), as well as two publications by the renowned watercolor artist, long-term resident of Taiwan, and exhibition juror, Ishikawa Kinichirō: Shasei shinsetsu (New Text on Sketching, 1914), and Shindai gajutsu (Painting Techniques for the New Times, 1926) (ADD REF to the two catalogues).
How-to-paint books carefully targeted their audience. Some explained the basics to amateur painters in pursuit of hobby and pleasure. Others catered to young aspiring artists, providing advice on the development of an artistic career and the steps necessary to establish oneself professionally. Yet others provided highly technical information about pigments and painting techniques relevant to professional artists. Overall, the authors seemed aware of the limitations of the book medium in artistic transmission and thus focused on practical matters, such as necessary equipment, basic drawing skills, and encouragement. Many prominent artists in Japan as well as some artists of the middle ranks penned how-to-paint books. This activity must have provided additional income and was an extension of their work as art instructors in public schools and private ateliers.
A pamphlet published on the occasion of the Library Week at the Taiwan Government General Library in 1932, Saikin ōku yomareta ryōsho 200shu (Selection of 200 Popular Books), suggests that how-to books were especially popular among the library's users. Except for Tōyō bijutsu no chishiki (Knowledge of Eastern Art) and Sankō sekai bijutsu yomihon seiyō hen (Reference Reader in World Art: Volume on Western Art), all other positions listed in the arts section were how-to books on the various techniques of printing, sketching, oil painting, and photography, headed by Ōta Saburō's Aburae no egakikata (How to Paint in Oil).