臺南美術史

Yakimoto Yoshiharu, Taisho Park, 1932, the 6th Taiten
Source: The catalogue of the 6th Taiten

This painting by Yakimoto Yoshiharu (years of birth and death unknown) was selected into the Yoga (Western-style painting) Division of the 6th Taiten (Taiwan Art Exhibition). The artist delineated the scenery of Tainan’s Taisho Park (now Tang Te-chang Memorial Park) at eye level. The work comprises brisk, solid brushstrokes, and guides the spectator’s sight line with the pathway to focus on the statue of Kodama Gentaro (兒玉源太郎; 1852-1906), which forms the center of the image. Furthermore, the artist adds the trees and street lamp to increase the depth. The addition of the street lamp creates both a challenge and fun to the composition, and shows the modernized facility in the Tainan area during the period of Japanese rule. Taisho Park, as the center of the city improvement plan, is connected to external roads, the Tainan Prefectural Government building, and the Tainan Prefectural Council in a radiating manner, which symbolizes the colonizer’s dominating line of sight.

References
Lee, Shu-Pei. “A Study of Landscapes of Tainan in the Catalogues of the Taiten and the Futen during the Period of Japanese Rule.” The 2022 NCAF Visual Arts Grant for Study and Research – 2nd Phase, 2023.
Liu, Chi-Yu. “Yakimoto Yoshiharu – Taisho Park.” Missing Pieces: Taifuten Historical Archives. https://taifuten.com/oblect/大正公園/#squelch-taas-toggle-shortcode-content-2 (Viewed on 2023.8.24).
Huang, Tung-Fu. “Final Report of the Research on (Taiwanese and Japanese) Tainan-based Artists in Government-sponsored Fine Arts Exhibitions during the Period of Japanese Rule.” Tainan City: Tainan Art Museum, 2019.