ABSTRACT
Looking at the Japanese creative arts since 1900 from our vantage point late in this century, it certainly appears that, despite enthusiastic adoption of the international and modernist modes, the authentic Japanese sensibility has remained powerful. The vocabularies chosen may have shifted, but many of the unarticulated assumptions concerning the purposes and techniques of art remain, fortunately, firmly entrenched. There is perhaps no better place to observe this subtle continuity than in the field of modern Japanese prints, of which the Arthur M.Sackler Gallery has a particularly impressive collection. Many of these works are of the highest quality. They use an international means of expression, yet they are altogether Japanese.
