Ukiyo-e, Once Used as Wrapping Paper, Reborn as a ₩3.9 Billion Masterpiece: The Secret

In 2025, 125 pieces from the Hakone Sarin Art Museum collection were put up for auction at Sotheby's Hong Kong and completely sold out. This auction was held to raise urgent funds due to a lawsuit involving the museum's founder. Hokusai's representative work, 'The Great Wave off Kanagawa,' fetched a high price of ₩3.9 billion at this auction, once again proving the value of ukiyo-e.

Ukiyo-e were mass-produced woodblock prints in the Edo period, with quantities ranging from a minimum of 5,000 to 15,000 prints. This was made possible by a sophisticated division of labor system among artists, carvers, printers, and publishers. At the time, they were perceived and consumed more as commercial publications than as works of art.

The more a woodblock print is produced, the more the woodblock wears down, so earlier prints command higher value. Works that best reflect the artist's intention, with clearly defined wave patterns, tend to be sold at high prices. This phenomenon arises because of significant quality differences between prints.

Interestingly, Hokusai's original ukiyo-e underdrawings do not exist. During the process of carving the underdrawing onto the woodblock, the original underdrawing was destroyed and thus could not be preserved separately.

Currently, the British Museum houses 40,000 Japanese artworks. Among these, 200 carefully selected Edo-period paintings were exhibited for the first time in Japan through a special exhibition, drawing significant attention. This marks a unique instance of Japanese artworks, previously displaced overseas, returning to their homeland for public display.

In the past, ukiyo-e were so common and undervalued in Japan that they sold for about 20 mon, the price of a bowl of soba noodles, and were used as wrapping paper or colored mats. However, as British physician William Anderson and others began collecting ukiyo-e, the foundation for the British Museum's collection was laid, marking a turning point where they gradually became recognized as artworks.

The 1867 Paris Exposition was a significant event, marking Japan's first participation in an international exhibition. Due to the burden of transportation costs at the time, Japan decided to sell all its exhibited ukiyo-e locally at low prices. This decision was akin to a clearance sale for Japanese merchants then, but ironically, it became a catalyst for the spread of ukiyo-e in Europe.

Art dealer Hayashi Tadamasa, in particular, played a key role in selling Japanese artworks at the exposition and subsequently distributed over 150,000 ukiyo-e to Europe.

He recognized the potential for traditional Japanese art to gain attention in the West and actively introduced Japanese artworks to Europe.

This massive export is attributed to the fact that the Japanese people at the time did not fully recognize the artistic value of ukiyo-e.

In 1876, Monet's Japanese-style work sold for 2,000 francs, approximately 400 times a laborer's daily wage at the time, demonstrating the commercial success of 'Japonisme.' This signified that Japanese-style art had become a popular trend in Paris, beyond Monet's personal taste.

Vincent van Gogh was deeply fascinated by ukiyo-e, copying numerous works and collecting them passionately. He found new artistic inspiration in ukiyo-e, even stating that all his work was based on Japanese art.

Van Gogh evaluated ukiyo-e as having equal artistic value to Western masters like Rubens and Veronese. This was a radical perspective in the European art world of the time.

He discovered new artistic freedom in ukiyo-e's bold compositions, flat surfaces, and vivid colors. This marked a crucial turning point for Van Gogh in breaking away from the traditional framework of Western art and establishing his unique painting style.

For Van Gogh, ukiyo-e was not merely exotic pictures but a vital key to exploring the essence of art and suggesting new directions.

Impressionist painters, including Pissarro and Monet, were enthusiastic about and greatly influenced by ukiyo-e. They felt that ukiyo-e's unique visual expressions supported their new artistic endeavors. Pissarro mentioned that Japanese painters confirmed their belief in their own vision.

Ukiyo-e aligned with the flat compositions, vivid colors, and bold compositions that Impressionist painters pursued. This greatly inspired the Impressionists, who sought to provide new visual experiences by breaking away from traditional Western perspective and realism.

The Japanese artists' attempts to express beyond visual realism became a crucial moment for Impressionist painters to gain artistic conviction. Through ukiyo-e, they reconfirmed the validity of their artistic direction and gained the courage to make bolder attempts.

Ukiyo-e is sometimes perceived by the Japanese as 'painful art' due to the history of undervaluation and cheap export overseas. However, it is now treated as an important cultural identity and cherished artwork in Japan.

Japan is actively re-purchasing repatriated ukiyo-e at high prices. This is interpreted as an effort to correct past mistakes and reclaim its cultural heritage.

Ukiyo-e now holds a wide status, ranging from popular merchandise to key collections in national museums. This is the result of Japanese people realizing the true value of ukiyo-e and shifting their perception of their cultural heritage.

During Japan's bubble economy in the 1980s, corporations hoarded artworks, causing market prices to skyrocket. In 1987, Yasuda Fire and Marine Insurance famously acquired Van Gogh's 'Sunflowers' for 5.8 billion yen, equivalent to ₩33 billion at the time. Meanwhile, chairman Ryoei Saito acquired Van Gogh's 'Portrait of Dr. Gachet' and controversially declared he would have it cremated with him upon his death; the painting is currently missing.

Lee Se-ra explained that there is a fundamental difference between the outflow of ukiyo-e from Japan and cultural assets from Joseon. Japan's works were 'sold by themselves' through voluntary sales, while Joseon's cultural assets were forcibly exported from a 'market without choice' due to the special circumstances of being a colony, involving looting and plunder. She emphasized that although the phenomena and structures are similar, the historical preconditions differ significantly.

During the Japanese colonial period, Gansong Jeon Hyeong-pil recognized the outflow of Joseon's cultural assets overseas and used his private fortune to protect them. In 1938, he established 'Bohwagak' (now Kansong Art Museum), Korea's first private art museum.

Gansong made tremendous efforts to protect valuable cultural assets. Notably, he purchased a Goryeo celadon vase with cloud and crane patterns for a large sum equivalent to the value of twenty tile-roofed houses at the time, and also successfully recovered the Hunminjeongeum Haeryebon. Thanks to these efforts, numerous national treasures were saved from being taken overseas.

However, Kansong Art Museum is currently facing financial difficulties, experiencing limitations in managing its cultural assets. This demonstrates that cultural assets are difficult to preserve permanently through individual dedication alone, suggesting the importance of national support and institutional arrangements.

During the Korean War, Gansong Jeon Hyeong-pil risked his life to protect his collection. When the North Korean army attempted to remove cultural assets, he was called in as an appraisal expert and used a 'packaging delay tactic' to buy time. Thanks to this tactic, the cultural assets were safely preserved until they could be recovered.

Lee Se-ra explained that the common motivation of pioneering collectors like Gansong Jeon Hyeong-pil was the recognition of 'scarcity.' Gansong saw the disappearance of Joseon's cultural assets as a scarcity, and foreign collectors felt a scarcity in Eastern artworks that were not present in their own countries.

These individuals, who recognized and ascribed value to this scarcity, became a significant driving force in shaping the art market. They went beyond merely collecting objects, discerning the needs of the era and aesthetic values to create new trends.

The value of artworks is not simply in their production; it is recreated through the desire and efforts of those who recognize and seek to possess them. Collectors play a pivotal role in this process of value creation.

In conclusion, the art market is formed by the human instinct to fill scarcity combined with artistic discernment, and through this process, the value of artworks continually changes and evolves.