the confiscation and shipment of Japanese war record paintings

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MacArthur list. But the column indicating where the paintings were collected from is missing. In this list, a different set of FEC numbers were assigned to each painting, indicating that this set of photographs is different from the 1947 set of photographs. In a 27 April 1951 conference among concerned Occupation government divisions on what to do with the paintings before the end of the Allied Occupation of Japan, it was stated that hardly any documents could be found regarding the confiscated paintings. 10 Thus, this set of photographs seems to be a part of an effort to create fresh documentation for the confiscated paintings. A close examination of these FEC numbers will reveal that the items from FEC-51-26372 up to FEC-51-26385, as well as FEC-51-26456 are missing. This amounts to 15 missing items. There is no indication in the documents, however, what these items may be. Also, there are two different paintings with the same FEC number. These are Miyamoto Saburō's “Battle of Nicholson, Hong Kong” and Ōta Kijirō's “On Army Day” and have the number FEC-51-26436. Moreover, some of the index cards for the painting was marked either “restricted” or “nonrestricted.” These, oddly enough, also correspond to the FEC numbers mentioned above. FEC-51- 26371 and below were marked as non-restricted. FEC-51-26386 and above, except for FEC-51-26423, were marked restricted. Again, there is no indication what these marks refer to. This list contains 154 entries, the most number of items among the lists. D. 1951 Shipping List This list, courtesy of the US Army Center of Military History, is part of the documentation for the confiscated Japanese war record paintings for their shipment from Japan to the US in the latter part of 1951. 11 The list was prepared by the Office of the Chief of Engineers. Through this shipping list, one can ascertain how many paintings were officially confiscated and shipped to the US. The information in this list is similar to the the other list, but does not contain any FEC numbers. Moreover, the list also mentions the room number in which the painting was stored in at the Tokyo Municipal Museum. This information cannot be found in any of the other lists mentioned. A correlating document to this list is a condition report of each painting at the time of their shipment to the US. This document was prepared by the Shipping and Crating Division of the Headquarters and Services Command. 12 The document reveals that many of the paintings were in excellent condition at the time of their shipment to the US. A number are in poor condition, however, 10 “CIE Conference Report,” 27 April 1951, microfiche, CIE (C) 08580, Modern Japanese Political History Materials Room, National Diet Library.Modern Japanese Political History Materials Room, National Diet Library. 11 “Catalog Index of Japanese War Art Paintings,” 24 July 1951, US Army Center of Military History. 12 “Condition: Japanese War Art Paintings,” 26 July 1951, US Army Center of Military History. 4
5 many suffering from water damage. This can be traced to the leaking ceilings of the Tokyo Municipal Museum, a matter that was discussed in some of the meetings conducted by Occupation personnel regarding the disposal of the paintings. 13 Like the 1951 list, it also contains 154 items. E. The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo list (NMMA list) The NMMA list is from the official museum catalogue of Japanese war records paintings. 14 It contains 153 items and represents the total number of works brought back to Japan in 1970 on indefinite loan. Because of these reasons, this list will be used as the basis for comparison among the other lists. III. Additions and Subtractions The various lists mentioned above share a number of similarities. First of all, they essentially contain the same set of paintings. Second, the catalogue numbers assigned to the paintings in the Occupation-era documents remain the same throughout the different lists. However, as time went by, more paintings were constantly added to the collection. These later additions were appended at the end of the lists. For example, one painting was added to the 1947 list, bringing the total at that time to 153 works. This painting was Ōta Kijirō's “On Army Day.” In the list, the newly-added painting did not have a catalogue number but was assigned an FEC number, FEC-47- 80941. Unlike the other paintings in the list, there was no mention where the painting was found. In the 1951 list, another painting was added, Tagami Hayao's “Portrait of Admiral Koga.” This brought the total of the list to 154 paintings confiscated, which corresponds to the number of paintings in the shipping list. Because of the 1951 shipping list, it can now be proven that 154 items were officially confiscated and shipped to the US. This fact could not be ascertained in previous researches on the subject because of the absence of this critical document. Any other paintings that may surface later on in the narrative of the confiscation and shipment of Japanese paintings to the US can be placed under scrutiny and questioned as to whether they were officially confiscated by Occupation personnel or 13 “Inspection of Japanese War Art,” 17 May 1950, microfiche, CIE (A) 08566, Modern Japanese Political History Materials Room, National Diet Library. 14 Catalogue of Collections, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo: Watercolor and Drawings, Calligraphy, Sculpture, Supplementary Materials, War Record Paintings. (Tokyo: The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 2006), pp. 196-211.
Page 1 and 2: 1 LISTING DISCREPANCIES: The Confis
Page 3: 3 II. Description of Lists As menti
Page 7 and 8: 7 Kakuzō's “Japanese Attack on N
Page 9 and 10: Japanese war paintings in US hands
Page 11 and 12: 11 Table 1: Comparison of number of

the confiscation and shipment of Japanese war record paintings

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