Thomas Sturge Moore and 'Japonisme'

This example of Hokusai’s celebrated print was formerly in the possession of Thomas Sturge Moore (1870–1944), a British illustrator, wood-engraver, author, and poet, and alumnus of the Lambeth School of Art, London, where he met fellow artists Charles Shannon (1863–1937) and Charles Ricketts (1866–1931). They introduced Moore to the Vale Press, and he contributed to the press’s periodical The Dial. Moore was also associated with notable figures such as Laurence Binyon (1869–1943) and W. B. Yeats (1865–1939), for whom he designed numerous book covers.

The late 19th and early 20th centuries witnessed a surge in Western fascination with Japanese art, also known as 'Japonisme'. Moore, like many contemporaries, was immersed in the symbolist movement of the time and was influenced by the aesthetic characteristics of Japanese woodblock prints: flat perspective, bold lines, and asymmetry. This stylistic inclination is evident in Moore’s woodcut designs and book illustrations, which emphasise line quality and compositional balance. His work with the Vale Press and associations with artists such as James McNeill Whistler (1834–1904) and Lucien Pissarro (1863–1944) further underscore a collective dedication to the study and appreciation of Japanese artistic traditions.

Hokusai's influence

Moore likely discovered in Japanese prints an ideal of clarity, stylisation, and philosophical depth. Hokusai's The Great Wave resonated with Moore's explorations of mortality, nature, and the transcendent power of art. As a visual artist, Moore would have appreciated the compositional elegance and symbolic resonance of Japanese prints, admiring how artists like Hokusai conveyed narrative and emotion through line and spatial rhythm. In his book designs and illustrations, Moore employed similar restraint and stylised ornamentation, reflecting the influence of Ukiyo-e aesthetics. While waves do not play a prominent role in Moore's illustrative repertoire, he demonstrates a clear affinity for natural forms, as evidenced in his woodcut Pan as an Island (1905), which depicts the figure of Pan manifesting as an island amidst a turbulent sea, characterised by strong fluid line work. Similarly, The Sermon on the Mount (1904), a wood engraving featuring ships in the background, hints at a maritime interest.

Moreover, Moore’s poetic oeuvre also reflects a deep engagement with elements of nature, frequently employing maritime imagery to evoke themes related to the sea and waves. In his poem Words for the Wind (1914), he personifies the wind as an entity intertwined with the sea's dynamism. The Rower's Chant vividly illustrates a rower's relentless journey, echoing resilience against nature's challenges, similar to the theme in Hokusai's The Great Wave. Thus, Moore's artistic trajectory can be perceived as an intersection with Hokusai’s work, facilitating a dialogue between Eastern and Western artistic traditions.

Dr Monika Hinkel

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Notes:

Gwynn, Frederick L. Sturge Moore and the Life of Art. University of Kansas Press, 1951. 
Hirabayashi, Mariko. Charles Ricketts and Japan: British Japonisme of the Second Generation from the 1880s to the 1930s, PhD, University of York, 2022. 
The Poems of T. Sturge Moore, Collected Edition, First Volume, MacMillan and Co, London 1931.