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2.

We are sending you the News of the Federation and some other material. We hope that you will understand what we have done under difficult conditions.

The immediate aim and work of the Federation is "to defend the artist and his profession," but we would also like to contribute to the promotion of culture itself. We feel this is the artist's duty and task, because in a country like Japan, art and beauty is entirely separated from society and the life of the people. The misery and confusion of post-war Japan is beyond your imagination. We prided ourselves before the war on the fact that Japan was one of the foremost artistic nations in the world, but now we realize clearly that our artists and the art of Japan did nothing to bring about a better society in our own country. With this painful experience, we sincerely hope that through our efforts and service, beauty will penetrate every aspect of our life and country. Through this struggle, of closer relations of art to the people, the position of the artist in society will be corrected.

During the past two years, art in Japan seemed to revive its pre-war activity. But we cannot deny the fact that our artistic content and its prospects are limited because we are isolated from the world. In the near future, Japanese artists, perhaps, will be allowed to go abroad freely. Even if that day comes, the opportunity to develop Japanese artists and to produce a contemporary Japanese art of universal character will not come for some time, as long as the present economic difficulty remains in Japan. Recently, we have been permitted to import a few art books from the West and they have given us some ideas of what is going on in the art of the world. But as you know well, the influence of mere reproductions is not always good.  Therefore, we have been hoping for some time that there might be a possibility to find a way to exchange art between America and Japan. For example, we will welcome the opportunity to exchange the works of representative artists and artist organizations of both countries. It will also be beneficial for us to exchange copies of old masters of the West and East, since Japan does not have any great classic art of the West. We sincerely will appreciate your kind assistance and suggestions for the development of Japanese contemporary art.

We send our deep respect to you and AEA from your native country. We beg you for close cooperation between the two professional organizations which are working for the same goal of the artist's welfare.

Sincerely,
Usaburo Ihara
Chairman
Federation of Japanese Artists