Promoting Japan as a tourist destination has been on the upswing as the nation prepares for the 2020 Olympics. From January 9 to February 28, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo is featuring an exhibit of posters, pictorial magazines and brochures from the 1920s-1930s inviting tourists to enjoy the landscape and customs of Japan. As is the case for much of the material on this site, these items are remarkable evidence of the first systematic government-sponsored campaign to promote Japan as a sightseeing destination for foreign tourists. Many of the posters in the National Museum of Modern Art exhibit feature illustrations by well-known contemporary artists, including (in Japanese name order of surname, first name) Sugiura Hisui (1876-1965), Takehisa Yumeji (1884-1934), Yoshida Hatsusaburo (1884-1955) and Satomi Munetsugu (1904-1996). Here are a few of the items in the exhibit that accompany the brief announcement of the exhibit on the museum’s website, accessed today (29 Dec. 2015).

“Beautiful Japan” poster published by the Japan Tourist Bureau, Japanese Government Railways

Fanciful illustration advertising Ōsaka Shosen Kaisha (Osaka Mercantile Steamship Co., Ltd.)

Advertisement for Nippon Yūsen Kaisha (N.Y.K., also known as the Japan Mail S.S. Co.)