Over the last few years, the traditional art form of nihonga has emerged as a player on the Japanese contemporary art scene. I can only guess why this is -- something connected to nostalgia or nationalism perhaps? Or could it be that growing social and economic uncertainty has led Japanese to regard the practiced restraint informing the creation of nihonga as something of a comfort haven?

Nihonga as a term was coined in the early years of the Meiji Era (1868-1912) following the opening up of Japan to the world, and was meant to distinguish art made here from art in the West (which was termed yoga). Nihonga is characterized by media and subject matter -- quotidian scenes, flowers and landscapes typically executed with tanuki (raccoon dog tail) brushes and mineral-based pigments applied to moistened washi paper.

The most persuasive manifestation of the new interest in nihonga was the Tokyo Museum of Contemporary Art's "From Nihonga to Nihonga" exhibition earlier this year. I think that had the museum organized a similar show, say, 10 years ago, critics would have bemoaned the venture as "quaint." Now, however, nihonga has a fresh new face, with subject matter ranging from hip-hop to anime.