Looking at the global situation, which was unpredictable externally, the auction market in 2019 is still concluding successfully. While few people can imagine that Japanese Trendy Art should set off such a huge wave.

In 2019, Japanese trends swept across the auction world, with changes and fluctuations, as well as surprises and accidents.Next, ArtPro will take you to see the ups and downs of the entire Japanese market.

Video: Changes in Japan's Top20 Artworks since 2002

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The 6-year Golden Age Focused on Tsuguharu Foujita:

From 2002 to 2007, Fujita's Enfants à la Poupée topped the list with the $3.74 million, and the number of his works occupied half of the Top 20 artworks, taking absolute advantages.

Takashi Murakami has ranked the top on the list for 11 years with one of his works:

From 2008 to 2018, Takashi Murakami won the championship unshakably. His works have been in Top20 since 2003. In 2008, he replaced Tsuguharu Foujita as Top1. It symbolized that Japan's most expensive artworks used to be valued at some million dollars could be sold at ten million dollars.

The Battle of the Strong between Takashi Murakami and Yayoi Kusam: from the perspective of a Single Piece of Work, Yayoi Kusam always has works ranked among the top three from 2009 to 2017. The works of these two artists compete in the positions of top2 and top3, continually pushing the price to the peak. In terms of the number of works, Murakami Takashi used to take absolute advantage, which later was gradually replaced by Yayoi Kusam. In recent years, Yayoi Kusam has an unneglectable number of works on the list, suggesting overwhelming international influence and strength.

Except for Top1, rising stars were shining as well. In 2013, As Kazuo Shiraga appeared and his artwork grew popular quickly, he took the place of Yayoi Kusama, becoming Top2, just next to Takashi Murakami, as the darling of the market.

Yoshitomo Nara created the myth of 100 million dollars, in that her work becomes Japan's most expensive ones:

In the first half of 2019, the artworks of Takashi Murakami, Kazuo Shiraga, Yoshitomo Nara and Tsuguharu Foujita showed extraordinary talents; in the latter half of the year, Knife Behind Back by Yoshitomo Nara was auctioned off at $24.93 million, significantly surpassing Takashi Murakami's work which used to rank first by 60%.

In 2019, Yoshitomo Nara joined the club of 100 million dollars as one of the most popular artists in Japan.

Part One: The Year of Yayoi Kusama in Popularity, Trendy Art Makes Tidal Wave

Soaring Speed:

$ 100 million in 2019, market is for crazy for Yoshitomo Nara!

Looking at the total turnover, Yoshitomo Nara made a landmark miracle in 2019:

The total turnover of Yoshitomo Nara this year is more than 100 million dollars, taking the first place in Japan from others. From the perspective of the ArtPro Price Index, taking 2009 as the benchmark, it soared to 11.16, at the speed of ten times in 10 years. in 2019, Yoshitomo Nara created a landmark miracle. (Note: The ArtPro Price Index is an important reference for changes in price levels of artists' works.)

2019 was arguably "the year of Yoshitomo Nara's explosive popularity." Among the ten most expensive works, nine were auctioned off in 2019.

Time Record:

Breaking Three Records Among Five Months, Two Records within Six Hours

In May 2019, at Christie's Hong Kong Spring Auction, Sleepless Night (Cat), for the first time, set the record of the highest price of all Yoshitomo Nara's artworks.

On October 6th, in Hong Kong Autumn Auction, Yoshitomo Nara became the focus. Two records were broken in six hours, and the price increased by nearly five times, which skyrocketed Yoshitomo Nara to the most expensive Japanese artist.

Rank Above:

Surpassing Takashi Murakami for the first time, Yoshitomo Nara becomes the most expensive in Japan

In 2019, Knife Behind Back by Yoshitomo Nara became Japan's Top1 with the price of $ 24,931,670, surpassing the previous record of $ 15,161,000 kept for 11 years by Takashi Murakami's My Lonesome Cowboy.

It suggests that while Takashi Murakami has an enduring effect, Yoshitomo Nara becomes the rising star.

This is Yoshitomo Nara in 2019! It is only a beginning, and the storm of Japanese Trendy Art is continuing, expanding, and spreading to the whole world!

Part Two: Asian Power,Supporting Japanese Trendy Art Goes Internationally

1. Japanese Trend Sweeps the Auction World—Storm from Japanese Market

Four Key Representative Japanese Figures (Yoshitomo Nara, Yayoi Kusama, Takashi Murakami, and Kazuo Shiraga) swept all Top 10 artworks in Japan. Four artists, who have been peacefully coexisted, have already set off a "battlefield without smoke" in the market.

When comparing the Top10 artworks for two years, one can see the tremendous changes in the ranking of Japanese artists. The top 10 of 2018 was occupied by Takashi Murakami and Yayoi Kusama. In 2019, Yoshitomo Nara was unstoppable and firmly held the position of Top 1.

Changes in the auction world not only involve the Japanese market but also affect changes worldwide.

2. Japanese Trend Sweeps the Auction World—Global Layout

Yoshitomo Nara led the 10-year revolution of the market share of Japanese artists.

From the above figure, the share of Japanese artists' works in the global market has been rising steadily since 2015. Moreover, they do not squeeze each other's market space but go hand in hand and develop together. Among them, Yoshitomo Nara and Yayoi Kusama promoted the market share of Japanese artists with an increase from 1.5% to 3.5% within ten years.

From the dimension of total sales, the global rankings of the five artists have improved in the past six years, and Yayoi Kusama and Yoshitomo Nara are far ahead, presumably due to the richness and quantity of their artworks. Fujita Eiji and Hiroshi Hiroshi ranked within Top 70, and Takashi Murakami ranked outside the 100, which shows that the overall share of the last three artists is still relatively small.

3. Japanese Trend Sweeps the Auction World—Europe and America

European and American Recognition: Takashi Murakami and Kazuo Shiraga Go Hand in Hand

Fifty to sixty percent of the Work of Takashi Murakami and Kazuo Shiraga are sold in Europe and America. In contrast, the proportions of the deal of the works by Yoshitomo Nara and Yayoi Kusama in Europe and America is lower, at around 20% and 30%;

4. Japanese Trend Sweeps the Auction World—Asia

The trend of Internationalization: Greater China Gains Momentum, and Hong Kong becomes a Treasure Trove.

Although the turnover of Japanese artists has increased significantly, the primary growth has come from the Asian market and remains low in the European and American markets.

The main market for Japanese artists is in Asia. According to regional rankings, the largest revenue-generating is Hong Kong, followed by the United States, Japan, Britain, and France. In other words, the development of the Greater China art market is very important to promote the internationalization of Japanese artists.

Part III:Collection investment: Where to go? Answers Lie in Data

With the diversification of people's asset allocation, art has gradually become an essential part of wealth management. So, how should collectors choose in the Japanese market?

Yoshitomo Nara has surged, and Kazuo Shiraga has a substantial rise:

In terms of price increase over the past ten years, Kazuo Shiraga and Yayoi Kusama remain strong, while Tsuguharu Foujita was relatively steady; in the near term, Yoshitomo Nara's trend is skyrocketing. Takashi Murakami is different from the top four in terms of the increase or absolute value, which may be affected by the diversity of the market and collectors' preferences.

Favorites Reference: Annualized Return

Paintings at Auction for More Than Once The table above shows part of Yoshitomo Nara's paintings at auction for more than once based on statistics.

The average annualized return rate is 32.33% for holding 2-3 years, 22.89% for 3-4 years, and 38% for 4-5years. Overall, Yoshitomo Nara's works have better circulation.

Market Outlook: will the Rising Stars Come Later?

It can be seen from the top10 rankings for two years that the ranking of Tomoo Gokita has risen quietly, from Top10 to Top6, followed by Ayako Rokkaku, who has not entered the list in 2018 but appeared in Top7 in 2019. The new artists on the list in these two years may be a new generation of forces worthy of attention.

From a global perspective, with the rise of the Asian auction market, modern and contemporary art is getting more and more attention from the international art circle. Japanese trendy art has become the new favorite of major auction houses in recent years, and this year it is rising steadily with excellent results achieved. Its future is expectable.