JAPAN’S ART MARKET: LOW PRICES MEAN LUCRATIVE OPPORTUNITIES
How do you view art? In Japan, it’s looked at more as an activity for an afternoon outing than a passion for collecting or an investment opportunity. For this reason, many Japanese artists with potential are abandoning their careers far too early. All the while, the country is becoming a burgeoning center for contemporary art in Asia, and many investment opportunities are available for corporations and individuals alike. Keep reading to learn more about this emerging market and how you can grow your investment portfolio through Japanese art.
Is Japanese Art Worth Investing In? A Look at the Numbers
According to Artprice, an online database of art prices, the value of artwork has consistently increased year-over-year by nine percent since 2000. When compared to more risky assets like real estate and the collapse of Lehman Brothers, this global trend is very appealing.
Even with variations in the art marketplace, such as the differing prices of artwork and the extra cost of paying commissions that aren’t included with other financial instruments, the numbers show that investing in art is immune from the sudden economic downturns caused by major developed countries like the United States and European nations.
As government policies and regulations open up more financial sources for investment, the number of works by artists across the world remains limited, which is a good indication of how the art market will likely perform in the future.
This can be illustrated by looking back at Japan’s bubble economy of the late ’80s to early ’90s. During this time many Japanese companies and multimillionaires invested millions of dollars in art by European masters like van Gogh and Renoir. Once a status symbol for Japan’s elite, these investments are now proving to be quite lucrative as their demand continues to grow over the long term.
Even though a success story like this might seem out of reach for personal investors, there are many opportunities where you can buy original artwork for as little as USD100–1,000 with the potential of a 1,000 percent return on your investment over a couple of decades.
How has the value of the artwork by internationally recognized Japanese artists changed over the past two decades?
- Yoshitomo Nara: From USD 50 in 1996 to USD 3,000–7,000 today (60–140 times higher)
- Takashi Murakami: From USD 2,000–4,000 in 1996 to USD 100 million today (250–500 times higher)
- Yayoi Kusama: From USD100 million in 2005 to USD 1 billion today (10 times higher)
Is Investing in Art Risky?
Risk is inherent in investing. Once a famous Japanese investor noted that “investing in the right art depends on your eyes. But if you choose a piece that everyone will fall in love with, your investment will be risk-free.”
While this approach may work, there are some cases where art prices can go down. This can happen when an artist’s style changes and subsequent works become more popular — the evaluation of earlier works by the artist can sometimes drop in value.
Conversely, once an artist no longer creates due to death, health issues, or for other reasons, the artist’s body of work will often be positively reevaluated. As with any investment, risk and reward are but two sides of the same coin.
How Does Investing in Art Compare with Other Investment Assets?
What are the differences between investing in art and investing in other assets? Beyond financial aspects, collectors find many rewarding reasons for buying art, such as:
- Owning art contributes to society’s cultural enrichment. By investing in art, you also support the artist’s living, ideas, and creative output.
- Art is tangible. Unlike many assets, investing in art offers you the opportunity to own a one-of-a-kind creation, which is inherently more valuable than limited-run prints and giclée.
- Art provides enjoyment for as long as you own the pieces. Collecting artwork that matches your personal tastes allows you to decorate your surroundings while growing your investment portfolio — no other asset offers an aesthetic sense quite like art!
Affordable Japanese Art Prices Make for Lucrative Opportunities
At TRiCERA, we sell Japanese art because we believe that its value is severely underrated. The quality and output of today’s artists who have studied at prestigious universities in Japan is without question. Furthermore, there seems to be a unique approach to creating art that is common among Japanese artists — a delicate, sensitive touch and meticulous concentration that is reflective of a culture deeply rooted in traditional artistic aesthetics.
Even with the growing number of talented artists in Japan, few know how to promote themselves overseas and the domestic market for their works remains small. For these reasons, art prices remain low.
A clear example of this is evident when considering that while the Tokyo National Museum is ranked as the 17th most visited art museum in the world, Japan’s art market makes up only 3.5 percent of the global market even though the country is the third largest economic power in the world. This creates a lucrative opportunity for art investors as there is currently little domestic demand for original art and few international collectors have yet discovered an untapped market in Japan.
The output of Japan’s emerging artists is of the same quality of internationally proven artists; and as such, many hidden gems by the “next-generation” Murakami, Kusama, and Nara are waiting to be found.
Growing Your Investment by Supporting the Artist
While investing in art can diversify your assets, we feel very strongly that buying original artwork directly from the artist offers far more benefits than buying limited-run prints and giclée. By buying original works, you not only invest in your future, but the future of the artist as well. This is because the artist’s primary source of income is through selling first-edition pieces. It’s possible for the value of an original to rise simply because of the popularity of selling reproductions, but this effect takes a long time.
Anyone can invest in original Japanese contemporary artwork with a budget of only a few hundred dollars, which directly supports the artist and sends a message as an international patron that you believe in the artist’s creative activities.
How to Invest in Japanese Contemporary Art
Art can be an investment not only for yourself, but for your family and children as well — an investment that can bring years of enjoyment to whomever it is given. And while art may not be ideal for short-term gains, history has shown that it is possible for a piece initially valued at USD 1,000 to go up to USD 5,000 or more over time. These reasons along with others mentioned above make art an attractive investment to other opportunities.
TRiCERA.net was created to connect the world with emerging talent from Japan who are making a name for themselves through exhibitions and awards. If you’re interested in acquiring one-of-a-kind art for your portfolio, we invite you to search through our selection of over 100 artists to find a piece that may offer you a considerable return in the future while providing you with years of enjoyment in the meantime.
TRiCERA is a marketplace to introduce the works of Japanese artists to overseas markets. We provide a comprehensive service and solutions of connecting Japanese art to the world by solving issues regarding the international barriers.
Japanese Artists to the World
There are many barriers for artists to expand the global world such as logistics, language, and marketing. We create a system that allows artists to work on a global scale from Japan.
Activate the Japanese Art Industry
TRiCERA is willing to change Japanese art industry by disseminating and selling Japanese artist’s works to the world.
World’s Art as One
TRiCERA’s activities are not limited to domestic; we provide a system to support developing countries by selling their hidden artworks to the world. Remove barriers for all artists in the world, “Creativity has No Boundaries”
