Since the 1990s in the art history field of East Asia, representative research that approached ‘art(美術)’ from the previous language sociological perspective had been deduced. Based on this perspective, this study was to approach ‘modernity’ of East Asian art by tracking the formation process of the term ‘Namhwa(Nanga)’. To this end, I investigated by expanding the research scope to 1770s when Namjonghwa Theory was formed in Japan. Through this, the early example where the term ‘Namhwa’ was used in Japan was found in Banske(番付), the art in 1850s. It is necessary to note the aspect that writers used the concept of stylistic ‘Nashuga(南宗畵)’ and hierarchical ‘literary paintings’ clearly separately and ‘Namhwa’ examples were produced in deep conjunction with entertainment culture and publishing culture such as calligraphy venue and exhibition based on antique hobby of the public of modern meaning called Chonin(町人) rather than calligraphy criticism books or painting books of writers. And then, the meaning of the term ‘Namhwa’ showing a dramatic increase in examples since 1870s through 1850s seems to have changed and spread as ‘Namhwa’, the abbreviation of ‘Namjonghwa’ as Japanese calligraphic paintings expanded from art Banske concentrated in a directory and was extended to textbooks or calligraphy guidelines for art lovers with unprofessional antique hobby after the Meiji and the enjoying class was expanded from intelligentsia to the public and stylistic meaning as a school of ‘Japanese paintings’ was highlighted. Therefore, the theory of regarding the generating time point of ‘Namhwa’ as Meiji generally accepted in academia until now and position of conceptually regarding ‘Namhwa’ as the abbreviation of ‘Namjonghwa’ or the term equivalent to ‘literary paintings’ need to be thoroughly reviewed by academics in the future.