Vol. 001 | Notable Japanese Art Exhibitions from December 2022 to March 2023

01. ‘Ukiyoe and China’

Dates: 5 (Thu) – 29 (Sun) January 2023

Region: Tokyo

Venue: Ota Memorial Art Museum

URL: http://www.ukiyoe-ota-muse.jp/eng

Description: Japanese culture has been heavily influenced by Chinese culture. This is also true of Ukiyo-e, with many of the subjects originating from China. This exhibition features Ukiyo-e works influenced by China. The focus is on the The Water Margin (classic of Chinese literature) series, a series of works by Utagawa Kuniyoshi, known as the ‘Kuniyoshi of Samurai Painting’. Enjoy these powerful works.

 

02. ‘Masterpieces of Chishakuin, Kyoto’.

Dates: 30 Nov (Wed) 2022 – 22 Jan (Sun) 2023

Region: Tokyo

Venue: Suntory Museum of Art

URL: https://www.suntory.com/sma/exhibition/2022_5/index.html

Description: A rare opportunity to see the masterpieces of Kyoto’s Chishakuin Temple in Tokyo. The main attractions are the works of Hasegawa Tōhaku and his son Hasegawa Kyūzō, who were active in the Azuchi-Momoyama period and who threatened the Kanō school led by Kanō Eitoku (狩野永徳).

 

03. ‘National Treasure: Snow Pines by Maruyama Ōkyo and Auspicious Arts’.

Dates: Thursday 1 December 2022 – Saturday 28 January 2023

Region: Tokyo

Venue: Mitsui Memorial Museum of Art

URL: https://www.mitsui-museum.jp/english/english.html

Description: In the mid-Edo period, Maruyama Ōkyo remained the dominant king of the Kyoto art world. A rare opportunity to see the only national treasure of Ōkyo’s mastery of realism, the ‘Snow Pines’ folding screen.

 

04. ‘Paintings the Japanese Landscape – from Utagawa Hiroshige to Tabuchi Toshio’.

Dates: 10 Dec (Sat), 2022 – 26 Feb (Sun), 2023

Region: Tokyo

Venue: Yamatane Museum of Art

URL: https://www.yamatane-museum.jp/exh/english/2022/landscapes.html

Description: An exhibition featuring masterpieces of Japanese landscape paintings from the late Edo period to the present day. This is a genre in which the Yamatane Museum of Art specialises, and visitors can see works by renowned masters such as Yokoyama Taikan, Hishida Shunsō, Kawai Gyokudō and Higashiyama Kaii all at once.

 

05. ‘The Flowers of Edo Paintings: Itō Jakuchū and Edo Paintings’

Dates: 〈Part 1〉 7 Jan (Sat) – 12 Feb (Sun), 2023

Region: Tokyo

Venue: Idemitsu Museum of Arts

URL: http://idemitsu-museum.or.jp/en/exhibition/

Description: An unveiling exhibition of works that made a splash when the Idemitsu Museum of Arts purchased part of the collection of the famous American collectors of Japanese art, Etsuko and Joe Price. Don’t miss Itō Jakuchū’s ‘Chōjū Kaboku-zu Byōbu (folding screen painting of birds, animals, plants and flowers) ‘!

 

06. “The Flowers of Edo Paintings: The Kyoto Art World and the Edo Rimpa School”

Dates: <Part 2> Tuesday 21 February – Sunday 26 March 2023

Region: Tokyo

Venue: Idemitsu Museum of Arts

URL: http://idemitsu-museum.or.jp/en/exhibition/

Description: Sequel to 05. There are many highlights in the second half, including works by Maruyama Ōkyo, the king of the Kyoto art world in the mid-Edo period, and Sakai Hōitsu, the founder of the Edo Rimpa school. Don’t miss it.

 

07. ‘Ochiai Yoshiiku and Tsukioka Yoshitoshi – Two Great Rivals under Utagawa Kuniyoshi’.

Dates: 25 Feb (Sat) – 9 Apr (Sun), 2023

Region: Tokyo

Venue: Mitsubishi Ichigōkan Museum

URL: https://mimt.jp/ex/yoshiyoshi/ (Japanese Only)

Description: An exhibition focusing on Ochiai Yoshiiku and Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, fellow pupils under the ukiyo-e master Utagawa Kuniyoshi, who dominated the late Edo period. They both co-created the ‘Eimei 28 Shūkū’ series, which were known as ‘bloody paintings’. Although that made a strong impression on us, their other works are more numerous. Please enjoy the wide range of works by these two artists, both of whom have outstanding painting skills.

 

08. ” Tōfuku-ji Temple”.

Dates: Tuesday 7 March – Sunday 7 May 2023

Region: Tokyo

Venue: Heiseikan, Tokyo National Museum

URL: https://tofukuji2023.jp (Japanese Only)

Description: 50 monumental masterpieces by Kitsusan Minchō, a legendary painter-monk who dominated the early Muromachi period, i.e. before Sesshū Tōyō, are on display for the first time in their repaired condition. This year’s most notable exhibition will also feature many other masterpieces from the Tōfuku-ji temple at once. Also exhibited at the Kyoto National Museum in autumn!

 

09. ‘Secrets of Important Cultural Assets’

Dates: 17 Mar (Fri) – 14 May (Sun), 2023

Region: Tokyo

Venue: The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

URL: https://jubun2023.jp/ (Japanese Only)

Description: For the first time ever, all the works on display are important cultural assets. 51 works! The works on display include Hishida Shunsō’s ‘Black Cat’, Takeuchi Seihō’s ‘First modelling experience’ and Fukuda Heihachirō’s ‘Ripple’, all of which were controversial at the time of their publication. These works show the spirits of painters who were willing to try new things.

 

10. ‘Tsubaki Chinzan Exhibition – Delicate and Light Colours and Brushstrokes’

Dates: Saturday 18 March – Sunday 16 April 2023

Region: Tokyo

Venue: Itabashi Art Museum

URL: https://www.city.itabashi.tokyo.jp/artmuseum/4000016/4001526/4001539.html (Japanese Only)

Description: Tsubaki Chinzan was one of the leading painters of the late Edo period, but has often been discussed as a set with his master Watanabe Kazan, but this exhibition treats him as the main protagonist. We hope you will enjoy Tsubaki Chinzan’s realistic, light-coloured flower-and-bird paintings, which are characteristic of this talented painter.