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Taito City Museum

The Shitamachi Museum was opened in 1980 to convey the culture and traditions of the good old Tokyo downtown area to future generations, and has entertained many visitors, including foreign visitors to Japan. It was closed in the spring of 2023 for major renovations due to the aging of the facility, but has now reopened under the new name Shitamachi Museum .

*For information on the previous state of the Shitamachi Museum, click here⇒
https://www.culture.city.taito.lg.jp/ja/reports/29750

With this large-scale renovation, the exhibition area, which was previously only on the first and second floors, has been expanded to the third floor. New nursing rooms and barrier-free toilets have also been installed, making the facility enjoyable for even more people.

The exhibition room on the first floor recreates the streets of downtown Tokyo in the 1950s. The model is a corner of a lantern shop that operated on Kanasugi Street in Sakamoto (now Negishi 3-chome) , Taito Ward, which escaped damage from the Great Kanto Earthquake and the Tokyo Air Raids and where many old streets and buildings remained until recently. You can actually enter the life-size tenement house and experience the lifestyle and atmosphere of those times.

The recreated exhibit before the renovation was modeled after the Taisho era, but according to museum researcher Kondo Takeshi, they decided to completely revamp the content to mark the first major renovation in over 40 years since the museum opened.

“The reason we decided to set the exhibition in the 1950s, 60 to 70 years ago, was because we wanted to encourage people who were there at the time to come and see the exhibit with their families and have conversations like, ‘Oh, so this tool was used like this,'” says Kondo.

In addition, Kanasugi-dori Street had many remaining research materials such as drawings, and Mr. Igarashi, the owner of the Igarashi Lantern Shop, which is the core of the exhibition, was still alive and able to provide various forms of cooperation, which was a deciding factor for the model.
(Although the building has been rebuilt, the Igarashi Lantern Shop is still in business.)

In the 1950s and 60s, the quality of life in the downtown area was improving due to the redevelopment of districts and streets after the Great Kanto Earthquake, and the period of high economic growth during the postwar reconstruction. On the large screen installed in the exhibition area, a retro-style animation video is being shown that depicts Kanasugi-dori Street during that period.

In the video, a main street is lined with “Omote-nagaya” (front row houses) housing shops, restaurants, beauty salons and more, and while trams and cars run along the road, there are also vegetable carts and ramen stalls. The video conveys that old-fashioned lifestyles continue to thrive amid the waves of a new era, and deliberately no background music is used, instead emphasizing environmental sounds such as the sound of trams running and birds chirping to create a sense of realism.

Even as infrastructure such as electricity and gas was developed, lanterns remained an essential item in downtown areas, where many festivals were held. The Igarashi Lantern Shop, which has been in business since the end of the Edo period, has a display that recreates the workshop where lanterns were assembled and inscribed. On display are round festival lanterns, anvils and hammers for fixing the top and bottom of the lanterns, and paintbrushes for inscribing and coloring.

These items, such as household items and furniture, were basically donated by the ward’s residents, so they show signs of wear and tear. You can touch them, and get a feel for their texture and weight, which is one of the museum’s attractions. (Please handle them with care when touching them.)

Behind the workshop is the living space and kitchen, and if you exit the kitchen through a back door into the alley, you will find a “back alley” across the street. In addition to the craftsmen and office workers who commuted from home to their workplace, the back alley was home to peddlers such as street kamishibai storytellers, and the exhibition recreates the residence of a kamishibai storyteller.

Glass jars and wooden boxes for storing cheap sweets are placed on the step up to the entrance. Kamishibai performers made a living by selling cheap sweets to the children who came to watch the kamishibai shows, but on rainy days when the show couldn’t be performed, children would sometimes come to the house looking for cheap sweets.

If you look closely at the exhibits, you’ll notice that, like the everyday scenes depicted in the animation, old and new things coexist together, such as “while there’s a gas stove in the kitchen, there’s also a charcoal grill in use.” Kondo says he was particularly particular about recreating the transitional period. When elementary school students visit on social studies field trips, he says he sometimes has them learn in a game-like way, asking them, “What did we use to cook before the gas stove was invented? Let’s find something that has the same function!”

The second floor area is a permanent exhibition room where you can learn about the history and culture of the downtown area, centered around Taito Ward, from the Meiji period through to the 1950s.

In the introductory exhibit just inside the building, two types of videos are shown on the screen: a video tracing the history of Taito Ward in the style of a sugoroku game, and a video introducing the everyday items that supported the lives of our ancestors. In addition, on the stage in front of the screen, actual items of the everyday items featured in the video are arranged by category: “clothing,” “food,” “housing,” “commerce (merchants),” and “occupations (craftsmen).”

“Initially, the idea for the introductory exhibit was to select and exhibit just one of the collection materials that symbolizes Shitamachi Museum. However, even as a curator, it is difficult to clearly define the concept of ‘shitamachi’, and it is impossible to express it with just one material. So, as one way of showing it, we placed a chabudai (a traditional dining table), which was the center of family gatherings, in the center, and displayed the items in an arrangement that spread out around it. We decided that the atmosphere that is created when the items are lined up is what we call ‘shitamachi.'” (Kondo)

The exhibition features a wide range of items, from tools that children today may already know, such as dining tables and beckoning cats, to items that have completely disappeared in the Reiwa era, such as glass fly traps and money boxes used by merchants to deposit sales proceeds. It’s interesting to look at these unknown tools and imagine how they could be used.

Continuing on, the exhibits are divided into sections: “1. Culture and life in the downtown area since the Edo period,” “2. The Great Kanto Earthquake and reconstruction,” “3. Life during wartime,” “4. Starting over from the ruins,” “5. Towards rapid economic growth,” and “6. Life connected to our Taito ward.” They look back on how the townscape, lifestyles, and more have changed due to the major changes of each era.

The “automatic telephone” (later a public telephone) that previously greeted visitors at the entrance to the facility also appeared in the area as a symbol of the transition of the downtown area. The first automatic telephones in Japan were installed in 1900, at Ueno and Shinbashi stations.

It’s easy to miss, but there are various documents hidden in the drawers, so be sure to check them out. For example, Taito Ward was the first area in Japan to have a subway (the current Ginza Line) in 1927, and the “Ueno-Asakusa Section Construction Overview” is a booklet that summarizes the construction of the subway at that time. The current Ginza Line runs from Asakusa to Ueno, turns west at Shinbashi, and goes to Shibuya, but the document states that the original route was planned to go from Shinbashi to Onarimon and then to Shinagawa, which was very interesting.

The newly opened third floor area houses a special exhibition room and a downtown information corner.

The special exhibition room changes exhibits three times a year, roughly every four months, and the first special exhibition has the theme of “What kind of town is a downtown?” It explores what a downtown is, from the establishment of Tokyo’s downtown (Taito Ward was not included in the downtown area when it was first established), to the history of its expansion, and the occupations and temperaments of the people who lived there.

The adjacent Shitamachi Information Corner has a touch-screen terminal called “Shitamachi Material Search” that allows visitors to find out more about the materials stored in the museum.

If you are interested in or don’t understand anything in the reproduction exhibits on the first floor or the introductory exhibits on the second floor, you can rest assured that you will come here. You can also view data on materials that are not on display, which may be helpful for your studies or research.
(It depends on how busy it is, but if you have any questions about the materials, the curators will be happy to explain them to you.)

You can also try out old toys and everyday items such as kendama, menko, Matsukaze tops, abacus, and scales, and the benches can be used as a rest area. From the large windows, you can get a full view of Shinobazu Pond, making it a great spot to enjoy the seasonal changes of cherry blossoms, lotus flowers, and autumn leaves.

The Shitamachi Museum is a place where people of all ages, from children to the elderly, can make various discoveries and enjoy themselves. It has undergone a major transformation and has made a new start, but Kondo says that one thing it has inherited from the days of the Shitamachi Museum is the fact that visitors can hear real stories of their experiences from nowhere .

“The exhibits act as a catalyst for visitors to get excited as they recall their memories of the time, saying, ‘Oh, that happened!’ Or grandparents pass on knowledge gained from their own experiences to their grandchildren, and other visitors who hear this nod in agreement… We see scenes like this every day. You naturally hear valuable information that is not found in documents and can only be obtained from people who have actually experienced it. I think that is the greatest attraction of the main building,” says Kondo.

It’s a perfect location for a quick visit after a stroll around Shinobazu Pond, so why not stop by? Just like before the renovation, events such as street picture-story shows and traditional craft demonstrations will also be held, so please check the official website for details such as the schedule.

Overview of the Shitamachi Museum

*The contents of this article are current as of the time of coverage. Please check the official website for the latest information.

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National Museum of Western Art

The exhibition “From Renaissance to Impressionism: San Diego Museum of Art vs. National Museum of Western Art” (commonly known as the “Where to See?” exhibition) has opened at the National Museum of Western Art in Ueno, Tokyo. The exhibition will run from March 11 to June 8, 2025.
I attended the press preview that was held earlier, so I’d like to share some photos of the venue.

The two museums’ collections interact to explore their appeal from various angles

The exhibition combines a total of 88 pieces from the collections of the San Diego Museum of Art and the National Museum of Western Art in the United States, tracing the history of Western art spanning 600 years from the Renaissance to the end of the 19th century, and offering tips on how to enjoy viewing the works .

The San Diego Museum of Art, one of the earliest art museums to build a comprehensive collection of Western classical paintings in the American West, has focused its collection on Spanish art due to the cultural and historical ties to San Diego, an area founded by Spanish settlement.

Therefore, the exhibition includes many masterpieces of Spanish art, such as “Still Life with Quince, Cabbage, Melon, and Cucumber” by Juan Sánchez Cotán, the father of Bodegón (Spanish still life painting) , as well as works by El Greco, Zurbarán, Sorolla, etc. All 49 pieces brought to Japan from the San Diego Museum of Art will be shown in Japan for the first time .

On the other hand, the National Museum of Western Art has the only systematic collection of Western paintings in East Asia. Regarding the background of the exhibition, curator Yusuke Kawase (Chief Researcher at the National Museum of Western Art) said the following:

“In an art exhibition consisting only of works borrowed from one museum, it is often difficult to understand the context, such as the artist’s personality or the artist’s position in the artist’s artistic career, even if you can appreciate each piece. The same can be said for the permanent exhibition at the National Museum of Western Art. Therefore, this time, we decided to combine the collections of both museums, arrange works by the same artist or subject in groups, and dig deeper . By doing so, we tried to convey the interesting world of Western art, which is often avoided due to the difficulty of the subject and the age of the era, and where to start looking. This exhibition was created with the intention of conveying the interesting world of Western art in an easy-to-understand manner.

As Kawase mentioned, the exhibition is divided into 36 small themes. For example, in the first chapter, which explores the development of Renaissance painting in Italy and the Netherlands (present-day Belgium and the Netherlands) from Giotto to Bosch (workshop), works by Giorgione (1477/78-1510) and Jacopo Tintoretto (1518-1594) are displayed side by side as “Venetian Renaissance Portraits.”

Giorgione died in his early 30s, leaving very few documents and much about him still shrouded in mystery, but he is considered the founder of the High Renaissance style in Venetian painting. His Portrait of a Man (1506), housed at the San Diego Museum of Art, is a small piece but one of the masterpieces of Renaissance portraiture. With its precise depiction of physical features and soft shading, he achieved revolutionary realism.

On the other hand, Tintoretto is considered one of the three great masters of 16th century Venetian painting after Giorgione’s death, alongside Titian and Veronese. By displaying his “Portrait of an Old Man” (c.1550) from the San Diego Museum of Art and “Portrait of a Man Disguised as David” (c.1555-1560) from the National Museum of Western Art alongside Giorgione’s works, the exhibition shows, with accompanying explanatory text, how Tintoretto developed the technique used by Giorgione to express volume through color gradations.

A masterpiece by Spain’s most important still-life painter, who influenced Goya and Picasso, is coming to Japan

Chapter 2, which introduces the characteristics of 17th century Baroque art by region, features the highlight of the exhibition , Still Life with Quince, Cabbage, Melon and Cucumber (c.1602) by Juan Sánchez Cotán (1560-1627).

From the end of the 16th century to the beginning of the 17th century, still-life paintings began to be painted independently all over Europe, and in Spain, the “bodegón” style of still-life painting, which focuses on motifs related to food and the dining table, developed in particular. The painter Sánchez Cotán, who was active in Toledo around 1600, devised a unique compositional technique in which a small number of common vegetables and fruits are arranged on a stone frame, as seen in this work, and lit with spotlight-like light to accentuate the contrast between light and dark. This established the typical form of Spanish still-life painting that would continue to be used for a long time.

Commenting on the appeal of this work, curator Michael Brown (Curator of European Art at the San Diego Museum of Art), said , “At first glance it appears to be a simple composition, but the single blank space of darkness in the center exudes infinite elements and a mysterious, unreachable atmosphere.”

Kawase described this work as “the most balanced of the six surviving still lifes by Sánchez Cotán, and a masterpiece that clearly conveys the solemnity and serenity that are unique to Sánchez Cotán,” and said, “The fact that this work is coming to Japan is a major event in itself .”

For comparison, there is the gorgeous and decorative Still Life with Basket of Fruit and Game Birds (c.1621) by Juan van der Ament (1596-1631), who represented the next generation after Sánchez Cotán, and the Lamb of God (c.1635-40), which evokes quiet meditation and prayer, by Francisco de Zurbarán (1598-1664), also known as the “monk painter” for his many portraits of saints. In both compositions and devices, it is clear that they have inherited the tradition from Sánchez Cotán.

As for Zurbarán, the exhibition also presents four of his works, including his specialty, the large, single-figure Saint Dominic (1626-27), and the masterpiece of his mature period , the Virgin and Child with Saint John (1658), which is full of compassion. It succinctly shows the development of his artistic career, from a profound, sculptural realism to sweet, idealized expressions, as if wrapped in a veil of light. There is always an elegance and serenity present, and one can sense the artist’s consistent aesthetic sense.

Real Venice and Imaginary Rome: Cityscape Paintings Developing in Different Directions in Italy

Chapter 3 focuses on the development of Italian and French paintings, which led 18th century art, and examines the characteristics of each genre of landscape, portrait, and genre painting. Here, a comparative display of cityscape paintings in Venice and Rome is eye-catching.

In the 18th century, the Grand Tour was popular in England and countries north of the Alps, where the children of the upper classes traveled to various European cities, including Italy, the source of European civilization, to acquire cultural knowledge. One of the souvenirs they sought when returning home was cityscape paintings, known as vedota, which flourished in Venice and Rome, the two major centers of the Grand Tour.

As for cityscape paintings of Venice, the exhibition introduces works by Bernardo Bellotto (1721-1780) and Francesco Guardi (1712-1781), who are considered to be the three great masters of Venetian painting alongside Canaletto. Both of them depict the iconic scenery of the magnificent water city in a manner that appears largely realistic. In contrast, the exhibition on Rome, although also in Italy, moves away from recreating specific locations and presents a nostalgic world that blends reality and fantasy.

For example, in a pair of landscape paintings by Hubert Robert (1733-1808), who became famous as “Robert of the Ruins,” Robert brings together famous ancient works that are actually in different locations, such as the Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius in the Piazza del Campidoglio and Trajan’s Column, and also includes a huge temple that is probably a product of the imagination. Since the people in the painting are dressed in 18th-century clothing, the works are thought to strongly reflect the perspective of people at the time, who wanted to enjoy ancient buildings as ruins.

These are known as “capriccio” (fantastic paintings) among cityscape paintings. The streets of Rome, with its many crumbling and weathered ruins and historical buildings, seem to have been an important source of inspiration for painters, stimulating the imagination of travelers with their free-spirited ideas. Venice goes for realism, Rome for fantasy. It is clear how much influence regional characteristics have had on the rise of painting genres.

Understanding the transition from Loroco to Neoclassicism through two female painters: Capet and Benoist

In Chapter 3, there is a comparative exhibition of portraits by two female painters, Marie-Gabrielle Capet (1761-1818) and Marie-Guillemine Benoît (1768-1826), which clearly shows the change in aesthetic values in 18th century France, from the glamorous and aristocratic Rococo to Neoclassicism, which emphasizes order and reason.

Female artists began to emerge in France from the second half of the 18th century, and both Capet and Benoît were representative painters whose names were displayed at the Salon (official exhibition) of 1791, the first time women were allowed to exhibit after the French Revolution.

In Capet’s Self-Portrait (c.1783), the gorgeous blue dress and ribbons and curls in the hair are a clear example of the Rococo style, and the young artist’s expression as he gazes out at us is so bright and radiant that it is hard not to stare. You can sense his confidence, as if he is proud of his own skills. In contrast, Benoit’s Portrait of a Woman (c.1799) clearly shows a neoclassical tendency to seek models in the art of classical antiquity, with its ancient-style white chemise dress and sculptural, stable depiction of the body.

Not only is the quality of the works themselves high, but like the cityscape paintings mentioned above, it is easy to see where to look in order to enjoy the exhibit, making this a must-see exhibition, especially for beginners.

How does the way the fence is painted change the impression of the painting?

Chapter 4, which focuses on the diverse ways in which people were depicted in the 19th century, featured a comparative exhibition of “Hedge Surfaces” by Impressionist painters, which was somewhat surprising.

The exhibition focuses on the motif of fences, which are common in rural areas, depicted in the works of Camille Pissarro (1830-1903), the oldest Impressionist who left Paris to study the lives of farmers around Pontoise, and Theodore Robinson (1852-1896), an American painter who learned his artistic techniques in Sylveny, where Monet lived. The exhibition explains how fences are linked to the psychology of the characters and how they are effectively depicted as a device for spatial composition.

As the exhibition suggests ways to enjoy the artworks from such a somewhat niche perspective, even intermediate and advanced fans who wish to delve deeper into Western art can expect to make some fresh discoveries.

Enjoy casually, without any limitations on your thinking — Dean Fujioka’s way of appreciating films

Dean Fujioka, the exhibition’s audio guide navigator, also appeared at the press preview.

Looking back on the recording of the audio guide, Fujioka said, “If it becomes too pushy, like the ‘Koko Miru Exhibition,’ the intention changes. During meetings, I was told about the key points that would serve as criteria for judgment, such as the background of different eras, the social atmosphere, religious views, how to choose the motifs to paint, the touch, and the painting method, and I interpreted them in my own way, hoping to convey them as a form of guidance and navigation.”

He also suggested his own way of viewing films, saying, “I think that when you create your own story, it gives rise to your own perspective, and your own way of enjoying it on each day and in each moment. (When asked by the moderator if this means you first face the work and then speak to your own inner sensibilities) To put it coolly, yes. It’s like an endless loop of jokes and responses in your mind.”

“There are a variety of religious motifs and contexts, and some works have quite a lot of potential poke fun at. I try to enjoy those in a casual way, without any restrictions,” he continued. Looking at Zurbaran’s Saint Dominic, he described the artist’s appeal from his unique perspective, saying, “He’s looking up to the sky, with his hands in a cute heart-shaped pose,” which drew laughter from the audience.

During the exhibition, a limited event called “Dokomiru de Yokai” will be held for four days (night opening days). If you dress up in your own way and declare that you’ve been invited to the Yokai, you’ll receive an original postcard, and the venue will have photo spots and “Yokai photo items” such as masks and folding fans available.
*Please check the official exhibition website for detailed schedules and notes.

In addition to this exhibition, five paintings, including Goya’s “Vicente María de Vera de Aragón, Duke of La Roca” (c.1795), on loan from the San Diego Museum of Art, are also on display in the permanent exhibition room. The permanent exhibition can be viewed for free if you have a valid ticket for the “Dokomiru Exhibition” on the day, so don’t miss this one either.

Summary of “From where should we look at Western paintings? – From the Renaissance to the Impressionists: San Diego Museum of Art vs. National Museum of Western Art”

*The contents of this article are current as of the time of coverage. Please check the official exhibition website for the latest information.

Article provided by: Kokosil Ueno

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Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum

A large-scale exhibition looking back on the 70-year creative career of Juan Miro, one of Spain's three great masters alongside Picasso and Dali, has opened at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in Ueno, Tokyo. The exhibition will run from March 1 to July 6, 2025.

*The images in this article were taken with permission at a press preview.

Juan Miro (1893-1983), a painter from Catalonia, Spain, gained fame in the 1920s as a representative Surrealist painter. He is known for his colorful and unique poetic style, which depicts motifs found in nature such as the sun, stars, and moon as symbolic symbols, but he continued to challenge himself with new forms of expression and pursue pure and universal art until his death at the age of 90. He was considered one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.

This exhibition will bring together about 100 masterpieces, including his representative Constellations series, paintings, ceramics, sculptures, and other works from his early to later years, to comprehensively introduce Miro's entire artistic career . This project is in response to the worldwide trend of reevaluation of Miro 40 years after his death, and it will be the largest retrospective in Japan since the exhibition in 1966, which Miro cooperated with while he was still alive.

The exhibition is divided into five chapters.

When the young Miro fell ill after failing to get a job as an accountant recommended by his father, he resolved to pursue his long-held dream of becoming a painter while recuperating at a villa in the mountain village of Mont Roig. In 1912, Miro returned to art school and studied cutting-edge artistic trends.
In Chapter 1, "Young Miro: Determination to Art," there are works that show that Miro adopted various styles of painting during this period, such as Cubism, Fauvism, and Cezanne, who was regarded as a father by the avant-garde artists of the time, as he explored his own expression.

Miró left behind many works that use the emotional landscapes of Montroig as a motif, including his early masterpiece House with Palm Trees (1918). Montroig, where he strengthened his artistic beliefs, was the source of all his creative endeavors throughout his life, a place where he deepened his thoughts on art, and a place where he reaffirmed his identity as a Catalan. This work is a representative example of Miró's so-called "miniaturist period," in which he abandoned the Fauvist style that had greatly influenced him until then, and began to focus on depicting fine details.

In 1920, Miro finally made his long-awaited visit to Paris, the center of the art world, and was fascinated by the city's modernity and avant-garde art. The following year, he set up a studio in Paris and began commuting back and forth between his home and Montroig.

Inspired by his interactions with local surrealist artists and poets, he turned to a more poetic style of expression that was far removed from concreteness. Between 1925 and 1927, he produced over 100 "dream paintings," in which he added amorphous, dynamic lines to vast backgrounds that represent emptiness, using them as "symbols that represent the progression of dreams. " Among these is the " Painting = Poetry" series, in which he painted insubstantial words as if they were motifs, without distinguishing them from concrete objects, freeing them from their original role.

Chapter 2, "Mont Roig – Paris: From the Countryside to the City of the Avant-Garde," introduces these activities from the 1920s. The "Dream Paintings" became a hot topic in the Paris art world, and Miro became popular as a surrealist painter in both name and reality.

Miró, who was deeply influenced by 17th-century Dutch painting, painted Dutch Interior I (1928) based on Hendrik Solf's The Lute Player (1661). The exhibition also features panels displaying Solf's original work and the preparatory sketches for this work, and by comparing them, it becomes clear that Miró has eliminated three-dimensionality and perspective from Solf's naturalistic everyday scene, transforming it into a surreal world of flat colors and organic forms.

Miró went into exile in Spain when the Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936, and continued to create in solitude throughout the ensuing Second World War, avoiding the ravages of war.
Chapter 3, "Escape and Poetics: Against the Backdrop of the War Era," highlights the masterpiece "Constellation" series , which he began producing in 1940 when he fled from Paris to a village in Normandy and completed while moving between Mallorca and Mont Roig.

The Constellations series are small gouache paintings on paper instead of canvas. It is said that Miro deliberately escaped from the horrific reality, comforted himself with the vast and beautiful starry sky and music by Mozart and Bach, and used them as inspiration to show hope beyond reality. Of the 23 works in total, three will be exhibited in this exhibition : Morning Star, Woman and Bird, and Night Figures Guided by the Phosphorescent Trail of a Snail (1940). This series is also notable for the fact that Miro established a symbolic system, but since each work is scattered around the world, this is a rare opportunity to view multiple works together.

On the other hand, from around 1928, Miro began to criticize the commercialization of art and the excessive attention given to artists, and he felt the urge to "assassinate painting." Gradually, he began to create what could be called anti-art and anti-painting styles, such as collages and objects that coexist with materials and elements unrelated to painting, such as "Untitled (Lovers of the Night)" (1934), which features toilet paper pasted onto aluminum foil, which is featured in this chapter. He continued to question the nature of traditional painting.

Miró first visited the United States in 1947 to be commissioned to paint a mural, but his reputation there had already been growing six years earlier, with a retrospective of his work being held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. During his stay there, Miró was inspired by young artists, including Jackson Pollock, and after returning home he turned his attention to a wide range of creative endeavors, including etchings, lithographs, ceramics in collaboration with artisans, and sculpture.
Chapter 4, "Dream Atelier: Introspection and New Creations," traces these postwar developments in the 1950s and 1960s.

By the way, many of Miro's works have straightforward titles, but in fact, he liked to give a playful and poetic feeling to the relationship between the title and the work. A Red Dragonfly Pursuing a Snake Spiralling to a Comet (1951) is a typical example. Guided by the descriptive title, the viewer's eyes are misled on the screen just like a spiraling snake, trying to find the comet, snake, or red dragonfly. The vivid color scheme, meandering lines, and eerie depictions that encourage this curiosity are all Miro's devices. The ingenuity of the composition is astonishing.

This chapter also shows how his works, which began in 1956 after he completed his long-awaited large studio in Mallorca, became increasingly large, influenced by the giant paintings of American Abstract Expressionism. The large painting Figures before the Sun (1968) is one of the culminations of Miro's figurative language, and was inspired by the work of the Japanese painter-monk Sengai Gibon, who expressed the universe with the shapes of circles, triangles, and squares.

Miró had an interest in Japan from the early days, and during his visit to Japan in 1966, he recognized an affinity with traditional Japanese art and the ideas of Japanese artists. This work, with its confident brushstrokes evocative of calligraphy, is an important example of Miró's oriental sensibility, and it will be the first time in about 40 years that it will be exhibited outside Barcelona.

Chapter 5, "Towards the Essence of Painting," features works created in the 1970s and 1980s in his later years. Although Miro had already established himself as a world-famous master, he continued to examine his own activities even in his later years and did not hesitate to make bold and unconventional attempts.

For example, Burnt Canvas 2 (1973) is one of a series of five paintings in which paint was vigorously poured onto a white canvas, then stomped on it, cut up with a knife, and finally soaked in gasoline and set on fire. Rather than being the result of an impulsive act, the intention behind the work was to explore the beauty hidden in the materiality of the scorched canvas and paper, but this work also conveys an unfading energy and a strong rebellious spirit against art as high culture and art that has been reduced to mere property.

In his later years, Miro began to use brush strokes that reflected the movement of the body more. In his triptych Fireworks I, II, III (1974), which is similar in image to ink painting, Miro violently splashed paint and then applied brushstrokes over the paint that dripped down due to the action of gravity. This was influenced by American Abstract Expressionist painters, and he used a technique in which the creative process was guided by a new composition that was born from chance. This work is being exhibited in Japan for the first time.

Chapters 4 and 5 also explore Miro's active social, political, and cultural commitments through his poster production.

In the 1960s and 1970s, during the final days of the Franco dictatorship in Spain, Miro produced numerous posters as a way of expressing the hopes and demands of people who lacked a forum to openly voice their opinions. He also said, "An artist is someone who speaks out to convey something when others are silent," and the exhibition emphasizes Miro's stance as an artist, that is, that he did not study art throughout his life simply to speak about his own interests.

How did the painter Miro plunge into cutting-edge art throughout the 20th century and establish his own style while constantly placing himself in a state of creative tension? Come experience the process of his exploration and the appeal of his one-of-a-kind art at this exhibition.

Overview of the "Milo Exhibition"

*The contents of this article are current as of the time of coverage. Please check the official exhibition website for the latest information.

Article provided by: Kokosil Ueno

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Tokyo National Museum

Daikakuji Temple , located in Saga, Kyoto, has been loved by the imperial court and aristocrats as a scenic sightseeing spot ever since shortly after the capital was moved to Heian-kyo. It is the head temple of the Daikakuji school of the Shingon sect, whose founder was Kobo Daishi Kukai (774-835).
Its predecessor was Saga-in, a detached palace built by Emperor Saga (786-842) in the early Heian period, and in 876, at the request of his daughter, Princess Masako, it was converted into a temple and Daikaku-ji was founded. Since then, successive emperors and members of the imperial family have served as monzeki (head priests) at this prestigious temple, which has come to be affectionately known as Saga Gosho.

In anticipation of the 1150th anniversary of the founding of Daikakuji Temple in 2026, the Tokyo National Museum has opened a special exhibition commemorating the 1150th anniversary of the temple’s founding, “Former Saga Imperial Palace, Daikakuji Temple – A Profusion of Paintings Related to the Imperial Palace,” showcasing a number of outstanding temple treasures at once. The exhibition will run until Sunday, March 16, 2025.

*Works without a stated location are from Daikakuji Temple.
*Some artworks may be changed. Works without a display period listed will be on display throughout the entire exhibition period.
Early exhibition: January 21, 2025 (Tuesday) to February 16, 2025 (Sunday)
Late exhibition: February 18th (Tuesday) to March 16th (Sunday), 2025
*The contents of this article are current as of the time of coverage. Please check the official exhibition website for the latest information.

The venue is divided into four chapters, and the first chapter, “Emperor Saga and Kukai – From the Saga-in Imperial Villa to Daikaku-ji Temple,” displays works showing the history of Daikaku-ji Temple in its early days. The most eye-catching exhibit is the “Five Great Myo-o Statues,” which show the belief in the Five Great Myo -o, the core of Daikaku-ji Temple’s faith.

The Five Great Myo-o are made up of five Myo-o, who are esoteric Buddhist deities: Acala, Gosanze Myo-o, Gundari Myo-o, Daiitoku Myo-o, and Kongoyasha Myo-o. They were established in China during the Tang Dynasty, and are thought to have been introduced to Japan by Kukai, who returned from Tang. Emperor Saga, who loved Tang culture, was also a good friend of Kukai, and at Kukai’s urging, he enshrined the statues of the Five Great Myo-o in the Jibutsudo hall in the villa.

Although the statues from that time have already been lost, the faith in them has been passed down, and Daikakuji Temple still has three sets of “Five Great Wisdom Kings” in its collection today. Two of these sets are on display. One is the principal image of Daikakuji Temple, created at the palace of Emperor Goshirakawa by Myoen, a leading Buddhist sculptor of the En school, who created many Buddhist statues for the imperial court and high-ranking aristocrats in the late Heian period. The statue has a stern appearance with an angry expression, but its rounded, refined physique exudes a refined elegance, making it a masterpiece that harmonizes strength and grace. It is also not to be missed as this is the only surviving example of Myoen’s work.

The other statue is from the Godaido Hall of Seiryoji Temple in Kyoto, and is an impressive statue with a height of about 2m. Three of the statues are thought to have been made by the Muromachi period Buddhist sculptor Inshin, and two were restored in the Edo period.

Chapter 2, “Emperor Go-Uda, the Founder of the Restoration – The Beginnings of the Saga Imperial Palace,” focuses on the achievements of Emperor Go-Uda (1267-1324), who is known for developing the vast temple complex at Daikaku-ji Temple during the Kamakura period, including the main hall and monks’ quarters, as well as building the Sento Imperial Palace (the residence of the retired emperor) and ruling from a cloistered position, which led to the temple being called the “Saga Imperial Palace.” From the appearance of the vast temple complex at that time shown in the “Daikaku-ji Temple Grand Garan Map,” it is clear why Emperor Go-Uda is known as the “founder of the restoration of Daikaku-ji Temple.”

Emperor Gouda, who was a devout believer in Esoteric Shingon Buddhism, became an ajari (master monk) at Daikakuji Temple where he became a monk and left behind many sacred teachings and calligraphy while training his disciples. At the exhibition, you can see a number of valuable imperial calligraphy (handwritten by the emperor himself), such as the National Treasure “Emperor Gouda’s Imperial Handwriting: The Life of Kobo Daishi,” which records his reverence for Kukai, and “Emperor Gouda’s Imperial Handwriting: Kanjo Inmyō,” which records various theories on the esoteric Buddhism ritual of ablution.

Although Daikakuji Temple had a large and well-equipped temple complex, it became the headquarters of the imperial line (the Daikakuji line, later the Southern Court) that continued from Emperor Gosaga, and as a result, it was embroiled in many wars after the Nanboku-cho period, and suffered a series of hardships, including the Onin War, when most of the temple buildings were burned down. Chapter 3, “Emperors and Court Culture,” introduces the achievements of the successive emperors and head priests who supported Daikakuji Temple at that time, and the court culture that was brought about by them.

One of the highlights of this chapter is the simultaneous display of the two swords, “Usukiyoku (Hizamaru)” and “Onikirimaru (Higekiri),” which are said to be “sister swords” made by Minamoto no Mitsunaka in the mid-Heian period as swords to protect the country and passed down to successive heads of the Seiwa Genji clan.

The “Usu Midori (Hizamaru)” has a wide, bold, curved blade with a low tempered, small, irregular blade pattern. It was used by the main line of the Genji clan, including Yorimitsu, Yoshitsune, and Yoritomo, and was passed down to the Otomo, Tahara, and Saionji families, and then to the Yasui Monzeki temple before being passed down to Daikakuji. The “Onikirimaru (Higekiri)” has a slightly narrower blade with a graceful, medium curve and irregular blade pattern. This sword came into the hands of Nitta Yoshisada when the Kamakura Shogunate fell, and was donated to Kitano Tenmangu Shrine via Shiba Takatsune, who killed Yoshisada, and his descendants, the Mogami family.

Based on the belief that “a sword with excellent design has a spiritual power beyond human understanding,” these “brother swords” are said to have many mystical tales attached to them. These legends are closely linked to the rise and fall of the Genji clan, suggesting that the two swords not only symbolize the legitimacy and authority of the main line of the Genji clan, but were also believed to lead their owners to victory. This will be the first time that the two swords will be exhibited together in Tokyo. A special display case and display stand have been set up to make it easy to see the beautiful blades.

Chapter 4, “Sliding Door Paintings of the Empress’s Palace – Seishinden and Shinden,” is the highlight of the exhibition. The Shinden , located in the center of the Daikakuji temple complex, is a Shinden-style building bestowed by Emperor Gomizunoo, and was the relocated palace of Wako (Tofukumon’in), who entered the Imperial Court in 1620. The Seishinden, located to the northwest of it, is a Shoin-style building built during the Azuchi-Momoyama period, and was used as the throne room (residence) of successive head priests.

Many of the approximately 240 sliding door and shoji paintings that decorate the interior were created by Kano Sanraku (1559-1635), a painter representing the Azuchi-Momoyama to Edo periods who served the Toyotomi and Kujo families, and are collectively designated as Important Cultural Properties. The temple is currently undergoing a major restoration that has been ongoing for 14 years, and this exhibition focuses on works that have been restored, with 123 paintings (100 from the early period and 102 from the later period) being shown. It is said that this is the first time that paintings on this scale have been taken outside the temple, and the spectacular sight is captivating.

The 13-panel “Pine and Hawk” painting, which decorates the “Hawk Room” of the main bedroom, is a representative work of Sanraku’s ink-wash painting of flowers and birds, depicting a giant pine tree and a brave hawk within a long screen. Some may recall the “Cypress Screen” by Sanraku’s teacher, Kano Eitoku (1543-90), housed in the Tokyo National Museum, with its dynamic movement created by the large, undulating thick trunk and meandering branches, and the balance that dominates the whole work.

One of Sanraku’s greatest masterpieces , Red and White Plum Blossoms (8 panels), which beautifully blends realism with decoration and decorates the Red Plum Blossom Room in the Shinden Palace, also shows the influence of Eitoku in the depiction of the large tree spread across the entire screen. However, all of these works are portrayed with a softer, gentler tone than Eitoku’s boldness, suggesting that Sanraku inherited his master’s characteristics while refining his own stylistic individuality.

The 12-panel painting of rabbits on the lower shoji screens decorating the veranda of the main bedroom was created by Watanabe Shiki (1683-1755), a mid-Edo period painter who studied under the Kano school and Ogata Korin. It is said to have been commissioned by Konoe Iehiro to comfort his son, born in the year of the rabbit, who entered Daikakuji Temple at a young age from the Konoe family. The painting features 19 rabbits in a variety of poses, such as with ears on their hind legs or relaxing close together, set amongst sprawling wildflowers.

The special exhibition “Former Saga Imperial Palace, Daikakuji Temple – A Profusion of Paintings Related to the Imperial Palace,” which allows visitors to immerse themselves in the temple’s long history and elegant atmosphere, will be held until March 16, 2025.

Summary of the special exhibition commemorating the 1150th anniversary of the founding of the temple: “Former Saga Imperial Palace, Daikakuji Temple – A Profusion of Paintings Related to the Imperial Palace”

*The contents of this article are current as of the time of coverage. Please check the official exhibition website for the latest information.

Article provided by: Kokosil Ueno

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National Museum of Nature and Science

Birds are the most numerous terrestrial vertebrates, with approximately 11,000 species, and thrive in a variety of environments around the world, from the sky and land to the water and polar regions. In Japan, bird classification is based on the Catalogue of Japanese Birds published by the Ornithological Society of Japan, but in recent years, the classification was revised for the first time in 12 years in September this year, taking into account the evolutionary history and lineages that have been revealed by the rapid progress of genome analysis.

The special exhibition "Birds: New bird lineages revealed by genome analysis" (until February 24, 2025) currently being held at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Ueno, Tokyo, explains the diverse charms of birds around the world, including their amazing ecology, based on the latest genome lineage classification. With over 600 bird specimens on display, it is the largest scale in the history of the National Museum of Nature and Science, and can be enjoyed by a wide range of people, from beginners to bird enthusiasts and avid bird watchers.

Nishiumi Isao (Chief Researcher in the Zoological Research Department at the National Museum of Nature and Science), who served as the overall supervisor of this exhibition, spoke about the significance of holding this exhibition at a press preview held prior to its opening as follows:

"Birds play a variety of roles in the ecological pyramid. For example, nectar-eating birds are involved in pollination, while seed-eating birds are involved in seed dispersal. Woodpeckers, who can dig nest holes, provide habitats for a variety of creatures that cannot make their own nest holes, such as flying squirrels and owls, and thus enrich biodiversity. Many of these birds have been declining in number in recent years, and some are on the verge of extinction. We believe that holding the 'Birds' exhibition, getting to know birds better and becoming familiar with them, is extremely important in considering the global environment."

According to Nishiumi, birds are particularly susceptible to environmental influences among animals. It is conservatively estimated that 1,430 species have become extinct due to human activity, which means that 12% of all species have become extinct. As a prologue to this exhibition, a corner on the theme of "extinction" is set up, and you can feel the strong desire of the curators to "above all else, let people know about the current situation surrounding birds."

One of the highlights of this exhibition is the life-size reconstructed model of Pelagornis sandersi, the largest flying bird in history with a wingspan of up to 7m, which lived approximately 26 million years ago.

Takanobu Taibichi (Chief Researcher in the Department of Earth Sciences, National Museum of Nature and Science), who supervised this model, commented, "As far as we know, this is the largest flying bird in history. We attempted this restoration because we wanted to explore the potential of birds, or how large a bird needs to be to fly given its body structure, and to explore the diversity of shapes known from fossils, as well as the limits of shape."

The greatest attraction of this exhibition is undoubtedly the volume of specimens .

According to Nishiumi, he carefully selected the best-looking specimens from the approximately 3,000 in the National Museum of Nature and Science's collection. With the cooperation of the Abiko Bird Museum, the only bird museum in Japan, and Himeji Museum, the exhibition features over 600 bird specimens from all over the world and throughout history, which is truly impressive. "See all the birds you'll ever see in your lifetime!?" is the exhibition's catchphrase, but as a rough guide, if you can observe more than 400 species of birds, you're considered a very experienced birdwatcher.

Cute birds, unique birds, rare birds… With such a wide variety, no matter what kind of bird you're looking for, you're sure to enjoy it.

The venue is laid out according to taxonomic orders, and one area to pay particular attention to is the "Penguin Gathering" corner, which displays the order Sphenisciformes.

There are 15 specimens of 11 of the 18 extant species of penguins on display. Some specimens have unique poses, such as an emperor penguin watching over its chicks, while others have a sense of story in their arrangement, such as a group of African penguins and a group of Magellanic penguins staring in the same direction as if intrigued by something. The specimens come together as a single scene, creating an atmosphere almost like that of a zoo.

It's interesting to see the great auks, which look similar to penguins but are from a completely different family, casually mixed in like a game of spot the difference. Penguins are limited to the Southern Hemisphere, but it is said that flightless birds like the great auks have evolved convergently (※) in the Arctic as well.

(*)…When organisms from very different lineages are placed in the same environment, such as a fish shark and a mammal dolphin, or a bird's wing and a mammal's bat's wing, they acquire similar traits and functions.

If you look up into the sky above the "Penguin Gathering" area, you'll see a South Polar skua, a predator that preys on penguin eggs and chicks, spreading its wings and appearing to be targeting the penguins. It's easy to miss the hanging exhibits, so we recommend taking a 360-degree look around the venue.

The exhibition is based on phylogenetic research using genome analysis, and one of its symbolic results is the establishment of the order Falconidae. In the traditional classification, which was based mainly on morphological differences, falcons were classified as part of the Falconidae family, and this had hardly been questioned until now. However, it has been discovered that they are actually closer to the parrots and passerines in terms of their lineage than to hawks.

There are 44 orders, from Strigiformes to Passeriformes. However, while there are over 6,700 species of Passeriformes that are distributed almost worldwide, there is only one species of Hoatzin, the black-spotted hoatzin, that is endemic to the Amazon basin; there is a wide range in the number of species and their distribution ranges.

This rare bird, one species in a single order, is arboreal, has low flying ability, and is the only bird that has a unique ecology in that it mainly eats leaves. It has an image that is the polar opposite of carnivorous birds of prey that fly powerfully through the sky to hunt prey, but it is suggested that phylogenetically, birds of prey such as hawks and owls may have arisen through the Hoatzins.

Generally, bird "orders" branch off at roughly the same time, with the groups that branched off between 66 million years ago, when the mass extinction of the dinosaurs occurred due to an asteroid impact, and around 50 million years ago. The Hoatzinidae order did not branch off for over 50 million years, and it is unclear whether they survived as a single species or whether they became extinct with only one species remaining, making them a rather mysterious species.

The "Secrets of Birds" section, which features contributions from Watari Numagasa , a popular creator known for his illustrated animal illustrations, is also a must-see.

The corner has 23 themes, such as "Do cuckoos' egg-laying parasitism lead to the death of their hosts?" and "Bird dialects and words" , and introduces the latest research findings in the form of trivia. Numagasa Watari's illustrations help visitors understand the exhibit with their humorous, chuckle-inducing illustrations.

One of the curators, Shoji Hamao (Chief Researcher in the Zoological Research Department at the National Museum of Nature and Science), said, "In this exhibition, we wanted to emphasize the differences in how birds and people see the world," referring to the exhibit in the same corner, "What pigeons can teach us about the 'minds' of birds."

The results of an experiment were presented in which pigeons, trained to distinguish between Japanese and Western paintings, were shown scrambled images in which the original painting was divided into 1,024 parts and rearranged randomly. While it is difficult for humans to determine whether the original painting is Japanese or Western, pigeons were able to easily distinguish between the two, even when seeing the painting for the first time.

"Humans are good at looking at the whole picture and picking out features, but pigeons are very honest about the small details, and they look at each and every detail and remember it. That's how they perceive things. In other words, they perceive the world differently. This story doesn't mean that pigeons are smart or not, but it shows that Homo sapiens and birds perceive things differently, and see the world in different ways," says Hamao.

Hamao also mentioned an exhibit on the surprising pairing relationships between male and female birds. As the term "lovebirds" suggests, some people may imagine that birds form monogamous pairs and raise children together in harmony. However, for example, when a male pheasant has a baby with a female in his pairing, he abandons nest-building, incubation, raising the eggs, and the bond with his partner, and instead courts other females one after another, which is why he is said to be polygamous (or promiscuous).

From a human perspective, this behavior would make one frown, thinking, "How can they move from one woman to another without raising their young?" But in reality, the chicks mature quickly, and one bird is enough to raise the young. Hamao says that this is the result of each individual bird evolving to leave as many young as possible in the harsh natural environment.

"The image we have of birds, that humans think birds must think this way because we think this way, is surprisingly not accurate. Birds have acquired all sorts of characteristics to leave more offspring under the harsh selective pressure of evolution. So we shouldn't think of this in terms of humans. We create exhibits like this with the idea that we need to know what birds really look like, admire them, and think about conservation." (Hamao)

Genome analysis has revealed a different image of birds than we had previously. What ecological characteristics do they have, what kind of lifestyles do they lead, and what role do they play in the ecosystem? Now that we know this, what kind of charm will we find in them? This exhibition will be the perfect opportunity to update our image of birds in the genomic era.

Summary of the special exhibition "Birds: New bird lineages revealed by genome analysis"

*The contents of this article are current as of the date of coverage. Please check the official exhibition website for the latest information.

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