Category: Report

Tokyo National Museum

The national treasure “Haniwa Warrior with Armored Arms,” which is said to be the greatest masterpiece among the many different types of haniwa made during the Kofun period, has celebrated its 50th anniversary since being designated a national treasure, and a special exhibition commemorating this occasion, “Haniwa,” has opened at the Tokyo National Museum (hereinafter referred to as “Tokyo National Museum”). The exhibition will run until December 8, 2024.

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Haniwa, which were actively produced from the 3rd to 6th centuries during the Kofun period, are unglazed sculptures that were lined up in burial mounds, the tombs of kings and other powerful people. Early on, they were simple cylindrical shapes, but as time went on, they developed into more and more unique pieces, including human figures, adorable animal figures such as horses and birds, and pictographs of elaborate weapons and houses. They are valuable materials that convey the lives and customs of ancient people to the present day.

This exhibition will bring together about 120 carefully selected treasures from around Japan, including haniwa and grave goods excavated from ancient tombs. This will be the first large-scale haniwa exhibition held at the Tokyo National Museum in about half a century.

Welcoming visitors at the entrance to the first venue is the adorable Haniwa Dancing People, with their playful expressions, which has now become a recognized icon of Haniwa. Haniwa, which emerged and developed uniquely in the Japanese archipelago, are characterized by simplified and rounded expressions in the clothing, faces, and gestures, but this representative work is filled with that unique “looseness .” It is said to depict people dancing in a ritual, and is also the model for the Tokyo National Museum’s mascot character, “Tohaku-kun.”

When it was excavated from the Nohara Tomb in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture in 1930, it was immediately repaired and restored, but in recent years it has deteriorated so much that it is no longer possible to lend it out. Therefore, the Tokyo National Museum and the Cultural Properties Utilization Center are raising donations through crowdfunding and other means, and will begin dismantling and repairing it in October 2022. Repairs are scheduled to be completed in March 2024, and this exhibition will be the first opportunity for the statue to be shown since its repairs.

There have been several changes since the restoration, but the biggest change is probably the intensity of the reddish color. During cleaning, it was discovered that the work had a stronger yellowish color than it actually was, due to dirt that had accumulated while it was buried and dirt in the air that had accumulated over the years of display. Old excavated items are often left with no effort to remove dirt, in order to show their history, but in this restoration, they decided to remove as much dirt as possible in order to allow the viewer to imagine how it was when it was first made. The original color that emerged is said to be a reddish burnt color that is rich in iron and contains volcanic minerals, a color that is often seen in northern Kanto.

Regarding the Haniwa Dancing People, according to Tokyo National Museum researcher Yamamoto Ryo, a recent theory that has gained popularity is that “rather than dancing, the figures are actually pulling a horse.”

Haniwa figures with one hand raised were often originally excavated together with horses. Also, it is possible that the twisted cord hanging from the waist of the shorter haniwa represents reins, and the sickle on its back represents an object used to cut grass for the horse. If it was a horse-puller, it would be a little disappointing, considering that we have been familiar with the “dancing people” for so many years…

“On the other hand, it is common for the meaning of the original haniwa to change as it develops. In this exhibition, we call them group figures of haniwa, but there are some that combine different types of haniwa to express various stories, such as a hunting scene using a hunter haniwa with a deer or boar haniwa. Therefore, depending on the combination of haniwa, there is still the possibility that they could have expressed a dancing scene, as has been said until now,” said Yamamoto. Further research is expected.

The next exhibition corner, titled “The Appearance of the King,” is a luxurious space where all the exhibits are national treasures.

In ancient tombs, luxurious grave goods are sometimes found along with the haniwa. For example, in the early Kofun period (3rd to 4th centuries), kings played a priestly role like Himiko, and many bronze mirrors and bracelet-type treasures made from precious stones have been excavated.

The exhibition will introduce the National Treasure “Gold Inlaid Sword,” a sword with an unparalleled decorative pommel that was excavated from the Todaijiyama Tomb, built in the late 4th century. This sword, known as the oldest inscribed sword excavated in Japan, is said by some researchers to have been inherited by Himiko from the Chinese dynasty.

In the middle of the Kofun period (5th century), when the kings took on a more warrior-like nature in the wake of a period of upheaval on the Korean Peninsula, weapons and equipment became prominent. In the late Kofun period (6th century), when the centralized nature of the Yamato kingship strengthened and the custom of horse riding became more widespread, gilt bronze accessories began to appear, adorning the kings and their horses in splendid ways and showing their authority.

In this way, the grave goods changed in tandem with the changes in the king’s role, so by examining them, we can get a glimpse of how the culture and customs of the time when the haniwa were made were changing.

The custom of erecting haniwa in kofun burial mounds has spread throughout the Japanese archipelago, from the Kinki region, the center of kofun culture, to Iwate Prefecture in the north and Kagoshima Prefecture in the south, centering on the Yamato royal authority. As these haniwa developed, their individuality emerged in their expressions, depending on the differences in customs in each region, the proficiency of the craftsmen, and the strength of the relationship with the great king, from elaborate ones that are comparable to those in the tombs of the great kings to unique ones that are full of regional color. The “Haniwa Forms” exhibition corner focuses on the development of these diverse forms.

For example, the horse-shaped clay figure excavated from the Ishiyakushi East Burial Mounds in Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, is unique in its straight mane or headgear, making it a rare specimen that is unseen anywhere else in Japan. The beard-bearded boy clay figure, said to have been excavated in Ibaraki Prefecture, resembles a fairy from a picture book with its curly hair and pointed hat. These clay figures with long beards are known as examples of highly regional styles from the 6th century.

What was secretly catching the visitors’ attention were the “Cylindrical Haniwa with Faces,” cylindrical haniwa that for some reason had facial features added to them.

The roots of cylindrical haniwa lie in earthenware called special vessel stands, which were used as ritual vessels in the Kibi region (present-day Okayama Prefecture) during the Yayoi period as stands to hold vases, and there is no reason for them to have faces. Cylindrical haniwa remained mainstream from the birth of haniwa until their disappearance, but there are only a few examples of cylindrical haniwa with faces excavated, mainly in northern Kanto, such as Shimogo Tenjinzuka Tomb in Tamamura Town, Gunma Prefecture, and Gyokidaira Sancho Tomb in Ashikaga City, Tochigi Prefecture. Perhaps it was the playfulness of a haniwa craftsman who thought, “A plain cylindrical shape is boring”?

As you enter the second venue, you will come to the highlight of the exhibition: the display corner for “National Treasure: Warriors Wielding Armor and Their Companions.”

The Haniwa Warrior in Armor , owned by the Tokyo National Museum, was excavated in Ota City, Gunma Prefecture, and is the first Haniwa to be designated a National Treasure. There are four other similar warrior Haniwa figures thought to have been produced in the same workshop as this one, which have been restored in perfect condition, but this exhibition will be the first time that all five of these “brothers” have been exhibited together in one place . One of these figures is currently in the possession of the Seattle Art Museum in the United States, making this a rare opportunity to compare the two.

The Tokyo National Museum’s collection is three-dimensional and elaborately crafted down to the smallest detail, and shows the figure covered in armor from head to toe, holding a bow in the left hand, a sword in the right hand, and a quiver (arrow holder) on his back. By the way, the armor on the upper body is made of small iron plates sewn together.

“There are no other examples of haniwa figures clad in such heavy armor,” said Masanori Kono, a researcher at the Tokyo National Museum.

“These ‘Warriors in Armor’ were made in the second half of the 6th century. Until the first half of the 6th century, the Kinki region, which was the cultural center of the time, led the way in haniwa making, and other regions followed suit. With the introduction of Buddhism, values changed, and the creation of keyhole-shaped tumuli and haniwa making gradually declined in the Kinki region. However, even in the second half of the 6th century, this influence had not yet reached Gunma, and haniwa were still being made enthusiastically. Gunma was extraordinarily enthusiastic about making haniwa, mastering extremely skilled techniques and leaving behind many haniwa that are representative of Japan.”

The five “Warriors in Armor” have very similar appearances, including their facial expressions, but on closer inspection there are some differences, such as the arrow holder they are carrying on their backs not a quiver but a koraku, which appeared later than the quiver, and hakama rather than protective gear worn on the lower half of their bodies.It is also worth noting that there has been a gradual omission of small details from the oldest specimen in the Tokyo National Museum’s collection, the Aikawa Archaeological Museum in Gunma, to the newest specimen in the Tenri Reference Museum attached to Tenri University in Nara.

Regarding this exhibition, Researcher Kono said, “I don’t want this to be just an exhibition of masterpieces. I have a strong desire to convey the latest research results to everyone in an easy-to-understand way, so I thought about the composition of the exhibition in light of the research results,” and cited the display of the color restoration of the museum’s collection of “Warriors with Armored Arms” as a prime example. Scientific analysis and detailed naked eye observation revealed that the entire piece was painted in three colors: white, red, and gray. This completely overturned the conventional image.

Towards the end of the exhibition, in the “Haniwa that tell stories” section, the focus is on the aforementioned “Haniwa Group Statues,” which combine multiple haniwa figures, including people and animals, to express various stories. The section introduces the role each haniwa played in the story, such as the “kneeling boy,” which represents a formal bow scene to praise the morality of the deceased king and pledge loyalty to the new king, and the sumo wrestler who stomps his feet to ward off evil spirits from the land on which the burial mound is built.

There is also a large collection of adorable animal haniwa here. The most commonly made animal haniwa is the horse, which was a symbol of power, but other figures such as roosters that herald the dawn, and deer, wild boars, and dogs that depict hunting scenes were also made in connection with royal ceremonies. On the other hand, some waterfowl and fish are thought to be faithful copies of animals in nature, and you can feel the natural creative consciousness of ancient peoples.

This large-scale haniwa exhibition was miraculously realized after about five years of preparation, in order to gather the top masterpieces from each collection. Why not take this opportunity to experience the profound depth of the world of haniwa once again?

 

*Photography is permitted in the exhibition rooms of this exhibition, with the exception of some works.

Summary of the special exhibition “Haniwa” commemorating the 50th anniversary of the designation of the “Keiko Warrior” as a national treasure

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

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National Museum of Western Art

The exhibition “Monet: Water Lilies” has opened at the National Museum of Western Art in Ueno, Tokyo, focusing on the late works of Claude Monet, a representative Impressionist painter, and the changes in his expression. The exhibition will run until February 11, 2025.

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Claude Monet (1840-1926) is also known for establishing the technique of “series painting,” in which he observes the same motif in different seasons and weather conditions, and captures the ever-changing impressions and movement of light on multiple canvases. In 1890, at the age of 50, Monet purchased land and a house in the small village of Giverny, France, and spent several years creating a “water garden” with a water lily pond. The surface of this water lily pond, where the surrounding trees, sky, and light are reflected together, became Monet’s greatest creative source in his later years.

This exhibition will introduce Monet’s artistic expression from his later years, which constitutes the culmination of his career, focusing on his Water Lilies series, from his earliest and precious Water Lilies to large-scale Water Lilies created during the process of creating the “large decorative paintings” that occupied his mind until the end.

The exhibition will bring 48 paintings, including 7 that will be shown in Japan for the first time, from the Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris, which boasts one of the world’s largest collections of Monet paintings. A total of 66 works will be on display, including masterpieces from the Matsukata Collection at the National Museum of Western Art and other collections in Japan.

A large blown-up photograph at the entrance to the venue shows Monet’s hatted head reflected in a water lily pond. Sylvie Carlier, head of collections and chief curator of cultural properties at the Marmottan Monet Museum, who attended the press preview of the exhibition, said, “The photograph visually conveys the overall intention of the exhibition, which is to move together with Monet through the waterscape and the plants that live near it, through Monet’s perspective.”

This exhibition is composed of four chapters and an epilogue. Chapter 1, “From the Seine to the Water Lilies,” introduces works depicting London and the Seine, which were Monet’s main creative sources in the late 1890s before he began working on Water Lilies. It shows how Monet became interested in the motif of water and the effects of light and reflections on the water’s surface.

In addition, it is said that Monet first painted “Water Lilies” in 1897, and Chapter 1 also exhibits valuable examples that are believed to be the earliest “Water Lilies” .

In contrast to his later series, he focuses on the water lilies themselves rather than the water surface reflecting the trees and sky. The forms of the objects are depicted with meticulous brushwork while retaining realistic elements, allowing for comparison with his later increasingly abstract works.

Decorative arts flourished in France at the end of the 19th century like never before, and Monet also began to create full-scale decorative paintings during the Impressionist period of the 1870s. In the 1890s, while pursuing the effect of exhibiting a series of works, he came up with the idea of “Grande Décoration,” a series of decorative paintings that would fill the exhibition space with a single theme: water lilies. Despite suffering from cataracts, he began working on this energetically from 1914, and it eventually came to fruition in the form of eight huge decorative panels that covered the entire exhibition room of the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris.

Although the final motif was water, water lilies, and willow trees, Monet’s original plan was to incorporate a wide variety of flowers planted around the pond, as he was a great horticulture enthusiast . Chapter 2, “Decoration of Water and Flowers,” features works that were an important part of the concept, such as the wisteria creeping on the arched bridge over the pond and the agapanthus blooming on the shore.

Irises were one of Monet’s favorite flowers, and of the flower studies he created after 1914, he painted irises in the most number of works, second only to water lilies, totaling 20. At first glance, Yellow Irises seems to be a composition looking up at the irises from the perspective of an insect or fish, but in fact it combines two different perspectives: the irises captured from the side, and a viewer looking down at the surface of the pond on which the sky is reflected. Monet was intent on exploring pictorial spaces that would shake up the viewer’s perceptions.

Chapter 3, “The Path to Large Decorative Paintings,” displays nine large works that are particularly related to the finished form of the “Water Lilies” created during the production process of the large decorative paintings. This is the highlight of the exhibition, where you can be surrounded by “Water Lilies” in an elliptical exhibition space inspired by the exhibition room of the Musée de l’Orangerie, and become one with the world of meditative colors that stretches out endlessly. In addition, photography is also allowed in this area.

In two of the nine works, the reflection of clouds, which became an important motif in his work after 1914, is prominent. In the other, white clouds tinted faintly orange are at the center, creating a clear contrast with the blue sky. Water lilies and weeping willows painted with free-spirited brushstrokes stretch out above, below, left and right of the picture, giving a lively impression.

One view is that Monet began to place importance on the reflection of clouds because he wanted to strengthen the sense that heaven and earth are one on the surface of the pond, by combining them with elements connected to the earth, such as poplars and willow trees.

The production of these huge decorative panels was based on studies that Monet had painted outdoors in his newly constructed, vast studio. Through the process of internalizing the memory of impressions of nature and reconstructing them on canvas, Monet’s art became detached from the reality reflected on the retina and transformed into more internal images.

Chapter 4, “Symphonic Colors,” introduces a series of small works that were created in parallel with the large decorative paintings that he continued until his death. The motifs include a Japanese-style drum bridge over a water lily pond and a path with a rose arch in the “Flower Garden” adjacent to the “Water Garden.”

Perhaps due to his deteriorating eyesight caused by his progressive cataracts, his works gradually lost their sense of perspective and began to take on a flat expanse. His color vision also became distorted; at times yellow and green dominated his world, and at other times all other colors seemed bluish, with reds in particular appearing muddy. After undergoing three surgeries from 1923, his eyesight recovered to some extent, but the “Japanese Bridges” series, which he painted during that time, show a tangle of colors so tangled that the motifs are indistinguishable, the outlines melt, and the brushstrokes are densely intertwined.

Looking back at the delicate expressions seen in Chapter 1, you will be surprised at the clear difference. The way he persistently applies color, slamming his brush down, seems to imprint the reality of the motif, but it also feels like an expression of his fear of the disabilities that could be fatal to a painter, such as declining eyesight and a lack of color.

However, Monet actually kept these series of paintings from his final years, which at first glance could be seen as the product of a period of uncertainty, until the very end. Considering that he was a perfectionist who ruthlessly discarded anything he didn’t like, we can see them as the fruit of a rich experimental spirit based on the sense of color he had cultivated through his experiences.

The epilogue, “An Upside-Down World,” concludes the exhibition with two works depicting weeping willows, created as studies for large decorative paintings. In the last years of Monet’s life, when he faced many hardships, including the death of his beloved family and the First World War, these weeping willows are also interpreted as motifs symbolizing sadness and mourning, as they appear to be shedding tears.

In conceiving his large decorative paintings, Monet aimed to create a space where the viewer could be enveloped in an infinite expanse of water with no beginning or end, and could meditate peacefully. In this Water Lilies , the boundary between the real and virtual images of the weeping willows that occupy the left half of the painting is extremely ambiguous, giving the viewer the impression of a tranquil and eternal world.

In his later years, Monet overturned the worldview based on the traditional perspective of Western painting with a new way of perceiving space. Don’t miss the exhibition “Monet: The Time of Water Lilies,” where you can experience the rich development of his artistic career, which went beyond Impressionism with his unabated creative impulse.

Overview of “Monet’s Water Lilies”

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

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Taito City Asakura Museum of Sculpture

Fumio Asakura is a leading sculptor in the world of modern Japanese sculpture, and is also known as a cat lover. A special exhibition commemorating the 60th anniversary of his death, “Wonderful Cat Life: Fumio Asakura, Cats, and Sometimes Dogs,” is being held at the Taito City Asakura Museum of Sculpture, featuring a collection of his cat-themed sculptures. The exhibition will run until Tuesday, December 24, 2024.

*All works introduced are from the Asakura Museum of Sculpture.

Sculptor Asakura Fumio (1883-1964) produced masterpieces of portrait sculpture such as Grave Guardian and Portrait of Okuma Shigenobu, from his thorough pursuit of “naturalistic realism” that captures the subject as it is, and in 1948 he became the first sculptor to receive the Order of Culture. In addition to his creative endeavors, he taught at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts (now the Faculty of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts), from which he graduated at the top of his class, and also devoted himself to nurturing the next generation of artists, presiding over the “Asakura Sculpture School” at the Asakura Museum of Sculpture, which was his studio and residence.

Asakura was also known as an avid cat lover, and at one time he kept as many as 19 cats in his mansion. He created cat sculptures almost throughout his life, sometimes using his pet cats as models. In 1964, to commemorate his 60th year as a sculptor and the Tokyo Olympics, he organized the “Cat in All Forms” exhibition, capturing the various poses of cats.

However, in April just before the Olympics, he passed away from illness at the age of 81, and the “Cat in All Forms” exhibition never came to fruition. The dream was carried on by those involved, and was realized as a special exhibition in 1994 and 2017 at the Asakura Museum of Sculpture, his final residence.

This special exhibition, “Wonderful Cat Life: Asakura Fumio and Cats, and Sometimes Dogs,” also focuses on cat-related works, just like the “Cats in All Forms” exhibition, but what differs from past exhibitions is the way it is displayed.

“Rather than just displaying our cat works, we took into consideration how Asakura spent his time here (at the Asakura Museum of Sculpture) with the cats and what their lives were like,” says Yasuko Tobari, chief researcher at the Asakura Museum of Sculpture.

Although it is not widely known, Asakura not only had cats but also dogs. Although there are no works that use his beloved dogs as models, he did create a small number of dog-themed works, and by including these works, he aimed to make the exhibition more lively and easy to imagine what life was like in the past.

The exhibition will feature 53 works, including bronze statues of cats, as well as sketches of cats and handwritten haiku about cats. Photography, which was an important creative tool for Asakura, will also be on display.

As visitors enter the studio, the main exhibition space, the first thing that greets them is Hanging Cat (1909), the earliest cat work recorded to have been exhibited.

This work, which was exhibited at the 3rd Bunten Exhibition, had a novel composition for the time, and the highlight is the contrast between the strong arms that are pinching the cat’s neck and the cat’s relaxed, dangling body. The expression of the cat, which seems to want to say something, makes you smile. If you look closely, you can see that the cat’s hind legs are slightly tense, and you can feel the sharp observational eye and outstanding expressiveness that the young Asakura, who had just graduated from the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, already possessed.

According to Tobari, there is an anecdote in which Takamura Kotaro, a sculptor and outspoken art critic who was a friend of Asakura, praised the fact that Asakura had exhibited a small piece like this one, which depicts an ordinary day, at the Bunten exhibition.

“Up until then, Bunten exhibitions had often featured works that pursued the beauty of the human body or concrete human bodies expressing abstract themes, which were often exhibited as larger-than-life-size works. In this context, Takamura praised Asakura for treating the cat as just a cat. I think Takamura’s words gave Asakura confidence that even small pieces that capture everyday scenes like this could be considered works of art. This may be why Asakura continued to create cat artworks throughout his life,” says Tobari .

On the other hand, Takamura reportedly pointed out the stiffness of the expression of the arms in this work. Asakura took Takamura’s criticism seriously and created Arms (c. 1909), which was probably created in the same year, as a practice piece, since there is no record of it having been exhibited at any exhibitions.

In addition to Arm, the exhibition also features Hand (1918), created 10 years later by Kotaro Takamura. Asakura, who was collecting funds to study abroad, asked Takamura to create freely without revealing his identity, using words that echo his earlier criticism, such as “one hand, one leg.” Perhaps this alone struck a chord with Takamura, as he eventually realized that the request had come from Asakura. The exhibition gives a glimpse into the relationship between the two sculptors.

Moving our gaze to his later work, A Good Catch (1946), created about 40 years after Hanging Cat, we are astonished at the refinement of his technique. The stiffness of the muscles around the cat’s neck at the moment it bites the mouse, its ferocious expression, and the sense of balance of its front legs as it prepares for the mouse’s resisting movement. The realism of the work, which makes it easy to imagine the cat jumping down afterwards, is as if it were a mold of the cat at that exact moment.

Asakura, who loved everything about cats, including their whimsical movements and temperament, was also very interested in the skeleton that creates the unique, graceful movements of cats. Of course, he studied skeletal specimens, but Tobari said, “Asakura’s daughter said that Asakura always put cats on his lap and stroked them, not just to pet them, but to explore and confirm the structure of their skeletons and muscles.” This is an episode that is full of Asakura’s unique style, who pursued strict realism.

Even in the same sleeping pose, cats can be depicted with their heads buried in their front paws or with different ears and tail shapes. There is also a wide variety of cat poses, such as stretching, feeding kittens, and kittens snuggling up to each other.

At first glance, the work Postpartum Cat (1911) appears to be simply sitting, but it depicts the scene when Asakura returns home after an inspection tour of the South Seas and is greeted by his pet cat, who had just given birth two days earlier. The cat is looking tired and bowed.

Asakura was inspired to create this work by her beloved cat, who was clinging to her lap as if to express her fatigue from childbirth and the joy of the birth of her kitten. When asked why there are more detailed deformations in this work compared to her other cat works, Tobari said , “I think I was trying to capture the cat’s emotions, its tiredness and joy, rather than the cat’s appearance.”

On the other hand, in His later years’ work My Cat is Sick (1958), which depicts his beloved cat, emaciated, with sagging skin and lustrous fur, raising his bottom and enduring the pain, the work lacks the softness seen in his other works and conveys the determination and sadness of an artist who was facing head-on illness and death that would make one want to look away.

For Asakura, cat artworks are different from portrait sculptures that are created under certain constraints upon request; he creates them freely and with a relaxed attitude, following his own creative impulses. Perhaps the reason he chooses to create sculptures of cats, which are not easy to handle as subjects, is due to his honest desire as a cat lover to leave behind precious memories like photographs or diaries. This attitude is also the source of the appeal of Asakura’s cat artworks.

In addition, the venue also screens a 17-minute video introducing the production process of Asakura’s bronze works, known as gas mold casting. It’s easy to explain in a few words: first, create the work from clay, then mold it in plaster to create a prototype, and then turn it into bronze using that. However, the actual work is truly a work of art. It shows how the exhibited works are completed through a mind-bogglingly detailed process, so it’s a must-see for those who have difficulty imagining the casting process.

Regarding what prompted him to hold this exhibition, Tobari said , “More and more people are not familiar with Asakura, so I planned this exhibition to help people become more familiar with Asakura and his works.”

This exhibition, which allows you to fully experience Asakura’s excellent shaping ability, observational skills, and deep love for cats, is the perfect introduction to Asakura’s charm. If you are a cat lover, why not take a look at the lively and heartwarming poses of the cats?

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The venue, the Asakura Museum of Sculpture, is a very attractive building, so we would like to introduce some of its highlights.

In 1907, at the age of 24, Asakura graduated from Tokyo School of Fine Arts and established his own studio and residence in Yanaka, which he had designed himself. With the help of top craftsmen, the site was expanded and remodeled repeatedly, and the current Asakura Museum of Sculpture building was completed in 1935. In 2001, the building was registered as a national tangible cultural property, and in 2008, the entire site was designated a national place of scenic beauty as the “Former Asakura Fumio Garden.” The studio building is made of reinforced concrete, and the residence is made of wood in the sukiya-style style, giving it a unique structure, but Asakura’s excellent aesthetic sense allowed the different materials to blend seamlessly together.

The atelier where the artist usually exhibits his works has a ceiling height of 8.5 meters, and the first thing you will notice when you step inside is the open feeling. On the west side of the floor is the 3.78m-tall Statue of Komura Jutaro (1938), but it doesn’t feel oppressive at all.

In theory, an artist’s studio has windows facing the north, but the Asakura Museum of Sculpture’s studio has windows on three sides – north, east, and south – making it extremely bright. The aim is to allow natural light in from all angles to study how sculptures, which are often placed outdoors, look, and the amount of light was adjusted with curtains when the artist was creating the work. The large window at the top of the north side also has a gentle curve to allow light to spread throughout the space without creating strong shadows. The walls are made of warm silk floss, and the sculptor’s attention to detail is evident everywhere.

The study adjacent to the studio also has an open ceiling, making it seem like a movie set. Many of the books stored in the bookshelves with glass doors on three sides that reach the ceiling were Western books that belonged to Toru Iwamura, an art critic and Asakura’s teacher during his time at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. After Iwamura’s death, these valuable materials had been scattered among used bookstores, but Asakura mortgaged his house to raise funds to buy them back.

The large hall on the third floor, “Choyo no Ma,” where guests were entertained, is the most prestigious room in the Asakura Museum of Sculpture, and as its name suggests, the morning sun shines in through the windows on the east side. The luxurious Japanese-style furnishings and elegantly shining red walls are made of expensive red agate that has been crushed by hand and applied to the walls. The small amount of obsidian mixed in creates a unique color.

The ceiling is made of Jindai cedar, excavated from the ground in Izu Amagi, with a cedar bark lining. The tokonoma alcove is made of a single piece of pine, and the transom is made of a single piece of paulownia wood, both of which were valuable materials even at the time. There is a sense of playfulness in the deliberate lack of uniformity, and the space exudes Asakura’s aesthetics.

The courtyard, Goten no Ike, is made up of water, huge rocks, and trees. It is a corridor-style structure surrounded by buildings on all four sides, and the beautiful scenery can be enjoyed from any room, making use of the sculptor’s perspective. Asakura used this place for self-reflection, and when he was lost in his way of life or found it difficult to discern the true essence of things, he would look at the clear water to purify his mind and body, and then devote himself to further creation.

The roof of the atelier building has a garden with olive trees, which is said to be an early example of rooftop greening.

In the past, horticulture training was conducted here as a required subject at the Asakura School of Sculpture. As both gardening and sculpture involve nurturing life in the soil, the purpose of the training was to familiarize the students with the soil through gardening and to develop an eye for objects. Currently, a vegetable garden has been recreated in part, and it has become a place of relaxation where you can enjoy flowers of all seasons.

The male statue “Cannon Put” (1924), placed on the west side of the garden, looks out over the town of Yanaka under a wide sky. You can see the front of the work by looking up from the gate before entering the building, so be sure to look up at the rooftop when you visit.

Summary of the special exhibition “Wonderful Cat Life: Fumio Asakura, Cats, and Sometimes Dogs” commemorating 60 years since his death

*The contents of this article are from the time of coverage. They may differ from the latest information, so please check the official website for details.

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Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum

After being called a “child prodigy” during his childhood, Tanaka Isson devoted himself to painting the nature of Amami in his later years.

The “Tanaka Isson Exhibition: Light of Amami, Paintings of Soul” looks back on the life and works of Isson, a man who devoted his whole body and soul to the act of “painting.”

This article reports on the press preview held the day before the event.

Tanaka Isson, the trajectory of indomitable passion

Born in Tochigi-cho (now Tochigi City) in 1908, Tanaka Isson showed exceptional artistic talent from an early age and was known as a child prodigy.
He was given the artistic name Beison by his father, a sculptor, and enrolled in the Japanese painting department of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts (now Tokyo University of the Arts), but dropped out after two months.
In 1947, he changed his artist name to Isson Yanagi, and although his work White Flowers was selected for the Seiryu Exhibition, he continued to produce works with only a few supporters. In his later years, he moved to Amami Oshima alone and devoted himself to painting the nature of Amami, but passed away at the age of 69.

After his death in 1979, a group of volunteers organized an exhibition of his posthumous works in Amami, which attracted an unprecedented 3,000 visitors. The media reported on the exhibition, which led to a frenzy and knowledge of his life and works being shared across the country.

“Tanaka Isson: Light and Soul” will feature his representative works that he painted in Amami, including “Kuwazuimo (Sweet Potato) and Soil” and “Pandanus Beach” , as well as unfinished masterpieces. With a focus on paintings, the exhibition will cover Isson’s entire artistic career with over 250 works, including sketches, crafts, and documents.

The largest retrospective exhibition

This exhibition is divided into three chapters: Chapter 1 “Young Southern Painter Tanaka Beison: His Tokyo Period , ” Chapter 2 “The Birth of Isson in the Chiba Period,” and Chapter 3 “His Own Path to Amami.” By displaying Tanaka Isson’s works in chronological order, it is possible to closely trace the almost seamless transition of his artistic career.

Ichimura started painting as a boy from the age of 6 or 7, and a considerable number of his works remain in various locations around the country. Many of the works on display at this exhibition are new and recent, with many even being shown for the first time. There are over 250 pieces on display, making this the largest retrospective exhibition of his kind to date.

Tanaka Isson’s career as an artist was not always smooth. He was praised as a “child prodigy” from an early age, and was active as a budding Nanga painter, but he never held a solo exhibition in his lifetime and ended his life alone in the land of Amami, still unknown.
Chapter 3 displays a number of works that Ichimura painted with all his heart and soul after traveling to Amami with unshakable determination and scraping together the money to live. Through these works, visitors can experience the state of his artistic career that Ichimura reached in his “place of death.”

Exhibited Works

Here we will introduce some selected works from the exhibition.

A masterpiece that completely changed the image of a village during the “hiatus”

In a letter later in life, Isson wrote that “when I was 23, the new style of painting that I believed to be my true path was not approved by my supporters, so I was abandoned,” and this period was traditionally considered a “blank period” in which he produced few works. However, in recent years, powerful works painted during this period have been discovered, and this view is beginning to change.
This work is a gorgeous gold folding screen that completely changed the image of Isson’s activities in the early Showa period.
At the time, Isson was 24 years old, and you can sense his passion and energy as he sought new horizons.

Tanaka Isson’s only selected work.

This work was first selected for the 19th Seiryu Exhibition, organized by Kawabata Ryushi, in 1947, and ultimately became the only work to be selected for a public exhibition.
The exhibition catalogue states “White Flowers: Yanagi Isson,” and it is clear that Yanagi changed his artist name from “Yonemura” to “Yanagi Isson,” making this an ambitious postwar work that marked a fresh start.
The sophisticated style of the painting, with a sense of freedom, is impressive.

A belief that he stuck to even when he turned his back on glory.

In 1948, the year after his first successful entry, Isson submitted two works to the 20th Seiryu Exhibition. Although Isson considered Clear Autumn to be his most confident work, he was disappointed that only his reference work Waves was selected, and so he declined the offer.

This work depicts the trees in bold black silhouettes on a gold folding screen. The trees towering against the backlight effect, and the texture of the branches and bark are depicted in minute detail, making this a work of great soul.
What was it that Ichimura wanted to protect, even turning his back on the glory of his life? Please watch this film and feel it for yourself.

What the light of Amami brought to one village

In a letter dated January 1974 (when he was 66 years old), Isson wrote that the works he put his heart and soul into were “Souvenirs for King Enma,” namely Pandanus Beach and Uneaten Sweet Potato and Sago Palm . These works are the highlights of this exhibition.

This work, which expresses the artist’s pride in having completed the project without any regrets, is based on the Pandanus arborescens, a plant that he has been planning since he first came to the island. The Pandanus arborescens is painted in shades of green and blue using a variety of pigments. In the middle ground, ripples are drawn with delicate lines, and the golden glow beyond the clouds gives the entire painting a sublime quality.
The exhibition also features a number of Isson’s paintings of Kannon and Arhat statues, and it is no exaggeration to say that this work expresses the religious feelings that he came to experience at the end of his life.

Please come and see this masterpiece by Isson Hisei at the venue.

Exhibition ambassador Koizumi Kotaro will also be in attendance!

At the press preview and opening ceremony, actor Koizumi Kotaro, who serves as the exhibition ambassador and audio guide navigator, appeared wearing a one-of-a-kind Oshima Tsumugi kimono with the motif of The Uneaten Sweet Potato and Soybean Currant.

“I felt a very mysterious connection and fate with Tanaka Isson, and put my heart into providing the audio guide,” said Kotaro Koizumi. His great-grandfather, Matajiro Koizumi (grandfather of Kotaro’s father, former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi), who served as Minister of Communications and other positions, served as the chairman of Tanaka Isson’s supporters’ group, and so he had been hearing about the painter Tanaka Isson since he was a child.

Nearly a century has passed since then, and now that he, who was born into the Koizumi family, is involved in the Tanaka Isson exhibition, he said, “I was truly surprised, and felt honored to have been given this job, so I put my heart into recording my voice,” as he reflected on the mysterious encounter that took place through the exhibition.

“I had seen Tanaka Isson’s paintings from his later years since I was a child, but this exhibition showed me his earlier works first. Personally, my parents’ house had cycad trees planted, so I was captivated by the paintings depicting the ocean, papayas, and cycads of the natural scenery of Amami.”

Looking back on his impressions of the exhibition,

“In addition to the paintings, there are also precious photographs, handwritten postcards, and rare receipts left behind by Tanaka Isson, so I think this is a wonderful exhibition that allows you to fully experience what kind of achievements Tanaka Isson made and what kind of person he was. I hope that many people will be able to experience the charm of Tanaka Isson and learn about what kind of life he lived in Chiba Prefecture in his early days, and what kind of hard work he put in.

He addressed the audience with a smile.

Tanaka Isson once said, “I want to hold a solo exhibition in Tokyo and finally settle my paintings.” This exhibition, “Tanaka Isson: Light and Soul,” could be said to be Isson’s final wish, unexpectedly fulfilled.

The event will run until Sunday, December 1st, 2024.
Please come to the exhibition to see the works of Ichimura, who left social success behind and devoted his whole heart and soul to “drawing.”

Event Outline

*The contents of this article are from the time of coverage. It may differ from the latest information, so please check the official exhibition website for details. In addition, the works featured in this article may have already finished their exhibition.

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Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum

We have received a report from Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum on the special exhibition “Listening to the Earth: Presence and Texture,” which opened on Saturday, July 20, 2024, so we would like to share it with you.

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The Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum’s special exhibition, “Listening to the Earth: Presence and Texture,” opened on Saturday, July 20th. The exhibition features works by five contemporary artists who are deeply connected to nature and continue to create, conveying the breath of the earth, which is difficult to hear in our human-centered lives. A press preview was held on Friday, July 19th, and the exhibition was open to the press. This article reports on the exhibition commentary by Ohashi Natsuko, the curator in charge of the exhibition, and the participating artists.

■ The feeling and texture of listening to the earth
■Saturday, July 20, 2024 to Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Curator Natsuko Ohashi, who was in charge of this exhibition, explained the background of the project, saying, “Over the past dozen years, there have been many times when we have felt the convenience of living in a big city, along with its fragility, such as the Great East Japan Earthquake and the spread of COVID-19. In addition to feeling the fragility of the city, I also felt that nature was somewhat distant, and that my ability to sense not only the changing of the seasons, but also the state and changes of nature, was gradually weakening. This was the big trigger for me to proceed with the research,” and the exhibition features artists who have left big cities to sharpen their senses in nature and create their works.

The participating artists are five people who have a deep connection with nature in their work: Kawamura Kiichi, Furusaka Haruka, Mimoko Machiko, Kurashina Mitsuko, and Enomoto Yuichi.

As you enter the exhibition hall (Gallery C) just after descending the escalator at the entrance, you will find an installation of photographs by Kiichi Kawamura in a high-ceilinged, open space. Born and raised in Tokyo, Kawamura (born in 1990) moved to the Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido in 2017 and continues to work as an artist.

“It is a place known as a World Heritage Site. Brown bears, killer whales, and sometimes whales come here, and while it is rich in nature, it also lives in a very harsh environment. Rather than the so-called nature photography that puts the word “nature” in quotation marks, I create my work with the desire to express myself as a resident living there, feeling the local climate with my own skin,” he says. In the autumn of his second year after moving here, he obtained a hunting license and went into the mountains to hunt. Although he started out with a desire to learn more about nature and animals, at first he felt that he was not accepted by the forest and it was difficult to meet animals. If you do not understand the terrain and the ecology of the creatures living in that area, you cannot walk through the area or reach your prey.

“I live in Shiretoko because I’m conscious of the issues that you can’t feel or understand in the city, but rather than looking at the ecosystem from the outside through hunting, I want to be part of it, and link the spirituality and process of the act with the expression of photography.” (Kawamura)

The photographs printed on fabric capture Kawamura’s daily life, including his life with his Ainu dog Upashi, who is a member of his family, and the scenery of Shiretoko. Framed in wooden frames made in Hokkaido, the photographs are hung with ropes used for outdoor camping, forming the exhibition space. In consideration of the environment and respecting the architecture of the museum, no new walls were erected for the exhibition. The way the works are comfortably arranged in the space will be a fresh sight for viewers. The wooden frames are foldable. The artist himself packs them all into his car and transports them to the venue, where they are exhibited. After the exhibition ends, he folds them up again and drives them back to Shiretoko. This is probably also part of the process that Kawamura, who values the continuity of life, production, and exhibition, speaks of.

Woodblock artist Furusaka Haruka was born in Osaka Prefecture. After spending time in Finland, Norway and other parts of Northern Europe, she began working in Aomori in 2017, interviewing people who live in harmony with nature. This exhibition features three themes: the print series Duodji of Reindeer Mountain, which was created in response to her fascination with the handicrafts of the nomadic Sámi people of Northern Europe; Soma’s Boat and Voice of a Message, which were created after extensive research in the mountainous regions of Aomori and Minami-Tsugaru.

Furusaka sees the trees in his woodblock prints as a way to connect with nature. He says that this view was largely influenced by his first stay and production in a Sámi village in 2003. Since then, he has communicated with the Sámi villagers via e-mail and other means, gradually learning what it is like to live alongside the harsh natural environment.

“Reindeer Fur” was inspired by the Sámi people, who have long survived in regions where temperatures can reach minus 40 degrees Celsius by wearing reindeer fur. When they catch a reindeer, they use everything from the fur to the bones and tendons to survive. For Furusaka, woodblock prints are like reindeer to the Sámi. Making woodblock prints made him want to live like the Sámi and reindeer, so he started making prints by making use of the shape and grain of the solid wood and using dirt he picked up as paint. This was the beginning of the “Duoji of Reindeer Mountain” series.

In “Weaving,” people tie warp threads to trees in the forest, adjust the tension, and feel the lightness of doing handiwork in nature, as well as the comfort of being there. “I recorded their words about how to behave in nature and created my work,” he says.

In 2017, he turned his attention to Japan and began to visit Aomori to interview people who have lived with the harsh winter. For this exhibition, he produced a large woodblock print that matches the ceiling height of the venue. He was present from the felling of the wood for the printing block in the lacquer forest, and printed the new work using lacquer sap from Aomori and indigo that he grew himself. Not only the woodblock prints but also the printing blocks are exhibited at the venue, creating an exhibition space resembling an Aomori grove. In addition, natural materials such as lacquer sap, indigo, and soil that Furusaka uses as paint are also exhibited. In “Vessel that Makes Lines,” Aomori hiba is thinly coated with mud collected in Aomori. As it dries, it cracks little by little to create lines in the installation, and you can observe how it changes as the exhibition period progresses.

In addition, a video is being shown that records the process of creating woodblock prints in response to the nature of his hometown. From harvesting indigo in summer, cutting down wood in winter, collecting soil, to carving and printing, the video shows how closely his hometown is connected to nature, and how the process of creating woodblock prints, which begins with growing the materials, takes an enormous amount of time and effort. The video was shot by Kiichi Kawamura, a participating artist in this exhibition.

The atrium exhibition room on the floor below (Gallery A) is home to the dynamic world of Machiko Mimoko’s work. Born in Osaka Prefecture, Machiko Mimoko moved to Amami Oshima in 2019 after 11 years of work in Tokyo. An “island” has been created in the center of the exhibition space, and many of the works she created on Amami Oshima are on display around it.

Miroko Machiko says that because the people of Amami Oshima live in harmony with nature, they have a strong ability to sense it.

“I realized that I had no ability to sense nature at all. I thought that it would be very important to acquire that ability, so I started watching every day to see what kind of movements and changes were occurring, and the nature on the island was very bustling. The movements were like those of a living thing, and I perceived them as living things that cannot be seen with the naked eye and created them.” (Miroko)

The painting on the inside of the wall that forms the island was painted on-site over a period of four days. The outside is surrounded by original illustrations from the picture book “Invisible Dragon,” which was published in 2023.

“I would like people to experience the story of the Invisible Dragon before entering the exhibition. Everything influences each other. When the wind blows, waves form, and small waves wash ashore as spray. I was conscious of these connections, and I didn’t have a set goal in mind when I created the work; I improvised. I have expressed the world that I see from the island, so I would be happy if people can sense the hustle and bustle of nature.” (Miroko)

The floor of “Island” is dyed with mud. After moving to Amami Oshima about five years ago, Miroco has come to realize that the natural materials of the island, which give her the energy of the earth, suit what she wants to express.
The video of the live painting “Umi-Matou,” which depicts the “buzz of light” in the forests of Amami Oshima, can also be viewed in a hut set up in a corner of the venue.

“When I paint outdoors, I receive the movement of the wind, the changes in light, and a lot of energy, and I express it instantaneously. The thing that is shaped by these things begins to look like a living thing. It is what is shaped as a living thing, and I feel that it is important for me to paint what I receive from my surroundings as if I am imprinting it on my body.” (Miroko)

For the people of Amami Oshima, mountains and forests are sacred places where gods reside. Rather than just entering the forest, Miroco says, “I just walked in at the entrance. The forest is full of roots and stones, so it’s hard to move around. I was overwhelmed with things I wanted to paint, but I think the pictures that emerged were like a conflict that I couldn’t paint. I took apart the clothes I was wearing during the creation process and used them as canvases or in other works, so they are connected to the original.” (Miroko)

The exterior walls of the hut in the video are also painted with a dye from a plant called hikagehengo, which grows abundantly in Amami.

Mitsuko Kurashina, whose works are on display at Gallery B, was born in Aomori Prefecture and currently lives in Tokyo. She began drawing botanical illustrations in 2001.

Observing the changes in plant habitats caused by the tsunami following the Great East Japan Earthquake (2011), he has been making regular visits to the affected areas since 2013, painting the vegetation in watercolors. This exhibition features two botanical paintings of the Kanto region that he created when he was unable to visit the disaster-stricken areas, as well as 15 paintings he created during his research in Iwate, Fukushima, and Miyagi prefectures.

The numbers in the titles of the works are the latitude and longitude where the plants depicted were located. Kurashina says this is very important because she wanted to “suggest that the place actually exists, while at the same time depicting a scene that was only visible at that time.” By carefully observing and drawing each of the plants, which she has named “tsunami plants,” Kurashina explains, “I will explore what happened in that place and why the plants took root there; whether the seeds of the plants were carried there by the tsunami, sprouted due to the stirring up of the soil, or were carried there by heavy machinery during reconstruction work.”

Works in progress are also on display. For this exhibition, Kurashina has put a lot of effort into creating a white wisteria. The wisteria we know generally has vines that grow upwards, entangle the wisteria trellis, and drooping flowers. However, this wisteria has vines that creep along the ground, grow leaves, and bloom white flowers. In 2016, Kurashina had the opportunity to see a photo of white wisteria creeping along the ground, and she was determined to paint it, so she went to the site to investigate, and began painting last year. It is rare for white flowers to bloom on the ground. Kurashina believes that it must take a lot of energy to make them bloom. It is also a rare opportunity to be able to see the work in progress.

Yuichi Enomoto (born in 1974) was born and raised in Tokyo, and since 2018 has had an atelier in Nemuro, Hokkaido, and since this year he has also had an atelier in Itoigawa, Niigata, where he creates his works.
This exhibition features oil paintings based on the landscapes of Nemuro and a new work titled “Frost”, which uses aluminum panels to resemble ice.

When viewed from a distance, Swamp and Trees appears to be a black and white abstract painting, but when viewed up close, trees become visible in the black canvas.

Curator Ohashi conveyed Enomoto’s words, “I remember feeling surprised, happy, and also scared at the sudden scene that appeared in the deep forest where no one was around and no one ever came,” and introduced the work as one that captured the nature that Enomoto encountered — piled up white snow — with a fresh sensibility. Because it is a work simply carved in black and white, it has room for viewers to freely connect it to their own memories and expand their imaginations.

Meanwhile, the ten new pieces in the series “Frost”, which are painted on aluminium panels, capture the expressions created by snow caused by the strong winds coming from the sea.

“Even if you don’t have the experience of walking on ice, the many pieces lined up create a space that feels like you’re surrounded by ice,” says curator Ohashi. The 10 pieces lined up make you imagine the countless beautiful shapes woven by nature in Nemuro in winter. Incidentally, the last small piece on display shows animal footprints on the snow. At first glance, it is a quiet, monochrome world, but it expresses the presence of living things and the sparkle of life that Enomoto felt in Nemuro.

 

At the end of the exhibition, there is a work that represents spring. It is a vessel-shaped work with the motif of Corydalis ambiguus, a perennial plant found in Hokkaido that blooms from April to May. It is a new work created by Enomoto at the end of the exhibition.

Next to it is a slideshow of photos taken by Enomoto as reference material for his work, showing the change of seasons from spring in Nemuro. Not only does it fully convey the fresh sensations that Enomoto felt when he was fascinated by Nemuro, which offers a completely different landscape from Tokyo, but it is also interesting that it includes photos that are closely related to the works on display, such as a landscape on a frozen lake and Corydalis ambiguus flowers.

As you wander through the space, where a variety of works by five contemporary artists are on display, including photography, woodblock prints, oil paintings, watercolors, and installations, you will be inspired to awaken the sense of connection with nature that humans have innately, but which we often forget.

The exhibition catalogue is accompanied by a piece of mud-dyed cloth made on Amami Oshima.
It is made in the same workshop that produces the mud dyeing used by participating artist Machiko Miroko in her work.

Photo by Wataru Suzuki

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Exhibition details: Exhibition title: Listening to the Earth: Presence and Texture
The Whispering Land: Artists in Correspondence with Nature
●Period: July 20, 2024 (Saturday) to October 9, 2024 (Wednesday)
●Venue Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Galleries A, B, and C
●Closed on Mondays, September 17th (Tues), September 24th (Tues) *Open on August 12th (Mon. holiday), September 16th (Mon. holiday), September 23rd (Mon. holiday)●Opening hours 9:30am-5:30pm, 9:30am-8pm on Fridays *Last entry 30 minutes before closing●Admission fee: 1,100 yen for adults, 700 yen for university and vocational school students, 800 yen for those 65 and over, free for high school students and younger*For details on discounts, such as the Summer Night Museum Discount, please visit the official exhibition website.
●Organizers: Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum ●Special cooperation: Tsugawa Co., Ltd. ●Cooperation: Hokureki LLC, Mishimasha Co., Ltd., Gallery Camellia, Aomori Contemporary Art Center, Aomori Public University ●Contact: Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum 03-3823-6921
For the latest information on events, please visit the official exhibition website.
https://www.tobikan.jp/daichinimimi

 

Article provided by: Kokosil Ueno

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Tokyo National Museum

The special exhibition “Jingo-ji Temple – Kukai and the Origins of Esoteric Shingon Buddhism” commemorating the 1200th anniversary of its founding has opened at the Tokyo National Museum, showcasing the treasures of Jingo-ji Temple in Kyoto, the birthplace of Kobo Daishi Kukai and Esoteric Shingon Buddhism . The exhibition will run until Sunday, September 8, 2024.

*Some of the works on display will be changed during the exhibition period.
Early exhibition: July 17th (Wednesday) – August 12th (Monday/Closed)
Late exhibition: August 14th (Wednesday) – September 8th (Sunday)

A sacred place for Esoteric Shingon Buddhism, where 1200 years of treasures are gathered together

Jingo-ji Temple (Jingokokuzo Shingon-ji Temple), located in Takao, Kyoto, was established in 824 when two temples, Takao-san-ji Temple and Shingan-ji Temple, merged. Takao-san-ji Temple was the family temple of Wake no Kiyomaro, who proposed moving the capital to Heian, and was the residence of Kukai (774-835), who had systematically studied esoteric Buddhism in Chang’an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, after returning to Japan, and where he built the foundations of Shingon Esoteric Buddhism.

After Kukai passed away, the temple fell into ruin due to fires and other incidents, but was restored thanks to the efforts of the Shingon monk Monkaku, who was supported by Emperor Goshirakawa and Minamoto no Yoritomo. Even after that, the temple has endured many crises, including the Onin War, the destruction of Buddhism and Shingon temple land during the Meiji Restoration, and more, but it has continued to preserve the light of the Dharma to this day.

This exhibition is being held to commemorate the 1,200th anniversary of the founding of Jingo-ji Temple and the 1,250th anniversary of the birth of Kukai in 2024.

The core of the exhibition are the treasures that Jingo-ji Temple has protected and passed down over the turbulent years of 1,200 years, such as the principal image of the temple, the National Treasure “Standing Statue of Yakushi Nyorai,” known as one of the greatest masterpieces in the history of Japanese sculpture, and the National Treasure “Ryokai Mandala (Takao Mandala),” associated with Kukai, which has been restored over a period of six years. This exhibition is unparalleled in both quality and quantity, showcasing around 100 masterpieces of Japanese art, not just Buddhist art, including 17 National Treasures and 44 Important Cultural Properties.

The exhibits are structured to trace the history of Jingo-ji Temple.
At the beginning of the exhibition, the exhibition symbolically features the Maple Viewing Screen, which depicts people enjoying a banquet with maple leaves lined up along the clear Kiyotaki River that flows through Takao, with the sacred Jingo-ji Temple overlooking the clouds. The display conveys the atmosphere of Jingo-ji Temple, which has long been beloved as a scenic spot for viewing autumn leaves and continues to fascinate people today with its beautiful scenery.

There are many temple treasures related to the national treasure “Takao Mandala”!

The highlight of the first half of the exhibition is the National Treasure “Ryokai Mandala (Takao Mandala),” the oldest existing Ryokai Mandala in Japan. Of the two mandalas, the “Taizōkai” will be exhibited in the first half, and the “Konjōkai” in the second half, alternately.

The Ryōkai Mandala is a pair of two scrolls that visualize the universe centered on Dainichi Nyorai as preached in Shingon Esoteric Buddhism, that is, the two worldviews of the Vajrayana world, which shows the path to enlightenment, and the Garbha world, which represents the expanse of compassion. This work, also known as the Takao Mandala because it was handed down to Takao-san Jingoji Temple, is also extremely valuable in that it was produced directly based on the mandala that Kukai brought back from China during the Tenchō era (824-834) at the request of Emperor Junna.

Looking at the huge screen, about 4 meters square, many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are neatly painted with flowing lines of gold and silver on twill silk woven with a pattern of flowers and phoenixes using a purple dye called “Shikon,” which was rare at the time. The number of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas is overwhelming, with 1,461 in the “Kongokai” and 409 in the “Taizokai.” There were detailed rules for each face and possession, and no mistakes were allowed, so I couldn’t help but imagine how much time and energy must have been spent on the creation of these works.

On the same floor, a full-sized copy of the Takao Mandala created during the Edo period is also on display. Both of these paintings are on display throughout the year. Compared to the original, which is noticeably damaged, the lines and the vivid colors of the silk are clearer, and the elegant atmosphere of the original is beautifully expressed, so it’s a must-see to compare them together.

If you would like to know more about the appearance of the various deities, you can refer to the Takao Mandala Images, which are ink outline copies of the images, or to the explanatory video shown in a separate room.

There are records of two repairs to Takao Mandala in the past: the first was carried out by Emperor Gouda in 1309 during the Kamakura period, and the second was carried out by Emperor Kokaku and Emperor Gosakuramachi in 1793 during the Edo period. This is the third time the mandala has been open to the public, after undergoing major repairs for the first time in about 230 years, which took place from 2016 to 2022.

Exhibits such as the old storage box for the Takao Mandala, which contains notes on the two repairs, and the restoration notes written by Emperor Go-Uda himself, convey some of the feelings and faith of our ancestors who wanted to pass on the Takao Mandala, which is considered the foundation and model of mandalas handwritten by Kukai, to future generations.

A special exhibition room with impressive statues has also been created! The stern gaze of the principal image, the Yakushi Nyorai standing statue, is piercing

In the second half of the exhibition, a wave of sculptures from Jingoji Temple appears on display.

The oldest esoteric Buddhist statues at Jingo-ji Temple, the Five Great Seated Kokuzo Bodhisattvas , were erected by Kukai’s disciple Shinzai at the request of Emperor Ninmyo as Buddha statues to be placed in the pagoda. These secret Buddha statues are open to the public twice a year at Jingo-ji Temple, and this exhibition marks the first time that all five statues will be displayed together outside the temple.

The Five Great Kokuzo Bosatsu are said to be five parts of the virtue of Kokuzo Bosatsu, who endows people with infinite wisdom and good fortune, or to be the incarnations of the Five Wisdom Buddhas of the Vajrayana Realm. This work is thought to be modeled after early esoteric Buddhism iconography such as the Takao Mandala, and the highlights are the refined facial features with long, narrow eyes and plump lips, as well as the expression of fleshiness.

It is said that for Kukai, this in itself was a kind of mandala, and at the venue, the four statues were arranged in a circle with Hokkai Kokuzo at the center, creating the appearance of a three-dimensional mandala. When you stand in front of it, you feel as if you are enveloped in a mysterious atmosphere created by the almost identical seated statues.

The final exhibition room is lined with only masterpieces of standing statues, creating a solemn atmosphere. In the center is the principal image of the temple, the “Standing Statue of Yakushi Nyorai,” which is also on public display outside the temple for the first time. It is not an esoteric Buddhist statue, but is thought to have been enshrined at one of the temple’s predecessors and was brought to Jingoji by Kukai.

Many unique Buddhist statues were created between the end of the 8th century and the beginning of the 9th century, but this statue stands out among them all. Its greatest feature is its stern gaze that makes you instinctively straighten your posture. Combined with its firm mouth, it exudes dignity.

One of the great attractions of this exhibition is that it allows visitors to enjoy the beauty of the sculpture, which can usually only be viewed from the front as it is enclosed in a shrine at Jingoji Temple, from a variety of angles.

The statue is carved from a single piece of wood, excluding both arms, and its thighs, which overhang more than one would imagine from the front, emphasize its thickness. The left sleeve is decorated with a honpashiki fold pattern, which alternates between large round waves and small, ridged waves, and the depth of the carving creates an even more profound feeling. The honpashiki fold pattern is a characteristic of early Heian sculpture, but it is said that it is rare to see such a beautiful and clear statue.

Why did Kukai choose this statue, which is not an esoteric Buddhist statue, as his principal image? The reason is unclear, but Shiro Maruyama, a researcher at the Tokyo National Museum, explains as follows:

“Even more than Esoteric Buddhism placed great importance on form, I believe Kukai himself probably had a deep interest in form from the start. How did Kukai feel when he received this statue? I hope this exhibition will give you the opportunity to think about it.”

Surrounding the main image are the Four Heavenly Kings and the Twelve Heavenly Generals . At Jingoji Temple, they are placed close together, but here they are spaced out and spaced apart. Furthermore, the lighting makes the silhouettes of the statues, which are in unique poses, stand out in the background, beautifully highlighting their dynamic expressions. It was such a spectacular sight that I was entranced for a while.

The special exhibition “Jingo-ji Temple – Kukai and the Origins of Shingon Esoteric Buddhism,” where you can experience the spirit and thought of Kukai, will be held until Sunday, September 8, 2024.

Summary of the special exhibition commemorating the 1200th anniversary of the temple’s founding, “Jingo-ji Temple – Kukai and the origins of Esoteric Shingon Buddhism”

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

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National Museum of Nature and Science

Insects are the largest group of living organisms on Earth, accounting for more than half of all reported species. A special exhibition called “Insect MANIAC” has opened at the National Museum of Nature and Science, delving into this unknown world from a variety of unique perspectives. The exhibition will run until Monday, October 14, 2024 (national holiday).

There are approximately one million species of insects that have been named by humans. Although they are the wild animals that live closest to humans, only a handful of species are generally recognized. Furthermore, even for insects whose names are known to everyone, there are many cases where their ecology is shrouded in mystery, or where they hide interesting secrets that only researchers know.

This exhibition features a wide range of insects, from giant beetles over 10 cm long to tiny bees less than 1 mm long, and even spiders, centipedes, and other terrestrial arthropods that are also called “mushi” (insects). Five researchers from the National Museum of Nature and Science interweave precious specimens and the latest insect research to delve deeply into the overwhelming diversity of insects, one step beyond the knowledge you can get from books and illustrated guides.

Although it is a niche subject, the venue has set up an introductory section called “Zone 1: Insects and Bugs” where basic information such as the differences between insects and bugs and their characteristics is reviewed, so even those who are not familiar with insects need not worry.

The next section, “Zone 2: Diverse Insects,” is the main section of the exhibition. It is divided into five doors according to the researchers’ specialties. The “Dragonfly Door” introduces incomplete metamorphosis insects such as dragonflies, grasshoppers, and cicadas, the “Bee Door” introduces bees and flies with membranous wings, the “Butterfly Door” introduces butterflies and moths, the “Rhinoceros Beetle Door” introduces beetles such as rhinoceros beetles and stag beetles, and the “Spider Door” introduces the world of arthropods other than insects, such as spiders, centipedes, and scorpions. Each door deals with content related to three keywords: “The key to diversification,” “New common knowledge about insects,” and “Food, clothing, and shelter for insects.”

Five giant models, each of which was carefully designed by researchers with great attention to detail, await visitors as landmarks in each area.

It’s a little different from a typical insect exhibition. For example, the model of the Ezo longhornet does not show a cool flight, but rather reproduces the indescribable appearance of the insect deforming its body to lay eggs. The surprise of “That’s what you’re paying attention to!?” is also one of the best parts of this exhibition.

As someone who is not very knowledgeable about insects, this exhibition was full of surprises.

For example, the societies formed by insects. The familiar ecology of hornets and honeybees, where worker bees and queen bees live in groups and divide up the tasks of labor and egg-laying, is rather rare in the Hymenoptera order, which has about 150,000 species, and there are overwhelmingly more solitary bees. This is a low level of knowledge in terms of mania, but I was shocked because I had the fixed idea that “bees are insects that live in groups.”

In addition to the “eusocial” ecology of bees, in which they live in groups, there are various other ecologies, such as “solitation,” in which bees basically live alone after the mother bee leaves after laying eggs, “subsociality,” in which the mother bee feeds the hatched larvae even after laying eggs, and “worker parasitism,” in which bees depend on other bees to build nests and gather food. For this reason, bees are said to be of great interest as research material for considering the evolution of sociality in insects.

The exhibit on gender diversity was packed with some pretty nerdy stuff, and one thing that caught my eye was a unique “ginandromorph” (hermaphrodite) specimen that has both male and female characteristics.

Among many individuals of the same species, ginandromorphs can occasionally occur, and in the case of butterflies in particular, many examples have been found in which the butterfly is clearly divided into left and right wings along the center line. The exhibit also features an even rarer ginandromorph specimen in which the left forewing and right hindwing are male characteristics, and the right forewing and left hindwing are female characteristics. The symmetry of each butterfly is beautiful, and one cannot help but feel the mystery of life.

At the venue, you can not only observe the complex, strange, and beautiful visuals of insects as they are, sometimes even under a microscope, but you can also enjoy elaborately presented specimens that are not just displayed in a monotonous manner.

For example, different sized rhinoceros beetles and stag beetles are arranged in a gradational circle to create a stylish piece of art, or a single different species of butterfly is mixed in with a row of the same butterfly to create a spot the difference game. The arrangements are well-balanced to entertain visitors.

The specimens of insects with “structural colors” such as the iridescent color of the Japanese jewel beetle, which are produced not by pigments but by the interaction of sunlight with fine structures, looked like an unusual jewelry box. The gemstone weevil, which lives around New Guinea and has structural colors on its body surface called phoronic crystals, was extremely beautiful, shining brilliantly in green, blue, and purple depending on the angle.

One of the attractions of this exhibition is that it allows visitors to experience the world of insects from various perspectives, not just by “seeing,” but also by “listening,” “touching,” and “smelling.”

In North America, there are two groups of cicadas, the 17th cicada, which emerges every 17 years, and the 13th cicada, which emerges every 13 years, known as “prime cicadas.” Both groups emerge in large numbers at the same time once every 221 years, which is a common multiple of 17 and 13 years, and as was reported in the news in Japan, 2024 was a lucky year.

The venue is filled with the sounds of various insects, but one spot in particular that is worth paying attention to as an experiential exhibition that allows you to “listen” is the spot where you can experience the chorus of the Prime Number Seminars. The research team traveled to Chicago, Illinois for this exhibition. The recordings, which reached a maximum of 85-86 decibels (the same level of noise as inside a pachinko parlor), are presented along with a travelogue.

As an experiential “smelling” exhibit, there is a spot that sprays out the scent of eucalyptus tallow, which is found in the essential oils of eucalyptus, which is favored by ground wasps, and skatole, which is found in their droppings. Ground wasps live only in Central and South America, and have a unique habit in the world of males collecting the scent components of flowers in order to approach females. Their glossy beauty is also a highlight.

The “touch” experience exhibit allowed visitors to touch real galls, which are nests made by aphid larvae that parasitize plants and create abnormal developments in the plant to protect themselves from predators. Although none of the exhibits were flashy, they were sure to stimulate intellectual curiosity.

The remaining zone, “Zone 3: Insects and People,” serves as an epilogue, looking into the world of insects that surround us and are part of our everyday lives, and thinking about the future of insects and people.

Depending on a person’s perspective, insects can be considered either pests or beneficial. The exhibit uses hornets as an example of a typical pest, explaining that while they pose a risk of stinging people, they also help to prevent damage caused by insects in farmland. By changing one’s perspective, the exhibit conveys that people’s lives are supported by an ecosystem made up of a diverse range of organisms.

At first glance, insects seem to live robustly even in cities where there is little natural environment left, and even inside homes, which can be a big deal for people who dislike insects. Interestingly, there is a hypothesis that even if people see the same insect, they feel more psychological disgust when they see it inside the house than outside. Furthermore, it is possible that the fact that urbanization has reduced the opportunities to see insects on a daily basis is the reason why people dislike insects as “mysterious things.”

Therefore, the caption of the epilogue also included an advice-like statement: “By learning about each individual bug and why you don’t like them, you may be able to ease your aversion to all bugs a little.”

The exhibition made visitors think naturally about the tiny world of insects, most of which are unnoticed by humans, yet they are inseparable from our lives and are our closest neighbors.

In addition, this exhibition will also feature a specimen of the Motonarihimekobaenagakushi, a new species of insect discovered by Yoshiaki Yamane of the comedy duo “Ungirls” while recording a program called “Motonari.” in the mountains of Hiroshima in 2023.

As a result of this discovery, Ungirls became the official supporters of this exhibition. Yamane, who appeared at the opening talk held prior to the opening, recalled that when the new species was discovered, Yoshihiro Senda, a researcher at the Hiwa Natural Science Museum who accompanied him, pointed out to him that “this is rare,” but Yamane didn’t take it seriously, thinking it was just flattery for television.

His partner, Takuji Tanaka, continued, “Yamane wanted to finish the location early, so instead of going deep into the mountain, he quickly scooped up some suitable soil near the entrance and found the new species. On the other hand, that was a place that the teacher would not look for.” He laughed and analyzed that the reason for the new species discovery was Yamane’s “sloppiness.”

It seems that new species of insects are surprisingly close to us, but we just don’t notice them. At the end of the exhibition, researchers are introduced to the perspectives, techniques, and tools they use to search for insects, so it might be interesting for students to try discovering a new species of insect as their summer vacation independent study project.

The special exhibition “Insect MANIAC” will be held until Monday, October 14th (national holiday).

Overview of the special exhibition “Insects MANIAC”

Dates	July 13, 2024 (Sat) – October 14, 2024 (Monday/Holiday)
venue	National Museum of Nature and Science (Ueno Park, Tokyo)
Opening hours	9:00-17:00 (Entry until 16:30) *However, opening hours will be extended until 7:00 p.m. every Saturday and from August 11th (Sun) to 15th (Thu) (entrance until 6:30 p.m.)
closing day	September 2nd (Monday), 9th (Monday), 17th (Tuesday), 24th (Tuesday), 30th (Monday)
Admission fee (tax included)	Adults and university students: 2,100 yen; elementary, middle and high school students: 600 yen *Free for preschool children. * Free for those with a disability certificate and one caregiver. *For further details, please check the official website.
Organizer	National Museum of Nature and Science, Yomiuri Shimbun, Fuji Television Network
inquiry	050-5541-8600 (Hello Dial)
Exhibition official website	https://www.konchuten.jp/
Supervisor	Tatsuya Ide [General Supervisor, Wasps] / Researcher, Terrestrial Invertebrate Research Group, Animal Research Department, National Museum of Nature and Science Shuhei Nomura [Coleoptera] / Group Director, Terrestrial Invertebrate Research Group, Animal Research Department, National Museum of Nature and Science Takeshi Jinbo [Butterflies and Moths] / Principal Researcher, Terrestrial Invertebrate Research Group, Animal Research Department, National Museum of Nature and Science Takuya Kiyo [Odonata] / Principal Researcher, Terrestrial Invertebrate Research Group, Animal Research Department, National Museum of Nature and Science Kenichi Okumura [Arachnida] / Researcher, Terrestrial Invertebrate Research Group, Animal Research Department, National Museum of Nature and Science

*The contents of this article are current as of the date of coverage (July 12, 2024). For the latest information, please check the official exhibition website.

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National Museum of Western Art

The exhibition “Naito Collection: Manuscripts – A Microcosm of the Elegant Middle Ages,” which explores the charm of illuminated manuscripts that were popular in medieval Europe, is currently being held at the National Museum of Western Art. The exhibition will run until Sunday, August 25, 2024.

A manuscript is a book that was popular in Europe before the invention of printing technology in the 15th century . It was produced by hand copying text onto vellum, paper made from thin animal skins, and required an enormous amount of time and effort .

Manuscripts were often lavishly decorated and illustrated, and at times became extremely luxurious items; however, they were a major medium of communication for people at the time, and also played an important role in supporting the Christian faith.

The “Naito Collection” in the title of this exhibition refers to a collection centered on manuscript leaves (individual leaves separated from a book) collected by Hirofumi Naito, professor emeritus at the University of Tsukuba and Ibaraki Prefectural University of Health Sciences. It is one of the largest manuscript collections in a Japanese art museum, and was donated to the museum in 2015, with 26 more manuscript leaves added in 2020.

This large-scale exhibition, featuring approximately 150 items from the majority of the Naito Collection as well as items housed in university libraries around Japan, explores the role of each manuscript and the world of medieval illuminated art*, in which text and pictures are integrated.

(Note: The decoration of manuscripts is called “illuminated” due to its shining, extensive use of gold.)

The exhibition is divided into nine chapters based on the purpose of the parent manuscripts to which the leaves originally belonged: Chapter 1: The Bible, Chapter 2: Psalms, Chapter 3: Manuscripts for the Breviary, Chapter 4: Manuscripts for Mass, Chapter 5: Other manuscripts used by the clergy, Chapter 6: Books of Hours, Chapter 7: Calendars, Chapter 8: Canon Laws and Books of Oaths, and Chapter 9: Secular Manuscripts .

A typical example of manuscript decoration is the initial .

Initials were ornately decorated letters at the beginning of a sentence. They were not only pleasing to the eye, but also served to mark the beginning of important sections of the text or to separate clauses. What’s interesting is that the type of decoration could indicate the hierarchy of the initial, and therefore of the text.

For example, in the center left of the page of the “Liturgical Psalm Leaf” there is a large letter “B”, and in the upper part of the “B” there is a figure of God blessing, and in the lower part there is a figure of David, the traditional author of the “Psalm”, playing an instrument. In this way, a depiction of a story scene or person in the space inside the letter is called a “narrative initial”.

There are other types of initials, such as “champagne initials” with gold letters on a colored background and “filigree initials” with lines around the letters, but in terms of hierarchy, narrative initials are at the top. By showing the core text with the most prominent narrative initials, they visually assisted the reader in understanding the text.

The Liturgical Psalms are a compilation of the texts of the Psalms from the Old Testament, as well as hymns and prayers, for the Divine Office , a worship service held at set times eight times a day in monasteries and churches.

The Naito Collection contains many leaves from Bible manuscripts produced in 13th century England and France, and the Bible Leaf showing the beginning of Genesis is a representative example of this.

Among the densely packed, detailed layout of a huge number of characters, the gold-bordered decoration that runs vertically across the page catches your eye, but you’ll be surprised to find out that it’s actually a giant “I” for the story. It’s a scale befitting the beginning of a grand story. In a small circle of just 2cm in size, it intricately depicts the story from God’s creation of all things to Cain’s murder of Abel.

Leaf of the Zwolle Bible, produced in the late 15th century in the town of Zwolle in the North Netherland (near present-day Netherlands), is a leaf that emphasizes the letter “D” including the initial of the story. I was captivated by its neat and tidy beauty.

Initially, monks and nuns were responsible for copying and illuminating the manuscripts, but gradually lay artisans began to join in. The refined typeface seen in this work, which looks almost impossible to have been handwritten, was created by the renowned calligrapher Jacobus van Enkhuisen, who is said to have spent 14 years copying the entire volume.

This harmonious layout is the result of juxtaposing three versions of the Psalms, each with a narrative initial depicting a scene from David’s life, such as David carrying the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem.

In some cases, initials indicate for whom the manuscript was produced and the occasion for which it was used, for example, the initial “C” on the Liturgical Poems Leaf depicts a Franciscan friar singing in front of a lectern, indicating that the original manuscript was produced for the Franciscan Order.

Incidentally, border decorations that use plant motifs to fill the margins of the pages, as in this work, are common among manuscripts, but on closer inspection this work is quite unique in that, among the graceful, vividly colored flowers and plants, there is the head of a strange old man, perhaps a monk.

There were also other leaves at the venue with mischievous-looking decorations in the margins, perhaps as a sign of the artist’s playfulness, and it was fun to check out every page.

The Breviary, which contains all the texts to be read during the Divine Office, was originally kept by the priest who conducted the service, but gradually became popular among ordinary believers as well.

Among them, the leaf of the “Breviary of Leonello d’Este”, commissioned by the Este family who ruled the Italian city of Ferrara in the 15th century, is a gorgeous example of the utmost luxury for secular believers. The frame decoration, with its gold studded and fine lines like threads, is reminiscent of the sparkle of lavish jewelry and is nothing short of magnificent.

The decoration was done by Giorgio D’Alemagna, one of Ferrara’s leading manuscript illuminators, and although the overall style is late Gothic, the Renaissance was already underway in Ferrara at the time, and the way the figures are depicted within the initials shows some Renaissance influence.

Because manuscript decorations have been preserved within books and have avoided scattering and damage compared to murals and tapestries, they can be considered valuable witnesses to medieval art. This work, too, is a good example of a period in which the essence of two aesthetic sensibilities at the time of the transition in fashion is sealed away.

Of course, there are also many Zeroyo leaves that, rather than being decorated with initials, feature miniatures (illustrations) that are assigned their own independent space on the page.

The Prayer Book Leaf features an illustration of Christ surrounded by a trompe l’oeil-style decoration of flowers and insects scattered on a gold background (a type of optical illusion that was popular in Ghent and Bruges around 1500). The leaf was originally produced to be inserted into an existing manuscript to enhance its aesthetic value, but the owner added an embroidered border to it and used it in worship in the form of a small painting.

The exhibition also included non-Christian “secular” manuscripts, such as encyclopedic works and identity cards. As a result of the research, the exhibition also featured parent manuscripts of the zero leaf, which were identified based on the content of the copied text, the typeface, and the style of decoration, as well as sister leaves that had been separated from the parent.

Illuminated manuscripts were sometimes used as status symbols for their owners, or were lavishly decorated to satisfy aesthetic tastes. Some collectors cut out only the decorative parts, and they were cherished as first-class works of art that went beyond the realm of books. Although many of them are small in size, they are infused with the same aesthetic sense as the Western paintings we usually see in museums, and are in no way less impressive. Why not visit this exhibition and reflect on the aesthetic sense of the people of the Middle Ages, who probably read books with a different sensibility than we do today?

Summary of “Naito Collection Manuscripts – A Microcosm of the Elegant Middle Ages”

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

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Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum

The first large-scale retrospective of the 20th century master Giorgio de Chirico (1888-1978) in Japan in 10 years, "De Chirico Exhibition," is currently being held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in Ueno, Tokyo. The exhibition will run until August 29, 2024.

Giorgio de Chirico gained fame for his "metaphysical paintings," which had a major influence on many artists, including surrealists such as Salvador Dali and René Magritte. Although he is known as an avant-garde painter, he was also devoted to classical expression techniques such as the Renaissance and Baroque, and his style changed significantly with the times.

A retrospective exhibition usually presents works from an artist's early period to his later years in chronological order. However, this exhibition brings together over 100 works, mainly oil paintings, from all over the world, grouped by themes and motifs that De Chirico dealt with, such as "Self-portraits and portraits," "Metaphysical paintings," and "Return to traditional painting," and provides an easy-to-understand introduction to how he continued to paint them and make changes to them .

As an introduction, Chapter 1 focuses on self-portraits and portraits. De Chirico began his career as an artist early on, and produced hundreds of self-portraits throughout his life. The various stylistic changes seen in his self-portraits reflect the results of the research he pursued in each of his eras.

De Chirico was born in Greece in 1888 to Italian parents, and after the death of his father, he moved to Munich, Germany with his mother and younger brother. He enrolled in art school there but dropped out, and moved to Milan, Italy in 1909. At the time, De Chirico was greatly influenced by the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche and the paintings of Arnold Böcklin, the abstract painter famous for Isle of the Dead. This exhibition features a rare portrait he painted during this period, that is, in the early stages before he established his style of metaphysical painting in Paris, called Portrait of his Brother (1910).

Self-Portrait (c1922) was a response by De Chirico to a time when a movement called "Return to Order" was sweeping through Western art, rediscovering the order of classical painting as a reaction to the destruction of expressive forms caused by the avant-garde movement. It is based on the rigid vision of Renaissance paintings such as Piero della Francesca and Raffaello Sanzio.

In addition, some of his self-portraits are in 17th-century costumes or dressed as bullfighters. Such theatrical attempts and theatrical tastes are one of the characteristics of De Chirico's work, and are closely related to the stage design of operas and other theater productions that he was involved in intermittently throughout his career. In the second half of the exhibition, costumes and design sketches created by De Chirico are also on display, so it will be interesting to view the exhibition while imagining the mutual influence they had on each other.

The second chapter is de Chirico's signature metaphysical paintings, divided into three themes: "Italian Piazza," "Metaphysical Interior," and "Mannequin." This is the highlight of the exhibition, bringing together many of De Chirico's masterpieces from his golden age of the 1910s, which are usually scattered around the world.

One day in 1910, De Chirico was struck by the sensation of seeing a familiar landscape for the first time in Piazza Santa Croce in Florence. This "revelation" prompted him to begin producing paintings that, while depicting concrete scenes such as squares and interiors, hint at the extraordinary, the mystical and mysterious, resembling dream images, through distorted perspective and the arrangement of motifs that would not normally exist.

After moving to Paris in 1911, his fantastical paintings immediately captivated critics and became part of the forefront of the Parisian art movement. Influenced by the philosophy of his beloved Nietzsche, De Chirico later named these works "metaphysical painting." His Silent Figure (Ariadne) (1913), exhibited in the "Piazza Italiana" corner, is truly a masterpiece of metaphysical painting.

"Piazza Italiana with a Pink Tower" (c1934), which depicts a square with no people in it, but with long shadows extending from outside the picture plane creating an ominous atmosphere, is a reproduction of "Piazza Italiana with a Red Tower" created in 1913. De Chirico was also active in reproducing metaphysical paintings he had painted in the past, and although this practice was sometimes criticized as "forgery," he himself seemed to take a positive view of it, saying, "There is no flaw in these reproductions, except that they are painted with more beautiful materials and more refined techniques" (from a letter to the wife of his teacher André Breton, who commissioned the reproduction).

With the outbreak of World War I, De Chirico moved from Paris to Ferrara as a soldier, and his paintings switched from the open views overlooking the square to the enclosed spaces of interiors. The motifs he painted were also inspired by the interiors of houses and shop windows in Ferrara, and objects that would have been around De Chirico in his daily life, such as biscuits, nautical charts, and rulers, began to appear without any context.

These are called "metaphysical interiors," and when we look at works from the 1910s, we see that the motifs depicted are unnaturally close to the viewer's eyes, with a myopic composition that excludes the presence of the outside world. In the 1960s, however, windows were installed, and the composition changed to create a sense of spaciousness. The windows also show the buildings of Piazza Italiana, a characteristic of the "New Metaphysical Paintings" that De Chirico began working on around 1968, which integrate motifs from his past works.

The "Mannequin" section features a series of works that replace the human figure, a motif that had been given a privileged status in classical Western painting, with the faceless mannequin, treating it as a kind of object on the same level as other motifs. As the appearance of the mannequin coincides with the outbreak of World War I, it is said that the mannequin represents the lack of rationality of human beings that causes war, or human powerlessness against violence.

Mannequin plays a variety of roles, including muse, prophet, philosopher, and bride. Although she is depicted in an inorganic manner in her early masterpieces , The Prophet (1914-15) and The Metaphysical Muses (1918), it is noteworthy that as time went on she underwent an interesting transformation, becoming more fleshy and humanized under the influence of classicism.

After returning from metaphysical painting to classical painting, De Chirico returned to Paris in 1925 and interacted with Surrealist painters, turning his attention back to metaphysical painting and to new themes such as "Gladiators" and "Furniture of the Valley." Chapter 3 focuses on these developments in the late 1920s.

The following fourth chapter is titled "Return to Traditional Painting – From 'Return to Order' to 'Neo-Baroque'" and introduces works that demonstrate the results of his devotion to classical painting, which has been mentioned many times in this article. From around 1920, he studied Renaissance works by Titian and Raphael, and then in the 1940s, Baroque works by Rubens and Velázquez, and although he was criticized by the Surrealists, he incorporated their expressions, themes, and techniques into his own work.

This chapter features two bathing paintings. One is Reclining Bather (Alcmene Rest) (1932), which is based on a bathing painting painted in the latter years of the Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, who was known at the time as the leading researcher of Renaissance classicism.

The other, painted more than ten years later, is Bathers in a Landscape with a Red Cloth (1945), inspired by Baroque painting and its interpretations by Eugène Delacroix and Gustave Courbet. Although it has the same subject, the latter is more sensual overall and features dark, dense colors, showing a significant change in brushstrokes and style.

The final section, "New Metaphysical Painting," follows the development of De Chirico's work from the time he began working on metaphysical painting again in the ten years leading up to his death in 1978.

In his final years, De Chirico freely combined elements of his past works, such as squares, interiors, mannequins, mythological stories found in classical paintings, and even the sun and moon he had drawn in his illustrations, breaking new ground beyond mere rehash. These styles are called "neo-metaphysical paintings," and they are free of the melancholy and oppressive atmosphere found in the metaphysical paintings of the 1910s. All of them are light, cheerful, and somewhat playful, as if they have been deprived of the poison.

Unswayed by criticism from those around him, De Chirico viewed the avant-garde and the classics as not contradictory but capable of coexisting, and he repeatedly quoted and paid homage to his own work, presenting an original work worthy of being called the culmination of his artistic career.

Overview of the "De Chirico Exhibition"

venue	Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum
Dates	Saturday, April 27th, 2024 – Thursday, August 29th, 2024
Opening hours	9:30-17:30 (until 20:00 on Fridays) (entry until 30 minutes before closing)
Closed Days	Mondays, July 9th (Tue) – July 16th (Tue) *However, the office will be open on Monday, July 8th and Monday, August 12th (holiday).
Admission fee (tax included)	Adults: 2,200 yen, university and vocational school students: 1,300 yen, ages 65 and over: 1,500 yen *Reservations are required for specified dates and times on Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays, and from August 20th (Tuesday). *Free for high school students and younger. * Free for those who have a Physical Disability Certificate, Love Certificate, Rehabilitation Certificate, Mental Disability Health and Welfare Certificate, or Atomic Bomb Survivor Health Certificate, and their accompanying person (up to one person). *For further details, please check the official ticket page .
Organizer	Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, The Asahi Shimbun Company
inquiry	050-5541-8600 (Hello Dial)
Exhibition official website	https://dechirico.exhibit.jp/

*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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Tokyo National Museum

To mark the 850th anniversary of the founding of the Jodo sect, a special exhibition titled “Honen and the Pure Land” has begun at the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno, Tokyo, where many treasures related to the founder of the sect, Honen, have been gathered from temples across the country. The exhibition will run until June 9, 2024.

*Some of the artworks on display will be changed during the exhibition. Please check the official exhibition website for details.

Originally developed in India and China, the belief in going to the Pure Land, a world free from suffering established in the west by Amida Buddha, is called “Jodo Buddhism” or “Jodo faith” in Japan and was adopted mainly by the Tendai sect’s Enryakuji Temple on Mount Hiei.

Honen (1133-1212), born at the end of the Heian period, a time when the age of the Latter Day of the Law was plagued by successive wars, natural disasters, and epidemics, studied Pure Land Buddhism on Mount Hiei, and in 1175 (Joan 5) founded the Jodo sect, which taught that by chanting “Namu Amida Butsu,” everyone can be equally saved by Amida Buddha and be reborn in the Pure Land.

“Namu Amida Butsu” means “I take refuge in Amida Tathagata.” The simple teaching of “Senshu Nembutsu,” which says that if you recite this six-character phrase (Nenbutsu) out loud, you will be able to attain paradise regardless of whether you have undergone rigorous training or good deeds, is so simple that it has gained the support of a wide range of people from aristocrats to uneducated commoners who are suffering from hardship, and it has grown into one of the major sects of Kamakura Buddhism. It has been passed down continuously to the present day.

This large-scale exhibition, held to commemorate the 850th anniversary of the founding of the Jodo sect in 2024, will survey the art and history of the Jodo sect, from its founding by Honen to its great development in the Edo period with the support of the Tokugawa Shogunate, through precious treasures, including national treasures and important cultural properties, held by Jodo sect temples and other institutions across the country .

The exhibition is divided into four chapters. Chapter 1, “Honen and His Times,” introduces the kind of person Honen was, his appearance, achievements, and ideas.

This exhibit features the Important Cultural Property “Senke Hongan Nembutsu Shu (Rosanji version),” which is the fundamental scripture of the Jodo sect that systematizes Honen’s philosophy and whose opening section even features calligraphy written by Honen himself; and the National Treasure “Honen Shonin Illustrated Biography,” a lengthy picture scroll spanning 48 volumes that can be said to be a culmination of the many biographies of Honen, containing not only the life of Honen from his birth to his death, but also the achievements of the nobles, samurai, and disciples who converted to the Jodo sect .

The statue of Saint Honen Seated, the principal image of the Okuin sanctuary of Taimadera Temple in Nara, is a rare example of a sculpture of Honen made in the Middle Ages, and is said to show the figure of a relatively young man. The statue is well-built, with a gentle expression that seems to be slightly smiling. This laid-back friendliness is in keeping with the popularity of the Jodo sect, and it is truly symbolic that it is displayed right at the entrance to this exhibition.

As the influence of the religious organization grew, some of them began to misinterpret the teachings and disrupt public morals, and the followers of Enryaku- ji Temple even filed a lawsuit to demand an end to Senshu Nembutsu. At that time, Honen had his disciples sign the Seven Prohibitions to encourage self-discipline. If you look closely, you will see that it also contains the signature of Shinran, the founder of Jodo Shinshu, when he was young.

The highlight of Chapter 2, “The World of Amida Buddha,” which conveys the growing faith that spread to the common people through the many sculptures of Amida Nyorai that were imbued with the wishes of many people, is the National Treasure “Amida and the Twenty-five Bodhisattvas Raising Welcome,” which is housed in Chion-in Temple in Kyoto, the head temple of the Jodo sect of Buddhism, just like the previously introduced “Illustrated Biography of Honen Shonin.”

This work is known by the nickname “Hayaraigo” (Early Arrival) , and is featured in textbooks as a masterpiece of Kamakura-period Buddhist painting, so many people should be familiar with it. A Raigo-zu painting is one that depicts Amida Buddha, accompanied by bodhisattvas, descending on a cloud to take a dying person who is reciting the Nembutsu to the Pure Land, and the name “Hayaraigo” comes from the magnificent depiction of flying clouds in a diagonal composition that emphasizes the sense of speed as the water falls in a straight line from the waterfall. This type of design likely reflects the wishes of those who prayed for a swift arrival.

A three-year period beginning in 2019 saw the painting undergo extensive dismantling and repair, which included replacing the backing paper (reinforcing paper that is affixed directly to the back of the original painting), making the painting brighter and enhancing the landscape that gave rise to the three-dimensional expression of scenery that is characteristic of this painting, such as the blue color of the water’s surface and the deeply carved mountain slopes.

The National Treasure “Tsuzureori Taima Mandala,” a treasured principal image of Taima-dera Temple in Nara, a sacred place of Pure Land Buddhism, is also a must-see. This work was originally composed of the third chapter, but due to space constraints, it was displayed in the second chapter area.

This stunning four-meter-wide painting of the Pure Land depicts the contents of the Sutra of Contemplation of Infinite Life, one of the three great scriptures of Pure Land Buddhism. It is thought that the painting was created in China during the Tang Dynasty or in Japan in the 8th century during the Nara period, but there are no other examples from the 8th century created with such advanced techniques. This will be the first time it will be exhibited outside of Nara Prefecture.

Unfortunately, most of the original colors have been lost, but this work attracted great faith during the Kamakura period by Honen’s disciple Shoku, and many copies were made. The same section also exhibits a copy of the Taima Mandala with clearly defined ink lines. Legend has it that the Tapestry Taima Mandala was woven in one night by an aristocratic girl named Chujohime with the help of Amida Buddha using lotus threads, and by viewing it together with the Taima Mandala, you may be able to experience a part of the mysticism that heightened the reverence of the people at the time.

Chapter 3, “Honen’s Disciples and the Lineage of Buddhism,” traces the activities of his disciples who, after his death, worked tirelessly throughout the country, including in Chinzei (Kyushu), Kamakura, and Kyoto, to spread his teachings.

There were many differences in approach among the disciples, such as the ideological construction of Senshu Nembutsu, the positioning of various practices within it, and ensuring the legitimacy of the religious organization. The exhibited work, “Matsudai Nembutsu Jushuin (Seigokurakuhon),” is said to be handwritten by Shoko, the founder of the Chinzei school, and was written to lament the situation in which dissent and different schools of thought were arising among his disciples, and to convey Honen’s true intentions to future generations. It makes you think about how difficult it is to protect and pass on a single teaching, even if it is as simple as Senshu Nembutsu.

Shogei, the founder of the Jodo sect, established the foundations of the Kanto Jodo sect in Hitachi Province, and his disciple Shoso founded Zojoji Temple in Edo. The sect’s status was firmly established when Tokugawa Ieyasu, who had been a devout believer in Jodo Buddhism since the Matsudaira clan, designated Zojoji Temple as the family temple in Edo and Chion-in Temple as the family temple in Kyoto. Chapter 4, “Jodo Buddhism in the Edo Period,” traces the Jodo sect’s dramatic rise in popularity during the Edo period under the patronage of the shogun family and various feudal lords, through the large-scale treasures that were brought to Jodo sect temples.

The three copies of the Tripitaka that can be viewed here – Song, Yuan, and Goryeo – are known as the “Three Great Treasures” and were confiscated by Ieyasu from temples in Yamato, Suo, and Omi provinces in exchange for their territories, and donated to Zojoji Temple.

The Tripitaka is a collection of over 5,000 volumes of Buddhist scriptures translated into Chinese, and in China, from the Northern Song Dynasty onwards, the Tripitaka was printed by woodblock printing as printing culture developed. Each published Tripitaka is a rare cultural asset, but it is said that there is no other example in the world of three copies held by a single temple in perfect condition. It is an extremely important book in cultural history that created the foundation for modern Buddhist studies.

Though not flashy, what caught my eye was the “Daily Nembutsu” (Nenbutsu) that is said to have been written by Ieyasu himself. It is believed that in his later years, Ieyasu diligently copied out the sutra “Namu Amida Butsu” every day, praying for the atonement of his sins. From a distance, the name of Amida Buddha is densely written in six rows and 41 columns, so densely that it could be mistaken for some kind of pattern, and it is a little chilling as it shows just how obsessive he was. However, upon closer inspection, like a game of spot the difference, there are only two places where the characters “Namu Amida Ieyasu” are written instead of “Namu Amida Butsu”. It is unclear why it was written in this way, but perhaps it was just playfulness, or perhaps there was some other deeper intention behind it.

The highlight of this exhibition can be said to be the 500 Arhats from Zojoji Temple , which Kano Kazunobu (1816-63), a painter from the late Edo period who is said to have been largely self-taught before entering the Kano school. The 500 Arhats are a masterpiece that he worked on over a period of about 10 years as the culmination of his career.

Rakan is an honorific title given to enlightened saints among the disciples of Shakyamuni, and they have been worshipped as beings with the role of saving people. The 500 Rakan are the 500 Rakan who participated in the First Assembly to compile Buddhist scriptures after Shakyamuni’s death, and from the mid-Edo period onwards, wood carvings and stone statues of the 500 Rakan began to be actively made all over Japan.

This work is an exceptional piece in terms of size, number, and impact, with 500 arhats literally painted in groups of five across a total of 100 scrolls. The highly distinctive scenes of the arhats’ training and life, the six realms of existence, disasters that befall people, and their salvation through arhat are depicted dramatically in brilliant colors, without being limited by the framework of Japanese painting, and using Western shading and perspective techniques. There is not a single part that is relaxed, even in the four corners, and I was overwhelmed by the amount of information and the passion that comes from it.

Of the total 100 paintings, 24 (12 in the first and second half of the exhibition) will be exhibited at the venue.

The last thing we encounter at the venue is the “Group Statues of Buddha in Nirvana” from Honenji Temple in Kagawa. This work depicts the scene of Shakyamuni’s nirvana in three dimensions using a group of statues, and is made up of a life-size statue of Shakyamuni in Nirvana, surrounded by a total of 82 figures, including lamenting arhats, the Eight Deities of Heavenly Dragons, and animals. Matsudaira Yorishige, the first lord of Takamatsu Domain, invited a Buddhist sculptor from Kyoto to build this work, and there is no other example of such a large group statue of Nirvana.

They are usually placed in the Sanbutsudo (Nirvana Hall) of Honenji Temple, but 26 of them are on display at this exhibition and are open to the public as photo spots.

After Tokyo, the exhibition will travel to the Kyoto National Museum and the Kyushu National Museum.

 

Overview of “Honen and the Pure Land”

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

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