Special Exhibition:
Art Associated with the Imperial Family
―Artists Who Decorated the Imperial Palaces

Shimomura Kanzan,
Ancient Pine Tree and White Wisterias,
Yamatane Museum of Art

17 Nov (Sat.) 2018 – 20 Jan (Sun.) 2019
(Closed on 25 Dec, from 29 Dec to 2 Jan, and 15 Jan and on Mondays, open on Oct 24 Dec, 14 Jan.)

Hours:10 am - 5 pm (Last admission at 4:30 pm)

Admission Fees: Adults: 1,200 [1,000] yen; university and high school students: 900 [800] yen; middle school and younger children: free of charge
*Figures in brackets are for groups of 20 or more, advance tickets, repeaters with used tickets for this exhibition and those who are wearing kimono.
*Disability ID holders and one person accompanying them are admitted free of charge.

Organized by: Yamatane Museum of Art and Nikkei Inc.

Sponsored by: SMBC Nikko Securities Inc.

Highlights of the Exhibition

Section 1: The Imperial Family and Art―from Premodern to Contemporary

Prince Sanehito (Yōkō'in), 100 Chakutō Waka Poems from Daily Poetry Gatherings [Important Art Object], Ink on Paper, Muromachi Period, 1567, Yamatane Museum of Art ◆

Emperor Goyōzei, Scroll of Poems [Important Art Object], Ink on Decorated Paper, 17th Century, Yamatane Museum of Art

Prince Arisugawa-no-miya Takahito, Waka Poem Written on Kaishi Paper, Ink on Decorated Paper, Edo or Meiji Period, 19th Century, Kokugakuin University, Tokyo

Tosa Mitsunobu, A Wakeful Sleep (Utatane Sōshi), Color on Paper, 16th Century, National Museum of Japanese History ◆

Attributed to Kaihō Yūsetsu, Tale of Taiheiki, The Chronicle of Great Peace, Vol. 12, Color on Paper, Edo Period, 17th Century, National Museum of Japanese History ◆

Shimomura Kanzan, Ancient Pine Tree and White Wisterias, Color on Gold-Leafed Paper, Taishō Period, 1921, Yamatane Museum of Art

Maeda Seison, Mythical Lions, Color on Paper, 1935, Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan ●

Kawabata Ryūshi,Three White Auspicious Motifs, Color on Silk, 1929, Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan ○

Bonbonnière in the Shape of a Hanging Lantern, Silver, Shōwa Period, 1928

Bonbonnière in the Shape of a Papier-mâché Dog, Silver, Shōwa Period, 1934

Section 2: Imperial Palaces and Nihonga ―Preparatory Paintings for the Imperial Palaces and Art Associated with the Imperial Palace

Watanabe Seitei, Album of Flowers and Birds Paintings (Preparatory Designs for Cloisonné Panels for the Akasaka Imperial Villa), Color on Silk, Meiji Period, c. 1906, Tokyo National Museum ◆

Takeuchi Seihō, Preparatory Paintings for the Imperial Palace, Color on Silk, Meiji Period, 19th to 20 th Century, Tokyo National Museum ◇◆

Yamaguchi Hōshun, Quarter Scale Preparatory Painting for Maple Tree on Japanese Cedar Door at the New Imperial Palace, Color on Paper, Shōwa Period, 1967, Yamatane Museum of Art

Hashimoto Meiji, Cherry Tree in Morning Sun, Color on Paper, Shōwa Period, 1970, Yamatane Museum of Art

Higashiyama Kaii, Rising Tide, Color on Paper, Shōwa Period, 1970, Yamatane Museum of Art

Section 3: Imperial Court Artists―Encouraging and Promoting Japanese A Nihonga, Japanese Style Paintings

Takeuchi Seihō, A Pair of Cranes, Color on Silk, Taishō or Shōwa Period, c. 1912-42, Yamatane Museum of Art

Yamamoto Shunkyo, Pool in the Crater, Color on Silk, Taishō Period, 1925, Yamatane Museum of Art

Kawai Gyokudō, Cormorant Fishing, Color on Silk, Meiji Period, 1895, Yamatane Museum of Art

Yokoyama Taikan, Mt. Fuji, Color on Silk, Shōwa Period, 1933, Yamatane Museum of Art

Uemura Shōen, Feathered Snow, Color on Silk, Shōwa Period, 1944, Yamatane Museum of Art

Yōga, Western Style Paintings

Kuroda Seiki, Bathing at Shōnan, Oil on Canvas, Meiji Period, 1908, Yamatane Museum of Art

Wada Eisaku, Girl in a Yellow Dress, Oil on Canvas, Shōwa Period, 1931, Yamatane Museum of Art

Umehara Ryūzaburō, Roses and Oranges, Oil on Paper, Shōwa Period, 1944, Yamatane Museum of Art

Kōgei, Decorative Arts / Sculpture

Namikawa Yasuyuki, Vase with Bird-and-Flower Design, Cloisonné Enamel, Meiji Period, 19th to 20th Century

Kagawa Katsuhiro, Vase with Butterflies and Chrysanthemums Design, Silver, Gold, and Copper, Meiji Period, 19th to 20th Century, Kiyomizu Sannenzaka Museum

Hirakushi Denchū, The Chinese Painter Ni Zan (Unrin), Color on Wooden Sculpture, 1942, Yamatane Museum of Art

Approximately 80 masterpieces from Yamatane Collection and other collections are on display during the above period.

＊Period of Display　○: 11/17-12/16, ●: 12/18-1/20, ◇: 11/17-1/6, ◆: 1/8-1/20, ◎: The scenes on display will be changed from 12/18.

Exhibition Overview

In November of 1968, a completion ceremony marked the end to construction of the New Imperial Palace. This palace was designed as a structure symbolizing its era, tradition, and culture. Works by distinguished members of the nihonga art world were chosen to decorate it, to welcome honored guests from Japan and abroad with sublime Japanese art.

The founder of our museum, Yamazaki Taneji(1893-1983), having had an opportunity then to see some of the works of art that decorated the interior of the palace, was profoundly impressed by them. Wishing to enable more people to see those superb paintings, he commissioned similar works from some of the nihonga artists who were engaged in decorating the palace: Yasuda Yukihiko, Yamaguchi Hōshun, Uemura Shōkō, Hashimoto Meiji, Higashiyama Kaii, and Sugiyama Yasushi.

Commemorating the 50th year since the completion of the New Imperial Palace, this exhibition presents, for the first time in four years, all those six artists' paintings in our collection with that connection to the palace. They are joined by a group of works with deep ties to the Imperial family, dating from the premodern to the contemporary periods, including shinkan, calligraphy in the Emperor’s own hand, picture scrolls handed down in the families of Imperial princes, works of art bestowed by Imperial family members, nihonga formerly owned by the families of Imperial princes, and preparatory paintings for the Imperial Palace.

This exhibition also draws attention to the Imperial Court Artist system, which was established in 1890 to promote the arts under the patronage and encouragement of the Imperial Household. It includes magnificent works by designated Imperial Court Artists, such as the nihonga artists Hashimoto Gahō, Takeuchi Seihō, and Uemura Shōen, decorative artists popular in recent years who raised the decorative arts to an exalted level in the Meiji period, such as Kawanobe Itchō, Namikawa Yasuyuki, Namikawa Sōsuke, and Kagawa Katsuhiro, and Yōga, Western-style, painters such as Kuroda Seiki and Wada Eisaku. Through their work, the exhibition invites reflection upon the relationship between modern-period artists and the Imperial Household.

The exhibition is composed of three sections: “The Imperial Family and Art―from Premodern to Contemporary,” “Imperial Palaces and Nihonga ―Preparatory Paintings for the Imperial Palaces and Art Associated with the Imperial Palace,” and “Imperial Court Artists―Encouraging and Promoting Japanese Arts.”

Bonbonnière in the Shape of a Papier-mâché Dog [Private banquet celebrating the birth of the Crown Prince (now HM the Emperor) ]

Attributed to Kaihō Yūsetsu, Tale of Taiheiki, The Chronicle of Great Peace, Vol. 12, National Museum of Japanese History [Scroll from the Takamatsu-no-miya Library] ※These scenes on display will be changed from 12/18.

©Y. MAEDA & JASPAR, Tokyo, 2018 E3219 Maeda Seison, Mythical Lions, Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan ※On display 12/18-1/20

Kawabata Ryūshi, Three White Auspicious Motifs, Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan ※On display 11/17-12/16

Yokoyama Taikan Spring Rain at Akasaka Palace Gardens, Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan ※On display 12/18-1/20

Yokoyama Taikan Cascading Water, Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan ※On display 11/17-12/16

Watanabe Seitei, Albums of Flowers and Birds Paintings (Preparatory Designs for Cloisonné Panels for the Akasaka Imperial Villa), Tokyo National Museum Image: TNM Image Archives [Preparatory Designs for Cloisonné Panels for the Akasaka Imperial Villa]

© JR Tokai Lifelong Learning Foundation Yamaguchi Hōshun, Quarter Scale Preparatory Painting for Maple Tree on Japanese Cedar Door at the New Imperial Palace, Yamatane Museum of Art [The work commissioned by Taneji Yamazaki and based on works in the New Imperial Palaces during the Shōwa period]

Hashimoto Meiji, Cherry Tree in Morning Sun, Yamatane Museum of Art [The work commissioned by Taneji Yamazaki and based on works in the New Imperial Palaces during the Shōwa period]

Higashiyama Kaii, Rising Tide, Yamatane Museum of Art [The work commissioned by Taneji Yamazaki and based on works in the New Imperial Palaces during the Shōwa period]

Namikawa Yasuyuki, Vase with Bird-and-Flower Design, Cloisonné Enamel [Appointed as Imperial Court Artist in 1896]

Uemura Shōen, Feathered Snow, Yamatane Museum of Art [Appointed as Imperial Court Artist in 1944]

Unauthorized copying and replication of the contents of this site, text and images are strictly prohibited.