Thematic Exhibition
Depicting Water:
Hiroshige’s Rain, Gyokudō’s Brooks, and Togyū’s Maelstroms

Senju Hiroshi, Waterfall
Yamatane Museum of Art

14 July (Sat.) – 6 Sep (Thu.) 2018
(Closed on 17 July and on Mondays, open on 16 July)

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

Admission Fees: Adults: 1,000 [800] yen; university and high school students: 800 [700] 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 The Asahi Shimbun.

Highlights of the Exhibition

Kawai Gyokudō, A Ferry Crossing in Spring, Color on Silk, Shōwa Period, c. 1935-43, Yamatane Museum of Art

Kobayashi Kokei, River Breeze, Color on Silk, Taishō Period, 1915, Yamatane Museum of Art

Okuda Gensō, Oirase Ravine: Autumn, Color on Paper, Shōwa Period, 1983, Yamatane Museum of Art

Kobori Tomoto, Nasu no Yoichi (Munetaka) Trying to Hit a Swinging Fan with an Arrow: Scenes from the Tale of the Heike, Color on Silk, Meiji Period, 1890, Yamatane Museum of Art

Kawabata Ryūshi, Maelstroms at Naruto, Color on Silk, Shōwa Period, 1929, Yamatane Museum of Art

Okumura Togyū, Maelstroms at Naruto, Color on Paper, Shōwa Period, 1959, Yamatane Museum of Art

Ono Chikkyō, Lights in the Offing, Color on Paper, Shōwa Period, 1977, Yamatane Museum of Art

Higashiyama Kaii, Pervasive Verdure, Color on Paper, Shōwa Period, 1976, Yamatane Museum of Art

Hayami Gyoshū, Natives Engaged in Irrigation Work in Egypt, Color on Silk with Gold Leaf on the Reverse, Shōwa Period, 1931, Yamatane Museum of Art

Miyasako Masaaki, Fireworks into the Water: Spiral, Color on Silk, Heisei Period, 2012, Yamatane Museum of Art

Okumura Togyū, Nachi Falls, Color on Paper, Shōwa Period, 1958, Yamatane Museum of Art

Senju Hiroshi, Waterfall, Color on Paper, Heisei Period, 1995, Yamatane Museum of Art

Utagawa HiroshigeⅠ, Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō Road: Shōno (Rainstorm), Large Format (Ōban) Polychrome Woodblock Print (Nishiki-e) on Paper, Edo Period, c. 1833-36, Yamatane Museum of Art [14 Jul. - 5 Aug.]

Utagawa Hiroshige I, A Hundred Famous Views of Edo: Evening Shower at Ōhashi Bridge, Large Format (Ōban) Polychrome Woodblock Print (Nishiki-e) on Paper, Edo Period, 1857, Yamatane Museum of Art [7 Aug. - 6 Sep.]

Kawai Gyokudō, Autumn Landscape with Colored Maple Trees, Color on Silk, Shōwa Period, 1946, Yamatane Museum of Art

Hirayama Ikuo, Tower Bridge in Mist in London, Color on Paper, Shōwa Period, 1963, Yamatane Museum of Art

Approximately 50 works in total are to be displayed.

Exhibition Overview

In September of 2018, water professionals from around the world will gather in Tokyo to participate in the International Water Associations’ World Water Congress & Exhibition. With that major international congress about water in the offing and with interest in the global water environment constantly rising, the Yamatane Museum of Art has focused on the theme of water in organizing this summer exhibition. It brings together depictions of water from Japanese prints and paintings.

Japan is blessed with abundant water resources, and water is a constant presence in life and art, expressed in many ways. Water is constantly changing shape as rain fills ponds and lakes and rivers form, flowing into the sea. Lively waves, water surfaces reflecting light: the many faces of water have aroused many artists’ creative ambitions. The result, their paintings of water, offer a view of these artists’ superb techniques and varied styles.

This exhibition introduces a selection of works depicting water from our museum’s collection, from Edo period ukiyo-e to modern and contemporary nihonga. Okuda Gensō’s Oirase Ravine: Autumn depicts the picturesque mountain stream that flows through the Oirase Gorge. Two works entitled Maelstroms at Naruto, by Kawabata Ryūshi and Okumura Togyū, depict the whirlpools in the Naruto Strait. These works vividly capture rivers and the sea in motion. Togyū’s Nachi Falls and Senju Hiroshi’s Waterfall depict vigorously cascading waterfalls in large-format paintings with great impact that also gives a sense of the sacredness of water. A Hundred Famous Views of Edo: Evening Shower at Ōhashi Bridge by Utagawa Hiroshige I (displayed from August 7 to September 6) presents people crossing a bridge amidst a strong evening shower. Both that print and Kawai Gyokudō’s Autumn Landscape with Colored Maple Trees, a painting of a hazy mountain road in the rain, depict rainy scenes with rich artistry.

The exhibition is divided into three sections: “Images of Waves and the Water’s Surface,” “The Dynamism of Waterfalls,” and “Scenes with Rain.” Through these works, visitors will have an opportunity to experience the wide range that expressions of water take and to sense how these artists view water and what their thoughts and feelings about it are. We also invite you to enjoy the respite from the heat of summer that these refreshing paintings of water will bring.

Finally, we would like to take the opportunity presented by this exhibition to express our deep gratitude to all those whose unstinting efforts and cooperation have contributed to the exhibition’s successful realization.

Kawabata Ryūshi, Maelstroms at Naruto, Yamatane Museum of Art

Kobori Tomoto, Nasu no Yoichi (Munetaka) Trying to Hit a Swinging Fan with an Arrow: Scenes from the Tale of the Heike, Yamatane Museum of Art

Okumura Togyū, Maelstroms at Naruto, Yamatane Museum of Art

Okuda Gensō, Oirase Ravine: Autumn, Yamatane Museum of Art

Okumura Togyū, Nachi Falls, Yamatane Museum of Art

Kawai Gyokudō, Autumn Landscape with Colored Maple Trees, Yamatane Museum of Art

Utagawa Hiroshige I, Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō Road: Shōno (Rainstorm), Yamatane Museum of Art [14 Jul. - 5 Aug.]

Utagawa Hiroshige I, A Hundred Famous Views of Edo: Evening Shower at Ōhashi Bridge, Yamatane Museum of Art [7 Aug. - 6 Sep.]