Special Exhibition:
The Japanese Art of Happiness
―From Itō Jakuchū to Yokoyama Taikan and Kawabata Ryūshi

　

14 December (Sat.) – 24 Feburuary (Mon.) 2025
(Closed on 1/14, from 29 Dec to 2 Jan, and on Mondays, except for 1/13, 2/24)

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

Admission Fees: Adults: 1,400 yen; middle school and younger children: free of charge; Disability ID holders and one accompanying person: 1,200 yen each
*Discount for those who are wearing kimono: Discount of 200 yen for adults
Winter Student Discount: University and high school students: 1,100 yen → 500 yen

Organized by: Yamatane Museum of Art, Nikkei Inc.,Japan Arts Council and Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan

Sponsored by: SMBC Nikko Securities Inc.

Highlights of the Exhibition

Kanō Tsunenobu, The Seven Gods of Good Fortune, 17th to 18th Century, Color on Silk; Yamatane Museum of Art

Itō Jakuchū, Fushimi Dolls, 1799, Color on Paper; Yamatane Museum of Art

Kishi Renzan, Kishi Renzan, 19th Century, Color on Paper; Yamatane Museum of Art

Shibata Zeshin, "Bokurin Hikka”　Urushi-e Lacquer Painting Album, 1877-88, Lacquer on Paper; Yamatane Museum of Art

Tazaki Sōun, Auspicious Dreams, 1892, Color on Silk; Yamatane Museum of Art

Takeuchi Seihō, Flowery Late Spring, 1940, Color on Silk; Yamatane Museum of Art

Yokoyama Taikan, Divine Spirit: Mt. Fuji, 1952, Ink and Light Color on Silk; Yamatane Museum of Art

Shimomura Kanzan, Shoulaoren, the God of Longevity, c. 1920, Color on Silk; Yamatane Museum of Art

Kawabata Ryūshi, Children Playing with an Elephant, 1949, Color on Paper; Ryushi Memorial Museum

Approximately 60 works in total are to be displayed.

Exhibition Overview

People have, since we first walked the earth, wished for happy lives. Japanese art presents a cornucopia of auspicious designs expressing that wish to adorn births, weddings, and other happy events, seasonal festivals, and everyday life. Amidst the unstable world situation we continue to experience nowadays, the Yamatane Museum of Art is delighted to present an exhibition full of happy feelings, expressing our hope for the happiness of all.

This exhibition focuses on art that expresses our hopes for longevity, being blessed with children, wealth, and prosperity. It introduces works with lucky motifs that resonate with people today, including the familiar pine, bamboo, and plum tree triad, and the Seven Gods of Good Fortune. It also includes works that inspire happy feelings in the viewer: humorous works and scenes filled with a sense of well-being.

Itō Jakuchū’s Cranes (private collection) presents these symbols of longevity, cranes brimming with vitality, in a ink wash painting. Kawabata Ryūshi’s peaceful scene in Children Playing with an Elephant (Ryushi Memorial Museum) symbolizes children, grandchildren, and the perpetuation of the family line. Haniwa, Hunter Carrying a Boar (private collection), a terracotta figure from an ancient Kofun-period tomb, fills the viewer with delight. Since 2025 is the Year of the Snake, this exhibition also offers works depicting serpents, for your viewing pleasure.

Through Japanese art with happiness as its theme, a theme with a broad range, from the prehistoric Kofun period through modern and contemporary times, we hope that you will enjoy a heart-warmingly happy experience near the year’s end and in the new year.