Fauna-themed artwork among Imperial collections to be highlighted in Tokyo

The Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan* (East Gardens of the Imperial Palace, Tokyo) is holding an exhibition with a focus on the colorful fauna-themed paintings, calligraphy, sculpture and decorative works — including two paintings from among Ito Jakuchu’s series “Colorful Realm of Living Beings” (a designated national treasure) — formerly passed down in the Imperial Household.

Wild Wonders:
The Animal Kingdom in the Imperial Collections

Jul 9 (Tue) – Sep 1 (Sun), 2024

The Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan
(East Gardens of the Imperial Palace, Tokyo)

*See outline below for details

Not all the fauna-themed works of art to go on display in “Wild Wonders: The Animal Kingdom in the Imperial Collections,” the upcoming exhibition, are of Japanese origin. It also highlights objects that have been gifted to members of the Imperial family upon their duties abroad.

The exhibition will open on July 9, 2024, and run through Sept. 1, 2024.

As noted, among the must-sees in the exhibition are the “Goose and Reeds” (on display: July 9-Aug. 4) and “Pond and Insects” (on display: Aug. 6-Sept. 1) from among the celebrated “Colorful Realm of Living Beings,” a series of thirty hanging scroll paintings said to be the chef-d’oeuvre of Edo period artist Ito Jakuchu (1716–1800). The series was presented to the Imperial Household in 1890 from Shokoku-ji temple in Kyoto, where all the hanging scrolls were initially kept and displayed.

Another noteworthy work of Japanese painting from the Edo period is “Cat and Cotton Plants” by Nagasawa Rosetsu (1754-99), whose body of works includes a number of adorable representations of animals. Rosetsu used the Asian kegaki brushstroke technique to realistically depict the cat’s fur.

*Sannomaru Shozokan: In 1989, the first year of the Heisei era, the then Emperor (currently, Emperor Emeritus) and his mother Empress Kojun (1903-2000) donated the artistic treasures — paintings, calligraphy, craft, etc. — that had been passed down in the Imperial Household up until Emperor Showa’s time (1926–89) to the Japanese government. Sannomaru Shozokan was opened in the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace in November 1993 to store, preserve, research and exhibit these items. The collection gradually grew as other members of the Imperial Household left or donated their precious belongings to the state. The museum was temporarily closed in 2019 for renovations to expand its storage and exhibition space, but since then has partially opened a newly built facility to hold exhibitions such as this one. Renovations are due to be completed in 2026.

20th-century carving

“Puppy and Feather Brush,” a 20th-century work of carved ivory, will go on view in the “Sculpture and Decorative Arts” section of the exhibition. The piece was carved from a single piece of ivory.

From France

*All works included in this exhibition are housed in the Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan.