Ukiyo-e masters Utamaro and Hokusai to be featured at Okada Museum in Hakone

The Okada Museum of Art in Hakone (Kanagawa Pref.) is pulling out works by ukiyo-e masters Kitagawa Utamaro (?-1806) and Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) from its vast collection of Japanese artwork to put on display in the second half of an exhibition to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the museum’s opening this year.

10th Anniversary Exhibition Part 2
Utamaro and Hokusai
― Creators of an Era ―

Jun 11 (Sun) – Dec 10 (Sun), 2023

Okada Museum of Art
(Hakone, Kanagawa Pref.)

*See outline below for details

In “Utamaro and Hokusai ― Creators of an Era ―,” the second half set to open on June 11, 2023, the museum will highlight works of the nikuhitsuga (brush-drawn painting) genre by the two legendary masters — three by Utamaro and 10 by Hokusai — with Hokusai’s signature wood block print series “Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji” (including “The Great Wave off the Coast of Kanagawa”) and other works by them and their contemporaries on the side.

Of the more than 40 works to go on display, Utamaro’s “Fukagawa in the Snow” (On display from Sept. 8 to Dec. 10) is an absolute must-see. The brush-drawn painting masterpiece — one of three paintings depicting the pleasure districts of Edo (Tokyo) — had been lost for nearly 60 years until it resurfaced in 2012.

Utamaro’s works:

Hokusai’s works: