Works of Okayama artists among Imperial collections featured at prefectural museum

An art exhibition featuring the Imperial treasures of The Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan (Tokyo) will open this summer at the Okayama Prefectural Museum of Art in the city of Okayama.

“Imperial Household Art and Okayama,” the exhibition set to open on July 15, 2023, will showcase classic artwork such as the “Kasuga Gongen Genki E (Legends of Kasuga Shrine)” handscroll paintings — a government-designated national treasure — by Kamakura-period (14th-century) painter Takashina Takakane, which are said to be among the masterpieces of yamato-e (Japanese-style painting), and “Peony and Peacock,” a maginficent work of art by Edo-period painter Maruyama Okyo (1733-95).

Imperial Household Art and Okayama: Selections from The Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan

Jul 15 (Sat) – Aug 27 (Sun), 2023

Okayama Prefectural Museum of Art
(Okayama city)

*See outline below for details

The exhibition will also highlight works from the Sannomaru Shozokan by modern to contemporary artists who hailed from Okayama, such as Matsuoka Hisashi (1862-1944), Mitsutani Kunishiro (1874-1936), Kojima Torajiro (1881-1929) and Kanokogi Takeshiro (1874-1941), all of whom produced paintings in the Western tradition, and doll artist Hirata Goyo (1903-81), who was designated as a living national treasure (keeper of important intangible cultural properties) of Japan in 1955.

The Imperial Household is known to bestow made-to-order bonbonnieres (small ornamental boxes used to contain sweets such as konpeito, or sugar candy) to its guests on celebratory occasions. A number of these Imperial gifts will also go on display. 

The Sannomaru Shozokan — founded in 1993 and located in the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo — houses about 9,800 works of art passed down in the Imperial family. The museum is now closed for major renovations and has been putting on exhibitions in various parts of Japan to highlight the Imperial Household’s affinity with local traditions.

These exhibitions are organized with special cooperation from the Tsumugu Project, a joint effort between Japan’s Cultural Affairs Agency, Imperial Household Agency and national daily newspaper The Yomiuri Shimbun (Tokyo) to help preserve the nation’s artistic treasures.