Exhibition: Sumida River

Aftermath of the Disaster (1924) by Yoson Ikeda A century down along the Sumida In most of the great European capitals, wide, impressive r...

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The Chrysanthemum and the Rose: Japan Year 2001

This crossculutral affair is blooming lovely LONDON -- Anybody turning up at London's Hyde Park to walk their dog on the morning of Sa...

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Exhibition: Akira Kurosawa

The Storyteller's Storyboards Film director Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998) is perhaps more famous outside Japan than any other of...

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Takanori Oguiss: The Japanese Utrillo

When I first saw the oil paintings of Paris by the Japanese artist, Takanori Oguiss (1901-1986), I was strangely reminded of the neutron...

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Exhibition: Ryusei Kishida

Road Cut through a Hill (1915) by Ryusei Kishida Innovation and Exploration: Kishida's short but brilliant career When Japan opened up...

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Exhibition: Tokimune Hōjō

Leaves left by the divine wind When England was conquered by the Normans in 1066, it was profoundly changed. We might expect the same to h...

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Exhibition: Ukiyo-e at the Turn of the 20th Century

Sight at Ochanomizu (1880) by Kiyochika Kobayashi Ukiyo-e reflects turn of century mood changes across Japan The Meiji period is considere...

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Exhibition: Samurai Swords

The heart of the samurai and the soul of the swordsmith Modern warfare is increasingly being depersonalized by long range missiles, so-cal...

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Interview: Katsura Funakoshi

Two Heads are Better than One. What distinguishes an artist from a craftsman? Well, an obvious difference is the pricing of their ...

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Exhibition: Baur Collection

Ukiyo-e treasures make brief return The Baur Collection of ukiyo-e by several of Japan's top masters is this country's own version ...

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EXHIBITION: SHINSUI ITO

A passionate embrace of Nihon Shinsui Ito (1898-1972) was a central figure in Japan's artistic identity crisis during the 20th ...

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Exhibition: The Dutch in Dejima

A peep into Tokugawa Japan During the almost two and a half centuries when Japan shunned the rest of the World, the one Western country tha...

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Exhibition: Henri Riviere

The Japanese never tire of telling us how they were responsible for all the major developments in late 19th century European painting. T...

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Exhibition: Six Provocative Nihonga Artists

The big joke here is that Nihonga artists are supposed to be the least provocative people on the planet – serenely grinding their organic p...

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Exhibition: Itoh Jakuchu

The good thing about this exhibition – centering on Japanese painting from the 18th and early 19th centuries – is that it reflects art t...

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Exhibition: Giacometti and Yanaihara

Alberto Giacometti (1901 – 1966) is widely considered the greatest sculptor of the 20th century. Originally attracted to Cubism and Surreal...

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Exhibition: Boston Museum of Fine Arts Ukiyo-e Collection

Ama Divers with Abalone by Kitagawa Utamaro One of the effects of Japan's Westernization was an exaggerated devaluing of everyth...

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Exhibition: Jiro Yoshihara

Temperamentally, there are two main types of artist. There is the tortured loner, working hard in his atelier, taking a few minutes from hi...

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Exhibition: Seiki Kuroda

If one believes that each distinct culture is equally valid and worthwhile, then somebody like Seiki Kuroda (1866-1824) is the cultural equ...

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Exhibition: Chen Chin

Accordian (1935) by Chen Chin Ah, the 1920s and the 30s! The 'good old days' of the rise of the 'Greater East Asia Co-Pro...

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Exhibition: Kumi Machida

Japan is one country that doesn't have any problem producing talented female artists – Yayoi Kusama, Fuyuko Matsui, and Natsuko Taniguch...

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Exhibition: Isamu Noguchi

Noguchi's Hiroshima Peace park Design   For Isamu Noguchi, his sculpture was a way of coming to terms with who he was. Born to an Ameri...

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Exhibition: Tamako Kataoka

Centenarian's art defies Nihonga conventions Painting is clearly good for one’s health. While rock stars, rappers, and movie actors cr...

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Exhibition: Yumeji Takehisa

Icons of a Forgotten Femininity Western culture is replete with empowering images of women, from the warrior Amazons of Greek mythol...

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Exhibition: Shigeru Mizuki

Spirited stories make Mizuki a true original Japanese manga (comics) have now attained an international appeal. Whether this is a ...

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