Exhibition Schedule

Open Hours

11:00~18:00* 11:00~19:00 on Fridays
(Last admission 30 minutes before closing)

Day Closed

Mondays during the exhibition
(Open on public holidays, closed on the following weekday)

Urushi (lacquer) is a remarkable tree sap discovered by the people of Asia. It has been used at times as a natural adhesive and at others as a coating that adds sheen and luster to surfaces. Various techniques have flourished according to the characteristics and aesthetics of each region, and the diverse works of lacquer art they produced have become deeply rooted in the daily life of people in Asia. This exhibition examines works of lacquer art in the Sumitomo Collection according to the settings in which they have been used. In doing so, it provides an opportunity to reconsider the pleasure of viewing lacquer art and the joy of using it.
Like lacquer art, ceramics also add color to daily life. That is why, concurrently with the exhibition, blue-and-white porcelain dishes from the collection of SEGAWA Takeo that were recently donated to the Museum will be on display for the first time since their donation. The fresh, bold, and impressive designs of porcelain dishes created in the Arita region of Saga Prefecture during the late Edo period will invite you into a sophisticated world of blue and white

Open Hours

11:00~18:00* 11:00~19:00 on Fridays
(Last admission 30 minutes before closing)

Day Closed

Mondays during the exhibition
(Open on public holidays, closed on the following weekday)

This exhibition displays the entire series Folding Screens of the Four Seasons, which was painted by KONOSHIMA Okoku in 1917 to decorate the main residence of the SUMITOMO family in the Chausuyama area of Tennoji Ward in Osaka. Measuring 180 centimeters in height and featuring varied representations of flowers of each season on a ground of fine gold leaf, the four pairs of massive folding screens drew so much publicity at the time that they even received newspaper coverage during their production.
In the 1910s and ’20s, Okoku attempted to create a feel like that of oil paintings by using paint with a unique sense of color, thickly building up pigment, and leaving three-dimensional brushstrokes. This led to him being nicknamed a painter of the “finesse” school, “the Matsumura Goshun of the early twentieth century,” and ”the last artist of the Shijo school.” However, the true value of his art extends far beyond this and can be found in his transference of timeless modernity and realistic human emotions to classical motifs. The flowers, birds, and animals in his paintings are brought to life by his brushstrokes, becoming bright and animated. His animals in particular sometimes show an expressiveness that leaves a deep impression on viewers. This exhibition shines a spotlight on the quality of Okoku’s lifelike representations by also presenting bird-and-flower paintings by leading artists of the Maruyama Shijo school of painting founded in late-eighteenth-century Kyoto.

Open Hours

11:00~18:00* 11:00~19:00 on Fridays
(Last admission 30 minutes before closing)

Day Closed

Mondays during the exhibition
(Open on public holidays, closed on the following weekday)

Stories retold and read since ancient times have always been deeply tied to paintings. One such example is picture scrolls. Japanese waka poems were also elevated as an artform through mutual inspiration from and of paintings, with the 31-character worlds of the poems pictorialized and new poems composed with exposure to paintings as an impetus. One characteristic of narrative and lyrical paintings is their detailed depictions and elegant colors, which carry on the style of the yamato-e paintings that skilled painters serving the imperial court, shrines, and temples pursued according to the aesthetics of the elite. In early modern times, narrative and lyrical paintings spread to wider segments of the population, resulting in the emergence of folding screens and picture scrolls with free and abundant individuality. This exhibition introduces early modern narrative and lyrical paintings through selections from the Sumitomo Collection in the museum’s possession.

Open Hours

11:00~18:00* 11:00~19:00 on Fridays
(Last admission 30 minutes before closing)

Day Closed

Mondays during the exhibition
(Open on public holidays, closed on the following weekday)

Are you familiar with ITAYA Umeki (1907-1963), an artist who captivated people with his modern mosaic works during the twentieth century? Mosaics are images and designs created by combining fragments such as pottery shards. This artform spread from the West to Japan with the Art Nouveau movement toward the end of the nineteenth century.
Umeki was fascinated by stained glass and began to release mosaics after becoming captivated by the beauty of smashed shards from the pottery of his father Hazan (1872-1963), a master of modern ceramics. Umeki’s most outstanding work was a massive mosaic mural in the first-floor entrance hall of the former Nihon Gekijo Theater. The magnificent mural featuring the colors of pottery fragments must surely have astonished people at the time. As a mosaic artist, Umeki presented mosaic plaques and other works at public exhibitions such as the annual art exhibition sponsored by the Imperial Fine Arts Academy.
This exhibition offers glimpses of Umeki’s personality through his exotic mosaic plaques as well as his gorgeous ornamental boxes, pendant heads, and other lovely decorative objects.