[Highlight 1] Works by artists with ties to Ibaraki on display!

This exhibition will feature works by artists with ties to Yokoyama Taikan, a leading Japanese painter from Mito City. Hishida Shunso, Shimomura Kanzan, and Kimura Buzan, along with Yokoyama Taikan, followed Okakura Tenshin and trained in Izura, Kitaibaraki City. Also, Ogawa Usen, a native of Ushiku, left behind many works based on Ibaraki Prefecture legends of kappa and other monsters.
Itaya Hazan, a native of Shimodate (now Chikusei City), is another modern ceramic artist that Ibaraki is proud of. He used a technique known as "hokosaiji," characterized by pale colors that seem to envelop light, and was the first ceramic artist to receive the Order of Culture. The exhibition will also feature the works of Unno Shomin, a metal engraver from Mito City who worked as an Imperial Household Artist.

Befitting the opening anniversary, the museum will feature a number of magnificent works by artists with ties to Ibaraki, including Yokoyama Taikan's " Freed Crane ," a gorgeous gold Yokoyama Taikan screen depicting auspicious cranes and auspicious pine motifs.

[Highlight 2] A competition between leading modern Japanese painters

This exhibition will introduce selected masterpieces from the Quelle Museum of Art's collection of modern Japanese paintings. It will feature works by artists from the Japan Art Institute, to which Taikan and others belonged, such as Hayami Gyoshu and Nabatame Koichi, as well as artists from the Kyoto art world, including Takeuchi Seiho, who was active in the same era as Taikan. Additionally, the exhibition will feature beautiful portraits of beautiful women by Uemura Shoen and Kaburaki Kiyokata, two masters of the art of beautiful women.
Hayami Gyoshu was a painter with distinctive styles for each era, and is particularly famous for his realistic expressions known as miniature paintings. This exhibition will feature his masterpiece, "Cotton Rosemallow in the Wind," from his final years, which was painted based on the various expressions he had perfected after going through these periods. Takeuchi Seiho was also a painter who placed great importance on sketching, and his works, painted with his powers of observation and a sure ability to express them, are captivating to the viewer.
Uemura Shoen"Long Night" is the work that prompted Fukuda Michio to begin collecting in earnest, and is a gorgeous piece featuring gold and silver accents on the kimono depicted and the binding of the Japanese-style book. As Shōen was known as the "West of Shōen" and "East of Kiyokata," you can also enjoy the pairing of this work with Kaburaki Kiyokata's beautiful women paintings.

[Highlight 3] A collection of exquisite Oriental ceramics on public display for the first time!

Many of the craft works donated by the late Yoshida Mitsuo are part of a personal collection of exquisite pieces, each deeply moving and deeply moving. The collection is characterized by its focus on Oriental art associated with the Silk Road. In particular, the Opening Exhibition I will showcase the wide range of the collection, from Indian to ancient Japanese ceramics. Yoshida also left behind several essays about the pieces he collected. The exhibition will also introduce Yoshida's thoughts on his work, interspersed with these essays.

When talking about the Silk Road, the main focus must be on items excavated from the Western Regions. (Omitted) ... After trying my hand at various places, I found a large number of items, starting with Indian, Mediterranean and Persian glass, as well as ancient Chinese artifacts, particularly those related to the Western Regions, and figurines and pottery featuring the Sogdians in a Western Regions style.
From the "Collection" of Yoshida Mitsuo"Otona Biyori"

Collection Feature 1: A focus on small things

One of the characteristics of the Yoshida Collection is that it contains many small, adorable pieces, so the exhibition room has been equipped with display cases to display these pieces.
Although they are small in size, they are all first-class pieces with a strong presence and sharp contrast. This time, we will be introducing works from Jizhou kilns, such as celadon and green glazes, which have striking blue and green colors.

Collection Feature 2: Art of the Korean Peninsula

When one thinks of Korea, white porcelain and Goryeo celadon come to mind, but Yoshida also focuses on collecting items related to the Buddhist ruins of Baekje and Silla. This is likely due to the fact that the Korean Peninsula was the easternmost point of the continent along the Silk Road. Intricate metal wind bells and ornately decorated bricks with Hosogemon motifs hint at the history of East-West exchanges on the continent. Although the number of pieces is not large, it is a profound collection when viewed from the perspective of the Silk Road.

Collection Feature 3: Antique Japanese Ceramics

The Yoshida Collection's antique ceramics include many excellent pieces, primarily from Seto, Atsumi, Tamba, and Shigaraki. Among them is a large Shigaraki ware jar bearing the inscription "Shinobazu." One theory is that the owner hid it in Shinobazu Pond in Ueno during the war to avoid air raids, making it a masterpiece that has been carefully preserved.
The collection includes antique ceramics such as Shigaraki ware and Atsumi kilns, which were collected around the 1970s as vessels for flowers, particularly wildflowers. The pots were collected one by one with the hope of arranging flowers picked from suburban fields, a way to escape the harsh social climate caused by the oil crisis at the time. Each pot is filled with the strength of the clay itself and a mysterious beauty.

Event Overview