APRIL 2024 ART/MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS IN NARA

Modern Japanese Painting and a Newly-Excavated Ancient Sword

In 2022, a magnificent “Serpentine Sword” (Dakoken 蛇行剣) of over two metres in length was excavated from the 4^th century Tomio Maruyama Tumulus in Nara: the largest iron sword in East Asia from the period. Tomio Maruyama Tumulus is a circular tomb, contrasting in design and structure with nearby keyhole-shaped tombs, which has led to speculation that it was the burial place of an influential clan in conflict with the Yamato leaders. A bronze mirror was unearthed from the same area inside the tumulus and, shield-shaped, it is extremely unusual (possibly unique), though the gods-and-beasts motifs on the back are common on mirrors of this period. The originally stacked combination of mirror/shield, and giant sword is thought to have been a means of repelling evil spirits from the body of the deceased. This extraordinary sword is on display at The Museum, Archaeological Institute of Kashihara, Nara Prefecture from March 30^th to April 7^th.

Elsewhere, two exhibitions at the Nakano Museum and at the Shohaku Museum of Art are showcasing early modern Japanese art of the late nineteenth century up to the 1950s. The latter holds a vast collection of works by early Nihonga artists Uemura Shoen, Uemura Shoko, and Uemura Atsushi. Nihonga was the neotraditional genre that pivoted Japanese art toward its modernity – or sought to reflect it – and is characterized by delicate lines, pale pigments (derived from minerals and vegetables native to Japan), and a shift away from overtly religious subject matter to nature and elegant women. It was self-consciously “Japanese”, emerging as it did in a largely manufactured way during Japan’s imperial formation and its buttressing of a national identity. Much Nihonga is very beautiful and deserves more attention from the international audience. There is quite a bit of continuity with Edo period woodblock prints for Nihonga adopted, for instance, the genre of Bijinga (“pictures of beautiful women”), which makes up the larger part of Shoen’s oeuvre. Shoen was adamant in her insistence on portraying refinement in her women, and even though her prize-winning “Apparition of Flame” is close to a Yureiga (ghost picture) and represented the perennially fascinating subject of deranged female jealousy, its subject, Lady Rokujo, is the aristocrat figure of Genji Monogatari, noble both in character and by way of her share in the reverence accorded the literary work in the world of classical Japanese literature. Son Uemura Shoko, and his own son Atsushi (now director of the Shohaku Museum of Art) both excelled in Kachoga, paintings of birds and flowers. Yamato Bunkakan, meanwhile, is exhibiting literati ink painter Tessai Tomioka, and abstract, calligraphic works of contemporary artists are on show at Kita Modern Art Museum. Listings below.

Tomio Maruyama Tumulus Sword. Photo by Maiko Umeda, Mainichi Shinbun June 17^th, 2023

Kashihara Shrine Treasure Museum 橿原神宮宝物館

Special Exhibition: Kashihara Shrine Votive Swords November 3rd – May 12^th

Kawaharadera Temple 川原寺

Welcome Back to the Buddha Statues – 50th Anniversary of Excavations April 1st to April 30th

Kita Modern Art Museum 喜多美術館

Kawaguchi Seiren and Sakamoto Tairen Two-person Exhibition March 8th – June 2nd

Kinpusenji Temple Zaodo 金峯山寺蔵王堂

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of Yoshino Omine World Heritage registration: Promoting major repairs to the National Treasure Niomon Gate & Special unveiling of Japan’s largest treasured Buddha statue March 23rd to May 6^th

Nakano Art Museum 中野美術館

Spring Exhibition: Masterpieces of Modern Japanese Painting – From Meiji to Showa March 12th to April 14th [first half] & April 23rd to May 26^th [second half]

Nara Prefectural Museum of Art 奈良県立美術館

Special Exhibition: Seiyo Ogawa and Asukaen: A 100 Year Journey April 20th – June 23rd

Nara Prefecture Complex of Manyo Culture 奈良県立万葉文化館

Special Exhibition: Jump Out! Yoshifumi Hasegawa March 16th – May 6th

Nara National Museum 奈良国立博物館

1250th Anniversary Special Exhibition: Kukai – The Worlds of Mandalas and the Transcultural Origins of Esoteric Buddhism April 13th – June 9th

Nara City Sugioka Kason Calligraphy Museum 奈良市杉岡華邨書道美術館

Learning from Kason’s calligraphy – Calligraphy of kana works ① Focusing on Fine Print January 13th – April 14^th

Nara University Museum 奈良大学博物館

The Phantom of Continental Japanese Literature – [Poet] Katsumi Ikeda and His Era II January 22nd – March 23^rd

Nara Prefecture Historical and Artistic Culture Complex なら歴史芸術文化村

Special Exhibition: Commemorating the Completion of Repairs: The Nio-san Statue of Taimadera Temple April 6th – May 12th

Saidaiji Temple 西大寺

Juhokan (Treasure Hall) Special Opening April 20th to May 10th

Sakurai City Center for Archeology 桜井市立埋蔵文化財センター

Special Exhibition: Treasures Connected to Sakurai: Unexpected Discoveries December 6th – April 21^st

Shohaku Art Museum 松柏美術館

Special Exhibition: Diligence: Drawings, Sketches, and Main Paintings March 22nd – May 6th

Tenri University Sankokan Museum 天理大学付属天理参考館
Special Exhibition: Andes World Reflected in Potteries Part II: Southern Peru April 17th – June 3rd

The Museum, Archaeological Institute of Kashihara, Nara Prefecture 奈良県立橿原考古学研究所附属博物館

Special exhibition: The Serpentine sword of Tomio Maruyama Tumulus – The giant iron sword as revealed by the cleaning process March 30th – April 7th

Yanagisawa Bunko 柳沢文庫

Special Exhibition: Yamato Province and Koriyama with Yanagisawa Bunko Materials January 27th to May 12th

Yamato Bunkakan 大和文華館

Special Exhibition: Admiring Letters – from the Scriptures, Literature, and Written Messages – February 23rd to April 7^th

Yamato Bunkakan 大和文華館

Centennial Exhibition: Tomioka Tessai – Footsteps of an Intellectual Giant April 12^th-May 19^th