Exhibitions
KAMAKURA ANNEX 2025
Mokumo Sensei and Illustrations: Aoki Library and Modern Japanese Paintings from the Museum Collection
This exhibition presents the "Aoki Shigeru Bunko (Aoki Library)" collection, comprising approximately 10,000 books once owned by Aoki Shigeru (1932–2021), a distinguished researcher of Meiji-period art and a passionate bibliophile affectionately known as "Mokumo Sensei (Prof. Mokumo)." Following the 2024 exhibition, this year’s display will feature books, magazines, and original illustrations related to sashi-e (illustrations) and manga (comics) from the Meiji period to the early Showa period. Alongside these works, masterpieces of modern Western-style painting by Asai Chu (1856–1907), Kuroda Seiki (1866–1924), Fujishima Takeji (1867–1943), Nakazawa Hiromitsu (1874–1964), and Kishida Ryusei (1891–1929) will also be featured.
Image: Nakamura Fusetsu, Hokusai Uses a Rooster's Footprints to Draw a Picture of Tatsutagawa River, c. 1908, Museum collection (Aoki Shigeru Library)
Iwatake Rie + Kataoka Junya, and the Museum Collection
An Illustrated Guide for Gravity and Materials
Through exhibiting selected works from the museum’s collection of Japanese art, such as Tawaraya Sotatsu’s (n.d.–ca. 1640) Puppy, and Mandala of Both Realms, alongside works by the collaborative unit Iwatake Rie + Kataoka Junya (both 1982–), this project will cast a new light on the museum’s extensive catalog. Kinetic works inspired by daily life and natural phenomena, as well as paintings and prints incorporating the scenes captured by telescopes and microscopes, will be installed to provide a unique method to explore the sculptural characteristics found in Japanese art, such as visual association and multiple viewpoints.
Images: (left) Iwatake Rie, Bodyscape, 2024, Collection of the artist; (right) Tawaraya Sotatsu, Puppy, Edo period, Museum collection