Yamatane Museum of Art was founded in 1966 by Taneji Yamazaki who has donated his numerous collection of Japanese art.　The ex-chairman of the Yamatane Art Foundation, Tomiji Yamazaki collected 105 works of Hayami Gyoshu known as one of the most respected Japanese artists among scholars and collectors.

The Museum displays 6 to 7 exhibitions throughout the year by selecting paintings according to the respective topics. The collection mainly focuses on Kindai Nihonga (Modern Japanese paintings after Meiji era). The Museum also has collections of oil paintings, Ukiyoe, and Ancient Japanese Calligraphy. The wide variety and the level of the collection has a very high reputation among experts in Japan.

In 2007, as we faced the 40th anniversary, we staged the exhibition of “The Best Selection of Yamatane Museum of Art” from April 12 to July 16 （First Term Apr. 12-Jun.3, Second Term　Jun.6-Jul.16）. In this exhibition we displayed works of the Japanese-painting masters such as Yokoyama Taikan, Kobayashi Kokei, Hayami Gyoshu, Murakami Kagaku, Uemura Shōen, Okumura Togyu, Higashiyama Kaii, Kayama Matazo etc. The collection has many splendid paintings and a few of them has been designated as Important Cultural Properties which happens to be very rare for modern Japanese paintings.

The Museum does not exhibit the collection on permanent basis, due to the weak nature of Nihonga being easily affected by the environment. Paintings are replaced about 7-8 times a year based on respective topics to allow visitors to see as many collections as possible each year.

Please visit our museum and make your first step into the magnificent world of Nihonga.

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	3-12-36 Hiroo, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0012, Tel: 03-5777-8600 (Hello Dial, English available)
	10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (Last Admission at 4:30 p.m.)
	Mondays (closed on the day after a national holiday), December 25 - January 4, and closed for exhibition installations. Call to confirm schedules.
	Regular Exhibitions: Adults: 1,000 [800] yen, University and high school students: 800 [700] yen, Middle school and younger children: free of charge *Figures in brackets are for groups of 20 or more. *Separate admission fees apply to special exhibitions *Visitors with Handicapped ID are admitted at discount rates
	10-minute walk from the West Exit of JR Ebisu Station and from Exit 2 of Ebisu Station on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line. ■ From Shibuya Station, East Exit: Take Toei Bus (Metropolitan Bus): “Gaku 03” service bound for Nisseki Medical Center (Japanese Red Cross Medical Center) and get off at “Higashi 4-chome”stop (2 minute walk from the bus stop). Bus stop ① is where you disembark, and ② is where you embark. ■ From Ebisu Station, West Exit: Take Toei Bus (Metropolitan Bus): “Gaku 06” service bound for Nisseki Medical Center (Japanese Red Cross Medical Center) and get off at “Hiroo Kōkō (Hiroo high school) Mae” stop. Bus stops ③ is where you disembark, and ④ is where you embark.

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The Museum has a collection of over 1800 works including four Important Cultural Properties which is very rare for modern Japanese paintings. They include Hayami Gyoshu’s "Dancing in the Flames", "Falling Camellias", Takeuchi Seiho’s "Tabby Cat" and Tsubaki Chinzan’s "View of Mt. Kuno", and 18 Important Art Objects such as Iwasa Matabei’s "Court Lady Enjoying Wayside Chrisanthemums" and Sakai Houitsu’s "Autumn Plants and Quails", which are special works of Edo Period and other masterpieces.

The museum's collection is also well known for the number of works by Okumura Togyu, such as "Maelsroms in Naruto" and "Cherry Blossoms at Daigoji Temple", Yokoyama Taikan’s "Sakuemon’s House", Kobayashi Kokei’s "Scenes from the Tale of Kiyohime", Uemura Shōen’s "Scene from a Noh Play Kinuta" and Murakami Kagaku’s "Woman in the Nude".

click thumbnail to enlarge

Iwasa Matabei
"Court Lady Enjoying Wayside Chrysanthemums"

Sakai Houitsu
"Autumn Plants and Quails"

Tsubaki Chinzan
"View of Mt. Kunozan"
(Important Cultural Property)

Takeuchi Seiho
"Tabby Cat"

Yokoyama Taikan
"Sakuemon’s House"

Uemura Shōen
"Scene from a Noh Play Kinuta"

Kobayashi Kokei
"Scenes from the Tale of Kiyohime"

Murakami Kagaku
"Woman in the Nude"

Okumura Togyu
"Naruto Maelstroms"

Okumura Togyu
"Cherry Blossoms at Daigo-ji Temple"

Hayami Gyoshu
"Dancing in the Flames"
(Important Cultural Property)

Hayami Gyoshu
"Camellia Petals Scattering"
(Important Cultural Property)

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Exhibition	Periods
In 2009-2010 (After opening of the new museum in October)
Hayami Gyoshū: Eternal Challenges to Nihonga – A Special Exhibition Commemorating the Opening of the New Yamatane Museum of Art –	1 October – 29 November
Higashiyama Kaii and Nihonga in the Shōwa Period	5 December, 2009 – 31 January, 2010
Taikan in the East vs. Seihō in the West	6 February – 28 March
The 120th Anniversary of Okumura Togyū	3 April – 23 May
Ukiyoe Masterpieces from the Yamatane Collection – Sharaku, Hiroshige, Harunobu, Kiyonaga –	29 May – 11 July
Considering Edo Painting – Commemorating the 2008 Designation of “Court Ladies Enjoying Wayside Chrysanthemums” by Iwasa Matabei as a new Important Cultural Property –	17 July – 5 September

*Titles and dates of exhibitions are correct as of August, 2009. These are tentative and may be changed. Please contact the Museum or check the Museum’s web site for up-to-date information before your visit.

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The Yamatane Museum of Art successfully moved to its new building in the Hiroo district of Shibuya ward on October 1, 2009. As part of the inaugural celebrations of the new site, the Yamatane is pleased to present Hayami Gyoshu: Eternal Challenges to Nihonga – A Special Exhibition Commemorating the Opening of the New Yamatane Museum of Art.

Hayami Gyoshu was an exceptionally talented Nihonga painter of the Taisho and Showa eras. Gyoshu was nominated for membership in the Nihon Bijutsuin (Japan Art Institute) at the age of 23, and along with his fellow Nihonga artists, Yokoyama Taikan and Kobayashi Kokei, and such western style painters as Kishida Ryusei, his works were highly praised. In spite of living only a mere 40 years, Gyoshu created an oeuvre of as many as 700 works, many of which have long been held in private, undisclosed collections and rarely displayed. Such secrecy led to his nickname, "the phantom painter." In 1976, however, the Yamatane acquired 105 works by Gyoshu from the former Ataka Industries collection. This acquisition was groundbreaking news at the time and the resulting Yamatane collection of Gyoshu works is now truly mature and complete in its range. The special exhibition Hayami Gyoshu: The Man and his Art held at the time of the acquisition attracted 80,000 visitors to the museum.

This exhibition to commemorate the opening of the new Yamatane Museum of Art features 120 works by Gyoshu including his Camellia Petals Scattering (Important Cultural Property, Yamatane Museum of Art), Gyoshu's diary from his 1930 trip to Europe, and the large unfinished work, Group of Women (private collection), which has been restored and is here displayed for the first time. These newly discovered works will surely clarify new directions to be taken in the study of this artist who died from a sudden illness at the relatively young age of 40.

Gyoshu's own challenging character is seen in his comment,

"The courage to climb to the top of the ladder is noble, while those who climb down from the perch and then climb back up it are all the more noble. … More so than those who have the courage to climb up, those who have the courage to climb down are those in possession of truly great power."

Throughout his life Gyoshu challenged himself over and over again with new experiments, with this cycle of experimentation always being quick and intense. This exhibition presents the entire Yamatane collection of Gyoshu works and will hopefully provide visitors with a new opportunity to experience the uncanny sensibilities of Gyoshu's expressive power.

This exhibition is organized by Yamatane Museum of Art, NHK, and NHK Promotions.

We would like to express our sincerest gratitude for special sponsorships from SMBC Friend Securities Co., Ltd, Kajima Corporation, Shin Nippon Air Technologies Co., Ltd, and Nihon Sekkei, Inc. We also appreciate sponsorships from Kinden Corporation, Kokuyo Co., Ltd, Koshikawa, Secom Co., Ltd, and Panasonic Electric Works, Co., Ltd. We would also like to thank for a support from Nippon Express.

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The year 2009 marks the 10th anniversary of the death of Higashiyama Kaii (1908-1999), known as the "national painter of the Showa period". In the anniversary year, the Yamatane Museum presents an exhibition that surveys Kaii's oeuvre, as seen in the Yamatane collection, and introduces other Nihonga painters active in the Showa era.

Japan during the Showa era was a place of massive change, with its experiences during World War II followed by its post-war recovery and dynamic growth. Rapid modernization and democratization meant that new values and views emerged one after the other. It was a complex time of competing concepts, whether Japan vs. the west, traditional vs. modern, or the spiritual vs. the material. The value systems that reflected a new world order influenced the aesthetics of the modern Nihonga painters and brought about a diverse range of styles. Amidst the diversity, Kaii and his fellow Showa painters actively sought out and employed previously unseen materials and methods, as they developed the ways and means of a new Nihonga with an all the freer imagination and creativity.

This exhibition features 19 works by Kaii from the Yamatane collection, along with works by his Tokyo Bijutsu Gakko classmates, Hashimoto Meiji, Kato Eizo, and Yamada Shingo. The exhibition is further enhanced by a display of paintings by members of the Bikokai group whose paintings were the talk of Showa painting circles, such as Kawai Gyokudo, Yuki Somei, Kaburaki Kiyokata, Yamaguchi Hoshun, Morita Sai, Yamamoto Kyujin, Sugiyama Yasushi, and Takayama Tatsuo.

This exhibition is the second exhibition commemorating the opening of our new museum facilities. The galleries will be adorned by an impressive display of works created by Showa painters on commission from the Imperial Household Agency for the decoration of the New Imperial Palace completed in 1968. The exhibition features Higashiyama Kaii's Rising Tide (1970), a massive 9- meter-wide framed wall painting, and is the first public display in 12 years of four works, namely Uemura Shoko's Flowers and Birds of Japan (1970); Hashimoto Meiji's Cherry Tree in Morning Sun (1970), Yamaguchi Hoshun's Maple Tree (Preparatory Drawing for Panel at the New Palace, 4:1 scale, 1967), and Yasuda Yukihiko's Poems in the Manyoshu (1970).

We hope that these Nihonga paintings will provide visitors with a sense of the values and aesthetics of the Showa period, a time that allowed each artist's unique creativity to achieve a full flowering.

Organized by: Yamatane Museum of Art and The Yomiuri Shimbun

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