Masterpieces of Japanese Art from the British Museum Collection to Gather at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum! Major Exhibition "Hyakka Ryoran: Edo Painting Across the Seas" to be Held in 2026
A major exhibition featuring masterpieces from the British Museum's Japanese art collection, focusing on Edo painting, will be held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in 2026.Summary
The Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum will host a special exhibition, "The British Museum Japanese Art Collection: Hyakka Ryoran - Edo Painting Across the Seas," from July 25 to October 18, 2026, to commemorate its 100th anniversary. The exhibition will showcase carefully selected masterpieces from the British Museum's comprehensive Japanese art collection, which comprises about 40,000 items, focusing on Edo period screens, hanging scrolls, and ukiyo-e prints. A highlight will be the "miraculous reunion" of three related sliding door paintings (fusuma-e) after approximately 150 years: one from the British Museum (Autumn/Winter Flowers and Birds), one from the Miyakoshi family, and one from the Seattle Art Museum, whose connection was recently confirmed. The exhibition structure will explore the collection's development through five key figures, feature works showing historical exchange like Maruyama Okyo's "Tiger Cub Crossing Screen," and display over 100 ukiyo-e prints by masters such as Utamaro, Hokusai, and Hiroshige, alongside valuable paintings. Following its run in Tokyo, the exhibition is scheduled to travel to the Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka.
(Source：Tokyo Art Beat)