A Series of Sliding Door Paintings "Reunion" After 150 Years: British Museum Japanese Art Collection
A major exhibition at the British Museum will feature masterpieces from its Japanese art collection, including sliding door paintings reuniting after 150 years.Summary
The British Museum, known for its collection of approximately 8 million items including over 40,000 Japanese art pieces, is hosting an exhibition showcasing about 200 masterpieces, primarily from the Edo period. A major highlight is the "reunion" of a series of sliding door paintings after about 150 years. The museum's "Autumn and Winter Flower and Bird Paintings Sliding Doors" will be specially exhibited alongside the "Spring Landscape Flower and Bird Paintings Sliding Doors" from the Miyakoshi family in Aomori Prefecture, which have been confirmed to be part of the same set. Furthermore, the "Sliding Doors of the Immortals of Zither, Chess, Calligraphy, and Painting" from the Seattle Art Museum, which were on the opposite side of the British Museum's panels, will also be displayed simultaneously. These works, painted by the Kano school from the late Momoyama to early Edo periods, were sold during the Meiji era and are meeting together for the first time since being divided among Japan, the UK, and the US. The exhibition will also feature the first return to Japan of Kitagawa Utamaro's original painting "Courtesan Reading a Text," alongside famous woodblock prints and paintings by artists like Toshusai Sharaku and Katsushika Hokusai. The exhibition will be held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum (July 25 - October 18) and the Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka (October 31 - January 31, 2027).
(Source：朝日新聞)