Outline

Highlights

Moisture: Water and Life

Humans have always lived with water. Living at the water’s edge, traversing watery paths, enjoying the fruits of the seas and lakes. Mankind has made use of water in many ways and through its beneficence, human life has grown and prospered. This section focuses on the relationship between the Japanese people and water, as seen in Japanese pictures. From the works which show famous sites and lovely waterside scenes, to ukiyoe works with their glimpses of the impromptu moments of everyday life, and genre paintings with their detailed views of the Japanese people living in the water-rich bounty of their cities. These works all show the Japanese lifestyle, comfortable and intimate with water, careful with water and its bounty.

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People taking shelter from the rain By Kô Sûkoku Edo period, 18th century Suntory Museum of Art Term of display:6/16-7/9 (scheduled)

Scenes along the Riverside at Shijô Edo period, 17th century Suntory Museum of Art Term of display:7/11-7/30 (scheduled)

Flowing: Expressing Water

Over their long history the Japanese people have come to create many “forms” for images of water. Among these myriad forms, some examples include ocean waves that came to be depicted in the “blue ocean wave” motif, while flowing water images normally take on the “Kanze water” image of stylized flow. When seen, these images conjure up in the viewer a sense of the crashing waves or the burble of a flowing stream. This section shows how water, an essentially unformed type of matter, is transformed into artistic motifs through various carefully placed and stylized outlines. These designs are all rooted in the Japanese imagination and its source material, water.

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Green Maple and Waterfall By Maruyama Okyo Edo period, dated 1787 Suntory Museum of Art Term of display:8/1-8/19 (scheduled)

Noh costume with Streams and Chrysanthemums Edo period, 18th century Suntory Museum of Art Term of display:6/16-7/9 (scheduled)

Writing Box with Shells in maki-e By Ogawa Haritsu Edo period, 18th century Suntory Museum of Art Term of display:7/11-7/30 (scheduled)

Fifty-three stages of Tôkaidô Highway, Hoeidô version By Utagawa Hiroshige (the first) Edo, period, ca, 1833 Suntory Museum of Art Term of display:8/1-8/19 (scheduled)

Coolness: Watery Sensations

What is the color of water? When asked this question, blue springs to most minds. And even though there may be no water in sight, for some reason, when we see the color blue, our hearts feel calm and free. Surely that is because we link the color blue with water. This section features glass works, with their rich colors and translucency reminiscent of water, and underglaze blue decorated porcelains with their rich indigo shades. We hope you will revel in this world of blue. The indigo blue seen in these works is a traditional color in Japan and has become familiar in recent years under its nickname, Japan Blue. We have chosen this impressive color as the theme color for the new Suntory Museum.

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Indigo-blue Boat-shaped Bowl, Cut Glass Satsuma Edo period, 19th century Suntory Museum of Art Term of display:6/16-8/19 (scheduled)

Deep Bowl with Landscape in underglaze cobalt blue, Arita Edo period, 17th century Suntory Museum of Art Term of display:6/16-8/19 (scheduled)

Drops: Reading Water

Images of flowing water always evoke in the Japanese mind a sense of the changing seasons and the evanescence of life. The dew that sparkles on autumn grasses conjurs a sense of transience, and there are many literary works in Japanese history that give vent to poetic expression about water. Water is not only the wellspring of human life. Images of water such as the Tatsuta River or Eight Plank Bridge images, which originated in Japanese literary masterpieces in poetic and narrative form, were taken up in visual art forms, whether paintings or as designs on lacquer and porcelain. Thus these images from the written word take visual form to enliven the lives of the Japanese people. This section features images of water drawn from the traditional poems and narrative tales of Japan as they were transferred to visual form in painting and decorative art form. Here we have linked them with their texts, to further heighten their viewers' enjoyment.

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Portrait of Minamoto no Shitagô from the Satake version of the Thirty-six Master Poets Kamakura period, 13th century Suntory Museum of Art Important Cultural Property Term of display:6/16-8/19 (scheduled)

Dish with Maple Leaves Floating in Waters (Tatsuta River) Nabeshima kiln, Hizen Edo period, 18th century Suntory Museum of Art Term of display:6/16-8/19 (scheduled)