The e-maki picture scroll, which fuses literature with painting, is an art form that has long flourished in Japan.
Today, most of us encounter picture scrolls by gazing at them in glass cases at museums. Originally, however, picture scrolls were objects that appreciative viewers actually handled for their own enjoyment. These scrolls that unroll in the hand have fascinated people in Japan since medieval times.
This exhibition focuses on the great enthusiasts of the genre—the retired emperor Go-Shirakawa, the Emperor Hanazono, the Prince Sadafusa of Fushimi, the artistocrat Sanjōnishi Sanetaka, and successive generations of the Ashikaga shoguns—and explores aspects of their passion for picture scrolls by tracing the records of their aesthetic experience.
These enthusiasts’ love of picture scrolls was not confined to appreciation and collecting. Their passion was a leading driver in the arts of their time, one that powered the creation of new trends. By seeking to understand these men, influential patrons as well as picture-scroll enthusiasts, the exhibition introduces previously unexplored aspects of the context in which picture scrolls were created.
These men were all highly idiosyncratic individuals. In addition to presenting their biographies, the exhibition also provides an overview of the successive generations of enthusiasts, depicting the cycle of their aspirations and the story of the renewal of picture scrolls through history.
Bringing together well-loved picture scroll masterpieces, this unprecedented exhibition presents an invaluable opportunity to experience the ardent passions of the picture scroll enthusiasts for your enjoyment.