Suntory Museum of Art
Exhibitions
Confucianism in Japanese Art

Confucianism in Japanese Art

November 27, 2024 to January 26, 2025

*There will be an exhibition change during the course of exhibition.

Confucianism, an ethical worldview and scholarly tradition, refers to the teachings advanced in the sixth century BCE China by Confucius (552/551-479 BCE) and his successors' interpretations of them. Confucius advocated the five constant virtues—benevolence, righteousness, propriety, knowledge, and sincerity—and argued that an ideal ruler should cultivate these virtues and model his rule on the way of the sages. Confucian thought was transmitted to Japan in the fourth century, before Buddhism’s arrival. In Japan’s ancient Imperial Court, Confucianism was considered to be required learning for those who engaged in governing.
During Japan's medieval period, a new form of Confucianism, known as Neo-Confucianism and established by Zhu Xi in the Southern Song dynasty, was brought to Japan from Song China and was ardently embraced by Zen priests. Confucianism came to be regarded as essential at Zen buddhist temples and monasteries.
In the early modern period, the Edo Bakufu (Tokugawa Shogunate), seeking to govern by law and reason, vigorously promoted Confucianism and built the Yushima Seidō Confucius Temple as its base. Throughout the Edo period, Confucianism spread to every part of Japan, where it was adopted as part of education regardless of status, for the children of commoners as well as samurai. Confucianism permeated all aspects of Japanese culture.
Thus, for example, images of ideal rulers decorated rulers' spaces. Their imagery appeared not only in large-scale works such as the Illustrations of Exemplary Emperors and Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety but were also brought to life in ukiyo-e and everyday craft objects that commoners acquired. Those works express the psychological and intellectual ideals that people then sought, their models, and bring fresh insights to us as well. In this exhibition, following the Analects' instruction to learn from the past, we are delighted to have this opportunity to reconsider the wealth of messages in masterpieces of Japanese art.

Works from the exhibition

Period

November 27, 2024 to January 26, 2025

*There will be an exhibition change during the course of exhibition.

Hours

10:00-18:00　*Friday 10:00-20:00

*Open until 20:00 on January 25
*Last admission: 30 minutes before closing

Closed

Tuesdays, December 30 to January 1

*Open until 18:00 on January 21

Admission

Adult	General ¥1,700	Advance ¥1,500
University and High School Student	General ¥1,000	Advance ¥800

Online Ticket Sales

Elementary, junior high school students and under are free.
*With a certificate of disability, the admission fee of a disabled person and a care-giver will be waived.
*Advance tickets will be available on the website from September 18 to November 26.

Discount

◇100 Yen Discount
•For presenting a ticket to a thematic exhibition at the National Art Center, Tokyo, or Mori Art Museum
•For parties of 20 or more

*Only one discount per person

Organized by

Suntory Museum of Art, The Asahi Shimbun

Confucianism in Japanese Art

SUNTORY MUSEUM of ART