Upcoming Exhibitions

• Next

  Confucianism in Japanese Art

  November 27, 2024 to January 26, 2025

  Confucianism is a social ethic taught by Confucius (Ch: Kongzi) and his disciples in China in the sixth century BC that developed into a worldview, political ideology, philosophy, and scholarly tradition. Transmitted to Japan in the sixth century AD, it was initially received mainly at the imperial court and Buddhist temples, but from the Edo period on spread throughout society at large. With its broad penetration from the ruling class to the common people, Confucianism had a far-reaching impact on the arts as well, from teikan paintings, didactic paintings of Chinese emperors, to the mitate-e, parody pictures, in ukiyo-e. This exhibition focuses on Japanese art rooted in Confucianism, introducing an abundant body of works by artists who had studied and adopted Confucianism.

  

  Paulownia and Phoenixes, Kanō Tan’yū, Pair of six-panel folding screens, Edo period, 17th century, Suntory Museum of Art

• Commemorating the 120th Anniversary of His Death
  Émile Gallé: Longing for Paris

  February 15 to April 13, 2025

  Émile Gallé (1846–1904) was born in Nancy, an ancient city in northeastern France. He became renowned for the unique world he created in glass, ceramics, and furniture. He is known Nancy’s leading artist, but it was Paris, the capital of France, where the arts flourished and affluent collectors congregated, that enabled him to achieve international success. This exhibition commemorating the 120th anniversary of Gallé’s death traces changes in his creative output, focusing on his relationship with Paris, the city where his international fame became unshakeable.

  

  Bindweed–shaped Vase, "Moth", Émile Gallé, 1900, Suntory Museum of Art

• Shutendōji (TBD)

  April 29 to June 15, 2025

  The tale of how the Heian-period warrior Minamoto no Yorimitsu quelled the demon Shutendōji took shape before the fourteenth century. It then spread widely through paintings, Noh performances, and other genres. The Muromachi period Shutendōji picture scrolls by Kanō Motonobu (the “Suntory Scrolls”) are a famous ancient example copied hundreds of times during the Edo period. This exhibition will display all three of the recently restored Suntory Scrolls and will also introduce the richly varied Shutendōji picture scrolls that developed broadly from them.

  

  Conquest of Shutendōji (detail) (Important Cultural Property), Kanō Motonobu, the last of three scrolls, 1522, Suntory Museum of Art

• More and More: Unsettling Japanese Art (TBD)

  July 2 to August 24, 2025

  Have you had this experience? You go to an exhibition to “see” the works, but you end up working hard just to read the captions. You leave without any real impression of the works—the heart of the exhibition—themselves. You look but do not see. This, our second Unsettling Japanese Art exhibition (the first was in 2021), is designed to touch your heart, enable you to enjoy the experience of seeing the works, and allow you to savor the essence of Japanese art. In it you will see famous works, rare works and hidden treasures from the Suntory Museum of Art's collection as you have never “seen” them before.

  

  The Priest in a Bag (detail), one handscroll, Edo period, 17th–18th century, Suntory Museum of Art

• Ekin: A Genius Painter from Tosa
  at the End of the Edo Period

  September 10 to November 3, 2025

  The Tosa painter Kinzō, better known as the enigmatic genius Ekin, has left us many dramatic folding screens from the closing days of the Edo period and early Meiji. In his home, Kōchi Prefecture, he has long been known by the nickname Ekin. His folding screen paintings are strikingly different in style from those produced by other painters from the same period. Even now, his works adorn shrines in Kōchi during summer festivals. The dramatic scenes, lit by candlelight, come to life, making a vivid impression on those who view them. This exhibition is the first large-scale display of Ekin’s works in a Tokyo museum. In it we introduce numerous examples of the unique character and appeal of Ekin’s masterpieces.

  

  Datekurabe Okuni Kabuki, Kasane, Two-panel folding screen, Colors on paper, Honmachi 2 Ward, Akaokachō, Kōnan City

• Negoro: The Colors and Construction
  Offerings to Gods and Buddhas (TBD)

  November 22, 2025 to January 12, 2026

  Negoro refers to a lacquerware technique or negoro-nuri lacquerware said to have reached its peak at Negoroji Temple (in what is now Wakayama Prefecture) during Japan’s medieval period. Vessels created by layering red on top of black lacquer are durable as well as beautiful and were long used at places where worshippers prayed to gods and Buddhas, including temples and shrines. In the early modern period, negoro vessels were beloved in everyday life. This exhibition traces the origins of negoro and brings together famous examples of negoro’s fascinating color and form.

  

  Red Lacquered Hot Water Pot, one pot and lid, Suntory Museum of Art