The Nara Prefectural Museum of Man'yo Culture will hold an exhibition featuring Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861), an ukiyoe artist active in the late Edo period, who is also described as a "painter of the fantastic.
Kuniyoshi was a pupil of Utagawa Toyokuni I, who laid the foundation of the Utagawa school. After a period of hibernation, Kuniyoshi gained popularity with his "Suikoden" series. Although Kuniyoshi specialized in gorgeous and powerful samurai paintings, it was in the realm of caricatures and parodies that he came into his own. His Yosie, in which small nude figures are put together to form human faces, and his anthropomorphic animal paintings are full of humor, and have not lost their luster. This exhibition also features a wide variety of ukiyo-e works, such as lyrical paintings of beautiful women, works that incorporate Western expressions, and one-of-a-kind handwritten paintings, to explore Kuniyoshi's appeal.
Nara Prefectural Museum of Manyo Culture, 10 Asuka, Asuka-mura, Takaichi-gun, Nara 634-0103, Japan　
Period] July 22, 2021 (Thursday, national holiday) - September 26, 2021 (Sunday)
Opening hours: 10:00 - 17:30 (admission until 17:00)
General admission 1,200 yen, High school and university students 500 yen, Elementary and junior high school students 300 yen
Mondays (If Monday is a national holiday, the museum will be closed the following weekday)
Nara Prefectural Museum of Man'yo Culture
Ei Nakamichi (Executive Director of the International Ukiyo-e Society)
Planning Cooperation] Art One Inc.
Access】A short walk from the west exit of the Nara Manyo Culture Museum on the Kintetsu Kashihara-Jingu-mae Station (east exit) or Asuka Station (west exit) by Kame Bus.
