Higashiyama Kaii (1908–1999) was a Showa Period artist of national stature, renowned for the lyricism of the landscapes he painted in Japan and other parts of the world. This Yamatane Museum of Art special exhibition showcases work by Kaii alongside other modern and contemporary artists, taking the four seasons and the landscape—two of the central elements of Kaii's oeuvre—as its themes.
Among the highlights is Rising Tide, commissioned by Yamatane Museum founder Yamazaki Taneji after seeing the murals Kaii painted to decorate the New Imperial Palace. This work, fusing Japanese images of the sea with the decorative quality of Japanese painting, is the perfect symbol of Kaii's return to a Japanese aesthetic. His End of the Year and other paintings in the Landscapes of Kyoto series, inspired by the words of the author Kawabata Yasunari, are splendid depictions of the ancient capital's landscapes and the subtle changes of its seasons. The exhibition also presents outstanding works by Kaii's teachers Kawai Gyokudō and Yūki Somei, his classmates at the Tokyo Fine Arts School, and artists such as Yamaguchi Hōshun who were involved in the decoration of the New Imperial Palace.
We will be delighted if visitors to this exhibition come to more deeply appreciate the subtle sensitivity to the seasons that has been formed by Japanese encounters with nature.
Higashiyama Kaii, White Mountain. Color on Paper, Shōwa Period, 1964; Yamatane Museum of Art
Higashiyama Kaii, Spring Calm. Color on Paper, Shōwa Period, 1968; Yamatane Museum of Art
Higashiyama Kaii, Rising Tide. Color on Paper, Shōwa Period, 1970; Yamatane Museum of Art
Higashiyama Kaii, Pervasive Verdure. Color on Paper, Shōwa Period, 1976; Yamatane Museum of Art
Higashiyama Kaii, Autumn Colors. Color on Paper, Shōwa Period, 1986; Yamatane Museum of Art
Higashiyama Kaii, End of the Year. Color on Paper, Shōwa Period, 1968; Yamatane Museum of Art
Yūki Somei, Mountain in the Spring Mist / Desiring Rain in the Summer Valley / Mountain Under the Autumn Sky / Sea on a Winter Day After Snowfall. Color on Silk, Shōwa Period, c. 1940; Yamatane Museum of Art
Yamaguchi Hōshun, Quarter Scale Preparatory Painting for Maple Tree on Japanese Cedar Door at the New Imperial Palace. Color on Paper, Shōwa Period, 1967; Yamatane Museum of Art
Katō Eizō, Wandering Light. Color on Paper, Shōwa Period, 1971; Yamatane Museum of Art
Approximately 60 works in total are to be displayed.
*All works are from the Yamatane Museum of Art collection, except where otherwise noted.
Adults: 1,300 yen; university and high school students: 1,000 yen; middle school and younger children: free of charge (must be accompanied by an adult)
Disability ID holders and one person accompanying them: 1,100 yen (university and high school students: 900 yen)
*Discount for those wearing kimono: Discount of 200 yen for adults, 100 yen for university and high school students.
*Discounts and special offers cannot be combined.
