From January 5 to 29, 2023, the exhibition Images of China in Ukiyo-e is opened at Ōta Memorial Museum of Art, Japan. During the Edo period, Japan was closed to the outside world for a long period of time, but classical Chinese literature and folklore were well-established in education, and people were curious about the latest Chinese culture. Ukiyo-e artists also worked on all kinds of themes from China, and even created many other works based on them.
This exhibition introduces ukiyo-e from the Edo and Meiji periods that show the influence of Chinese culture in three parts. In the first part, we will look at works from the 18th century, when samurai warriors were also involved in the production of ukiyo-e. The second part will focus on works in the 19th century, which reflect the tastes of citizens, and in the third part, works depicted in the form of parodies will be featured. Throughout the exhibition, visitors will be able to discover the unexpected connections between ukiyo-e and China.
Even today, the Chinese stories “Three Kingdoms” and “Water Margin” are popular in video games and manga, but it was actually in the Edo period that these stories were translated and adapted. The stories were also depicted in ukiyo-e. Especially, Utagawa Kuniyoshi played an important role in expanding the world of these stories. He created the popular series “One Hundred and Eight Heroes from the Water Margin” with 74 prints.
Ōta Memorial Museum of Art was established in1980, founded based on the ukiyo-e collection of late Seizō OtaⅤ, former president of Tōhō Insurance Company in order to show widely its collection to public. The museum holds one of the world leading private ukiyo-e collections.
Source: Ōta Memorial Museum of Art