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Museum Collection Exhibition
Kara-e
Chinese Paintings and Medieval Japanese Ink-Wash Paintings- Saturday, July 19th－Sunday, August 24th, 2025
| Closed | Closed on Mondays, except July 21 and August 11, and closed on July 22 and August 12 |
|---|---|
| Hours | 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.（last entry: 4:30 p.m.） |
| General admission (On-line timed-entry tickets) | Adult 1300 yen, Student 1000 yen |
| Gallery | 1, 2, 5 |
After the Japanese court stopped sending envoys to China, in 838, interactions between Japan and China were limited. In the middle ages (twelfth through sixteenth centuries), however, exchanges again became active, and a variety of Chinese goods were brought to Japan. Those include Imperial Court Academy paintings and outstanding ink-wash paintings by Muqi and other artist-priests. These works, called Kara-e, Chinese paintings, in Japan were highly regarded among warrior clans, including the clan of the Ashikaga shoguns. Under their influence, many Kara-e paintings modeled on Chinese examples were created in Japan.
The Nezu Museum collection includes many superb Kara-e, including Chinese paintings and ink-wash paintings from Japan’s middle ages. This exhibition introduces particularly significant works from among them.
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Fishing Village at Sunset
By Muqi - Hanging scroll; ink on silk
- China Southern Song dynasty, 13th century
Nezu Museum - This painting is one of the Eight Views of Xiao and Xiang Rivers handed down in the Ashikaga shogun family. Muqi’s work was regarded in Japan as the standard for ink-wash painting and had a vast influence on other painters. This work is being exhibited for the first time since its restoration.
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Quail
Attributed to Li Anzhong - Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
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China Southern Song dynasty, 12th－13th centuries
Nezu Museum - This painting was in the collection of Ashikaga Yoshinori, the sixth Muromachi shogun. Southern Song bird-and-flower paintings in the Imperial Court Academy style, such as this work, were adored in Japan and became the models for bird-and-flower paintings produced here .
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Landscape, known as Kōten-en'i
Attributed to Shūbun - Hanging scroll; ink and slight color on paper
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Japan Muromachi period, 15th century
Nezu Museum - This painting is attributed to Shūbun, an artist-priest at Shōkokuji Temple who became a painter by appointment to the Muromachi shogunate. This superb work was created using a diagonal composition mastered from studying Chinese landscape paintings.
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Birds and Flowers in the Four Seasons
Attributed to Kanō Motonobu - Pair of six-panel screens; ink and slight color on paper
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Japan Muromachi period, 16th century
Nezu Museum - This masterpiece is a bird-and-flower painting in the Kanō School semi-formal style. Its supple brushwork is impressive. It is a quintessential example of Motonobu’s work, giving a sense of both depth and breadth.
