HANGA (Prints). Waves of Cultural Exchanges between the West and the East

11 February - 27 March 2005

Hours: 9:30a.m.- 5:00 p.m.
Entry is permitted thirty minutes before the galleries are closed.
Closed: Closed on Mondays

Admission:
Adults: 800 (600) Yen
Students (College or senior high): 600(450) Yen
Students (elementary or junior high school): 400(250) Yen
(Concession for groups or advanced tickets)

Event:
We are ready to provide you various events with regard to the exhibition.
Please see details.

Hanga (prints) has played an important role in exchange between the East and the West for a long time because of their nature of the capability to be copied. Even during the a closed-door policy during the Edo period in Japan, hanga and printed books continued to bring the images of the West to Japan, they helped to give rise to the Dutch Studies and Western style paintings.

This exhibition starts with the study of the Western perspective by the Dutch scholars and popilar painters who were active in the middle and later half of the Edo period. They laid the foundation for accepting Ukiyoes in Western contries because they japanized the Western perspective and by doing so, they made the naturalistic expression of the space so that Western people could easily understand.

And also, concerning the subject, the Ukiyoe depicted the beaties of the transitional world such as harlots, actors and actress and landscapes with fine views. That inspired the impressionists who tried to innovate historicism and instructive ethicism of the Accademy. Great artists such as Manet, Cezanne, Gauguin and van Gogh created works which made a reform in the history of the Western Arts by gettin a hint from the Ukiyoe.

Moreover, Japanese painters who admired the Impressionim paintings develoved the world of the original prints under their influence. Cultural interchange between the East and the West have lasted without cease. After the World War II, prints won the firm place in the genre of today's expression.