Exhibitions
Next Exhibitions
The Best of Museum Collection
Fri. January 24 to Tue. March 11, 2025
2025.01.24(Fri) - 2025.03.11(Tue)
Overview
MOA Museum of Art presents the three National Treasures from its collection in this periodical exhibition. The Museum’s art collection, developed by the founder Okada Mokichi (1882–1955), mainly consists of artworks from Japan, China and other countries in Asia. It encompasses a wide range of outstanding items of historical significance as well as of aesthetic excellence, ranging from paintings and calligraphic works to sculpture, works of kōgei, and beyond.
The National Treasures to be displayed are the Red and White Plum Blossoms by Ogata Kōrin, the Tea-leaf Jar with design of Wisteria by the legendary potter of Kyoto ware Nonomura Ninsei, and the Tekagami Kanbokujo, one of Japan’s three best known calligraphic albums, together with a selection of masterpieces of each genre of arts. The plum orchard which stands adjacent to the museum will also be in its best season of full blossoms.
The National Treasures to be displayed are the Red and White Plum Blossoms by Ogata Kōrin, the Tea-leaf Jar with design of Wisteria by the legendary potter of Kyoto ware Nonomura Ninsei, and the Tekagami Kanbokujo, one of Japan’s three best known calligraphic albums, together with a selection of masterpieces of each genre of arts. The plum orchard which stands adjacent to the museum will also be in its best season of full blossoms.
HIGHLIGHTS
Three National Treasures in a single exhibition
Red and White Plum Blossoms (National Treasure), Ogata Kōrin, 18th century, Edo period
Many believe that Ogata Kōrin developed his original style of painting strongly influenced by Tawaraya Sōtatsu, the creator of the famous Wind God and Thunder God folding screens. Some suggest that the latter’s masterpiece inspired the choice of the plum trees and the composition of placing two contrasting motifs on each side, with a dividing flow design in the middle. The screens are embellished with Kōrin’s ideas and technical prowess, from his namesake plum flowers drawn without outlines and the unique layout of buds to the mossy tree trunks rendered using the tarashikomi technique (by smudging wet ink) and the organic pattern that expresses the current.
Tea-leaf Jar with design of Wisteria (National Treasure), Nonomura Ninsei, 17th century, Edo period
Nonomura Ninsei’s elegant forms are products of his dexterous throwing together with the highly refined designs in overglaze. He created tea leaf jars, water containers, tea bowls and many other implements for the practice of tea chanoyu, excelling particularly in overglaze tea leaf jars. The Tea-leaf Jar with design of Wisteria embodies the most refined aesthetic culture of 18th-century Kyoto. The details are mesmerizing—the wisteria flowers are ingeniously distributed over the body, bearing tints of red, purple, gold, and silver and striking a perfect balance with the exquisitely shaped vessel.
Tekagami Kanbokujo (National Treasure), Nara to Muromachi periods, 8th–15th century
This album contains fragments of exemplary calligraphy by the hands of many calligraphers and nobles. There are two other extant calligraphic albums of the quality equal to this one: Moshiogusa and Minu Yo no Tomo, today housed in the Kyoto National Museum and the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, respectively. Records show that the Kanbokujo was held by Kohitsu Ryochu (1655–1736), who used it as a reference for appraisal of classical calligraphic work. Later, it was acquired by Masuda Donnou (1847–1938). The title “Kanbokujō” signifies a castle of brush and ink, an apt name for the finest collection of calligraphic mastership. It is appreciated for a multitude of decorative Japanese paper as much as the elegant calligraphic hands.