This is the special winter exhibition of Kyujin Yamamoto’s works, newly begun in 2023. In this, the third exhibition, we present from our collection of 170 works over 40 paintings of imaginary landscapes that give a sense of Yamamoto’s inner world, sometimes described as “poetry paintings,” focusing on landscape paintings of Kita-Karuizawa, where he had his studio, and the Shonan region, including Oiso, where he had lived.
Note: February 10th, the anniversary of Yamamoto’s passing, will be a free-admission day.

Kyujin Yamamoto 1900–1986
Born in Tokyo’s Shitaya area, Kyujin Yamamoto passed away in Kanagawa Prefecture. After graduating Tokyo School of Fine Arts, the young artist enters Konohanasha painting circle hosted by Eikyu Matsuoka. While submitting works to Teiten and Bunten exhibitions, he submits works to Rusoga-sha, which he formed with Eikyu Matsuoka disciples like Yasushi Sugiyama. In 1948, he threw a stone into what had been until then the feudalistic glass wall of the Japanese art world, forming Sozo Bijutsu (predecessor of the current Soga-kai) with Shoko Uemura, Kenji Yoshioka, et al. Yamamoto was active as its central member throughout his life, leading the postwar reform movement of Japanese painting. His perspective in the early years evoked a clear, modern Yamato-e style; but after the war, Yamamoto developed a sturdy style shaped by a contemporary sense of form. Later in his oeuvre, he painted emotional landscapes achieving a rich lyricism with gentle brush strokes. Awarded Order of Cultural Merit in 1977.

Composed on elegant silk canvas (eginu), Nishijima’s flower-and-bird paintings—typical of Kyoto—reach a new frontier in the decorative beauty of Japanese painting, soft yet dignified. Also on display are a six-meter-long dragon masterpiece; a new series of Mount Fuji, comprising Japanese paintings sublimated with semiconductors as a motif while incorporating the aesthetic sense of the Kyo-Rinpa School; and a two-panel Fujin Raijin (Wind God and Thunder God) masterpiece. Immerse yourself into the one and only worldview of this artist who freely transforms Japanese beauty with a unique perspective.
Note: Eginu (silk canvas) is an elegant thin silk fabric used for Japanese paintings. The canvas is soaked in a liquid made from alum and glue to prevent the paint from bleeding.

Toyohiko Nishijima 1966~
Born in Shiga Prefecture. Graduate of the Japanese Painting Department, Kyoto College of Art (now Kyoto University of the Arts). Receives Kyoto City New Artist Award and holds numerous solo exhibitions in department stores. Has solo exhibitions at the Louvre (2011), and at Vittel, France, as honored guest (2013). Exhibitions are also held in New York (solo), Basel, Miami, Seattle and other international venues. Exhibitions in Japan include several in Kyoto: Buddhist temples like Kiyomizu-dera and Engaku-ji, various Shinto shrines, and Nijo Castle, plus works dedicated to the temples of Higashi Hongan-ji and Sennyu-ji. In 2021, he holds a collaborative exhibition with flower artist Shogo Kariyazaki. From 2021 to 2022, he does cover illustration for the Omote-senke magazine, Sado Zasshi (Tea Ceremony Magazine). An interview article appears in Forbes (2022). In recent years, in addition to refined and elegant flower paintings, Nishijima experiments in the flower-and-bird genre with the inspired motif of sublimated semiconductors, doing so while continuing to pursue and maintain an evolving Kyo-Rinpa style both domestically and internationally.

This signature exhibition of representative works from our collection focuses on paintings depicting Chinese and Japanese landscapes. Exhibited are works by Fumiko Hori, Kazuho Hieda, Takehiko Mori, Ikuo Hirayama, Toshio Tabuchi, Reiji Hiramatsu, Goro Naito, Masaaki Miyasako, Takeshi Ushio, Shinzaburo Takahashi, and others.