Past Exhibitions
- Portraiture
- September 13, 2014 - October 13, 2014
The Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines of Kyoto--the early Japanese capital for over a thousand years--and its surrounding areas have preserved countless portrait paintings of historic figures. The Kyoto National Museum is a treasure house for outstanding painted portraits from many of these temples and shrines. For the first exhibition in the new galleries, a selection of large-size portraits will be highlighted along with those of shoguns from the Muromachi period (1392-1573). All designated National Treasures or Important Cultural Properties, such a rich and varied array of masterful works of early Japanese portraits world be unimaginable elsewhere.
Among these paintings are some of the most celebrated works of Japanese art history such as the portrait of possibly Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147-1199), paired with the portrait of possibly Taira no Shigemori (1138-1179). Further, this exhibition features renowned Kamakura (1185-1333) to Muromachi masterworks including Emperor Toba (1103-1156), the Cloistered Emperor Hanazono (1297-1348), Emperor Gouda (1267-1324), as well as Zen master Enni (posthumously known as Shoichi Kokushi, 1202-1280), and other eminent Japanese and Chinese Buddhist priests. Do not miss the chance to encounter these great historic figures.
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