From Hara Museum ARC (Gunma)
Kankai Pavilion fall exhibition: Seasonal Delights II
Hara Museum ARC (Gunma)
Second half of the Kankai Pavilion exhibition Seasonal Delights is now on view until November 23.
Gan’ku, Tiger (detail), Edo period
Japan is richly endowed with four distinct seasons, each with their respective seasonal beauty. Since old times, people have adorned themselves or their houses with auspicious motifs at the time of seasonal festivals such as New Year’s Day.
Continuously from the first half of the show, the second half of the Seasonal Delights exhibition features works with auspicious motifs such as the tiger–the zodiac sign for the year 2010, and crane & turtle, pine-bamboo-plum, and grape with squirrel.
Mori Tetsuzan, A hundred cranes (left screen), Edo period
Pine with crane is an auspicious combination which symbolizes perpetual youth and longevity (see Mori Tetsuzan, A hundred cranes).
Tier of boxes decorated with design of squirrels in vine scrolls, Edo-Meiji period
Grape with squirrel symbolizes happiness and fertility. The phrase “grape and squirrel” is also a play on words referring to the spirit of Bushido or the code of the samurai. The lacquer box (see photo) carries the family crest of the Tokugawa family (hollyhock).
Installation view
Also, calligraphic works on waka poems on the theme of autumn and paintings depicting winter scenery are on view.
We hope you will come and see the works.