A space where the aesthetics of the East and West resonate
The Marubeni Gallery is a facility where Marubeni's art collection, consisting of the three main categories of textiles, designs for textiles, and paintings, is on display to the public.
Textile Collection
In 1925 , Marubeni Shoten, the predecessor of Marubeni Corporation, formed the Meihin-kai (Masterpiece Society) with the aim of collecting and studying antique textiles and applying this knowledge to create new, modern designs.
Kosode rip with willow design and tsuji-gahana flower on moenuri nerinuki ground island toriMarubeni Gallery
The Society's collection spans a variety of genres, including Noh costumes, kosode (kimono with small wrist openings), fukusa (cover cloth), ancient textile fragments, obi (sash), and folding screens.
Among these, the most notable items are the Kosode fragment with diamond-lattice patterns and willow trees (Momoyama period, 16th century), which is said to have been ordered by Yodo-dono,
concubine and second wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who was then the most powerful man in and a kosode based on this fragment using 16th century yarn-making, hand-weaving and dyeing techniques created as a project to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Marubeni Corporation.
Kosode with design based on Genji Monogatari (The Tale of Genji) and seashore on parti-colored silk crepeMarubeni Gallery
The collection also includes valuable textiles such as Furisod e (long-sleeved kimono) with Tasuki cord and chrysanthemum, wave, and plum pattern (Edo period, 18th century), which was designated as an Important Cultural Property in 2020, the highly-renowned Kosode with scenes from the tale of Genji (Edo period, 18th century),
and the Kosode with towboats on the Yodo river (late-Edo period, second half 18th century), which is said to have been designed by leading ukiyo-e artist Katsukawa Shunsho.
In addition, there are works by living national treasures of the Showa period such as Ueno Tameji (1901-1960) and Kimura Uzan (1891-1977), who were awarded special prizes for their works in the “Bi-ten ,”
a textile art exhibition inaugurated by Marubeni Shoten in 1927. Marubeni Collection, therefore, will allow our visitors to trace the historical transition of textiles from the Momoyama period through to the Showa period.
Wildflowers (1934) by Okada SaburosukeMarubeni Gallery
Textile Design Collection
Two years after Marubeni Shoten created the Meihin-kai, it started the Akane-kai (Society for the Study of Textile Designs), a group of about 70 artists from a variety of genres, including painters, sculptors,lacquerers, and engravers, for the purpose of devising new textile designs.
The Akane-kai was led by Takeuchi Seiho and included famous artists from various fields such as Nishimura Goun, Kawabata Ryushi, Domoto Insho, Yamaguchi Hoshun, Fujishima Takeji, Okada Saburosuke, Asakura Fumio, Kitamura Seibo, Kashima Eiji, Yamaga Seika, and Rokkaku Shisui.
Marubeni retains about 600 designs from the Akane-kai, including both traditional and humorous and innovative patterns.
Okada Saburosuke《 Wildflowers》*1934
The olive groves of l‘Estaque (1882) by Pierre-Auguste RenoirMarubeni Gallery
Painting Collection
Marubeni’s painting collection consists of both modern Japanese and Western works. There have been contacts with artists through the Akane-kai and other organizations since before World War II, and modern Japanese paintings have been collected over time from the artists themselves and through art dealers.
Notable among them are works by artists such as Fujishima Takeji, Okada Saburosuke, Wada Eisaku, and Umehara Ryuzaburo, who all studied modern Western painting and were leaders in the field in Japan, as well as works by Koiso Ryohei, such as his masterpieces Nude sitting sideways and Judgment of Paris.
Koiso had a deep connection with Marubeni Corporation, having designed the cover of Marubeni's in-house magazine for six years from 1955.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir《 The olive groves of l‘Estaque》 1882
La Bella Simonetta (1469) by Sandro BotticelliMarubeni Gallery
For ten years after 1969, Marubeni became the first general trading company to engage in full-scale import and sales of art works, handling a large number of classical works from the Renaissance period onward, as well as works by Impressionists and artists of the School of Paris. The collection of Western paintings was a by-product of these sales activities.
Of particular note is La bella Simonetta by the Renaissance master Botticelli, which can be said to be the only work by the artist to be found in any Japanese collection.
Also noteworthy are the impressive works by Corot, Renoir, Redon, Dufy, Rouault, and Kisling, as well as a series of works by Vlaminck from his Fauve period to his later years.
Sandro Botticelli《La Bella Simonetta》
