Get to Know the Artists in the Shikansuiyo traditional Japanese media Exhibition ②

An exhibition of new works by about 40 artists, created with particular thought for the shrine and its sacred forests, and with passion, awe and respect for nature and our daily lives. The media chosen for their works are the traditional Japanese forms of folding screens, hanging scrolls, partition screens (paintings) and folding fans.

chrysanthemum (2019) by Ryo SHINAGWAMeiji Jingu Forest - Festival of Art

Shikansuiyo – Art of the One Hundred Year Forest 

The literal meaning of the expression Shikansuiyo (紫幹翠葉) is “purple trunk, green leaves”, but it is used to refer to a beautiful scene of nature. From prehistoric times, the Japanese people have found beauty not only in Mt. Fuji and cherry blossom, but in the humble everyday nature of rice fields, wild flowers and birds, too. The artists have prepared their works with particular thought for the shrine and its sacred forests, and with passion, awe and respect for nature and our daily lives. The media chosen for their works are the traditional Japanese forms of folding screens, hanging scrolls, partition screens (paintings) and folding fans. A centerpiece of the show will be folding fan-shaped paintings commissioned from approximately thirty contemporary artists, renowned for both their skill and talent, which will be exhibited along one wall. We hope you will enjoy the many lucid and expressive works on show in the amazing natural surroundings of Meiji Shrine.

Rain・Bridge・Street (2018) by Wataru OZUMeiji Jingu Forest - Festival of Art

Wataru Ozu

Born in Aichi, Japan, 1991. Graduated MFA Tokyo University of the Arts, Oil Painting in 2017. Currently works at Studio KODAI in Ibaraki, with an interest in painting and images and oriental painting spaces. His work takes motifs from the bible and western and eastern masterpieces or art both ancient and modern, using the images that appear in them and expanding them into an unknown ideal. Major exhibitions include “Anthropocene”, Ginza Tsutaya Art Wall Gallery, Group Exhibition (2020), "Worm Wood Star”, un petit GARAGE, Solo exhibition (2019).

Piece to Peace Love (2019) by Kodue HIBINOMeiji Jingu Forest - Festival of Art

Kodue Hibino

Born in Shizuoka, Japan. Graduated Tokyo University of the Arts, Department of Design. Works as a costume artist in advertising, theatre, dance, ballet, film and TV. Currently in charge of costumes for NHK ETV “Nihongo de Asobo”. Designed costumes for many performances including Kabuki performances “Nodaban: Togitatsu no utare”, “Nodaban: Sakura no mori no mankai no shita”, dance “Circus” at New National Theatre Tokyo etc. Current performances: “ LIVE BONE “, “ WONDER WATER “, “Humanoid LADY “, “ FLY,FLY,FLY “, “Rinne”, “Piece to Peace”. Exhibitions and workshops include The Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale (2018), Setouchi Triennale (2019), Ichihara Lakeside Museum (2018), Dazaifu Tenmangu (2019) etc.

Layers (2014) by Manika NAGAREMeiji Jingu Forest - Festival of Art

Manika Nagare

Born in 1975. Graduated from the department of painting at Joshibi University of Art and Design. Working mainly on paintings based on landscapes, she also engages in public art, collaborations with fashion brands and artistic supervision of architectural spaces. Her recent exhibitions include Embracing for Painting (Shiseido Gallery, Tokyo, 2015), Takamatsu Contemporary Art Annual vol.05 – Visible Scenery, Invisible Scenery – (Takamatsu Art Museum, Takamatsu, 2016), Tracing the Colors (POLA Museum of Art, Hakone, 2018)etc.

Floating Garden (2018) by Motoi YAMAMOTOMeiji Jingu Forest - Festival of Art

Motoi Yamamoto

Born in Hiroshima, Japan, 1966. Graduated from Kanazawa College of Art in 1995. With memories with his late wife as well as his late sister, both of whom left this world at a young age, as the main theme for his work, he has been working on installations using salt, symbolizing cleansing or purification in Japan. On the last day of his exhibitions, he destroys the installation with the audience and returns the salt to the sea. Exhibitions include MoMA PS1, State Hermitage Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo and many more. He currently relies in Kanazawa. 

mata au hi ni (2019) by Ai YAMAGUCHIMeiji Jingu Forest - Festival of Art

Ai Yamaguchi

Born in Tokyo, Japan, 1977. Graduated Joshibi University of Art and Design, Department of Design and Crafts in 1995. Formed ninyu works in 1999. Her works use fine and sensitive lines to draw motifs of young women based on the sex industry of the Edo period. Exhibitions include “Kamisaka Sekka: dawn of modern Japanese design”, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia (2012), ”The Grand Kojiki Exhibition - Feelings and words handed down from past generations to the future”, Nara Prefectural Museum of Art (2014), “ima to koko ni”, Mizuma Art Gallery, Tokyo (2018) etc.

the branch chosen by the bird, the bird the branch was waiting for (2019) by Kaoru USUKUBOMeiji Jingu Forest - Festival of Art

Kaoru Usukubo

Born in Ibaraki, Japan. Graduated PHD Tokyo University of the Arts, Oil Painting in 2010. Her works hover between the real and the unreal, the visible and the invisible, painted in a realism style. Main Exhibitions include Yokohama Triennale 2011,  “MINIMAL/POSTO MINIMAL Contemporary Japanese Art since the 1970s“, Utsunomiya Museum of Art (2013), “Kaoru Usukubo, Daisuke Ohba” LOOCK, Berlin (2020) etc.

Seaside village (2017) by Nozomi TANAKAMeiji Jingu Forest - Festival of Art

Nozomi Tanaka

Born in 1989. Lives in Sendai City. Tohoku University of Art and Design, Ph.D. in Art Engineering (2017). Since 2012 she has participated in art projects in various places and creates works based on experiences and interviews in the field. She approaches the "place" as a whole, such as climate, history, and social ritual, from a composite perspective that includes her own experiences, and thinks about the questions and expressions that arise from negotiations with the "place". Major exhibitions include Nozomi Tanaka “Shiotsuchi”, Yokohama Museum Art Gallery 1, Cafe Kokurayama (2015) and “Art Miyagi 2019”, Miyagi Prefectural Museum (2019).

Hiten North 16 (2018) by Takanori ISHIZUKAMeiji Jingu Forest - Festival of Art

Takanori Ishizuka

Born in Kanagawa, Japan, 1970. He works in sculpture, drawing, painting creating animal characters that depict a reality we cannot see with our eyes. Main exhibitions include “Hiten”, Roppongi Hills A/D Gallery (2018), “Sleep and Death”, nu petit GARAGE (2017), “Kakegawa Chaennale” (2017), “Kemono Apartment”, Yokohama Apartment (2015) and “totem”, nca | Nichido Contemporary Art (2014).  His work is included in the collections at Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo and Kasama Nichido Museum of Art.

Where Do We Come From? Where Are We Going?-Visitor (2019) by Kota HIRAKAWAMeiji Jingu Forest - Festival of Art

Kota Hirakawa

Born in Kochi, Japan, 1987. Lives in Saitama. After graduating from Tokyo University of the Arts, works mainly as a conceptual painter referencing contemporary society in his works. A running theme in his work is ‘The Keisho of Memory’ (“keisho” can mean “inheritance”, “form” and “alarm”) exploring memory and memory lapse. Main exhibitions include “Why not live for Art? II” Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery (2013), “The Vision of Contemporary Art”, The Ueno Royal Museum (2014) and “Catastrophe and the Power of Art” Mori Art Museum (2018). Art Award Tokyo Marunouchi Mitsuichi Estate Award (2013).

What Are Girls Made Out Of (2017) by Mai MIYAKEMeiji Jingu Forest - Festival of Art

Mai Miyake

Studied at École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, 2008. Her work questions the true nature of things through the intricacy and depth of the traditional arts and crafts of Japan and her own esprit, fusing together craftwork with cutting-edge technology such as artificial intelligence. Main exhibitions include "Culture City of East Asia 2018 Kanazawa: Altering Home”, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (2018), “Throughout Time : The Sense of Beauty” ICOM Kyoto 2019 Commemorative / Nijo-jo Castle The 25th Anniversary of the World Heritage Listing, etc.

Hanako,cherry blossoms and (2019) by Aki FUEDAMeiji Jingu Forest - Festival of Art

Aki Fueda

Graduated PhD Tokyo University of the Arts in 2001. Her hometown of Musashino in west Tokyo deeply influences her works. In particular, the elephant Hanako at Inokashira Zoo in Kichijoji featured in many of her works for many years, and after Hanako’s death Fueda’s bronze statue of Hanako was installed at Kichijoji Station. Animals and plants feature in many of her works, including paintings three dimensional work and installations. 

Walking in the Mountains-June (2013) by Takeshi HONDAMeiji Jingu Forest - Festival of Art

Takeshi Honda

Born in Yamaguchi, Japan, 1958. Moved to Tono, Iwate, in 1987. One year non-resident scholar position in New York City through the Japanese Ministry of Culture (1999). Since the 1990 he has produced series of charcoal pencil drawing titled “Mountain Walking”. Exhibitions include "Dieu Donne Gallery,” New York (2000), Weinstein Gallery, Minneapolis (2000), Group Show “Gallery 203”, Minneapolis Institute of Arts (2000), “International Paper” UCLA Hammer Museum (2003), “series Artists Today 2003 Yokohama” Civic Art Gallery (2003), “CAMK ryu Gendai Nihonga no Seika”, Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto (2003), “Primeval Portraits”, Aomori Contemporary Art Centre, Aomori (2009) etc. 

Mirage #48 (2019) by Masayoshi NOJOMeiji Jingu Forest - Festival of Art

Masayoshi Nojo

Born in 1989. M.A. in Japanese Painting at Kyoto University of Art and Design, 2015. He creates works that appeal to the viewer's sense of immersion and visual experience through images that are like optical phenomena created by coincidence. One-man shows include “Under the moonlight” JD Malat Gallery, London (2020), and many more. His works are held in many public and private collections, including Sagawa Art Museum. He has also taken part in numerous art fairs in Japan and overseas.

Flying in the Wilderness - Appearance (2006) by Yasumasa MORIMURAMeiji Jingu Forest - Festival of Art

Yasumasa Morimura

Born in Osaka, Japan, 1951. Graduated Kyoto City University of Arts. Produced a self portrait of himself dressed as Van Gogh in 1985. Since then has produced self portraits based on historical figures. After being chosen for the Venice Biennale's Aperto 88 exhibition in 1988 started garnering attention overseas. Main solo exhibitions in  Japan include "Morimura Yasumasa : The Sickness unto Beauty, Self-Portrait as Actress” Yokohama Museum of Art (1996), "Morimura Yasumasa : Self-Portrait as Art History” Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo (1998),  “A Requiem: Art on Top of the Battlefield”, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography (2010),”Yasumasa Morimura: Ego Obscura”Japan Society(2018),"Yasumasa Morimura: Ego Obscura, Tokyo 2020”Hara Museum of Contemporary Art(2020) etc.

Speech Balloons in the Hinomaru (2017) by Kengo NAKAMURAMeiji Jingu Forest - Festival of Art

Kengo Nakamura

Kengo Nakamura studied Japanese‐style painting (NIHONGA) at Tama Art University, attaining his Graduate Degree in Art. He is known for unique paintings that have inspired Japanese modern cultures such as emotion-icons, apartment floor plans in Tokyo, speech balloons of comic books, silhouette of characters and more. Exhibitions include "NIHONGA Painting : Six Provocative Artists”, Yokohama Museum of Art, Kanagawa, Japan (2006) and "Modern Japanese Japanese-style Painting 1994-2014" Kakegawa Ninomaru Museum of Art, Kakegawa (2015). He has recently exhibited in France, and is expanding his following overseas. 

Okinosima (2011) by Yoi KAWAKUBOMeiji Jingu Forest - Festival of Art

Yoi Kawakubo

Born in Toledo, Spain, 1979. BA in Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan. Following his time working as a financial market trader, Kawakubo embarked on his artistic career in 2008. How multimedia installation works skillfully weave stories based on actual historical events into universal truths. Recent group exhibitions include “Roppongi Crossing 2019 - Connexions”, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, (2019), “21st DOMANI: The Art of Tomorrow”, National Art Center, Tokyo, (2019), “Islands, Constellations and Galapagos” Yokohama Triennale 2017. He was awarded the Ohara Museum of Art Prize at the VOCA 2015 The Ueno Royal Museum of Art, Tokyo, and has been shortlisted for the Shiseido Art Egg Prize in 2016 and the Sovereign Asian Art Prize (HK) in 2012.

Untitled (2015) by Hiroshi SUGITOMeiji Jingu Forest - Festival of Art

Hiroshi Sugito

Born in Aichi, Japan, 1970. He has exhibited extensively both in Japan and internationally since the 1990s. His major solo exhibitions include “FOCUS”, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas, USA (2006), “prime and foundation”, Miyagi Museum of Art, Miyagi, Japan, (2015), “frame and refrain” Musée Bernard Buffet, Shizuoka, Japan, (2015), ”particles and release” Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Aichi, Japan, (2016), and “Hiroshi Sugito module or lacuna”, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, (2017).

36 Selections of Cpntemporary Suits of Armour Leopard with Suit of Armor with Citron Green on Blown Gold Lacing (2013) by Hisashi TENMYOUYAMeiji Jingu Forest - Festival of Art

Hisashi Tenmyouya 

Born in Tokyo, Japan, 1966. After working as art director at a record label, became an artist. He advocates a new style of traditional Japanese painting “Neo Nihonga”, and in 2000 started a new movement called “Butoha” to fight the authoritarian art world with painting. Exhibitions include "Kawanabe Kyosai and Tenmyouya Hisashi Exhibition" Kawanabe Kyosai Memorial Museum, Saitama, Japan (2002), "MOT Annual" Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo (2006) 17th Sidney Triennale (2010) etc. In 2010 he proposed a new Japanese art scheme named “BASARA” which is extravagant and extraordinary and embodies a Samurai aesthetic like "Basara" in Nanboku dynasty era and "Kabuki-mono" at the end of Sengoku era.

MARIO and LUIGI Rimpa Screen (2015) by Taro YAMAMOTOMeiji Jingu Forest - Festival of Art

Taro Yamamoto

Born in Kumamoto, Japan, 1974. Graduated Kyoto University of Art and Design in 2000. Kyoto University of Art and Design, Associate Professor. In 1999 proposed the new Nihonga style, ”Nipppon-Ga”. Started working in a traditional Japanese painting style combined with contemporary motifs. In recent years he works closely with corporations creating many works using corporate characters. His work has been called contemporary Rinpa. "Taro Yamamoto solo exhibition - Nippon-Ga new but classical Japanese art" MUSEUM "E-KI", Kyoto (2009)  Japan’s New Traditionists”, The Art Gallery of University of Hawaii, Honolulu Museum of Art,Honolulu (2016) etc.  Kyoto Prefecture Cultural Award, Encouragement Prize, 2015.  

summer camellia (2019) by Ryo SHINAGWAMeiji Jingu Forest - Festival of Art

Ryo Shinagawa

Born in Osaka, Japan, 1987. MA in Kyoto University of Art & Design in 2016. “The school of “Nihonga”, which has survived so long with its strict adherence to a hierarchy system and academic skills, has blocked the progress of painting in Japan - so what should we really call “Japanese Painting”? My search is for that natural progression.” Solo exhibitions include "Aphotic Utopia”, Anteroom Kyoto  (2018) and "GOLD,WHITE AND BLACK”, AIR Kamo Nasu, Kyoto (2020). He has exhibited his work in Japan, Seoul, Taipei and other parts of Asia, as well as in Basel and New York. 

When I See You in Your Mirror (2019) by Taro SHINODAMeiji Jingu Forest - Festival of Art

Taro Shinoda

Born in Tokyo in 1964. After studying landscape gardening, he began working as a visual artist. His wide-ranging work encompassing drawing, sculpture, video works and installation delves deep into the relationship between humans and nature, receiving substantial international acclaim. Shinoda’s works are in collections including Mori Art Museum, Foundation LOUIS VUITTON and NISSAN MOTOR CO.,LTD.. Major international exhibitions include “Garden of Earthy Delights” at Martin-Gropius-Bau (Berlin, 2019) Sydney Biennale (Sydney, 2016), Sharjah Biennale (Sharjah, 2015) , Mori Art Museum (Tokyo, 2010) andHiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art (Hiroshima, 2002). Shinoda will participate in Saitama Triennale 2020.

Animal 2012-01 (2012) by Atsuhiko MISAWAMeiji Jingu Forest - Festival of Art

Atsuhiko Misawa

Misawa was born in Kyoto Prefecture in 1961. He received and M.F.A. in Sculpture from Tokyo University of the Arts in 1989. In 2000, he started to make the series of wooden sculptures of animals, called "Animals". From that same year, he has been holding solo shows at Nishimura Gallery, Tokyo. In 2001, he received the 20th Hirakushi Denchu Prize. Between 2007–08, his exhibition toured five museums, starting with the Hiratsuka Museum of Art, Kanagawa. Since then, he has held many solo exhibitions at museums throughout Japan. In recent years, exhibitions of his work have been held at the Shoto Museum of Art, Tokyo, 2017, Yokosuka Museum of Art, Kanagawa and Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art & Design in 2018. In 2019, he received the 41st Nakahara Teijiro Prize. He is currently a professor at Musashino Art University and lives in Kanagawa.

Credits: Story

Meiji Jingu Forest - Festival of Art
Centennial Celebration of The Establishment of Meiji Jingu

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