By Fukuda Art Museum
Fukuda Art Foundation
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About the exhibition
At Fukuda Art Museum this summer, an animal wonderland has come to Arashiyama. In zoo variety but as works of art, this exhibition (term: July 13 - October 1, 2024) displays animals from all over the world depicted by Japanese painters. You will enjoy a visual feast as you compare the visions of these artists.
Fierce Tiger by Ōhashi Suiseki (20th century)
A tiger with sharp eyes is watching you closely. Now look at the pupils of the tiger's eyes. Tigers have round pupils because they are diurnal, whereas cats have long, vertical pupils. Compare this with Buson Yosa's Fierce Tiger and Waterfall, which appears later in this story.
Fierce Tiger and Waterfall by Yosa Buson(1767)
Tigers have been featured in works by many painters, but aren't native to Japan, requiring artists to look to cats and paintings imported from China and the Korean Peninsula. Buson used techniques from Sen Nanpin, a Chinese painter who took up residence for a time in Nagasaki.
Early Morning by Nishimura Goun (1937)
Goun depicts the weasel sensing approaching morning and quickly running through the field with his nimble brush strokes. Shiny eggplants depicted along with their pale purple flowers have a round shape, suggesting traditional Kyoto vegetable “kamo nasu”eggplant.
Cat and puppies by Nagasawa Rosetsu (18th century)
Like rabbits and squirrels, dogs are fertile and are known as a symbol of easy childbirth because of the ease with which they give birth. In Japan, when a woman becomes pregnant, she prays for an easy delivery on Dog Day, a custom also inspired by dogs.
Kittens by Ōhashi Suiseki (20th century)
In Chinese, mào, the word for cat, also sounds like the word for a seventy-year-old person. When cats appear in oriental art and decoration, they auspiciously symbolize a wish for a long life. On this scroll painting, three Western-breed kittens are painted under some roses.
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