Edo in Focus: Japanese Treasures from the British Museum

Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum · Tokyo · –

Twelve highlights from the official 201-work checklist: Red Fuji, Sharaku and collecting, a mural tracing and reunited doors, Ōkyo and a Japanese–British collaboration, then Hokusai, Hiroshige and Kuniyoshi prints.

In-depth audio guide

Features: Edo in Focus: a twelve-work guide to changing distance

Plan your visit

Opening hours
9:30–17:30 Opening moves to 9:15 from Sep 29 through Oct 18. Until 20:00 on Fridays; last admission 30 minutes before closing.
Closed
Mondays and Oct 13; open Aug 10, Sep 21, and Oct 12.
Closed during the exhibition
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Admission
  • Adult ¥2,300
Reservation
Date-specific tickets are available; check the official site for inventory and same-day operation.

Information verified · Check the official site for same-day updates

Works (12)

  1. 14. Clear day with a southern breeze (Red Fuji), from Thirty-six views of Mt Fuji Katsushika Hokusai · Colour woodblock print, horizontal ōban, nishiki-e · Late Edo period · c. 1830–1833 · British Museum — Let Fuji fill your view, then separate the mountain’s shape from the light described by its colours.
  2. 15. Actor Arashi Ryūzō II as the moneylender Ishibe Kinkichi Tōshūsai Sharaku · Colour woodblock print, ōban, nishiki-e · Late Edo period · 1794, fifth month, Miyako theatre · British Museum — This face belongs to an actor and to a character: separate the two names before looking.
  3. 24. Tracing of a painting from wall no. 9 in the kondō of Hōryū-ji temple Sakurai Kōun · Hanging scroll; ink and colour on paper · Meiji era · May 1880 · British Museum — This is an 1880 tracing that preserves evidence of a mural, rather than a wall removed from the temple.
  4. 28. Birds and flowers of autumn and winter Kanō Sōgen Shigenobu · Four sliding-door panels; ink, colour, gold and silver on paper · Late Momoyama to early Edo period · Early 17th century · British Museum — Read the four doors together: seasons cross their joins, while their later history divided their fronts from their backs.
  5. 42. The demon queller Shōki (Zhong Kui) and two demons Shibata Zeshin · Hanging scroll; ink, colour and gold on silk · Late Edo to early Meiji period · 1865–1870 · British Museum — Shift your gaze from Shōki and the two demons to the edges, bringing the mounting into your attention.
  6. 47. Birds and flowers Maruyama Ōkyo · Pair of hanging scrolls; ink, colour and gold on silk · Edo period · 1764–1772 · British Museum — Move between the pair and watch birds, flowers, and seasons balance each other.
  7. 50. Mother tiger carrying three cubs across a river Maruyama Ōkyo · Six-panel screen; ink, colour and gold leaf on paper · Edo period · 1781–1782 · British Museum — Count the three cubs, then trace the banks and solve how the mother can ferry them safely.
  8. 61. Fireflies Prince George (later George V) and Kubota Beisen · Hanging scroll; ink and light colour on paper · Meiji era · 5 November 1881 · British Museum — One person made ink dots; another added wings. Read this painting through the sequence of collaboration.
  9. 65. A courtesan reading a letter Kitagawa Utamaro · Hanging scroll; ink and colour on paper · Edo period · c. 1804–1806 · British Museum — Use the front-tied sash, bare feet, and illegible letter to read a private moment within a public role.
  10. 146. Under the wave off Kanagawa (‘the Great Wave’), from the series Thirty-six views of Mt Fuji Katsushika Hokusai · Colour woodblock print, horizontal ōban · Edo period · c. 1831 · British Museum — Find the small Fuji, then see three boats and claw-like spray drive the eye into depth.
  11. 182. The plum garden at Kameido, from the series One hundred famous views of Edo Utagawa Hiroshige · Colour woodblock print, ōban · Edo period · November 1857 · British Museum — Look through the close plum trunk toward visitors, garden, and the graded morning sky.
  12. 191. Princess Takiyasha and the skeleton spectre Utagawa Kuniyoshi · Colour woodblock print, ōban triptych · Edo period · 1845–1846 · British Museum — Move from Takiyasha chanting at left to the warriors, then let the giant skeleton span all three sheets.

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