The Club’s Frederick Harris Gallery puts a spotlight on an Edo-period master's influence on Japanese art history.
Shiba Kokan (1747–1818) was a pioneering artist who first trained in the Kano school and as an ukiyo-e artist under Suzuki Harunobu. He used innovative tools like the camera obscura to create stunningly realistic landscapes and popularized Western astronomy and geography in Japan.
He also painted a set of watercolor paintings of stations along the Tokaido highway. These paintings, which were discovered about 30 years ago, predate Utagawa Hiroshige's (1797–1858) famed woodblock print series, The Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido, by some 20 years.
It is strongly suspected that Hiroshige based his series on Kokan's, and this exhibition places reproductions of both artists' works side by side for comparison. It also displays a number of original paintings by Kokan, offering the opportunity to not only gain an understanding of his work, but his connection to an undisputed masterwork.
The works will be on display from August 5 through September 1.
The exhibition of Shiba Kokan’s watercolors alongside Utagawa Hiroshige’s woodblock prints offers a unique opportunity for Members to explore the possible connection between the two artists. The educational, non-commercial nature of this exhibition aligns well with the gallery’s mission and we believe this thoughtful and well-researched presentation will be of great interest to the Tokyo American Club community.
Gallery Exhibition
