Meiji Modern: Fifty Years of New Japan July 7–September 15, 2024
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Meiji Modern: Fifty Years of New Japan
Konoshima Okoku, Tigers (detail), 1902, pair of six-panel gold-ground folding screens; ink, color, gofun, and gold leaf on paper, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum purchase funded by Sandra Tirey and Jan van Lohuizen.
Hashiguchi Goyō, “This Beauty” Poster for Mitsukoshi, 1911, color lithograph, Darrel C. Karl Collection. Photograph: Alex Jamison
Utagawa Sadahide, Picture of Western Traders at Yokohama Transporting Merchandise, 1861, woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Edward S. Morse Memorial Fund, Frank B. Bemis Fund, and John Ware Willard Fund. Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. All Rights Reserved
Mitsutani Kunishirō, Flowers, c. 1910, oil on canvas, private collection.
Japanese, Vase with Open Work, Blossoming Cherry, Carp, and Stream, early 20th century, Hirado Mikawachi ware: porcelain with underglaze blue and iron, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Allan and Maxine Kurtzman. © Museum Associates/LACMA
Yukihiro for the Kinshodo Studio, Wave Crest Supporting the Tide-Ruling Jewel, c. 1890, rock crystal sphere supported by a silver, bronze, and gold wave crest, private collection, New York City. Photograph © Noel Allum
“A monumental exhibition” —National Review
Meiji Modern: Fifty Years of New Japan offers an extraordinary look at Japan’s Meiji era (1868–1912), when the country emerged from near-total isolation to enter a modern, global period. Over these pivotal decades, Japan experienced radical social and political shifts. The exhibition brings together nearly 200 remarkable works of Meiji art from more than 70 public and private collections.
Through the objects on view, Meiji Modern reveals the profound cross-cultural impact of Japan’s developing relationships with the wider world. Paintings, sculpture, prints, posters, and fine examples of enamel, lacquer, and textiles reflect a blending of cultures and techniques as well as the innovative interchange of old and new.
Among the themes in the exhibition are the role of the sea in Japanese culture; changing gender roles; the nation’s religion, traditions, and myths; and plants and animals embraced internationally as motifs for export. Not to be missed: the newly acquired MFAH work Tigers, an exceptional pair of gold-leaf folding screens. The exhibition also features several recently discovered masterpieces of Japanese art, many of which have never been shown publicly.
► Publication
The illustrated exhibition catalogue is available through the MFA Shop (713.639.7360) and the Museum’s Hirsch Library (713.639.7325).
Meiji Modern: Fifty Years of New Japan / July 7–September 15, 2024
This exhibition is organized by the Japanese Art Society of America (JASA), with funds provided by JASA members, to celebrate its 50th Anniversary, in collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
In Houston, major support is provided by:
Bobbie Nau
Additional generous support is provided by:
Kathy and Glen Gondo
Frank and Michelle Hevrdejs
Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas)
Anne and Albert Chao
Milton D. Rosenau, Jr. and Dr. Ellen R. Gritz
Dr. Ritsuko Komaki
The exhibition catalogue is made possible with funds provided by The E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation and The Mary Griggs Burke Center for Japanese Art, Columbia University.
Ready to Visit?
Member and ALL ACCESS tickets include same-day admission to this Special Exhibition, all other Special Exhibitions, and the MFAH Permanent Collections.
Get Your Ticket