During the Meiji period, as Western culture, which flowed in with the opening of the country, swept the nation, Nihonga (Japanese-style painting) was established as a unique field of painting in Japan, distinct from Yoga (Western-style painting by Japanese artists), by incorporating Western techniques and sensibilities while still being based on traditional painting techniques. Subsequently, through the Taisho and Showa periods, Nihonga continued to innovate in response to the changing times, absorbing various cultures and expressions while depicting traditional Japanese motifs such as kachofügetsu (the beauty of nature), the changing of the four seasons, and bijinga (paintings of beautiful women).

This exhibition introduces 81 works by painters who were active from the dawn of Nihonga through the late Showa and Heisei periods, including Yokoyama Taikan (1868-1958), Hishida Shunso (1874-1911), and Sugiyama Yasushi (1909-1993), from the Nihonga collection of CP Kasei Co., Ltd., a company headquartered in Ibara City, Okayama Prefecture (entrusted to the Hiroshima Museum of Art). Please enjoy the profound history of Nihonga and its charm.