'Prayers to Water'

SUNTORY MUSEUM OF ART

'Landscape with Sun and Moon,' right-hand screen of a pair of 15th-century six-panel screens, an Important Cultural Property | KONGO-JI, OSAKA

By Daisuke Kikuchi
Staff Writer

Dec 15, 2015

Dec. 16-Feb. 7

As an island, Japan has always been strongly influenced by water. Water has not only been revered in religion and culture, but also in the Japanese language, with references to it in idioms such as "mizu no shitataru," which literally translates to "dripping wet," but means "fresh and beautiful."

This exhibition's selection of Japanese paintings feature water as a theme, with a particular focus on the depiction of deities, such as the Buddhist goddess Benzaiten and the three Shinto gods Sumiyoshi Sanjin. Exhibits include the National Treasure "Zennyo Ryuozo" (1145) and many other important cultural properties, some of which also date back as early as the 12th century.

Suntory Museum of Art; 3F Tokyo Midtown Galleria, 9-7-4 Akasaka, Minato-ku,Tokyo. Roppongi Stn. 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. (Fri., Sat. till 8 p.m.). ¥1,300. Closed Tue. 03-3479-8600; www.suntory.com/sma