In a summertime exhibition to celebrate the 120th anniversary of Kokka, the authoritative Japanese journal on pre-modern Asian art, and the 130th anniversary of the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, the (TNM) has taken an interesting change of direction in its curation.

Though at first the thematic structure of "Dueling Geniuses — The Greatest Highlights of Japanese Artists" seems gimmicky (especially in publicity fliers advertising "Jakuchu vs. Shohaku" as if they were sumo wrestlers), the construct works well. The curators have chosen to pair the works of two leading — perhaps competing — artists of more-or-less the same periods or genres. For example, Buddhist figures by the leading Kamakura Period (1185-1333) sculptors, Unkei and Kaikei, stand as highlights of that best period of Japanese religious sculpture, when both faith and funding provided the necessary nutrient for such geniuses to flower.

Likewise, scrolls and screens by two Muromachi Period (1333-1573) artists, Sesshu and Sesson, represent the Zen-inspired school of ink painting that appealed to the austere, astringent tastes of priests and warriors. To exemplify subsequent artistic schools, Eitoku is paired with Tohaku, Sotatsu with Korin, and so on up until the modern, post-Edo period (1868-present day) where powerful screen paintings by Yokoyama Taikan are paired with those by Tomioka Tessai.

A total of 12 pairs of competing giants of Japanese art history are so represented, providing a clear progression through the past 700 years of Japanese art, as almost nothing is known about the identities of artists before the Kamakura Period, and the signing and sealing of paintings only became common practice from the 15th century. Apart from one or two exciting new discoveries, most of the items on display are well known by those familiar with Japan's art history, yet you would have to live here for several decades in order to see them when individual items are brought out of storage for special exhibitions.

It would appear that much of this change of curatorial direction at TNM can be owed to a foreigner, the Californian collector Joe Price, whose exhibition of Japanese paintings at the museum two years ago, "Jakuchu and the Age of Imagination," was enormously successful. Prior to World War II, Edo Period (1615-1867) art by members of the merchant and craftsmen classes had been looked at with some disdain by the connoisseur elite, who considered it secondary to the works of priests, tea masters and academic, court-sponsored painters. Like many today, such collectors paid more attention to art-world noise and fashion rather than trusting in their own eyes, providing an opportunity for a few shrewd foreigners to accumulate now-legendary collections.

Another factor might be that, because public museums — and many private ones too — are under orders to survive by themselves under drastic budget cuts, they are looking overseas for creative ideas to increase public attendance.

All of the "dueling pairs" in this show demonstrate how two artists representative of their genre and time in history can be quite divergent in expression. The earliest examples are of a statue of a 12th- or 13th-century seated Jizo Bosatsu (an enlightened deity who chose to postpone entry into paradise in order to help souls still struggling with their spiritual journey) by Unkei, together with a standing Jizo Bosatsu by Kaikei dated to the 13th century. Both are carved from wood, have inlaid crystal eyes, and were painted, yet are completely different in feeling.

Unkei's seated figure looks almost lifelike, as if a local monk had been employed as a model, and the uneven folds of his robe realistically copied. In contrast, Kaikei's standing figure is formal and symmetrical, with the folds of his robe stylized and formulaic, the face otherworldly and remote. Both are works of genius, yet we warm to one and revere the other. If anything can be detected as the main difference between all these "dueling geniuses," it is that one of each pair seems to have been having more fun.

The ink painters, Sesshu (1420-1506?) and Sesson (active 16th century) were both Zen priests who mostly lived far from Kyoto, the center of the great Zen temples. Sesshu's work displays a striving for the excellence associated with those artists closer to the corridors of temple power in the capital. Nothing is more chilling — which you will welcome after the 30-plus-degrees heat of the walk from Ueno Station — than his "Winter Landscape" showing a cliff edge like a black bolt from heaven, a lonely figure climbing icy steps and the gradated dark grays of a lowering sky. In contrast, Sesson's work reveals a contentment with what he was doing and a seeming lack of concern for what others thought. His compositions can be highly unorthodox and his brush strokes playful — one feels that he had found modest contentment cocooned from the wars of his time somewhere deep in the countryside.

While having organized the lighting of the sculptures to best reveal drama and detail, TNM has yet to master the display of premodern paintings, despite the knowledge that glass cases and overhead electric lights didn't exist until recent decades. Paintings were traditionally created and seen in low-angle light, either from the outside during daytime, or from candles or lamps after dark. Overhead lighting, especially that from fluorescent tubes, is unsympathetic to the paintings and completely destroys the glimmering quality of goldleaf on folding screens. The whole magic and atmosphere is altered detrimentally.

Considering that Japan is a world leader in studio lighting, it would seem that a low-tech, low-budget solution could be easily found. Displaying masterpieces in their best light would only have a positive effect on museum interest and attendance.

"Dueling Geniuses — The Greatest Highlights of Japanese Artists" is at Tokyo National Museum in Tokyo's Ueno Park till Aug. 17; open 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. (closed Mon.). For more information call (03) 5777-8600 or visit www.tnm.jp