Nara Prefectural Museum of Art has in its collection nihonga (Japanese painting) works mainly from the Edo Period (1603-1867), which were donated to Nara Prefecture by Kanpo
Yoshikawa (1894-1978) in 1972. This exhibition showcases a selection of those pieces and includes portraits, genre paintings and ukiyo-e (Japanese woodblock prints).
Portraits on show depict female members of warlord and samurai families as well as waka and haiku poets, while the genre paintings illustrate ceremonies and annual functions and festivities of the period. Ukiyo-e prints were first created during the Edo Period, and those chosen for display offer a glimpse of Edo lifestyle, depicting kabuki theater motifs and scenes from red-light districts. There are around 55 works, including folding screens, hanging scrolls and makimono scrolls; till July 3.
Nara Prefectural Museum of Art, (0742) 23-1700, 10-6 Noborioji-cho, Nara; 5-min. walk from Kintetsu Nara Station (Exit 1), Kintetsu Nara Line. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. ¥400. Closed Mon. www.pref.nara.jp/dd_aspx_menuid-11842.htm.