Exhibitions
Birdwatching in the art forest
The special exh ibition Bird Watching in the Forest of Art will showcase Umi-Mori Art ~1useum’s collection of artworks featuring birds.
Birds have long been an important theme in art. Though a familiar presence in our lives, people have found a certain auspiciousness and sacredness in their beautiful plumage and ability to soar through the skies.
Birds have played an important role in fables and stories as messengers of the gods or bearers of auspicious or inauspicious tidings, for example, with birds also depicte,d in pictorial representations of these tales. The practice of painting birds as lucky omens began in ancient China, with artists portraying cranes as symbols of longevity and magpies of bringers of joyous news, for instance. Birds have long been a popular theme in Japanese paintings too, with birds and flowers used to create a sense of the passing seasons. In the Edo period, particularly from the 18th century onwards, bird depictions became even more prevalent due to a growing interest in bird ecologies and exotic imported birds. In the modern era, artists incorporated aspects of Western realism into traditional Japanese compositions to produce charming bird paintings infuse with individuality.
The exhibition is divided into four Chapters: Chapter One is With a Loving Gaze: The Flower-and-Bird Prints of Hiroshige and Koson, Chapter Two is Birds in Stories, Chapter Three is Auspicious Birds, and Chapter Four is Beautiful Birds and Cute Birds. These introduce works from our collection featuring various depictions of birds in art.
Birds have long fascinated us with their beautiful appearances that shift and transmogrify through movement and flight. We hope you enjoy this journey through the history of bird depictions at our museum, truly a forest of art.
General Information
Hours: 10:00-17:00 (Last entry: 16:30)
Closed: Monday (except August 12th and September 16 th, 23th, October 14th, November 4th), and September 17-20th
Admission: General admission: 1,000 yen, High school/university students: 500 yen, Junior high school students and younger: Free
*Admission is half price for people with disability certificates, etc. One accompany person is admitted free of charge.
*Groups of 20 or over will receive a discount of 200 yen per person.
Venue: Umi-Mori Art Museum (10701 Kamegaoka, Ohno, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima)
With the support of: Hiroshima Board of Education and Hatsukaichi City Board of Education, The Toho Gakkai (The Institute of Eastern Culture), International UKIYO-E Society, Hiroshima Society for Science of Arts
Chapter 1. With a Lobing Gaze: The Flower-and-Bird Prints of Hiroshige and Koson
The ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) is widely known for his 53 Stations of the
Tokaido series, but he also produced up to a thousand flower-and-bird prints. Alongside birds
indigenous to Japan, such as nightingales and sparrows, Hiroshige also depicted imported birds
such as parrots, canaries and Java sparrows. This reflected a growing interest in exotic avians as
more people began keeping and caring for birds during the Eda period.
The artist Ohara Kosan (1877-1945) was active from the Meiji to the Showa period. He created
many top-quality woodblock prints featuring delicate lines and subtle coloring. These were mainly
made for export and were thus relatively unknown in Japan until recently, though they are now
starting to attract the attention they deserve.
We hope you enjoy viewing these works by two masters of bird-and-flower prints.
Chapter 2. Birds in Stories
Chapter 3. Auspicious Birds
Chapter 4. Beautiful Birds and Cute Birds
Ishizaki Koyo, Peacock, 1914 (Taisho 3), Umi-Mori Art Museum