Tokyo is the art capital of the World in terms of people actually attending art shows, so what is on offer in the still sultry month of September? TOKYO-MET offers its picks.
KASHO TAKABATAKE
One of our favourite museums is the YAYOI MUSEUM (not to be mixed up with anything by Kusama Yayoi, whom we also dig). The show now on focuses on the work of the artist/illustrator who inspired the museum's creation -- Kasho Takabatake (1888-1966). In the early part of the 20th century, Takabatake was immensely popular as an illustrator and manga artist, impressing in particular one fan, Takumi Kano, who went on to found the museum in the 1984. The exhibition thus features well-sourced illustrations and manga from Takabatake's illustrious career. Until September 22. PRICE: ¥1,o00. Read more here.
"Tentative Dance" stationery cover illustration by Kasho Takabatake
A VIVID OBAKE KINGDOM - THEORY OF THE JAPANESE MONSTER BY TARO OKAMOTO
The centre of the Taro Okamoto "cult" in Japan is the TARO OKAMOTO MUSEUM OF ART, tucked away in an odd corner of Kawasaki, so it is well worth a visit anyway. But they often have interesting special exhibitions that focus on various aspects of the artist's work and thought. In addition to being a painter, Okamoto was also something of an avant-garde thinker, and his theories on Japanese art are particularly important. This exhibition explores his belief that the image of the "obake" (ghost or spirit) was an expression of the free imagination of the Japanese people and a subversive force that challenged authority with its wildness and humour, and thus a vital revivifying element in Japanese culture. Now to 6th October. PRICE: ¥900. Read more here.
"Night" (1947) by Taro Olamoto
HANABUSA ITCHO
The show at the SUNTORY MUSEUM OF ART celebrates the 300th anniversary of a refined painter of courtly life, active in the 17th and 18th centuries. Some of it may seem excessively dainty, delicate, or quaint at first, especially when you learn his working name "Hanabusa" means "butterfly." But Itcho remains an important figure who developed his own styles within the Kano school of art that dominated the period. His art is replete with poetic allusions, revealing the influence of haiku, the Chinese classics, and Buddhist philosophy. Serious students of Japanese culture will best appreciate this show. Oh yeh, there's a bit of Yoshiwara too. September 18th to November 10th. PRICE: ¥1,700. Read more here.
"Children" by Hanabusa Itcho
TANAKA ISSON: LIGHT AND SOIL
The Japanese art world can sometimes seem like a pretentious clique of insiders out of touch with the true artistic impulse. The career of Tanaka Isson (1908-1977) is the antithesis of this. Famed now for vivid paintings of tropical birds and flowers, he was something of an "outsider" until late in his career and continually had to do other jobs to make ends meet. The show at the "red brick" TOKYO METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART is the definitive retrospective of this talented artist. September 19th to Dec 1st. PRICE ¥2000! Read more here.
"Sotetsu and Adan in the sea of Amami" by Tanaka Isson
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