Ota City Cultural Promotion Association, Public Interest Incorporated Foundation Special exhibition “Kawai Gyo kudō and Kawabata Ryushi” to commemorate the 140th anniversary of Kawabata Ryushi’s birth will be held at the Ota City Ryushi Memorial Mus

[Ota City Cultural Promotion Association, Public Interest Incorporated Foundation] Special exhibition celebrating the 140th anniversary of Kawabata Ryushi’s birth, “Kawai Gyokudō and Kawabata Ryushi,” to be held at the Ota City Ryushi Memorial Museum! ​
Ota City Cultural Promotion Association, Public Interest Incorporated Foundation Press release: September 8, 2025 A special exhibition celebrating the 140th anniversary of Kawabata Ryushi’s birth, “Kawai Gyokudō and Kawabata Ryushi,” will be held at the Ota City Ryushi Memorial Museum! Approximately 50 works by Kawai Gyokudō will be exhibited alongside works by Kawabata Ryushi.
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Flyer for the special exhibition commemorating the 140th anniversary of Kawabata Ryushi’s birth, “Kawai Gyokudō and Kawabata Ryushi.” Artwork image (right): Kawabata Ryushi Haiku “Moved to My Okutama Hermitage, on the Banks of the Galaxy,” 1957, Gyokudō Museum of Art. Image of artwork (left): Kawai Gyokudō, “Cormorant Fishing,” 1896, Gyokudō Museum of Art. Exhibition Period: Saturday, October 11, 2025 – Sunday, November 9, 2025 The year 2025 marks the 140th anniversary of the birth of Japanese painter Ryushi Kawabata (1885-1966). To commemorate this, the “Ryūshi Kawabata Exhibition” toured Toyama, Iwate, Shimane, and Aichi from last year to this year, fueling a growing interest in Ryushi’s work. Furthermore, the Ryushi Memorial Museum, which Ryushi himself founded, will host a special 140th anniversary exhibition, “Kawai Gyokudō and Kawabata Ryushi,” showcasing the elegant relationship between Ryushi and fellow Japanese painter Gyokudō Kawai (1873-1957). Gyokudō, acclaimed as a master for his depictions of Japan’s pristine landscapes, including its abundant nature and people’s lives, and Kawabata Ryushi, who explored the possibilities of Japanese painting in large-scale works, appear to have a large gap in their styles. However, after the war, the two discovered each other’s shared love of haiku during a radio
conversation, and Ryushi even visited Gyokudō’s home in Okutama, deepening their friendship. Furthermore, their bond was so strong that when Gyokudō passed away, Ryushi served as funeral committee chair. This exhibition follows on from “Yokoyama Taikan and Kawabata Ryushi,” which was held as a special exhibition to mark the 60th anniversary of the museum’s opening in 2022, and introduces the relationship between Ryushi and the great masters of Japanese painting. With the
cooperation of the Gyokudō Museum of Art, this exhibition will look back on the work of Kawai Gyokudō, who in his final years held an exhibition featuring the three great masters, Taikan, Gyokudō, and Ryushi, and will display his works alongside those of Ryushi. Tracing Gyokudō’s work from the Meiji period to his final years This exhibition showcases Gyokudō’s creative journey throughout his life, from his Meiji-period work “Lingering Snow on High Peaks” (c. 1907, Paramita Museum), to his early Showa-period work “Cranes in the Rice Fields” (1928, Kitano Museum of Art), which he created after studying the Rinpa school, to his work “Colorful Rain” (1940, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo), which was exhibited at the 2600th Anniversary of the Founding of Japan exhibition, “Rough Sea” (1944, Yamatane Museum of Art), which was created at the end of the Pacific War, and “After the Rain” (1957, Gyokudō Museum of Art), which is believed to be one of his final works.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/128457/4/128457-4-ca4d90c4ab4ac987ad33a31c26cb5af4-153×400.jpg Gyokudo Kawai, Illustration of the Raid of the Gishi, 1890, Gyokudo Museum Collection
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/128457/4/128457-4-9b9ffff359c0c0b839b274813e99d1bf-166×400.jpg Kawai Gyokudō, “Snow on the High Mountains,” c. 1907, Paramita Museum Collection
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/128457/4/128457-4-e29729f51a2173af0d783de1be7dab57-800×389.jpg Kawai Gyokudō, Cranes in the Rice Fields, 1928, Kitano Museum of Art
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/128457/4/128457-4-2bec0c24d6a5b3a1e22a8b55c58772c7-600×434.jpg Gyokudo Kawai《Rough Sea》1944, Collection of Yamatane Museum of Art
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/128457/4/128457-4-47f1a76c2b502b471a8fc4e78a9f4e8f-791×600.jpg Kawai Gyokudō, “Clear May Day,” 1947, Ome Shinkin Bank Collection
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/128457/4/128457-4-82862e1c9417e8b94b95ae7f59dfdd83-600×492.jpg Kawai Gyokudō, “After the Rain,” 1957, Gyokudō Museum of Art A collaboration between Gyokudō’s “Cormorant Fishing” and Ryuko’s “Sea Cormorant” After exhibiting a work depicting “Cormorant Fishing” at the 1895 Domestic Industrial Exposition, Gyokudō repeatedly painted this subject, while Ryushi created “Cormorant” in 1963 and exhibited it at the 35th Seiryu Exhibition. Both artists use the water bird “cormorant” as a motif in their works, and this exhibition will feature four of Gyokudō’s “Cormorant Fishing” works alongside Ryushi’s “Cormorant.”
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/128457/4/128457-4-048a65442c587817eae31c51f4f53a1f-600×475.jpg Kawai Gyokudō, “Cormorant Fishing,” 1956, Gyokudō Museum of Art
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/128457/4/128457-4-b45e68dfaecbf3056d046031db8862b1-800×258.jpg Ryuko Kawabata, Sea Cormorant, 1963, Ota City Ryuko Memorial Museum collection Works exhibited at the “Three Masters Exhibition” by Taikan, Gyokudō, and Ryushi After the war, Ryushi and Gyokudō became close friends after a radio conversation in 1948. Furthermore, Ryushi had lost contact with Yokoyama Taikan, a leading figure in the Japanese art world, after leaving the Reestablished Japan Art Academy. However, they reconciled, and in 1952, the Three Masters Exhibition featuring Taikan, Gyokudō, and Ryushi was held, which continued until Gyokudō’s death in 1957. This exhibition features works by these three artists from the second (1956, Mizuno Museum of Art) and third (1957, Paramita Museum) Pine, Bamboo, and Plum Exhibitions. Works exhibited at the 2nd Shochikubai Exhibition (1956)
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/128457/4/128457-4-139b8d61bf30a7eebebb562e1ad347d0-600×464.jpg Ryūshi Kawabata, Pine, “Evening Rain at Karasaki,” 1956, Collection of Mizuno Museum of Art
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/128457/4/128457-4-f7f223c66ae40626adb2c6047fd63448-600×460.jpg Yokoyama Taikan Bamboo “Bamboo Outer Branch” 1956, Collection of Mizuno Museum of Art
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/128457/4/128457-4-e50bd0bc3389a09640b5f19802121da0-486×360.jpg Kawai Gyokudo Plum “Wild Plum” 1956, Mizuno Museum collection Works exhibited at the 3rd Shochikubai Exhibition (1957)
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/128457/4/128457-4-33030c5571fb8ce455aee19d91c5e0c8-600×477.jpg Kawai Gyokudō, “Young Pine Tree,” 1957, Paramita Museum Collection
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/128457/4/128457-4-a1315e9800b134b0fbda0dbc131a0e38-600×475.jpg Kawabata Ryushi, Bamboo “Old Tales,” 1957, Paramita Museum Collection
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/128457/4/128457-4-7df5f9c32eb31a362d8db594d22f7c9d-600×442.jpg Yokoyama Taikan Plum, Red Plum, 1957, Paramita Museum Collection Event information Meeting period: October 11, 2025 (Sat) – November 9, 2025 (Sun) Opening Hours: 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM (last entry at 4:00 PM) Closed: Mondays (open on public holidays, closed the following day) Admission Fee: Adults: 800 yen, Junior high school students and younger: 400 yen *Free admission for those 65 years of age or older, preschool children, and persons with a disability certificate and one caregiver. Organizer: Ota City Cultural Promotion Association (Public Interest Foundation) Venue: Ota City Ryushi Memorial Hall (4-2-1 Chuo, Ota-ku, Tokyo, TEL 03-3772-0680) https://www.ota-bunka.or.jp/facilities/ryushi
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