“Beauty of Japan” stage 2 opens at Hokkaido museum

On August 9, the second stage of “Beauty of Japan: Profusion of Flowers,” an exhibition featuring selected Japanese art from the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum’s collection, opened at the Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art. Sponsored by the Sapporo Television Broadcasting Co., Ltd. and Hokkaido Shimbun Press, the program commemorates 35th anniversary of TFAM, which helped organize the exhibition.

Among the 120 pieces exhibited are In and Around the City of Kyoto, a Kano School work, Elephant and Chicken by Ito Jakuchu, and Fifty-three Stations on the Tokaido by Utagawa Hiroshige.

A ceremony was held on August 9 to celebrate the attendance figure surpassing 80,000 visitors. The exhibition will run until September 2.

TFAM opens Pippi Longstocking™exhibition

“Pippi Longstocking and the World of Astrid Lindgren,” a special exhibition commemorating the 150th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Sweden and Japan formally opened on July 28.

Attending the opening ceremony were dignitaries as well as representatives from Sweden, Denmark and Estonia that had loaned their prized works to TFAM. In addition, students from the local Hachioji Kasumi Elementary and Junior High Schools were also invited.

Malin Billing, granddaughter of the Swedish author of the “Pippi Longstocking” series, Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002), delivered the keynote address at the ceremony, sharing her memories of her grandmother and expressed high hopes for the exhibition’s success.

Astrid Lindgren devoted a lifetime to writing children’s books that came to be adored by a worldwide readership. Her works have been translated into more than 100 languages to date, selling some 160 million copies.

This special exhibition features some 200 prized manuscripts, original drawings, personal memorabilia and other items pertaining to Lindgren’s most renowned works, including the Pippi Longstocking, Lotta and the Bullerby Children series.

The exhibition will be held until September 24.

TFAM director attends opening of new Uffizi Gallery exhibition hall

On July 9, the renowned Uffizi Gallery of Italy held a special premiere for stakeholders on a new exhibition hall, which will open displaying three major works by Leonardo da Vinci—the freshly restored Adoration of the Magi, along with the Annunciation and The Baptism of Christ (painted with Vorrocchio).

Tokyo Fuji Art Museum Director Akira Gokita, the only guest from Japan, attended the affair at the invitation of Uffizi Gallery Director Eike D. Schmidt.

The newly opened hall features the latest innovations in the preservation and exhibition of artworks.

In the press conference, Director Schmidt spoke of the hall’s unique technologies as well as its purpose and function. Cecillia Frosinini, deputy director of national art restoration agency Pietre Dure who restored the Adoration of the Magi, then shared the challenges she faced and overcame in completing her project.

Following the press conference, TFAM’s Gokita met with Deputy Director Frosinini and discussed prospects for further cultural exchanges in the future.

PHOTO CAPTION: Adoration of the Magi (top photo), with Gokita and Director Schmidt (bottom photo)

“Tavola Doria” exhibition opens in Italy

On July 7, Tokyo Fuji Art Museum Akira Gokita attended the opening ceremony for the exhibition, “The Signature of Leonardo” (tentative translation), was held at the Poppi Castle near Florence, Italy.

The exhibition features the Tavola Doria, a renowned oil painting dating back to the 16th century believed to represent the central portion of Leonardo da Vinci’s unfinished The Battle of Anghiari mural. TFAM Director Gokita took part in the Poppi Castle ceremony at the invitation of Uffizi Gallery Director Eike D. Schmidt.

TFAM presented the Tavola Doria to the Italian Republic in 2012 and now is owned by the Uffizi Gallery. Under an agreement signed between the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism and TFAM, the work will be exhibited in Japan for two years from July 2018.

PHOTO CAPTION: TFAM’s Gokita stands next to Uffizi Gallery Director Eike D. Schmidt, with Mayor Carlo Toni of Poppi City and exhibition organizers at Poppi Castle on Jul. 7

Danish researcher gives aesthetics lecture

On July 5, Danish scholar Dr. Simon Høffding visited the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum to give a lecture on aesthetics entitled, “Passivity and Participation in the Art Museum—A Phenomenological Exposition.” Some 40 people, including students from nearby Soka University, attended the lecture on one of the methodologies of western philosophy.

Currently teaching at the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Psychology, Dr. Høffding is an expert on phenomenology, aesthetics and musicianship, among other disciplines. One of the unique features of Dr. Høffding’s was to engage the audience in an interactive discussion even as he continued his lecture while standing before a number of works on display at TFAM’s permanent exhibition, “From the Renaissance to the 20th Century—500 Years of Western Paintings,” particularly before Dr. Paul Alexandre by the Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920).

Russian Federation ambassador visits museum

On June 19, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Japan, His Excellency Mikhail Yurievich Galuzin, paid a courtesy call on the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum. Representative of Russian Federation Exchange Agency Vinogradoff Constantine and Embassy Second Secretary Igor Adamovich accompanied him.

TFAM Board of Trustees Kazuhiko Oshida, Director Akira Gokita, Executive Director Akira Kaneko and other senior museum officials greeted the delegation. The two sides discussed TFAM’s record of cultural exchange with Russia, including the holding of the special exhibition, “Dreams, Hope and Love in Russian Painting of the 19th—Early 20th Century,” slated to open in October this year.

The Russian delegation also viewed the special exhibition, “Kyosai and Kyosui—The Soul of the Artist as Pioneered by Father and Daughter,” as well as the permanent exhibition, “From the Renaissance to the 20th Century—500 Years of Western Paintings.”

Great-grandchild to “Pippi Longstocking” creator visits TFAM

The special exhibition “Pippi Longstocking and the World of Astrid Lindgren” will be held from July 28 at the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Sweden and Japan.

The exhibition will not only feature some 200 original illustrations and manuscripts of the red-haired, freckled main character of the eponymous series of children’s books, but also examine the life and legacy of her creator, Astrid Lindgren, as an author and advocate of children’s rights.

Prior to the exhibition’s opening, Johan Palmberg, the author’s great-grandchild, visited TFAM on June 12., with TFAM Director Akira Gokita and other museum officials on hand to welcome him.

Mr. Palmberg, who oversees film, music and theater-related issues, together with foreign sales of his great-grandmother’s book rights, praised TFAM’s collection of artworks and expressed his resolve in working with the museum to make the exhibition a great success.

“Pippi Longstocking and the World of Astrid Lindgren” will be held from July 28 through September 24.

PHOTO CAPTION: Mr. Johan Palmberg (seated second from left)

Museum holds special “art talk” event

On April 29, the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum held what it calls an “art talk” event to examine the broad appeal of Japanese artist Kawanabe Kyosai (1831-89) to this day. Among those speaking at the special event was Kyosai’s great granddaughter Kusumi Kawanabe, who chairs the Kawanabe Kyosai Memorial Museum Board of Trustees and serves as its director; TripAdvisor country manager Tomoe Makino; Yasunori Tamaki, an executive producer at Kadokawa Corporation; and Time Out Tokyo president Hiroyuki Fushitani.

In the first half of the event, the three guests introduced their favorite Kyosai artworks and shared their views on the artist’s creations. In the second half, Director Kawanabe fielded questions and shared personal anecdotes of the challenges she had to overcome in establishing the museum as well as her feelings for Kyosai’s daughter and fellow artist Kyosui, who is the director’s grandmother, among others.

Special dance exhibition held in conjunction with “Kyosai and Kyosui” exhibition

On April 14, the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum held a dance workshop featuring Philippe Chehere, a French dancer and choreographer.

Monsieur Chehere is a pioneer dance therapist for patients with Huntington’s disease and Minamata disease, operating primarily in France and Japan. His recent performances include workshops and performance art in such museums as the Louvre and Musée de l'Orangerie as well as universities and medical institutions in Japan.

As the hour-long TFAM workshop was held as part of its “Kyosai and Kyosui—The Soul of the Artist as Pioneered by Father and Daughter” exhibition, the participants moved to the exhibition room for a dance session following a light warm-up. The artwork served to inspire performing poses, while balloons and tissue paper were used for a series of exercises.

The party of the Tsinghua University Art Museum in China visited TFAM

On April 10, delegates from the Tsinghua University Art Museum in China visited the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum. The delegation was led by Deputy Director Yang Dongjiang and consisted of Subhead of Exhibition Department Wang Chenya, General Director of Design Wang Peng and Tsinghua University Assistant Professor of Academy of Arts & Design Liu Runfu.

On hand to welcome them were TFAM Board of Trustees Chair Kazuhiko Shinoda, Director Akira Gokita and Executive Director Akira Kaneko.

The delegates from China viewed the permanent exhibition “From the Renaissance to the 20th Century—500 Years of Western Paintings” and “Kyosai and Kyosui–The Soul of the Artist as Pioneered by Father and Daughter.”

PHOTO CAPTION: Deputy Director Yang Dongjiang (fourth from left) led the Chinese delegation