The tradition of bijin-ga (paintings of beautiful women) originated in the Edo period. In the modern era, it was brought to artistic maturity by a female painter, Uemura Shōen (1875–1949). This year marks the 150th anniversary of her birth—a significant milestone. To commemorate this occasion, the Fukuda Art Museum is presenting an exhibition that features not only works by Shōen from its collection, but also paintings by her contemporaries and later artists who continued to explore the bijin-ga genre. Through this exhibition, we invite visitors to discover the refined beauty and historical trajectory of this elegant artistic tradition.

To commemorate the 2025 Expo being held here in Kansai, the Fukuda Art Museum is showing superlative works by painters who dared exhibit their art to the world, such as famous Katsushika Hokusai, Yokoyama Taikan and Ōhashi Suiseki.

A master of the early modern period, Konoshima Ōkoku (1877–1938) inherited artistic traditions while incorporating greater realism by sketching from life. He created his own distinctive realm of painting. Now, several years after our 2021 Konoshima Ōkoku Exhibition, the Fukuda Art Museum (Venue 1) and Saga Arashiyama Museum of Arts & Culture (Venue 2) are jointly holding a long-awaited comprehensive retrospective.

In Japan, Higashiyama Kaii is a household name. This exhibition will show all 28 of the museum’s holding of his works as well as the paintings by overseas artists who influenced modern Japanese painters such as Monet and Corot.