16.05.2014
to
03.08.2014
Museum für Asiatische Kunst
The colour woodcuts produced by the painter and printmaker Yoshida Hiroshi (1876-1950) between 1920 and 1946 did much to perpetuate the image of Japan as a place of timelessness and tradition. Following the example of the great woodblock printmakers Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) and Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858), most of Yoshida Hiroshi’s carefully constructed and sensitively coloured compositions show views of famous sites.
Often framed by seasonal or culturally loaded flowers and plants, they focus on landscapes of outstanding natural beauty or important monuments such as temples or fortified palaces that epitomise the singular geography and traditional culture of the nation. No reference is made to the advancing industrialisation and modern mass culture of Japan - or indeed to its contemporary ambitions for territorial expansion into China and Korea.
People appear as incidental figures only. Dressed in colourful traditional clothing (kimono), they reinforce the impression of a time-honoured national culture. The eighteen prints shown in the exhibition form part of a larger group of works by Yoshida Hiroshi acquired in 1939 - at a time when both Japan and Germany sought to propagate an essentialist, traditional image of the nation.
Organizer
Venue
Address / Getting there
Visitor entrance
Lansstraße 8 / Arnimallee 25
14195 Berlin
partially wheelchair accessible
Opening hours
Sun 11:00 - 18:00
Mon closed
Tue 10:00 - 17:00
Wed 10:00 - 17:00
Thu 10:00 - 17:00
Fri 10:00 - 17:00
Sat 11:00 - 18:00
Prices / Tickets
Admission ticket Museum Europäischer Kulturen
8,00 EUR Concessions 4,00
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Museum Pass Berlin 3 days for permanent exhibitions
29,00 EUR Concessions 14,50
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Annual membership Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
from just 25,00 EUR
Annual Passes for the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin