Traditional Motif in Japanese Art: Snow

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Bowl with a Handle and Snowy Bamboo Leaves, Mushiage ware, Edo period–Meiji era, 19th century

Japanese Gallery (Honkan) Room 14
January 2, 2025 (Thu) - February 16, 2025 (Sun)

The sign of winter, “snow” is one of Japan’s unique motifs that decorated the daily life since the late 1300s, through textile, lacquerware, metalwork, and ceramics. Simplified motif of the snow falling from the sky can be found from the 1500s that later developed as a “snowflake” design during the Edo period (1603–1868). Also in the 1500s, motifs of “snowy willow” and “snowy bamboo leaves” became popular, reflecting Japanese sensibility that finds beauty in the snow accumulating on plants on a winter morning. Snowscape, another common theme for Japanese paintings, was also applied as craft designs. Decorating the daily life with natural motifs to appreciate the nature is a unique culture of Japan. Please enjoy Japan’s aesthetic culture through the motifs of snow through the decorative arts from the 1500s to the 1800s.

List of Exhibits

Major works in this exhibition

* Works listed below are in the TNM Collection unless otherwise indicated.

Saddle with Turnips, Muromachi period, 16th century (Gift of Mr. Numata Kenji)

Samurai's Coat (Dōbuku) with Stripes and Snowflakes on Gingko Leaves, Given to Yoshioka Hayato by Tokugawa Ieyasu, Azuchi-Momoyama period, 16th–17th century (Important Cultural Property)

Noh Costume (Karaori) with Snow-Covered Willows, Paulownias, Chrysanthemums, Wisterias, and Plum Trees, Passed down by the Konparu Troupe, Azuchi-Momoyama period, 16th century

Robe (Kosode) with Snowflakes, Bamboo Grass, and Cherry Blossoms, Edo period, 17th century

Noh Costume (Karaori) with Chrysanthemums on Hedges with Snowflakes and Dew on Grass, Edo period, 18th century (Lent by the Agency for Cultural Affairs)

Noh Costume (Chōken) with Snowy Banana Trees and Bamboo, Edo period, 18–19th century (Lent by the Agency for Cultural Affairs)

Volumes 1 and 2 from Illustrated Snow Crystals, By Doi Toshitsura, Volume 1: Edo period, 1832 Volume 2: Edo period, 1839 (Gift of Mr. Tokugawa Muneyoshi)

Kimono, Named "Snowflakes", By Tajima Hiroshi, Heisei era, 1990

Pamphlet