Visits from Faraway Countries
渡来図
- Birth Year
- 1916
- Death Year
- 1994
- Date
- 1978
- Technique, Material, Format
- color on paper, triptych
- Dimension
- 193.5 x 238.4 cm
- Donor name
- Mr. Morita Kohei
- Category
- Nihonga (Japanese-style Painting)
- Inventory Number
- 88-JP-052
Morita Kohei took inspiration from collections of poems celebrating Nanban culture, such as Kitahara Hakushu’s Jashumon and Kinoshita Mokutaro’s Amakusa Gumi. Nanban culture refers to an exotic 16th century hybrid born when Japan allowed European culture to enter the country through trade with Portugal and other countries. The form of this work, comprising three connected screens, is influenced by Christian altarpieces. The clothing and wine glasses of the people depicted, as well as the crucifix motifs, are richly colored. While there is an opulence in the people’s appearance, they also have somewhat dark and stolid expressions. The stresses of everyday life in a period of great upheaval are plain to see.
(KUMASAKA Kumi)