[Reopening] Hokusai ―The Teacher-Student Showdown!

  • Exhibition
  • Finished
Exhibition Handout

[Reopening] Hokusai ―The Teacher-Student Showdown!

February 4, 2020(Tue.) - April 5, 2020(Sun.)
We are delighted to present Hokusai—The Teacher-Student Showdown!
Hokusai is a big name, of course, famed as the iconic Edo-period ukiyo-e artist. Less well known, however, is that he had some 200 students and students of students. Iijima Kyoshin (1841-1901), a pioneering ukiyo-e researcher, stated in his Biography of Katsushika Hokusai (Hōsūkaku, 1893), “Old Man Hokusai had many students, but he himself did not like teaching. If someone wanted to be his student, Hokusai would get out model drawings, which he had created and had woodblock printed, and have the student draw one of them. Then he would point out the shortcomings in the drawing. That was all he did as a teacher, but his pupils included many who became acclaimed artists.” Hokusai does not seem to have been the type to coach his students in great detail, but he did draw out their abilities and train many masterly artists.
This exhibition presents a selection from the collection to pair works in which Hokusai and his pupils depicted the same theme. Comparing them, we can explore each artist’s style and influences on them. Works by Hokusai and his students are categorized by theme into the four sections of the exhibition: the Human Figure, Landscapes, Animals, and Miscellany. In each, visitors can compare works by Hokusai and his students. This exhibition does more than present Hokusai’s genius. It encourages us to think about these students, searching for their own painting styles in the presence of that great master, and introduces fascinating works by his students that until now had been in his shadow.
Term
4 February - 5 April 2020
1 Term：[Tue] 4 February – [Sun] 8 March
2 Term：[Tue] 10 March – [Sun] 5 April
Closed
Every Monday
The following day if it is a national holiday. Open: Mon 24 Feb Closed: Tue 25 Feb
Hours
9:30-17:30(last admission 17:00)
Organizers
Sumida City, The Sumida Hokusai Museum

Notice the End of Temporary Closure and the Reopening Date （March 20, 2020）
Our Requests for Visitors PDF

Exhibition Highlights！

Exhibition Structure

  1. Section 1. The Human Figure
  2. Section 2. Landscapes
  3. Section 3. Animals
  4. Section 4. Miscellany

The number of students 200 !?

This exhibition does more than present Hokusai’s genius. It encourages us to think about these students, searching for their own painting styles in the presence of that great master, and introduces fascinating works by his students that until now had been in his shadow. The rivalry between that Hokusai and his students painted is a delight to behold.

Let’s Showdown ! “Warrior”

Hokusai depicted people of all sorts, from ordinary people who were his contemporaries to historical figures. His students studied the shapes of the faces of the people Hokusai depicted, their poses, and other aspects of their master’s style in producing their own work.

Hokusai vs Manjirō Hokuga

Manjirō Hokuga: Hokusai’s Student? Or Gosei’s? His many extant works are in the Katsushika style, and he is said to have been Hokusai’s student,but since he used the Hokuga name, which had also been used by Hōtei Gosei, some argue that he was Gosei’s student.

Left：Katsushika Hokusai, Kamakura no Gongorō Kagemasa and Torinoumi Yasaburō Yasunori (1 term)　Right：Manjirō Hokuga, Strange Tales of the Bow Moon, Simplified Image: Yamao (the Wolf) Bites a Huge Serpent for His Lord’s Sake and Dies in the Mountains (1 term) 

　　　　　

Admission Fees

 

Adults

H.S / Univ. Students

65 and over

J.H.S Students

Disabled peoples

Elementary school students

Individual

1,000

700

700

300

300

Free

Group

800

560

560

240

240

Free
 

*Group admission applies to 20 or more paying adults. *Junior high, high school, and university students (including technical college, vocational school, and special training college students) will be requested to show student ID. *Adults 65 and over will be requested to show a document verifying age. *Persons with a certificate such as the following plus one accompanying person are admitted discount of charge: physical disability, intellectual disability, rehabilitation, mentally handicapped health and welfare, atomic bomb victim health notebook, etc. (Please show your certificate at time of admission.) *Use of these tickets is limited to the day on which the exhibition is visited and allow you to see all exhibition room including AURORA (Permanent exhibition room), too. You can buy tickets at booths of Ticket Today.