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Special Exhibition
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Advance Notice
The Lineage of Hokusai’s Beauties—Rivalry Among Masters
Tue, September 16, 2025 - Mon, November 24, 2025
Today Hokusai is famous for his Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji and other landscapes depicting famous places. He was, however, also so well known for bijinga, pictures of beautiful women, that he is mentioned as a bijinga expert in the 1800 novella Taitōkeigo (Courtesans’ Words Through Connoisseurs). In this exhibition, we focus on Hokusai’s roots as a master of bijinga and the evolution of his style in that genre.
Katsukawa Shunshō, his teacher when Hokusai first set foot in the world of ukiyo-e, was also a bijinga master. Kōhen Fūzokutsū (Connoisseurs’ Manners and Customs, Vol. 2), a novella published in 1775, praises him highly, stating, “One painting by Shunshō is worth a thousand pieces of gold.” Hokusai can be positioned within an orthodox lineage of bijinga artists that includes Miyagawa Chōshun, who specialized in brush-drawn paintings, his bijinga characterized by a delicate, graceful style, Chōshun’s student Miyagawa (Katsumiyagawa) Shunsui, and Shunsui’s student, Shunshō.
Hokusai’s style changed greatly throughout his career, with its evolution closely connected to the style of bijinga fashionable at the time. In this exhibition, we explore those changes in Hokusai’s style, plus works by members of the bijinga lineage, from Miyagawa Chōshun to Hokusai and by ukiyo-e artists who were his contemporaries. We will also, we hope, make clear the captivating appeal of his work and its position in the bijinga realm.
Katsukawa Shunshō, his teacher when Hokusai first set foot in the world of ukiyo-e, was also a bijinga master. Kōhen Fūzokutsū (Connoisseurs’ Manners and Customs, Vol. 2), a novella published in 1775, praises him highly, stating, “One painting by Shunshō is worth a thousand pieces of gold.” Hokusai can be positioned within an orthodox lineage of bijinga artists that includes Miyagawa Chōshun, who specialized in brush-drawn paintings, his bijinga characterized by a delicate, graceful style, Chōshun’s student Miyagawa (Katsumiyagawa) Shunsui, and Shunsui’s student, Shunshō.
Hokusai’s style changed greatly throughout his career, with its evolution closely connected to the style of bijinga fashionable at the time. In this exhibition, we explore those changes in Hokusai’s style, plus works by members of the bijinga lineage, from Miyagawa Chōshun to Hokusai and by ukiyo-e artists who were his contemporaries. We will also, we hope, make clear the captivating appeal of his work and its position in the bijinga realm.
- Term
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September 16 - November 24, 2025
*Some exhibits are changed during the term
1st term: September 16 - October 19, 2025
2nd term: October 22 -, November 24, 2025 - Open
- Tuesday-Sunday
- Closed
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Mondays (if Monday is a holiday, the next weekday is closed.)
Special Notices:
- The special exhibition galleries (3rd and 4th floors) will be closed on October 21 for exhibit changes.
- The museum will be open on October 13, November 3, and November 24.
- Closed on October 14 and November 4. - Hours
- 9:30 am - 5:30 pm (last admission at 5 pm)
- Exhibition rooms
- 3rd and 4th floors Exhibition Room
- Organizers
- Sumida City, The Sumida Hokusai Museum
