Let’s Decode Calendars by Hokusai and Others!

  • Exhibition
  • Advance Notice

Let’s Decode Calendars by Hokusai and Others!

December 18, 2024(Wed.) - March 2, 2025(Sun.)
Until Japan adopted the solar Gregorian calendar in 1873, it used a lunar-solar calendar (commonly called “the old calendar”) that was different from the calendar we use today. The months had 30 or 29 days (long or short months), and the number of days in each month changed each year. Since it was important, in everyday life, to know which months were long or short that year, small privately commissioned calendars, woodblock prints that concealed the designations of long or short months amidst their witty, humorous designs, were produced. Known as picture calendars (egoyomi) or long-shorts (daishō), these calendars were vastly popular in the Edo period. This exhibition presents the daishō in our collection, introducing one aspect of the flourishing Edo-period calendar culture. Please decipher where the long and short months are hidden and enjoy the clever ideas and techniques applied in what were, after all, quite small works.
Term
December 18, 2024 - March 2, 2025
Open
Tuesday-Sunday
(Except Jan.14, Feb.25)
Closed
Mondays
(Except Jan.13, Feb.24)
Hours
9:30-17:30 (last admission 17:00)
Exhibition room
3rd floor Special Exhibition Room
Organizers
Sumida City, The Sumida Hokusai Museum
 
Katsushika Hokusai, Kintarō Feeding a Japanese Bush Warbler
The Sumida Hokusai Museum (1st term)
Katsushika Hokusai, Snowy Morning
The Sumida Hokusai Museum (all terms)

 

*Some exhibits will be changed during the exhibition period.
*Unauthorized reproduction or diversion of work-images is forbidden.

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