“150 Years after His Death: Ekin Narrating, Ekin Narrated” Opens October 31 at The Museum of Art, Kochi; Theater-Scene Screens and Ekin Culture

“150 Years after His Death: Ekin Narrating, Ekin Narrated” will be held at The Museum of Art, Kochi (Kochi City) from Saturday, October 31, 2026 to Monday, January 11, 2027 (national holiday). Ekin (1812–1876), a Tosa painter of the late Edo period, established the style of the “theater-scene screens” (shibai-e byobu) displayed at summer festivals in Kochi Prefecture. Through his masterpieces, the exhibition introduces Ekin’s witty, humorous appeal and unravels the history of the “Ekin culture” handed down through the “storytelling” of the people of Kochi. The museum bills it as the first “great Ekin exhibition” in Kochi in 14 years.

Who was Ekin? “Kinzo the painter” and the theater-scene screens

Ekin’s real name was Kinzo, and his art names included Doi. He was born in 1812 as the son of a hairdresser in Shinichi-machi in the castle town of Kochi and studied the Kano school in Tosa. He went to Edo to study under Maemura Towa, an official painter of the Tosa domain, and after returning home became official painter to the Kirima family, chief retainers of the domain. He is said to have later fallen from grace after being caught up in a “forgery incident” and become a town painter.

He is known by the nickname “Ekin,” short for “Eshi Kinzo” (Kinzo the painter), which also spread in Kochi Prefecture as a term for painters in general. According to the museum, Ekin painted scenes from so-called “katarimono” (narrative performing arts) such as joruri and kabuki. The theater-scene screens are displayed at summer festivals across Kochi Prefecture and viewed in the dark of night by the light of candles and lanterns.

The name of his teacher, Maemura Towa, also appears as one of Kyosai’s teachers in “The World of Kawanabe Kyosai: Goldman Collection,” now on view at the Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art (until December 6), which also displays works by Kyosai’s teachers Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Maemura Towa and Kano Tohaku Chinshin (our article on “The World of Kawanabe Kyosai”).

Why see it now? 150 years after his death, the Ekin culture handed down through “storytelling”

The exhibition sheds light not only on Ekin’s works. One figure it features is the artist Tomiji Hamaguchi, who brought Ekin’s works, long hidden away in postwar Kochi, to the attention of the outside world. The other is the poet Toshio Chikamori, who, drawing on his research into the local history of Akaoka-cho and his literary knowledge, recounted the origins of the works and established the storytelling methods of the Akaoka festival. The exhibition introduces the activities of these two men, both from Akaoka-cho, along with recent developments.

Ekin died in 1876, so 2026 marks 150 years since his death. The museum asks what we will tell in order to keep passing on the Ekin culture, which has been handed down, changing along the way, from the late Edo period to the present.

Highlights: restored “warai-e” and masterpieces

Two “warai-e” restored in fiscal 2023, “The Farting Battle” and “Night Visit,” are unveiled for the first time in this exhibition. Warai-e are pictures that treat erotic subjects with a comic touch.

The exhibition page introduces works by Ekin such as “Ukiyo-zuka Hiyoku no Inazuma: Suzugamori,” owned by Honmachi Ikku, Akaoka-cho, Konan City, and “Children’s Customs of the Four Seasons” and “Sumo Wrestlers” in the collection of The Museum of Art, Kochi. The number of works and the chapter structure were not posted on the official website as of October 19. The museum has adopted the catchphrase “Ekin’s paintings bite, so watch out!” and has also released a TV commercial.

Related exhibitions and events in Konan City

Related exhibitions are also held in Konan City, which includes Akaoka-cho, the hometown of Hamaguchi and Chikamori. At the Ekingura in Akaoka-cho, the special exhibition “Most Auspicious ‘Takasago’: First Showing after Restoration” runs from Saturday, October 24 to Sunday, January 17, and at the Act Museum in Noichi-cho, “What Is the Ekin School? Ekin’s Pupils and Revived Works” runs from Saturday, October 24 to Monday, January 11 (national holiday). At the Act Museum, visitors who bring a ticket stub from this exhibition receive original Ekin goods (limited quantity).

At the museum, on the opening day, Saturday, October 31, from 13:30, Megumi Yokota, curator at the Act Museum, will give a commemorative lecture, “The History of Ekin Culture” (free; no reservation required). Gallery talks will be given by “Ekin boy” Sosuke Saito from 13:30 on Sunday, November 8 and by Yuri Nakatani, the curator in charge of the exhibition, from 10:00 on Sunday, December 13 (free; exhibition ticket required; no reservation required).

From 18:00 on Sunday, November 22, the gidayu performer Misono Takemoto will give a su-joruri performance and talk, “A Gidayu Performer Tells the World of Ekin: Meiboku Sendai Hagi.” The fee is 500 yen, and a same-day exhibition ticket is also required (reservation required). On Sunday, November 1 and Tuesday, November 3 (national holiday), the museum hall holds its autumn regular screening program, “The Lineage of ‘Blood Red’ Across the Ages: A Festival of Monster Films.”

Tickets, prices and access

Admission for adults is 1,200 yen in advance and 1,500 yen on the day, and 1,000 yen for university students; high school students and younger are free. Groups of 20 or more pay 1,200 yen (adults) and 800 yen (university students). Admission is free on the museum’s anniversary, Tuesday, November 3 (national holiday). Holders of a physical disability certificate or similar and one caregiver, holders of a Kochi Prefecture or Kochi City longevity handbook, and annual pass holders are also admitted free. Advance tickets are sold at the museum shop, through Lawson Ticket (L-code: 62407) and elsewhere.

Opening hours are 9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30); on the opening day, the doors open after the opening ceremony held from 10:00. During the run, the museum is closed from December 27 to January 1. The venue is Galleries B and C on the 2nd floor. From the Harimayabashi stop on the Tosaden Kotsu tram line, take a tram bound for “Gomen,” “Ryosekidori” or “Monjudori” for 15 minutes, get off at “Kenritsu Bijutsukan-dori” and walk 5 minutes. There is a free parking lot (144 cars).

From Saturday, November 7, “ARTIST FOCUS #06 Akiko Nakayama: Forms of Foam” also opens in Gallery D on the museum’s 1st floor.

Overview

Name: 150 Years after His Death: Ekin Narrating, Ekin Narrated
Dates: Saturday, October 31, 2026 – Monday, January 11, 2027 (national holiday)
Hours: 9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30; on the opening day, doors open after the opening ceremony held from 10:00)
Closed: December 27 – January 1
Venue: The Museum of Art, Kochi, Galleries B and C (2nd floor)
Address: 353-2 Takasu, Kochi City, Kochi Prefecture
Admission: Adults 1,200 yen in advance, 1,500 yen on the day; university students 1,000 yen; high school students and younger free (groups of 20 or more: adults 1,200 yen, university students 800 yen)
Organizers: The Museum of Art, Kochi (Kochi Prefectural Culture Foundation), Sun Sun Television
Cooperation: The Yomiuri Shimbun
Grant: Japan Arts Fund
Official website: https://moak.jp/event/exhibitions/post_591.html
*Information as of October 19, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: Ekin (Hirose Kinzo), “Hanagoromo Iroha Engi: The Eagle Scene,” late Edo period, Honmachi Ikku, Akaoka-cho, Konan City (public domain, from Wikimedia Commons)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on information on the official website of The Museum of Art, Kochi (as of October 19, 2026).

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team