“The World of Kawanabe Kyosai” at Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art Until December 6; About 110 Works from the Goldman Collection

“The World of Kawanabe Kyosai: Goldman Collection” is on view at the Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art (Suruga-ku, Shizuoka City) until Sunday, December 6. It displays about 110 works by Kawanabe Kyosai (1831–89), a painter active from the late Edo period through the Meiji era, selected from the collection of the London-based collector Israel Goldman. According to the museum, more than half are being shown in Japan for the first time. It is a touring exhibition following the Suntory Museum of Art (Tokyo) and the Kobe City Museum, and the Shizuoka showing also displays “Momotaro Subjugating the Demons,” a new addition to the collection.

Who was Kawanabe Kyosai? A painter who studied with Kuniyoshi and the Kano school

According to the exhibition’s official website, Kyosai was born in 1831 in Koga, Shimosa Province (now Ibaraki Prefecture). From around age seven he studied for about two years with the ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi, and he then trained in the Surugadai Kano school. The Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art notes that he mastered the techniques of the Surugadai Kano school under Maemura Towa and Kano Tohaku Chinshin.

He painted improvised pictures in front of audiences (sekiga) and often took part in gatherings of calligraphers and painters. At one such gathering in 1870, a picture he painted while drunk was deemed offensive and he was imprisoned; the following year he changed his art name to “Kyosai.” After Japan opened to the world, the British architect Josiah Conder and others became his pupils. He died in 1889 at age 59.

Kyosai also had close ties to Shizuoka Prefecture. He visited his mother, who had moved to Numazu, and befriended local people. His subjects ranged widely, from gods and Buddhas, yokai and animals to genre scenes and caricatures.

Why see it in Shizuoka now? A collection over 40 years in the making, and displays exclusive to Shizuoka

The Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art describes Goldman as one of the world’s foremost collectors of Kyosai. According to the museum, his collecting, which began more than 40 years ago, continues to grow. The exhibition opened at the Suntory Museum of Art in April 2026 and traveled to Shizuoka via the Kobe City Museum, where it opened in July.

Two features are exclusive to the Shizuoka showing. One is the display of “Momotaro Subjugating the Demons” (c. 1870, color on silk, pair of hanging scrolls), a new addition to the Israel Goldman Collection; the museum highlights its brilliant coloring and detailed depiction, which display Kyosai’s skill. The other is a special display of works by Kyosai’s teachers, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Maemura Towa and Kano Tohaku Chinshin, none of which come from the Goldman Collection.

According to the list of works, Kuniyoshi’s prints are drawn from the Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art’s own “Famous Places of the Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido and Four Post Towns” (c. 1830). The first period shows “Yui,” “Okitsu,” “Ejiri,” “Fuchu” and “Mariko,” and the second period “Okabe,” “Fujieda,” “Shimada” and “Kanaya.” Maemura Towa is represented by “Dongfang Shuo,” and Kano Tohaku Chinshin by a pair of six-panel “Landscape” screens (both private collections).

What can be seen? Beasts, people, demons, gods and Buddhas

According to the exhibition’s official website, it is organized in six chapters: “Stars of the Goldman Collection,” “Beasts,” “People,” “Demons,” “Gods and Buddhas” and “Masterpieces of Printmaking.” The Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art says it introduces the painterly skill and humorous imagination Kyosai displayed across diverse genres, from figures and animals to gods, Buddhas and demons. The main works are as follows.

• “Hell Courtesan and Ikkyu,” 1871–89

• “School of Frogs,” early 1870s

• “King Enma and the Mirror of Judgment,” 1871–89, possibly 1887

• “Nekomata (Monster Cat),” 1871–89

• “Shoki Riding an Elephant,” mid-1870s

• “Skeleton in Western Dress Playing the Shamisen with Dancing Yokai”

According to the official website, “Beasts” takes up Kyosai’s signature subjects such as crows, frogs and cats; his animal paintings were at once observations of nature, traditional subjects and a means of satirizing society. Many of the demons in “Demons” evoke familiarity and charm rather than fear, and Kyosai, a lover of sake, is said to have identified himself with demons. “Masterpieces of Printmaking” introduces early impressions in good condition and rare works, including satirical ukiyo-e from the period of political upheaval.

Display changes and related events

There is a display change during the run: the first period runs from Saturday, October 10 to Sunday, November 8, and the second period from Tuesday, November 10 to Sunday, December 6. Floor lectures by curators will be held at 14:00 on Sunday, October 25 and Saturday, November 14, for about 30 minutes (meet in Gallery 1 of the Main Building; about 20 people each; exhibition ticket required; no application needed).

On Sunday, November 15, from 14:00 to 15:30, Director Naoyuki Kinoshita will give the director’s art lecture “Riding an Elephant into the World of Kyosai” in the auditorium, discussing Kyosai’s appeal starting from his paintings of elephants. On Tuesday, November 3 (national holiday), from 10:00 to 15:00, there is also a “Kyosai Quiz Rally,” which anyone with an exhibition ticket can join without applying.

On Monday, November 23 (national holiday), from 10:00 to 16:00, the Nihonga painter Aya Kusaka will lead the workshop “Yokai Will Ghostwrite Your Murmurs” in the studio and galleries. Participants learn Kyosai’s line techniques while drawing their own small, honest feelings in the form of yokai. Capacity is 12, and materials cost about 500 yen. Applications are accepted online or by application form and must arrive by Tuesday, November 10; participants are chosen by lottery.

Tickets, prices and access

Admission is 1,500 yen for adults (1,300 yen for groups) and 800 yen for those 70 and over (700 yen for groups), and free for university students and younger. Sales of advance tickets (adults 1,300 yen) ended on October 9. The special exhibition ticket also admits visitors to the collection exhibition and the Rodin Wing. Holders of a physical disability certificate or similar and one companion are admitted free. The concurrent collection exhibition “Masterpieces of Landscape Painting” includes Tani Buncho’s “Spring Colors over Mountain Ranges” and Ike no Taiga’s Important Cultural Property “Orchid Pavilion Gathering and Longshan Gathering,” among other works.

Opening hours are 10:00–17:30 (last entry to the galleries 17:00). The museum is closed every Monday; when Monday is a national holiday or substitute holiday, it is open that day and closed the following day. It is about a 25-minute walk or about 6 minutes by bus from JR Kusanagi Station (South Exit), and about a 15-minute walk or about 3 minutes by bus from Kenritsu Bijutsukan-mae Station on the Shizutetsu line. During the exhibition, the museum’s restaurant “Rodin Terrace” serves a “Japanese-style pasta with shiitake and tofu, scented with yuzu kosho,” inspired by Kyosai’s fondness for tofu.

Editor’s perspective

In addition to Goldman’s new acquisition, the Shizuoka showing presents works by Kuniyoshi and the Surugadai Kano school, with whom Kyosai studied. Being able to compare his two artistic origins, ukiyo-e and the Kano school, against the works of his teachers is one reason to see the exhibition in Shizuoka. Because the Kuniyoshi prints change between the first and second periods, those who want to see both sets will need to visit twice.

Ukiyo-e of the late Edo and Meiji periods is introduced in our article on the “New! Ukiyo-e Exhibition”. Autumn and winter events in the Tokai region are gathered in our guide to art and light events in Tokai.

Overview

Name: The World of Kawanabe Kyosai: Goldman Collection
Dates: Saturday, October 10 – Sunday, December 6, 2026 (first period: until Sunday, November 8; second period: from Tuesday, November 10)
Hours: 10:00–17:30 (last entry to the galleries 17:00)
Closed: Mondays (if a national holiday or substitute holiday, open that day and closed the following day)
Venue: Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art, Main Building galleries
Address: 53-2 Yada, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka City
Admission: Adults 1,500 yen, 70 and over 800 yen, university students and younger free (group rates available)
Organizers: Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art, The Asahi Shimbun
Supported by: British Council
Sponsor: Live Art Books (Daishinsha)
Cooperation: All Nippon Airways
Official website: https://spmoa.shizuoka.shizuoka.jp/exhibition/detail/136
*Information as of October 19, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: Exterior of the Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art, June 2014 (photo: Edomura no Tokuzo, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on press materials from the Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art (September 30, 2026) and information on its official website and the exhibition’s official website.

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team