Takehisa Yumeji’s Berlin-Era Painting Nanshi Soshun, Newly Donated, Shown for the First Time at the Yumeji Art Museum in Okayama Until December 6

The Yumeji Art Museum in Okayama City is showing for the first time “Nanshi Soshun” (Early Spring on a Southern Branch), a painting of a beautiful woman that Takehisa Yumeji (1884–1934) painted in 1933 during his stay in Berlin, in the special exhibition “Yumeji and Germany” marking the museum’s 60th anniversary. The work was given to the diplomat Imai (今井茂郎), who served as Yumeji’s interpreter and supported his daily life, and was donated to the museum by his son Mamoru Imai and Mamoru’s wife Hideko. The exhibition runs from Friday, September 4 to Sunday, December 6, 2026. Admission to the main building is 1,000 yen for adults.

What kind of work is Nanshi Soshun?

According to the museum, it depicts a woman with a Japanese hairstyle in a red kimono, leaning her elbow on a table in front of a book, lost in thought. In the background is a snow-covered plum branch. The year of production, the title and the artist’s signature are inscribed in ink. It is said to have been painted with Mrs. Kimiko Imai in mind.

Japanese painting materials are used together with Western ones, and the work incorporates rich colors reminiscent of oil painting and a Western-style composition. The materials used were identified through restoration and scientific analysis. The museum says that thanks to the family’s donation, the work has “come home” to Okayama.

Why now? The museum’s 60th anniversary and Yumeji’s Berlin years

The Yumeji Art Museum was founded in 1966 with the wish of bringing home the works of Yumeji, a native of Okayama, and marked its 60th anniversary in 2026. The special exhibition traces Yumeji’s path from his childhood longing for foreign lands to his travels in the United States and Europe and his late work in Berlin. Yumeji traveled around the United States and Europe from 1931 and stayed in Berlin in 1933. The exhibition sheds light on his experiences and work in a Berlin shaken by the rise of the Nazis.

The main building focuses on the period when Yumeji taught Japanese painting at the Itten-Schule, a Berlin art school that had branched off from the Bauhaus. On display are “On Japanese Painting,” which he wrote for his lectures, ink paintings for teaching techniques to students (National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto; shown for the first time in Okayama) and students’ studies (Masamune Bunko; shown for the first time). There are 130 works on display, and in addition to Nanshi Soshun, about ten of the “Travel Sketches (formerly in the collection of Fujokyu Masaki)” drawn during his stay in Europe are also shown for the first time. Yumeji is said to have kept these sketches with him until his final years.

An exhibition broadly tracing Yumeji’s work is also planned at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (see our article on “Takehisa Yumeji—An Artist Who Defined His Era”).

Related events in November and prices

From 14:00 to 15:00 on Saturday, November 7, the 64th culture lecture, “Takehisa Yumeji and the Itten-Schule in Berlin,” will be held in the main building. The lecturer is Yoshimasa Kaneko, professor emeritus at Kochi University; capacity is 30 (reservation required), and the fee is 500 yen (admission ticket required separately). From 17:00 to 18:00 on Saturday, November 21, there is “Evening Yumeji: A Premium Guided Tour,” a private viewing of the museum after closing with commentary by a curator. It includes a souvenir and costs 1,500 yen for adults, 1,100 yen for junior high, high school and university students and 900 yen for elementary school students. Reservations are first come, first served, and the tour requires a minimum of five participants.

Admission to the main building is 1,000 yen for adults, 600 yen for junior high, high school and university students and 400 yen for elementary school students. The Yumeji Birthplace Memorial Museum and Shonen Sanso in Setouchi City is also a venue, and a combined ticket with the main building costs 1,300 yen for adults, 650 yen for junior high, high school and university students and 500 yen for elementary school students. Groups of 20 or more receive a 20% discount, and Okayama Prefecture residents aged 65 and over receive a 10% discount with proof (discounts cannot be combined). Opening hours are 9:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:30), and the museum is closed on Mondays (or the following day if Monday is a national holiday or substitute holiday).

Overview

Name: Yumeji Art Museum 60th Anniversary Special Exhibition “Yumeji and Germany”
Dates: Friday, September 4 – Sunday, December 6, 2026
Hours: 9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30)
Closed: Mondays (or the following day if a national holiday or substitute holiday)
Venues: Yumeji Art Museum Main Building (2-1-32 Hama, Naka-ku, Okayama City); Yumeji Birthplace Memorial Museum and Shonen Sanso (2000-1 Honjo, Oku-cho, Setouchi City, Okayama Prefecture)
Admission: Main building: adults 1,000 yen, junior high, high school and university students 600 yen, elementary school students 400 yen / Combined ticket for the main building and the Birthplace Memorial Museum and Shonen Sanso: adults 1,300 yen, junior high, high school and university students 650 yen, elementary school students 500 yen
Organizer: Yumeji Art Museum, Ryobi Foundation for Cultural Promotion
Official website: https://yumeji-art-museum.com/honkan/honkan_60th_fall/
*Information as of October 20, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: Takehisa Yumeji, “Nanshi Soshun,” Yumeji Art Museum (from a press release by Ryobi Holdings Co., Ltd.)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on press materials from Ryobi Holdings Co., Ltd. (September 3, 2026) and information on the Yumeji Art Museum’s official website.

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team