Made in early Japan before we have any written records, these intricately decorated ceramics leave much to mystery
Location Country: Japan
A portrait that celebrated Francis Xavier, the “Apostle of Japan” whose mission had inaugurated the Japanese Catholic Church.
A portrait of St. Francis Xavier and ...
Nature is often used as a metaphor for all elements of our world—natural and human.
Nature: spotlight — Sesshu Toyo’s Winter Landscape
Shōsōin repository held nine thousand artifacts from China, Southeast Asia, Iran, and the Middle East—connecting ancient Japan to the cultural trade of the Eurasian continent.
The Shōsōin Repository and its treasure
This atmospheric space awakens the eye, heightens the senses, and prepares the path for enlightenment.
Ryōanji (Peaceful Dragon Temple)
Zheng’s precise calligraphic strokes lend vitality and movement to these delicate flowers. But are they rootless?
Zheng Sixiao, Ink Orchid
Combining metallic curls with mottled color, Kôrin’s screens capture the pulsing vitality of early spring.
Ogata Kōrin, Red and White Plum Blossoms
These expressive funerary objects evolved from simple clay cylinders into animal, human, and building forms.
Haniwa Warrior
This massive temple was built to impress—twice. Its monumental timber frame required a veritable cypress forest.
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