Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum 100th Anniversary: The British Museum's Japanese Art Collection – A Profusion of Flowers: Edo Paintings Across the Sea

The British Museum's Japanese Art Collection Comes Together in Ueno

A touring exhibition presenting Japanese artworks from the British Museum in London is being held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum (Ueno Park, Taito-ku). From the museum's Japanese collection of approximately 40,000 items, the exhibition introduces masterpieces of folding screens, hanging scrolls and picture scrolls, centered on prints by eight ukiyo-e artists representing the Edo period, including Kitagawa Utamaro, Toshusai Sharaku, Katsushika Hokusai and Utagawa Hiroshige.

Highlights

• Katsushika Hokusai's Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji: Under the Wave off Kanagawa, considered one of the finest impressions in the world, is on display. Up close, you can appreciate the texture of the waves and the spray created by multicolor printing techniques taken to their limit.
• On display is Courtesan Reading a Letter (Fumi yomu yūjo), one of only around 50 surviving paintings by Kitagawa Utamaro known in the world.
• Also included are works returning to Japan from the UK for the first time, such as Katsushika Hokusai's Underdrawing for the Bansui Ehon Taizen.

Exhibition Details

The exhibition runs from Saturday, July 25 to Sunday, October 18, 2026, and will close soon. Opening hours are 9:30–17:30 (until 20:00 on Fridays), with entry until 30 minutes before closing. The museum is closed on Mondays (except August 10, September 21 and October 12, when it is open) and on Tuesday, October 13.