Playful Heart: Cats in Ukiyo-e Prints

Playful Heart: Cats in Ukiyo-e Prints
What was ukiyo-e to people during the Edo period? One of many answers to this question is asobi gokoro, literally translated as "playful heart." Japan Society Gallery Director Miwako Tezuka talks with Mitsunobu Satō, Director of the Hiraki Ukiyo-e Foundation, about the playfulness abundantly expressed in the cat prints from his foundation.
Friday, March 13 – Sunday, June 7, 2015
Since arriving in Japan aboard Japanese ships transporting sacred Buddhist scriptures from China in the mid-sixth century, cats have proceeded to purr and paw their way into the heart of Japanese life, folklore, and art. Life of Cats: Selections from the Hiraki Ukiyo-e Collection illustrates the depth of this mutual attraction by mining the wealth of bravura depictions of cats to be found in ukiyo-e woodblock prints of the Edo Period (1615-1868).
Ninety ukiyo-e prints in the exhibition are on loan from the esteemed Hiraki Ukiyo-e Foundation whose holdings are revered in Japan. Select prints, paintings, sculptures, and other works borrowed from U.S. collections complement these prints, making the exhibition over 120 artworks. With cross-cultural and multi-generational appeal, Life of Cats takes viewers on a wild ride through Japan’s love affair with our feline friends.