Japan’s leading master of the bijin-ga genre (portraits of female beauty), Kiyokata Kaburaki (1878-1972) started out as an illustrator for popular novels and later helped found Ugokai, an art group focused on popularising bijin-ga, in 1901. This led to a change in career as he became more interested in Japanese-style painting and began to produce works inspired by literature.
One of Kaburaki’s signature pieces, ‘Tsukiji Akashi-cho Town’, went missing in 1975 and was just recently rediscovered and acquired by The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. To celebrate, a special exhibition has been organised for its unveiling and also to showcase the artist’s other works such as ‘Shintomi-cho Town’, ‘Hama- cho Gashi Zone’ and a portrait of San’yutei Encho, which has been designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan.