The Museum Collection currently consists of approximately 4,400 works of Kyoto modern art comprising Japanese paintings, Western-style paintings, sculpture, prints, crafts, and calligraphy. In particular, the Collection includes masterpieces representative of Japanese painting made by Kyoto artists between the Meiji and Showa periods, making it one of the leading collections of such works in Japan.

When women choose to paint women, what kind of women do they use as models? A genre called bijinga (Japanese style paintings of beautiful women) was developed between the Meiji and Showa periods in Japan. The few female painters of the time depicted women from the viewpoint of their own gender. Interestingly, many of them portrayed scenes from women’s everyday life: sitters dressed in fashionable clothing or at work, or depicted themselves in a casual manner. The Museum collection includes many works by the superior female artists in the Kyoto painting tradition, such as Uemura Shoen and Ito Shoha who are considered to be representative of the bijinga genre, as well as Akino Fuku and Kajiwara Hisako. Featuring a collection of these gems, this special display explores the artistic activities of the female painters and the beautiful paintings of women seen through their eyes.

2024 Collection Room