Japan American Amity Museum

February 14–September 27, 2015Exhibition Location: Arts of Japan Galleries, 223–232The 100th anniversary in 2015 of the Department of Asian Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art offers an ideal opportunity to explore the history of the Museum’s collection of Japanese art. Showcasing more than 200 masterworks in a variety of media, Discovering Japanese Art: American Collectors and The Met will tell the story of how the Museum built its comprehensive collection of Japanese art beginning in the early 1880s, when the Museum owned just a small, eclectic array of Japanese decorative arts. Works on view include the world-renowned Great Wave by Hokusai and brilliantly colored screen paintings such as Irises at Yatsuhashi by Ogata K?rin and Morning Glories by Suzuki Kiitsu. For the first time in over a decade, magnificent sliding-door paintings that once belonged to the Zen monastery Ry?anji in Kyoto will be on display. Spanning ancient to modern times, the exhibition will explore the trends that shaped art collecting and the reception of Japanese art in the United States. Moreover, it will shed light on key American collectors and curators whose passion for Japanese art helped the Museum build its now world-renowned collection. About 70 works will be rotated into the exhibition in June.