Japan is a country with four seasons. This has long been an accepted fact, and most visitors to the country have been assured of it on numerous occasions. The progress of the seasons is a usual topic of conversation and is always mentioned at the beginning of any personal letter. Poetry, especially haiku and tanka, is keyed to the seasons by a system of code words that has grown over the centuries.
The visual iconography of the seasons is also both extensive and specific; a particular bird or flower in a design may pinpoint not only the season but the month, as well as calling forth a wealth of other (especially poetic) associations.
This visual iconography has been used and contributed to by every branch of Japanese art, and in celebration of its 40th anniversary, the Suntory Museum has mounted a varied show of items from the museum collection that celebrate the passing of the seasons.