The artworks of an eminent father and son form the center of a striking exhibition that recently opened at Tokyo National Museum. On show in "Fusuma Paintings of Jukoin" are rare works by Kano Eitoku (1543-1590) and his father, Kano Shoei (1519-1592), which have been designated as national treasures. Considered to be masterpieces of Japanese decorative art, the principal works in the exhibition date from the late Muromachi Period (1392-1573).
The grand scale of the paintings -- there are no less than 46 of the exquisitely decorated sliding wall panels known as fusuma -- presented an unusual challenge. The museum has risen to it in style, however, meticulously re-creating the layout of Jukoin Temple's main rooms and thus displaying the paintings in authentic surroundings.
A sub-temple of the large Zen monastery Daitokuji in Kyoto, Jukoin was founded in 1566. The temple is most famous as the burial site of the great tea master Sen-no-Rikyu (1522-1591). Given the temple's association with Rikyu, it is only appropriate that his prized tea ceremony utensils are also included in the display.
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