Ask an art lover to name Japanese women artists active before the 20th century, and chances are they'll draw a blank, despite the fact that many highly accomplished women were painting in far-earlier times.
Fortunately, there is now rising interest in understanding the lives and work of these women, as evidenced by a pair of linked exhibitions running in Tokyo through June 21: "Uemura Shoen and Splendid Japanese Women Artists," at the Yamatane Museum of Art, and "Splendid Japanese Women Artists in the Edo Period," at the Kosetsu Memorial Museum on the campus of Jissen Women's University in Shibuya. Together, they showcase the work of more than 40 Japanese women painters born in the 17th to 19th centuries.
Nihonga (Japanese-style painting) artist Shoen Uemura (1875-1949) gets top billing at the Yamatane's show, and not only because her lyrical bijinga (beautiful women paintings) are such an automatic draw for modern museum goers. Uemura is without question an important figure in the history of Japanese women artists in that she achieved an unprecedented level of recognition within her lifetime.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.