Works of Shiko Munakata from Kuraray collection in Kobe
04 Aug '06
3 min read
Vinylon sho hanga-saku (1951)
In addition to the Ohara Museum's collection, which is quite widely known, this exhibition will also feature other vinylon sho hanga-saku sets from the Company's private collection. These two collections are first shown on the same exhibition.
The Ohara Museum of Art (Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture) was founded by Kuraray's first president Magosaburo Ohara in 1930, and was Japan's first museum of western art.
Although Magosaburo and his son Soichiro collected mainly western art, they were also known for their knowledge of the Japanese folk art movement. Munakata's association with the Ohara family began in 1937 when Magosaburo asked Munakata to paint the fusuma in his residence.
Magosaburo's son Soichiro and Munakata developed a deep friendship and became almost like brothers, and one after another Munakata's paintings came to adorn the Ohara household.
The works were shown to the public in 1963 when the Munakata Shiko Hall of Wood Block Prints was established, which is now the Munakata Shiko Room in the Ohara Museum of Art. Of the approximately 300 works in the collection, approximately 60 are exhibited at one time.
Kuraray is a leader in the commercialization of PVOH (poval) fiber under the KURALON brand, ushering in Japan's pioneering era in the chemical synthetic fiber industry.
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