Hara Museum ARC

In Japan, a variety of imaginary characters endowed with unique powers appear in many of the tales that have been passed down through the ages. Over time, these characters came to be used in a variety of cultural contexts including as subject matter in artworks to convey religious meaning, the wish for long life, prosperity for one’s descendants, and other auspicious tidings.
In the paintings and other artworks introduced here, we see such images as a dragon with the power to bring rain, a sage with supernatural powers and the goddess Bodhisattva transforming into a different form in response to a human prayer.A unique feature of the Kankai Pavilion is the simultaneous display of traditional art along with selected works of　contemporary art from the Hara Museum Collection.

Featured Works
Traditional Art: Portrait of Lei Zi, Sesson, Muromachi period / Avalokitesvara appearing from the calm, Kano Tan′yu, Edo period / Dragon and tiger, Kano Tan’yu, Edo period / Pair of cranes and an old pine tree, Shen Quan, Qing dynasty and others Contemporary Art: Andy Warhol, Pepsi, 1976–86 / Jae-Eun Choi, Homage to Mozart, 1991 / Anish Kapoor, Void, 1992 and others