We discover the Fukuda Art Museum in the company of its Deputy Director Takemoto Ayako. Located in the famed Kyoto suburb of Arashiyama, the museum sits on a terrific site facing the Ōi river and its surrounding mountains. Inspired by this beautiful setting, architect Koichi Yasuda designed a building made of glass and steel.

The Fukuda Museum opened its doors in 2019. Its founder Mr Fukuda, who began acquiring works of art about twenty years ago, always had in mind to establish a museum one day. Today the collection counts close to 2,000 works and features major Japanese painters from the Edo period to the early 20 th century. Many of the are from Kyoto or were active in the city. The collection continues to grow and counts several works not previously presented to the public.

For the building’s design, as Ayako-san explains, Koichi Yasuda had to work around the strict local architecture guidelines that limit the use of transparent glass. The architect therefore thought about incorporating patterns within the façade and selected a traditional motif called ajiro moyo, which is inspired by fishermen’s nets.

The garden was created by Yasuhiko Mitani.

As we visit the museum, there is a special exhibition about Itō Jakuchū (1716-1800). Born in Kyoto to a prosperous greengrocer family, Jakuchū first took over the business but in his late thirties decided to take up painting and become a lay Buddhist. He had several sources of inspiration, including Chinese painting and the so-called Nagasaki school, as well as direct observation from nature. His meticulously painted works show a highly individual style, a brilliant combination of realism, decorative aesthetic, bold composition and stunning colours.

As Ayako-san introduces the artist, we catch glimpses of four works in ink by Jakuchū done early in his career (from left to right):

• Black-eyed Peas (2 nd half of the 18 th century)
Hanging scroll, ink on paper, 106.8 x 39 cm

• Lu Dongbin (2 nd half of the 18 th century)
Hanging scroll, ink on paper, 116 x 52.8 cm

• Horse (2 nd half of the 18 th century)
Hanging scroll, ink on silk, 112.8 x 30.3 cm

• Rooster and Willow (2nd half of 18th century)
Hanging scroll, ink on silk, 102.3 x 40. cm

Then Ayako-san presents two highlights from the exhibition:

Rooster and Hen with Turnips (2 nd half of the 18 th century)
Hanging scroll, colours on paper, 191.5 x 111cm
This is thought to be Jakuchū’s earliest work of art.

Carp (2 nd half of the 18 th century)
Hanging scroll, a pair, ink on paper, 120.5 x 50.5 cm
Ayako-san describes sujime-gaki, which can be translated as “ink-resist line drawing”.

In this technique masterfully employed by the artist here, brush loads of ink are applied to highly absorbent paper. The ink bleeds while white lines are naturally formed between the successive brush loads, creating patterns and texture.
Finally, we see a fascinating scroll by Jakuchū that was only rediscovered last year in a private collection in Europe and is now being shown to the public for the first time:

Fruits and Vegetables, 1791
Handscroll, colour on silk, 30.5 x 277.5 cm

As the owner of a greengrocer’s shop, Jakuchū had close contacts with the subject depicted. His rendition skilfully captures the distinctive characteristics of each of the fruits and vegetables featured on the scroll, which unrolls to more than three meters. The work shows Jakuchū’s distinctive flair for observation, composition and colour. The artist painted this when he was in his mid-seventies.

The video was shot during the exhibition Miraculous Appearance in Kyoto Arashiyama! The extremely rare scroll by Itō Jakuchū on public display for the first time!

Museum website: https://fukuda-art-museum.jp/en/

Museum Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fukuda_art_museum

Supported by the Toshiba International Foundation