Matsuri!

The calendar in Japan is marked by numerous festivals, or matsuri. They have diverse origins, ranging from the religions of Buddhism and Shinto and ancient cultural practices, to seasonal changes and movements of the stars.

Artists have long found inspiration in the legends and pageantry surrounding these festivals. On view in Matsuri! are screens, woodblock prints, and hanging scrolls, by artists such as Utagawa Kuniyoshi and Shibata Zeshin, that reveal surprisingly different approaches to a single subject.

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Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797–1861). Fire Brigade Acrobatics (Firemen’s Festival) on New Year’s Day. Japan, Edo period (1615–1868), c. 1830s (detail). Woodblock print; ink and color on paper. Gift of James A. Michener, 1991 
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