Komura Settai
in Perspective: A Secret Sense of Beauty

This exhibition brings together many of the works regarded as Settai Komura’s signature achievements. Highlights include Nihonbashi, written by Kyoka Izumi, Komura’s debut work as a book designer, as well as preparatory drawings and original illustrations for Kanji Kunieda’s novels Osen and Oden Jigoku, which established his reputation as an illustrator. The exhibition also features original illustrations for the serialized newspaper novels Sankai Hyobanki and Edo Yakusha. The whereabouts of these works were only identified in recent years, and this exhibition marks the first time they have been shown outside their respective home institutions—the Izumi Kyoka Kinenkan Museum and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.

Throughout his life, Settai Komura held Kyoka Izumi in the highest regard and belonged to a circle of writers and artists centered around the novelist. In addition to materials related to Izumi, this exhibition presents works by artists and writers who admired him, including Kiyokata Kaburaki and Ton Satomi. The exhibition also features works by Eikyu Matsuoka, whose art had a profound influence on Komura’s nihonga. In addition, Junikagetsu Zu Renpuku and Kusamakura Emaki—collaborative works created by Matsuoka and his pupils—are being exhibited for the first time in a solo exhibition devoted to Komura. Also on view are outstanding examples of ukiyo-e by Harunobu Suzuki and Utagawa Kunisada I, artists whose work had a significant influence on Komura.

This exhibition presents a chronological overview of Settai Komura’s creative activities, highlighting the many different fields in which he worked throughout his career. Organized into eight chapters, it traces approximately twenty-five years of Komura’s artistic career. Approximately 700 works and archival materials are presented in two rotations, with different selections on view during the first and second exhibition periods.