"Takashi Murakami: The 500 Arhats" will start on Saturday, October 31, 2015. Paintings by Nagasawa Rosetsu and Kano Kazunobu that greatly inspired Takashi Murakami's The 500 Arhats will be on view at the Mori Art Museum. Nagasawa Rosetsu's recently re-discovered microscopic painting depicts the 500 arhats and animal figures on a 3-centimeter square area. In contrast, Kano Kazunobu's Five Hundred Arhats is a voluminous series, consisting of 100 copiously painted scrolls produced over a period of 10 years. It depicts the training of the arhats and their acts of salvation. Kazunobu's dense colors and obsessive depictions overwhelm the viewers. Displaying the paintings of Nagasawa Rosetsu and Kano Kazunobu in conjunction with Takashi Murakami's The 500 Arhats allows a dialogue between the Edo artists and the artist of our time.
* Selections will be exhibited in rotation during the exhibition period.
Kano Kazunobu
Scroll 22 ("The Six Realms: Hell"), Five Hundred Arhats
End of Edo period Ink and color on silk 172.3 × 85.3 cm
Collection: Zojoji Temple, Tokyo
Nagasawa Rosetsu
Five Hundred Arhats
1798 Ink and light color on paper 3.1 × 3.1 cm
Private collection
■Relevant information
"Takashi Murakami: The 500 Arhats"
Saturday, October 31, 2015 - Sunday, March 6, 2016
"TAKASHI MURAKAMI: THE 500 ARHATS" Exhibition Highlights, Vol.1
The Japan Premiere of Takashi Murakami's Epic, "The 500 Arhats"
"TAKASHI MURAKAMI: THE 500 ARHATS" Exhibition Highlights, Vol. 2
500 Arhats by Edo Artists, Nagasawa Rosetsu and Kano Kazunobu
"TAKASHI MURAKAMI: THE 500 ARHATS" Exhibition Highlights, Vol. 3
The "NOW" of Takashi Murakami Through a Number of His Latest Works
