In Kamigata (present-day Osaka and Kyoto), the constant production of their unique ukiyo-e began in the late 18th century, about a century later than in Edo (Tokyo). So, the history of ukiyo-e in Kamigata is relatively shorter than in Edo, and the total number of pieces produced is not large. In Edo, various types of ukiyo-e were produced, such as yakusha-e portraying Kabuki actors, bijin-ga illustrating beautiful women, and fukei-ga depicting notable sites. However, in Kamigata, it was characteristic of local ukiyo-e to have a preponderance of yakusha-e actor prints over any other type.
The National Theatre has an excellent collection of Kamigata ukiyo-e, primarily centering around pieces from the late Edo period (1853-1867) to the Meiji period (1868-1912). In addition to the yakusha-e actor prints, the collection has a wide variety of pieces, including omocha-e toy prints about traditional entertainment, ichimai-zuri single-sheet prints of popular songs with lyrics written by rakugo storytellers, and nishiki-e newspapers, which tell us how people then enjoyed entertainment cultures.
The National Theatre’s Kamigata ukiyo-e collection is unique, distinctive, and original, even when looking at it from a global perspective. This exhibition displays many rare ukiyo-e prints that are exhibited for the first time or are not found elsewhere. Please enjoy the quaint Kamigata ambiance and style, different from that of Edo.

Supervised by Kitagawa Hiroko,
a part-time professor at Konan Women's University

Dates

Nov 2 (Wed), 2022－Apr 9 (Sun), 2023
（ Early period : Nov 2 (Wed), 2022－Jan 28 (Sat), 2023 ）
（ Latter period : Feb 4 (Sat), 2023－Apr 9 (Sun) ）

Hours

10：00－18：00

Closed

Dec 29 (Thu), 2022－Jan 2 (Mon), 2023　Jan 29 (Sun)－Feb 3 (Fri)

Venue

Traditional Performing Arts Information Centre / Information Exhibition room (first floor)
(on the premises of National Theatre)

Admission

Free