In Japan, nature has been skillfully incorporated into works of art that bring joy to daily life. Kyoto in particular continues to enchant many people as a city where life, nature, and art are closely interlinked.
Traditionally, people in Japan kept track of the changing seasons by dividing the year into 24 terms. This exhibition of selected works of art and craft from our own collection as well as video materials introduces natural phenomena, flowers, animals, festivals, and events woven into the tapestry of life in Kyoto, presented according to these 24 seasonal terms. We hope that this exhibition will create opportunities for visitors to engage with the rich connections among daily life, nature, and art over the course of the year, and to re-examine our contemporary world as nature and the social environment undergo drastic changes.