Hirayama Ikuo (1930-2009) is one of the representative nihonga painters in the post-war Japan, and the theme of the Silk Road is the most important pillar which constructs his art. Under the proposition of what is Japanese culture, Hirayama stepped into the Silk Road for the first time in 1968 to seek the origin of it, and he had studied and collected data of the Silk Road for the next 40 or more years while he had continuously created his artworks inspired by the majestic landscapes of the historical crossroad of civilizations, ethnicities, religions and cultures, as well as the people who live there.
Hirayama had faced the danger of the devastation of precious historical and archaeological sites through his research and became known as an enthusiastic advocator and protector of the cultural heritages of the Silk Road.
This exhibition presents his main works of nihonga and sketches selected form the collection of Hirayama Ikuo Silk Road Museum, which are rendering beautiful landscapes of Eurasian continent and Japan. In addition to them, Gandhara art objects regarding mainly the life and legends of the historical Buddha are exhibited, which are selected from Hirayama’s valuable collection accumulated as a result of his cultural heritages preservation efforts.