2025 03 27 – 05 11 Exhibited at Art Gallery (Respublikos str. 3)
Opening March 27, 5 p.m.
„The Japan Foundation endeavors to promote international mutual understanding, setting its mission “Cultivating friendship and ties between Japan and the world,” in its main areas of activity, arts and cultural exchange, Japanese-language education overseas, and Japanese studies and intellectual exchange.
In the field of arts and cultural exchange, the Foundation focuses on activities to introduce Japanese art and culture to overseas, and in conjunction with these activities, the Foundation continuously conducts “Traveling Exhibition Program” organized with artworks from the Foundation’s own collection. These traveling exhibitions feature about 15 different types of art, including contemporary art, crafts, photography, architecture, design, manga, and Japanese dolls, and are held every year at approximately 80 museums and exhibition facilities around the world. It is our hope that these exhibitions, which connect Japan and other countries, will bring people together and generate a dialogue around creativity through the sharing of rich artistic experiences.
The traveling exhibition “NINGYŌ: Art and Beauty of Japanese Dolls” was prepared as a successor to our highly popular traveling exhibition “The Dolls of Japan: Shapes of Prayer, Embodiments of Love.” Under the title NINGYŌ, which means “human shape” in Japanese, the doll culture that has been cultivated over the long history of Japan will be introduced through a total of 67 carefully selected dolls, divided into 4 sections: “Ningyō to pray for children’s growth”, “Ningyō as fine art”, “Ningyō as folk art”, and “Spread of Ningyō culture”.
The fact that dolls are an indispensable part of our daily lives is not limited to Japan, but the diversity of dolls and their delicate craftsmanship, backed by a deep love of dolls, could be said to be the characteristics of Japanese doll culture. This exhibition presents a comprehensive introduction to Japanese doll culture, from Katashiro and Amagatsu, which are considered to be the archetypes of dolls in Japan, to local dolls that reflect the climate and anecdotes from across the country, to dress-up dolls that are beloved in Japan today as doll toys, and scale figures that are highly regarded around the world. We appreciate that each doll on exhibition would be warmly welcomed all over the world, and that many audiences would experience the charm of Japanese dolls.
Finally, we would also like to express our sincere gratitude to all of the doll artists who kindly agreed to take part in exhibiting their works, to our supervisors, Mr. Hayashi Naoteru and Mr. Mita Kakuyuki, and to all those who provided their generous support, assistance, and contribution.“
The Japan Foundation
”
The Japan Foundation
