Smithsonian Asian Art Museum Exhibition With a New Take on Japanese Art

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The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, DC is hosting an exhibition and public programs focusing on Japanese art. It is attracting considerable attention as Japanese art enjoys great popularity in America. Running until late 2026, the exhibition represents an attempt to discover new appeal while incorporating a modern perspective.

The museum was founded in 1923 as the Freer Gallery of Art. Its collection was based on approximately 9,500 artworks donated by businessman Charles Lang Freer. Now boasting over 46,000 items, it is one of the largest and most prestigious collections of Asian art in North America. It is known as a "high temple of East Asian art" along with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Of these, the 15,000 examples of Japanese paintings, crafts, and calligraphy form the core of the collection.

Search for Contemporary Interest and Resonance

Frank Feltens, PhD, is the Japan Foundation Associate Curator of Japanese Art at the museum. He describes the reception of Japanese art in the United States as follows. "Various aspects of Japanese culture have enjoyed popularity [for some time]. Japonism flourished during the Meiji period, and Zen Buddhism became another major aspect of Japanese culture that found a welcome in the West in the decades after the war."

Dr Feltens adds: "From the decades following the end of the Cold War up to today, manga and anime have often been the gateway for many Americans to learn more about Japan and engage with Japanese culture more broadly.

The museum, which celebrated its centenary in 2023, has reconstructed its collection.

"The reimagining of our permanent Japanese exhibition sheds new light on key parts of our collection, creating a framework that resonates directly with contemporary concerns," explains Feltens.

The museum has adopted a unique approach. For example, it explains from a historical perspective how hay fever came about. Hay fever is an affliction that could be considered the "national ailment of Japan," came about.

*The famous "Chikusa" tea jar. National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection. Purchase: Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F2016.20.1*

Priceless 'Chikusa' Tea Jar to Be Displayed

The exhibition will showcase the reconstructed collection, with the masterpiece "Chikusa" tea jar put on display for the first time in ten years.

Sol Jong, assistant curator of the Shirley Z Johnson Collection, commented: "I would like museum visitors to note the somewhat unexpected combinations and arrangements of the works, made possible by the theme that connects different fields of Japanese art across eras." (The Shirley Z Johnson Collection consists of modern and contemporary Japanese metalwork donated to the museum by Shirley Z Johnson.)

"For example, in the exhibition room with the theme of "Environmental Change," you can enjoy Jomon period pottery excavated from Togariishi in Chino City, Nagano Prefecture, as well as a Rinpa folding screen from the mid-17th century (early Edo period) depicting trees. We hope you will see a slightly different side of Japanese art than what has been exhibited at our museum to date," she explains.

Trees 雑木林図屏風 (右隻） Screen (six-panel) Artist: Master of I-nen Seal (1600-1630) Edo period, mid 17th-century Rinpa Japan Ink, color and gold on paper H x W: 154 x 357.8 cm (60 5/8 x 140 7/8 in) (Credit: Master of I-nen Seal / National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection. Purchase: Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1962.30)

In addition, an initiative titled "Japan in Focus" will explore production methods in various fields. Works in metal, ceramics, and printmaking, are presented through five different exhibits.

The museum aims through its multi-year public programs to deepen insight into Japan. At the same time, it promotes an understanding of Japan's engagement and relationships with the United States.

Museum visitors will also be able to experience Japanese culture through touch, taste, smell, and other sensations. Online participation is available for some programs. For details, please visit the museum's official website.