Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on July 2012

Thirty years since his last exhibition, an artist who tried to restore the primacy of classical line drawing at a time when it was under assault by Modernism is under reevaluation. Tokyo artist Kikkawa Reika (1875-1929) studied ukiyo-e and yamato-e techniques under the masters, and tried to give their line-based vocabulary new relevance in the 20th century. MOMAT is now revisiting his extensive career in a show of 100 works that take up traditional Oriental themes but are at the same time forcefully modern in flavor.

The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, until Jul 29 (listing).