Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on March 2010

For Haiku Poems in Basho’s Narrow Road to the Interior, 1976
Courtesy of The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto

Showing until April 11 at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Ono Chikkyo—120 Years After His Birth is a major retrospective of one of the most accessible of Japan’s nihonga painters. Born in 1889 and painting up until his death in 1979, Ono demonstrates some of the currents that flowed through Japanese neo-traditional art in the modern age. An early interest in nanga (paintings inspired by classical Chinese literature) was supplanted in the war years by Yamato-e, a more self-consciously Japanese style. By his later career, Ono had perfected the ability to capture the essence of Japanese scenery in formalistically simple works. This exhibition presents around 100 of his most famous paintings, including a series based on Basho’s haiku. In Ono’s hands, the poem (“They planted/an entire paddy/ere I moved from the willow tree”) creates an enchanting image of blue sky and clouds reflected in the rice field’s flooded surface.

The National Museum of Modern Art
Ono Chikkyo: 120 Years After His Birth. Painting. Until Apr 11, free (MS and under)/¥400 (HS)/¥900 (univ)/¥1,300 (adult). 3-1 Kitanomaru Park, Chiyoda-ku. Tel: 03-5777-8600 (Hello Dial). Open Tue-Sun 10am-5pm (Fri until 8pm), closed Mon. Nearest stn: Takebashi, exit 1B. www.momat.go.jp