The exhibition “Deities in Stone” held from January to April 2019 was well received by visitors. We are pleased to bring back the exhibition which presented the entire collection of Oriental sculptures in Eisei Bunko Museum with some changes in the exhibits.

Hosokawa Moritatsu (1883-1970), the founder of Eisei Bunko Museum, developed an early interest in Chinese classical literature and started collecting Oriental arts when he traveled around Europe. He collected not only Chinese antiquities and ceramics but also gilt bronze and stone Chinese Buddhist statues and sculptures from India and Southeast Asia. Especially noteworthy is the Chinese sculpture collection from the Northern Wei to the Tang Dynasty, which contains many precious works representing these eras. Many of these sculptures originally belonged to Hayasaki Kokichi (1874-1956), a pioneer in collecting Chinese art and introducing them to modern Japan.

This exhibition introduces Chinese sculptures designated as Important Cultural Properties, such as “Seated Bodhisattva in Meditation pose” and “Seated Buddha”, along with various Indian sculptures displayed for the first time in seven years.

In April 2026, ten years will have passed since the Kumamoto Earthquake. Kumamoto Castle, originally built by Kato Kiyomasa and later serving as the seat of the Hosokawa family for approximately 240 years, is widely regarded as one of Japan’s great castles. The historical materials preserved in the Eisei Bunko Museum vividly convey the candid thoughts of the first Hosokawa feudal lord, Hosokawa Tadatoshi, who was entrusted with governing an important domain, as well as explanations of the functions of the castle’s iconic tenshu (main keep) and the restoration processes undertaken each time the castle suffered damage.

This exhibition traces the history of Kumamoto Castle from the perspective of the Hosokawa family. With prayers for Kumamoto’s continued recovery, the exhibition features Hosokawa-ke Monjo (Documents of the Hosokawa Family), newly designated as an Important Cultural Property in 2025, together with related works of art. The armors of the first lord Tadatoshi and the second lord Mitsunao, restored with the generous support of the crowdfunding “Cultural Property Restoration Project II,” will also be unveiled for the first time after conservation.

More than 400 years after its construction, Kumamoto Castle continues to stand with undiminished strength. We invite you to explore both the past and present of this famed castle, along with the latest updates on its restoration.

Kyogen, a theatrical art that has been performed continuously since the Muromachi period (1336–1573), is one of Japan’s most celebrated performing arts traditions. The stories unfold through dialogue and gestures on a Noh/Kyogen stage without elaborate sets. The characters are mostly ordinary, everyday people, and Kyogen plays offer both warm and incisive observations of human nature through humor. The plots of Kyogen depict the everyday lives of medieval Japanese people, and exaggerated movements and comical performances make the stories accessible and entertaining despite the use of classical language in the dialogue.

The Hosokawa family has had a deep appreciation for Noh and Kyogen since the time of its first head, Hosokawa Fujitaka (Yusai, 1534–1610). Consequently, they assembled a vast collection of Noh and Kyogen costumes and stage properties. In 1918, the Hosokawa family constructed a Noh theater (later destroyed in World War II) in present-day Fujimi, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo. Surviving photographs show Hosokawa Moritatsu (1883–1970), the founder of Eisei Bunko Museum, dressed in theatrical costumes.

This exhibition focuses on the Kyogen heritage passed down from the Hosokawa family to Eisei Bunko. Typical Kyogen costumes such as suo (semiformal suit), kataginu (sleeveless jacket), and han-bakama (ankle-length trousers), are generally made of ramie fabric and decorated with dyed patterns whose designs are simple yet striking, often employing attractive color contrasts. Masks range from humorous examples with exaggerated facial expressions to familiar representations of animals.

For this exhibition, we are honored to feature special commentary from Nomura Mansaku, Nomura Mansai, and Nomura Yuki, the three generations of the Mansaku-no-Kai Kyogen Company, who have kindly shared their perspectives as Kyogen performers. Since the costumes and masks are displayed at a closer distance than they would be viewed in performance, we hope visitors will enjoy their playful craftsmanship and design.

What Does “Ei Ei Yatto-na!” Mean?

“Ei Ei Yatto-na!” is one of the exclamatory phrases frequently heard in Kyogen performances. It is often uttered when a character jumps over something or throws an object. While classical dialogue is used in Kyogen narratives, humorous sound effects and onomatopoeic expressions such as “meri meri meri” and “guwara guwara guwara” enliven the performance.

Hakuin Ekaku (1685–1768), a Zen monk of the mid-Edo period, is respected as “the restorer of the Rinzai school.” He is known for having produced an enormous number of paintings and calligraphic works, through which he shared the teachings of Zen among the people.

Hosokawa Moritatsu (1883–1970), the founder of the Eisei Bunko Museum, began acquiring Hakuin’s works in his youth. At the age of sixteen, he fell ill with pleurisy, and was deeply moved by Hakuin’s writing “Yasen Kanna (Idle Talk on a Night Boat)” during his convalescence. Eisei Bunko Museum houses more than 300 works of Hakuin’s calligraphy and paintings collected by Moritatsu, forming one of the finest Hakuin collections in Japan in both quality and quantity.

With the cooperation of specialists, we have conducted a survey of works by Hakuin and related Zen monks in our collection. In the course of this research, it became clear that many of the Zen calligraphies and paintings held by Aizu Museum, Waseda University were originally collected by Hosokawa Moritatsu.

Based on the results of this approximately two-year investigation, we are pleased to present a joint exhibition at both Eisei Bunko Museum and Aizu Museum, Waseda University, featuring a selected group of works from the Eisei Bunko Hakuin collection. Hakuin’s works formerly owned by Moritatsu will also be displayed at Aizu Museum, Waseda University.

In the autumn of 2026, we invite you to fully enjoy the world of Hakuin at these two museums, located within walking distance of each other.

The successive heads of the Hosokawa family, who ruled the Kumamoto domain as feudal lords, are well known not only for their involvement in military affairs as warriors but also for their deep devotion to the arts and culture, including waka poetry, Noh performance, tea ceremony, natural history, and painting. This attitude toward aesthetic pursuits has been handed down continuously from Hosokawa Fujitaka and Tadaoki, the first and the second heads, who lived through the turbulent Warring States period, to the present day.

Hosokawa Moritatsu (1883–1970), the 16th head, was known as the “Art Lord” and collected swords, Zen paintings, and East Asian artworks, while supporting contemporary artists. In 1950, he founded the Eisei Bunko Foundation. Hosokawa Morisada (1912–2005), the 17th head, who served as the president of the Japan Kogei Association, published numerous books from the perspective of an art connoisseur, organized exhibitions of ceramic works, and collected artworks such as paintings and writing implements. Hosokawa Morihiro (b. 1938), after his political career as Governor of Kumamoto Prefecture and as the 79th Prime Minister of Japan, took up ceramics at the age of sixty. In recent years he has pursued an energetic creative practice, including dedicating fusuma paintings to temples in Kyoto and Nara. Hosokawa Morimitsu (b. 1972), who became Chairman of the Eisei Bunko Foundation in 2023, began making ceramics in his twenties and established his kiln in Kumamoto in 2006. He has since actively exhibited his works in solo exhibitions across Japan.

This exhibition presents the works created by four generations of the modern Hosokawa family; Moritatsu, Morisada, Morihiro, and Morimitsu. We invite visitors to experience the artistic endeavors that have been handed down through more than seven centuries of the Hosokawa lineage.