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- Foreword
The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria is pleased to present Edo: Arts of Japans Last Shogun Age. This exhibition and catalogue examines the society of Edo Japan (1603-1868) through the arts of the period. The woodblock prints, in particular, offer unrivalled material for the study of daily life among the four classes in Japanese society during the Edo period. Over the years the AGGV has been able to present significant exhibitions on specialized aspects of Japanese art. This exhibition continues that tradition and draws not only from the extensive AGGV Japanese art collection, but also from the private collections of Mr. Les Wright in Vancouver and others in Victoria. We are most grateful to them as well as to our numerous donors who have generously given so many wonderful works of art in the past.
We wish to thank the Department of Canadian Heritage through its Museum Assistance Program for the financial support of this exhibition and catalogue. Thanks must also go to David Lemon of the Health Arts Society for helping to make this project more accessible to a wider audience. The Art Gallery s Volunteer Committee, the British Columbia Arts Council and the Capital Regional Districts through the municipalities of Saanich, Victoria, Oak Bay and Esquimalt, have all contributed financial assistance, which has enabled the AGGV to undertake this special project.
We would like to thank Barry Till, Curator of Asian Art, for his work in developing, organizing and producing this project as well as the staff members who assisted him.
Jon Tupper Director March 2009
OPPOSITE
4. Beisanjin Okada (1744-1818) Prunus / Cerisiers calligraphy by
Koteri Murase (1744/6-1818) Hanging scroll, ink on silk
Beisanjin, which means rice mountain man, worked as a rice merchant in Osaka. He later became a self-taught painter and a Confucian scholar.
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