Tokai Gábor szerk.: Fujiyama, A japán szépség Hokusai, Hiroshige fametszetein és fényképeken (A Magyar Nemzeti Galéria kiadványai 2005/4)

Foreword to the exhibition of ukiyo-e and contemporary photos: 'Fujiyama'

Foreword to the exhibition of ukiyo-e and contemporary photos: Fujiyama' I have the pleasure to welcome you at the exhibition of the Hungarian National Gallery, which introduces Fuji Mountain through the ukiyo-e pictures of Katsushika Hokusai and Utagawa Hiroshige and the photos of the contemporary photographer, Tomitsuka Haruo. Herewith I would like to express my thanks to Chester Beatty Library of Ireland, the National Museum in Cracow in Poland, the Ena Hiroshige Museum of Gifu Prefecture in Japan, and the Hiraki Ukiyo-e Museum for lending these works of art as well as to the Government of the Republic of Hungary and the Japanese and Hungarian volunteers who took efforts for the realization of this exhibition. Fuji is the most famous Japanese mountain, a symbol of Japanese beauty, and an object of admiration. Due to its sublime shape, it is respected with almost religious devotion. The mountain found its way to people's hearts in old ages, too. The series entitled 'Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji' by Hokusai, artist of the first half of the 19

lh century, became a pioneering work of ukiyo-e landscapes. Hokusai's work inspired the other significant ukiyo-e artist, Hiroshige, to create its own series 'Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji'. The works of Hokusai and Hiroshige soon became popular with not only the elite, but all classes and it is well-known that the bold picture composition and colour scheme influenced European painters as well, especially Monet, Van Gogh and the Impressionist painters of the 19'

h century. I hope that through the two ufc/yo-e-painter giants' pictures elaborating the same topic, you will also be touched by the attractive force of Fuji Mountain and ukiyo-e. I also hope that through comparing the works of the two artists, the differences between their landscapes, their style will also reveal themselves to your eyes. On the occasion of the present exhibition, besides the woodblock prints, photos of contemporary photographer Tomitsuka Haruo taken of Fuji can also be seen. I am confident that this especially original exhibition of characteristic Japanese ukiyo-e prints and modern photographs depicting the mountain in different seasons and from different angles, will touch the heart of the guests. The year 2005 is the 'EU-Japan Year of People to People Exchanges', within the framework of which Japan as well as member countries of the European Union organise various programmes. At the end of August, the event calendar of the Year in Hungary contained more than eighty cultural, political and economic programs. The present exhibition is one of the outstanding events of the Exchange Year. Finally, I hope that as a result of the ukiyo-e exhibition, many European visitors will be touched by the timeless devotion of the Japanese people towards Mount Fuji. Furthermore, I wish that after seeing this exhibition, Hungarian people turn to Japan and the Japanese culture with even more interest, and that the mutual understanding and cooperation between the two nations strengthens even further. October 2005 Inagawa Teruyoshi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan