This exhibition brings together approximately eighty ceramic and bronze pieces from ancient Japan and China. It also features Persian Ceramics, a genre that developed while being influenced by China. These Persian Ceramics pieces are on public display for the first time ever.

Jōmon pottery appeared over ten thousand years ago. These pieces were decorated using a variety of techniques, including rope patterning, clay ropes, and openwork. Their beauty goes beyond their intended uses of boiling food and storage. From the same time period we also find clay figures, called “Dogū,” with rich individual characteristics. They are thought to have been created to pray for the flourishing of descendants, a rich harvest, and so on. On the other hand, standing in contrast to Dogū are Haniwa’s charming simple appearances. These figures, which were made during the Kofun Period (5th to 6th c.), were lined up on kofun tombs to recreate rituals. Turning to bronzes from ancient China (17th c. BC to 3rd c., we find stately forms with a feeling of tension as well as intricate patterns. They were primary made used as ritual implements for worshiping the spirits of ancestors.

For this exhibition, we’ve taken advantage of Okada Museum of Art’s wide-ranging collection of Eastern art to create a space in the exhibition for comparing works from Japan and China. Visitors are invited to take note of different shapes and patterns while comparing Jōmon pottery and Chinese bronzes, Haniwa and Chinese tomb figures, and more. Go back to time immemorial and witness a parade of fascinating artworks.