Two centuries of Japanese design on view in Japanese Design: Rinpa at the Honolulu Museum of Art

HONOLULU – Japanese Design: Rinpa, an exhibition of works by Japanese artists of the Rinpa tradition—a style known for its bright colors, innovative use of materials and emphasis on pattern and design—will be on view at the Honolulu Museum of Art (HoMA) through Oct. 9, 2022. The exhibition includes nearly a dozen works from HoMA’s permanent collection and spans more than two centuries of Japanese design history.

“Rinpa has attracted worldwide recognition and become synonymous with innovative aesthetics,” said Shawn Eichman, HoMA’s curator of Asian art. “At the same time, it resonates with tradition. For those reasons, it continues to influence Japanese art and design today.”

Rinpa’s compositional techniques of asymmetry, innovative color combinations, contrasting patterns and semi-abstraction have had a profound influence internationally.

Rinpa-style design emerged as part of a cultural renaissance in the early 17th century when a new shogunate, or military government, had recently stabilized the country, encouraging the arts to flourish. As artists rediscovered Japan’s rich cultural legacy, they built upon historical foundations to introduce new aesthetics, infusing artistry into all aspects of life, such as poetry, drinking tea and garden design. This can be seen in both the bold paintings of Tawaraya Sōtatsu and the subtle tea bowl and poetic calligraphy of the master designer Hon’ami Kōetsu included in the exhibition.

The modern term Rinpa means “Rin School,” after Ogata Kōrin (1658-1716), whose work was central to the tradition. Kōrin was an influential talent who built on the work of earlier artists, bringing a fresh perspective not only to painting but also to designs for fans, lacquerwares, textiles and ceramics. In turn, later followers such as Sakai Hōitsu and his student Suzuki Kiitsu evolved Kōrin’s stylish innovations in new ways, introducing greater compositional clarity and more precise brushwork.

“The centerpiece of Japanese Design: Rinpa is a unique screen with white chrysanthemums on gold painted by Kōrin on one side and red maple leaves on silver painted by Hōitsu on the other,” said Eichman “This allows us the rare opportunity to compare the hands of these masters from different lifetimes side by side.”