Asia Society is proud to present Meiji Modern: Fifty Years of New Japan. This exhibition reevaluates a seminal era of turmoil, creativity, and transformation in Japan spanning the mid-nineteenth to early-twentieth centuries.

Comprising nearly 80 works—including paintings, prints, photographs, sculptural works, and objects in various media, such as enamel, lacquer, embroidery, and textiles—this exhibition presents some of the finest examples of Meiji-period artworks in American collections, both public and private. Arranged around traditional Japanese motifs, such as the sea and nature, Buddhist deities, beauties, and mythical animals, Meiji Modern highlights these themes as they are transformed by the introduction of newly imported techniques, materials, and objects, surprising the viewer with works of technical virtuosity, unexpected scale, and sheer beauty.

Meiji Modern: Fifty Years of New Japan is co-curated by Bradley Bailey, Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Curator of Asian Art, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and Chelsea Foxwell, Associate Professor of Art History, University of Chicago.

This exhibition is organized by the Japanese Art Society of America in celebration of its 50th Anniversary, with funds generously provided by The E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation; The Mary Griggs Burke Center for Japanese Art, Columbia University; The Japan Foundation; Shiseido Americas Corporation; Bonhams, Japanese Art, New York; and Japanese Art Society of America (JASA) members.