Have you ever looked at a work of art in a museum and wondered, “Where did this painting come from?”
Behind a single painting lie the spirit of its time, people’s thoughts, and connections that cross national borders. The history of cultural exchange between Japan and China can also be seen in the journey of the Chinese paintings collected by the Ohara family.
On May 9, 2026, a symposium commemorating the special exhibition, “The Ohara Family of Kurashiki and Chinese Painting,” was held at Kurashiki Kokusai Hotel, where researchers from Japan and abroad gave talks from their respective perspectives.
Chinese paintings have long been cherished and studied not only in China but also in Japan. However, the ways in which they have been passed down and evaluated differ somewhat from country to country.
The symposium was held in two parts. This article focuses on Part 1, “The Ohara Family’s Collection of Chinese Paintings,” introducing its content and highlights while also drawing on the author’s perspective as someone from China.
The information presented is current as of when this article was published in May 2026. Please note that it may differ from current information.
About the symposium “The Ohara Family of Kurashiki and Chinese Painting”
The symposium “The Ohara Family of Kurashiki and Chinese Painting” was a commemorative event organized to coincide with the special exhibition being held at the Ohara Museum of Art.
The symposium focused on the Chinese paintings collected by the Ohara family, examining from multiple perspectives how the collection came about, the historical background of the family, and its significance in art history.
Speakers included researchers involved with the collection at the museum and university researchers specializing in Chinese art history, along with other experts active in Japan and abroad. From their respective standpoints, they discussed how Chinese paintings were collected and how they came to be received in Japan.
The program for the day was as follows.
Attending Part 1 of the symposium
I attended Part 1. Here is a look at the event.
In Part 1, “The Ohara Family’s Collection of Chinese Paintings,” the following three speakers gave talks on the relationship between the Ohara family and Chinese painting from their respective perspectives.
- Moriyasu Osamu
- Tsukamoto Maromitsu
- Kure Motoyuki
Moriyasu Osamu: The Ohara Family’s Collection of Old Paintings
The symposium began with a talk by Moriyasu Osamu, director of the Okayama Prefectural Museum of Art.
His topic was “The Ohara Family’s Collection of Old Paintings.”
Behind it lay more than a simple “collection of artworks”: a vision of culture shaped by human exchange and passed down across generations.
Director Moriyasu began by looking back at the history of the Ohara family, which rose to prominence in Kurashiki.
Having supported the local economy since the Edo period, the family grew significantly through its textile business in the Meiji period. It later devoted itself to education, healthcare, and cultural initiatives, a path that eventually led to the founding of the Ohara Museum of Art.
What was especially striking was how the collection of Chinese paintings expanded through exchanges with Chinese literati, calligraphers, and painters. Director Moriyasu described how the seventh-generation head, Ohara Magosaburo, built a collection of old paintings that could be considered one of the finest in Japan, and spoke about the aesthetic sensibilities and interest in culture behind it.
The talk featured representative works collected by Ohara Magosaburo, including the attributed work by Qian Xuan, “Palace Ladies,” and Maruyama Okyo’s “Tiger.”
The story surrounding “Palace Ladies” was particularly memorable.
![[National Treasure] “Palace Ladies”](https://media.kuratoco.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/14123915/bc1f380a798f35fc1a3ce98f0819e1e8.jpg)
This masterpiece, once owned by the Kawasaki baronial family (Choshunkaku), was said to be highly regarded among Chinese paintings. In 1942, when the possibility of selling the work arose, the art dealer Yamanaka & Company contacted Ohara Magosaburo, who reportedly decided to buy it immediately.
Even more intriguing was that Magosaburo died the year after purchasing the work. His undiminished passion for collecting art until the end of his life conveyed how deeply he cared about the work.
Director Moriyasu explained the Ohara family’s collecting activities as “not merely the amassing of artworks, but also a record of culture passed down with its people, communities, and historical context.”
Amassing
Meaning “to gather various things,” this is nearly synonymous with the more commonly used term “collecting” today, but it carries a stronger nuance of systematically building a collection as a hobby or for research.
By looking beyond the works themselves to the exchanges and history that extend from them, we can discover new appeal in the collection. The talk offered a renewed appreciation of the depth of the Ohara family’s Chinese painting collection and its cultural significance.
Tsukamoto Maromitsu: Dong Yuan’s “Scroll of Snowy Peaks” and Japan’s “Modern Era”
The next speaker was Tsukamoto Maromitsu, professor at the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, the University of Tokyo.
His talk was titled “Dong Yuan’s ‘Scroll of Snowy Peaks’ and Japan’s ‘Modern Era’: Luo Zhenyu, Naito Konan, and the Reappraisal of ‘Southern School Painting.’”
Tsukamoto argued that Japan’s modernization should not be viewed solely through the lens of “the acceptance of Western culture.” In modern Japan, efforts were also underway to reassess Eastern cultures, including Chinese culture, and discover new value in them.
The talk traced how classical Chinese paintings regained attention in modern Japan.
Tsukamoto explained how a new perspective on Chinese painting took shape through the activities of Chinese historian Luo Zhenyu and Japanese scholar of Oriental studies Naito Konan, among others.
The discussion then turned to the Ohara family’s Chinese painting collection.
As businesspeople, researchers, and art professionals exchanged ideas across national borders, their understanding of Chinese art deepened and a uniquely Japanese aesthetic sensibility took shape.
It was striking that the discussion extended to the very concept of “the Orient.”
Tsukamoto noted that interest at the time extended beyond Chinese art to Egyptian art, among other things, and explained that modern Japan was undergoing a major cultural reorganization around the question of how to understand “the Orient”.
What emerged from the talk was that the Ohara Collection is more than simply a collection of artworks. It bears the imprint of a history of cultural exchange connecting Japan and China, as well as the accumulated intellectual exchanges of modern East Asia.
Kure Motoyuki: Western-style painter Kojima Torajiro, calligrapher and painter Wu Changshuo, and businessman Wang Yiting
The final speaker was Kure Motoyuki, an associate professor at Kyoto University’s Institute for Research in Humanities. His lecture was titled “Western-style painter Kojima Torajiro, calligrapher and painter Wu Changshuo, and businessman Wang Yiting.”
Kure focused on the fact that Kojima Torajiro visited China several times from 1918 onward. While based in Shanghai and building a collection of Chinese calligraphy and paintings, Kojima deepened his exchange with Chinese businessman Wang Yiting and calligrapher and painter Wu Changshuo, among others, and apparently purchased works through this network.
Based on diary entries and notes Kojima wrote during his stay in China, the actual circumstances of his purchases were also analyzed. The presentation noted, among other things, that he likely selected and purchased works from among those circulating in Shanghai at the time.
Kure concluded his lecture by saying, “Although Kojima Torajiro was a Western painter, he also showed a deep understanding of Chinese art and viewed the arts of East and West from a broad perspective.”
At the end of the symposium, Ohara Museum of Art Honorary Director Ohara Kenichiro took the podium to offer his greetings, saying:
From the Writer
After the symposium, the author revisited the special exhibition “The Ohara Family of Kurashiki and Chinese Paintings,” currently being held at the Ohara Museum of Art.
As I gazed at the works in the exhibition hall, I felt that behind each painting, the exchange between people nurtured across national borders and the sentiments invested in art were quietly alive.
The Ohara Museum of Art is more than just an exhibition space.
It continues to carefully preserve the history of cultural exchange between Japan and China, built through art.
The symposium offered an opportunity to once again appreciate the profound depth of art and the significance of cultural exchange passed down across national borders.
Special Exhibition Commemorative Symposium “The Ohara Family of Kurashiki and Chinese Paintings” Information
| Name | Special Exhibition Commemorative Symposium “The Ohara Family of Kurashiki and Chinese Paintings” |
|---|---|
| Date | May 9, 2026 (Saturday) 10:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m. |
| Location | Kurashiki Kokusai Hotel |
| Admission (tax included) | Free *Limited to the first 100 applicants |
| Website | Special Exhibition: The Ohara Family of Kurashiki and Chinese Paintings |
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Art reveals a deeper appeal when we look beyond the works themselves to the ideas, times, and lives of the people behind them. I hope that, reflecting on questions such as “What is an authentic work?” and “What is the essence of art?”, you will use the discussions today as an opportunity to engage with the works anew.