Opens in 88 days#Painting#History & heritage
National Treasure Colorful Realm of Living Beings: Itō Jakuchū
Japanese original:
国宝 動植綵絵 いろどりの世界
All 30 hanging scrolls of Ito Jakuchu's Colorful Realm of Living Beings are shown together, a first for the Sannomaru Shozokan since it opened in 1993 and the first since they were designated National Treasures in 2021; the museum says it is the first complete showing in Japan in about ten years. Masterpieces of bird-and-flower painting from Kyoto of the same period are shown alongside, among them Maruyama Okyo's Peonies and Peacock and Yosa Buson's Kite and Crow. Some works are swapped during the run, and tickets were not yet on sale on November 5, 2026.
- Dates
- Feb 4 – Mar 14, 2027
- Venue
- The Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan (皇居三の丸尚蔵館) · Takebashi & Kitanomaru Park
- Address
- 東京都千代田区千代田1-8 皇居東御苑内Enter by Otemon Gate: about 5 min on foot from Exit C13a, Otemachi Station, then about 100 m inside; enter by Hirakawamon Gate: about 10 min from Exit 1a, Takebashi StationOpen in Google Maps
- Hours
- 09:30–17:00Closed: Mon
- Admission
- General ¥3,000Original: 一般 3,000円
Visit planning
The calendar entry starts on the opening day and covers the whole run. Please check opening hours and closing days before your visit.
Nearby, after this one
Same venue · The Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan
Same neighborhood · Takebashi & Kitanomaru Park
Shows open on the same days as this one are listed first (regular closing days only).
Related exhibitions
Same genre · Painting / History & heritage
Credits
- Artists
- Ito Jakuchu, Maruyama Okyo, Yosa Buson
- Organized by
- The Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan, 讀賣新聞社, NHK
- In cooperation with
- 宮內廳, 文化廳
Knowledge cards
Colorful Realm of Living Beings動植綵絵A set of thirty paintings by Ito Jakuchu, filled with richly coloured animals and plants.Read moreClose
01About
Colorful Realm of Living Beings is a set of thirty paintings by Ito Jakuchu, a Kyoto painter of the eighteenth century, and it was designated a National Treasure of Japan in 2021. It is not one picture but thirty that belong together. Each shows animals or plants, so side by side you can compare how a bird, a flower, or a background is handled from one painting to the next. The Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties has published high-resolution images and colour-material analyses of all thirty, which helps when you want to study the details.
02In the gallery
Move close enough to follow a feather, a leaf, or a petal, then step back and see how it works within the whole painting.
Wall label terms in Japanese
- 花鳥画
- Bird-and-flower painting
03Notes
Colorful Realm of Living Beings is thirty paintings of animals and plants that together form one work.
This time, at National Treasure Colorful Realm of Living Beings: Itō Jakuchū —
Where do you find the detail that holds your attention longest?