A guardian king, Heian period (794–1185), approx. 900–1000. Japan. Wood. The Avery Brundage Collection, B67S1.

A True Picture of the Steamship Powhatan; A Ship Generally Called a Steam Frigate..., from the Black Ship Scroll, Edo period (1615-1868); approx. 1854. Japan. Handscroll segment mounted as a hanging scroll; ink and colors on paper. Museum purchase with assistance from the Japan Society of Northern California, 2012.60.2.

Warning: Contains explicit language. Join influential playwright Philip Kan Gotanda to get the inside scoop on the ideas and inspirations behind his groundbreaking body of work, including his play, After the War Blues.

America: Depiction of an American Ship and Portraits of the First Ambassador Perry and the Deputy Ambassador Adams, by, Shinsei (Japanese, 1850's), 1854. Ink and colors on paper. Bequest of Marshall Dill, F2001.23.1.

Buddhism was officially transmitted to Japan in 525, when the monarch of the Korean kingdom of Baekje sent a mission to Japan with gifts, including an image of the Buddha, several ritual objects, and sacred texts. Buddhism's journey from India to China, Korea, and Japan had taken about a thousand years.

The first geisha were male entertainers, serving guests with music, lighthearted conversation, and comical play. The first female geisha appeared around 1750. They quickly outnumbered their male counterparts, and by 1780 the word geisha was mainly applied to women...

Mari L'Esperance reads a poem she wrote in response to seven paintings by Fuyuko Matsui in the exhibition Phantoms of Asia: Contemporary Awakens the Past (on view at the Asian Art Museum from May 18–September 2, 2012). This presentation was part of MATCHA. Co-presented by Litquake.

Arrival of a Portuguese ship, one of a pair (Nanban screens), Six panel folding screen, 1620-1640. Japan. Ink, colors, and gold on paper, The Avery Brundage Collection, B60D77+.

Learn about the Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849).

Prior to the Edo period (1615–1868), many painters and sculptors remained anonymous, occupying relatively equal status to carpenters and other artisans. The position of the artist during the Edo period changed, as artists became more successful financially, and better educated. Some of them began to be seen as celebrities, arbiters of taste with eccentric personalities. Although many still worked for low wages in obscurity, the Edo period marks the emergence of the artist as individual, as the genius creator in Japan. Learn more.

Learn more about the arts of Korea and Japan through lectures by renowned scholars.

This lecture series, organized by the Society for Asian Art, explores narrative using Asian art—how myths, legends, histories and moral precepts have been transmitted through visual means. Topics range from sculptural reliefs and murals used to educate pilgrims at famous religious sites to works created primarily for entertainment. Contemporary storytelling is also addressed via lectures on Bollywood and manga produced by San Francisco's Henry Yoshitaka Kiama.

This lecture series examines the origins of traditions and how traditions are renewed, appropriated, and transformed over time.

In all lacquer objects, regardless of when they were produced, a resinous sap coating preserves the core material and allows for decoration. The material for lacquering is extracted from lacquer trees (Toxicodendron vernicifluum; formerly Rhus verniciflua), which is the same genus as poison oak. Learn more in this award winning documentary on Japanese lacquer.

Boy's long-sleeved kimono, approx. 1868–1912. Cotton with freehand resist-dyed decoration. Japan. Gift of Gloria Granz Gonick, F2004.23.45

Create your own brush-painted masterpiece. 

Thanks to the Society for Asian Art's renowned Arts of Asia lecture series, speakers from the Bay Area and across the country will transport you across Asia by land and by sea.

The Japanese phrase Chanoyu, translated literally as “hot water for tea,” refers to the tradition of preparing and serving powdered green tea in a highly stylized manner. Learn more about this tradition.

Laura Allen, Curator of Japanese Art at the Asian Art Museum discusses a monochrome woodblock print of a courtesan playing with a cat.

Socially, economically, and artistically, a pleasure quarter formed its own culture in which courtesans were distinguished from ordinary prostitutes and elevated to the level of icons of
femininity...

Crane standing near succulent plants, one of a set of six paintings, in the style of Ito Jakuchu (Japanese), approx, 1775–1850. Ink on paper. The Avery Brundage Collection, B60D144 (r), B60D143 (l).