Resources

Karasu Tengu (crowlike deity) mask, approx. 1800-1850. Japan. Netsuke; ivory with dark detail staining, inlaid metal. The Avery Brundage Collection, B70Y811.

Kanzan (Hanshan), by Tobai (Japanese), approx. 1500-1625. Japan. Hanging scroll; ink and light colors on paper. The Avery Brundage Collection, B60D39+.a.

Sip, learn, and chat with Miwa Wang, sake sommelier and manager of True Sake, about the nuanced tastes and bouquets of sake. Stroll the galleries, see Lords of the Samurai, discover a Japanese tea ceremony showcasing matcha, a powdered green tea and namesake of our program. Observe its meticulous preparation and whisk your own. Dip into a talk on tea ceremony and warrior culture, join a docent conversation, or relax with a sake-tini, friends, and DJ-spun music.

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.

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.

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

Asian Art Museum Storyteller, Jeff Byers, tells the legend of Bokuden, a famous samurai.

A host may spend weeks planning for a tea gathering, including making decisions about which group of utensils to use. The assemblage of objects will reflect the season, complement and contrast with each other, and, ideally, create a theme or context that the host and guest will explore together during the course of the tea gathering. Learn more.

Woodblock printmaking was a complex process involving the collaboration of several people: publisher, artist, carver, and printer.