Kumagai Tsuneko Memorial Museum Kana no Bi Exhibition "Kumagai Tsuneko and the Three Great Essays - Focusing on 'The Pillow Book,' 'Idle Essays,' and 'Hojoki'"

Kumagai Tsuneko Memorial Museum Kana no Bi Exhibition "Kumagai Tsuneko and her three great essays - focusing on 'The Pillow Book', 'Idle Essays' and 'Hojoki'"

Date: December 2025, 7 (Sat) - April 19, 2025 (Sun)

Introduction of exhibition contents

　Calligrapher Kumagai Tsuneko (1893-1986) was a leading female calligrapher of kana calligraphy during the Showa period. The Kumagai Tsuneko Memorial Museum will be holding an exhibition on the beauty of kana. This exhibition will introduce works that Tsuneko used to deepen her knowledge of kana calligraphy, focusing on the three major essays that represent Japanese classical literature: "The Pillow Book," "Tsurezuregusa," and "Hojoki." "The Pillow Book" is an essay that is said to have been written around 1001 by Sei Shonagon, a lady-in-waiting who served Empress Teishi (Empress of Emperor Ichijo) during the Heian period. Tsuneko highly valued Sei Shonagon's calligraphy in "The Pillow Book" as a model for kana calligraphy. Tsuneko respects Sei Shonagon, saying, "If she was able to call the courtiers 'atsu' with her brilliant and versatile skills in serving Empress Teishi, and her quick wit like that of Yuki of Koromine, then I would have been truly blessed" (note 1).

　"Tsurezuregusa" is a collection of waka poems and essays that were scattered in Shinryu-in Temple (the Yoshida family temple) in Yoshida, Kyoto, and in a hermitage in Iga, Mie, where Yoshida Kenko, who served as a samurai for Emperor Go-Uda during the Kamakura period, lived after becoming a monk. Tsuneko's interest in kana calligraphy deepened with the help of the "Tsurezuregusa" foldout book.

　This exhibition will feature works such as Autumn is Evening Glow (1935), which uses Sei Shonagon's The Pillow Book as its subject and depicts the prologue to the book in a scroll, All Things (1971), which is based on Yoshida Kenko's Essays in Idleness, and Yuku ka no (1975), the opening of the essay The Hojoki, in which the Kamakura period monk Kamo no Chomei writes about his view of the impermanence of the world. Please enjoy Tsuneko's calligraphy, which has been developed into works of art based on the three great essays The Pillow Book, Idleness, and The Hojoki.

Note　

6. Tsuneko Kumagai, "How to Study Kana," Calligraphy, Vol. 6, No. 1937, June 6, Taito Calligraphy Institute

 

Kana calligraphy workshop: "The beauty of Kana that soothes the soul with ink and brush"
日時：①9月13日（土）10：00～13：00　②9月14日（日）12：30～15：30
Eligibility: ① Ages 5 to junior high school students (children in the third grade of elementary school or below must be accompanied by a parent or guardian, but parents may also participate) ② High school students and above
Venue: Ota Cultural Forest Assembly Rooms 3 and 4
Capacity: 20 people each time (If the capacity is exceeded, a lottery will be held)
Deadline: Must arrive by Friday, March 8
Application: Please apply by postcard, fax, or the application form below (up to 3 people per postcard)

Please write the desired date, postal code, address, name (in hiragana), age, phone number (if sending by fax, a fax number where we can reply), and the desired number of people (up to 3 people) on a "reply postcard" or by fax to the address below. *Please write the address and name of the representative on the reply postcard.

For applications and inquiries, please contact: Ota City Ryushi Memorial Museum "Kumagaya Tsuneko Kana Calligraphy Workshop" 143-0024-4 Chuo, Ota-ku, Tokyo 2-1 TEL/FAX: 03-3772-0680

9) Saturday, September 13th: For ages 5 to junior high school students　Applications are now closed.

②Sunday, September 9th (for high school students and above)　Applications are now closed.

 

 

Kumagai Tsuneko Memorial Museum Kana no Bi Exhibition "Kumagai Tsuneko and her three great essays - focusing on 'The Pillow Book', 'Idle Essays' and 'Hojoki'"

• Press release (PDF)

• Flyer (PDF)

Exhibition information

Session	2025/7/19 (Sat) - 2025/12/7 (Sun)
Museum Hours of Operation	9:00 to 16:30 (Last admission 16:00)
Museum Holidays	Every Monday (or the following day if Monday is a public holiday)
Museum Admissions Fee	Adults 100 yen, junior high school students and under 50 yen * Free for those aged 65 or older (proof required), preschool children, and those with a disability certificate and one caregiver
Gallery talk	Saturday, August 8rd, Saturday, September 23th, Saturday, October 9th, Saturday, November 20nd 11:00 and 13:00 every day I will explain the contents of the exhibition. For details, please contact the Ota City Kumagai Tsuneko Memorial Hall at 03-3773-0123.
Garden open to the public	November 11nd (Sat) - November 1th (Mon/holiday) 9:00-16:30 each day (entry until 16:00) The garden will be open to the public for a limited time. Please come and enjoy Tsuneko's artworks on Culture Day.
Venue	Ota City Tsuneko Kumagai Memorial Hall (4-5-15 Minami Magome, Ota City) From the west exit of JR Keihin Tohoku Line Omori Station, take Tokyu Bus No. 4 bound for "Ebaramachi Station Entrance" and get off at "Manpukuji-mae", then walk for 5 minutes 10 minutes walk from the south exit of Nishi-Magome Station on the Toei Subway Asakusa Line along Minami-Magome Sakura-namiki-dori (Cherry Blossom Promenade)