18 May – 15 August 2010
at The Fitzwilliam Museum, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1RB
Opening Times: Tuesday – Saturday: 10.00 – 17.00, Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays: 12.00 – 17.00

ADMISSION FREE

This new exhibition at The Fitzwilliam Museum brings together nearly thirty striking prints and books from 18th and 19th century Japan celebrating the nation’s connection with the sea.

Like Britain, Japan is a series of islands, and the pervasive presence of the sea has shaped Japanese lives and art throughout history. Gifts of the Ebb Tide: Japan and the Sea in Ukiyo-e Prints (18 May – 15 August 2010) presents a vivid selection of woodcut prints and books from the Fitzwilliam’s collection illustrating the relationship between the people of Japan and the sea that surrounds them, from the mythical to the everyday.

These superb examples of the ukiyo-e genre – which translates as ‘pictures of the floating world’ – depict scenes and subjects as diverse as the underwater palace of the ‘Dragon King’, ghosts of warriors rising from the waves, figures enjoying picnics and shell collecting on expansive beaches, fishermen hauling in their catch – and even restaurants serving it. The exhibition showcases work by artists such as Utamaro, Yoshitoshi, Kuniyoshi, Kunisada and Hiroshige, as well as a number of print books, including Hokusai’s 100 Views of Fuji.

Visitors will have the chance to see an impression of the world’s most famous image of the raw power of the sea, Hokusai’s woodcut of The Great Wave which is on loan from The British Museum. There will also be an opportunity to explore an interactive version of Utamaro’s woodcut book Gifts of the Ebb Tide – from which the exhibition takes its title – allowing visitors to electronically ‘turn the pages’ of the book.

Dr Timothy Potts, Director of The Fitzwilliam Museum said: “As well as revealing the depths of the collection of Japanese prints, which has grown at the Fitzwilliam for over a century, this exhibition displays some of our most recent acquisitions, including two wonderful triptychs by Kunisada of abalone divers, shown here for the first time. Although the image of Hokusai’s Great Wave dominates our idea of the Japanese portrayal of the sea, this exhibition shows that there is much more to it than that.”

For further information please visit www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk