Lobed Dish with Peach, Pine, and Deer. Inscription: "Made during the Jiajing era of the Ming dynasty" © Kyoto National Museum

The late Ming and early Qing dynasties in China, spanning the end of the sixteenth to the seventeenth centuries, were an era of profound transformation, marked by intercultural exchange between the East and West as European culture spread throughout the globe. In Japan, such encounters exerted a wide-ranging influence and shaped the development of Edo-period (1615–1868) Japanese culture. This impacted numerous types of Japanese ceramics, ranging from Imari overglaze-enamel porcelain to Kyoto ware. This exhibition introduces a selection of Chinese polychrome porcelain——including iroe Shonzui, Nankin akae ("Nanjing red"), and famille verte (Kangxi wucai)——that shaped the emergence and development of Japan’s own overglaze enamel porcelain tradition.

December 16, 2025–March 15, 2026