One Hundred Years with Sumitomo Shunsui

The Sen-oku Hakukokan Museum Tokyo presents an exhibition marking the centenary of the death of Sumitomo Shunsui, a prominent figure of the Sumitomo family who, at the turn of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, laid the foundations of what is today one of the most significant modern art collections in Japan. The exhibition brings together works connected to his activity as a collector and focuses on his encounters and exchanges with contemporary artists, illustrating the breadth of his interest in the painting and craft production of his time. Born in 1864 and deceased in 1926, Sumitomo Kichizaemon Tomoito, known as Shunsui, was not only an entrepreneur involved in the expansion of the family business but also a refined connoisseur of art and culture. He was among the first in Japan to acquire Western works alongside paintings and objects from Chinese and Japanese traditions, developing a taste that crossed geographical and stylistic boundaries. The exhibition retraces this trajectory through Japanese and Western-style paintings, ceramics, and other works of art and craftsmanship from the collection, which together contributed to the formation of a unified body of work rich in historical resonances. The exhibition offers an opportunity to reflect not only on Shunsui’s personal taste but also on the cultural dynamics of the period in which he lived, marked by increasing openness to international exchange and a renewed interest in art as a means of dialogue between cultures. The presence of works connected to the artistic and social contexts of the time reveals the interplay between collecting passion, personal relationships, and a historical setting that encouraged new aesthetic visions.