The works of Fukuda Kodojin
2025.11.08 - 12.08
KURA MONZEN Gallery in Kyoto’s Kita Ward is pleased to present its final exhibition of 2025, Kodojin | The Old Taoist.”
This exhibition focuses on Fukuda Kodojin (1865–1944), often regarded as the last great master who embodied the tradition of Japanese literati art, uniting painting, poetry, and calligraphy into a single meditative art form.
Kodojin’s landscapes are instantly recognizable. Mountains twist and bloom like flowers; clouds drift with the rhythmic flow of calligraphic brushstrokes; and within vast natural settings, solitary sages and hermit huts appear in quiet contemplation. The poems inscribed on his paintings intertwine verse and image, each illuminating the other.
Born in the late Edo period, Kodojin lived through Japan’s transformation from a secluded feudal society into a modern industrial nation. While many artists of his time embraced Western artistic influences, Kodojin remained devoted to the refined ideals of the scholar-poet and pursued an aesthetic rooted in introspection and tradition.
After his death, his reputation gradually faded amid postwar social changes, shifting academic interests, and the dispersal of his works into private collections. Today, however, renewed scholarship has brought his art back into focus—revealing Kodojin not as a relic of the past, but as a uniquely modern voice who expressed an alternative vision of modernity through a deeply personal lens.
This exhibition presents over forty works from the KURA MONZEN Gallery’s long-standing Kodojin collection. We invite you to experience the quiet spiritual depth of Kodojin’s world and rediscover the timeless beauty of his art.
We look forward to welcoming you to the exhibition.
The exhibition will run from November 8th to December 8th. We hope you are able to stop by the gallery or check out the collection and catalogue online!
Digital Catalog:
Coming Soon...
