Around 100 years ago, during the Taisho to early Showa periods, selected artists of various divisions created exquisite gifts to celebrate the auspicious events of the Imperial Household. Among them were nationwide-scale art projects with a large number of artists participating, though few people know about these projects today. Once these art works were presented to the Imperial Household, they were placed within their palaces and rarely viewed by the general public.
    The Imperial Household has promoted and passed down Japanese culture from ancient times, and since the modern era, its members have contributed to art promotion by visiting exhibitions and purchasing displayed art works, and commissioning works to decorate the interiors of Imperial palaces. Works created as gifts celebrating auspicious Imperial events were considered as the utmost honor for artists, and were also considered as a cultural policy to succeed and promote traditional artistic techniques. During the Taisho period, works created by artists of various divisions from areas throughout the entire country, directed by the 5th principle of the Tokyo Fine Arts School, Masaki Naohiko(1862- 1940), were considered as the top art works of this era. In this exhibition we will introduce works that still exist within the Imperial Household Agency, along with materials related to their production.
    This exhibition is held in commemoration of the 130th anniversary of the Tokyo University of the Arts, which has succeeded the Tokyo Fine Arts School, and will also exhibit many master works of artists related to the school within the Imperial Household collection. We hope our visitors will enjoy the quintessence of these cultural projects supported by the Imperial Household 100 years ago, including works that will be displayed outside of the Imperial Palace for the first time since they were presented to the Emperor and Empress of the time.