  Frontispiece from The Complete Works of Kawabata Yasunari Peach Blossoms by Yasuda Yukihiko |
 Organized by MIHO MUSEUM and The Kyoto Shimbun Newspaper Co., Ltd. Supervised by Kaori Kawabata (Board Chair of the Kawabata Foundation) and Ken’ichi Yasuda Planning assisted by Sonohiro Mizuhara (Tokyo Officer of the Kawabata Foundation) |
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 Frozen Clouds and Sieved Snow by Uragami Gyokudō Edo period (National Treasure)  Zinen or Shizen (Nature) by Ryōkan, Edo period
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The author Kawabata Yasunari (1899-1972), the first
Nobel prize-winning Japanese, wrote many masterworks
beginning with Snow Country (Yukiguni). Meanwhile,
the painter Yasuda Yukihiko (1884-1978) established
historic neoclassical painting in Japan and created a
stunning world of elegance. Although in different fields,
both men were highly influenced by the life and works
of the Zen priest Ryōkan (1758-1831). Yasuda, one
of the foremost scholars of Ryōkan, devoted his life
to the study of this cleric, while Kawabata referred to
Ryōkan in his acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize in
literature, making the spirituality of this early modern
priest known to the world.
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 Prince Shōtoku (Nambutsu), detailKamakura period Puppy by Tawaraya Sōtatsu, Momoyama–Edo period
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