Last week I visited a renowned antique gallery in Nihonbashi when I had a chance to talk to the owner. The gallery handles beautiful Chinese antique ceramics, but the owner is also known for holding the biggest collection of Hokusai Manga (cartoon). Looking keenly at framed Hokusai's prints hung on the wall, I was impressed by the fine print which does not look over 100 years old. The owner suggested that I visit an exhibition that he curated and loaned art works for.
So today I went to Komazawa Daigaku, where I usually never go. It is three stations away from Shibuya. The original prints by Hokusai are displayed in a modern Japanese model home and in an annex gallery. The prints in black and white, some tinted with light colors, retain ever-lasting modernity and fit perfectly in the chic contemporary bedroom. What is more surprising is that they are affordable. Really. A small (about the size of a postcard) print can be less expensive than an i-Phone.
Ancient great works astonish us with beauty that seems going ahead of the time. I happened to have visited Lucie Rie's retrospective exhibition yesterday and felt the same way. Though Lucie's works are not yet as old as Hokusai's, how could you stay so creative and come up with perfectly stream-lined, beautifully colored ceramics until you are over 80? True beauty never ages.
