Two Great Hokusai Collections: Peter Morse and Muneshige Narasaki

Spending a day in Ryogoku became even more of a necessity from November last year, when the neighbourhood that already houses the Edo-Tokyo Museum and the Kokugikan saw the opening of a museum dedicated entirely to ukiyo-e superstar Katsushika Hokusai. The Sumida Hokusai Museum has seen healthy crowds ever since, and now puts on its second special exhibition. The follow-up to autumn's 'The Return of Hokusai', this one shines the spotlight on pieces from two collections that make up the bulk of the museum's ukiyo-e trove: those of the late researcher Peter Morse and leading woodblock print expert Muneshige Narasaki. The former's collection includes rarities such as a differently coloured version of the full 'Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji' series, while the Narasaki set contains fewer actual artworks but quite a number of historically significant documents relating to ukiyo-e research and collecting. Note that some of the exhibits will be changed around after March 5.