Image: Nagano Prefectural Art Museum
Nagano Prefectural Art Museum has announced 'Higashiyama Kaii Collection 2026, Part II', a collection exhibition at the museum’s Higashiyama Kaii Gallery running from July 31 to October 27, 2026. The museum says the second phase of its 2026 program will present more than 30 major works selected across four installments during the year, as part of a broader look at the artist’s production and his sustained focus on nature, cities and quiet, contemplative imagery.
The museum’s description places the exhibition within the context of the Higashiyama Kaii Gallery, which opened in 1990 and now holds more than 980 works, including pieces donated by the artist and later acquisitions. For the 2026 cycle, the museum says it is showing roughly 30 works in four parts, drawing from series and subjects that include the 'Kyoto Four Seasons' and 'Yamato Spring and Autumn', European landscapes and city scenes, horse pictures, and preparatory works for the wall paintings of the Main Hall of Toshodaiji Temple.
This second installment focuses on works tied to Higashiyama’s research in China for the Toshodaiji project, alongside paintings from the 'Landscape with a White Horse' series. The museum specifically names 'Dusk on the Li River' and 'Moonlit Night at Guilin', described as works in which Higashiyama pursued ink expression with Japanese painting materials after gathering material in China, as well as 'Green Grass Sprouting' and 'Forest with White Horses'.
The exhibition also includes 'Horse in the White' and other works intended to trace the full scope of Higashiyama’s art across the year. The museum presents the series as an opportunity to follow the artist’s careful observation of nature and the restrained, still world that his paintings evoke.
'Hot Spring Collection 2026, Part II' is on view in the Higashiyama Kaii Gallery, within the museum’s collection program. The museum lists the exhibition as open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with last admission at 4:30 p.m., and closed on Wednesdays, except September 23, when it will open for the holiday and close on September 24 instead. The regular collection-admission fee covers the show: 700 yen for adults, 500 yen for university students and visitors aged 75 and over, and free entry for high school students and those under 18, with discounts and other exceptions noted by the museum.
The museum also states that general admission will be reduced to 500 yen on August 18 and August 20 because the Main Building collection gallery will be closed for maintenance. A gallery talk connected to the exhibition is scheduled for September 19, with details to be provided through the museum’s event information.
