Kansetsu Hashimoto Museum

Spent the weekend in Kyōto with some very good friends seeing the sites and experiencing traditional Japanese culture in a way only this city can offer. Hakusasonsô, also called Kansetsu Hashimoto Museum, located just west of Ginkakuji Temple is the former residence of artist Hashimoto Kansetsu. Built in 1916 for his wife, this exquisite garden and its buildings are all designed by Hashimoto and are based on his artistic senses and lifelong collection of stones and artifacts. Hashimoto Kansetsu studied under Takeuchi Seihô (the leading figure in the Kyōto art community at the time) and his name and talent began to expand. Kansetsu aimed for a revival of the classics, criticizing the state of modern painting circles and finally distancing himself from them. His search for artistic expression took him far abroad to China and Europe many times where he amassed a collection of ancient Greek and Chinese works. He eventually established himself by creating a new genre of painting called shin-nanga, 'new' literati painting a kind of modern expressionism, specifically Kansetsu’s paintings of animals are considered masterpieces because the creatures depicted in them seem so vibrantly alive. Of the Garden Kansetsu wrote:

"Stones and trees, all are alive. As soon as I see them, I should decide where I’ll place them. That’s my belief. When I feel that I’ll draw or paint this as soon as it is caught in my sight, the work has already been done."

The museum hosts a small gallery of Kansetsu's art and some of his international collection while the tea house occasionally offers small classical concerts - I was able to attend one of these on Saturday that consisted of a piano, violin and cello playing compositions of Schubert and Schumann overlooking the garden as the setting sun cast deep shadows across the pond.