Matsui Keichu, 1785-1819, Japan, Edo period, Tiger Cleaning Paw, undated, Ink and colors on paper; hanging scroll

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Untamed Beauty: Tigers in Japanese Art

Saturday, March 5, 2005—Sunday, May 22, 2005
U.S. Bank Gallery
Free Exhibition

The tiger figures prominently in Asian mythology, where it is identified with yin, the female principle, as well as autumn, wind, and the West. Artists often paired tigers with their cosmological cousin, the dragon, indentified with the yang, the male principle, as well as spring, rain, and the East. Although tigers are not indigenous to Japan, their absence seems to have created great interest in them and spurred fanciful ideas about their nature and physical form.

This exhibition features 21 hanging scrolls along with a magnificent pair of folding screens. Many of Japan's most famous painters of the last three hundred years are featured, including Tawaraya Sotatsu, Maruyama Okyo, Nagasawa Rosetsu, Kano Tsunenobu, and Kishi Ganku.