This event has ended.
Koide Narashige: In Pursuit of Oil Painting for the Japanese
2025-09-13 – 2025-11-24
Summary
Information about the Exhibition
| Dates | September 13 – November 24, 2025 Closed on Mondays, October 14, November 4. (except September 15, October 13, November 3, November 24) |
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| Opening hours | 10:00 – 17:00 (last entry 16:30) *10:00 – 19:00 (last entry 18:30) on September 13 – September 16 |
| Venue | Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka 4F Galleries |
| Organizer | Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka |
| Special cooperation | Ashiya City Museum of Art & History |
| Grants | Tadao Ando Cultural Foundation |
| Admission fee | Adults: 1700 yen (groups 1500 yen) University / High school students: 1200 yen (groups 1000 yen) Junior high school/Elementary students: Free admission Member privileges (free admission, discounts) are available for this exhibition * Prices include tax. Group prices are for groups of at least 20 visitors. * Persons holding an official Disability Certificate are admitted for half the price of a same-day ticket (including one attendant). Apply at the ticket counter (2F) on the day. (No advance reservation required.) * Certification of eligibility for special rates must be presented before admission for all except regular adult rates. * For this exhibition, regular adult rates apply to Osaka residents aged 65 or older. * The museum may close without notice in the event of disasters or other circumstances beyond our control. |
| Inquiries | Osaka City General Call Center 06-4301-7285 Hours: 8:00 – 21:00 (365 days) |
Highlights
1. First major retrospective in twenty-five years This exhibition covers Koide’s artistic career in its entirety, from early works produced while he was studying at the Tokyo Fine Arts School to his final works.
2. The best of Koide’s nudes In the latter half of his career, Koide devoted much of his energies to depicting the female nude. The works selected for this exhibition trace how he honed his skills and developed his distinctive style with each passing year.
3. Wide-ranging activities beyond oil painting Koide applied his talents to many fields other than oil painting. Examples presented in the exhibition include reverse glass paintings, Nihonga (Japanese style painting), illustrations, book designs, and writings.
About the artist
Koide Narashige in his studio, February 1928
Photo courtesy of Ashiya City Museum of Art and History
Koide Narashige biography Born in 1887 in what is now Chuo-ku in the city of Osaka, Koide’s family home was Sekizendo, a pharmacy renowned for its popular Tensuiko ointment. After graduating from Ichioka Middle School (now Osaka Prefectural Ichioka High School), he enrolled in the Department of Japanese Painting at the Tokyo Fine Arts School (now Tokyo University of the Arts). Two years later, he managed to transfer to his original choice, the Department of Western Painting. After graduating in 1914, he returned to Osaka. In 1915, his work Mountains in Early Summer was selected for the second exhibition of the Reestablished Japan Art Institute. In 1919, N ’s Family, his entry for the 6th Nika Exhibition, won the Chogyu Prize. The following year, his Portrait of Oume was awarded the Nika Prize, leading to his nomination as a member of the Nika Association. From 1921 to 1922, he traveled and studied in Europe. In 1923, he was made a full member of the Nika Association and also joined the Osaka Art Association. In 1924, he co-founded the Art Institute Shinanobashi Yoga Kenkyusho with Nabei Katsuyuki, Kunieda Kinzo, and Kuroda Jutaro. While teaching there, he was also involved in editing the art magazine Marronnier. In 1926, he relocated to Ashiya, where he built a studio and explored new creative frontiers in his paintings of nudes and still lifes as well as paintings on glass, but he suffered from chronic heart disease and succumbed suddenly to a heart attack in 1931 at the age of 43.
Sections
Chapter 1. Becoming an Artist, 1887–1916
Koide Narashige entered the Department of Japanese Painting at the Tokyo Fine Arts School (now Tokyo University of the Arts) in 1907, and after transferring to the Department of Western Painting two years later, graduated in March 1914. This section introduces his early works, including sketches from his time at Ichioka Middle School (now Osaka Prefectural Ichioka High School) before going to art school, copies of paintings made during his Department of Japanese Painting years, and his graduation project.
Chapter 2. Work in Osaka and a Trip to Europe, 1917–1925
In 1919, N ’s Family, Koide’s entry for the Nika Exhibition, won the Chogyu Prize for new artists, an honor that marked the launch of his career as a serious contender in Japan’s art world. A brief trip to Europe from August 1921 to April 1922 helped drive the evolution and refinement of his painting style. Showcasing the work that marked his art world debut, works from his time in Europe, and works submitted to the Nika Exhibition after his return to Japan, this section traces Koide’s pursuit of a new style of oil painting as a Japanese artist.
Chapter 3. Variegated Activities —Glass Painting, Nihonga, Illustration, Book Design, and Essays
Koide involved himself in many forms of creative activity. This section presents examples of his reverse glass paintings, nihonga, illustrations, book designs, and writings.
Feature: The Art Institute Shinanobashi Yoga Kenkyusho
In 1924, Koide joined Nabei Katsuyuki, Kunieda Kinzo, and Kuroda Jutaro in establishing the Art Institute Shinanobashi Yoga Kenkyusho in the Nisshin Seimei Building at the Shinanobashi junction in Nishi-ku (now Chuo-ku), Osaka. The institute developed into a leading force in the Western painting scene of prewar Kansai. This feature displays works by ten artists, including Koide and the other three co-founders as well as those of notable students of the institute.
Chapter 4. Maturity in Ashiya, 1926–1931
In 1926, Koide moved from Osaka to a Western-style house in Ashiya and built a new Western-style studio the following year. These final five years in Ashiya proved to be the artist’s most fulfilling and productive period. This section showcases works from this period when Koide was in his prime, including Landscape with Dead Woods, which became his last work.
Highlight: Nudes by Narashige
The female nude was a central theme of Koide’s art, and he was acclaimed for his nude works even during his lifetime, so much so that he was frequently referred to as “Rafu no Narashige” (Narashige the nudes guy), and his nude paintings as “Narashige’s nudes.” The final section of this exhibition showcases seven masterpieces selected from the many female nudes that Koide painted in his final years.
Works
KOIDE narashige
N ’s Family
(National Important Cultural Property)
1919
Ohara Museum of Art, Ohara Art Foundation, Kurashiki
KOIDE narashige
Urban Landscape
1925
Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka
KOIDE narashige
Nude Arranging HerHair
1927
The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto
KOIDE narashige
Still Life on a Table
1928
The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto
KOIDE narashige
Reclining Nude
1930
Artizon Museum, Ishibashi Foundation, Tokyo
KOIDE narashige
Landscape with Dead Woods
1930
Woodone Museum of Art
KOIDE narashige
Westerners Walking in Nara
1919
Concurrent exhibition
Collection Focus: Paris in the Eyes of Foreign Painters
Selected from the Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka’s collection, this exhibition introduces works by Japanese painters who traveled to the West around the same time as Koide Narashige, together with works by some of the most noted artists of the École de Paris.
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FUJISHIMA Takeji
Around Campidoglio
1919, Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka -
SAEKI Yuzo
Brickkiln
1928, Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka -
SAEKI Yuzo
Postman
1928, Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka -
Amedeo MODIGLIANI
Reclining Nude with Loose Hair
1917, Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka -
KISLING
Dutch Girl
1922, Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka -
Jules PASCIN
Seated Girl
1925, Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka
* SAEKI Yuzo’s Brickkiln and Postman, and Amedeo Modigliani’s Reclining Nude with Loose Hair exhibited here are designated “Treasures of Osaka.” Visit the Treasures of Osaka website for details.
Venue: Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka 4F Galleries (as part of the exhibition Koide Narashige: In Pursuit of Oil Painting for the Japanese)
* Viewing this exhibition requires a ticket for Koide Narashige: In Pursuit of Oil Painting for the Japanese.
Events
Lecture 1. Koide Narashige: City portraits (Japanese language only)
| Lecturer | YAMANO Hidetsugu (Former Director, The Museum of Modern Art, Wakayama) |
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| Date | 14:00 – 15:30 on September 27, 2025 |
| Venue | Hall on first floor of Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka |
| Capacity | 150 |
| Admission fee | Free of charge *a ticket (or ticket stub) to the exhibition is required. Advance reservation not required. |
Lecture 2. Painter Koide Narashige and Osaka critics of a century ago: crisis and critique (Japanese language only)
| Lecturer | KUMADA Tsukasa (art historian) |
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| Date | 14:00 – 15:30 on November 3, 2025 |
| Venue | Hall on first floor of Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka |
| Capacity | 150 |
| Admission fee | Free of charge *a ticket (or ticket stub) to the exhibition is required. Advance reservation not required. |
Gallery talk by exhibition curator (Japanese language only)
| Date | 15:00 – 16:00 on September 17, November 12, 2025 |
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| Venue | 4F Galleries |
| Capacity | 25 |
| Admission fee | Free of charge *a ticket to the exhibition is required. Advance reservation is required. |