Under the cherry blossom

The Finnish National Gallery’s fine and in many ways unique collection of Japanese woodblock prints contains approximately 900 works. The exhibition brings together woodblock prints from artists of the Utagawa school, particularly the greatest masters of the period, such as Kunisada, Toyokuni and Kuniyoshi. The collection was last exhibited in 2000. Now, after more than twenty years, the Sinebrychoff Art Museum presents a unique opportunity to enjoy these woodblock prints. Over 140 works in the National Gallery collection are on display at the exhibition.

The sakura or cherry blossom tree has a particular significance in Japanese culture: the circle of life is interwoven with the trees’ annual cycle. The most important festival of the year is hanami, flower viewing, which is timed for the start of the flowers’ blooming. The sakura trees appear in many visual themes: graceful female figures walk under the trees, and the decorative blossoming trees curl in the background to kabuki theatre players. The world of the woodblock prints takes us to the very sakura trees themselves.