2025 Hanamaki City Museum Special Exhibition "Sagawa Art Museum Collection: Hirayama Ikuo Exhibition"

Hirayama Ikuo (1930-2009), a leading painter in the Japanese art world and recipient of the Order of Culture, was born in Hiroshima Prefecture. His experiences of war and the atomic bombing inspired him to infuse his work with prayers for peace, and he continued to paint themes of the introduction of Buddhism and the Silk Road throughout his life. He also advocated the Cultural Heritage Red Cross initiative to protect the precious cultural heritage of the world that is being lost, and devoted himself to cultural heritage preservation activities in various places, including China and Afghanistan.
This exhibition will feature 57 works by Hirayama on the subject of the Silk Road, a road marked by its eternal history, drawn from the collection of the Sagawa Art Museum in Shiga Prefecture, known for its collection centered on Hirayama, sculptor Churyo Sato, and ceramicist Raku Chikunu. Enjoy the quintessence of Hirayama's art, featuring works painted during his more than 150 journeys, from Europe and Western Asia to Central and South Asia, the Western Regions, China, and Japan, the final destination of the Silk Road.

Exhibition composition

• Chapter 1: The origins of the Silk Road: Europe to Western Asia
• Chapter 2: Crossroads of Civilizations: Central Asia to South Asia
• Chapter 3 Western Region
• Chapter 4: China, the eternal land
• Chapter 5: Japan, the End of the Silk Road

Special Cooperation

Sagawa Art Museum (SGH Culture and Sports Promotion Foundation)
Sagawa Art Museum website

Planning cooperation

Seigensha Promotion Co., Ltd.

Profile of Ikuo Hirayama

Born on June 15, 1930 in Setoda Town, Hiroshima Prefecture.
A Japanese painter. After graduating from Tokyo School of Fine Arts (now Tokyo University of the Arts) in 1952, he studied under Maeda Seison and was active mainly in the Inten exhibition. Inspired by his experience of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima during the war, he superimposed his "prayers for peace" onto the Silk Road, the road through which Buddhism was transmitted, and has been painting the "Silk Road Series" since 1968.
He passed away on December 2, 2009, at the age of 79.

Related Events

Commemorative Lecture-1 "Ikuo Hirayama and Bamiyan, the Crossroads of Civilization"

Lecture details

• Date and time: Sunday, September 7th, 1:30pm to 3:00pm
• Lecturer: Nobuo Takahashi (former director of Hanamaki City Museum)
• Location: Hanamaki City Museum, Lecture Experience Learning Room
• Capacity: 30 people (application required)
• Cost: Free (no admission fee required)
• Application period: Thursday, August 7th, 8:30 AM to Saturday, September 6th, 4:30 PM

You can apply for the commemorative lecture by phone or by filling out the application form using the QR code below.
(Note) Applications will be closed once the capacity is reached.
Please note that we do not accept cancellations on a waiting list.
However, you can only apply if the cancellation occurs within the application period.

• The application form can also be accessed from this link (external link)

Commemorative Lecture 2: "Ikuo Hirayama, the painter who continued to paint and pray for peace – his artistic career and life"

Lecture details

• Date and time: Saturday, October 4th, 1:30pm to 3:00pm
• Lecturer: Yasunori Fujii (Curator of Sagawa Art Museum)
• Contents: Lecture and exhibition explanation.
• Location: Hanamaki City Museum, Lecture Experience Learning Room and Special Exhibition Room
• Capacity: 30 people (application required)
• Cost: Free (no admission fee required)
• Application period: Thursday, September 4th, 8:30 AM to Friday, October 3rd, 4:30 PM

You can apply for the commemorative lecture by phone or by filling out the application form using the QR code below.
(Note) Applications will be closed once the capacity is reached.
Please note that we do not accept cancellations on a waiting list.
However, you can only apply if the cancellation occurs within the application period.

• The application form can also be accessed from this link (external link)

Evening illumination with Narushima washi paper lampshades

During the exhibition, the area around the entrance and inside the museum will be lit up with Narushima washi paper lampshades from dusk onwards.
[With the cooperation of Yumi Akatsu, Representative of Narushima Bishamon Dream Light Project]