April 24, 2026 and April 25, 2026
Expanding Perspectives: Nihonga in Contemporary Practice, History, and Beyond
Expanding Perspectives: Nihonga in Contemporary Practice, History, and Beyond is an international symposium hosted by the Kress Foundation Department of Art History and held in conjunction with the exhibition Street Nihonga: The Art of Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani at the Spencer Museum of Art (https://spencerart.ku.edu/exhibitions-and-events/exhibitions/upcoming-e…). Bringing together artists, curators, and scholars from Japan and the United States, the symposium reconsiders Nihonga (lit. Japanese painting) in a global, contemporary context. Established in the late nineteenth century as a “national” school of painting, Nihonga has long played a central role in shaping Japanese artistic identity, while its meanings and boundaries have remained contested.
Focusing on the past thirty years, the symposium explores how artistic practice and critical scholarship have reinterpreted Nihonga amid globalization, nationalism, and cultural policy. Through cross-disciplinary and international dialogue, it examines Nihonga as a dynamic site of cultural and political negotiation and considers how it might be reimagined beyond fixed national or historical frameworks.
Expanding Perspectives: Nihonga in Contemporary Practice, History, and Beyond
SCHEDULE
DAY ONE: Friday, April 24 — OPENING EVENT
Spencer Museum of Art (SMA)
1301 Mississippi St
Lawrence, KS 66045
12:00–1:30 pm
Kris Imants Ercums, Maki Kaneko, and Nihonga artist Ryōko Kimura will lead a gallery talk discussing the Studio Nihonga exhibition (https://spencerart.ku.edu/exhibitions-and-events/exhibitions/current-exhibitions/studio-nihonga) and Kimura’s work Heroes – Training Boys (2010; SMA collection).
2:30–4:30 pm
Nihonga-making workshop led by Ryōko Kimura
Location: SMA Reception Room
DAY TWO: Saturday, April 25 — SYMPOISUM
Kansas Room, KU Memorial Union (symposium sessions)
1301 Jayhawk Blvd., 6th Floor
Lawrence, KS 66045
&
Spencer Museum of Art (exhibition tours)
8:30 am
Venue opens; coffee and snacks available
Morning Session @ Kansas Room, Kansas Union:
9:15 am
Welcome remarks — Dr. David Cateforis (Chair, Kress Foundation Department of Art History, University of Kansas)
9:20 am
“Introduction: Expanding Perspectives on Nihonga—but for Whom and Where?” — Dr. Maki Kaneko (Associate Professor, Kress Foundation Department of Art History, University of Kansas)
9:45 am
“Not (So) Sad Anymore: Nihonga in the 21st Century” — Dr. Chelsea Foxwell (Professor of Art History, East Asian Languages and Civilizations, and the College, University of Chicago)
10:15 am
“The Ideology of Color: Mineral Pigments and the Making of Nihonga” — Dr. John D. Szostak (Associate Professor of Japanese Art History, Department of Art and Art History, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa)
10:45–11:30 am
Discussion
Lunch: 11:45 am–1:00 pm
Buffet lunch open to all participants and audience members
Exhibition Tours: 1:00–2:40 pm
Exhibition tours at the Spencer Museum of Art
Street Nihonga: The Art of Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani with Kris Ercums and Maki Kaneko: https://spencerart.ku.edu/exhibitions-and-events/exhibitions/upcoming-e…
Brush, Block, and Blood: Three Generations of Yoshida Women Printmakers with Satoko Tomita: https://spencerart.ku.edu/exhibitions-and-events/exhibitions/upcoming-e…
Afternoon Session @ Kansas Room, Kansas Union:
2:50 pm
Introduction for the afternoon session — Dr. Sherry Fowler (Professor, Kress Foundation Department of Art History, University of Kansas)
3:00 pm
“The Final Stroke of Kishimoto Sayako: Queer Bijinga Starts Here” — Daisuke Murata (PhD candidate, Kress Foundation Department of Art History, University of Kansas)
3:30 pm
“Nihonga as an Exploratory Medium for Pleasure, Social Critique, and Self-Identity: Kimura Ryōko’s Male Nudes at a Niigata Buddhist Temple, Kokujōji (2019)” — Yasuko Tsuchikane (Adjunct Professor, The Cooper Union and Waseda University)
4:00 pm
“Representations of Japanese Art in the Genealogical Paintings of Hisamatsu Tomoko” — Noriko Murai (Professor, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Graduate Program in Global Studies, Sophia University)
4:30–5:15 pm
Discussion
5:15 pm
Closing remarks — Saralyn Reece Hardy (Marilyn Stokstad Director, Spencer Museum of Art)
REGISTRATION
All events are free and open to the public; advance registration is required.
The program consists of three events with separate capacity limits: Nihonga gallery talks (Day 1), a Nihonga-making workshop (Day 1), and the symposium with two exhibition tours (Day 2).
Separate registration is required for each event, and registration will close once capacity is reached.
Registration is now closed. If you still would like to attend, please contact us at arthistory@ku.edu.
