Gallery exhibiting skillfully worked "Shogon" and other pieces (Hosomi Museum, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto)

An exhibition titled "Nihon Bijutsu no Shogon: Inori to Kazari," introducing famous works with the keyword "Kazari," or decoration, which cuts to the heart of the Japanese sense of the aesthetic, opened on May 11 in the Hosomi Museum in Sakyo Ward, Kyoto. Visitors got their fill of an ancient world in which craftsmen worked beauty into the smallest details.

This special exhibition marks the 15th anniversary of the opening of the gallery. Roughly 90 pieces are on display, including decorations infused with life and great works of Buddhist and Shinto art, mainly from the collection of Kokoan Hosomi from his early days as a business man.

The beautifully decorative "Shogon" originally venerated Shinto gods and Buddha. The fresh colors which endure on the gnostic Buddhist pictures, delicate Buddhist and Shinto statues, and "Keman," a Shogon piece in the form of a rounded azure-winged magpie engraved with fretwork of foliage scrolls, are excellent pieces imbued with such prayerfulness.

Intricate works of fine craftsmanship such as "Maki-e" gold-sprinkled Japanese-lacquer calligraphy boxes, and decorative cloisonn caps for covering nails in joinery also catch the eyes of visitors. The exhibition continues until July 21. It is closed on Mondays. There is an entry fee. Some exhibits are subject to change.