Photo= The hall with "Painting the MIYAKO," or special exhibition of "Grand View of Kyoto," the dazzling folding screens on which vibrant commoners are depicted (Museum of Kyoto, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto)

The opening ceremony and private preview of the special exhibition, "Painting the MIYAKO - Age of Rakuchu-Rakugai-zu (Grand View of Kyoto)" were held on February 28, at the Museum of Kyoto, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, before its public opening from March 1. Approximately 450 invited guests raptly viewed the citizens' vibrant lives and the cityscape's transition depicted in the paintings in the exhibition hall where the dazzling folding screens of "Grand View of Kyoto" are displayed.

"Grand View of Kyoto," or cityscape painting from a bird's-eye view on pairs of folding screens, first appeared in the early sixteenth century, when the city had recovered from the Onin War, and continued to be produced throughout the Edo Period. The exhibition displays a total of 64 works from the late Muromachi Period to the Meiji Period, including six Important Cultural Properties, mainly from the collection of the National Museum of Japanese History in Chiba Prefecture.

The "Funaki version," which was handed down to the Funaki family in Shiga Prefecture, and "Rekihaku B Version" painted by the Kano School, both of which are Important Cultural Properties and exhibits during the first half of the exhibition, and other folding screens vividly show people enjoying Gion Festival, cherry blossoms, and art performances, and engaging in business, manufacturing, and housework. Ingenious ways of displaying the folding screens have been devised such as arranging the right panels and the left panels face to face to match Kyoto's four directions to its four seasons. The invited guests had a fun time peering into the folding screens to find some interesting character, or comparing the paintings with the current cityscape. The exhibition will continue until April 12, with the first half to March 22, and the second half from March 24. The museum is closed on Mondays. There is an admission fee.