In Search of Lost Landscapes— Portraits of Kobe in Paintings and Photos

Kobe Artists Museum

This event has ended.

Kobe is a city that has undergone transformations through changing times and disasters, natural and otherwise. It developed as an international town after opening its port in 1868, taking in foreign cultures and seeing the construction of exotic western-style buildings. It was heavily damaged by two major air raids in 1945 and the Kobe earthquake in 1995, but each time emerged as a new town through the process of rebuilding, restoring itself to its former brilliance and bustle. This exhibition depicts Kobe from the early Showa era through the present with artwork from the museum’s collection, the photography of Iwata Yamanaka, Kanbe Hanaya, and others, and fashion plates and 1920s women’s clothing from the Kobe Fashion Museum. It paints a portrait of Kobe in its good old days while tracing its path to today. The exhibited works are sure to induce nostalgia for those familiar with Kobe’s past and offer an opportunity see the city as if stepping off of a boat in its port for the first time for those unaware of its history.

[Related Events]
In Search of 1920s Style: Make a Fashion Plate
Dates: 2/15 (Sat), 3/8 (Sat) 10:30–12:30
Venue: Multipurpose room
Participants: 20 each session. For parents and elementary school-aged children and older.
Free (exhibition ticket required).
Reservations not required.

Lecture: Remembering the Show Era in Architecture and Photography
Date: 2/16 (Sun) 14:00–15:30 (tickets distributed from 13:00)
Audience: 40
Please see the official website for details and information on other related events.

[Image: Iwata Nakayama “Kobe Scene” (ca. 1939)]