Hakusasonso 110th Anniversary Special Exhibition: Solo Exhibition by Japanese Painter Ayuko Sadaie, "Ayuko Sadaie's Hana Mandala - Kyoto and Handcrafts Exhibition" to be Held.

Hakusasonso Hashimoto Kansetsu Memorial Museum will hold a special exhibition, "Ayuko Sadaie's Hana Mandala - Kyoto and Handcrafts Exhibition," by Japanese painter Ayuko Sadaie from Saturday, May 2, 2026, to Sunday, May 24, 2026, to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the establishment of Hakusasonso. Please come and experience the world of "Hana Mandala" depicted by Ayuko Sadaie, where the stories residing in each petal overlap and eventually unfold like a mandala.

▼Japanese Painter Ayuko Sadaie Official Website
https://www.sadaieayuko.com/

▼Japanese Painter Ayuko Sadaie Official Instagram
Instagram: @ayuko_sadaie

▼Hakusasonso Hashimoto Kansetsu Memorial Museum Official Website
https://www.hakusasonso.jp/

Exhibition Overview

・Exhibition Name: "Ayuko Sadaie's Hana Mandala - Kyoto Handcrafts Exhibition"

・Artist: Japanese Painter Ayuko Sadaie

・Dates: May 2 (Sat) - May 24 (Sun), 2026, 10:00 - 17:00 [Last admission at 16:00]

・Venue: Hakusasonso Hashimoto Kansetsu Memorial Museum

・Location: 37 Ishibashicho, Jodoji, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto 606-8406

・Admission: General 1300 yen / Students 500 yen / High school students and younger free

・Organizer: Hakusasonso Hashimoto Kansetsu Memorial Museum

・Cooperation: Miyazaki Kagu, Tankosha, Miyawaki Baisenan

About the Exhibition

This exhibition introduces new Japanese paintings by Ayuko Sadaie, along with collaborative works with long-established Kyoto-based companies and artisans. In the space of Hakusasonso, where nature, architecture, and art are integrated, the exhibition, starting from "flowers," questions how Kyoto's handcrafts and spiritual culture are inherited into the modern era through the creations of Japanese painter Ayuko Sadaie.

Highlights

One of the highlights of this exhibition is the "Shoun no Hana" (Auspicious Cloud Flower) seasonal decorative shelf, a collaborative work with Miyazaki Kagu, a long-established furniture maker preserving the tradition of Kyo-sashimono (Kyoto joinery). Created under the spirit of "revitalization" advocated by Miyazaki Kagu, founded in 1856, it aims to reconnect the lineage of Kyo-sashimono with traditional Japanese painting techniques in the modern age. This piece transcends the realms of painting, craft, and furniture, featuring a decorative shelf made of cherry wood, flower door paintings in Japanese style, mother-of-pearl inlay (raden) using luminous shells, and cloud expressions using blue gold and pure gold dust. Named "Shoun no Hana" after the auspicious symbol of clouds.

This work was first unveiled at the historic "Rakushukai" exhibition in Kyoto in November 2025, attracting many visitors. In this exhibition, you will see it in the special space of Hakusasonso, while re-examining its philosophy and background.

In addition, we will introduce forms of art that are deeply connected to Kyoto's culture, such as festivals and tea ceremonies, and open up to the town and its people, beyond individual creation. These include original drawings for fans and tenugui (hand towels) scheduled to be dedicated to the Gion Matsuri Kikusui Hoko in Reiwa 8 (2026), and a work composed of twelve months of cover art original drawings, created throughout the year for the Urasenke tea ceremony monthly magazine "Tanko," configured as a six-fold screen.

Partial Introduction of Exhibited Works

Miyazaki Kagu Seasonal Decorative Shelf "Shoun no Hana" Miyazaki Kagu Seasonal Decorative Shelf "Shoun no Hana" (detail)

Kamigoryo Shrine Ema "Hana Raifuku Uma" Kamo Mioya Shrine (Shimogamo Shrine) "Shugo Ya"

Gion Matsuri Kikusui Hoko "Kikusui Ebisu Fan" Miyawaki Baisenan Seasonal Fan "Hidamari no Kaoru - Fuyu -"

Monthly Tea Ceremony Magazine "Tanko" April Cover Art Monthly Tea Ceremony Magazine "Tanko" May Cover Art Monthly Tea Ceremony Magazine "Tanko" August Cover Art Monthly Tea Ceremony Magazine "Tanko" November Cover Art

▼Japanese Painter Ayuko Sadaie Profile

Graduated from Kyoto City University of Arts Graduate School. She has continued her creative work, including dedicating fusuma paintings to Ekoin, a sub-head temple of Koyasan, in 2015, the 1200th anniversary of Koyasan's founding, and to Hojuin, a main temple of Koyasan, in 2018. While regularly holding solo exhibitions at department stores and art museums, she has also been deeply involved with the land of Kyoto, dedicating screen paintings to Kamo Mioya Shrine (Shimogamo Shrine) in 2024, creating cover art and serializing essays for the Urasenke tea ceremony monthly magazine "Tanko," and dedicating screen paintings to Kamigoryo Shrine in 2025. Her creative foundation lies in sketching flowers, water, and trees, and she creates works based on the philosophy that "art is not an individual's possession, but something born from relationships with the land, people, and nature."

▼About Hakusasonso Hashimoto Kansetsu Memorial Museum

Hakusasonso View of the Higashiyama foothills from the exhibition space Ayuko Sadaie sketching in the garden of Hakusasonso

Located near the entrance to the Philosopher's Path, at the foot of Daimonji, which leads to the mountain path of Jisho-ji (Ginkaku-ji). Hakusasonso, also renowned as a masterpiece of stone garden art, is a place where nature and art resonate, built over approximately 30 years by Hashimoto Kansetsu, a master of the Japanese painting world active from the Taisho to Showa periods. In the publicly accessible garden, visitors can enjoy seasonal scenery with the Higashiyama Igatake foothills as a borrowed landscape. This exhibition, held at the 110th anniversary of its establishment, transcends the conventional framework of a solo exhibition, showcasing the land of Kyoto, its handcrafts, and human activities.