The fascination with Japanese culture can be approached and justified from many points of view: from gastronomy and customs to stationery and, of course, art. One of the expressions for which Japan stands out most in this field is engraving, and now an exhibition in Madrid brings together more than 70 works created using this technique from the golden age of this discipline.
All of them come from the Pasamar-Onila Collection, which is unique in our country both for the quality and diversity of its bijin-ga prints, “images of beautiful women,” and are examples of classical masters from that period of splendor, which spans the last third of the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century.
Among the artists featured in the exhibition are familiar names such as Katsushika Hokusai—widely known for The Great Wave off Kanagawa—and others who deserve to be better known, such as the first Japanese woman to achieve fame and recognition as an artist: Uemura Shoen.
These images, which featured women as their protagonists, were—along with those of kabuki actors, a form of traditional Japanese theater— the most popular in ukiyo-e, a genre of printmaking that literally translates as “pictures of the floating world,” whose themes were landscape, urban life, and pleasure.
From travel and domestic scenes to erotic prints
Although bijin-ga focused particularly on high-ranking courtesans—especially the oiran of the Yoshiwara district in Edo—they also depict women engaged in their daily activities, in the domestic sphere or traveling to such iconic places as Mount Fuji, the Sumida River, or Enoshima Island.
However, in contrast to these scenes, another genre emerged called shunga – “images of spring” – erotic prints with sexually explicit scenes. Their popularity was such that they were not only sold, but also rented due to their high price.
It was also very common to give these types of printsas gifts, as “they were considered gifts of good luck,“according to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando (Calle de Alcalá, 13), the institution where the exhibition can be visited.
Dates, price, and opening hours of the exhibition
The exhibition can be visited between February 12 and May 31, 2026, and the admission price ranges from €6 (general admission) to €3 (reduced admission) —and there are even groups that can visit for free. Details can be found at this link.
The opening hours are as follows:
- Tuesday to Saturday: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Sundays: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Closed: Mondays and May 1 and 30.