Simose Art Museum will celebrate its first anniversary with a “Hinamatsuri” doll festival.

This exhibition features Hina dolls, Noh dolls, and Gosho dolls from Heizo Oki that are the heart of the Simose Collection, and were displayed each year in the Shimose household. The Maruhei Oki Doll Store, headed by Heizo Oki VII, is a venerable doll store in Kyoto established some 250 years ago in the Edo period. Heizo Oki’s dolls have been beloved by the Imperial Family, the Mitsui Family, the Iwasaki Family, and other prominent families.

This exhibition displays an array of elegant dolls, beginning with Hina dolls made by Heizo Oki VI, as well as splendid Noh dolls by Heizo Oki VII, Gosho dolls of adorable infants, and costume dolls celebrated for the beauty of their kimonos. Meticulous detailing is especially evident in the Noh dolls and their costumes and accessories, reflecting a beautiful world that could only be created by Heizo Oki VII, with his deep knowledge of Noh. The Shimose family has always displayed Hina dolls and Gosho dolls in a free style not bound by tradition. This exhibition invites visitors to appreciate the elegant aura of these dolls.
In the movable galleries within the water basin, the diversity of the museum’s collection is displayed in eight themes, including creative dolls by Goyo Hirata and Jusaburo Tsujimura, glass art by Emile Gallé and Daum Frères, and paintings by Henri Matisse and Camille Pissarro.