Members of the Daimyo Hosokawa family served the shogun from the Muromachi Period (1333-1568) as samurai. But the Hosokawa achieved fame not only for their success as warriors. As patrons of the arts and artists across the centuries, they enlarged and cared for an exclusive collection which this volume presents through exquisite pieces. The Hosokawa name stands not only for military achievements but also for famous poets, scholars and artists whose passion lay in particular in No theatre and the tea ceremony. It is a passion that still applies today. Continuing the tradition, Hosokawa Morihiro, a former Prime Minister of Japan, has devoted himself since his retirement from politics to the creation of tea ceramics and calligraphy. Through some 85 magnificent objects, including weapons, splendid armour, China-ink drawings and paintings, ceramics and lacquer work as well as theatre masks and costumes, the volume reveals the glittering panorama of a samurai family between martial elitism and artistry.

Building on his interest in evolution, philosophy, and society, in his project A Gift From Him Maximilian Prüfer (b. 1986) explores the destruction of natural habitats to make way for agriculture in China. To this end, Prüfer took two trips to the Szechuan Province, where the fruit trees need to be pollinated by hand due to insect deaths caused by the increased use of pesticides. These developments are attributable to Mao’s campaign to “Destroy the Four Olds,� which entailed the killing of around two billion sparrows in order to restore the natural equilibrium. Prüfer documented the entire manual pollination process in photos, collected items, and films which make for an ambivalent exploration of the cultural evolution of humankind. Text in English and German.