This is the first complete study and reappraisal of the remarkable collection of Japanese art at the Cincinnati Art Museum. It features a wealth of artifacts, including paintings and ceramics, metal objects and weaponry, screens, masks, cloisonne enamel, lacquer ware, ivory carvings, kimonos, and dolls, the majority dating from the Edo period (1615-1868) to the end of the Meiji Period in 1912.

In addition to an important introduction by Hou-mei Sung, curator of Asian art, there are contributions by two leading guest authors from Japan, professor Keiko Nakamachi and professor Masahiko Aizawa, who study the painted screens in the collection.

During the Ming Dynasty numerous new animal themes were created to convey political and ethical messages current at court. As the result a sophisticated language of Chinese animal painting was developed, employing both the animals' symbolic associations and homonymic puns. Hou-mei Sung's exciting rediscovery of some of these lost meanings has led to a full-scale investigation of the evolving history of Chinese animal painting. Distinct symbolic meanings were associated with individual motifs, but all animals were assigned a place in the universe according to the Chinese concept of nature. From the very early yin/yang cosmology to later developments of Daoist and Confucian philosophies and ethics, Chinese animals gained new meanings related to their historical contexts. This book explores these new findings, using the colorful animal images and their rich and evolving symbolic meanings to gain insight into unique aspects of Chinese art, as well as Chinese culture and history. Exhibition Schedule: Cincinnati Museum of Art (October 2009 - February 2010)