Individual Media Tours for the Exhibition “Staging the Supernatural: Ghosts and the Theater in Japanese Prints”

Two semi-transparent, spectral figures from Japanese prints, arranged side-by-side against a black background. The figure on the left stares at the viewer with wide eyes, an open mouth, and a large mane of hair that is standing on end. The figure on the right, his blue-and-white face scowling, wears elaborate armor and brandishes a weapon, while his right hand is outstretched.

Composite image: Akogi (detail), from the series Nōgaku zue, Tsukioka Kōgyo (1869–1927), Japan, Meiji era, March 1, 1899, woodblock print, ink and color on paper, Robert O. Muller Collection, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, S2003.8.2898; Nakamura Utaemon III as Taira no Tomomori (detail), Ryūsai Shigeharu (1803–1853), Publisher: Wataya Kihei (ca. 1809–1885), Japan, Edo period, 1831, woodblock print, ink and color on paper, The Anne van Biema Collection, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, S2004.3.279

February 28, 2024 | National Museum of Asian Art

WHAT:	Individually scheduled opening press tours for “Staging the Supernatural: Ghosts and the Theater in Japanese Prints”
WHEN:	Opening tours March 23–30; on view March 23–Oct. 6
WHERE:	Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery 1050 Independence Ave. S.W.
WHO:	Kit Brooks, The Japan Foundation Assistant Curator of Japanese Art Frank Feltens, curator of Japanese art

Members of the media are invited to tour the exhibition “Staging the Supernatural: Ghosts and the Theater in Japanese Prints,” on view March 23–Oct. 6.

Throughout Japanese cultural history, the boundary between the real world and the world of supernatural beings has been remarkably porous. Certain sites, states of mind or periods in the lunar cycle made humans particularly vulnerable to ghostly intervention. The Edo period (1603–1868) was a crucial stage in the development and solidification of ideas about the supernatural. Many of the beliefs that gained currency at this time are still held as conventional wisdom in Japan today.

Supernatural entities came to life, in particular, on the stages of noh and kabuki theatrical performances. Media can explore the roles that ghosts and spirits played in the retelling of Japanese legends and contemporary events. “Staging the Supernatural” brings together a collection of vibrant, colorful woodblock prints and illustrated books that depict the specters that haunted these two theatrical traditions.

This is the first time the museum has exhibited the presentation of spirits through the lens of both the noh and kabuki theaters. We are incredibly excited to share with our visitors the many ways in which the paranormal has captured Japanese audiences for centuries.

Kit Brooks, The Japan Foundation Assistant Curator of Japanese Art, and Frank Feltens, curator of Japanese art

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Individual Media Tours for the Exhibition “Staging the Supernatural: Ghosts and the Theater in Japanese Prints”

This is the first time the museum has exhibited the presentation of spirits through the lens of both the noh and kabuki theaters. We are incredibly excited to share with our visitors the many ways in which the paranormal has captured Japanese audiences for centuries.

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