【Upcoming Exhibition】KeMCo New Year Exhibition 2025
Where the Snakes Are

The Chinese zodiac sign for the year 2025 is the snake. With its long, patterned body and the iconic way it moves, snakes have been both feared and respected by people throughout history. Seen as a messenger of the gods, a symbol of life, wisdom, and even obsession, the snake has taken on many meanings across cultures around the world. To start the new year, this exhibition brings together snakes from the diverse collections of Keio University and invites you to explore the vivid and slightly mysterious world of these captivating animals.

  • Date

    Thursday, January 9 – Friday, February 7, 2025
    Closed on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays
    Special opening on Saturday: January 18 and February 1
    (Temporary closed days: Monday, January 20 and February 3)
    11:00 – 18:00

  • Venue

    Keio Museum Commons, East Annex, Keio University Mita Campus

  • Audience

    Open to the public

  • Cost

    Admission free

  • Enquiries and
    bookings

Related event

Gallery Talk (Reservation required)
Dates | Saturday, January 18, 2025, 15:00~16:00
Speaker|Tooru Ishikawa (Professor, Keio University Faculty of Letters)
Venue|Keio Museum Commons Exhibition Room

To apply, click here.

 

 

Exhibition Highlights

1 Mushi no utaawase, written and painted by [Isome Tsuna], [early Edo period], a pair of six-panel folding screens.

2 Rervm natvralivm historia, nempe qvadrvpedvm, insectorvm, piscivm, variorvmqve marinorvm corporvm fossilivm plantarvm exoticarvm ac praesertim testaceorvm exsistentivm im Mvseo Kircheriano, Filippo Buonanni, published in 1773-1782.

3 “Hijikata Tatsumi Hangi Daitohkan”, an auction at Seibu Department Store, photo by Ryozen Torii, 1970.

4 LE SERPENT MARGINAL [1] , Shuzo Takiguchi, 1967.

5 Album of Waka Poems by Animals of the Twelve Zodiac Signs, early Edo period(17th century).

6 The Tale of Tawara-no-tōda, selected by unknown, Kan’ei era (early 17th century).

7 THE OCCUPANTS OF THE POLITICAL SEA (Tokyo Puck, vol. 2 no. 14), Kitazawa Rakuten, July 1906.

8 Malangan Ritual Decorative Panel, Early 20th century (collected).

9 Handled Mirror with Lake Biwa Eight Views, Fujiwara no Masashige, 1700s.

 

Repositories

1-2 = Keio University Library, 3 = Tatsumi Hijikata Archive at Keio University Art Center, 4 = Shuzo Takiguchi Collection at Keio University Art Center, 5-9 = Keio University (Century Akao Collection), 6 = Keio Institute of Oriental Classics (Shido Bunko), 7 = Fukuzawa Memorial Center for Modern Japanese Studies, 8 = Department of Archaeology and Ethnology

 

Concurrent Exhibition

point of view ‒‒ Kazuo Okazaki

Keio Museum Commons, Stair Landing

 

Flyer  
Press Release  

 

Organized by: Keio Museum Commons

Cooperated by:

Department of Aesthetics and Science of Arts, Keio University Faculty of Letters
Department of Archaeology and Ethnology, Keio University Faculty of Letters

Fukuzawa Memorial Center for Modern Japanese Studies, Keio University

Historical Documents Room, Keio University Faculty of Letters (Komonjoshitsu)

Keio Institute of Oriental Classics (Shido Bunko)

Keio University Art Center

Keio University Hiyoshi Media Center

Keio University Mita Media Center

Keio University Shinanomachi Media Center

(As of December *, 2024)

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