Announcing the Exhibition Digital × Hokusai in Collaboration with the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art - Works by Katsushika Hokusai That Cannot Be Seen in Japan Return Home in Digital Form

1.Background and Overview

This Digital × Hokusai exhibition focuses on Hokusai works held in the collection of a museum overseas.

After making his fortune in the railway industry in the United States, Charles Lang Freer (1854–1919) deepened his interest in Asian art through his friendship with the painter James McNeill Whistler. Pursuing a universal beauty common to both East and West, Freer assembled a magnificent collection, applying his discerning aesthetic sensibility to the careful selection of works of art from Japan and elsewhere in Asia. Notably, his collection of Hokusai paintings is said to be the finest in the world. Following Freer's death in 1919, his collection was donated to the Smithsonian Institution, and in 1923 the National Museum of Asian Art (NMAA) opened as the first national museum of art and first museum of Asian art in the United States. Under the terms of Freer's will, however, works from his collection can only be exhibited at the NMAA, which means opportunities to view them are limited.

Now, as part of commemorating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, and with the cooperation of the NMAA, we are pleased to present a carefully curated selection of works from Freer's collection.

The Hokusai works selected by the NMAA are folding screen paintings. That so few of Hokusai's folding screens remain in Japan underscores the rarity of those presented here. These paintings, together with Breaking Waves, the culmination of Hokusai's lifelong quest to depict waves in his work, were digitized in the United States by NTT ArtTechnology together with Ars Techne, which possesses advanced digitization technology.

Viewing folding screen paintings is vastly different from viewing ukiyo-e prints or paintings mounted as hanging scrolls. A pair of six-panel folding screens, for example, covers the viewer's entire field of vision when fully unfolded, inviting them to enter the immersive world of the work.

Going beyond merely reproducing valuable masterworks, this Digital × Hokusai exhibition harnesses digital technology to present the worlds of each work in greater depth and breadth. We hope you enjoy this opportunity to experience them for yourself.

Chase F. Robinson (Director, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution)

The United States of America marks its 250th anniversary in 2026. For the National Museum of Asian Art, that occasion calls for celebration not only of what our museum has accomplished, but also of our partnerships in Japan, our global audiences, and the cherished cultural traditions that everyone can enjoy. There could be no more fitting a way to commemorate this milestone than to bring Hokusai's beloved paintings from our museum, the first national art museum in the United States, back to Japanese audiences through advanced imaging and display technology.

The collaboration between the National Museum of Asian Art and NTT East, realized through a unique digitization process, makes it possible to bring these works, complete with their surfaces, their scale, and in all their detail, to audiences who may never visit Washington, DC. The immersive experience brings new life to these important works.

2.Exhibited Works

1. (1)Birds, Animals, and Plants Representing the Twelve MonthsPair of six-panel folding screens. Large-scale interactive projection / Full-scale high-resolution reproduction folding screens
2. (2)Country Scenes and Mount Fuji Pair of six-panel folding screens. 3D Dive Theater / Full-scale high-resolution reproduction folding screens / Enlarged high-resolution reproduction painting
3. (3)Mount Fuji and Enoshima Pair of two-panel folding screens. 3D Dive Theater
4. (4)Various Scenes Two-panel folding screen. Large-scale projection
5. (5)Viewing Cherry Blossoms Pair of six-panel folding screens. 3D Dive Theater
6. (6)Breaking Waves Hanging scroll. 3D Dive Theater

The 3D Dive Theater is an immersive experience that uses video projected onto four surfaces—front, sides, and floor—to transport viewers into the world of the works. Works (2), (3), (5), and (6) are shown in a continuous sequence. The exhibition also features a Floating Giga Viewer that enables visitors to zoom in on digital images of all six works.

• *Large-scale interactive projections, large-scale projections, 3D Dive Theater video design: Ars Techne, Shō Yamaguchi
• *High-resolution reproduction folding screen fabrication support: Roland DG Corporation

3.High-Resolution Digitization and the Use of Digital Data

In cooperation with the NMAA, NTT ArtTechnology and Ars Techne performed the high-resolution digitization and color calibration of the above six works on site at the NMAA. Digitization and data processing employed Ars Techne's patented Dynamic Texture Image Processing (DTIP) technology to produce digital data at a resolution of approximately two billion pixels per square meter. This is the first time that Hokusai paintings in the NMAA collection have been digitized at such high resolution.

The digital data is expected to be used not only to produce the digital works and high-resolution reproductions in this exhibition but also to support research activities at the NMAA.

4.Exhibition Information

5.Exhibition Merchandise

An exhibition catalog and merchandise created using high-resolution digital data of the artworks will be available for purchase at the venue.

• Exhibition catalog
• Post cards
• Miniature folding screens
• Clear file folders (A4)
• Ticket holders
• Spiral-bound notebooks (A5)
• Note paper
• Tote bags
• Traditional tenugui hand towels

• *Produced and sold by NTT ArtTechnology
• *The above reflects current plans and is subject to change.

6.Future Developments

(1)Exhibitions by NTT Group Companies

NTT East (the exhibition's organizer) and NTT Group companies that have sponsored the exhibition will take various opportunities to introduce the works on exhibit.

Exhibitions Currently Planned

• World Economic Forum Annual Meeting
  NTT Data House (Sponsored by NTT)
  January 18–22, 2027 (Davos, Switzerland)
  Breaking Waves
• International Horticultural Exposition
  NTT East Pavilion (Organized by NTT East)
  March 19–September 26, 2027 (Yokohama, Kanagawa)
  Birds, Animals, and Plants Representing the Twelve Months

(2)Possible Exhibition of High-Resolution Reproduction Folding Screens at the Freer House

As one potential future collaboration, the NMAA is considering exhibiting high-resolution reproduction folding screens at the Freer House in Detroit.

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