Hara Nanreisai, Design for embroidery on Nagasaki Kunchi festival float (detail), 1826, ink and color on paper, museum purchase in honor of Keiko Thayer, made possible by an anonymous donor, 2005

Exploring a Collection Treasure: PEM’s 19th-Century Japanese Fish Scroll, Peabody Essex Museum
In-person lecture June 12, 3-4pm
Midori Oka

Japanese art historian Midori Oka presents a fascinating lecture on one of PEM's treasures — a 20-foot-long Japanese handscroll decorated with fish and sea creatures. This scroll was the original sketch for the embroidered designs on a 19th-century parade float cover still used during the annual Nagasaki Kunchi Festival — a celebration of the city's history and its special connection to international trade.

Midori Oka is the Associate Director of the Mary Griggs Burke Center for Japanese Art, Columbia University. She previously served as Research Associate for Japanese Art at the Metropolitan Museum, Associate Curator of Japanese Art at PEM, and curated exhibitions at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Rhode Island School of Design.

This program is dedicated to the memory of Robert Jay Hamburger (1941–2021) and his deep and lifelong commitment to Japanese art and culture.

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