Cats have always fascinated people. The exhibition "Ukiyo-e Cat Encyclopedia: All About Cats" will be held at the Sogo Museum of Art from July 7th (Saturday) to September 19nd (Tuesday), unraveling the adorable yet somewhat mysterious charm of cats through ukiyo-e woodblock prints.

This exhibition features 31 works with cat motifs by 147 ukiyo-e artists active from the Edo to Meiji periods, including Utagawa Kuniyoshi, who was known to be a huge cat lover. The exhibition features a wide variety of cats, from "cat-like" behaviors such as grooming, scratching, and stretching to slightly scary monster cats and humorous anthropomorphized cats.

What emerges from these depictions is the intimate relationship between the people of the Edo period and cats. The behavior of cats depicted in ukiyo-e art reveals how people at the time viewed cats and lived alongside them. This is another example of the gentle relationship between cats and people that we want to focus on.

Cats were first seen in the Tale of Genji, a book from the Heian period, as beloved creatures at the imperial court, and by the Edo period they had become even more familiar to us. Why not come to the exhibition and rediscover the charm of this creature that continues to attract us through the ages?

◆ "Ukiyo-e Cat Encyclopedia: All about cats"
[Period] Saturday, July 2025, 7 to Tuesday, September 19, 9
* Open every day during the exhibition period
[Venue] Sogo Museum of Art (Yokohama Station East Exit, Sogo Yokohama Store 6th floor)
[Time] 10:00-20:00 (Last admission 30 minutes before closing)