When you are the Lord of Takamatsu, you may on occasion, have some time on your hands. Of course there is the Ritsurin Garden to stroll around, bonsai trees in need of grooming, tea ceremony to be enjoyed, but you still may have some space to do something more.
On display now, for a few weeks anyway, is an amazing display of biological study fused with artistic precision. The books of flower, fauna, medicinal plants, sea creatures, fish, fruit, and water birds, is currently on display at the Prefectural Museum.
Here is the website:
https://www.pref.kagawa.lg.jp/kmuseum/tenji/tokubetsuten/kaisai/
So while you may be in town to enjoy the islands of art in all their splendour and glory, you may also, should time and space allow to get down to the Prefectural Art gallery and check this out. The other day was a rainy day, and for us, while we had intended to head out ourselves and enjoy the crowds on the islands, we went here instead. We were not disappointed in the least. Check out these brief promo videos:
The detail is extraordinary, and the attention to the smallest feather, change in tone and shape is attended to. I was simply blown away at seeing these drawings of 300 years ago.
Modern art is fantastic in its theory, form, and expression, but here is another kind of art. The kind of art which observes and records what is before the human eye. Captured in time, and providing incredible insight into biology for generations to come. You get a real feeling that these are created by people wishing to teach something significant to those who come next, as well as provide a record of the life in both sea and on land that was in rich abundance.
The time to wander through will take about an hour or two, depending on how much your stand in awe. We had kids in tow, and while they were pretty patient, they also demanded to get waffles in the cafe as well. Completely reasonable demands in my estimation.
