Allow us to introduce the collection of Japanese paintings of a wealthy individual who mingled with people in political, business, and arts circles during the Taisho and Showa periods. The collector Zenyū Kataoka (1885-1970) was born into a landowning family in Hayano, Mobara City, Chiba, studied at a middle school in Tokyo, worked for the politician Shinpei Gotō for a while, and became a local celebrity who devoted himself to farmland reforms after returning home. At the same time, Kataoka had a profound understanding of artistic culture and supported painters in Tokyo art circles, including Masami Iwata, Shūjin Kawachi, and Hakuho Mori. Letters left behind together with the artworks tell us that Kataoka frequently went to Tokyo to meet with painters, look at works at exhibitions, and supported them both mentally and materially throughout the harsh times of the wartime and postwar periods. He would sometimes also invite painters to his vast residence with its Western-style mansion.

　This collection that developed from these interactions consists of illustrated albums and shikishi collections from various painters, centering on hanging scrolls that belong in a tokonoma display. Please enjoy this rich collection of works that were preciously cared for and loved by a local patron.