The Fukui City Local History Museum (福井市立郷土歴史博物館) in Fukui City, Fukui Prefecture, is holding the second half of its exhibition on Hookabe Kinshu (波々伯部金洲), a painter born in Fukui. The second half runs from Saturday, October 31 to Monday, November 23, 2026 (a national holiday). It is the first retrospective of the artist.
About the Exhibition
Hookabe Kinshu (1862–1930) was active from the Meiji era to the early Showa era and is known for his beauty-painting posters for Mitsukoshi Gofukuten (三越呉服店). He began his career as a lithograph craftsman (石版画工) and worked across a wide range of fields, including magazine and newspaper illustrations, beauty-painting posters, and portraits.
The exhibition looks at Kinshu's career as an artist who applied his skill in pictures to modern commercial art and to the birth and growth of mass media. It presents the variety of his work and lesser-known sides of his career through original artworks for posters, beauty paintings, and many materials that are being shown to the public for the first time.
The exhibition is organized in the following sections.
- Prologue: The Son of a Fukui Domain Samurai Goes to Tokyo
- Chapter 1: A Career Starting as a Lithograph Craftsman
- Chapter 2: Becoming a Popular Portrait and Beauty Painter
- Chapter 3: Kinshu, Master of Beauty-Painting Posters
- Epilogue: To 兜麓, His Final Home
Works from the Exhibition
"東京今春歌妓小鈴," 1882. Private collection
"柳橋盛妓桃太朗," 1883. Private collection
"Portrait of Matsudaira Shungaku (松平春嶽像)," 1892. 越葵文庫, kept by the museum
"Portrait of Matsudaira Mochiaki (松平茂昭像)," 1892. 越葵文庫, kept by the museum
"Mitsukoshi Gofukuten Poster: Genroku Pattern Advertisement (三越呉服店ポスター 元禄模様広告)," 1905. Collection of Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd. ©2026 Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd.
"Mitsukoshi Gofukuten Poster: Tosei Bijin (三越呉服店ポスター 当世美人)," 1912. Collection of Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd. ©2026 Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd.
"鷺娘." Private collection. Shown to the public for the first time
"楊柳観世音尊像," 1930. Collection of 観音寺. Shown to the public for the first time
Related Events
Highlights Lecture: The Work of the Painter Hookabe Kinshu (見どころ講座 画家・波々伯部金洲の仕事)
- Lecturer: Chiho Fujiwara (藤原千穂), the curator in charge of this exhibition
- Date and time: Saturday, November 7, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
- Venue: Auditorium on the 2nd floor of the museum
- Capacity: 60 people (no reservation required; first come, first served on the day)
- Fee: ¥100
Gallery Talk (ギャラリートーク): Exhibit Commentary by the Curator in Charge
- Date and time: Every Sunday during the exhibition period, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
- Venue: Special exhibition room on the 2nd floor of the museum
- Capacity: 20 people per session (no reservation required, but an admission ticket for the special exhibition is needed)
Exhibition Details
Hookabe Kinshu Retrospective (Second Half)
Dates: Saturday, October 31 – Monday, November 23, 2026 (national holiday)
Hours: 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM through November 5; from November 6, the museum closes at 5:00 PM. Last admission is 30 minutes before closing.
Venue: Fukui City Local History Museum (福井市立郷土歴史博物館), 3-12-1 Hoei, Fukui City, Fukui Prefecture
Admission:
- General: ¥900
- High school and university students: ¥600
- Repeat discount: showing a ticket stub gives a reduced admission fee from the second visit onward (General: ¥720, Students: ¥480)
- Free admission: junior high school students and younger, people aged 70 and over, and people with disabilities and their carers
- Groups of 20 or more: 20% off
Exhibition website: https://www.city.fukui.lg.jp/kyoiku/gakusyu/museum/p073305.html
