The porcelain the Dutch brought to Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was some of the first Japanese art to which Europeans were exposed.

Sometimes the colors in paints and dyes come from the natural world, like plants, minerals, and… bugs? Meet the cochineal—the tiny, cactus-loving insect that brings a bright, vibrant red color to art, clothing, and even food—and learn all about the science of pigments.

Calligraphy is often regarded as the purest manifestation of an artist's inner character and level of cultivation, as well as the expression of his soul, thoughts, and feelings. This publication presents some fifty-eight Japanese works, almost all calligraphy, from the remarkable collection formed over the last forty years by Sylvan Barnet and William Burto, literary scholars who became enraptured by the Japanese art of the brush. Their holdings, virtually unique outside Japan, not only embody a fundamental aspect of Japanese culture but also testify to the growing sophistication of Americans' engagement with other cultures. Spanning more than a thousand years from the Nara period (710–784) through the nineteenth century, the material includes sublime early sutras, or transcriptions of the Buddha's discourses; an extraordinary mandala that is perhaps the finest example of its kind in the West; seminal works by such renowned figures as Myoe, Koetsu, Muso, Konoe, and Daishin; engaging letters and poems that illuminate courtly life; and powerful graphic statements by Zen monk-artists. In their "Collectors' Foreword" Sylvan Barnet and William Burto discuss the history of their collection. Their second essay, "Some Western Thoughts on Shodō: The Way of Writing," is directed to the non-Japanese reader and is an illuminating commentary on the ways in which Japanese calligraphy can be appreciated. Miyeko Murase's introduction provides a rich commentary on the Japanese calligraphic scripts and scribes and an insightful overview of the society and world in which this art flourished. All of the works are discussed in texts by leading experts. Mountings of Japanese calligraphy are treated in an appendix.

Kyūshū has long been the center of Japanese pottery and porcelain production, and the Tanakamaru collection, formed by Tanakamaru Zenpachi over nearly fifty years, is one of the greatest repositories of Kyūshū wares. It includes the finest porcelains from such Arita kilns as Nabeshima and Kakiemon, as well as somber and earthy tea wares, particularly those from the Karatsu kilns, and spans at least three hundred years. Because of the variety and scope of the collection, we believe that this exhibition, which the Metropolitan Museum is pleased to show with the Seattle Art Museum, will prove to be a truly stimulating introduction to the art of Japanese ceramics. We are deeply grateful to Mrs. Tanakamaru Tomoko and Mr. Tanakamaru Zenshi for their generosity in sending so many of their magnificent treasures to America and for contributing both their time and skills to this project over the past several years. The idea for this exhibition was born when Mrs. Jackson Burke, a trustee of our museum and a collector of Japanese art, and Julia Meech-Pekarik, Associate Curator in the Department of Far Eastern Art, visited the exhibition gallery of the Tanakamaru Foundation in the Tamaya Department Store in Fukuoka while on a pottery tour of Kyūshū in March 1977. Mrs. Tanakamaru invited them to dine at her family home, and preceding the meal she hosted a tea ceremony, using antique Karatsu tea bowls in the intimacy of the Shōfūsō tearoom constructed by her late husband. The love of beautiful pottery and the enthusiasm for tea that were conveyed by the entire Tanakamaru family on that occasion have culminated in the present exhibition which we hope will prove an inspiration to collectors and students alike. The catalogue author, Nagatake Takeshi, trustee and consultant to the collection of the Tanakamaru Foundation, is also Director of the Arita Museum and Curator of the Saga Prefectural Museum. A foremost authority on Kyūshū wares, he is a prolific author and a guide to all students of Kyūshū ceramics. We are delighted to have had his cooperation and insight in the preparation of this exhibition.