Gallery
Overview
Japan Society Gallery is among the premier institutions in the U.S. for the exhibition of Japanese art. Extending in scope from prehistory to the present, the Gallery’s exhibitions since 1971 have covered topics as diverse as classical Buddhist sculpture and calligraphy, contemporary photography and ceramics, samurai swords, export porcelain, and masterpieces of painting from the thirteenth to the twentieth century. Each exhibition, with its related catalog and public programs, is a unique cultural event that illuminates familiar and unfamiliar fields of art.
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![]() Hakuin Ekaku, Seated Daruma, Seen from the Side. Ink on paper, 42 1/2 x 14 6/8 in. Ginshu Collection. Photo: Maggie Nimkin. |
The Sound of One Hand:
Paintings and Calligraphy by Zen Master Hakuin
October 1, 2010–January 16, 2011
Widely acknowledged as the leading Zen master of the last five centuries, Hakuin Ekaku (1685-1768) was also the most significant Zen artist of his time. He not only expressed the mind and heart of Zen for monks and lay followers (it was he who first asked "What is the sound of one hand?") but also reached out to the entire population with his painting and calligraphy. For this first exhibition in the West devoted to Hakuin, 78 of his scrolls will be gathered from collections in the United States and Japan. Organized in collaboration with New Orleans Museum of Art, and curated by Audrey Yoshiko Seo and Professor Stephen Addiss.
View an image gallery from the exhibition
The Sound of One Hand: Paintings and Calligraphy by Zen Master Hakuin has been organized by the New Orleans Museum of Art and curated by Audrey Yoshiko Seo and Professor Stephen Addiss.
Support for the exhibition at Japan Society has been provided by the E. Rhodes & Lena B. Carpenter Foundation, Chris Wachenheim, Edward and Anne Studzinski, and the Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation. Education programs at Japan Society Gallery are supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Media sponsorship is provided by
Exhibitions at Japan Society are also made possible in part by the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Endowment Fund and the Friends of the Gallery.
Support for the exhibition at Japan Society has been provided by the E. Rhodes & Lena B. Carpenter Foundation, Chris Wachenheim, Edward and Anne Studzinski, and the Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation. Education programs at Japan Society Gallery are supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Media sponsorship is provided by
Exhibitions at Japan Society are also made possible in part by the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Endowment Fund and the Friends of the Gallery.



