Well, as often happens while traveling, the museum plan was changed. The Gunma Museum was closed the day we were to visit. Instead, we visited the Kurita pottery museum in Ashikaga. Initially, I was not as interested in visiting here since there are no paintings on canvas. The nice surprise was finding excellent paintings on the pottery. All the pottery was from Imari and Nabeshima, the most famous Japanese color picture ware and dyed porcelain ware. Asuka and I had a great and informative conversation about the thinking behind the design and balance that was, for me, the most impressive characteristic of this pottery.

The other surprise of this museum was the setting. The grounds and architecture were spectacular. Simple, elegant and beautiful.

Next, first painting from Japan.