In 1922, after leaving the Western Painting Department of the Saikoin Exhibition, artists such as Hoan Kosugi, Kanae Yamamoto, Tsunetomo Morita, and Noboru Hasegawa, along with members of the Kusakudo-kai such as Ryusei Kishida and Shohachi Kimura, founded the Shunyo-kai. The following year, they held their inaugural exhibition. Emphasizing individualism and valuing each artist's uniqueness, the group featured prominent painters like Ryuzaburo Umehara and Tetsugoro Yorozu, showcasing oil paintings, ink paintings, and sketches without strict genre distinctions, adhering to their declaration that "art is not discriminated by form."
Shunyo-kai actively looked at the forefront of Western art trends, while simultaneously welcoming artists expressing local and indigenous elements, and Japanese and Eastern themes within their works. The inclination towards "Japanese painting" became a significant characteristic of Shunyo-kai.
As Shunyo-kai celebrates its centennial, this exhibition explores how it evolved, stayed in sync with the times, and laid the groundwork for its continued existence today. Focusing on works from the formative years to around the 1950s, the exhibition presents approximately 200 masterpieces, reevaluating the significance of Shunyo-kai in the history of modern Japanese art.