Ayashii : Decadent and Grotesque Images of Beauty in Modern Japanese Art

The word ‘ayashii’ directly translates as ‘suspicious’, but in this case indicates the artistic styles that arose during the Meiji Period: decadence, sensuousness, grotesqueness, and eroticism. This kind of artistic style reflected the people’s desire and anxiety during the turbulent and drastic era. The collection exhibits paintings, prints and illustrations in magazines and books published from mid-19th century to around 1930.