News Release

Tsuzuri Project donates to Nagasaki Prefecture a high-resolution facsimile of 17th century artwork, "Arrival of the Southern Barbarians" housed in the Cleveland Museum of Art

TOKYO, March 7, 2025—Canon Inc. announced today that the Tsuzuri Project (officially, the Cultural Heritage Inheritance Project), a joint project organized by Canon and Kyoto Culture Association (NPO), has donated a high-resolution facsimile of "Arrival of the Southern Barbarians," a famous 17^th century artwork, the original of which resides in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art in Cleveland, Ohio, to the local government of Nagasaki Prefecture, which has a deep connection to the artwork.

The artwork is a pair of six-panel folding screens which depict trading with foreigners, mainly Europeans, who arrived in Japan during the Azuchi-Momoyama period in the early 17^th century. The left screen shows the arrival of a foreign ship and various trade goods, while the right screen shows the procession of foreigners who have landed and a group of Japanese people awaiting them with curious expressions on their faces. Such folding screens, collectively referred to as “Nanban (Southern barbarian) screens,” were created in Japan from the late 16^th to the early 17^th century, with over 100 pieces believed to still exist in Japan and overseas. Among them, this particular artwork is valued for its use of elegant and decorative expressions, including the vivid illustration of over 300 diverse figures and the dynamic movement of waves surrounding the ship.

“Arrival of the Southern Barbarians” was originally owned by Nagami Tokutaro, the sixth-generation head of one of the wealthiest merchant families in Nagasaki which had existed since the Edo Period. This piece, which was said to have initially sparked Nagami’s interest in Nanban screens, was one of the most cherished in his collection. Through a series of events, it later ended up in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it currently resides.

Canon jointly reproduced the cultural property as part of the Stage 17 of the Tsuzuri Project. Its EOS R5 full-frame mirrorless camera was used to capture images of the original work, after which Canon applied its proprietary color matching system and image processing. The facsimile was then output using large-format inkjet printers with 12-color pigment ink. Finally, expert Kyoto craftsmen applied gold to the facsimile and mounted it on folding screen frames, completing an extremely accurate reproduction of the original work.

Now, through the donation of a high-resolution facsimile, “Arrival of the Southern Barbarians” has returned to Nagasaki, the birthplace of Nagami and the former center of the “Nanban trade” involving trade with countries such as Spain and Portugal.

The donated folding screens will reside at the Nagasaki Museum of History and Culture, which houses historical materials related to international exchanges from the Edo Period to the earlier 19^th century and a large number of works collected by Nagami Tokutaro, who devoted himself to the collection of Nanban art and related research. They will then be displayed^* in a zone within the museum’s permanent exhibition area for showcasing the history of communication between Japan and overseas, and are also scheduled to be used in special exhibitions at various locations within the prefecture or in educational activities including experiential programs in collaboration with local communities. To commemorate the donation, from March 8^th to March 16^th, the screens will be displayed at the entrance hall of the museum as a special exhibition at which visitors will be permitted to take pictures and observe them up-close without a glass case.

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  Admission to the entrance hall is free. However, a separate fee is required to view the permanent exhibitions. For information about museum opening hours and display locations, please visit the official Nagasaki Museum of History and Culture:
  https://www.nmhc.jp/english/

About the Tsuzuri Project

The Tsuzuri Project is a joint cultural support activity organized by Canon and Kyoto Culture Association (NPO) in 2007. Many of Japan’s precious historical and cultural assets have limited viewing opportunities, often because they have been moved overseas or are preserved in storage as designated national treasures. The project produces high-resolution facsimiles by combining Canon’s technical expertise in imaging, processing, and output with the master craftsmanship of traditional Kyoto artisans. These high-resolution facsimiles are donated to institutions with ties to cultural assets such as shrines, temples, local governments, and museums and are available for a variety of purposes including public display and tangible educational materials. So far, more than 60 high-resolution facsimiles of artwork from artists including Katsushika Hokusai, Tawaraya Sōtatsu, and Ogata Kōrin have been produced.

For more information, please visit the official Tsuzuri Project website:
https://global.canon/en/tsuzuri/