Before Western realism was introduced into Japan, there was a realism native to Japan identifiable in Buddhist sculptures of the Kamakura period and jizai okimono (articulated iron figures of animals) of the Edo period. Through the ages, the methods of expression and sensibilities have been commingled with Western realistic expressions and are inherited by contemporary artists, too. In this exhibition, with oil paintings by Takahashi Yuichi and iki-ningyo (lifelike dolls) by Matsumoto Kisaburo and others as an introduction, works by currently active artists are introduced. We hope to explore what Japanese “realism” inexplicable within the Western context was and how it came into being.