Exhibition “The Spirit of the Samurai. Japanese Prints of Honour and Valour”

Madrid is hosting a unique exhibition this summer that connects art, history and legend: “The Spirit of the Samurai. Japanese Prints of Honour and Valour”, a free travelling exhibition displaying 44 original ukiyo-e prints about the exploits, battles and values of feudal Japan. The exhibition can currently be visited at Casa de la Cultura de Parla until 24 July, and will later continue its journey through other municipalities in the Comunidad de Madrid, including Moralzarzal.

The works on display, from the Bujalance collection, are signed by great 19th-century Japanese print masters such as Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Kunisada, Yoshitora and Yoshitsuya. Through their lines, episodes featuring legendary warriors, ceremonial armour, swords in combat and the celebrated bushidō code, the way of honour that governed samurai conduct between the 12th and 19th centuries, come to life.

Among the most notable pieces are historical scenes such as the assault by Takechi Mitsuyoshi and the heroic portrait of Tomoe Gozen, one of the few women samurai to have gone down in history. Each print is a window onto a time when aesthetics, discipline and death coexisted with extraordinary formal beauty. The exhibition offers not only a visual experience, but also an opportunity to reflect on the figure of the samurai beyond myth. Through ukiyo-e art, these prints reveal the deep connection between epic narrative and the visual sensibility of traditional Japan.

Admission is free, making this exhibition an ideal plan for the Madrid summer, both for art lovers and for those curious about Japanese culture. An opportunity to discover, without leaving Madrid, the soul of a civilisation where honour was stronger than steel.

 C/ San Antón, 46, Parla