SAMURAI: THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR to Open This Fall at The Frist Center

The Frist Center for the Visual Arts presents Samurai: The Way of the Warrior, a dramatic and historical exhibition that examines the traditions of this legendary warrior class and how their political dominance for nearly seven hundred years profoundly affected Japanese art and culture.

Drawn from the rich holdings of the Museo Stibbert, a museum primarily devoted to arms and armor in Florence, Italy, the exhibition will be on view in Nashville from November 4, 2016, through January 16, 2017, in the Frist's Ingram Gallery.

Featuring more than ninety elaborately ornamented functional and decorative objects created between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries, this dynamic exhibition provides insight into the life of these warriors and investigates their moral, cultural, and aesthetic codes. "The Stibbert's Japanese collection is considered one of the oldest, largest, and most important outside of Japan," says Frist Center curator Katie Delmez. "In this exhibition, our visitors will have a rare opportunity to see firsthand the fine craftsmanship and remarkable creativity harnessed to make these utilitarian works of art."

With a selection of nine full suits of armor, twelve expressive helmets (kabuto), and numerous decorated swords (katana) and sword fittings, along with a monumental sixty-foot handscroll, sumptuous standing screens, and lacquer wares, Samurai: The Way of the Warrior showcases the skill of medieval and early modern Japanese artisans. "While functional in its ability to protect the wearer, armor for the elite samurai was also very visually striking, intricately constructed with materials such as bearskin, buffalo horn, horsehair, ivory, lacquer, and silk," says Delmez. "The armor was designed to express the individuality and power of the warrior and, when not in use, was often displayed in his home."

In conjunction with the exhibition, the film series "Samurai and Cinema" will offer an eclectic selection of full-length influential Japanese samurai films. This program, representing a collaboration between the Frist Center, Belcourt Theatre, International Lens at Vanderbilt University, and Light + Sound Machine at Third Man Records, will offer screenings at four locations around Nashville.

Visit here for the schedule and more information.

Pictured: Haruta school. Helmet, first half of the 17th century. Steel, gilded copper, lacquer, gold, wood (Japanese foxglove), silk, and Japanese deerskin, 9 7/8 x 11 13/16 x 13 7/8 in. Collection of Museo Stibbert.