The exhibition Snow Melts. Japanese Art is on view at the Art Museum RIGA BOURSE in Riga (Doma laukums 6) from 21 February to 3 May 2026.
21 February – 3 May 2026
Art Museum RIGA BOURSE /
Great Exhibition Hall
Doma laukums 6, Riga
Media event on 20 February at 11.00
Registration of participants: 10.30–11.00
雪とけて
村いっぱいの
子どもかな
Snow melts,
and the village is flooded
with children
Kobayashi Issa (小林一茶, 1763–1828)
Spring in Japanese culture brings together the rhythms of nature, the cycles of human life and an aesthetic way of perceiving the world into a single, symbolically rich experience. It marks the boundary between the old and the new both in nature and in human life, and thus becomes a significant point of departure for change.
In Japanese aesthetics, spring is associated with an awareness of the transience of beauty. The brief blossoming of cherry trees, plum trees and other spring flowers is perceived as the culmination of beauty precisely because of its impermanence, encouraging empathy, attentiveness and a conscious experience of the moment.
Spring is not only observed in nature, but it is also lived emotionally and collectively. At the same time, spring in Japan is a season of rituals. Traditions such as hanami, seasonal festivals and religious rites have brought people together in shared spaces and moments for over a thousand years. This collective experience is reflected in both theatre and visual art, where spring functions not merely as a decorative backdrop but as a meaningful principle that shapes imagery, composition and the viewer’s emotional perception.
The exhibition displays works from the Japanese art collection of the Latvian National Museum of Art – colourful woodblock prints ukiyo-e, lacquerware, porcelain and ceramic objects, which depict this season so essential to Japan in a variety of ways.
The exposition unfolds across three thematic sections – Flower Viewing, Kabuki and Rituals – each offering a distinct perspective on the meaning of spring in Japanese culture. Flower Viewing explores the act of observation itself, where the presence of spring, an awareness of natural cycles, aesthetic sensitivity, and social togetherness converge. In the Kabuki section, spring emerges not simply as a season but as a dramaturgical and symbolic framework shaping theatrical narratives, visual expression and audience experience. The final section, Rituals, highlights spring as a time of transition in Japan, traditionally understood as the moment when one cycle ends and another begins, giving rise to rituals of purification, the restoration of harmony and prayers for a favourable future.
Text by Kristīne Milere
Exhibition curator:
Kristīne Milere
Exhibition Curator /
Art Museum RIGA BOURSE /
Latvian National Museum of Art
Ph: (+371) 60 001 344
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Preparing collection for display:
Zane Lūse
Head of Museum Storage /
Latvian National Museum of Art
Una Kastanovska
Head of the Conservation Deparment /
Latvian National Museum of Art
Baiba Uburģe
Curator of Foreign Decorative and Applied Arts Collection /
Art Museum RIGA BOURSE
Latvian National Museum of Art
Mare Heimrāte-Patačīni
Curator of Foreign Graphic Art Collection /
Art Museum RIGA BOURSE
Latvian National Museum of Art
Arvils Vilkaušs
Framing Specialist /
Latvian National Museum of Art
Exhibition construction:
Emīls Eduards Murziņš
Kārlis Verners Baumanis /
Art Museum RIGA BOURSE
Latvian National Museum of Art
Graphic design:
Kristīne Jansone /
Art Museum RIGA BOURSE /
Latvian National Museum of Art
Educational programme:
Anna Roze
Kristīne Graudiņa
Vita Ozoliņa /
Art Museum RIGA BOURSE /
Latvian National Museum of Art
Exhibition communication:
Katrīna Ģelze /
Communication Specialist /
Art Museum RIGA BOURSE /
Latvian National Museum of Art
Ph: (+371) 67 357 534
GSM: (+371) 26 306 007
E:
Special thanks to:
Embassy of Latvia to Japan
Arctic Paper
Jelgavas tipogrāfija
Māra Lāce
Iveta Derkusova
Daiga Upeniece
Vita Birzaka
Uģis Nastevičs
Ieva Kalnača
Ojūna Batbajara
