Miyeko Murase, 1924–2025
By Karen May Wai Plumptre
Portrait of MIYEKO MURASE. Courtesy Japan Society, New York.
On February 12, Miyeko Murase, a pioneering curator and scholar of Japanese art, passed away at the age of 100.
Born in 1924, Murase launched her academic career at New York’s Columbia University. In 1962, she joined as an assistant professor in the department of art history and archaeology before becoming a full professor in 1975. Her research centered on Japanese paintings, scrolls, and screens, as well as sculptures, decorative arts, and architecture.
Murase eventually became the Takeo and Itsuko Atsumi Professor Emerita of Japanese Art at Columbia University, and also served as a special consultant for Japanese art at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
During her tenure at Columbia University, Murase made significant contributions to promoting Japanese culture in the US. She also held lectures in Japan to present the current state of US scholarship on Japanese art, thus fostering a cross-cultural exchange between the two countries. Numerous scholars were under her guidance, including Emily Sano, the former director of San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum, and Mary Griggs Burke, whose Burke Collection—considered one of the finest private collections of Japanese art—is now held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
An avid curator, Murase also organized several landmark exhibitions in New York, such as “Byobu: Japanese Screens from New York Collections” (1971) at Asia Society and “A Giant Leap: The Transformation of Hasegawa Tōhaku” (2018) at Japan Society.
For over half a century, Murase was a trailblazer in the areas of academic research, private collections, and museum curation. In 2010, the Japanese government recognized her contributions to promoting Japanese culture with the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon—a prestigious national award.
Murase’s final project is “Kotobuki: Auspicious Celebrations of Japanese Art from New York Private Collections,” for which she served as a guest curator. The exhibition is set to open at Japan Society on March 13 and will feature rarely displayed Japanese artworks from New York private collections.
In a press release, Michele Bambling, senior director of the Japan Society Gallery, stated: “In the spirit of kotobuki (celebration), the exhibition honors Dr. Murase’s achievements, serving as both a tribute and a celebration for those inspired by her scholarship to reflect on her lasting impact on the understanding and appreciation of Japanese art.”
Karen May Wai Plumptre is an editorial intern at ArtAsiaPacific.
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