The Piraeus Bank Group Cultural Foundation (PIOP) and the Corfu Museum of Asian Art present the temporary exhibition “Like Silk”, in the Foundation’s Silk Museum in Soufli.

The exhibition was inaugurated on Friday, 9 June 2023 and its duration was until 13 November 2023. In view of the great interest, the exhibition will be extended until March, 4 2024.

The exhibition, which is organized under the auspices of the Embassy of Japan in Greece, presents, for the first time, selected authentic objects from the collections of the Corfu Museum of Asian Art, the only museum in the country dedicated exclusively to the antiquities and art of Asia.

In direct dialogue with the theme of the distinct Silk Museum and highlighting aspects of the history of the production and use of silk in the Land of the Rising Sun, the exhibition explores common elements between the two cultures, Japanese and Greek. Sericulture, crucial to the character of Soufli, played an important role in the economic, social and cultural development of Japan, which remains one of the largest silk producers in the world.

Twelve colour woodblock prints by the renowned artist Kitagawa Utamaro, from the series titled “Women working in sericulture”, depict the stages of a production process that was traditionally the domain of women’s work and one of the most important sectors of the Edo (now Tokyo) economy.

The art of precious silk fabrics is then unfolded, as the textile industry was one of the leading forms of expression of Japanese culture, culminating in the iconic kimono: the main garment for men and women of all classes in Japanese society since the 16th century, with elaborate designs and special symbolism.

Finally, the attractive world of the geisha, a word that literally means “person of art” (gei means art and sha means person), is revealed. Enjoying economic independence and special esteem after a lengthy education, geishas were artists, educated women, and today they remain a living symbol of the Japanese past that continues to fascinate.

Duration of the exhibition: 10 June 2023 to 4 March 2024
Opening hours: Daily, except Tuesday, 10:00-17:00 until 28/2 and 10:00-18:00 after 1/3.
Closed: December 25th and 26th, January 1st, January 18th (local patronal feast).

PIOP | Silk Museum
73 Eleftheriou Venizelou Str., Soufli 684 00
Τ.: 25540 23700 | www.piop.gr