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Ferenc Hopp (1833\u20131919) first sailed to Japan in 1882 and returned several times through 1914, gathering mostly Meiji period applied arts such as lacquer, metalwork and ceramics, along with netsuke and okimono from earlier eras. After the museum\u2019s founding in 1919, sister institutions from Hungary and private donors entrusted their Japanese holdings to the Hopp Museum, building a national center for research and display. \u201cOur Japanese and Chinese collections each number around 10,000 pieces,\u201d D\u00e9nes noted, a testament to Hungarian curiosity about East Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The museum\u2019s intimate scale shapes its rhythm: one major exhibition each year, supported by small showcases that invite slow looking. A current exhibition explores Theosophy\u2019s cross currents, setting Western works in dialogue with East Asian objects, including Japanese Buddhist sculptures, paintings and textiles. In October, a pop-up focused on contemporary Japanese earthenware tied to wood-firing traditions and born of a recent collaboration between artists from Hungary (J\u00falia N\u00e9ma) and Japan (\u014chi Ch\u014dzaemon XI from Kanazawa, Aso Rando and Hioki Tetsuya from the Mino region). \u201cThese projects let audiences see living traditions and contemporary thought in the same room,\u201d D\u00e9nes added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Acquisitions continue to refresh the collection, from artist gifts to carefully chosen works secured at auctions. The aim is not breadth alone but meaning. \u201cWe do our best to add new types of objects and themes every year, from this aspect, interwar prints, contemporary lacquer objects and a beautiful sketchbook by Kawanabe Ky\u014dsai are worthy to be mentioned,\u201d she explained. In a house museum where space is precious, each new work must earn its place and open a door for visitors, whether children on school tours, seniors in guided groups or families taking a first step toward Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ahead lies a landmark: a yearlong exhibition of photographs made in 1907 and 1908 by an Austro-Hungarian navy doctor Dezs\u0151 Boz\u00f3ky (1871\u20131957), who traveled through China, Korea and Japan. Preserved on glass plates, photo albums and stereograph cards, the images capture the region just after the Russo-Japanese War. The exhibition introducing the photo collection together with objects also collected by Dr. Boz\u00f3ky will debut during the 2026\u20132027 season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We are putting our energy into conservation and digitization so people everywhere can explore and enjoy the collection online.<\/p>Mirjam D\u00e9nes<\/strong>, curator of Japanese art<\/mark><\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n New storage has improved conditions for the collection, and conservators monitor required humidity levels and storage materials as part of routine care. Digitization is accelerating so classrooms beyond Budapest can examine objects in detail with accurate captions and scholarly notes. \u201cWe are putting our energy into conservation and digitization so people everywhere can explore and enjoy the collection online,\u201d D\u00e9nes said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n See the Hopp Museum\u2019s growing collection online: https:\/\/hoppmuseum.hu\/en\/collection<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
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