Eleventh- to fifteenth-century Europe was intensely fragmented in terms of both politics and religion, giving rise to humanism, a philosophy that emphasizes human freedom, dignity, and harmony. Advocating the idea of the “unity of opposites”—that both Christianity and paganism are equal before God—humanists sought to bring an end to this era of division, and this philosophy remains highly thought-provoking even today.

The art historian and authority on iconography Edgar Wind (1900–1971) asserted that in great works of art, the ideology of the time is always visible on the surface, but a kind of sacred light reaches us only when it is veiled in poetry. In other words, paintings from Botticelli’s era did not merely capture the visible world; they also served as tools for catching a glimpse of that which lies beyond human sight. The subject of La Bella Simonetta, the “beautiful Simonetta” herself, was a figure who gave the people of her era a glimpse into that unseen realm.

The year 2026 marks the 160th anniversary of the signing of the Japan-Italy Treaty of Amity and Commerce, as well as the 550th anniversary of Simonetta’s death. This exhibition focuses on two major literary works: Stanze per la giostra (“Stanzas for the Jousting Tournament”) by the Italian poet Angelo Poliziano, in which Simonetta herself is depicted, and Haru no Taikan (“The Coronation of Spring”) by the Japanese novelist Tsuji Kunio, who saw the “figure of an immutable primrose” in the likeness of Simonetta portrayed in Botticelli’s Primavera (“The Spring”). The exhibition seeks to explore what we may find in these works that is concealed from direct sight.