Emil Orlik (1870–1932) was a Czech artist of Jewish descent, associated with the Vienna Secession, Klimt’s Group, and the Berlin Secession, and active in every field of art. Orlik visited Japan twice, in 1900–1901 and 1911–1912, creating sketches in pencil and crayon, watercolours, woodcuts and lithographs, on subjects that caught his particular interest and incited his imagination. What interested him most was the life of ordinary people encountered by chance, situations and scenes like those seen in ukiyo-e prints but observed in real life. While Orlik’s oeuvre is ample and diverse, this exhibition primarily shows those works relevant to Japan, complemented by a unique collection of various notable figures and characters encountered by the artist.