WASHINGTON, DC.- The Smithsonian's museums of Asian art and Mitsubishi Corp. announced a partnership to expand collaboration and communication between Japanese and American audiences and scholars. Mitsubishi Corp. will donate $1 million to the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery to support the museums' Japanese initiatives through 2020, marking the first time that a private corporation has provided a sponsorship for exhibitions and staffing to the galleries.

The donation comes during the Sackler's landmark exhibition, "Sotatsu: Making Waves," on view until Jan. 31, 2016. It is the first exhibition outside Japan to feature Tawaraya Sōtatsu (d. circa 1640), one of the most influential yet elusive figures in the history of Japanese visual culture.

The donation will support three principal areas: outreach to Japanese audiences--both publicly and the scholarly community--through enhanced Web communication; exhibitions that emphasize collaboration between specialists in both nations, including a spring 2017 exhibition on Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806); and enhanced bilingual staffing in administrative areas.

With this partnership, the Freer and Sackler galleries and Mitsubishi Corp. aim to strengthen the relationship between the United States and Japan, as well as increase the awareness of Japanese culture abroad. The donation recognizes the Freer's historic role in fostering bilateral collaboration since the early 20th century and promoting Japanese art and culture.

Mitsubishi Corp. is Japan's largest general trading company with more than 200 bases of operations in approximately 80 countries worldwide. The donation aligns with Mitsubishi Corp.'s Three Corporate Principles and Code of Conduct, which serve as the business's core guiding philosophy.