Episode 22: The Empress of the Hermitage

In the past, the provincial city of Kamae flourished in steel-making, but it is now in decline and plans an art exhibition in conjunction with the Russian Hermitage Museum. Ekaterina Kalchnikova, called the "Empress of Hermitage" is dispatched as to curate the exhibition and promote a plan to make the Kamae museum Hermitage's Japanese annex. In a flashback, a young Fujita is shown working with Ekaterina before he moved to the MET. The mayor of Kamae wants to appoint a high-profile university professor Maruyama to be the chief of the annex, but Ekaterina insists that Fujita, should be the director. In a test, Fujita demonstrates higher skills than Maruyama, but he rejects the offer to be director. Instead, he strikes a deal for Ekaterina's favorite painting, the Benois Madonna, to be exhibited in Japan for one month each year.