22English
EditionSpecial Exhibition

Jul. 16 Fri. 2021 No.22

Splendors of Edo:

Rites of the Samurai, Festivals of the Merchants
Saturday, July 10 to Monday, September 20 (national holiday), 2021
Special Exhibition Gallery, 1F *Items on display may change during the exhibition.

Ō-Edo.
The word itself opens a door to the past. It evokes
a bright, lively impression of the city. The actual
circumstances of that great city, Edo, were obviously
not that simple, but all sorts of information
about it is strengthening our positive
image today.
This exhibition focuses on thatbright, lively impression of Edo and,through the phrase “Splendors of Edo,”aims to clarify one aspect of the city:
the rites performed by the samurai andthe festivals and events carried out by
all Edo residents. The works exhibited
are all related to scenes that were hare,out of the ordinary, in Edo life. Looking at
the nature of those scenes through a variety ofartifacts, we can sense the energy to tackled
White and Navy Lacing Scale Armor
tomorrow’s challenges that they brought tolatter half of the Edo period
the people of Edo.
The exhibition is composed of the following parts:
Prologue: Diplomatic Gift
Part I: Armors and Rites
Part II: Annual Events: The Inari Deity and Hinamatsuri, the Doll Festival
Part III: The Splendor of Furnishings and Fashion
Epilogue: Gold & Silver
The first part presents armor, swords, palanquin, and other items owned by shoguns
and daimyo. These military items had been instruments of war before the Edo period,
but during the great Tokugawa peace, they were used in gift exchanges and as
decorations, not to wage war but to express the authority of the military clans.
In Part II, we explore the festivals in which the family that owned the Kajimaya EastStore, a major commercial establishment in Edo participated. A large number ofartifacts related to Tominaga Inari, a deity for whom the Kajimaya probably had ashrine on its property, give a vivid sense of its festival. These include the shrine building
itself and the lion masks paraded in the festival. The dolls and accessories for the Hinadoll display also passed down by the Kajimaya East Store are a stunning collection
comparable to those assembled by samurai clans.
Part III presents the lavish beauty enjoyed by women of the samurai class throughtheir wedding trousseaus and glorious garments. Many of the furnishings in bridal
trousseaus associated with the shogunal clan were finished in brilliant, glowing pearskinlacquer. Here we introduce some particularly noteworthy exhibits from among thisspectacular group.

White and Navy Lacing Scale Armor
In the latter half of the Edo period, the head of the Kii Tokugawa clan owned this luxurious

suit of armor, which was made in an old-fashioned style. The small scales on the cuirass areconnected by white and dark blue lacing. The helmet is decorated, in the front, with a crest
Information
Days Closed: Mondays (but open July 26, August 2, 9, 16, 30 and September 20), August 10* Items on display may change during the exhibition.
* Depending on the situation of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the session, closed days, opening hours, admission fee,and various discount services may change.

Organized by: Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture The Tokyo Metropolitan Edo-TokyoMuseum, The Yomiuri Shimbun, Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan Arts Council
AdultUniversity/college students
Middle and high school students. Seniors 65+
Tokyo middle and elementary school students

Special exhibition only
¥1,400 (¥1,120)¥1,120 (¥890)¥700 (¥560)¥700 (¥560)

Special and permanent exhibition¥1,600 (¥1,280)¥1,280 (¥1,020 )¥800 (¥640)
None

Furisode with Tasuki Cord and Chrysanthemum,
Wave, and Plum PatternThis Yuzen-dyed furisode was probably acustom-made garment worn for ceremonial
occasions. Yuzen, a resist dyeing technique,
begins with drawing patterns in paste on theundyed fabric and then dyeing it in multiple
colors; it developed in the mid-Edo period
and was used extensively in garments for
women of the prosperous townsperson class.
A piece of fabric with writing in sumi ink has been
attached to the inside of the furisode’s back. From it
we know that this garment was a memento ofhis beloved daughter, who died at the age of 19
in 1730, that Konishi Kizaemon, headman of
the Asakusa-Mitsuke Waki quarter in Edo,
donated to the family temple for her
memorial service. That addition makes thisgarment particularly valuable because it is Designated National Important Cultural Property
possible to specify with considerable precision Furisode with Tasuki Cord andChrysanthemum, Wave, and Plum Patternwhen it was made and who wore it.
Mid Edo period, Marubeni Corporation

Lion Masks

Exhibition period: Saturday, July 10 – Monday, August 9

Of the Kajimaya in Edo, the most famous was the store established by the Kajima Seibeiclan, who were wholesalers dealing in sake shipped to Edo from other parts of Japan. But
then Kajima Seibei IV set up the eastern store (Higashidana) in Fukagawa Shimada-cho,Edo, establishing a branch family and taking the name Seizaemon. The eastern store
flourished, its business expanding in the latter half of the Edo period through its closing
years. Indeed, it surpassed the Kajimaya main store to grow into one of the largest
businesses in Edo. That store is known as the Kajimaya East Store.
The family running the Kajimaya East Store worshiped the Tominaga Inari andprobably had a shrine to that deity on their property. This museum has a variety of related
artifacts, including a shrine building. The lion masks are part of that group; they weredonated to Tominaga Inari in the third month of 1858 as prayers inviting good fortune
and driving out disease. One can imagine the people involved in making and donating themasks gathering at the Tominaga Inari shrine for lively lion dances.
These intoxicating exhibits also include a palanquin used by Tokugawa Iemitsu together
with Gods of the Four Directions banners used at Tominaga Inari festivals. Almost all are
artifacts that appear in hare settings, out-of-the-ordinary occasions.
Hare occasions generate energy and vitality for the days to come today, just as in the Edo
period. We hope that this exhibition will be a stimulating hare experience for all ourvisitors.
(Curators Kawaguchi Tomoko, Kosakai Daigo, Saito Shin’ichi)

Notes

Opening hours: 9:30 am to 5:30 pm *Admission until 30 minutes before close

Admission fee (incl. tax)

in the form of Kurikara (an avatar of Fudō Myōō, a Wisdom King). The shoulder armorand greaves have byakudan-nuri (transparent lacquer over gold leaf) applied. The metal
fittings with the Tokugawa three-leaved hollyhock crest are also striking. This suit of armor
is clearly suited for ceremonial occasions, not the battlefield.

Advance tickets for special exhibition only
¥1,200
¥920
¥500
¥500

• Fees in parentheses are for groups of twenty or more.
• The admission fee is free in the following cases. Preschool children. Anyone who has a physical disability certificate,
intellectual disability certificate, rehabilitation certificate, mental health and welfare certificate, or an official designation as
an atomic bomb survivor, as well as their attending caregivers (up to two people).
• There is no special exhibition & permanent exhibition ticket for elementary school students and junior high school
students who live or study in Tokyo because the permanent exhibition admission fee is free for them.
• For changes to opening hours and Silver Day opening, please check our website.
• Advance tickets will be on sale until Friday, July 9. Tickets purchased on or after Satuaday, July 10 are at the regular price.

* Admission restrictions and advance reservations may be enforced to prevent overcrowding in the venue.Please check ourwebsite for the latest information.

Ticket Sales
Edo-Tokyo Museum, major ticket agencies(Tickets for special exhibitions and permanent exhibitions are sold only at the Edo-Tokyo Museum.)From the Permanent Exhibition Area

Featured Exhibition

COLOR SUMOWOOD-BLOCK PRINTSAND EDO CULTURE
Saturday, July 17 to Sunday, September 5, 2021
Permanent Exhibition, 5th Floor Feature Exhibition RoomWatching sumo tournaments was a popular Edo-period pastime, as it is today. In Edo,
however, its ramifications went beyond entertainment; it pervaded everyday lives. In
this exhibition, our museum, with the cooperation of our neighbor, the SumoMuseum, and the National Theatre, presents the many fascinating aspects of sumo.
Sumo, through the actions of groups of professional sumo wrestlers, rikishi, became
established as a popular form of entertainment in the mid-Edo period. In 1791, JoranSumo, a special sumo match, was organized within Edo Castle, for Ienari, the eleventh
Tokugawa shogun. That event clearly defined the social position of rikishi. In 1789,
two years before the Joran Sumo match, Tanikaze Kajinosuke, who had earned
explosive popularity for his spectacular record of sixty-three consecutive wins, andOnogawa Kisaburo, who became popular for having defeated him, were given
permission to wear the yokozuna, a special belt made of a straw rope, when entering
the sumo ring. Those first “yokozuna licenses” established the custom of giving therank of yokozuna to outstanding rikishi.
During the same period that sumo was flourishing, the polychrome woodblock
print, or nishiki-e, was also entering its golden age. Until then, sumo prints had beenrather stylized and unsophisticated, but the rise of nishiki-e also saw the emergence ofsumo prints in which the characteristics of individual rikishiís faces and physiques
were presented. Sumo nishiki-e began as standing portraits of one or a pair of rikishi
and then developed rich variations—rikishi entering the ring, wrestling there, scenesof the entire setting for the tournament, with the ring at the center, images of groupsof rikishi, even rikishi in kimono enjoying a banquet.
Nishiki-e that present a popular rikishi or communicate the excitement of a sumo
tournament with an intense sense of immediacy played leading roles in spurring thepopular passion for these athletic performances. Sumo nishiki-e were essential tools insustaining the popularity of star rikishi, and people wanted prints of their favorite
rikishi as soon as possible. To meet that demand, publishers developed way to makeproduction more efficient, such as
using the same woodblocks with
only the face and ornamental apron
replaced. This exhibition includes
nishiki-e of the famous yokozuna
Tanikaze, mentioned above, and of
the yokozuna Inazuma Raigorō, who
was active in the first half of then i ne t e e nt h c e nt u r y, p lu s t heyokozuna rope belts a nd thedecorative aprons that they wore.
The subjects of these prints are
not confined to magnificent rikishi.
The Edo sumo performance also
included processions into the ring ofspecial categories of rikishi such“giant men” and “huge boys” to stir
up further excitement. The giant
Ikezuki Geitazaemon and the “hugeboy ” Daidozan Bungoro wereTanikaze Kajinosuke, Katsukawa Shuntei
portrayed by many ukiyo-e artists, Sumo
Museumand many images are extant.
Sumo was more than aperformance. It was also rooted, inmany ways, in people’s daily lives.
For example, not only did children
Tanikaze’s Yokozuna
imitate sumo matches but also both
Private Collection
children and adult enjoyed experiencing
sumo through prints made to be played
with, including prints to be used as boards
f o r s u g o r o k u (a J a p a n e s e v a r i e t y o fbackgammon) and for tatebanko, making
three-dimensional scenes by cutting out andassembling parts provided in prints. The distinctive printed rankings of sumo rikishi
also inspired parody rankings presented in all sorts of other fields.
Starting in the closing years of the Edo period, sumo tournaments could only beheld within the precincts of the Ekoin temple in Ryogoku. In 1909, furthermore,
Ryogoku became the site of a permanent sumo stadium, the Kokugikan. Here in“sumo town,” please enjoy this joint performance of sumo, which went on to develop
into Japanís archetypical sport and craft, and the nishiki-e that helped to boost its
popularity.
(Curator: Haruki Shoko)

Portraits of SumoWrestlers during
Kansei era

Sumo Museum
Rikishi have gathered to watch
over the “huge boy” rikishi
Daidozan Bungoro. Tanikaze
is standing on the left.

Visitor Information
Please visit our website for the latest
information.
Hours
9 : 30 - 17 : 30 [Saturdays 9 : 30 - 19 : 30](Last admission 30 minutes before closing.)

Evening hours on Saturday have been cancelled
for the time being, due to the novel coronavirus(COV ID-19) pandemic.

ClosedMondays (When Monday is a national
holiday, the next business day)Year-End and New Year Holiday

Admission for Permanent Exhibition
IndividualGroup(20 and over)

Adults￥600￥480

Students*

￥480

￥380

Ages 65 and over

￥300

￥240

Junior high** andhigh school students

￥300

￥240

Getting HereFree Admission to PermanentExhibition
Pre-school and elementary school children
Junior high school students who are residents ofTokyo
Those in personal possession of disability certif
icates, mental disability, psychiatric disability
protection and atomic bombsurvivor chart
hold er s up on show i n g of t he do c u ment
(documentary proof of age also required) andtheir two custodians

Silver Day
Cancelled for the time being, due to the novelcoronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Family Day
Cancelled for the time being, due to the novel
coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
* Includes university and vocational college students** Free admission for junior high school students
resident or studying in Tokyo

From Airports
Keikyu Line

HanedaAirportAbout 15
minutesTokyo Monorail
About 20
minutes
Skyliner
About 36
minutes

NaritaAirportNarita Express
About 50
minutes

Shinagawa
StationHamamatsucho Station
NipporiStationTokyoStation

Yamanote Line /Keihin-tohoku Line
About 16 minutes
Yamanote Line /Keihin-tohoku Line
About 11 minutes
Yamanote Line /Keihin-tohoku Line

Akihabara
StationAbout4 minutes

About 8 minutes
Yamanote Line /Keihin-tohoku Line
About 4 minutes* All times from Narita Airport are from “Narita Airport Terminal 2・3 (Airport Terminal 2) Station”.

by Train by Subway
3-minute walk from West Exit of
Ryogoku Station, JR Sobu Line
1-minute walk from A3 or A4 Exit of
R y o g o k u S t a t i o n ( E d o -To k y o
Hakubutsukan-mae), Toei Subway
O-Edo Line

RyogokuStation