27
Fiscal 2022

Tokyo Metropolitan Edo-Tokyo Museum
1-4-1 Yokoami, Sumida-ku, Tokyo 130-0015
TEL.+81-3-3626-9974(General Information)

Aug. 18 Fri. 2023 No.27
The Tokyo Metropolitan Edo-Tokyo Museum is scheduled to be closed for major renovations until 2025.

Introducing New Acquisitions
In 2022, we were able to collect many museum materials. This showcases some of these collections.
* The commentary for each piece was done by Suda Sayaka, Uno Chito, and Terada Sanae.

Spectacular Annual Event,Hina Matsuri (Doll Festival)

Twelve Months : Yayoi, Hina Matsuri Print by Utagawa Toyokuni III 1854 Collection ID 22200176-22200178

Tokyo Scenery Photo Collection in the Late Meiji Period Late Meiji Era Collection ID 22750001

These scenes of Yayoi are part of a series of nishiki-e (coloredwoodblock prints) by Utagawa Toyokuni III (1786 1864) that depict annual events throughout the year andbeautiful women. The print depicts the appearance ofwomen and girls dressed in colorful kimonos celebrating
Hina Matsuri (Doll Festival) on March 3.
The children are enjoying the Hina Matsuri dishes offish and soup while the two women are serving them withfood and white sake. A Hina Matsuri display is visible on
the left side of the room and Hina accessories, such as apalanquin, a thirteen-stringed koto, and a Go Board areplaced on the display.
In the Edo period, Hina Matsuri was held as one of thefive seasonal festivals. However, the opulence of this festival
increased each year to the point that it was once the subjectof a Bakufu crackdown. This piece can provide a glimpse
into the elegant annual event in the late Edo period.

A Doll Set Depicting a Scene in a Birthing Room Late Edo Era Collection ID 22200018-22200033

Tokyo Scenery Photo Collection in the Meiji Period

Reproduction of the Delivery Room Scene: Valuable Doll Display

This piece is a photo collection that contains 32 photos taken in Tokyo between
the 30s and 40s of the Meiji era. Locations that were topical at the time werephotographed. For instance, the collection shows Yodobashi Purification Plant inMeiji 31 (1898) and Ryogokubashi Bridge that was rebuilt as an iron bridge in Meiji
37 (1904).
The photo above shows the ring entering ceremony of Umegatani Tōtarō II who,
together with Hitachiyama Taniemon, established the golden age of sumo in the late
Meiji period.
He stands in a ring that was setup outside Ekoin Temple before 1909 when theKokugikan Sumo Arena was built. Pillars were erected in the four corners of thering and the referees were waiting in front of the pillars. Many people around thering held their breath as they watched the ring-entering ceremony of Umegatani.
The photo collection is a fascinating piece that provides a glimpse into landscapesthat were of interest at the time and keeps alive the sights of the Meiji period notpresent in the modern day.

This piece is a doll display that recreates the appearance of the maternity room in aminiature size. This is a complete set with dolls and accessories, including an infant
sleeping in a white sleeved quilt. The inscription on the box states that KŌdai-in,
who was the legal wife of the Eleventh Shōgun, Tokugawa Ienari, presented the doll
display to the legal wife of the Fifth Head of the Shimizu Tokugawa Clan, Tokugawa
Narikatsu, after Ienari had died.
The pine, bamboo, crane, and turtle on some of the accessories were painted witha technique called “Shiroe” to create patterns in white on a white base of plain woodand other materials. It had been customary since the Middle Ages for high-ranking
samurai families and nobles to apply Shiroe to implements during the preparation of abirthing room. This is also faithfully recreated in this piece.
Analogous dolls to this are very rare, and therefore it is extremely valuable forgaining an insight into the appearance of private maternity rooms.

R e se a r c h S t rol l s

I Am the Dance Virtuoso Utaemon
Text by Nishimura Naoko, CuratorFigure 1 Degatari(narrative musicians with shamisen) in Cat Kabuki (Fan Print) 1839 by Utagawa Kuniyoshi,Published Ibasen, Collection ID 06200460〽 Cause you’re cute, I come from Kanda
If I hate you, would I commute from Kanda
This song is Tokiwazu-bushi (narrative music with shamisen) and is sung by the cat on thetop left of Figure 1. It was also a popular song in 1839 (Tempo 10) when this fan print
was first produced.
The cats that appear in Degatari (narrative musicians with shamisen) in Cat Kabuki(Fan Print) have unique human-like personalities. As can be seen on the print, the cats
don’t have names. However, by decoding the images,
the customs of Edo at that time, such as the previoussong, are revealed as if opening a treasure box. We
would like to showcase some of these customs here.
First, there is the three-legged Kendai (book stand)in the background of the print. While the stand appears
to have cabriole legs, it is actually a tentacled kendai
and is used by the performers of tokiwazu consist of
a narrator known as a tayu. The orange kataginu vestand Kakumokkō crest indicate that they are part of theTokiwazu clan. The museum had previously estimated Figure 2 Omangaame candy vendor(fromthat this piece was published around 1842 (Tempo Kinsei Shobaizukushi Kyoka Awase ;Collection of comic tanka on modern jobs)
13). This was because Kuniyoshi frequently produced 1852, Collection ID 93200397

caricatures of cats in 1841 - 1842 (Tempo 12 - 13) andduring this period publishing actor ukiyo-e prints wasprohibited in June 1842 (Tempo 13) as part of the TempoReforms. However, no mention of a relevant Tokiwazu
narrative performance could be found in Kabuki-related
documents from that year.
The key driver of this is the outfit of the cat dancing in
the center. The outfit is similar to that of an omangaame,a traveling peddler of candy in Edo city. (Figure 2)
Omangaame is a candy vendor, a popular character playedby cross-dressing male actors in their 50s wearing a sedge
hat and red apron who sang the song at the beginning anddanced in an exaggerated way in a Tokiwazu narrative.
The Actor Nakamura Utaemon Ⅳ played a part modeled
after this omangaame in the performance of Iwai Uta Soga noKaomise: Hanagoyomi Iro no Showake at the Nakamura-za
Theater from March to April, 1839 (Tempo 10). He learned
the gestures from an actual candy vendor and was a hit on
the stage when he danced. Throughout Edo, adults andchildren would imitate the song, singing “ 〽 Cause you’recute, I come from Kanda”. The sleeve of the cat dancing inFigure 1 bears a crest that combines the Tokiwazu crest andthe Kakumokkō and Utaemon family crest and gionnokami(emblem).
The cat in the kamishimo to the left of the dancing
cat bears a plum crest. The kaemon (the sub-crest) ofUtaemon is the Ura-ume (reversed plum flower). Utaemon played Gotobei ina kamishimo in the April production of Iwai uta Soga no Kaomise: Yoshitsune
Koshigoejō. The leading character of the fan print was actor Nakamura Utaemon
Ⅳ.
The names of the cats of Tokiwazu performers in the print are also known. Theoriginal copy of the Tokiwazu
The tokiwazu narrator
The shamisen player
Tokiwazu Komadayou
Kishizawa Bunzaemonn a r r a t i v e , Iw a i Ut a S o g a n o
K a o m i s e : Ha n a g oyo m i Iro n o
The tokiwazu narrator
The shamisen player
Tokiwazu Wakadayou
Kishizawa Shikisa
Showake still exists and is in
the National Theater of Japancollection. The names of theperformers, venue, and leading actor
are mentioned on the cover. This
information corresponds to the fan
print as shown in Figure 3.
Sales of the fan print peaked in
the summer of the lunar calendar
from the end of April to June.
When this print illustrating
seasonal theater lined the storesof fan wholesalers and Ibasen Figure 3stores, the customers certainly
The Actor Nakamura
The Actor Nakamura
Utaemon ⅣUtaemon Ⅳ
hummed that opening song.

Launch of Hyper Edohaku: Meiji Ginza Edition, Smartphone App!

The Meiji Ginza Edition was launched on April
26. This is the second edition of the popular
Hyper Edohaku smartphone app that wasreleased the previous year. This app recreates
the Ginza Bricktown of the Meiji period with
3D computer graphics. The players can collect
100 items about the culture and trends of thetime while exploring four distinct periods ofthe streets of Ginza from the start to the endof the Meiji period. While watching how thestreetscape changes over time, the players will
gain insight into the origin of various objects
with connections to the contemporary world,
including those related to food, modes oftransport and fashion. Download the app andenjoy time traveling to the Meiji period!
(Kutsusawa Hiroyuki, Curator)

Downloadthe app here.