16EnglishEditionJan.24 Fri. 2020 No.16

Special Exhibition

The Tradition of Edo Creativity
The Skill and Soul of Craftsmen
Give Birth to Japanese Beauty

Saturday, February 8, to Sunday, April 5
Special Exhibition Gallery, 1F*Displays will be changed during the exhibition.

Imado-yaki, ceramics from Imado, on the outskirts ofAsakusa, such as the famous Imado clay dolls greatly
loved by Edo residents. The Sumida area ceramics also
gained high repute through their associations withliterati tastes. For example, Miura Kenya, one of those
Edo potters, carried on the ceramic techniques ofOgata Kenzan. His unique career also included
studying Western shipbuilding and successfullybuilding a battleship.
This part of the exhibition examines Sumidagawa
ware, the ceramics that flourished in the Sumida Riverbasin, and the contributions made by its potters, tointroduce the little-known Edo-Tokyo ceramics
industry.

Section Five: Fukawa Kazunori— A Beloved Student of Hokusai’ s Who
Later Changed Paths to Become aMetalworker

Food Containers Decorated with design of pine, bamboo and wisteria
together with Wisteria and Hollyhock Crests in Maki-e on Nashiji Ground18th century, Bardi Collection, Museum of Oriental Art in Venice.

In 2020, as the Tokyo Olympics/Paralympics draw near, Tokyo is the focus of world-wideinterest. With The Tradition of Edo Creativity, the Edo-Tokyo Museum is proud to present a
special exhibition with a topic that suits the games’ daring spirit: The creativity that is thepride of Japan. The exhibition includes the first public display in Japan of artifacts from theJapanese collection of the Count of Bardi (from the Museum of Oriental Art in Venice), inaddition to artifacts from the Edo-Tokyo Museum Collection. This exhibition spotlights thework and lives of craftsmen in Edo and Tokyo.
Section One: The Japan that the Count Adored— The First Exhibition of the Bardi Collection in Japan

Section Six: Edo Skills Remained Alive During the Taishō/Shōwa
Periods (1912–1989) —The Miniature Craft of Kobayashi Rekisai

In February 1889, a European nobleman, Enrico Carlo di Borbone, visited Japan. He bore the title
Count of Parma and was a member of the illustrious Bourbon royal family. The Count of Bardi had
made an extended trip to countries throughout the East; Japan was his stop. Here he purchased
thousands of works of art and brought them back to Europe. Those products of Japanese culturethat the count collected are now in the Museum of Oriental Art in Venice and other museums.
Through the Bardi Collection, this part of the exhibition provides a view of the Japanese beauty
that was the object of Westerners’ desire.

Section Two: Craftsmen in the Samurai Capital
Edo, where the Tokugawa shoguns resided, flourished as a city of the samurai. Constructing andmaintaining Edo Castle, the Tokugawa mausolea, and other major structures, symbolic andfunctional, required skilled craftsman. Carpenters and others, led by master craftsmen working
under the shogunate ̛s direction, set to work on these projects. Creating the furniture andaccessories that the shogun, daimyo, and their families needed further required the skills of a great
number of craftsmen by appointment to the shogunate or to daimyos. Edo also provided
opportunities for the craftsmen who supplied swords, sword fittings, and armor for the shogun anddaimyo. Others exercised their skills in making the furnishings and equipment needed for
ceremonies and for everyday life.
This part of the exhibition presents materials that introduce the achievements of the craftsmen
who built and maintained the great city of Edo. It also introduces a cornucopia of magnificent works
by craftsmen who served the shogunate.

Section Three: Edo’ s Lacquer Artists —Yōyūsai and Zeshin
Maki-e, the art of creating motifs in sprinkled gold or silver on lacquer, rose to new creative heights
in Edo. The part introduces two leading maki-e craftsmen, Hara Yōyūsai and Shibata Zeshin.
Hara Yōyūsai was renowned for his involvement with the leading men of culture of his day. His
collaboration with Sakai Hōitsu, the founder of the Edo Rimpa school, is particularly famed. His
work is noteworthy for its context, lacquerware born among cultural exchanges in Edo, as well as its
beauty.
Shibata Zeshin developed a host of variant lacquer techniques, even incorporating ideas that could
be called “trick art.” A superb painter as well, he developed the urushi-e, in which he used lacquer as
through it were oils in painting pictures on paper. Zeshin ̛s work shows us the elegance andsophisticated stylishness of the Edo people and a playfulness that takes heartfelt delight in creativity.

Section Four: The Remarkable Potter Miura Kenya and Sumidagawa Ware
The Sumida River area is famed as a place for relaxation and entertainment for the people of Edo.
Less well known is that it was also a major ceramic production center. Its products included

Imado Doll: Okame[a plain woman] Holding a Cat

Fukawa Kazunori was an Edo metalsmith. A pupil ofKanazawa Harukichi, 20th century.
Katsushika Hokusai, late in Hokusai ̛s life, he initiallybegan working as an artist. After Hokusai ̛s death,
however, he shifted to metalworking. Becoming a
metalworker by appointment to the shogunate, he carved the models from which Bunkyu
Eiho coins were cast. As internal conflicts increased and the Meiji Restoration neared,Kazunori was also ordered to make the fittings for a sword for Prince Arisugawanomiya
Taruhito, a member of the imperial family.
After Kazunori ̛s death, his two sons continued his work as Kazunori II and III, receiving
orders from the imperial household and other clients. Kazunori ̛s apprentices also carried on
his skills and were active in the metalworking world.
Here, through the work of Fukawa Kazunori, we present a craftsman who, while
responding flexibly to radically change times, held fast to traditional techniques.

Good Luck Charm Worn Suspended
from the Obi Sash
Kobayashi Rekisai, 20th century.

The final part of this exhibition introduces thework of Kobayashi Rekisai, who inherited andperpetuated the skills and soul of Edo craftsmen.
Rekisai was born in Asakusa, the son of athird-generation craftsman. While creating
decorative bags for kiseru pipes and other works, hebecame interested in creating miniatures. Hisworks, with their exquisite workmanship, go far
beyond simple toys or playthings. He himself
named these miniature sculptures “delicate art.”
Rekisai, as a humble urban craftsman with nostatus or prestige in the art world, continued
tirelessly to explore his art until the end of his life.
He may have been the last craftsman to remember
the afterglow of Edo and carry on its traditions.
(Ochiai Noriko, Curator)

Information
Open: 9:30-17:30 (Saturdays until 19:30) *Last entry 30 minutes before closing
Closed: Mondays (except for February 24) and Tuesday, February 25
Organized by: Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture Tokyo Metropolitan Edo-TokyoMuseum, The Mainichi Newspapers
With the support of: Embassy of Italy in Japan
With the sponsorship of: Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd., Toyota Motor Corporation
With the cooperation of: Museum of Oriental Art in Venice, Alitalia-Società Aerea Italiana S.p.A.
Admission Fee

Standard adult
University/college students
Middle and high school students. Seniors 65+
Tokyo middle and elementary school students

Special exhibition only¥1,100 (¥880)¥880 (¥700)¥550 (¥440)¥550 (¥440)

Special and permanent exhibition¥1,360 (¥1,090)¥1,090 (870)¥680 (¥550)
None

Advance tickets for special exhibition only
¥900
¥680
¥350
¥350

Notes
1. Fees in parentheses are for groups of twenty or more.
2. Fees are waived in the following cases: Children below school age; individuals with a Shintai Shogaisha Techo (Certificate of thePhysically Disabled), Ai-no-Techo (Certificate of the Intellectually Disabled), Ryoiku Techo (Certificate of Rehabilitation), Seishin
Shogaisha Hoken Fukushi Techo (Certificate of the Mentally Disabled), or Hibakusha Kenko Techo (Atomic Bomb Survivor’sCertificate) and up to two people accompanying each.
3. Silver Parties (February 19, March 18): Free admission to special exhibitions for those 65 and older. Proof of age required.
4. Advance tickets will be on sale between Tuesday, November 19 and Friday, February 7. Tickets purchased on or after Saturday,
February 8 are at the regular price.

Ticket Sales
Edo-Tokyo Museum or major ticket agencies (fees may apply). (For tickets to both special and permanentexhibitions, Edo-Tokyo Museum only.)From the Permanent Exhibition

Featured Exhibition

Tenka –Taihei – Pax Tokugawana andthe Shoguns’ role in the birth of a new culture
Shogun: When you hear that word, don ̛t you think of a warrior of matchless valor? But theTokugawa shoguns, who brought 260 years of peace and tranquility to Japan, were also highly
cultured individuals who contributed to the creation of culture during that period.
The first Tokugawa shogun, Ieyasu (1543-1616), is known as a highly successful general in theSengoku period of conflict that finally ended with the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate. Warwas not, however, his only area of expertise; Ieyasu painted and produced calligraphy. He is particularly
esteemed for his achievements in encouraging the publication of books using moveable type.
Part 1 of this exhibition takes its title, Snow, Moon, and Flowers (Setsugetsuka), from a work ofcalligraphy written horizontally in the informal gyō style. This part presents Iemitsu (1604-1651), thethird Tokugawa shogun, and his contributions to cultural advancement. Iemitsu, for example, provided
support for artists in a wide range of genres, from lacquerware to painting, as we can see in the work of
the Kanō school painters. The result was burgeoning creative output in a wide range of fields.
Pure of Heart (Omoi yokoshima nashi), the title of Part 2, is presented in calligraphy written in amore rigorously formal style. This section of the exhibition reflects on the character and scholarshipof the fifth Tokugawa shogun, Tsunayoshi (1646-1709), in many ways. Tsunayoshi and the eighth
shogun, Yoshimune (1684-1751), are known for putting particular emphasis on scholarship.

“Snow, Moon and Flower”, calligraphy by TokugawaIemitsu, the 3rd Shogun(Tokugawa Memorial Foundation)“No wickedness in mind”, calligraphy by
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi(Tokugawa Memorial Foundation)

Open from Thursday, January 2,to Sunday, February 16
Permanent Collection Gallery 5F
Featured Exhibition Gallery*Items on display may change during the exhibition.

Confucian philosophy and the advancement of science, which both encouraged, later played majorroles in Japan ̛s modernization.

The eleventh shogun, Tokugawa Ienari (1773-1841), ruled for half a century, during which hebuilt an age of peace. Ienari promoted Matsudaira Sadanobu, the Shirakawa daimyo, to become hischief councillor and carry out the Kansei Reforms. Those efforts occurred in a period in which
projects that looked back on and reviewed the past were being encouraged; they spurred a
rethinking of Japan ̛s history and cultural assets. One of their most significant results was Sadanobu ̛sShūko jisshu (Collection of ten types of antiquities), an illustrated catalogue of ancient treasures.
The figure of the shogun as a man of culture and as contributing to the formation of new types ofculture, throughout the peace and tranquility of the Edo period, is an ideal that that the Tokugawa adhered
to in the modern period as well. The head of the Tokugawa family, Tokugawa Iesato, served as President of
the House of Peers and is know for appreciating traditional culture. He also served as the chairman of theorganizing committee for the twelfth Olympic Games, which were to be held in Tokyo in 1940, and madeevery effort to hold what would have the first “Celebration of Peace” not just in Japan but in Asia.
Through this featured exhibition, we consider the Tokugawa shoguns as cultured individuals
who contributed to Japan ̛s culture.
(Saitō Shinichi, Curator)

Sword racks, Decorated withthree-leaved hollyhock crests(Tokugawa family crest) in maki-elaquer on pearskin ground (nashiji)
Edo period.

Sh ūko jisshu, a Catalog of Antique Art Compiled byMatsudaira Sadanobu and Scholars and Artists Who
Served Him
Edo period.

Commemorating the Hall’s Renovation

An Edo-Tokyo Museum Yose Special

Ukiyo-e Prints and Japanese Music Around the Sumida RiverOn Sunday, September 15, 2019, Ukiyo-e Prints and Japanese Music Around the Sumida River, aspecial performance jointly sponsored by our museum and the National Theater, was held in ourmuseum ̛s Large Hall, which reopened after renovations this summer. Hototogisu, performed on thekoto, and Fūryū funazoroi, a dance and epic song performance to shamisen accompaniment, werejoined by explanations of the performances and introductions of the lyrics of the songs and toukiyo-e related to them.
A special exhibition related to the performance and under the same title was held in the Four
Seasons of Edo corner of the Permanent Exhibition ̛s Edo Zone. There we displayed a ukiyo-e
depicting, in five panels, a huge party boat (yakatabune) setting out at the annual opening of theriver at Ryōgoku, as well as other prints. The exhibits also included panels showing the locations ofbridges built over the Sumida River in the Edo period, ferry crossings then in use, the types and sizesof boats used for recreation on the river, and the lyrics for the works in the performance.
This combination of a presentation of traditional performing arts and an exhibition of related
ukiyo-e was a highly significant undertaking for the Edo-Tokyo Museum. (Matsui Kaoru, Curator)Fūryū funazoroi, adance and epic
songperformance.
Dance by
Hanayanagi
Genkurō, song by
Imafuji Chōichirō,
shamisen by
Kineya Kōji,accompaniment
by Fukuhara
Hyakusuke andothers.

Hototogisu, a work for koto; koto performanceby Yamaki Senga and others.

The special display in the Edo Zone of
the Permanent Exhibition.