TOPICS

Caption: Karajishi-zu Byobu, a screen painting by Kano Eitoku featuring the guardian lions of China

“Flourish of Originality”

About ten minutes from Tokyo Station on the JR lines or Otemachi Station on the Tokyo Metro subway lines, situated right in the center of Tokyo, is the verdant site of the Imperial Palace. Walk through Ote-mon Gate, which faces the office district, and you find yourself in the East Gardens. Here you will come across Sannomaru Shozokan (Museum of the Imperial Collections) of the Imperial Household Agency, exhibiting collections contributed by the Imperial Family to the national government. Admission is free, making the Museum popular among business people in the area and tourists from overseas alike.

When the Emperor Showa (1901–1989; reigned 1926–1989) passed away and the era changed from Showa to Heisei, the present Emperor donated to the national government many works of art that had been collected and preserved by the Imperial Family. The time of creation of these works is diverse, ranging from the Nara period to the Showa period (from the eighth to the twentieth centuries). The Imperial Household Agency opened Sannomaru Shozokan in the fall of 1993 to encourage expert research into these works of art and to make them available to the public. The Museum houses about 9,500 items today, including the legacy of Empress Kojun (1903–2000), the empress consort of Emperor Showa.

Although it is a small museum without a permanent collection, special exhibitions related to the Emperor and Empress and a special exhibit of the collections of the Danish Royal Family have been held in the sixteen years since it opened. The Museum’s fiftieth exhibition, titled “Flourish of Originality, the Era of Artists—the Arts and Crafts of the Taisho and Early Showa Era,” is being held between March 30 and July 4. Following the exhibition, another exhibition is planned to be held between July 17 and September 5, featuring works in the collection associated with tigers and lions.

“The Museum collection includes many famous works that represent the Japanese culture, such as Karajishi-zu Byobu by Kano Eitoku (1543–1590) (main picture), Doshoku Saie by Ito Jakuchu (1716–1800) (top right) and Setsugekka by Uemura Shoen (1875–1949),” notes Aya Ohta, chief researcher at the Curators’ Office of Sannomaru Shozokan. “They are being exhibited to suit the themes of the exhibition.”

“Many experts and fans of art and history make frequent visits to our Museum. The works of art preserved by the Imperial Family of Japan, which is renowned worldwide for its unusually long history, represent the flourishing Japanese culture of each era. We hope visitors enjoy the high-level techniques and depth of these works.”