For two Sundays in a row, I have taken the Tsukuba Express-O into Tokyo to visit the Tokyo National Museum. This Sunday, it was actually open (a state I confirmed on the Web beforehand this time). The weather wasn't as nice, but then, it didn't need to be, as I was happy to be in the halls of one of the great cultural institutions of Japan (or anywhere).
Actually, a substantial part of the museum is still closed following the Tohoku quake. One can only hope none of the collection suffered damage. The main building houses exhibits on Highlights of Japanese Art, Cherry Blossoms in Lacquerware, and Japanese Dolls, to name a few. My pictures, largely devoid of metadata, are here.
There are perhaps a couple of dozen pieces from Hiroshige's One Hundred Famous Places of (Kyoto, Edo) that may be the most iconic of Japanese pictorial art? You've seen some of them.
Wonderful screens that make me want to find a warehouse and build a living space in it with shoji screens and a stone garden. Favorite and another
Netsuke -- tiny ivory carvings roughly the volume of a pingpong ball. A great face
Dolls, and the the most elegant doll dishes I've ever seen. Favorite
Swords: no one does edges like the Japanese. My Japanese chisels have tasted more of my blood than any other tools, and these swords are scary.
Buddhist art is a major theme in Japanese culture, and there are major pieces here.
And ceramics... from primitive Jomon terra cotta with astonishing vibrancy to elegant Edo period work that would be at home in a chic pottery boutique. And we can't forget Juro, the God of Longevity!
The garden is lovely, and will be more so as more of the cherry blossoms bloom.
I'll be back to this place... again and again. Hope the other buildings will open before I leave.
Oh... and a very nice restaurant with elegant service, decent food, and iPad multilingual menus.
A note on vending machines in Japan. They are everywhere... just everywhere. But all of them that I've seen have either drinks or cigarettes on offer... no snacks. I gather it is considered uncouth to walk and eat. Of the drink machines, most all of them have something called "Pocari Sweat". I noticed this on my first trip to Japan, maybe 15 years ago. I've never worked up the courage to try it -- the name just puts me off. Until yesterday. It is billed as an ion replacement drink. It is not bad. The name still puts me off.
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A detail from my favorite pair of screens
