东京国立博物馆本馆 (Tokyo National Museum)

On a rainy Tuesday, I took the Yamanote Line (山手线) to Ueno Park (山野公园). The park was the site of the final struggle of the Shogunate in the Boshin War that ushered in the restoration of the Emporor. Following Western influences, Ueno Park was the first public park in Japan and in the spring time one of the best places to view cherry blossoms in Tokyo. It is also the setting of many of Japan's national museums. Besides the National Museum, there is also museums for western art, contemporary art, science and Shitamachi history. Architecture and grounds are heavily Western influenced.

Founded in 1872, the National Museum is Japan's oldest museum, houses Japan's historical artifacts from ancient history to modern times, and is an important center for research. Overall, the visit suggested that the civic tradition in Asia, as it pertains to museums at least, is much weaker than that of Europe. Perhaps this isn't surprising because public museums as a concept came to Asia from Western countries. No museum I've visited in Asia compares to the Louvre or the British Museum. The closest may be the National Palace Museum in Taipei, but even so, it's scope is quite limited to China and falls far short of the accumulated majesty that both the Louvre and the British Museum project (issues of imperialism aside).

So it is with the Tokyo National Museum. I looked in some detail at every exhibit and that took around 3 hours. What the museum lacked in quantity, it made up with meticulous organization and presentation. The significance of each era were easy to follow and translations noticeably more available here than any other institution I've encountered here (with the exception of perhaps the Yushukan).

One gets a good sense of the origins and evolution of Japanese art and culture going through this museum, which is its main purpose. Any overt focus on Japan, let alone glorification, is noticeably absent. The museum's name is curious to begin with. Why not "Japan National Museum"? Is it to distinguish it from the much smaller Kyoto National Museum? Or a nod to an era of subdued nationalism?

The museum's commentary are repeatedly explicit about China (and by extension the Korean peninsula) being the major influence on Japanese culture from around the 7th century the until the early parts of the 19th century. In religion, it acknowledges the Indian roots but again credits learning Buddhism from China. The poster below, displayed prominently in the main hall, respectively in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean, show Japanese eras juxtaposed against Chinese and Korean dynasties from 10,000 BC to the present. It's with this kind of characteristic clarity and spirit of mutual recognition that this institution presents Japanese history to the world. This much cannot be said about other museums in East Asia.

Some pictures of particular exhibits I enjoyed:

This red lacquer cosmetic box with chrysanthemum patterns was made in the early 17th century and had belonged to one of the daughters of the Tokugawa shogun.

  

Couple of intricate samurai armors were on display. The Japanese adopted Western military armaments and tactics with eagerness and speed very soon after Perry forced open Japan's ports. By the time of the Boshin War, both the shogunate and the Imperial forces heavily utilized western advisors and armaments and fought what can be considered a modern war.

 

The symbolism of the sword and its place in Japanese culture has been copiously analysed. I came across examples in Benedict's "Chrysanthemum and the Sword" and 李缨 (Ying Li)'s 靖国 (Yasukuni). I was impressed with the workmanship of these swords and read the long wiki entry about it. These swords are hundreds of years old and yet had the shine of stainless steel vs. what one might consider 'steel'. I would be keen to learn more about the manufacturing process.

 

Besides those pieces with a clear Japanese lineage, one might easily be persuaded that the others could be Chinese, the artistic traditions of these two nations being as close as they are.

For example, below is an ink painting of scenes in China made in the 15th century by the prominent artist 雪舟 等楊 (Sesshu Toyo) on return to Japan, after traveling between Ningbo and Beijing. Toyo was heavily influenced by the artistic sensibilities of the Song dynasty.

 

The poem 春 from Xi's collection 四时读书乐 by Zhu Xi (朱熹), transcribed in 1848 by Hayashi Akira (林韑), a prominent neo-Confuscious scholar in the Edo period. The poem describes the joys of study in the four seasons and the text reads, "山光拂槛水绕廊，舞雩归咏春风香。 好鸟枝头亦朋友，落花水面皆文章。 蹉跎莫遣韶光老，人生唯有读书好。 读书之乐乐何如？绿满窗前草不除。"

Paintings for the Imperial household completed in the 19th century and donated to the museum.

Paintings with modern influences in the latter parts of the 19th century. However, classical influences still evident.

And of course, there are things from China proper: Ming dynasty 景德镇 tea cups with Arabic influenced gold and red patterns. And a water vase from the Qing dynasty.

There was also a special exhibition that day of Song calligraphy. The older Japanese gentlemen was much absorbed into reading each scroll. He probably understands more than I do!

Letters from 朱熹 in 草书 in the 12th century:

Rubbing of 王羲之's 兰亭序 from the 13th century:

Of course, starting in the second half of the 19th century, Japan drew increasingly from the Western tradition and accelerated towards modernization. This changed the course of history in East Asia and continues to impact regional relations to this day. As I left the Tokyo National Museum, at the self-evident risk of Sino-centrism, I couldn't help but note the profound shared cultural heritages of Japan, China and Korea. One could reasonably imagine this be a starting point, among many, for a fertile basis for rapprochement and long term strategic cooperation, if not to the extent of the Anglo-American mold, at least more so than what the French and the Germans have achieved with the European Union.