Kōshitsu no miyabi: uketsugu bi : kaikan kinenten = The aesthetics of the imperial court beauty passed down through the ages : commemorating the opening of the Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan

Uittreksel

"In 1989, His Majesty the Emperor Emeritus and his mother, Empress Kojun donated a collection of over 6,000 works that had been passed down by the Imperial Family for generations up to Emperor Showa to the government. The Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan, opened in November 1993 on the site of the third keep (Sannomaru) of the former Edo Castle in the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace, as a facility for the storage, preservation, exhibiting, and study of these works. Since then, the Museum's collection has grown through gifts from: Empress Kojun, the families of the late Prince Chichibu, the late Prince Takamatsu, and the family of Prince Mikasa. The collection is characterized by Asian arts and crafts with a focus on Japan, but also crafts of a wide range of periods, regions, and genres from other countries around the world. These works include Draft for Screen Poems by Ono no Michikaze, Chinese Lions by Kano Eitoku, Colorful Realm of Living Beings by Ito Jakuchu, and Busaku Dancer, Ranryo-o by Unno Shomin. The Museum is now heading towards its 30th anniversary. As the numbers of works in the collection has increased, the scope of the museum's activities have expanded, and the number of visitors has gone up, the Museum began expanding its facilities with the construction of a new building in 2019, which has now been partially completed. In October, the organization was transferred to the Independent Administrative, Institution National Institutes for Cultural Heritage. This exhibition, held on the occasion of the opening of the new museum, introduces highlights from the museum's collection in four parts. All of these works have been preserved and passed down as part of the Imperial Household's long history and traditions, and we hope that the exhibition will provide visitors with a glimpse into its rich past. The word Shozo, part of the Museum's name, means 'to look after with care'. The Museum will continue to preserve its collections for the future and introduce the Imperial Household and its culture in the new era of Reiwa through its exhibitions and other activities."-- Foreword (page [187]).