[Shiruko]
Both are delicious on cold winter days. Shiruko is considered as an elegant dessert and served in Japanese-style tearooms (kanmi-dokoro).
Both can be bought ready-made in supermarkets.
May 30, 2012
Shiruko and Zenzai (Sweet red-bean soup with mochi)
Both Shiruko and Zenzai are "sweet red-bean soup," in which toasted mochi are served. The sweet soup is made from an, a paste made from azuki beans. When the soup is made with the thin and pureed koshi-an, the result is Shiruko, and when the thicker and chunkier tsubu-an is used, one speaks of Zenzai instead of shiruko.
Both are delicious on cold winter days. Shiruko is considered as an elegant dessert and served in Japanese-style tearooms (kanmi-dokoro).
Both can be bought ready-made in supermarkets.
Both are delicious on cold winter days. Shiruko is considered as an elegant dessert and served in Japanese-style tearooms (kanmi-dokoro).
Both can be bought ready-made in supermarkets.
May 29, 2012
Rashomon Site
Thanks to the film by Kurosawa Akira, the Rashomon Gate has become a large cultural presence. This monumental gate was erected at the southern entrance to Kyoto, then called Heiankyo, when the city was founded in 794. From the gate a wide avenue, Suzaku-Oji, led straight north to the palace zone, which formed an elongated block at the northern end of the city. Suzaku was the main street of Heiankyo and split the city into two exact halves, the East and West City.
[Marker at Rashomon site.
The Rashomon Gate was 32 meters wide and 8 high. It had red pillars and double green roofs, a bit like the present Heian Shrine. On the top floor of the gate originally a stern statue of Tobatsu Bishamon was placed, looking like a soldier standing guard. Tobatsu Bishamon originated in Central Asia and acted as a protector of cities. I imagine him glaring at the lands beyond, to protect Heiankyo from evil…
The statue today continues to glare, but now in the museum of nearby Toji Temple. The great gate was damaged by a storm in 980 and was never restored. In disrepair, it became a weird place, a hideout for thieves. People whispered a demon was living there and sometimes corpses of the poor would be abandoned at the gate. The ruined gate is the setting for Akutagawa Ryunosuke’s short story “Rashomon” and also provides the narrative frame for Kurosawa Akira's above mentioned film.
Akutagawa’s use of the gate was deliberately symbolic, with the gate’s ruined state representing the moral and physical decay of Japanese civilization and culture in the later Heian-period. Today, there is nothing left of the once mighty gate. A stone monument indicates its location in a tiny park just west of Toji Temple. The dusty park serves as a playground for children, with a glide, but it is usually deserted. Why do Japanese monuments stand in such ugly little parks full of dust? Why not in a tiled area with some nice flowers around it? Were those parks inspired by another famous film of Kurosawa, Ikiru, in which the protagonist, a worthless public servant, finally starts contributing to society by building a small park for the citizens after he hears he has only a few months to live?
Near the park runs Senbon Street, the successor of Suzaku Avenue. But it runs only as far north as the nearby JR railway, where the tracks and the Umenokoji Park form a dense barrier. This southern part also makes a rather forlorn impression. It is difficult to picture Suzaku Avenue when standing here: 84 meter broad, serving as a firebreak between the two parts of the city. The name, by the way, was taken from the Suzaku, or Crimson Bird, a sort of phoenix who protected the city from the South, where he lived in a now long-drained marsh. History also knows an Emperor called Suzaku and along Senbon Street several schools have opted for the mythical name.
Photo Wikipedia]
The Rashomon Gate was 32 meters wide and 8 high. It had red pillars and double green roofs, a bit like the present Heian Shrine. On the top floor of the gate originally a stern statue of Tobatsu Bishamon was placed, looking like a soldier standing guard. Tobatsu Bishamon originated in Central Asia and acted as a protector of cities. I imagine him glaring at the lands beyond, to protect Heiankyo from evil…
The statue today continues to glare, but now in the museum of nearby Toji Temple. The great gate was damaged by a storm in 980 and was never restored. In disrepair, it became a weird place, a hideout for thieves. People whispered a demon was living there and sometimes corpses of the poor would be abandoned at the gate. The ruined gate is the setting for Akutagawa Ryunosuke’s short story “Rashomon” and also provides the narrative frame for Kurosawa Akira's above mentioned film.
[The original Rashomon - photo Wikipedia]
Akutagawa’s use of the gate was deliberately symbolic, with the gate’s ruined state representing the moral and physical decay of Japanese civilization and culture in the later Heian-period. Today, there is nothing left of the once mighty gate. A stone monument indicates its location in a tiny park just west of Toji Temple. The dusty park serves as a playground for children, with a glide, but it is usually deserted. Why do Japanese monuments stand in such ugly little parks full of dust? Why not in a tiled area with some nice flowers around it? Were those parks inspired by another famous film of Kurosawa, Ikiru, in which the protagonist, a worthless public servant, finally starts contributing to society by building a small park for the citizens after he hears he has only a few months to live?
Near the park runs Senbon Street, the successor of Suzaku Avenue. But it runs only as far north as the nearby JR railway, where the tracks and the Umenokoji Park form a dense barrier. This southern part also makes a rather forlorn impression. It is difficult to picture Suzaku Avenue when standing here: 84 meter broad, serving as a firebreak between the two parts of the city. The name, by the way, was taken from the Suzaku, or Crimson Bird, a sort of phoenix who protected the city from the South, where he lived in a now long-drained marsh. History also knows an Emperor called Suzaku and along Senbon Street several schools have opted for the mythical name.
Access: 10 min walk west from the south exit of Toji Temple (mainly along Kujodori Street); 10 min walk from Toji St on the Kintetsu line. Grounds free.
Shosei Garden (Kikokutei)
Shoseien (Shosei Garden) lies to the east of Higashi Honganji (its back wall faces Kawaramachi Street, but the entrance is on the opposite side), which administers the garden. Another name is Kikokutei, after the hedge of trifoliate oranges that once surrounded it.
Shosei Garden is supposed to go all the way back to a garden laid out here by a 9th c. Minister, Minamoto no Toru. It was given to the temple in 1631 by the Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu. It was at that time in part redesigned by Ishikawa Jozan (of Shisendo fame) and Kobori Enshu.
It has been landscaped in the go-round style, with various buildings arranged around a central pond, Ingetsu Pond.
The buildings in the garden - the villas of the Higashi Honganji abbots - are now all modern replica's as the originals were lost in a large fire in 1864. At that time, the garden was also severely damaged (also lost were the Jusankei or Thirteen Beautiful Landscapes that often are mentioned in poetry).
The picture above shows the central pond, Ingetsuchi, with Tonoshima, a nine-storied stone pagoda an a tiny island believed to be the tomb of Minamoto no Toru.
[Kikokutei. Photo Ad Blankestijn]
Shosei Garden is supposed to go all the way back to a garden laid out here by a 9th c. Minister, Minamoto no Toru. It was given to the temple in 1631 by the Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu. It was at that time in part redesigned by Ishikawa Jozan (of Shisendo fame) and Kobori Enshu.
It has been landscaped in the go-round style, with various buildings arranged around a central pond, Ingetsu Pond.
The buildings in the garden - the villas of the Higashi Honganji abbots - are now all modern replica's as the originals were lost in a large fire in 1864. At that time, the garden was also severely damaged (also lost were the Jusankei or Thirteen Beautiful Landscapes that often are mentioned in poetry).
The picture above shows the central pond, Ingetsuchi, with Tonoshima, a nine-storied stone pagoda an a tiny island believed to be the tomb of Minamoto no Toru.
Access: 7 min walk east of Higashi Honganji. Kikokutei used to be graciously free, but now a 500 yen "donation" has been instituted.
Honganji Jinaicho (Kyoto Guide)
The area between Higashi Honganji and Nishi Honganji was a temple town administered by the Honganji authorities called Honganji Jinaicho. In the narrow streets between the two huge temple complexes one finds many shops selling Buddhist implements, such as home altars, statues, prayer beads, bells and cushions for bells, glittering ornaments, priestly vestments, etc. Near Higashi Honganji also is a specialist Buddhist bookshop. The main street keading from east to west through this area is called Shomendori. On Horikawa, at the entrance to Shomendori, stands an imposing gate.
On Shomendori one also finds Dendoin, a red-brick building designed in 1912 by famous architect Ito Chuta. It belongs to Nishi Honganji and originally housed an insurance company related to the sect. Now it is a free exhibition space of the temple. Note the mosque-like roof and the mythical animals, as well as the unusual masonry, a true mixture of Western and various Eastern elements.
On Horikawa Avenue itself, you will also find several traditional shops, such as a large tsukemono (pickles) shop - a favorite item to take home from Kyoto or give as a present - and Kungyokudo, a traditional incense shop (now in a modern building). Besides various types of incense, it sells scented sachets, candles and kunko, fragrant incense pellets.
[Buddhist shop on Shomendori. Photo Ad Blankestijn]
On Shomendori one also finds Dendoin, a red-brick building designed in 1912 by famous architect Ito Chuta. It belongs to Nishi Honganji and originally housed an insurance company related to the sect. Now it is a free exhibition space of the temple. Note the mosque-like roof and the mythical animals, as well as the unusual masonry, a true mixture of Western and various Eastern elements.
On Horikawa Avenue itself, you will also find several traditional shops, such as a large tsukemono (pickles) shop - a favorite item to take home from Kyoto or give as a present - and Kungyokudo, a traditional incense shop (now in a modern building). Besides various types of incense, it sells scented sachets, candles and kunko, fragrant incense pellets.
Access: The nicest approach is through the traditional gate on Shomendori, opposite Nishi Honganji. It is also possible to walk from Higashi Honganji - in that case go around the temple complex on either the north or south side and then take the first street at the back of the temple either up or down - this is Shinmachi-dori. About halfway Shinmachi-dori you will find the T-crossing with Shomendori.
Bach Cantatas (30): Pentecost Tuesday (BWV 184 & 175)
Pentecost Tuesday is also called Whit Tuesday. As other major feasts of the Lutheran Church in Bach's time (Easter and Christmas), Pentecost was celebrated over three days. There are two cantatas for this day. The gospel reading for this day proclaims Jesus as the good shepherd and the rightful owner of his flock.
Readings:
Acts 8:14–17, "The Holy Spirit in Samaria"
John 10:1–10, "The Good Shepherd"
Cantata Studies:
Bach Cantatas Website | Simon Crouch | Emmanuel Music | Julian Mincham | Wikipedia | Eduard van Hengel (in Dutch) | Bach Companion (Oxford U.P.) | Bach: The Learned Musician (Wolff) | Music in the Castle of Heaven (Gardiner)
Cantatas:
Readings:
Acts 8:14–17, "The Holy Spirit in Samaria"
John 10:1–10, "The Good Shepherd"
Cantata Studies:
Bach Cantatas Website | Simon Crouch | Emmanuel Music | Julian Mincham | Wikipedia | Eduard van Hengel (in Dutch) | Bach Companion (Oxford U.P.) | Bach: The Learned Musician (Wolff) | Music in the Castle of Heaven (Gardiner)
[The Good Shepherd,
by Jean-Baptiste de Champaigne]
Cantatas:
- Erwünschtes Freudenlicht, BWV 184, 30 May 1724
Rezitativ T: Erwünschtes Freudenlicht
Arie (Duett) S A: Gesegnete Christen, glückselige Herde
Rezitativ T: So freuet euch, ihr auserwählten Seelen!
Arie T: Glück und Segen sind bereit
Choral: Herr, ich hoff je, du werdest die in keiner Not verlassen
Chor: Guter Hirte, Trost der Deinen
"Desired light of joy"
Text & translation
Scored for three vocal soloists (soprano, alto and tenor, a four-part choir, two transverse flutes, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
This cantata was probably based on an earlier secular New Year's cantata (BWV 184a) composed in Köthen. Two other possible occasions have been suggested for the secular model: the birthday of Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen on December 10, 1720, and the wedding of Leopold and Friederike Henriette of Anhalt-Bernburg on December 11, 1721.
Bach scholar Alfred Dürr has noted many similarities with BWV 173: both are adaptations of secular cantatas, both were written at Pentecost in Bach's first year in Leipzig, and both were re-performed in 1731. While the underlying cantata for Erhöhtes Fleisch und Blut has survived (the congratulatory cantata Durchlauchtster Leopold, BWV 173a), that of BWV 184 is largely lost, with only a few instrumental parts surviving. It was a duet cantata with several dance movements.
The prescribed Scripture readings for this feast day come from the Acts of Luke, the Holy Spirit in Samaria, and from the Gospel of John, the Good Shepherd. The words with which a gracious monarch is sung by his grateful subjects on his birthday need not differ so much from those for a hymn to the Good Shepherd. The poet who added a new text to the existing music is unknown. He may have retained the wording of the beginning of the opening recitative and continued to describe Jesus as the shepherd of his "blessed flock. "Joyful Light" in the title may have originally been "Leopold. As Eduard van Hengel remarks, "The long recitatives, the music of which Bach retained in its entirety, were usually filled in a tribute cantata with rather gratuitous lists of the ruler's favors, and Bach's Leipzig librettist had obvious difficulty filling the obligatory number of lines with any substantial content". To emphasize the ecclesiastical character of BWV 184, Bach replaced the penultimate part of BWV 184a, a recitative, with a chorale (the last verse of the hymn O Herre Gott, dein göttliches Wort by Anarg zu Wildenfels); Erwünschte's Freudenlicht thus ends, as is customary in secular cantatas, with a final chorus rather than a chorale.
Courtly in tone, the duet, aria, and final chorus are in the form of a minuet, polonaise, and gavotte. The opening recitative is sung by the tenor and accompanied by two traversos. The movement may have been taken from the secular cantata. The "desired light" is represented by a rising flute music that is repeated throughout the movement (like the flames mentioned in the story of Pentecost). The movement ends with an arioso.
This is followed by a dancing pastoral duet between soprano and alto, with a great melody in the flutes, the musical heart of the cantata. The movement was probably a pastoral in the underlying secular cantata and fits the image of the Good Shepherd and his flock. People may have even danced to the secular cantata composed in Köthen.
A secco recitative is followed by a pleasant tenor aria that sings of Jesus as the bringer of a golden age. Formally, it is a trio sonata for voice, violin, and basso continuo in an adapted ternary form.
The penultimate movement is a four-part setting of a chorale verse: Herr, ich hoff je, du werdest die in keiner Not verlassen. This is unusual for Bach, as his church cantatas usually use the chorale as the final movement.
The final chorus is a bucolic gavotte, essentially a soprano and bass duet, with the chorus joined by the choir in the refrain. The two traversos are again in unison throughout. Bach reused the music of this movement at the end of BWV 213, which was performed for the birthday of Crown Prince Frederick Christian on September 5, 1733.
An appropriate pastoral atmosphere pervades the entire cantata.
Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) - Er rufet seinen Schafen mit Namen, BWV 175, 22 May 1725
Recitativo (tenor): Er rufet seinen Schafen mit Namen
Aria (alto): Komm, leite mich
Recitativo (tenor): Gott will, o ihr Menschenkinder
Aria (tenor): Es dünket mich, ich seh dich kommen
Recitativo (alto, bass): Sie vernahmen aber nicht
Aria (bass): Öffnet euch, ihr beiden Ohren
Chorale: Nun, werter Geist, ich folg dir
"He calls His sheep by name"
Text & translation
Scored for three vocal soloists (alto, tenor and bass), a four-part choir only in the closing chorale, two trumpets, three recorders, two violins, viola, violoncello piccolo and basso continuo.
This cantata is notable for the rare use of three recorders in the two opening movements and the final chorale, giving the music a pastoral quality appropriate to the text. It is part of a cycle of nine works, based on texts by the Leipzig patrician daughter Christiane Mariana von Ziegler, with which Bach covered the period between the unexpected termination of his chorale project at Easter of that year and Trinity Sunday. They are characterized not only by their colorful instrumentation, but also by the fact that they are based on readings from the Gospel of John, so that they should be seen in the context of Bach's St. John Passion.
The cantata is divided thematically into two parts, the first dealing with Jesus as the Good Shepherd and the sheep who hear his voice, and the second (beginning with the bass recitative in the fifth movement) with those who don't listen to that voice.
The opening tenor recitative, with its initial tonic pedal point in the continuo and the flowing recorder accompaniment, suggests a serene mood appropriate to the text. This musical structure is continued in the next alto aria, which adopts the gentle rhythm of a pastorale but emphasizes the longing for greener pastures through expressive chromatic lines. .
The tenor aria with violoncello piccolo is borrowed from a secular cantata, BWV 173a, and is usually considered an awkward fit for the new text. The central recitative for alto and bass is the first movement accompanied by the strings. It begins with the Gospel quotation, "They did not hear what he said to them," sung by the alto as the evangelist, and leads to an arioso on the final warning not to overhear Jesus' words, which "may be for your good."
This warning is reinforced by a rousing pair of trumpets in the bass aria, which recalls the death of Jesus: "Jesus has sworn to you that he has killed the devil, death". The trumpets are silent in the middle section, which is about the gifts of Jesus, "grace, sufficiency, abundant life".
The chorale is repeated from the cantata for Pentecost, Wer mich liebt, der wird mein Wort halten, BWV 59. The melody of the Pentecost hymn "Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott" is scored for four voices and three independent recorder parts instead of the strings in the earlier version, thus returning to the scoring of the beginning of the cantata. A great and brilliant harmonization.
Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German)
May 28, 2012
Bach Cantatas (29): Pentecost Monday (BWV 173, 68 & 174)
Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday is the holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost. Whit Monday gets its English name for following "Whitsun", the day that became one of the three baptismal seasons, when those baptized would wear white garments. There are three cantatas for this day. They texts are based on the phrase "God loved the world so much," and are therefore general praise for God's goodness (which allowed Bach to reuse several secular cantatas praising the ruler of the land).
Readings:
Acts 10:42–48, "Sermon of St. Peter for Cornelius"
John 3:16–21, "God loved the world so much"
Cantata Studies:
Bach Cantatas Website | Simon Crouch | Emmanuel Music | Julian Mincham | Wikipedia | Eduard van Hengel (in Dutch) | Bach Companion (Oxford U.P.) | Bach: The Learned Musician (Wolff) | Music in the Castle of Heaven (Gardiner)
Cantatas:
Readings:
Acts 10:42–48, "Sermon of St. Peter for Cornelius"
John 3:16–21, "God loved the world so much"
Cantata Studies:
Bach Cantatas Website | Simon Crouch | Emmanuel Music | Julian Mincham | Wikipedia | Eduard van Hengel (in Dutch) | Bach Companion (Oxford U.P.) | Bach: The Learned Musician (Wolff) | Music in the Castle of Heaven (Gardiner)
[Jesus und Nicodemus,
Crijn Hendricksz Volmarijn (1601–1645)]
Crijn Hendricksz Volmarijn (1601–1645)]
Cantatas:
- Erhöhtes Fleisch und Blut, BWV 173, 29 May 1724
Recitative (tenor): Erhöhtes Fleisch und Blut
Aria (tenor): Ein geheiligtes Gemüte
Aria (alto): Gott will, o ihr Menschenkinder
Aria (soprano, bass): So hat Gott die Welt geliebt
Recitative (soprano, tenor): Unendlichster, den man doch Vater nennt
Chorus: Rühre, Höchster, unsern Geist
"Exalted flesh and blood"
Text & translation
Scored for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor and bass), a four-part choir, two flauto traverso, two violins, viola and basso continuo.
Based movement for movement on a secular cantata (a tribute to Bach's employer, Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cothen, Durchlauchtster Leopold BWV 173a). This means that the librettist had to invent a new text that would fit the existing music and create a connection to Pentecost. In this case, the unknown librettist only slightly adapted some phrases from the feast cantata for the new purpose, or even used them verbatim. The sixth and seventh movements of the original work were omitted and the vocal scoring was changed. The biblical reference of the cantata is the Gospel of the day, John 3:16-21: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
It begins with an introductory recitative for tenor, followed by an graceful aria for the same, an appropriate song of praise. After an alto aria comes the most interesting part of the cantata, a duet for soprano and bass with sweet strings and ethereal flutes. Three verses are treated in increasingly rich variations, and the praise of the noble employer is effortlessly transformed into praise of God. The music ends with an uplifting chorus, a minuet, carefree dance music - the instrumental music could be taken directly from an orchestral suite. The best wishes to the sovereign have been replaced by a prayer referring to the event of Pentecost and the prescribed reading from the Epistle: "May God's Spirit be at work in us.
Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) - Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt, BWV 68, 21 May 1725
Chor: Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt
Arie S: Mein gläubiges Herze
Rezitativ B: Ich bin mit Petro nicht vermessen
Arie B: Du bist geboren mir zugute
Chor: Wer an ihn gläubet, der wird nicht gerichtet
"Thus has God loved the world"
Text & translation
Scored for soprano and bass, a four-part choir, horn, cornett, three trombones, two oboes, taille (tenor oboe), two violins, viola, violoncello piccolo and basso continuo.
Bach wrote this cantata for the second day of Pentecost. In his second year in Leipzig, Bach continued to compose chorale cantatas from the first Sunday after Trinity to Palm Sunday for his second cantata cycle, but at Easter he switched back to cantatas based on a freer text (perhaps out of necessity, if it is true that the lyricist who served him until Easter with the characteristic chorale cantata libretti was the former rector Andreas Stübel, who died suddenly at the end of January). These included nine cantatas based on texts by the poet Christiana Mariana von Ziegler, including this cantata for the second day of Pentecost. Bach later assigned this cantata and Auf Christi Himmelfahrt to his second cantata cycle, although they are not based on a chorale but begin with a chorale fantasy. However, he included the author's other seven cantatas, most of which begin with a bass solo as Vox Christi (Voice of Christ), in the third cantata cycle.
For the first movement of the Pentecost cantata, the poet chose the first verse of Solomon Liscow's hymn (1675), provided with a self-composed melody by Gottfried Vopelius, the compiler of the Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch of 1682, from which Bach borrows most of his chorales. The hymn begins with the same words as the Gospel: "Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt" (So God loved the world). In the last movement of the five-movement cantata, the poet quotes John 3:18, which Bach adapts in an unusually extended choral movement.
This cantata has a very symmetrical structure: chorus-aria-recitative-aria-chorus. The austere chorale opening and closing movements contain an abstract theological message, to which the two arias give a personal meaning in a lighter tone. The first chorus is a stately Siciliano.
Both arias are based on Bach's hunting cantata "Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd, BWV 208". The soprano aria "Mein gläubiges Herze" resembles the earlier aria of the shepherd goddess Pales "Weil die wollenreichen Herden". In the church cantata, Bach used an obbligato violoncello piccolo, an instrument he experimented with in the cantatas of the second cantata cycle. The almost cheerful accompaniment contrasts sharply with the austere chorus that precedes it. The bass aria with three oboes is based on the aria of the god Pan, "A prince is his country's Pan" - the splendid wind writing gives a hint of the pathos with which Pan is portrayed in Bach's hunting music. But if, like me, you are familiar with the Hunt Cantata, it is a bit strange to hear these two arias virtually unchanged here in a very different setting.
The final movement is not, as in many church cantatas, a simple four-part chorale, but a motet-like structure that conveys a verse from the Gospel of John. The juxtaposition of "those who believe in him" and "those who do not believe" is expressed in a double fugue with two contrasting themes. The voices are doubled by a trombone chorus.
Video: J.S. Bach-Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) / Kay Johannsen - Ich liebe den Höchsten von ganzem Gemüte, BWV 174, 6 June 1729
Sinfonia
Arie A: Ich liebe den Höchsten von ganzem Gemüte
Rezitativ T: O Liebe, welcher keine gleich!
Arie B: Greifet zu, Faßt das Heil, ihr Glaubenshände!
Choral: Herzlich lieb hab ich dich, o Herr
"I love the Highest with my entire being"
Text & translation
Scored for three soloists, alto, tenor and bass, a four-part choir only in the chorale, two corni da caccia, two oboes, taille (tenor oboe), three solo violins, three solo violas, three solo cellos and basso continuo.
Bach composed Cantata 174 for Pentecost Monday, June 6, 1729. By this time, he had served as Thomas Cantor in Leipzig for nearly six years and had completed most of his known cantatas. The texts were written by Christian Friedrich Henrici, also known as Picander, a postal clerk and amateur poet. Picander also provided texts for Bach's St. Matthew and St. Mark Passions, the Christmas Oratorio, and numerous festive cantatas in the 1730s.
Around this time, Bach's focus on cantata composition seemed to be waning. In March 1729, however, he began a new chapter when he was appointed director of the Collegium Musicum, originally founded by Telemann. This group, composed of Leipzig's finest instrumentalists, served as a breeding ground for Germany's most promising musicians. It later evolved into the Gewandhaus Orchestra, the world's first civic symphony orchestra. Despite Bach's longtime involvement as a guest conductor and occasional recruitment of student volunteers for his church music, BWV 174 shows his intensified collaboration with the students, as evidenced by the creation of a Sinfonia derived from a Brandenburg Concerto. Bach augmented the original nine string parts with two new parts for corno da caccia and a ripieno trio for oboe I and violin I, oboe II and violin II, and taille and viola.
Besides the sinfonia, the concise cantata consists of two arias and a concluding chorus. The long alto aria exudes a charming pastoral atmosphere, embellished with two obbligato oboes introducing themes echoed by the voice. The recitative, accompanied by three upper string parts reminiscent of the original Brandenburg concerto movement, leads to the bass aria. Here the violins and violas merge into an obbligato part with a "knocking" motif of repeated notes that emphasizes the urgency of the text and culminates in a beautiful string melody.
Finally, the cantata concludes with a four-part chorale arrangement of a familiar melody that Bach used to close his St. John Passion with, "Ach Herr, laß dein lieb Engelein.
Video: Bach Bewegt (Berlin)
May 27, 2012
Red Rice (Sekihan)
Red rice (sekihan) is eaten on festive occasions, such as weddings and birthdays.
It is obtained by steaming azuki beans with glutinous rice (mochigome). Often toasted black sesame seeds or gomashio (toasted sesame seeds with salt) are sprinkled lightly on top. Popular type of rice for weddings, birthdays and festivals as Shichigosan. Red is a symbol of happiness (as it is in China).
It is obtained by steaming azuki beans with glutinous rice (mochigome). Often toasted black sesame seeds or gomashio (toasted sesame seeds with salt) are sprinkled lightly on top. Popular type of rice for weddings, birthdays and festivals as Shichigosan. Red is a symbol of happiness (as it is in China).
[Sekihan]
Sekihan is usually served in lunch boxes and eaten at room temperature. It is also used as an offer to the gods, by placing it in small bowls on the family shrine for the ancestors.
Technically, the rice is colored red by using the reddish water in which the azuki beans have been cooked. The beans are not cooked until they are soft, but just for 10 min. as they will later be steamed. So normally a lot of the cooking water is left for soaking the rice. The rice is soaked overnight or even longer, up to 24 hours. Finally, the rice which now has a pinkish color and the beans are mixed and steamed at high heat for about 40 min in metal or bamboo steamer.
The taste is quite sweet and that is why it is a good idea to add the salt gomashio.
Bach Cantatas (28): Pentecost Sunday (BWV 172, 59, 74 & 34)
Pentecost Sunday is also called "Whit Sunday. Pentecost is an important feast in the Christian liturgical year, commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus. Pentecost is sometimes referred to as the "birthday of the church.
The name "Whit Sunday" is thought to derive from the custom that those who were baptized on this feast wore white garments.
Pentecost is celebrated seven weeks (50 days) after Easter Sunday, hence its name. It falls on the tenth day after Ascension Thursday.
Bach wrote four cantatas for this important Sunday.
Readings:
Acts 2:1–13 "The Holy Spirit"
John 14:23–31, "Farewell discourse, announcement of the Spirit who will teach"
Cantata Studies:
Bach Cantatas Website | Simon Crouch | Emmanuel Music | Julian Mincham | Wikipedia | Eduard van Hengel (in Dutch) | Bach Companion (Oxford U.P.) | Bach: The Learned Musician (Wolff) | Music in the Castle of Heaven (Gardiner)
Cantatas:
The name "Whit Sunday" is thought to derive from the custom that those who were baptized on this feast wore white garments.
Pentecost is celebrated seven weeks (50 days) after Easter Sunday, hence its name. It falls on the tenth day after Ascension Thursday.
Bach wrote four cantatas for this important Sunday.
Readings:
Acts 2:1–13 "The Holy Spirit"
John 14:23–31, "Farewell discourse, announcement of the Spirit who will teach"
Cantata Studies:
Bach Cantatas Website | Simon Crouch | Emmanuel Music | Julian Mincham | Wikipedia | Eduard van Hengel (in Dutch) | Bach Companion (Oxford U.P.) | Bach: The Learned Musician (Wolff) | Music in the Castle of Heaven (Gardiner)
[Descent of the Holy Spirit, Battistero di Padova]
- Erschallet, ihr Lieder, erklinget, ihr Saiten! BWV 172, 20 May 1714
Coro: Erschallet, ihr Lieder, erklinget, ihr Saiten
Recitativo (bass): Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten
Aria (bass, trumpets & timpani): Heiligste Dreieinigkeit
Aria (tenor, strings): O Seelenparadies
Aria (soprano – Soul, alto – Spirit, oboe, cello): Komm, laß mich nicht länger warten
Chorale (violin): Von Gott kömmt mir ein Freudenschein
optional: repeat of the opening chorus
("Ring out, ye Songs")
Translation & text
Scored for four vocal soloists (soprano, alto, tenor and bass), a four-part choir, three trumpets, timpani, recorder or flauto traverso, oboe d'amore, two violins, two violas, bassoon, cello, and basso continuo.
Bach was court organist to Johann Ernst of Saxe-Weimar in Weimar and was appointed concertmaster on March 2, 1714. With this came the task of performing a monthly sacred cantata in the castle church. BWV 172 is the third cantata in the series. The text is attributed to the court poet and director of the mint, Salomon Franck, although it does not appear in his printed works. However, several stylistic features characteristic of Franck - the biblical word as a recitative in the second movement rather than as an opening chorus, sequences of arias without a connecting recitative, dialogues in duet - can be found in this cantata. The text reflects different aspects of the Holy Spirit.
It is a grand and festive cantata, suitable for this important church feast, and notable for the brilliant trumpet writing of the first two aria movements and the intricate combination of dialogue with chorale cantus firmus in the penultimate duet. The text is based on the reading "He who loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him". The opening chorus is da capo with a large fanfare-like instrumentation of trumpets and timpani to emphasize the festive nature of the day.
The Gospel reading for the first day of Pentecost is a speech by Jesus announcing to his disciples the coming of the Holy Spirit, the first verse of which Bach assigns as a recitative to the bass, which here (as so often) acts as Vox Christi. The bass recitative expands into an arioso, followed by a bass aria accompanied by three trumpets, representing the "Holy Trinity" in the text. In the aria, the bass changes personality to the voice of humanity, praying for God to enter our hearts - and Bach lets us hear the wafting spirit descend from on high, where the trumpets are.
The tenor aria is in the minor mode, expressing the text's longing for a "spiritual paradise" (which has not yet been achieved). It is accompanied by a flowing ritornello theme in the upper strings, combined with the flute an octave higher. As Julian Mincham explains, "The central image is that of God′s Spirit which breathed over the Creation and has persisted ever since. Whilst interpretation of Bach′s musical images can never be an exact science and will always remain, to some degree subjective, in this case one can suggest with some confidence that the vocal line represents the Soul and the string counterpoint God′s Enabling Spirit."
The soprano and alto duet that follows is a dialog between the soprano as an impatient soul who longs for her beloved, the Holy Spirit (alto). Duets of this kind between allegorical characters appeared in the cantatas on the wings of Pietism, usually in the love relationship between the soprano as the soul (anima) of the individual believer and Jesus, the bass (Vox Christi), but for this occasion the desired bridegroom has been replaced by the Holy Spirit. The aria is combined with an instrumental choral cantus firmus, a highly ornamented version of the great Lutheran chorale "Komm Heiliger Geist" played initially on the oboe but in later performances also the organ - making it a remarkably complex movement.
Note how, when faced with a sequence of three arias without recitatives, as in this case, Bach varies voices, textures, modes, and instrumentation in such a way as to differentiate the particular character of each movement: In this cantata, the first aria is for bass, trumpets, and percussion and is in the major; the second is for tenor and strings and is in the minor; and the third, which returns to the major, is a duet for the remaining voices (alto and soprano), supported by a very active continuo line and an obbligato oboe.
A beautiful setting of the fourth strophe of "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern" by Philipp Nicolai, with a high, descant first violin part, concludes the cantata, after which the opening chorus may be repeated.
Bach clearly attached great importance to this cantata: he performed it once in Leipzig as an occasional substitute for his predecessor there, Johann Kuhnau, and certainly again in 1724, 1731, and later.
Video: C Major version: J.S. Bach-Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) /
D Major version: Bachakademie Stuttgart
- Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten, BWV 59, 28 May 1724
Duetto (soprano, bass): Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten
Recitativo (soprano): O was sind das vor Ehren
Chorale: Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott
Aria (bass): Die Welt mit allen Königreichen
("Whoever loves me, will keep My word")
Translation & text
Scored for two soloists, soprano and bass, a four-part choir only in the chorale, two trumpets, timpani, two violins, viola and basso continuo.
Very short cantata (parts of which were actually reused for BWV 74 to better effect). The opening duet is quite charming, almost like an Italian chamber concerto. Trumpets are present, but the fine string accompaniment dominates. Both text and music emphasize "who loves me. The cantata is based on a text by Erdmann Neumeister, published in 1714.
The accompanied soprano recitative moves into an arioso and is followed by a simple chorale ("Come, Holy Spirit").
The songlike bass aria is accompanied by solo violin and expresses anticipation of heavenly bliss. The final chorale is missing, although a note by Bach in the autograph indicates that he intended to end the work with one. The third verse of "Come Holy Spirit" is usually played here.
Video: J.S. Bach Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) /
- Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten, BWV 74, 20 May 1725
Chor: Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten
Arie S: Komm, komm, mein Herze steht dir offen
Rezitativ A: Die Wohnung ist bereit
Arie B: Ich gehe hin und komme wieder zu euch
Arie T: Kommt, eilet, stimmet Sait und Lieder
Rezitativ B: Es ist nichts Verdammliches an denen, die in Christo Jesu sind
Arie A: Nichts kann mich erretten
Choral: Kein Menschenkind hier auf der Erd
("Whoever loves me, will keep My word")
Translation & text
Scored for four solo voices (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass), a four-part choir, three trumpets, timpani, two oboes, an oboe da caccia, two violins, viola, and basso continuo.
This cantata has the same title as the previous one, but Bach used a different author for the text. The librettist for this work was Christiana Mariana von Ziegler. She collaborated with Bach on nine cantatas after Easter 1724, beginning with Ihr werdet weinen und heulen, BWV 103. In several of these works she began with a quotation from the Gospel of Jesus. Much of her text was based on the "metaphysical" readings of the Gospel of John.
Bach reuses music from BWV 59 in the first two movements. The message of Pentecost is reflected in the joyful opening chorus with its colorful instrumentation. The first aria is for soprano with oboe da caccia. The new arrangement gives the movement a "childlike openness.
An alto recitative is followed by the second aria, for bass as Vox Christi ("I go away and come again to you..."). The aria uses "sequences of 'kicking' eighth notes in the continuo line" to suggest a stepping motion. The tenor aria again proclaims the joy of the Pentecost story in a dance-like and declamatory movement. The rapidly rising and falling character of the catchy string melody illustrates the "going away and coming back".
A bass recitative accompanied by oboes proclaims the central message, "There is nothing condemnable in those who are of Christ Jesus". The final powerful alto aria, accompanied by concertante violin, uses virtuoso word-painting to illustrate the empty rattling of Satan's hellish chains. A quiet but attractive chorale concludes the cantata.
Video: Bachakademie (Gaechinger Cantorey) - O ewiges Feuer, o Ursprung der Liebe, BWV 34, June 1 1727
Coro: "O ewiges Feuer, o Ursprung der Liebe" Recitativo: "Herr, unsre Herzen halten dir"
Aria (Alto): "Wohl euch, ihr auserwählten Seelen"
Recitativo: "Erwählt sich Gott die heilgen Hütten"
Coro: "Friede über Israel"
("O Eternal flame, o fount of love")
Translation & text
Scored for three vocal soloists (alto, tenor, bass), a four-part choir, three trumpets, timpani, two flauti traversi, two oboes, two violins, viola and basso continuo.
Derived from a now-lost wedding cantata, as the passionate text of the opening chorus makes clear, the fiery love between man and woman is transformed into the heavenly flames of the Holy Spirit. A central contemplative aria for alto, accompanied by two flutes and muted strings, is framed by recitatives, while the two outer movements are performed by the chorus and a festive baroque instrumental ensemble of three trumpets, timpani, two oboes, strings, and continuo. The final movement quotes the conclusion of Psalm 128, "Peace over Israel. The themes of eternal fire, love, dwelling together, and peace are appropriate for both wedding and Pentecost. The text of the Wedding Cantata could remain unchanged, since the image of the flames and the spirit of love fit both the events of Pentecost and a wedding: the author only had to replace the reference to the "united couple" with a reference to the Gospel.
The opening of this cantata is, in fact, one of Bach's great and elaborate choruses, with perfectly integrated trumpets. The "heavenly flames" of Pentecost are musically represented by crackling semiquaver figurations in the first violins. The chorus concludes with a grand fugue.
The tenor recitative takes on an authoritative tone, expanding on the concept of God's abiding with his people as outlined in the Gospel.
The beautiful alto aria "Happy are you, you chosen souls" still retains some of the wedding cantata, for example in the restrained accompaniment of flutes and muted strings, or in the tender affection it exudes. The gentle, rocking melody is now meant to evoke the "floating spirits. It has a berceuse-like rhythm, with an obbligato melody played by muted violins and flutes in octaves and tenths.
A bass recitative (similar in character to the tenor recitative) then leads into the final joyous choral exhortation to peace, a stirring conclusion to a great cantata.
The manuscript of the score, largely in Bach's own hand, dates from a few years before his death. However, a libretto recently discovered in St. Petersburg shows that the cantata is much older and was first performed on June 1, 1727.
Video: Netherlands Bach Society - Interview conductor Van Veldhoven /
J.S. Bach-Foundation (St. Gallen) - Workshop (in German) - Contemplation (in German) - Explanation in Bach Factory (English)
May 26, 2012
Five Colors Tumulus - Goshiki Kofun, Kobe
In the middle of Kobe, almost obscured by flats and residences, lies one of the largest ancient graves (kofun) in Japan, the Goshikizuka Tumulus.
It sits in Tarumi on a hill overlooking Awaji island across the channel - affording a good view of the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge. The tumulus dates from the late 4th or early 5th century and is a 194-meter long keyhole-shaped tomb (an elongated square topped by a circle). It probably belongs to a local chieftain who dominated traffic through the sea channel. At the side is a smaller, circular tomb (called kotsubo, "small vase") and the whole used to be surrounded by a deep moat that was 10 meters wide.
The 18 meter high tumulus had three tiers and the slopes were covered with packed cobble stones. On the top of the mound and the flat planes at the bottom, upright finned cylindrical haniwa were lined up. In the moat, three island-like platforms were built, probably to allow bridges to connect with the mound proper.
The tumulus used to be much larger in the past - of the elongated square front part only one third is left, the rest was flattened when the Sanyo and JR lines were built.
The name Goshiki "Five colors" (in the sense of "many colors") was suggested by the small stones with which the upper part of the tumulus was covered. They are from Awaji island and have glittering parts that reflect the sunlight in many colors.
In all 2,200 haniwa were found during the excavation. Although they included a few figures, most were simple cylinders about 50 cm high.
The tumulus is already mentioned in the Nihon Shoki. In Edo times it had famous visitors as etcher Shiba Kokan. Unfortunately, it suffered during and after WWII, but after extensive excavations starting in 1965, it was as much as possible restored to former splendor, even including some copies of the haniwa.
[Goshikizuka Kofun. Photo Ad Blankestijn]
It sits in Tarumi on a hill overlooking Awaji island across the channel - affording a good view of the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge. The tumulus dates from the late 4th or early 5th century and is a 194-meter long keyhole-shaped tomb (an elongated square topped by a circle). It probably belongs to a local chieftain who dominated traffic through the sea channel. At the side is a smaller, circular tomb (called kotsubo, "small vase") and the whole used to be surrounded by a deep moat that was 10 meters wide.
The 18 meter high tumulus had three tiers and the slopes were covered with packed cobble stones. On the top of the mound and the flat planes at the bottom, upright finned cylindrical haniwa were lined up. In the moat, three island-like platforms were built, probably to allow bridges to connect with the mound proper.
[Goshikizuka Kofun. Photo Ad Blankestijn]
The tumulus used to be much larger in the past - of the elongated square front part only one third is left, the rest was flattened when the Sanyo and JR lines were built.
The name Goshiki "Five colors" (in the sense of "many colors") was suggested by the small stones with which the upper part of the tumulus was covered. They are from Awaji island and have glittering parts that reflect the sunlight in many colors.
[Goshikizuka Kofun. Photo Ad Blankestijn]
In all 2,200 haniwa were found during the excavation. Although they included a few figures, most were simple cylinders about 50 cm high.
The tumulus is already mentioned in the Nihon Shoki. In Edo times it had famous visitors as etcher Shiba Kokan. Unfortunately, it suffered during and after WWII, but after extensive excavations starting in 1965, it was as much as possible restored to former splendor, even including some copies of the haniwa.
5 min walk east from Sanyo-Tarumi Station on the Sanyo Line. Entry is free. Upon registering at the small office next to the entrance, you will receive an English pamphlet. Opening times: 9:00-16:30. Closed on Monday.
Sword and Haniwa - Sakitama Historical Park, Gyoda
The Sakitama Historical Park in Gyoda consists of nine large-scale tumuli graves (kofun) built between the end of the fifth and beginning of the seventh century. Here we find the Maruhaka Kofun, one of the highest round tumuli in Japan; the Inariyama Kofun, a keyhole shaped grave originally 120 meters in length, and the oldest in the park - it was excavated in 1968 a sword with inscription was found; the Shogunyama Kofun, unfortunately already excavated by local people in 1894, that has been restored to its original shape - near the stone burial chamber, an interior observation room has been built with a model arrangement of the grave and various artifacts; and the Wakazuka Kofun, where many interesting haniwa were found.
[Tumuli in Sakitama Historical Park, Gyoda. Photo Ad Blankestijn]
In the 30 ha park also stands the Sakitama Shiryokan, an archeology (and folklore) museum. Materials found in the nearby graves are on display: haniwa, such as a dancing man, a man playing a zither, a warriors' head with large helmet and various clay cylinders; Sue ware, a grayish pottery of somewhat later date (and not as beautiful as the red-flamed haniwa); horse trappings such as an iron horse mask for protection in battle, and various bells; and a great number of iron swords.
Among these is also a sword known as 'Shingai,' inscribed with a lengthy text in Chinese on both sides of the blade. Shingai is one of the dates in the Chinese 60-year calendar system and refers to 471 CE - this much can be ascertained because the name of the then reigning emperor, Yuryaku, is mentioned as well. When the sword was found, the inscription was overlooked due to the heavy rust on the blade. Only when it was sent to an institute for special treatment so that it could be better preserved, it became clear that the blade had been inscribed with 115 characters in gold inlay. Polishing has made these characters now clearly legible. The text gives the name of the owner, his family tree, and the fact that he served Emperor Yuryaku as a warrior.
The sword is exhibited in a special glass case in the middle of the exhibition room and, together with other artifacts from the tombs, was declared a national treasure in 1983.
The museum (standing at the end of a driveway, across the street from the parking lot) gives a good impression of the items found in the kofun tumuli; the park (especially the part at the side of the parking lot) is an excellent place for a pleasant stroll.
[Tumuli in Sakitama Historical Park, Gyoda. Photo Ad Blankestijn]
In the 30 ha park also stands the Sakitama Shiryokan, an archeology (and folklore) museum. Materials found in the nearby graves are on display: haniwa, such as a dancing man, a man playing a zither, a warriors' head with large helmet and various clay cylinders; Sue ware, a grayish pottery of somewhat later date (and not as beautiful as the red-flamed haniwa); horse trappings such as an iron horse mask for protection in battle, and various bells; and a great number of iron swords.
Among these is also a sword known as 'Shingai,' inscribed with a lengthy text in Chinese on both sides of the blade. Shingai is one of the dates in the Chinese 60-year calendar system and refers to 471 CE - this much can be ascertained because the name of the then reigning emperor, Yuryaku, is mentioned as well. When the sword was found, the inscription was overlooked due to the heavy rust on the blade. Only when it was sent to an institute for special treatment so that it could be better preserved, it became clear that the blade had been inscribed with 115 characters in gold inlay. Polishing has made these characters now clearly legible. The text gives the name of the owner, his family tree, and the fact that he served Emperor Yuryaku as a warrior.
The sword is exhibited in a special glass case in the middle of the exhibition room and, together with other artifacts from the tombs, was declared a national treasure in 1983.
The museum (standing at the end of a driveway, across the street from the parking lot) gives a good impression of the items found in the kofun tumuli; the park (especially the part at the side of the parking lot) is an excellent place for a pleasant stroll.
Address: 4834 Sakitama, Gyoda-shi, Saitama-ken. Tel. 0485-59-1111
Access: 15 min. by bus or taxi from JR Gyoda Station (1 hr. by train on the Takasaki Line from Ueno Station) to the archeological park (Fudoki no Oka).
Hours: 9:00-16:30. The same ticket is valid for the exhibition room in the Shogunyama Tumulus.
Textile Art - Serizawa Keisuke Museum, Shizuoka (Museum)
Serizawa Keisuke (1895-1984) was a craft artist who worked with stencil dyeing techniques on textiles in bold colors and designs. He belonged to the folk-craft inspired group of Yanagi Soetsu, Hamada Shoji and Kawai Kanjiro (the so-called Mingei Movement). He was born in Shizuoka and the museum that opened in 1981 finds its origin in a donation he made of his works to his native city. The architect was Seiichi Shirai and the building of rough hewn, natural white stone and wood, interestingly centered around a courtyard that is completely filled by a pond, is itself also a masterpiece.
[Serizawa Keisuke Museum. Photo Ad Blankestijn]
The museum holds about 800 pieces of Serizawa's work and in addition possesses 4,500 items of the folk art the artist collected from all over the world (and that often became a source of inspiration for him, like it was for Shoji Hamada).
The dyeing technique Serizawa used is called kataezome and was inspired by Japanese traditional stencil dyeing crafts, such as Bingata from Okinawa. With this technique he produced a wide variety of works: noren (doorway curtains), byobu (folding screens), wall drapes, kimono and obi sashes.
Behind the museum stands the traditional Japanese house the artist lived in. It is open on the first and third Sunday of the month. Another large groups of works by Keisuke Serizawa can be found in the Ohara Museum of Art in Kurashiki.
This mingei museum happens to stand right next to the Toro site, a late-Yayoi period village of the third century, and you may want to take this opportunity for a stroll among the green remnants, where several dwellings have been reconstructed.
[Serizawa Keisuke Museum. Photo Ad Blankestijn]
The museum holds about 800 pieces of Serizawa's work and in addition possesses 4,500 items of the folk art the artist collected from all over the world (and that often became a source of inspiration for him, like it was for Shoji Hamada).
The dyeing technique Serizawa used is called kataezome and was inspired by Japanese traditional stencil dyeing crafts, such as Bingata from Okinawa. With this technique he produced a wide variety of works: noren (doorway curtains), byobu (folding screens), wall drapes, kimono and obi sashes.
Behind the museum stands the traditional Japanese house the artist lived in. It is open on the first and third Sunday of the month. Another large groups of works by Keisuke Serizawa can be found in the Ohara Museum of Art in Kurashiki.
This mingei museum happens to stand right next to the Toro site, a late-Yayoi period village of the third century, and you may want to take this opportunity for a stroll among the green remnants, where several dwellings have been reconstructed.
Shizuoka Municipal Keisuke Serizawa Museum
Tel. 0542-82-5522; 9:00-16:30; CL Mon, day after NH, last day of the month, NY, BE; By bus from Shizuoka station to Toro-Iseki.
Ancient Rice Paddies - Toro Ruins and Museum, Shizuoka (Museums)
In recent years there have so many great archaeological discoveries in Japan - such as the Yoshinogari site of a Yayoi village in northern Kyushu and the Sannai-Maruyama ruins dating to the Jomon period in Aomori - that the Toro Site in Shizuoka, which was discovered almost 60 years ago, has been obliged to take a backseat. A visit to the site and its museum shows that this is not justified.
[Model of a Yayoi hut in Toro Park.Photo © Ad Blankestijn]
The Toro Ruins are a late-Yayoi period village, that existed in the third century CE. 60 people were living here and the buildings consisted of twelve pit-dwellings and two grain storehouses. There were also eight hectares of paddy fields. The village was left suddenly, probably after a nearby river flooded the area and covered it with mud. The inhabitants apparently managed to flee, taking only part of their belongings with them. The value of the Toro site is that thanks to the mud slide the whole village was kept intact over the ages, including wooden implements and some wooden building materials.
This Yayoi time capsule can be seen in the museum (on the second floor; the first floor houses some reconstructions of village life). There are utensils made of wood and clay, stone and some of iron. In the early-Yayoi period (from about 300 BCE) rice cultivation and the use of iron and bronze implements had been brought to Japan from the Asian continent. In that respect, it is interesting to note that iron is still rare in this village: hoes, spades and rakes are all made of wood.
Another interesting wooden item are the small planks that were bound under the feet to walk in the paddies: the origin of the Japanese geta. Striking are also a small stool, and a big wooden spoon. It seems as if you have stepped right into Yayoi life.
That life has been reconstructed in the park surrounding the museum, where several Yayoi dwellings and storehouses have been set up. More telling, however, are the round impressions (one meter lower than the modern ground level) of the original Yayoi huts that dot the park.
[Model of a Yayoi hut in Toro Park.Photo © Ad Blankestijn]
The Toro Ruins are a late-Yayoi period village, that existed in the third century CE. 60 people were living here and the buildings consisted of twelve pit-dwellings and two grain storehouses. There were also eight hectares of paddy fields. The village was left suddenly, probably after a nearby river flooded the area and covered it with mud. The inhabitants apparently managed to flee, taking only part of their belongings with them. The value of the Toro site is that thanks to the mud slide the whole village was kept intact over the ages, including wooden implements and some wooden building materials.
This Yayoi time capsule can be seen in the museum (on the second floor; the first floor houses some reconstructions of village life). There are utensils made of wood and clay, stone and some of iron. In the early-Yayoi period (from about 300 BCE) rice cultivation and the use of iron and bronze implements had been brought to Japan from the Asian continent. In that respect, it is interesting to note that iron is still rare in this village: hoes, spades and rakes are all made of wood.
Another interesting wooden item are the small planks that were bound under the feet to walk in the paddies: the origin of the Japanese geta. Striking are also a small stool, and a big wooden spoon. It seems as if you have stepped right into Yayoi life.
That life has been reconstructed in the park surrounding the museum, where several Yayoi dwellings and storehouses have been set up. More telling, however, are the round impressions (one meter lower than the modern ground level) of the original Yayoi huts that dot the park.
Address: 5-10-5 Toro, Shizuoka-shi, Shizuoka-ken. Tel. 0542-85-0476
Access: By bus from Shizuoka station to Toro-Iseki.
Hours: 9:00-16:30. CL Monday, day after a national holiday, last day of the month, year-end and New Year season.
Graves with a View - Boso Fudoki no Oka, Chiba (Museums)
Boso Fudoki-no-Oka is a scenic, historical park covering 32 hectares, laid out on a hill dotted with about 120 old tumulus graves. Although lying close to Narita, Tokyo's International Airport, the thunder of jets does not reach here and the park proves remarkably tranquil. There are small grave mounds, not more than tiny knolls, lying in the shade of large trees, but also imposing, grassy mounds. The park is situated on a low ridge, with the wide Kanto plain at one’s feet, as if the dead have been honored with VIP seats. The tombs belong to clan heads and nobility from the third to seventh century, the so-called Kofun period. Judging from their relatively small size, the mounds of Boso probably are from the end of that period, when tomb building was already in decline.
[Model of a grave with haniwa figures. Photo © Ad Blankestijn]
The park's museum, a redbrick building, displays items that have been unearthed from tumuli (kofun) in the area. The museum consists of one room downstairs and an upper gallery. There are hundreds of clay haniwa of grave figures, houses, horses and even small birds. On display are also stone grave-pillows, jewelry, stirrups, and mirrors. It is always interesting to see how the iron swords have crumbled due to the passage of time, while the haniwa clay figures are still as fresh as when new. There are also potsherds of Sue ware and some sutra containers. Nearby Ryukakuji Temple is represented by fragments of old tiles. Upstairs Jomon and Yayoi pottery is shown, as well as a selection of dogu figures, all items of a period long before the tumulus graves were built.
The Chiba prefectural government has relocated the wooden auditorium of a nineteenth century elementary school as well as two old farmhouses to the park. Although the smallish museum alone perhaps does not warrant the long trip here, in combination with the fascinating park it makes an excellent weekend destination, especially if you walk there from Shimosu-Manzaki Station on the Narita line.
[Model of a grave with haniwa figures. Photo © Ad Blankestijn]
The park's museum, a redbrick building, displays items that have been unearthed from tumuli (kofun) in the area. The museum consists of one room downstairs and an upper gallery. There are hundreds of clay haniwa of grave figures, houses, horses and even small birds. On display are also stone grave-pillows, jewelry, stirrups, and mirrors. It is always interesting to see how the iron swords have crumbled due to the passage of time, while the haniwa clay figures are still as fresh as when new. There are also potsherds of Sue ware and some sutra containers. Nearby Ryukakuji Temple is represented by fragments of old tiles. Upstairs Jomon and Yayoi pottery is shown, as well as a selection of dogu figures, all items of a period long before the tumulus graves were built.
The Chiba prefectural government has relocated the wooden auditorium of a nineteenth century elementary school as well as two old farmhouses to the park. Although the smallish museum alone perhaps does not warrant the long trip here, in combination with the fascinating park it makes an excellent weekend destination, especially if you walk there from Shimosu-Manzaki Station on the Narita line.
Tel. 0476-95-3126
Hrs. 9:00 – 16:30; Cl Mon (next day if NH), NY.
Access: From Ajiki Station on the JR Narita Line take a bus bound for the west entrance of Fudoki no Oka, then walk 10 min; alternatively, it is a 30 min walk from Shimosa-Manzaki Station on the JR Narita Line to the park's east or main entrance. Shimosa-Manzaki is about 1.15 hrs. from Ueno Station in Tokyo (take a Joban line train from Ueno to Abiko and there transfer to a train going in the direction of Narita on the Narita line). In the same park one finds a sort of Edo-period Chiba village with reconstructions of old shops and houses where visitors can practice various crafts, the Chiba Prefectural Boso no Mura Museum (Boso Village).
Haniwa and Graves - Shibayama Ancient Tombs and Haniwa Museum, Chiba (Museums)
Shibayama, on the eastern side of Narita Airport, is another area rich in old tumulus graves. In contrast to Boso Fudoki-no-Oka, Shibayama has given us numerous large-sized and fascinating haniwa figures. Typical are curious figures with high hats, beards and long curly hair, a very unusual look as haniwa go. They are the trademarks of the whole area, including Narita and you will find copies of them at the entrance to the basement train station in the Narita Terminal no. 2.
The real things are on view in two local museums. One is the Shibayama Ancient Tombs and Haniwa Museum, located in Shibayama Park among the tombs itself. The biggest tombs are the Tonozuka and Himezuka, both in the keyhole shape, square in front and round at the back. In these tombs a complete procession of haniwa figures was found, inspiring the local citizens to start an annual ‘haniwa festival.’ The museum exhibits haniwa from the Kujikuri and Tonegawa areas and other archaeological artifacts such as a sword, metal bells and horse trappings. There are pottery heads of people and animals, as well as a small house and cylinders surmounted by quivers and fans. The ancient Kofun culture is brought to life in photo’s and the reconstruction of an old dwelling.
[The gate of Kannonkyoji Temple, Shibayama. Photo © Ad Blankestijn]
From the Shibayama Park it is only a short walk to the Kannonkyoji Temple (also called more affectionately Nioson), where we find the other museum, the Shibayama Museum. This museum not only stands inside the temple grounds, but is even connected to the temple’s main hall. On the first floor is a display of more haniwa from the Tonozuka and Himezuka tumuli, while on the second floor one also finds a collection of Buddhist statues and paintings.
The display of the haniwa against a muted gray background is more imaginative than in the first museum, although the two facilities work together. There is a man with a triangular hat from the Himezuka; a 163 cm tall, late 6th c. warrior with a beard, long curly hair and a triangular, tall hat; a farmer with a straw hat; and a young woman wearing large earrings and a flat cap.
The Buddhist art consists of the statues the temple owns, such as a beautiful Dainichi Nyorai (Heian-period), a 13th c. Bishamon and a 12th c. Jizo. There are also Buddhist paintings (the temple owns a Fudo Myo-o and a Jizo). The modern paintings are mainly works illustrating the life of the Buddha. Don’t miss the two black Nioson (Deva Kings) statues inside the gate building, which gave the temple its nickname.
The real things are on view in two local museums. One is the Shibayama Ancient Tombs and Haniwa Museum, located in Shibayama Park among the tombs itself. The biggest tombs are the Tonozuka and Himezuka, both in the keyhole shape, square in front and round at the back. In these tombs a complete procession of haniwa figures was found, inspiring the local citizens to start an annual ‘haniwa festival.’ The museum exhibits haniwa from the Kujikuri and Tonegawa areas and other archaeological artifacts such as a sword, metal bells and horse trappings. There are pottery heads of people and animals, as well as a small house and cylinders surmounted by quivers and fans. The ancient Kofun culture is brought to life in photo’s and the reconstruction of an old dwelling.
[The gate of Kannonkyoji Temple, Shibayama. Photo © Ad Blankestijn]
From the Shibayama Park it is only a short walk to the Kannonkyoji Temple (also called more affectionately Nioson), where we find the other museum, the Shibayama Museum. This museum not only stands inside the temple grounds, but is even connected to the temple’s main hall. On the first floor is a display of more haniwa from the Tonozuka and Himezuka tumuli, while on the second floor one also finds a collection of Buddhist statues and paintings.
The display of the haniwa against a muted gray background is more imaginative than in the first museum, although the two facilities work together. There is a man with a triangular hat from the Himezuka; a 163 cm tall, late 6th c. warrior with a beard, long curly hair and a triangular, tall hat; a farmer with a straw hat; and a young woman wearing large earrings and a flat cap.
The Buddhist art consists of the statues the temple owns, such as a beautiful Dainichi Nyorai (Heian-period), a 13th c. Bishamon and a 12th c. Jizo. There are also Buddhist paintings (the temple owns a Fudo Myo-o and a Jizo). The modern paintings are mainly works illustrating the life of the Buddha. Don’t miss the two black Nioson (Deva Kings) statues inside the gate building, which gave the temple its nickname.
Museum
Tel: 0479-77-1828
Hours: 9:00 – 16:30; Cl Mon (next day if public holiday), day after NH, NY.
Temple
Tel: 0479-77-0004
Hours: 10:00-16:30; no holidays.
Access (to both): (infrequent) bus from Narita Station to Shibayama, then 5 min. on foot. Or from Higashi-Narita St. on the Keisei Line ‘Noriai Service Taxi’ to Shibayama (the same taxi runs in the opposite direction from Matsuo Station as well). This takes about 20 min, but inquire in advance with the museum as this service runs only on weekends, and then a few times a day. Higashi Narita is only 6 min on the Keisei Higashi Narita Line, but trains are infrequent (about 2 an hour). Matsuo Station can be reached by taking the Sotobo Line express from Tokyo to Naruto (about 1 hr) and then transfer to a local train on the Naruto-Choshi Line for the 5 min ride to next station Matsuo. These local trains are infrequent (one an hour) so plan in advance. You can also take a taxi from Naruto, but this is rather expensive (more than 5000 yen).
Variable Time - Daimyo Clock Museum, Tokyo
Nezu lies adjacent to Yanaka, on the inside of the ring of the Yamanote line, and is an area where still some traces of an older Tokyo can be found. It is famous for the Nezu Shrine, which has beautiful azaleas in late April-early May.
Within easy walking distance from the Nezu subway station on the Chiyoda line, you will find the Daimyo Clock Museum. The small facility stands a short walk from Nezu station in a typical neighborhood which still retains the flavor of former days, with small homes in back alleys hidden behind stacks of potted plants.
What is more fitting for a clock museum than a neighborhood where time, if not standing still, at least seems to go more slowly? The museum sits in a walled garden where vegetation runs wild and quaint old statues peep out from between the weeds.
The museum is in fact not more than one room full with about 50 so-called daimyo clocks. Inspired by Western clocks brought into Japan from the late 16th c., daimyo clocks were attuned to the reality that time in the Edo-period was flexible.
The name was devised by the founder of the present museum, because the daimyo or feudal barons were the only ones allowed to own these clocks during the Edo-period. A more general name is wa-dokei, Japanese clocks.
[Entrance to the Daimyo Clock Museum. Photo © Ad Blankestijn]
Museum founder Kamiguchi Guro (1892-1970) originally had a clothing store in this neighborhood, but was consumed by the passion for daimyo clocks which he sought out in the whole country in order to preserve and study them. His interests were continued by his son, Kamiguchi Hitoshi, who established the present museum in 1972. For a small price the museum sells a typewritten pamphlet in English that gives an excellent explanation of these clocks. As the labels in the museum are only in Japanese it is a good idea to sit down on one of the benches provided and first read the brochure.
You will learn that daimyo clocks were made after European ‘lantern clocks’ with escapement, the first of which was given by the missionary Xavier to a Kyushu daimyo. The best daimyo clocks were produced in the first decades of the 19th c.
As they were only made for a small group of people, who used them as a symbol of wealth rather than as pieces to accurately measure time, they never developed into the practical instruments the European models were. Before Japan adopted the solar calendar in 1872, the hours of the day and night differed in length according to the season. These hours were named after the animals of the Chinese zodiac and you will find those characters on the clock face. For measuring non-standard time, various ingenious devices were used. One was to vary the speed of the clockwork movement by small weights on the escapement balance, the other to adjust the position of the numerals (the zodiacal characters) on the clock face. In this last type of clock, interestingly, the hand was stationary and the clock face rotated.
In short, these clocks needed a lot of attention, but the daimyo after all had their servants for such chores. And as they were status symbols, it often was the decoration of the clocks that was more important than accurate timekeeping.As you will see around you in the museum, Japanese clocks come in many forms. The classical form is the square clock with escapement on top, resembling the European lantern clock, mounted on top of a stand shaped like a tower and therefore called yagura-dokei or ‘turret clocks.’
The museum owns several imposing specimens of this type. There were also makura-dokei or ‘mantel clocks,’ put in the decorative niche of the living room and therefore smaller but very luxurious in design. ‘Ruler clocks’ (shaku-dokei) could be hung on pillars as they were oblong and narrow; and ‘seal-case clocks’ (Inro-dokei) were modeled after European pocket watches.
Within easy walking distance from the Nezu subway station on the Chiyoda line, you will find the Daimyo Clock Museum. The small facility stands a short walk from Nezu station in a typical neighborhood which still retains the flavor of former days, with small homes in back alleys hidden behind stacks of potted plants.
What is more fitting for a clock museum than a neighborhood where time, if not standing still, at least seems to go more slowly? The museum sits in a walled garden where vegetation runs wild and quaint old statues peep out from between the weeds.
The museum is in fact not more than one room full with about 50 so-called daimyo clocks. Inspired by Western clocks brought into Japan from the late 16th c., daimyo clocks were attuned to the reality that time in the Edo-period was flexible.
The name was devised by the founder of the present museum, because the daimyo or feudal barons were the only ones allowed to own these clocks during the Edo-period. A more general name is wa-dokei, Japanese clocks.
[Entrance to the Daimyo Clock Museum. Photo © Ad Blankestijn]
Museum founder Kamiguchi Guro (1892-1970) originally had a clothing store in this neighborhood, but was consumed by the passion for daimyo clocks which he sought out in the whole country in order to preserve and study them. His interests were continued by his son, Kamiguchi Hitoshi, who established the present museum in 1972. For a small price the museum sells a typewritten pamphlet in English that gives an excellent explanation of these clocks. As the labels in the museum are only in Japanese it is a good idea to sit down on one of the benches provided and first read the brochure.
You will learn that daimyo clocks were made after European ‘lantern clocks’ with escapement, the first of which was given by the missionary Xavier to a Kyushu daimyo. The best daimyo clocks were produced in the first decades of the 19th c.
As they were only made for a small group of people, who used them as a symbol of wealth rather than as pieces to accurately measure time, they never developed into the practical instruments the European models were. Before Japan adopted the solar calendar in 1872, the hours of the day and night differed in length according to the season. These hours were named after the animals of the Chinese zodiac and you will find those characters on the clock face. For measuring non-standard time, various ingenious devices were used. One was to vary the speed of the clockwork movement by small weights on the escapement balance, the other to adjust the position of the numerals (the zodiacal characters) on the clock face. In this last type of clock, interestingly, the hand was stationary and the clock face rotated.
In short, these clocks needed a lot of attention, but the daimyo after all had their servants for such chores. And as they were status symbols, it often was the decoration of the clocks that was more important than accurate timekeeping.As you will see around you in the museum, Japanese clocks come in many forms. The classical form is the square clock with escapement on top, resembling the European lantern clock, mounted on top of a stand shaped like a tower and therefore called yagura-dokei or ‘turret clocks.’
The museum owns several imposing specimens of this type. There were also makura-dokei or ‘mantel clocks,’ put in the decorative niche of the living room and therefore smaller but very luxurious in design. ‘Ruler clocks’ (shaku-dokei) could be hung on pillars as they were oblong and narrow; and ‘seal-case clocks’ (Inro-dokei) were modeled after European pocket watches.
Tel. 03-3821-6913
Hours:10:00-16:00. Cl Mon, summer (7/1-9/30), NY (12/25-1/14)
Access:10 min on foot from Nezu St on the Chiyoda subway line or 15 min from JR Nippori St
Kanji Culture - Museum of Calligraphy, Tokyo (Museums)
The Museum of Calligraphy is not dedicated to beautiful writing, as the name might suggest, but to inscriptions in kanji, Chinese characters, on jade, bones, bronze, ceramics, and so on. It exhibits some of the oldest examples of the Chinese character script, a true culture of signs.
The collection was set up by Mr. Nakamura Fusetsu (1866-1943), who started out as a painter in the Western style but became interested in calligraphy and Chinese inscriptions when he was in China as reporter with the army during the Sino-Japanese War of 1895.
For half a year he toured China and Korea and found many rubbings and archeological materials about the early history of Chinese characters. This was the start of his collection, which grew to include 12 ‘important cultural properties.’
The museum was already opened in 1936 in the grounds of Nakamura’s residence, opposite the house where in the early 20th c. the haiku poet Shiki lived.
In 1995 the Nakamura family donated the museum to Taito Ward. It was completely refurbished to bring it up to modern standards and in the grounds also the beautiful Nakamura Fusetsu Memorial Hall was built, via which one now enters.
It is best to start with the (older) main building and come back later to the memorial hall where the reception desk is. The main building consists of five small galleries, of which four are open for showing the permanent exhibition.
Room One has stone steles and Buddhist statues, all from China and dating from the Han-dynasty to the Tang. There is a small gilt-bronze Buddha statue from the 5th c. and one of white marble from the 6th c. The statues have votive inscriptions on the base or the back informing us about the original use of the statue. One of the steles, a natural stone, dates from the early Han-dynasty (206 BCE – 9 CE) and is one of the earliest examples of such objects.
Room 3 to 5 are on the second floor. Room 3 (all Chinese items) has jades, used as ornaments by the nobility; clay grave figurines; flat tiles for the walls of houses and graves; roof tiles; a fragment from the stone steles on which in the period 172-178 CE the Chinese Classics were engraved; and stone slabs with grave inscriptions, carrying information about the deceased.
In room 4 we enter the world of Chinese bronzes from the Shang and Zhou periods, used for ritual purposes in the ancestor cult and here inscribed with the purpose why the implements were cast, such as official appointments; weapons from the Warring States to Han Dynasty; and finally also something Japanese: itabi, Buddhist steles from the middle ages that were erected by the faithful as prayers for their own bliss in the afterlife.
In room 5 we find another interesting item from China, the so-called oracle bones. These contain the oldest known Chinese characters and date from around 1300 BCE and later. Animal bones or tortoise shells were used to divine by applying heat and interpreting the resulting cracks. Afterwards, the questions (and sometimes also the answers from the oracle) were written on the bone or shell. There are also pottery jars with written inscriptions from the Han Dynasty; mirrors with inscriptions from the Warring States to Tang dynasty; seals; ink stones; writing brushes and water droppers to prepare the ink on the ink stone. From Japan we find in this section a wooden stupa and prayer sheets from Horyuji.
When we finally return to where we entered, the Nakamura Fusetsu Memorial Hall, we find rubbings (including some very large ones mounted on scrolls) and calligraphy books displayed on both the ground floor and second floor. Here are again many rare items, such as copy made in the Ming period of the Daikanjo from the Northern Song (1109).
At the back of the second floor is also a room with memorabilia about Mr. Nakamura, including photos, documents and some of his oil paintings.
The collection was set up by Mr. Nakamura Fusetsu (1866-1943), who started out as a painter in the Western style but became interested in calligraphy and Chinese inscriptions when he was in China as reporter with the army during the Sino-Japanese War of 1895.
For half a year he toured China and Korea and found many rubbings and archeological materials about the early history of Chinese characters. This was the start of his collection, which grew to include 12 ‘important cultural properties.’
The museum was already opened in 1936 in the grounds of Nakamura’s residence, opposite the house where in the early 20th c. the haiku poet Shiki lived.
In 1995 the Nakamura family donated the museum to Taito Ward. It was completely refurbished to bring it up to modern standards and in the grounds also the beautiful Nakamura Fusetsu Memorial Hall was built, via which one now enters.
It is best to start with the (older) main building and come back later to the memorial hall where the reception desk is. The main building consists of five small galleries, of which four are open for showing the permanent exhibition.
Room One has stone steles and Buddhist statues, all from China and dating from the Han-dynasty to the Tang. There is a small gilt-bronze Buddha statue from the 5th c. and one of white marble from the 6th c. The statues have votive inscriptions on the base or the back informing us about the original use of the statue. One of the steles, a natural stone, dates from the early Han-dynasty (206 BCE – 9 CE) and is one of the earliest examples of such objects.
Room 3 to 5 are on the second floor. Room 3 (all Chinese items) has jades, used as ornaments by the nobility; clay grave figurines; flat tiles for the walls of houses and graves; roof tiles; a fragment from the stone steles on which in the period 172-178 CE the Chinese Classics were engraved; and stone slabs with grave inscriptions, carrying information about the deceased.
In room 4 we enter the world of Chinese bronzes from the Shang and Zhou periods, used for ritual purposes in the ancestor cult and here inscribed with the purpose why the implements were cast, such as official appointments; weapons from the Warring States to Han Dynasty; and finally also something Japanese: itabi, Buddhist steles from the middle ages that were erected by the faithful as prayers for their own bliss in the afterlife.
In room 5 we find another interesting item from China, the so-called oracle bones. These contain the oldest known Chinese characters and date from around 1300 BCE and later. Animal bones or tortoise shells were used to divine by applying heat and interpreting the resulting cracks. Afterwards, the questions (and sometimes also the answers from the oracle) were written on the bone or shell. There are also pottery jars with written inscriptions from the Han Dynasty; mirrors with inscriptions from the Warring States to Tang dynasty; seals; ink stones; writing brushes and water droppers to prepare the ink on the ink stone. From Japan we find in this section a wooden stupa and prayer sheets from Horyuji.
When we finally return to where we entered, the Nakamura Fusetsu Memorial Hall, we find rubbings (including some very large ones mounted on scrolls) and calligraphy books displayed on both the ground floor and second floor. Here are again many rare items, such as copy made in the Ming period of the Daikanjo from the Northern Song (1109).
At the back of the second floor is also a room with memorabilia about Mr. Nakamura, including photos, documents and some of his oil paintings.
Tel: 03-3872-2645
Hours: 9:30 - 16:30. CL Mon (next day of NH), between exhibitions, NY (12/29-1/3).
Access: 5 min on foot from Uguisudani St on the Yamanote Line. Leave via the N exit of the station, walk through the short street with restaurants and then turn left into the road with the elevated road after first crossing over to the opposite side. Take the first narrow road on the right, and turn left at the first crossing. The museum is visible on your right. The area is full of love hotels.
Life in Old Tokyo - Shitamachi Museum, Tokyo
On the bank of Shinobazu Pond, below Ueno Park, we encounter the Shitamachi Museum, which is quite popular among foreign visitors. It is indeed a friendly place, providing an atmospheric evocation of ‘downtown’ Tokyo (called ‘shitamachi’ in Japanese) in the Ueno and Asakusa wards in the 1920s, before this bustling area was largely destroyed by the earthquake of 1923.
[Shitamachi Museum, Ueno, Tokyo. Photo © Ad Blankestijn]
On the first floor one finds reproductions of some shitamachi buildings from the Meiji and Taisho eras. To the right stands the shop of a manufacturer and wholesaler of cloth straps (hanao) for geta clogs, a commodity that has disappeared from daily life. Until the 1930s geta were the main footwear in Japan.
The craftsman lived and worked with his family and trainees in a modest shop like this, with no flashy signs but only a door curtain (noren) and simple signboard. Note the colorful straps for geta for women hanging on the wall. Under the ceiling hangs a yojin-kago, a bamboo basket with a shouldering pole that could be used to salvage valuables in case of a sudden fire.
To the left is a roji, a narrow passageway with a row of tenement houses (nagaya), of which two units have been reproduced. These are long, narrow dwellings with one roof over several units and only separated by thin wooden walls. Privacy was an unknown commodity. The first house is a shop selling colorful candy and toys (a dagashiya). Such shops, often run by widows, were popular with the children of the neighborhood.
The second house is the workshop of a copper smith (dokoya). Kettles and pots and pans were all made from copper plate. The narrow workspace is next to the living area. Note the nagahibachi, the long hibachi in the living room, where a copper kettle with water for tea could be kept hot.
The evening sake is waiting here for the smith to finish work.
The second floor of the museum has a small space for changing thematic exhibitions, as well as more displays about Shitamachi in the rest of the room. There is a copy of a cafe room, and the entrance to a public bathhouse. Displays with photos, ukiyo-e prints, picture postcards and other materials show the history of shitamachi and its pastimes, from late Edo through the modernization of Meiji, and finally the disasters of the 1923 earthquake and the wartime bombings which destroyed shitamachi culture. There are also many nostalgic items of daily use on display.
[Shitamachi Museum, Ueno, Tokyo. Photo © Ad Blankestijn]
On the first floor one finds reproductions of some shitamachi buildings from the Meiji and Taisho eras. To the right stands the shop of a manufacturer and wholesaler of cloth straps (hanao) for geta clogs, a commodity that has disappeared from daily life. Until the 1930s geta were the main footwear in Japan.
The craftsman lived and worked with his family and trainees in a modest shop like this, with no flashy signs but only a door curtain (noren) and simple signboard. Note the colorful straps for geta for women hanging on the wall. Under the ceiling hangs a yojin-kago, a bamboo basket with a shouldering pole that could be used to salvage valuables in case of a sudden fire.
To the left is a roji, a narrow passageway with a row of tenement houses (nagaya), of which two units have been reproduced. These are long, narrow dwellings with one roof over several units and only separated by thin wooden walls. Privacy was an unknown commodity. The first house is a shop selling colorful candy and toys (a dagashiya). Such shops, often run by widows, were popular with the children of the neighborhood.
The second house is the workshop of a copper smith (dokoya). Kettles and pots and pans were all made from copper plate. The narrow workspace is next to the living area. Note the nagahibachi, the long hibachi in the living room, where a copper kettle with water for tea could be kept hot.
The evening sake is waiting here for the smith to finish work.
The second floor of the museum has a small space for changing thematic exhibitions, as well as more displays about Shitamachi in the rest of the room. There is a copy of a cafe room, and the entrance to a public bathhouse. Displays with photos, ukiyo-e prints, picture postcards and other materials show the history of shitamachi and its pastimes, from late Edo through the modernization of Meiji, and finally the disasters of the 1923 earthquake and the wartime bombings which destroyed shitamachi culture. There are also many nostalgic items of daily use on display.
Tel: 03-3823-7451
Hours: 9:30-16:30 (enter by 16:00). CL Mon (next day if NH), NY, between exhibitions.
Access: 5-min walk from the Shinobazu exit from JR Ueno St and Ueno St on the Ginza and Hibiya lines; 3-min walk from Keisei Ueno St.
Shakespeare in Japan - Tsubouchi Memorial Theater Museum, Tokyo (Musems)
The Tsubouchi Memorial Theater Museum, Waseda University was established on the occasion of the 70th birthday of the critic and playwright Tsubouchi Shoyo (1859-1935), the first translator of Shakespeare’s complete works into Japanese and founder of the Department of Literature of Waseda University. The facade of the building is modeled on the Fortune Theater of Shakespeare. The museum’s holdings are very extensive: a rich collection of items related to the theater in Japan and in other countries, totaling hundreds of thousands of items. Foremost is a collection of 46,000 woodblock prints related to the theater, but there are also 200,000 pictures of stage performances and many materials connected with the stage such as costumes, puppets and models of stages. The library houses 150,000 books on the theater. Best of all, the museum and its facilities are free.
[Tsubouchi Memorial Theater Museum, Waseda University. Photo © Ad Blankestijn]
Inside the pleasantly antiquarian building are 7 exhibition rooms and a room dedicated to Tsubouchi. Visitors start on the third floor with the history of the theater in Japan. ‘The Ancient Age’ shows how theatrical arts developed under continental influences and has displays about bugaku dances. In ‘the Middle Ages’ we move to the quintessentially Japanese art forms of Noh and Kyogen. There are beautiful costumes and masks on display. The Early Modern Age is dedicated to the Kabuki and Ningyo-Joruri, the puppet play, with puppets and the lectern of a Bunraku narrator on view. ‘The Modern Age’ has information on the modern theater that developed under Western influence, and on musicals, Buto dances and even strip shows.
On the second floor are two special exhibition rooms, a room dedicated to folk performing arts such as Kagura and Dengaku, and the Shoyo Memorial Room. This room was designed by Mr. Tsubouchi for the reception of guests and he also used it himself when he visited the museum. Note the reliefs of sheep on the ceiling, as Shoyo was born in the Year of the Sheep. The book cases are filled with Shakespeare and the translations by Tsubouchi himself. On the first floor, finally, are a small room about Shakespeare and room in honor of the great modern Kabuki actor Nakamura Utaemon VI. Here is also a reading room, where the attendant doubles as receptionist for the museum.
[Tsubouchi Memorial Theater Museum, Waseda University. Photo © Ad Blankestijn]
Inside the pleasantly antiquarian building are 7 exhibition rooms and a room dedicated to Tsubouchi. Visitors start on the third floor with the history of the theater in Japan. ‘The Ancient Age’ shows how theatrical arts developed under continental influences and has displays about bugaku dances. In ‘the Middle Ages’ we move to the quintessentially Japanese art forms of Noh and Kyogen. There are beautiful costumes and masks on display. The Early Modern Age is dedicated to the Kabuki and Ningyo-Joruri, the puppet play, with puppets and the lectern of a Bunraku narrator on view. ‘The Modern Age’ has information on the modern theater that developed under Western influence, and on musicals, Buto dances and even strip shows.
On the second floor are two special exhibition rooms, a room dedicated to folk performing arts such as Kagura and Dengaku, and the Shoyo Memorial Room. This room was designed by Mr. Tsubouchi for the reception of guests and he also used it himself when he visited the museum. Note the reliefs of sheep on the ceiling, as Shoyo was born in the Year of the Sheep. The book cases are filled with Shakespeare and the translations by Tsubouchi himself. On the first floor, finally, are a small room about Shakespeare and room in honor of the great modern Kabuki actor Nakamura Utaemon VI. Here is also a reading room, where the attendant doubles as receptionist for the museum.
Tel: 03-5286-1829
Hours: 10:00-17:00. CL NH, August, university holidays.
Access: 7 min walk from Waseda St on the Tozai subway line.
Dutch Learning - Tekijuku, Osaka (Museums)
It comes as a surprise to find an authentic, 19th century Japanese merchant’s house right in the central Osaka business center, just south of Yodoyabashi Station. The two-storied house sits in a small garden and is dwarfed by neighboring buildings, but it is a miracle that it has survived destruction. It now forms an oasis of rest in the city. The house belonged to Ogata Koan (1810-1863), a doctor and scholar of Rangaku (“Dutch Studies”) who since 1843 opened his school, the Tekijuku (“School of the Right Target”) in this building.
Ogata Koan was born into a samurai family in Okayama Prefecture and came to Osaka when he was 17 years of age to study Rangaku. “Dutch Studies” refers to the study of Western medicine and science via text books imported by the Dutch, who were the only country from Europe allowed a presence in Japan. Ogata later also studied Rangaku in Edo and Nagasaki. He became known both as an expert educator and medical doctor and translated several medical works from Dutch into Japanese. In his school he taught the students the Dutch language as a tool to get access to Western science and culture. Many young people who would consequently play an important role in Japan’s modernization studied in the Tekijuku - Fukuzawa Yukichi is a good example.
In the two-story house some articles belonging to Ogata Koan are on display, ranging from medical instruments to books and documents. On the second floor, in a special room of its own, you will find the most important tool of the school, the hand-written, eight-volume Doeff Dutch-Japanese Dictionary. Students used to take turns to study it.
On this floor is also the room where the students – mostly of samurai stock – lodged. On the central wooden pillar one sees the cuts made by their swords to relieve themselves of the stress caused by the difficult political situation in which Japan then found itself. Next to the Tekijuku is a small park with a statue of Ogata Koan.
Ogata Koan was born into a samurai family in Okayama Prefecture and came to Osaka when he was 17 years of age to study Rangaku. “Dutch Studies” refers to the study of Western medicine and science via text books imported by the Dutch, who were the only country from Europe allowed a presence in Japan. Ogata later also studied Rangaku in Edo and Nagasaki. He became known both as an expert educator and medical doctor and translated several medical works from Dutch into Japanese. In his school he taught the students the Dutch language as a tool to get access to Western science and culture. Many young people who would consequently play an important role in Japan’s modernization studied in the Tekijuku - Fukuzawa Yukichi is a good example.
In the two-story house some articles belonging to Ogata Koan are on display, ranging from medical instruments to books and documents. On the second floor, in a special room of its own, you will find the most important tool of the school, the hand-written, eight-volume Doeff Dutch-Japanese Dictionary. Students used to take turns to study it.
On this floor is also the room where the students – mostly of samurai stock – lodged. On the central wooden pillar one sees the cuts made by their swords to relieve themselves of the stress caused by the difficult political situation in which Japan then found itself. Next to the Tekijuku is a small park with a statue of Ogata Koan.
Tel. 06-6231-1970
Hours: 10:00-16:00; CL Mon (except if NH), day after NH (except if Sat or Sun), NY
Access: 5 min on foot from Yodoyabashi or Kitahama St on the Keihan line; 5 min on foot from Yodoyabashi St on the Midosuji subway line.
The Art of Copying - Senshu Bunko
The Senshu Bunko, or "Library of a Thousand Autumns," comprises the collection of manuscripts, documents, paintings, and old maps of the Satake clan, the hereditary daimyo family that ruled what is now Akita prefecture. It gives a good impression of the tastes of a local ruling clan in the Edo period. Above all, it provides a glimpse of an interesting phenomenon from the Edo period, the culture of making copies of famous paintings.
[Senshu Bunko Museum, Tokyo. Photo Ad Blankestijn]
The Satake clan was established by Minamoto Yoshimitsu (1045-1127) in the village of Satake in Hitachi province (now Ibaraki). They were a major power in the northern Kanto, helping Minamoto no Yoritomo to establish his shogunate in Kamakura. Afterwards, they supported the Ashikaga and in the years of internal strife in the 15th and 16th centuries greatly expanded their territory to the whole of Ibaraki and Tochigi. Toyotomi Hideyoshi made them lords of Mito castle, but Tokugawa Ieyasu feared their power and moved them to a much smaller fief, safely out of the way in Akita. Here they ruled for 260 years.
Paintings include copies of famous Sesshu works, such as Amanohashidate and other landscape paintings, or his Karako (Chinese boys). There is a copy of a Kannon with monkey and crane by Mu Xi, and of a dragon and tiger by the same artist. Why this copying frenzy? Simply because it was the only way to see (and eventually own) a famous painting. There were of course no museums; the Satakes could only see Sesshu's Amanohashidate when their fellow daimyo who owned it, was so kind to show it to them. As one could not go back every year to see the painting, it was logical to have it copied. Apparently, a whole copying culture existed, based on works that were circulated among the various daimyo. There were even copy specialists, such as Kano Shusui and Sugawara Dosai, two Edo-period painters who worked for the Satake family.
The installation is beautiful, in glass cases with tatami matting. The paintings are not always in prime state (apparently, they have been cut loose from old mountings), but mostly beautifully remounted. The Senshu Bunko exudes the proper antiquarian atmosphere, and although there are no national treasures (and no ceramics, lacquer or other utensils - it is basically a library), it is fascinating to see the 'everyday collection' of one daimyo family.
[Senshu Bunko Museum, Tokyo. Photo Ad Blankestijn]
The Satake clan was established by Minamoto Yoshimitsu (1045-1127) in the village of Satake in Hitachi province (now Ibaraki). They were a major power in the northern Kanto, helping Minamoto no Yoritomo to establish his shogunate in Kamakura. Afterwards, they supported the Ashikaga and in the years of internal strife in the 15th and 16th centuries greatly expanded their territory to the whole of Ibaraki and Tochigi. Toyotomi Hideyoshi made them lords of Mito castle, but Tokugawa Ieyasu feared their power and moved them to a much smaller fief, safely out of the way in Akita. Here they ruled for 260 years.
The 34th head of the clan, Marquis Satake Yoshiharu, gave the whole clan library to his trusted steward, Kobayashi Shoji, who after 40 years of struggle, in 1971 finally managed to establish the present museum. Thanks to these efforts, the collection as such remained intact and was not sold off and dispersed as happened to many other daimyo archives and painting collections. Among the documents of the museum are letters by Ashikaga Naoyoshi (1351) and Date Masamune (1612); there are maps of Japan, of Akita castle, of the Satake estate, and of the Battle of Sekigahara; materials about the tea ceremony; and the seals of the various daimyo.
Paintings include copies of famous Sesshu works, such as Amanohashidate and other landscape paintings, or his Karako (Chinese boys). There is a copy of a Kannon with monkey and crane by Mu Xi, and of a dragon and tiger by the same artist. Why this copying frenzy? Simply because it was the only way to see (and eventually own) a famous painting. There were of course no museums; the Satakes could only see Sesshu's Amanohashidate when their fellow daimyo who owned it, was so kind to show it to them. As one could not go back every year to see the painting, it was logical to have it copied. Apparently, a whole copying culture existed, based on works that were circulated among the various daimyo. There were even copy specialists, such as Kano Shusui and Sugawara Dosai, two Edo-period painters who worked for the Satake family.
The installation is beautiful, in glass cases with tatami matting. The paintings are not always in prime state (apparently, they have been cut loose from old mountings), but mostly beautifully remounted. The Senshu Bunko exudes the proper antiquarian atmosphere, and although there are no national treasures (and no ceramics, lacquer or other utensils - it is basically a library), it is fascinating to see the 'everyday collection' of one daimyo family.
Address: 2-1-36 Kudan-minami, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. Tel. 03-3261-0075
Access: 10-min. walk from Kagurazaka Station on the Tozai Subway Line or Iidabashi Station on the Yurakucho Subway Line.
Admission: 10:00-16:00; CL Mon, NH, March 25-27, Augt 1-10, Dec 25-Jan 5, occasional special days.
Modern Life - Shinjuku Historical Museum
The Shinjuku Historical Museum is one of the best of the many city museums about local history in Tokyo. It highlights Shinjuku’s past as a post town.
The displays (all on the basement floor) start with a short section about archeological materials excavated in the ward and another one about Shinjuku in the Middle Ages with some itabi steles on display.
[Shinjuku Historical Museum. Photo Ad Blankestijn]
The exhibition really gets underway with the Edo period and a scale model of the post town ‘Naito Shinjuku,’ named after the daimyo family which administrated it (Shinjuku Gyoen Park incorporates part of the garden of the Naito clan). There is also a full scale model of a shop in kura-style (for protection of the wares against fire) as used to stand in the post town.
Part Four of the exhibition is about literature (Shakespeare translator Tsubouchi Shoyo lived in Shinjuku, as did modern literature giant Natsume Soseki and Kwaidan author Lafcadio Hearn - these last two both happen to be buried in the Zoshigaya cemetery, also in Shinjuku.
[Statue of Tsubouchi Shoyo in the Waseda University grounds. Photo Ad Blankestijn]
The fifth and last part is dedicated to the early Showa period. There is a model of a tram, a house built in the suburbs for the new commuters with partly Western interior, and a display about Shinjuku as pleasure district, with its bars, restaurants, theaters (one named Moulin Rouge) and cinemas.
Salaryman culture also gets attention with an interesting display about all the items the average Showa salaryman carried in his pockets and briefcase – note the omamori, or amulet, the only typically Japanese item. As usual in most history museums, there are no English labels, but the displays are easy to follow.
The displays (all on the basement floor) start with a short section about archeological materials excavated in the ward and another one about Shinjuku in the Middle Ages with some itabi steles on display.
[Shinjuku Historical Museum. Photo Ad Blankestijn]
The exhibition really gets underway with the Edo period and a scale model of the post town ‘Naito Shinjuku,’ named after the daimyo family which administrated it (Shinjuku Gyoen Park incorporates part of the garden of the Naito clan). There is also a full scale model of a shop in kura-style (for protection of the wares against fire) as used to stand in the post town.
Part Four of the exhibition is about literature (Shakespeare translator Tsubouchi Shoyo lived in Shinjuku, as did modern literature giant Natsume Soseki and Kwaidan author Lafcadio Hearn - these last two both happen to be buried in the Zoshigaya cemetery, also in Shinjuku.
[Statue of Tsubouchi Shoyo in the Waseda University grounds. Photo Ad Blankestijn]
The fifth and last part is dedicated to the early Showa period. There is a model of a tram, a house built in the suburbs for the new commuters with partly Western interior, and a display about Shinjuku as pleasure district, with its bars, restaurants, theaters (one named Moulin Rouge) and cinemas.
Salaryman culture also gets attention with an interesting display about all the items the average Showa salaryman carried in his pockets and briefcase – note the omamori, or amulet, the only typically Japanese item. As usual in most history museums, there are no English labels, but the displays are easy to follow.
Tel. 03-3359-2131
Hrs: 9:00-17:00; CL Mon (next day if NH), NY.
Access: 8 min. on foot from Akebonobashi on the Toei Shinjuku subway line; 10 min. from Yotsuya Sanchome St. on the Marunouchi Line and 12 min. from JR Yotsuya St. (The easiest way to find the Shinjuku Historical Museum is to take the Marunouchi line from Shinjuku for a few stations to Yotsuya-Sanchome, from which it is a short walk.)
A Giant Bookcase - Shiba Ryotaro Museum, Osaka (Museums)
The Japanese author Shiba Ryotaro (1923-1996) loved books. That becomes quite clear when you stand in the museum built next to his former house in Osaka and look up at the book cases, towering several stories above your head and containing 20,000 tomes.
If the Big One comes, you will be buried in books. Of course, this is not how Shiba Ryotaro himself kept his library. He had the books in ordinary cases scattered throughout his house, lining every possible part of the walls, including the corridors. I have a lot of books, too, although not as many as Shiba Ryotaro, and in my house the corridor also functions as a library.
Shiba Ryoraro started writing historical novels after World War II. In that respect, the pen name, Shiba, he selected is very suggestive: it is the name of the famous Chinese historian Sima Qian, who lived 2,000 years ago. Shiba won the prestigious Naoki Prize for his 1959 novel, "Fukuro no Shiro" ("Owl Castle").
Better known are his long novels "Ryoma ga Yuku" ("Ryoma Is Going"), about the life of Ryoma Sakamoto, and “ Sakanoue no Kumo” (“Clouds on the Slope”), another novel about the turbulent times around the end of the shogunate and beginning of modern Japan. In fact, Sakamoto Ryoma was not at all popular as a historical figure until Shiba Ryotaro wrote his novel about him (personally, I believe Ryoma is not the great historical figure he is now thought to have been, I think much of his present status is due to the fictionalizing by Shiba Ryotaro - every country needs its heroes).
Another series that won him great fame were his travel essays, 1,146 installments in all, printed first in the Shukan Asahi magazine and then issued as a series of books “Kaido wo Yuku” (“Going along the Highways”). These were also made into a documentary series by NHK and I must say it is the part of Shiba's work that I like best. Most of his novels are extremely long and meandering, which puts me off - I prefer writers who manage to be concise.
Many of Shiba's 500 books were filmed or made into TV dramas, especially the NHK historical “Taiga” dramas broadcast on Sunday evening.
Most of his books are so huge and full of historical detail that only few have made it into other languages. Two of his smaller novels, “The Last shogun,” and “Kukai the Universal” are available in English. Even in his novels, many parts are like essays, or musings of the historian, after which storytelling takes over again. The story leans on the historical sources and Shiba's interpretation of them.
In the green garden of the museum, you first pass the former house of the author and through the glass you can see his study with a comfortable reading chair and large desk.
A curving glass corridor leads to the new part. To accommodate the 11 meter high bookcase the museum has been sunk into the soil. Architect was Ando Tadao and it is one of his smaller, but finest creations.
Just sit down and look at this load of books. It makes you feel very small. I regret that it is not possible to browse, to take books out of the cases, and enjoy the smell of paper and ink. There are some small exhibitions of books, manuscripts, photo's and memorabilia as well, but the bookcase takes center stage. It contains the materials Shiba Ryotaro needed to write his fiction: histories, biographies, dictionaries, original materials etc.
I notice one thing: as far as I can see there is nothing in English or any other modern foreign language. But Shiba did travel abroad, there is a small exhibition about his trip to the U.S. when I visit. And in the “Kaido” series, he wrote a nice volume about Holland.
The quite residential neighborhood is well suited to creative work. It is a pity Shiba Ryotaro died at the relatively young age of 73 – had he lived longer he could well have added a few hundred more works to his oeuvre.
If the Big One comes, you will be buried in books. Of course, this is not how Shiba Ryotaro himself kept his library. He had the books in ordinary cases scattered throughout his house, lining every possible part of the walls, including the corridors. I have a lot of books, too, although not as many as Shiba Ryotaro, and in my house the corridor also functions as a library.
[Shiba Ryotaro Museum, Osaka]
Shiba Ryoraro started writing historical novels after World War II. In that respect, the pen name, Shiba, he selected is very suggestive: it is the name of the famous Chinese historian Sima Qian, who lived 2,000 years ago. Shiba won the prestigious Naoki Prize for his 1959 novel, "Fukuro no Shiro" ("Owl Castle").
Better known are his long novels "Ryoma ga Yuku" ("Ryoma Is Going"), about the life of Ryoma Sakamoto, and “ Sakanoue no Kumo” (“Clouds on the Slope”), another novel about the turbulent times around the end of the shogunate and beginning of modern Japan. In fact, Sakamoto Ryoma was not at all popular as a historical figure until Shiba Ryotaro wrote his novel about him (personally, I believe Ryoma is not the great historical figure he is now thought to have been, I think much of his present status is due to the fictionalizing by Shiba Ryotaro - every country needs its heroes).
Another series that won him great fame were his travel essays, 1,146 installments in all, printed first in the Shukan Asahi magazine and then issued as a series of books “Kaido wo Yuku” (“Going along the Highways”). These were also made into a documentary series by NHK and I must say it is the part of Shiba's work that I like best. Most of his novels are extremely long and meandering, which puts me off - I prefer writers who manage to be concise.
Many of Shiba's 500 books were filmed or made into TV dramas, especially the NHK historical “Taiga” dramas broadcast on Sunday evening.
Most of his books are so huge and full of historical detail that only few have made it into other languages. Two of his smaller novels, “The Last shogun,” and “Kukai the Universal” are available in English. Even in his novels, many parts are like essays, or musings of the historian, after which storytelling takes over again. The story leans on the historical sources and Shiba's interpretation of them.
[The house]
In the green garden of the museum, you first pass the former house of the author and through the glass you can see his study with a comfortable reading chair and large desk.
A curving glass corridor leads to the new part. To accommodate the 11 meter high bookcase the museum has been sunk into the soil. Architect was Ando Tadao and it is one of his smaller, but finest creations.
Just sit down and look at this load of books. It makes you feel very small. I regret that it is not possible to browse, to take books out of the cases, and enjoy the smell of paper and ink. There are some small exhibitions of books, manuscripts, photo's and memorabilia as well, but the bookcase takes center stage. It contains the materials Shiba Ryotaro needed to write his fiction: histories, biographies, dictionaries, original materials etc.
I notice one thing: as far as I can see there is nothing in English or any other modern foreign language. But Shiba did travel abroad, there is a small exhibition about his trip to the U.S. when I visit. And in the “Kaido” series, he wrote a nice volume about Holland.
The quite residential neighborhood is well suited to creative work. It is a pity Shiba Ryotaro died at the relatively young age of 73 – had he lived longer he could well have added a few hundred more works to his oeuvre.
Shiba Ryotaro Memorial Museum
3-11-18, Shimo-kosaka, Higashi-Osaka
06-6726-3860
10:00-17:00
CL Mon, 1 September－10 September & 28 December－4 January
15 min walk from Kawachi-Kosaka St on the Kintetsu Nara Line
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