Japan is... Beautiful!

I had the fantastic opportunity to visit the Tokyo National Museum on Thursday while Dave was at work. (I was mainly excited that I got to figure out the trains and metros alone!) This was a large, imposing museum - with 3 separate buildings - so I was nervous that I hadn't scheduled enough time to see everything. Thankfully, like all things Japanese, the museum was well-organized and flawlessly designed. The exhibits were spaced out so that many many people could visit at one time without being cramped or crowded; since I visited on a weekday after school groups had left, that wasn't a problem.
The museum provided a number of English brochures explaining the displays. The point of the museum was to use the highlights of Japanese historical artwork, presented chronologically, to give a visual history of the country. This was amazing. Of course, pictures don't do the artwork justice (no flash, art behind glass, etc.) but I still thought I'd share.

Most of my favorite art, and what westerners think of as "Japanese" art is from the Edo period of late 1600s to late 1800s - when Japan was just beginning to trade with Europe but not westernizing at all.

This was my favorite kimono

Some kimonos were embroidered and others were woven with different designs, some had designs sewed onto them.

Some screens had natural scenery painted on them, others had caligraphy, and still others used ink sketches of dragons or snakes. This was really interesting, I thought:


I had never seen this kind of art, but it was very much highlighted in the museum. Small items made out of wood were often carved with gold leaf designs and then painted and then laquered for a shiny beautiful design.
This is a small bookcase, about 2 feet wide and 3 feet tall and 1 foot deep. It must have held small books.


There was a room of ceramic items that were made out of what we would call "China" but was actually a fired and painted ceramic style popular throughout Asia - it was brought to Mexico and used there to make some of the beautiful Mexican tiles we love.
ceramic tiered box


The museum even had a room full of "modern" art. By modern, I think they actually meant "recent" as most of that art was 20th century (although before WWII). Some of those styles seemed specifically to be using traditional art forms and art styles with a modern twist or modern theme.