Japan – Culture and Art in the Edo Period (1603-1867)            
A flourishing time under the Shogun
SPECIAL EXHIBITION 20 AUGUST 2005 – 8 JANUARY 2006
 
Museet på Koldinghus in Denmark is mounting its largest ever exhibition, focusing on cultural life during the Edo period in Japan. The Edo period is considered to be an era of cultural blossoming in which the art and culture of the elite spread to large sections of society. The exhibition provides a rare insight into many of the old traditions that have continued to play a major role in modern Japanese society.

Presented under the patronage of His Royal Highness Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, it displays a large number of Japanese artefacts such as Samurai equipment, kimonos, paintings, woodcuts and refined craftwork. Loans from major museums in Europe and collections such as the Anjo City Museum of History in Japan will allow Museet på Koldinghus to display exquisite examples of Japanese art and handicraft never previously seen in Denmark.
 
The exhibition
The exhibition will be divided into the following main sections:
1.        Introduction to Japan, its people and its culture.
2.        The first meeting with Europeans in the middle of the 16th century, and Japan's self-imposed isolation under the Tokugawa regime.
3.        The Edo society: the Samurai class, craftsmen and traders, urban and rural life.
4.        Art and culture: paintings and prints, religious art, lacquer work, ceramics, textiles, the Minor Arts, the tea ceremony, traditional games, martial arts, theatre from the Edo period and the annual festivals.
5.        Japonisme: Japanese influence on art, design and architecture in the West. This section includes a number of principal works from the museum's own collection.
 
Events
Lectures, and events such as tea ceremonies and workshops for children.
The museum restaurant will serve Japanese dishes.
 
Facts
Curated by Birgit Jenvold, Curator, Head of Exhibitions, Museet på Koldinghus, and Joan Hornby, Head of East Asian Department at Nationalmuseet, Denmark, in co-operation with Gunhild Borggreen, PhD, Japanologist and Research Fellow, University of Copenhagen.
Not a travelling exhibition.
Patron: His Royal Highness Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark.
Museet på Koldinghus is open: Daily from 10 am to 5 pm. Closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

Further information
Read more here
Nanna Ebert, PR Officer. ne@koldinghus.dk