Afternoon at the Tokyo National Museum

For this meetup, we will spend an afternoon at the Tokyo National Museum to see the following two exhibitions

1. Ōoku: Women of Power in Edo Castle
2. Expressing Prayer, Capturing Form Buddhist Sculptures by UNKEI from the Northern Round Hall of Kohfukuji Temple

Meeting Time: 2:00PM (14:00)
Meeting Spot: Around the Park Exit of JR Ueno Station

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
First Exhibition
Ōoku: Women of Power in Edo Castle

Venue
Tokyo National Museum
(https://www.tnm.jp/modules/r_free_page/index.php?id=113)

Admission Fee
￥2,100

Information about the Exhibition
"The ōoku refers to the living quarters of the wives and ladies-in-waiting of the Tokugawa shoguns during the Edo period (1603–1868). It was sequestered within the shogunate’s fortress Edo Castle, which was historically located where the Imperial Palace now stands. The castle’s main compound was divided into sections called the omote and nakaoku. Beyond these, copper-plated walls marked the boundary of the strictly controlled ōoku, accessible via only two passageways known as the “bell corridors” (osuzu-rōka). As part of the shogun’s private quarters, the world of the ōoku was hidden from outsiders. Its secrecy made it an object of public curiosity until its dissolution in the late 19th century. Stories, rumors, and speculation gave rise to a wealth of narratives, dramatic works, Kabuki plays, and ukiyo-e prints set in the ōoku. Today, interest remains high in this secretive institution, and countless movies, TV shows, manga, and novels feature women of the ōoku as their main characters. Virtually all of these, however, are works of fiction and fail to portray the ōoku as it truly was.

This exhibition attempts to uncover a more truthful picture of the ōoku through the stories told by some 180 objects. These range from historical records and architectural drawings to the personal belongings of the wives, daughters, and ladies-in-waiting of the ōoku, including principal wives and senior-ranking ladies-in-waiting known as elders."[from the Museum Website]

Official Website (Japanese)
https://ooku2025.jp/

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Second Exhibition
Expressing Prayer, Capturing Form
Buddhist Sculptures by UNKEI from the Northern Round Hall of Kohfukuji Temple

Venue
Tokyo National Museum
(https://www.tnm.jp/modules/r_free_page/index.php?id=113)

Admission Fee
¥1,700

Information about the exhibition
"The Northern Round Hall of Kohfukuji temple in Nara is widely known for its principal icon, the National Treasure Seated Miroku Nyorai and its flanking standing figures of Mujaku and Seshin Bosatsu, which are considered later-life masterpieces by Unkei, the central figure of Buddhist sculpture in the Kamakura period.
The Northern Round Hall, a rare example of a space that preserves the original configuration of Unkei’s figures, is typically not open to the public. However, to commemorate the completion of its restoration, special arrangements have been made for the Seated Miroku Nyorai to be exhibited outside the temple for the first time in approximately sixty years.
This truly exceptional project to recreate the interior of the Northern Round Hall as it would have been during its revival in the Kamakura period brings together seven National Treasure Buddhist statues—the Seated Miroku Nyorai figure, the Standing Mujaku and Seshin Bosatsu figures, as well as the Four Deva King figures, which were likely enshrined in the Northern Round Hall in the past." [from The Museum Website]

Official Website (Japanese)
https://tsumugu.yomiuri.co.jp/unkei2025/english.html

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Chat session
We will take a coffee break between the first and second show to have a chat session.