Japanese Gallery (Honkan) Room T5
July 26, 2011 (Tue) - September 4, 2011 (Sun)
The end of the 19th century to the mid-20th century witnessed the birth of a new China. Active during this time were two men from China and Japan who shared a close bond. Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925) was a man who devoted his life to the Chinese revolutionary cause. Umeya Shokichi(1868-1934) offered Yat-sen his heartfelt support, both morally and materially, whilst building the foundations of the Japanese movie industry.
This year marks the centenary of the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, an event in which Sun Yat-sen played a pivotal role. To mark the occasion, this exhibition will use primary materials from that time to tell the story of Yat-sen and Umeya Shokichi, their friendship and the people and places close to them.
At the centerpiece of this exhibition are around 260 items, such as rare photographs from the collections of Tokyo National Museum and Nagasaki University as well as photo albums and other related items from the personal collection of Ayano Kosaka, the great-granddaughter of Umeya Shokichi. We hope you can enjoy travelling back 100 years in time to places like Asakusa, Nagasaki, Shanghai, Paris and New York. Rarely exhibited up until now, these extremely valuable materials give us a chance to witness actual scenes from history.
We hope these materials, never before been shown to the public, can provide a vivid picture of China and Japan during those tumultuous times.
