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Feature Exhibition of the New Year
Celebrating the year of the Boar : Japanese Auspicious Symbols

  • Image of "Wild Boar, By Ishikawa Komei, Taisho period , ca. 1912 (Gift of the artist)"

    Wild Boar, By Ishikawa Komei, Taisho period , ca. 1912 (Gift of the artist)

    Japanese Gallery (Honkan) Rooms T1 & T2
    January 2, 2007 (Tue) - January 28, 2007 (Sun)

    Mount Fuji, Hawks and Eggplants have been said to bring good fortune when they appear in the first dream of the year. This year's New Year exhibition features the arts of good fortune and the year animal boar.

 Exhibition includes

* Works listed below are in the TNM Collection unless otherwise indicated.
 Kokin Waka Shu Poetry Anthology, By Nijo Tameakira, Kamakura period, 14th century (Important Cultural Property)
Mt. Fuji, By Tazaki Soun, dated 1893
Articulated Hawk, By Myochin Kiyoharu, Edo period, 19th century
Incense Container in Shape of Eggplant, Shonzui type, Jing-de-zhen ware, China, Ming dynasty, 17th century (Gift of Mr. Hirota Matsushige)
Wisterias on the Rock and Bear, Bush clovers and Wind boar, By Mochizuki Gyokusen, Meiji period, 19th century
Wild Boar, By Ishikawa Komei, Taisho period, ca. 1912 (Gift of the artist)
 General Information
Dates Tuesday, January 2 - Sunday, January 28, 2007
Venue Tokyo National Museum (Ueno Park)
Hours 9:30 - 17:00 (last entry is 30 minutes before closing time)
Closed Mondays except January 8; Thursday, January 4; Tuseday, January 9, 2007
Admissions Adults: 600 (500)yen, University Students: 400 (300)yen
* Brackets indicate fees for groups of 20 or more.
* Special Exhibition "Prized Treasures - From the National Museum of China" is charged separately
* High school students and under, and persons 70 years old and over are admitted free. Please present ID upon entry
* persons with disabilities and one accompanying person are admitted free. Please present ID upon entry
Access 10 minutes' walk from JR Ueno Station (Park exit) and Uguisudani Station
15 minutes' walk from Keisei Ueno Station, Tokyo Metro Ueno station (Ginza line, Hibiya line) and Tokyo Metro Nezu station (Chiyoda line)
General Inquiries Tokyo National Museum TEL: +81-3-3822-1111
 Featured works at Honkan (Japanese Gallery)
Pine Grove
Room 2, Honkan Tuesday, January 2 - Sunday, January 28, 2007

Pine grove(Detail)
Pine Grove(left hand screen), By Hasegawa Tohaku, Azuchi-Momoyama period, 16th century (National Treasure)
Pine grove(Detail)
Pine Grove(detail of right hand screen), By Hasegawa Tohaku, Azuchi-Momoyama period, 16th century (National Treasure)

Other photos		    Using several brushes combined together and a bamboo stick with a splinted end, the pine trees were painted in bold and rough brushwork. With shades of ink to present different degrees of illumination, the artist created a quiet grove of pine trees where shadows appear and disappear in the swirling mist. The pine trees are divided into four groups, an arrangement that suggests a wind is blowing through them. The coarse fibers mixed in the paper resemble pine needles blown in the wind. By glimpsing the snowy peak of a mountain emerging through a gap in the mist, one could almost feel the cold and moist air of early morning.

Tohaku produced this Pine Grove using the best materials, superlative skill, and minute calculations. Because of the quality of the paper and disorder in their joints, some scholars think that this was a preliminary drawing for a sliding door painting. However, the glossy ink is of the highest quality that only elites could obtain, which suggests that this set of screens is not merely preliminary work.

Along with his rival Kano Eitoku (1543-1590), Hasegawa Tohaku is known as one of the master painters of the Azuchi-Momoyama period. He was a great admirer of the ink painting techniques from China and studied them for a long time. Pine Grove can be called the best work of pre-modern ink painting that Tohaku created by advancing the Chinese ink painting style to the highest point in Japan.
 Thematic Exhibition of the New Year
Auspicious Symbols
Room 8, Toyokan (Asian Gallery)
 Tuesday, January 2 - Sunday, January 28, 2007


Flowering Plants (Detail), By Zhao Zhiqian, Qing dynasty, dated 1870 (Gift of Mr. Takashima Kikujiro)
   This New Year's display of Chinese paintings features works with auspicious symbols that are suitable for this time of year.

Pine trees and bamboo remain green even in severe cold weather, and fragrant plum blossoms bloom earlier than any other flower even in a harsh environment. In China, they were called Three Friends of Winter, likened to people who can control themselves with unwavering will and generous mind in a harsh environment. They were highly regarded by educated men as symbols of their ideal way of life. Known as the Four Noble Plants, bamboo and plum trees were also grouped with orchids and chrysanthemums, which signified a secluded life free from secularity.

They were also associated with various worldly wishes of the Chinese; pine trees with longevity, bamboo with peace and many prosperous descendents, and the plum tree with easy childbirth and being blessed with children. Paintings with these motifs have been popular among the Chinese people as auspicious pictures.

Chinese flower and bird paintings may seem to simply depict nature, but their motifs have various meanings.

Grapes, gourds, and pomegranates symbolize many prosperous descendents.
Peaches, narcissus, and bamboo with rocks refer to longevity.
Lotuses, water birds, and fish mean wealth.
Peonies signify richness and nobleness.
Magpies are a symbol of good events.
Phoenix means a peaceful world.
Bats mean happiness.
 Exhibition includes

* Works listed below are in the TNM Collection unless otherwise indicated.
 Two Sparrows and Plum Blossoms, Attributed to Ma Lin, Southern Song dynasty, 13th century (Important Cultural Property, Gift of Dr. Yamamoto Tatsuro)
Old Pine Tree, By Jin Shi, Ming dynasty, dated 1458
Five Pine Trees, By Li Shan, Qing dynaty, 18th century
Deer and Cranes, By Shen Quan, Qing dynasty, dated 1739 (Gift of Dr. Yamamoto Tatsuo)
Magpies of Good Omen, By Li Yue, Qing dynasty, 18th century
Flowering Plants, By Zhao Zhiqian, Qing dynasty, dated 1870 (Gift of Mr. Takashima Kikujiro)
Narcissuses, By Chen Shu, Qing dynasty, dated 1734
 Ukiyoe and Costumes featured for the New Year season  
Room 10, Honkan (Japanese Gallery)
  

Courtesans of Edo
Courtesans of Edo, Kyoto, and Osaka, By Okumura Masanobu, Edo period, 18th century (Important Cultural Property, On Exhibit December 19, 2006 - January 14, 2007)
Kosode (Garment with Small Wrist Openings), Mandarin oranges and noshi emblem on reddish-black figured satin, Edo period, 17th century (On Exhibit December 19, 2006 - February 18, 2007)
  Ukiyoe
December 19, 2006 - January 14, 2007
Features ukiyoe prints related to the new year season.

Costumes
December 19, 2006 - February 18, 2007
Introduces women's fashion of the Edo period townspeople.
 Exhibition includes

* Works listed below are in the TNM Collection unless otherwise indicated.
 Courtesans of Edo, Kyoto, and Osaka, By Okumura Masanobu, Edo period, 18th century (Important Cultural Property, On Exhibit December 19, 2006 - January 14, 2007)
Fifty-three Stages of Tokaido Highway, By Utagawa Hiroshige, Edo period, 19th century (On Exhibit December 19, 2006 - January 14, 2007)
Kosode(Garment with Small Wrist Openings), Mandarin oranges and noshi emblem on reddish-black figured satin, Edo period, 17th century (On Exhibit December 19, 2006 - February 18, 2007)
Kosode(Garment with Small Wrist Openings), Paulownia trees and phoenixes on white figured satin, Edo period, 18th century(On Exhibit December 19, 2006 - February 18, 2007)
 Family Events  (sites are subject to change)
Shishimai - "lion dance" performance
January 2, 2007  starting at 10:30 and 13:00
January 3, 2007  starting at 10:30 and 13:30
Outside Honkan(Japanese Gallery) entrance
Performed by Toto Kasai Hayashi Mutsumikai
Taiko - Japanese drums
January 2, 2007 starting at 11:00 and 15:00
January 3, 2007 starting at 11:00 and 14:30
Main Gate entrance area
Performed by Wadaiko Obiki
Yugei of Edo - traditional vaudeville performances
January 2, 2007  starting at 12:00 and 13:30
Main Gate entrance area
Performed by Mr. Yanagi Nangyoku
Clarinet concert
January 3, 2007  starting at 12:00 and 15:30
Toyokan (Asian Gallery) entrance hall
Performed by "Amateur"
Yose entertainment at the Museum - Comic storytelling (in Japanese)
Sunday, January 7, 2007  starting at 14:00
Heiseikan Auditorium
Performance by Kingentei Basho
2,000 yen, including regular admission fee, reservation is required by reply-paid postcard (ofuku hagaki) sold at post offices.
Inquiries: 03-3821-9270 (Tokyo National Museum, Events)
Ikebana flower arrangements
Tuesday, January 2 - Sunday, January 14, 2007
By Prof. Kurashige Nobu, Ikenobo College
Installed at Main Gate and Honkan entrance area
Shishimai - Shishimai - "lion dance" performance
 
Taiko - Japanese drums Taiko - Japanese drums
 Event in collaboration with Kan'eiji Temple
  Special opening of the Konpon-chudo Hall of Kan'eiji
Tuesday, January 2 and Wednesday, January 3, 2007, 10:00 - 15:00
Portraits (oil paintings) of the 15 Tokugawa shoguns will be on exhibit.
Please present the museum admission ticket of the day upon entrance.
the Konpon-chudo Hall of Kan'eiji The Konpon-chudo Hall of Kan'eiji
 New-year presents and sale from the Museum Shop
New-Year Presents from the Museum Shop
Tuesday, January 2 and Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Raffle draws with purchases worth 2,500 yen and over
New-Year Art Books Sale
Tuesday, January 2 - Wednesday, January 31, 2007
 New-year presents and greetings from the Restaurants
Restaurant L'accord
Tuesday, January 2 and Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Raffle draws with 1,500 yen per guest
Hotel Okura Garden Terrace
Tuesday, January 2 and Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Amazake (hot sweet sake) served to restaurant guests
 Special Exhibitions starting from January
"Prized Treasures of Chinese Art - from The National Museum of China"
Heiseikan, Special Exhibition Gallery 3 & 4
Tuesday, January 2 - Sunday, February 25, 2007
*Separate fees apply for this exhibition
"Mauri Ora - Maori Treasures from the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa"
Heiseikan, Special Exhibition Gallery 1 & 2
Tuesday, January 23 - Sunday, March 18, 2007
Exhibitions