Records of History: Edo Castle and Kan’eiji Temple
-
Album of Photographs of Edo Castle (detail), Compiled by Ninagawa Noritane (1835-82); photographed by Yokoyama Matsusaburo (1838-84); colored by Takahashi Yuichi (1828-94), 1871 (Meiji 4), (Important Cultural Property)
Japanese Gallery (Honkan) Room 15
April 21, 2015 (Tue) - July 5, 2015 (Sun)Tokyo National Museum includes a large collection of historical objects and documents. This collection began with objects previously owned by the Edo shogunate government. From the museum's establishment in 1872 (Meiji 5) onward, the collection grew through the holding of exhibitions as well as surveys of cultural properties.
This exhibition focuses on Edo Castle and Kan'eiji Temple, both of which were built in Edo (present-day Tokyo). The temple was located on the Ueno plateau and protected the castle's northeastern approach (this was considered an inauspicious direction through which evil spirits passed). Frequent fires changed the appearance of Edo castle over the years, while most of the structures at Kan'eiji Temple were burned down in the Battle of Ueno (1868) and its grounds were later converted into Ueno Park. This exhibition features maps, diagrams, and multicolored woodblock prints illustrating the histories of these two significant places. Images showing Edo Castle before it was demolished and Kan'eiji Temple after the conflict have also been selected from our extensive collection of photographs dating back to the 19th century.
Current exhibit includes:
Drafts of Wall Paintings for the Pine Tree Corridor of Edo Castle, By Kano Tan'en and Sumiyoshi Hirotsura, Edo period, dated 1845
Album of Photographs of Edo Castle, Compiled by Ninagawa Noritane; photographed by Yokoyama Matsusaburo; colored by Takahashi Yuichi, Dated 1871, (Important Cultural Property)
Famous Places of Tokyo: Opening of the 1877 National Industrial Exposition in Ueno Park, By Kawanabe Kyosai, Dated 1877