Heiseikan Thematic Exhibition Room
January 15, 2022 (Sat) - March 13, 2022 (Sun)
Japan’s southern-most prefecture, Okinawa, once flourished as its own independent kingdom, Ryukyu. Much of its unique culture was, however, lost in the Meiji-era pursuit of modernization and the flames of the Second World War. Between 2015 and 2020, the Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum spearheaded a project to create reproductions of sixty-five objects that encapsulate the culture of the Ryukyu Kingdom. This project saw researchers and artisans working hand in hand to revive some of Ryukyu’s lost tangible and intangible cultural properties, and in the process rediscovering their handicraft culture. In presenting a selection of their re-creations here, we hope to bring the aesthetic world of the Ryukyuan people into modern day, and, in doing so, highlight the connections between Okinawa’s heritage and its future.
List of Works (444KB)