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Legacy of the Tokugawa
The Glories and Treasures of the Last Samurai Dynasty

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    Japanese Archaeology and Special Exhibition (Heiseikan) Special Exhibition Galleries
    October 10, 2007 (Wed) - December 2, 2007 (Sun)

    Features the treasures of the Tokugawa Shogun family and its three branch families. The exhibition attempts to introduce the essence of the culture of Edo warriors through portraits and the military attire of the Edo Shoguns and works related to tea, together with gorgeous outfits and belongings of the high-class women.

 General Information
Period Wednesday, October 10 - Sunday, December 2, 2007
Venue Heiseikan, Tokyo National Museum (Ueno Park)
Hours 9:30 - 17:00
Fridays until 20:00
Galleries will be open until 19:00 on the following weekends: November 24, 25 and December 1, 2, 2007
(last entry 30 minutes before closing)
Closed Mondays
Admissions Adult 1,500 (1,300/1,200)yen
University students 1200 (1000/800)yen
High school students 900 (700/500)yen
Elementary and junior high school students are admitted free.
* Prices shown in ( ) indicate advance/group (more than 20 persons) discount tickets.
* Persons with physical or mental disabilities are allowed free entry with one accompanying guest.
* Ticket prices include admission to regular exhibitions.
* Advance tickets are on sale at the Museum ticket office (during museum hours) and e-Ticket Pia, Lawson Ticket, JR East Reservation Ticket Office (Midori-no-madoguchi) and View Plaza at major stations; JTB, E-Plus and CN Playguide until October 9, 2007.
Access 10 minutes' walk from JR Ueno Station (Park exit) and Uguisudani Station
15 minutes' walk from Keisei Ueno Station and Tokyo Metro Ueno Station and Nezu Station
Organizers Tokyo National Museum, Tokugawa Memorial Foundation, Tokugawa Reimeikai Foundation, Suifu-Meitokukai Foundation, tv asahi, Asahi Shimbun, Hakuhodo DY Media Partners
Sponsorship Toyota Motor Corporation, Canon Inc.
General Inquiries 03-3587-8070 (in Japanese)
Exhibition Official Website http://www.daitokugawa.com/
The website has closed with the end of the exhibition.
 Related lecture (In Japanese)
Commemorative lecture
  "Systems and Heart of Edo Japan"
Auditorium, Heiseikan
Saturday, October 20, 2007, 13:30 - 15:00
Lecture by: Tokugawa Tsunenari (President, Tokugawa Memorial Foundation)
 Major Works on Display
1. The Shogun's Authority
The authority of the Tokugawa Shoguns derived from the demonstration of overwhelming military power of the Tokugawa in the battles for the unification of Japan in the late 16th century. The samurai were a warrior class, and the Tokugawa Shoguns governed Japan as the supreme commander of the samurai. The armaments on display in the sections "National Unification", "Armaments of the Shoguns and the Three Tokugawa Branches" and "Renowned Swords of the Tokugawa" symbolize this marshal side of the Tokugawa dynasty. In particular, "Shida (Fern) Gusoku Armor" and "Golden Fan-shaped Horse Banner", both of which had been used by Ieyasu, the first Shogun, and the historical sword Rai Kunimitsu have carried much significance for the Shogunal household.

Ieyasu was deified after death to become Tosho Shinkun, the Great God that Shines in the East, and was worshipped in the numerous Tosho-gu Shrines built across Japan.
2. Beauty and Status
It was a requisite for the Shogun and the Daimyos to be in possession of wares appropriate to the status of his household, including not only swords and armor but also those used to entertain guests and those given away as gifts. It could be said that such renowned tea things as "Hatsuhana", and "Nitta", both regarded to be of incomparable beauty, were used to demonstrate the rank and wealth of the owner's household.

Entertainment by the host at occasions of shogun's visits often consisted of tea ceremonies and noh theatre, and gifts were exchanged. The plan of the tea chamber and the program of entertainment prepared for the occasion of second Shogun Hidetada's visitation to the Edo residence of Tokugawa Yoshinao, first lord of Owari, became a model for all future hosts of Shogunal visitations. The placing of tea ceremony utensils at that visitation based on the descriptions in the Record of Gen'na era Visitation will be reproduced.
3. Elegance of the Princesses
The Edo Castle had a women's inner quarter, the O-oku, where the wives and female relatives of the Shoguns were served by numerous ladies-in-waiting. It was a miniature universe of women, cocooned in beauty and luxury. Since the time of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the third Shogun, it became customary for the Shoguns to marry women from the high Kyoto nobility including the Imperial family, and, as a result, the O-oku was gradually gentrified by the sophisticated Kyoto culture, which boasted a history that was already many centuries old by the time the Tokugawa Shogunate was formed.

Here, costumes and wares prepared at wedding occasions together with other objects will be on view to help one to imagine the elegant lives of Tokugawa princesses.
Exhibitions