Events
25 result(s)
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Limited timeThe Art of Fashion | 17th–19th century Until 22 December 2024
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 23 October 2024, 9:30AM - 22 December 2024, 5:00PM
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Event Details
Japanese Gallery (Honkan) Room 10
Japan's traditional clothing, kimono, are based on kosode — the outer wear of the Edo period (1603–1868). At first, the court nobility and samurai wore kosode under other clothing. But from about the 15th century, the samurai began using them as daily outer wear. In the 17th century, kosode became the most common clothing for men and women of all classes.
Wealthy women placed orders for custom-made kosode at luxury clothing stores. They often chose the patterns from clothing design books that were published and widely circulated. Together with these kosode, they wore hairpins and combs to accent their elaborate hairstyles.
In contrast, men wore kosode with understated patterns like stripes or checks.
Their usual fashion accessories were a small case (inrō) and a toggle (netsuke) for securing the case to the sash. This gallery features kosode and accessories, together with prints and paintings (ukiyo-e) showing how people wore them and how fashions changed over time.
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Limited timeDecorative Arts | 16th–19th century Until 22 December 2024
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 23 October 2024, 9:30AM - 22 December 2024, 5:00PM
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Event Details
Japanese Gallery (Honkan) Room 8
From the late 16th century, changes in society helped artisans to develop the decorative arts. In the Azuchi–Momoyama period (1573–1603), samurai warlords united Japan after more than a century of fighting. The following Edo period (1603–1868) saw economic growth under a new samurai government, with merchants and other people gaining the wealth to buy art.
Potters succeeded in making Japan's first porcelain in the early 17th century. Methods for decorating porcelain and other ceramics then became more diverse, as shown by works with gold, silver, and color enamels. Meanwhile, textiles saw rapid technical advances. The loom was improved to make complex weaves possible, while dyeing became as detailed and expressive as painting.
Items like furniture and dining sets were coated with lacquer and decorated with metal powders, most often gold. Lacquer workers refined this technique, called maki–e, and combined it with new materials for more elaborate designs. Metalworkers also began using a wider variety of base metals and alloys, creating works with greater detail and precision.
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Limited timeArms and Armor of the Samurai | 12th–19th century Until 22 December 2024
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 23 October 2024, 9:30AM - 22 December 2024, 5:00PM
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Event Details
Japanese Gallery (Honkan) Rooms 5 & 6
The samurai ruled Japan for nearly 700 years, from the late 12th to the 19th century. They emulated the imperial court, which was the home of high culture, but also borrowed from the practices of common people. Wishing for divine protection in this life and salvation in the next, they worshipped both Shinto and Buddhist deities. The culture of the samurai was complex and ever–changing, but always reflected their authority as the warrior class of Japan.
This gallery focuses on the most prominent symbols of samurai authority: swords, armor, and other military equipment. These had many purposes. Through diverse colors and materials, they showed the tastes of their owners. Differences in shape and construction reflected differences in rank and social standing. Many samurai passed down this equipment as heirlooms, while high–ranking samurai exchanged it as diplomatic gifts. Swords and armor were also donated to Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines in prayer for victory in battle.
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Limited timeKabuki Costume Until 22 December 2024
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 23 October 2024, 9:30AM - 22 December 2024, 5:00PM
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Event Details
Japanese Gallery (Honkan) Room 9
The current exhibition celebrates the season for “face-showing” (kaomise) kyōgen plays in the kabuki theater, in which new actors are introduced. This event happens in the eleventh month in the lunar calendar. Though the kabuki actors were usually all male, a large part of the kabuki costumes in the Museum collection were used by a female kabuki actress, Bandō Mitsue. She had access to the women’s chambers ōoku in shogun’s castle to play kyōgen, a comedic theater. The gorgeous decoration of thick and dynamic embroidery, large design motifs, and rich colors on these costumes reflect the extraordinary and flamboyant characteristics of kabuki plays.
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Limited timeChinese Bronzes Until 2 February 2025
View Event Description & Conditions- Dates 1 October 2024, 9:30AM - 2 February 2025, 5:00PM
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Event Details
Asian Gallery (Toyokan) Room 5
This section of the gallery focuses on bronzes, mainly from the Shang dynasty (ca. 1600–ca. 1100 BC) to the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), including ritual vessels, musical instruments, weapons, and horse tack. It also features mirrors and other bronzes from Northern China, tracing the development of early Chinese aesthetics.