--It's an entrance to the exquisitely beautiful samurai world of the Edo period (1603-1868). From armor and swords to items for noh plays and tea ceremonies, the Tokugawa Art Museum fascinates visitors with fabulous masterpieces that enhanced the dignity of one of the most powerful branches of the Tokugawa family.

Nagoya was the capital of the Owari clan, who enjoyed close family and political ties with the ruling shoguns after Edo shogunate founder Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) appointed his ninth son, Yoshinao (1600-50), as lord of Owari. The museum holds the entire collection of masterpieces inherited by the Owari Tokugawa family, including belongings of the first shogun.

The museum's wooden gate, dating back to the Meiji era (1868-1912), serves to welcome visitors into the Tokugawa world. Located a short distance from the heart of the city, the facility is built on the site of the former retirement home of Yoshinao's successor.

Entering the exhibition rooms, visitors are confronted by a full suit of armor, including a fearsome helmet with a snarling face mask. This arresting figure is surrounded by an array of military paraphernalia such as a commander's battle baton and some towering battlefield standards bearing the Tokugawa family crest.

Swords and more armor round out the displays in this room, dedicated to the symbols of samurai warrior culture.

Subsequent rooms showcase masterpieces in accordance with their respective themes: tools for tea ceremonies; artistic works that decorated the rooms of Nagoya Castle where the lord conducted his public duties; masks and costumes for noh plays; and objects and furnishings that created an elegant private life for the lord and his family.

Visitors can see how the castle's inner recesses would have looked through reproductions of a tea ceremony room, one of the main rooms and a noh stage, where some artworks are also arranged. It is interesting to see--in addition to looking at each masterpiece in turn--the roles these works were given in specific spaces.

The Tokugawa Art Museum is one of only two facilities to possess portions of the 12th-century picture scrolls depicting the world of The Tale of Genji. Unfortunately, visitors to the museum usually can only see modern reproductions of the three scrolls in the sixth exhibition room because the national treasure masterpieces are too vulnerable to light and air to be continuously on display. This year, the museum will showcase part of the picture scrolls on Nov. 20-28.

The first six rooms are dedicated to the museum's permanent exhibition, whose display items are replaced each season thanks to the vastness of the museum's collection.

The facility boasts a collection of well over 10,000 items, according to museum official Hiroko Suzuki.

"When I began working here I was told it would take about a decade to look at all of its works," she said.

The permanent exhibition seems enough to satisfy most visitors, but the museum offers even more. The depth of the collection allows curators to select items based on the themes of special exhibitions to which the three remaining rooms are dedicated.

Following the current special exhibition, which will end Sunday, the museum will deal with the closing days of the Edo period. From Isolation to Open Doors: Japan from 1853 to 1868 will showcase drawings, pistols and documents written by the emperor of that time, all illustrating the turmoil triggered by the visit of U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry and his Black Ships.

At the upcoming exhibition, to be held July 17-Sept. 26, visitors also can enjoy seeing how high-ranking samurai looked from the portraits taken by Owari Tokugawa clan leader Yoshikatsu (1824-83). Portraits by this early photographer include those of himself as well as Tokugawa Yoshinobu (1837-1913), the 15th and last shogun of the period.

The building housing the rooms for special exhibitions is itself a subject worthy of appreciation, as it was a cutting-edge museum building when it was completed in 1935, the year the museum opened. Considering the fact that Nagoya was largely destroyed by air raids during World War II, it seems a miracle that the building--as well as the entire collection of masterpieces from hundreds of years ago--still exists for us to appreciate today.


The Tokugawa Art Museum is a 10-minute walk from the South Exit of Ozone Station on the JR Chuo Honsen line. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Closed on Mondays (except public holidays, when the museum is closed on Tuesday instead). Admission is 1,200 yen for adults, 700 yen for high school and university students and 500 yen for primary and middle school students (free for primary through high school students on Saturdays). (052) 935-6262 or www.cjn.or.jp/tokugawa/

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20040708woaf.htm

This is a lovely place.

Seems like a great place! Not too expensive either