Fun of Good Old Japanese - 江戸・明治に学ぶ　楽しむ生き方

Red pine、赤松  After Kanto big earthquake* which occurred in 1923, many Bonsai artisans moved to Omiya which is located 30km north from Tokyo. In 2010, this Bonsai museum was built in Omiya. Recently this has becomes a very popular tourist spot for foreign visitors. It is no doubt that Bonsai is art and sophisticated hobby. Bonsai in this museum are made by Bonsai artisans with great care, so some even have those own names and those are priced for more than $10,000. Surprisingly some even cost $1,000,000. Even ordinary people appreciate Bonsai in their houses, but here is a different world. *  Kanto big earthquake   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1923_Great_Kant%C5%8D_earthquake 2010 年開館の盆栽の美術館。関東大震災の時に、東京から引っ越してきた盆栽職人が集まった大宮に建設された。今では、来日外国人の人気スポットになっている。 盆栽は人の楽しみそのもの、庶民も自宅で楽しむがここに展示されているのは、プロが手塩にかけた名品で、銘がつけられているものが多い。人々の楽しみというか、盆栽好き、植木好きの人々の憧れだと思う。高級品の価格は 100 万円、 1 億円の値が付くものもあるという。   Iwakagami、岩かがみ Iwakagami was displayed at the entra...

 This museum was built in 1936 as the base of “Min-gei” movement. ”Min” means people and “gei” means art literally, therefore “Mingei” are common and beautiful handy-crafts which are made by ordinary craftspersons. The first museum head was Yanagi Muneyoshi who got attracted by beautiful ceramics produced by Korean people. The experience became a trigger to open his eyes to the beauty of ordinary craftspersons’ products.   “ Mingei” are common handy-crafts, however  all exhibits are arts that only wealthy people can collect, so “Mingei” are not ordinary for me. Anyway I found many beautiful crafts here, especially the Korean lacquered wood box. Photography is prohibited , so the photos of exhibits are from the flier of this museum. 初代館長の柳宗悦（やなぎむねよし）は、朝鮮陶磁器の美しさに魅了され、朝鮮の人々に敬愛の心を寄せる一方、無名の職人が作る民衆の日常品の美に眼を開かされた。彼は、濱田庄司や河井寛次郎らとともに無名の職人達が作った民衆的工芸品を「民藝」と名付け、「民藝」という新しい美の概念の普及と「美の生活化」を目指す民藝運動の本拠として、 1936 年に本館を建設をリードした。と、ホームページに記載されている。 名もない作家の日用品と思ったが、こういうところに収められるのは、さすがに、...

This small gallery is located at Asakusa 浅草 in Tokyo. Asakusa is famous for its temple and entertainment district which is the most popular tourist area in Tokyo. “Shitamachi” means congested city area where ordinary people live and work. Handmade chic crafts which are made by Edo (old name of Tokyo) craftsmen are exhibited and also sold here. The admission fee is free. To own beautiful and elaborate crafts and to keep them clean is fun for people. 江戸職人の工芸品を展示し、販売もする。浅草のひさご通り商店街の中にある。入場無料。出来の良い品を持つ。きれいに保つ。これは喜び。 The wooden craft (Sashimono) below is made by Mr. Nakanishi (https://craft.city.taito.lg.jp/en/craftsmaker/2263/). I want to own these crafts especially the cube box. 中西正夫氏の江戸指物。手にしたい木工品である。小箱が気に入りました。 Edo sashimono、江戸指物 Next one is a Japanese style fishing rod made by Mr. Yoshihiro Yoshida. It consists of different kinds of bamboo rods and it can be assembled into a longer pole. It’s cool to go fishing small carps (crucian carp) with this compact tool. ...

This small museum is located in Ueno Park, Tokyo. Shitamachi means congested city area where ordinary people live and work . The full-scale model of Ueno town around 1920 was built in the 1 st floor, and Shitamachi culture is exhibited on the 2 nd floor. This is an experience based museum which means that we can go inside the houses and touch the exhibits. I go to this museum every six weeks as a volunteer guide. I invite foreign visitors to the living room of the apartment, and say to them "This is so small, isn't it?", but some foreigners say “Compact is good/cool”. Talking about fun of old Japanese, the small space is used well in order to enjoy everyday life . For example, plant pots are placed on the alley which is also the playground for children. The exhibitions of annual events such as a star festival in July are so nice. My favorite exhibit is Doko which can warm sake alcohol properly. １階は 1920 年頃の上野を再現した町、２階は下町史料を展示している。 体験型で家の中に入り展示物を触れる し、写真撮影は原則可能...