Gakushuin celebrates opening of a new museum on campus with an exhibit featuring the culture of Japanese peerage

The newly inaugurated Kasumi Kaikan Memorial Gakushuin Museum (formerly, Gakushuin University Museum of History) on the Gakushuin University campus (Mejiro, Tokyo) is currently running an exhibition featuring the patronage of the Imperial family to preserve and nurture the arts and culture of Japan.

“Gakushuin Collection: Patronage of the Imperial Household for the Arts and Culture,” the exhibition that opened on March 14, 2025, showcases a few dozen items — works of art, classic documents and literary materials — from among the museum’s vast collection of items associated with the Imperial Household and Japanese peerage (about 250,000 items in total).

Gakushuin Collection
Patronage of the Imperial Household for the Arts and Culture

Mar 14 (Fri) – May 17 (Sat), 2025

Kasumi Kaikan Memorial Gakushuin Museum
(Mejiro, Tokyo)

*See outline below for details

In the museum’s special exhibition room, the “Robe Montante” (Heisei era), an elegant silk dress formerly worn by Empress Emeritus Michiko, takes center stage. Some of the more conspicuous exhibits surrounding the main display include those of artwork themed on ancient noble culture, such as the mid-Edo period folding screen painting depicting scenes from the Suma and Matsukaze chapters of “The Tale of Genji,” and the illustrated handscroll of “The Tale of the Virtuous Monk and the Child” from the late Muromachi period.

With the advent of Japan’s modern era, artists and artisans of the pre-modern Edo period (17th-19th) who benefited from the patronage of the feudal lords had no choice but to find new ways to continue their creative work. During the Meiji era (1868-1912), the Imperial family and its branch families stepped in to provide their support by commissioning artists and artisans with great talent and technique, thereby helping to preserve Japan’s creative culture passed down from earlier times.

The “Set for Green Tea with a Phoenix Design” by Kanzan Denshichi and “Pair of Vases with the Imperial Crest” by Tamaya Shoten are put on display as prime examples of what the Imperial patronage begot.

Other items on display include household items actually used by members of the Imperial family and the peerage such as the set of Western tableware shown here and even nail scissors, which are all related to Imperial culture and customs, some of which are fairly unknown outside the Imperial walls.

Bonbonnieres in various shapes

Bonbonnieres (containers for confectioneries usually made of silver), which were brought to the Imperial Household in the middle of the Meiji era, seem to have outpaced their originators in Europe. Today, gifting bonbonnieres to visitors in celebratory occasions has become customary for the Imperial Household. On display in the exhibition are containers that are uniquely shaped, and also telling of the delicate crafting techniques applied to make them.

The exhibition runs through May 17, 2025, free of admission.