Twelve-layered kimono and other treasures of the Imperial family on display in Naha

An exhibition featuring masterpiece paintings and craftwork once passed down Imperial family lines and now housed at the Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan (Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo; temporarily closed for renovation) is running in Okinawa Prefecture for the first time.

Imperial Aesthetics and Art Related to Okinawa:
Arts and Crafts from the Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan

Jan 20 (Fri) – Feb 19 (Sun), 2023

Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum
(Naha)

*See outline below for more info

“Imperial Aesthetics and Art Related to Okinawa: Arts and Crafts from the Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan” the special exhibition which kicked off on Jan. 20, 2023, at the Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum in Naha, the prefectural capital, showcases 48 artistic treasures bestowed from the Imperial household to the state (Japanese government), including gifts presented to the household from Okinawa and formal costumes used in imperial court rituals.

The remarkable “Itsutsuginu, Karaginu, Mo” juni-hito’e (twelve-layered formal court costume), on public display for the first time, was bestowed from Empress Teimei (1884-1926; wife of Emperor Taisho) to Princess Yuriko of Mikasa on the occasion of her marriage to Prince Takahito.

The exhibition — organized by the Imperial Household Agency, Cultural Affairs Agency and other entities with special cooperation from the Tsumugu Project — is held in conjunction with the “Chura-shima Okinawa Cultural Festival,” a national event which was held last year (2022) in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Okinawa’s reversion to Japan.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun and other sources)

Photos from the opening ceremony & press preview