Wed, Feb 19, 2025
"Treasures of the Imperial Court and Niigata"
The Niigata Prefectural Museum of Modern Art (Nagaoka, Niigata Pref.) is running an exhibition featuring the artistic treasures of The Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan (Tokyo), especially those produced by artists from Niigata and other works somehow linked with the prefecture. Sayako Iijima, the chief curator of the modern art museum, introduces some of the must-sees in the exhibition entitled “Treasures of the Imperial Court and Niigata — Beauty and Craftsmanship of Japanese Art in The Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan.”
Ito Jakuchu (1716-1800) is well known as an eccentric painter of the Edo period (17th-19th century). The 30-scroll “Colorful Realm of Living Beings,” his magnum opus, depicts the various fauna and flora with meticulous brushwork and vivid colors to celebrate their sparkling lives. Jakuchu dedicated the set of scroll paintings to Shokoku-ji temple in Kyoto to flank the Shaka (Shakyamuni) Triad he painted earlier for the temple. The scroll paintings were then presented from the temple to the Imperial Household during the Meiji era (1868-1912).
Two of the 30 scroll paintings — the “Cockatoos on an Old Pine” and the “Golden Pheasants on a Tree in the Snow” — are currently on display in the exhibition. The former depicts a pair of snow-white cockatoos and a parakeet in vivid color. The latter, on the other hand, strikes the viewer with its amoeba-like depiction of the snow. Jakuchu applied white pigment not only from the front but also from the back of the silk base to complexify the snowscape, and thereby creating a fantastical landscape with an inexorable sense of depth.
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The three masterpiece craftworks of the Meiji era were produced under orders from Emperor Meiji (reign: 1867-1912) in the late 19th-early 20th century.
One of them is the “Sword Mountings in Short Sword Type with Flower and Arabesque Design and Crystal,” which was made as an Imperial belonging consulting swords from among the Shoso-in Treasures and other old sword fittings. The floral arabesque openwork is made of pure gold from the gold mines of Sado Island (Niigata Pref.) — which were included in UNESCO’s World Heritage list in 2024 — and the center of the flowers of crystal from the Koshu region (Yamanashi Pref.). Metal carver Kagawa Katsuhiro (1853-1917), who would later be appointed as an Imperial Household artist, took the lead from the planning phase to its completion, which spanned about a decade.
The project not only brought together the best artistic techniques of the time to produce the craftwork, but also served to support artists and pass on the applied techniques to the next generation.
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Within the walls of the Imperial Palace, the Seiden (main hall) with crestings of a pair of auspicious birds on the roof where the important ceremonies are held.
The “Ornament of Auspicious Bird,” which is on display in an exhibition for the very first time, was the prototype of Seiden’s crestings. Sasaki Shodo (1882-1961), who created the ornament, was a cast artist from Sado Island off the coast of Niigata Prefecture. He was designated as a holder of important intangible cultural property (“Living national treasure”) with his lost-wax casting technique in 1960.
The auspicious bird looks as if it can take light steps. The sharp turn of its neck, its warping rectrix and well-shaped hindlimbs all maintain a fine balance. The ornamental designs on the wings are modern in style and typical of Shodo, who was keen to adopt the Art Nouveau, Art Deco and other Western trends.
An enlarged version of the ornament can be seen at maritime transportation service Sado Kisen’s Niigata Port terminal. The original on display will likely evoke the ties Niigata has with the Imperial Household.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun and other sources)
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