Purpose of the Exhibition

Japanese Musical Instruments:Heirloom of Kishu-Tokugawa Family
Period of exhibition Saturday, August 13 to Monday, September 19, 2005
Exhibition site Special Exhibition Galleries [ Access ]
Admission fee Included in general admission fee
[ Introduction To The Museum ]

It has generally been reported that the collection of musical instruments that have been handed down in the Kishu (Wakayama) Tokugawa family, possessed by this museum, was put together mostly by Harutomi Tokugawa (1770–1852), the 10th head of the Kishu Domain. Harutomi, well known for having promoted aspiring cultural policy, invested 50,000 pieces of gold in the project of collecting old and new as well as domestic and overseas musical instruments, with the special permission of the emperor, as reported later.

The collection, consisting of 159 instruments of Gagaku (ancient Japanese Court-Music) as the main items and other articles,, is comprised of 231 various musical instruments in total such as wind, string and percussion instruments, as well as musical scores and tuning tools. It is one of the important features of the collection that it fortunately comprises gorgeously decorated accessories and accompanying documents containing instrument-related information. As the representative collection of ancient musical instruments in Japan, it is extremely important from the viewpoint of musical instrument and music history, since it contains a wide variety and number of items with great significance.

For the current small project, about 90 pieces have been selected for exhibition to allow visitors an overview of the world of ancient musical instruments, with Gagaku instruments playing the main role. Although traditional music remains fairly foreign to contemporary Japanese people, in recent years Japanese musical instruments have been introduced into the school curriculum to increasingly deepen interest, gathering momentum for revaluation. While viewing these ancient musical instruments exhibited for the first time in 13 years, try and imagine how the various tones sounded to the people of olden times. In addition, it is our wish that visitors fully enjoy the sophisticated techniques of art and craftwork applied exquisitely to every detail of these musical instruments and their accessories.

Since ancient times, music along with literature has been regarded as the culture of court nobles and samurai families. Those musical instruments that were recognized as distinguished pieces were treasured, taught how to play and fondly enjoyed as the symbol of their cultural life or spiritual support, not to mention as instruments for playing music. The practice of bestowing them with elegant names or wrapping them up several times and storing them carefully in beautifully decorated boxes, bags or similar somewhat resembles the manner in which tea-making utensils are handled. One of the aims of this project is to introduce another aspect of musical instruments, that is to say, the role of musical instruments transcending the innate function of musical instruments, namely to play music. Since the documents annexed to musical instruments contain the names of the many people who were involved such as musicians, musical instrument dealers, their followers and court nobles acting as calligraphers of their names, as Harutomi obtained these instruments, visitors are provided with glimpses of the cultural state in which then feudal lord families played the principal role in the background of such human relations. Visitors can also see what Naoaki Ii was doing, another collector of musical instruments in the same era.

The collections of Court-Music Instruments handed down in the Kishu Tokugawa family are precious materials that tell the history of Japanese music and musical instruments, and at the same time, convey the cultural circumstances that surrounded musical instruments, providing insights into the relation among sounds, articles and human-beings. Visitors are kindly urged to use this opportunity to contemplate traditional Japanese culture.

Photos

Biwa (Pear-shaped lute) named "Kagetsu"

Biwa (Pear-shaped lute) named "Kagetsu"

Sho (Mouth organ) named "Makuzu"

Sho (Mouth organ) named "Makuzu"

Lacquered box for three kinds of flutes with   design of cherry tree in maki-e

Lacquered box for three kinds of flutes with design of cherry tree in maki-e

Shichigenkin (7-stringed zither) named "kanko"

Shichigenkin (7-stringed zither) named "kanko"

Sho (Mouth organ) named "yamanoha"

Sho (Mouth organ) named "yamanoha"

Ryuteki & Komabue (Open side-blown flute) named "Kinryu"

Ryuteki & Komabue (Open side-blown flute) named "Kinryu"

Biwa (Pear-shaped lute) named "Hakuho"

Biwa (Pear-shaped lute) named "Hakuho"

So (13-stringed zither) named "Hagiku"

So (13-stringed zither) named "Hagiku"

Taiko (Drum)

Taiko (Drum)