Exhibition Outlines

People have hoped for happy lives and prayed for good fortunes from ancient times. The various events held throughout the year, and celebrations of birth, adulthood, and marriage, have always been closely connected with people’s lives, aiming for all things to go well, and to celebrate. The idea of good fortunes in our country developed following the Chinese, and the images were expressed in a concrete form related with familiar nature and faith. The crane and tortoise known for longevity, and the evergreen pine, and gods of fortune are expressions of these celebrations. These auspicious forms adopted from ancient times, developed originally within Japan’s cultural climate, and have been widely shared by people of all classes.

Our Museum’s collection includes a large number of works expressing the beauty of celebration, offered to the Imperial Household since the Meiji era, on various auspicious events. In this exhibition, we will introduce works made to adorn the New Year, when we welcome the gods of fortune, and make wishes in our first dreams, with widely known motifs such as pine, bamboo, and plum blossoms, cranes and tortoises, Shichifukujin (seven deities of good fortune), and treasure ships.

We hope the viewers of this exhibition will be able to become familiar with the forms and meanings of these beautiful objects of celebration, and also think about the almost forgotten, fondly remembered Japan.