Exhibition Outlines

Auspicious events of the Imperial Court are also joyous for the people, and this joy has been expressed in various ways. Expressions in art and craft works are among them, and designs fit for each auspicious event were chosen in accord, often gorgeous and beautiful.

There have been many auspicious events of the Imperial Court since the modern era, and during the Taisho era, many superior art works were created celebrating each of them and presented to the Court. The Taisho (1912 - 1926) era was only a short period of 15 years, but during it various events were held, such as the Tairei (Ceremony of Enthronement of Emperor Taisho) in 1915, the Rittaishi Rei (Ceremony of Investiture of the Crown Prince, later Emperor Showa) in 1916, the Seinen Shiki (Coming Age Ceremony of the Crown Prince, later Emperor Showa) in 1919, the Marriage of the Crown Prince in 1924, the Silver Wedding Ceremony of Emperor Taisho in 1925, the Seinen Shiki of Prince Yasuhito, and the founding of the Prince Chichibu Family in 1922. It was the era when production of art works celebrating these events was at its peak. Such celebrations had been held since the Meiji era, and gradually became splendid and well arranged by the Taisho era. Furthermore, the Imperial Court had carried out repeated foreign relations since the Meiji era, and gifts from foreign countries increased in the Taisho era because the Imperial Court became recognized by foreign countries.

In this exhibition, we will introduce the qualities of the designs, the people related with them, and the situation of the era, through the many art works created and presented to the Imperial Court to celebrate these auspicious events during the Taisho era.

We hope it will be a chance to recognize the high and interesting quality of the Taisho era art, which has not been noted much before.