Past Exhibitions
- Metalwork of the Muromachi Period II
- January 2, 2020 - February 9, 2020
The Muromachi period (1392–1573) could be called the cradle of Japanese
civilization as we know it today. The culture of the nobility, which arose in
Kyoto during the Heian period (794–1185), blended together with the samurai
culture originating in eastern Japan during the Kamakura period (1185–1333)
and the latest cultural developments from continental Asia. They percolated
together during an eventful 240 years beginning with the fall of the Kamakura
shogunate and the strife-torn Nanbokuchō period (1333–1392), during which
there were two rival Imperial courts in Kyoto and Nara; the stable rule of the
Muromachi shogunate; and the chaos of the feudalistic civil war.
In this section, we present metalwork of the period, which in addition to
relics of the aristocratic Kitayama and Higashiyama cultures of Kyoto, includes
masterworks from regions all over Japan that advanced while Kyoto fell into
decline during the civil wars of the 15th and 16th centuries. Among others, this
includes celebrated kettles that were used in the tea gatherings of the period.
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