digin

Hi. I am an art teacher and am interested in all arts. I plan to go to Japan in Sept/Oct 2016 and am at the beginning stages of planning m 3/4 week trip. I'll be going solo. Does anyone know the must do's to get a general understanding of the ancient, modern and/or contemporary art scene in Japan? I know this is a huge question but would love some pointers to help me start. Where should I go? Are there any must-go-to museums , galleries or towns, cities or villages. I am open to all suggestions.
Thanks.

tjhome1

Your starting point should be Naoshima. I'm just finishing reading Lost Japan by Alex Kerr which has been an interesting and easy read and touches on Japanese art in many forms.

mrwunrfl

Huge question, huge answer:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_art

There are a couple of relevant links under Special Interests on this JNTO page;
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/rtg/

Tokyo and Osaka

mrwunrfl

A good place to start: http://www.japan-guide.com/

kja

You've been directed to some great resources, so I'll just add a couple of comments. The National Museum in Tokyo has a wonderful collection that is well worth a chunk of time, IMO. The National Museum of Nara is -- or at least was! -- laid out to help one see and understand the development of sculpture in Japan, and I found it's audio guide very informative. The treasure hall of Kofukuji, also in Nara, has some of the most exquisite sculptures that I was privileged to see in Japan. The Miroku Bosatsu of Chuguji (inside Horyuji) may be the most beautiful statue of Buddha (actually, I believe its a Bodhisattva) that I've seen anywhere. The collection of woodcuts at the Ukiyo-e Museum in Tokyo is, IMO, very impressive, even though its exhibit space is quite small. Although the Ohara Museum of Art in Kurashiki is best known for its Western art, it also has some very worthy collections of Japanese art.

Enjoy!

CaliforniaLady

I personally prefer to see Japanese artisans at work rather than visiting museums, so here are some ideas:

Wood carvers of Takayama:
The city is known for its wood carvers, and they are located all over the city. You can typically watch them work in their shops.

Pottery/ceramics all over Japan:
During my extensive travels in Japan, I have seen several people (ladies, mostly) who are potters on independent ceramic tours. I have seen some great workshops on the island of Kyushu, mostly. Saga prefecture (like a county) is famous throughout Japan for its pottery. I also visited a workshop on the Kyushu island of Amakusa, in the city of Hondo. I walked into a shop, and asked if I could have a tour. The potter showed me around his workshop and even offered me some green tea served in his ceramic cup. Nirvana.

Japanese department stores will also be of interest to you. They are always multi-story, and they have fabulous ceramics. Also, the stationery departments are amazing--with all sorts of papers and colored pencils wrapped in wonderful packaging.

I will mention a couple of museums I have seen, ones that have not been already mentioned, in case that is your intent:

Kyushu National Museum in Dazaifu:
This museum can be visited as a day trip from the major city of Fukuoka. It is quite new, and there is a good collection of ancient archeological finds, thus giving you a glimpse of how the ancient Japanese may have lived.

Shimane Art Museum in Matsue:
Matsue is my current favorite city in Japan, and this museum is located right on the lake, and is the prime sunset viewing spot. There are works here by contemporary artists, and the calligraphy collection is quite nice.

I also suggest going to the city of Kitakyushu, in northern Kyushu. The Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art is quite nice, and you can have a great view of the harbor boats from the museum. Ths ciy of Kitkyushu has an extensive section of well-preserved buildings, and many of them house work by local artists.

kja

CaliforniaLady's post reminded me of a few other options:

You can see Kaga-yuzen silk dyeing in Kanazawa at:
http://www.kanazawa-kankoukyoukai.or.../crafts04.html

There are a couple of museums in Kanazawa with impressive collections of Japanese arts and crafts, including the Prefectural Museum of Art and Museum for Traditional Products and Crafts.

In Nikko, the Tōshō-gū Museum of Art has an excellent collection of sliding doors and screens.

The Reihokan Museum in Koya-san has a wonderful collection of Japanese religious art.

cmstraf

Our "must see" museum is the Miho Museum, nestled in the mountains about an hour outside of Kyoto, designed by IM Pei. It is one of the most magical museum experiences I've had ever. There are two relatively small buildings, one of Japanese art, one of Japanese choices of small collections of impressive classical art (An Egyptian room that made me want to go to Egypt, ancient Roman mosaics transported there).

The interplay between the art, the architecture and the surrounding beauty of nature was wonderful--I've only seen it in one other place in the world, and I liked this one better.

digin

This is great. Thanks a lot. I can try arrange some of these into my itinerary. I like to visit some museums but I also love talking to the local artisans and seeing them do their work. Tjhome, I've got the book on hold at the library so I'll give it a read. I noticed Alex Kerr did a tour where he revisited the places of the book last year - I missed it.

Kavey

Soooo happy to hear that, Cmstraf -- I've had Miho Museum on my wishlist for our first trip in 2012, again in 2013 and we failed to visit both those times. For the upcoming trip, I've actually planned our itinerary specifically to ensure we don't miss it, we'll be getting a rental car from Hikone to our next overnight (north of Kyoto) with the express purpose of visiting Miho Museum.

cmstraf

Enjoy, it's very special--and if you can, allow yourself a bunch of time. There is a cafe that's beautiful. We may have taken tea there and bought cheaper food outside--I can't remember. If I had had the autonomy of a car, I would have had a leisurely lunch between buildings to savor it a all the more.

FromDC

Thanks for the thread, digin, Love reading the feedback, I think I will try to visit the Miho museum while in Kyoto in May

digin

Hi tjhome1. I have just finished "Lost Japan" by Alex Kerr. I loved it. I have never been to Japan and therefore don't know the depth of the truth of it but his wisdom and anecdotes are excellent. I love his descriptions of the arts and his sadness at what is lost ad being lost. But I really appreciated his last chapter where he expresses hope for the future of the arts. He writes so well and has such an insight into people and culture. I grieve at the amount of culture that has been lost and hope I still find true glimpses of it but I also hope I can see a change in the contemporary arts that reflects the traditional roots of the nation. How I would love to be able to spend some time in the presence of the literati and listen to the conversations and share their love of the world. Thanks for encouraging me to read it. If you have any other books as good from anywhere, please let me know.

internetwiz

One of the more memorable places we visited in Japan was the Orinasu Kan Museum in Kyoto (http://www.kyoto-kankou.or.jp/englis...333217161.2963).

If you're interested in visiting a weaver's studio where they weave gorgeous obi sashes for the Noh performers, this is a wonderful place to visit. They also have beautiful kimonos on display.

Across the street from this museum is a studio where they have some yuzen dyed fabrics on display too.

We went to both places with a Goodwill Guide, but he had never been to either and was thrilled to be introduced to such lovely art.

kalihiwai2

If you can pick up a used copy of
Gateway to Japan (Kodansha Guide)
by June Kinoshita (Author), Nicholas Palevsky (Author) it has a very good succinct
essay on Japanese art and crafts.
Out of print for a time so not so good for eating or sleeping , still very good for itineraries and top spots for sightseeing,
Gives a good breakdown of Muromachi, Momoyama and Heian periods in a few pages. Plus architecture,crafts and other cultural aspects.

someotherguy

There's the "Japanese impressionint" Tsugouharu Foujita. The art museum in Akita (his home town) has a collection of his work. I went there specifically to see it and found the place closed for a random and unannounced reason, so best to call first. There's a lot of good sights around Akita so it was not a total waste. Plus I happened on a really good jazz concert with a middle aged Japanese lady playing alto like Bobby Watson. Sometimes you just have to turn up.

kja

@ someotherguy: