Rain-o Ueno - April 28

It was a rainy day, so we thought it would be a good day to go to the museum. 

But first I need to talk about umbrellas. Umbrellas are very popular in Tokyo, especially the clear plastic ones. 
 
A lot of public buildings have special plastic bag dispensers so you can cover up your drippy umbrella. Many places, including our hotel, had locking umbrella racks. You place your umbrella in one of the slots, take the numbered key, and all the wet umbrellas stay by the front door. There are even umbrella vending machines.

The Tokyo National Museum sits in Ueno Park, an area full of museums, temples, a zoo, and more. There is even a statue of Saigo Takamori (the guy from the cave where our bus broke down in Kagoshima).

We visited the part of the museum called the Japanese gallery - two floors and 20 rooms. The top floor traced the history of Japanese art from 11,000 BCE through the Edo period (1603-1868). The lower floor covered genres such as sculpture, lacquerware, metalwork, swords, and ceramics.

Some of my favorites:

A bronze bell, 1st to 3rd century CE, and a terracotta warrior in armor, 6th century CE

Gusoku armor. Note the rabbit ears.

What would Darth say?

 

Very Star Wars-y helmets

The textile gallery had some stunning kimonos. Here is my favorite. It looks so modern.
 
  
 


 Finally, a beautiful lacquer box and a vase that I loved.

 

Cosmetic box, 12th Century CE, with mother-of-pearl inlay

 

There was also an exhibit featuring some of the prints of Katsushika Hokusai (early 19th century). He is best known for his series of prints known as Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji. You might not recognize Hokusai's name, but you would probably recognize some of these prints:

Great Wave Off Kanagawa

Fine Wind, Clear Morning

The TNM has official mascots, like a lot of things in Japan. Tohaku-kun is based on a terracotta tomb figurine. Yurinoki-chan is based on a leaf from the tulip tree in front of the museum. Because it's Japan. 








Addendum: 

KateW wanted more kimono photos. We didn't take that many photos. Here are the rest of them.These were taken because I thought they might serve as a source of inspiration for a quilt. These are not really colors that I like. I prefer the contemporary kimonos that you can see here and there around Tokyo.