Room VIII
The Japanese scrolls and small folding screens on the walls are inspired by the hedonistic spirit of the Edo period called ukiyo. Thanks to the social powers having been conquered by merchants and town dwellers, in that historical period a new, lively culture flourished. Through artistic means the simple earthly pleasures as well as the protagonists of the urban world were celebrated. These “pictures of the floating world” show beauties, festivals, everyday scenes, and parodies of traditional subjects. In the showcases there are some kotos (thirteen-stringed harps horizontally played by using ivory finger picks), realized and decorated with precious and fine materials, such as gold lacquer, mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell. Moreover, there are musical instruments of different kinds: shamisen (a little square three-stringed guitar, mostly used by geisha), hankin (a small koto played during trips), shō (a little mouth-organ), shakuhachi and fue (flutes), and kotsuzumi (small tambourines).
In Showcase 20, there are examples of our extensive collection of Japanese clothing (Edo period) displayed - in rotation - hanging on supports called iko. These Japanese dresses are kept in storage for most of the year, folded in cardboard boxes with a neutral pH. When observing a kimono (kosode short sleeve, furisode long sleeve), one can determine the historical period, season, marital status, and the economic status of the owner, as well as the circumstances and nature of the event in which it was worn. The kosode is made from rectangles sewn together in the shape of a 'T'; it is tied by a wide rigid belt (obi) at the waist and the kosode uchikake (overcoat) was worn over top.
Among the techniques of ornamentation, the most important are: interwoven decoration, dyeing decoration, embroidery decoration, applied decoration in gold leaf or silver, and hand-dyed and painted decoration. Above all, the kosode decorations reproduce naturalistic patterns, objects of daily use, family crests, and subjects drawn from famous literary masterpieces.
