A Museum in the woods.

土曜日はSと、我が家から徒歩３分の静嘉堂文庫美術館へ。

この美術館は、岩﨑彌之助(1851～1908　三菱第二代社長)と
岩﨑小彌太(1879～1945　三菱第四代社長)の父子二代によって設立され、
国宝7点、重要文化財83点を含む、およそ20万冊の古典籍と6,500点の東洋古美術品を収蔵。
以前見に行った東洋陶器の展示はとても素晴らしく、一品一品どれもがとても美しかった。

現在は「サムライたちの美学」なる展示を開催中。Sはこういうものに興味有。
私は・・・正直、刀にはイマイチ興味が無くて、展示品の刀を見ながら頭の中にあったのは、
いったい何人の人がこの刀で斬られたのかしら？ということと、
安っぽいチャンバラ映画の効果音・・・・。
でも、刀の鞘に施された装飾はどれも繊細でとても美しかったので、そちらを堪能。

美術館自体はとても小さいし、駅からも遠いのだけれど、アジアの美術や工芸に興味があったり、又は、ただ単に都会の喧騒から逃れたくなったら、訪れる価値はアリ。

＊美術館内は撮影禁止なので、写真は敷地内散策の様子。


S and I went to the Seikado Bunko Art Museum last Saturday.It's only a 3-minute walk from our home.


This museum was founded by Baron Yanosuke Iwasaki (1851-1908), who was the second president of Mitsubishi, and expanded by Yanosuke’s son, Baron Koyata Iwasaki (1879-1945), who became the fourth president of Mitsubishi.   Their collection is amazing. They have 200,000 old books and 6500 works of art including 7 national treasures and 83 national important cultural properties.

We've been there before to see the exhibition of old Asian potteries. It was really interesting and everything was so beautiful.

At the moment, they are having an exhibition called "Aesthetics of  Samurai Warriors".  S is interested in this kind of stuff.  Me?  To be honest, I'm not really into swords. When I was looking at the swords, the only thing in my head was the question, "How many people were killed with them?" and the cheesy sound effects of  Chanbara (Sword-fighting) drama.
But the ornament on the scabbards were delicate and so beautiful. I enjoyed it.

Although the museum itself is quite small and far from the train station, it's located in a nice greenery area. If you are interested in Asian arts and crafts or just feel like getting away from the hustle and bustle of a big city, it's worth a visit.