Room 45: Japan
Room 45 contains a wide range of treasures from Japan including swords and armour, netsuke (small carvings), wood-block prints, textiles, lacquer, ceramics and other articl…
Read article
Japanese bronzes of the Meiji period
When Emperor Meiji was restored to power in 1868, Japanese artisans, particularly metalworkers, lost their traditional samurai patrons.
Read article
Japanese crafts: arms and armour
The samurai's interest in fine armour arose from their desire to appear with as much prestige and status as they could on their way to and from court.
Read article
120-plate Japanese helmet, 1700-1800
This extremely fine quality Japanese helmet is of the type known as suji-bachi (ridged bowl) and is made from 120 russet iron plates riveted vertically.
Read article
Japanese crafts: netsuke
A netsuke ('root-fix) was attached to the end of the inro cord, stopping the weight of the inro causing it to slip through the waist sash. The cord was passed round the bac…
Read article
Japanese Crafts: Inro
Inro ('seal-basket’) are small decorative containers that hang from the waist. They originated at the end of the sixteenth century and were worn by men to hold seals and he…
Read article
Fukusa
This Fukusa was made in the second half of the 19th century and was part of a Japanese gift cover and tradition.
Read article
Lacquer at the V&A
The V&A has an important and substantial collection of lacquer. This includes Asian, Islamic and European japanned wares (objects made to imitate East Asian lacquer).
Read article
Japanese art & design: wabi-sabi
A complex aesthetic, wabi-sabi is a combination of rustic simplicity, freshness or quietness (wabi), together with the beauty and serenity of age, where an object acquires …
Read article
Become a V&A Member
V&A Members enjoy a wealth of benefits, including free entry to exhibitions, previews, exciting events and the V&A Members’ Room. In addition, you will be supporting the vital work of the V&A.
Buy or Renew Membership OnlineShop online
Japanese Cloisonne Enamels
From its renaissance in the 1840s Japanese cloisonné enamel manufacture rapidly reached a peak of artistic and technological sophistication between 18…
Buy nowEvent - BSL Talks: Japanese Enamels
Fri 28 June 2013 18:30
BSL TOUR: Join Chisato Minamimuro as she talks about the diverse range of Japanese Enamels in the V&A collection.
Book online
