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…
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Traditional Japanese pastimes: games
The incense game involved many pieces of equipment. As well as the containers and wrapping for the incense and the ivory counters, there were special tools used to cut and …
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Traditional Japanese pastimes: fashion
The kimono worn by women, particularly the young, were the most richly decorated and it is generally these that survive in collections like that of the V&A. Such kimono wer…
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Traditional Japanese pastimes: picnics
In sixteenth-century Japan a mid-day meal was added to the routine morning and evening meals, and the picnic set probably developed at this time.
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Traditional Japanese pastimes: giving gifts
Games, writing and tea sets were the sort of high-quality goods that Japanese people would give each other as presents.
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Traditional Japanese pastimes: the tea ceremony
Japan is famous for the tea ceremony, a special occasion involving particular objects and rituals, which aims to create the illusion of separation from the everyday world. …
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Traditional Japanese pastimes: calligraphy
Ownership of a high quality writing set with tasteful decoration was a sign of status and refinement.
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Zen calligraphy
Zen calligraphy springs from shonen sōzoku, a Buddhist term equivalent to ‘true thought’.
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A gift in your will
You may not have thought of including a gift to a museum in your will, but the V&A is a charity and legacies form an important source of funding for our work. It is not just the great collectors and the wealthy who leave legacies to the V&A. Legacies of all sizes, large and small, make a real difference to what we can do and your support can help ensure that future generations enjoy the V&A as much as you have.
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Japanese Netsuke
The Japanese netsuke is a thing of wonder: a utilitarian accessory to traditional Japanese dress that has become an art form in itself, prized by coll…
Buy nowEvent - European Traditional Jewellery
Wed 12 June 2013 13:00
LUNCHTIME LECTURE: Join Jane Perry, visiting scholar at the V&A and author of 'Traditional Jewellery in Nineteenth-century Europe', for an insight into traditional jewellery.
Book online
