Thank you for spending your valuable time with us on October 30 at Ueno Park. We welcomed 9 people from Canada, America, India and Italy. It was rainy when we started but the weather turned nice. Some tree leaves at Ueno Park have just started to change color and autumn leaves will likely become most beautiful in a few weeks or so. We hope you enjoyed walking with us. As promised, we posted the pictures taken during the tour for your memory.
One of our guests asked if there were any special exhibitions at Ueno Park. Tokyo National Museum is now offering a special display of ‘Haniwa 埴輪’.
Haniwa is terracota clay figures lined up on or around the old burial tombs for the emperors or outstanding people when they died. It is considered to protect and console the spirits of the dead. Haniwa was broadly made in ancient Japan in the 3rd to 6th century. The diverse sculptures on display consist of variety of warriors, horses, houses, tools and weapons, showing the early life of Japanese people.
Haniwa is unique to Japan and a rare art in the world. It originates from the Kibi region (currently Okayama prefecture) in the western part of Japan and spread to the other areas. Even now, the remnants of Haniwa are seen across the country.
It was the days before the spread of Japanese writing system when haniwa was produced in ancient Japan. Although those days are shrouded in mystery, an ancient tomb and haniwa tell us the lifestyle through musical instruments, farming tools, clothing and hairstyles. When Buddhism was brought to Japan in the 6th century, Buddhist buildings were built and haniwa was no longer made.
This special exhibition is a rare opportunity to know how Japanese people spent those days through haniwa. It will be held from October 16 to December 8. Highly recommended to see. Thank you for choosing our tour and we look forward to seeing you on other occasions in the future.
(Yoshi)